JBQ Lost in AUSTRALIA

15th October 2009

2009-10-15T03:51:00.001-07:00

It rained for most of the night along with the occasional gust of wind. Thankfully though when it came time for us to pack up we were lucky to catch a few rays of sunshine along with it being a little warmer.

We were on the road by 9 am heading for Batemans Bay, a good drive of nearly 460 km.we had decided to express it as we now wanted to be home by Friday morning, so it meant that we wouldn’t have a lot of time to stop and look at the different places we would be travelling through. However as it is not too far from home we knew we could always come back another time.

The country side was very lush with green fields along with most of the rivers and dams being quite full. Through the numerous National Parks on the drive up to Cann River we must have passed hundreds of motor cyclists heading the other way to Phillip Island for the GP that was being held there at the weekend.

We crossed over the border into NSW from the East Gippsland coastal region without seeing any signs indicating that we had left Victoria or entered NSW. We drove on up the Sapphire Coast on the Princes Highway through Eden towards Bega, diverting for a few km to go into Tilba after stopping at the cheese factory just out of Bega. Here we stretched our legs and visited the shop to purchase some Bega Cheese.

We went through some very heavy rain squalls and on one occasion we pulled off the road until the worst of it had passed over.

This is a beautiful part of the state with so much to do and see that you could spend weeks in the area, no wonder it is such a popular tourist destination, especially during the summer months.

We continued on without any further problems other than the rain until we arrived at Batemans Bay on the Eurobodalla coast. Here we thought it would be quite busy as its still the NSW school holidays but to the contrary everywhere was very quiet and the caravan parks were all showing that they had vans,cabins and sites available. So without any problem we found ourselves a Top Tourist park and checked in for the night.

We managed to set up just before the rain came down again. We had decided that since our supplies were almost non existent we would go out for something to eat which we did at the Catalina Country Club just out of Batemans Bay.

With that we made our way home to spend the last night under the roof of our little home that we have been living in for the last 5 months before heading for home tomorrow morning.

14th October Lakes Entrance

2009-10-14T04:27:00.001-07:00

Well having arrived here we were expecting some sunshine and warmth but unfortunately we had to prepare ourselves to be disappointed as the forecast was for a strong wind warning and a graziers alert for lambs and sheep. So that meant the temp was expected to drop to about 4 deg overnight. I suppose there is no real reason to talk about the weather as we can’t do anything about it. Its mid October and down here they are really copping it. Talk about global warming, I think they've got it around the wrong way! On the plus side of it all, is that they have had the rain which has eased the water restrictions and of course has helped the farmers.

Today we braved the climate and drove out to the Nyerimilang Heritage Park where we read we could experience the peace and tranquillity of the area, a one time gentleman’s holiday retreat and now a public park.

www.parkweb.vic.gov.au

We enjoyed the views of the Gippsland Lakes and watched as the white-bellied sea eagles glided along the thermals of the cliff edge………………………….. The homestead now owned by the government was/is a gracious homestead of the 1920’s era and still portrays the wonderful life style that was enjoyed by the previous owners that once lived there.The home and the 5oo acres is now open for the public to enjoy with its tracks,walks and picnic grounds, of course, in the right weather………… The Gippsland Lakes is a very diverse region and a place that you could spend many weeks exploring.

We drove further on to Metung a small coastal village and a very popular summer tourist holiday area with its boats and holiday homes. We chatted to some of the local shop owners and had a good cup of coffee in one of the cafes. This part of the world is also home to the artist Max Nicolson whose work we admired in the local gallery. Unfortunately his studio which is nearby is only open on Sundays.

Our next port of call was Bairnsdale a much larger town and population. We had driven through here the other day but hadn’t stopped as we were keen to get to the caravan park and set up. We revisited here to have a look at St Marys, a Roman Catholic Church and the magnificent paintings that adorns the interior.

The ceilings and walls are painted in bold colours depicting an army of angels and religious figures. The man behind the artwork is Italian born Frank Floreani who was looking for work during the depression and was given artistic freedom to create the murals and something that hadn’t been seen before by many of the locals. Having visited many Cathedrals ,Churches etc in the UK and France this we agreed was amongst one of the best.

Having enjoyed a hot soup to warm us up we ventured down the main street to look at some of the historic buildings, before finding the car and making tracks back to our home.

With the wind picking up we battened down the bed awnings and ensured that everything outside had been secured and wouldn’t blow away in the wind gusts, before settling down in the dry and warmth hoping that when its time for us to pack up tomorrow morning that it wont be raining and not quite so windy.!

Looking at our map we have almost completed our circumnavigation of Australia. We started on May 29th and have travelled nearly 26000 km and spent almost $5000 on fuel! and has been worth every penny of it.

We should arrive home in Sydney by Friday 16th October.

Tuesday 13th October-Leaving Melbourne

2009-10-14T04:24:00.001-07:00

Woke up to a very overcast day with the rain threatening to belt down at any time. So we had our breakfast and started to pack away the trailer in record time, which was a good thing as it started to rain just as we were finishing and hitching up the car ready to move out.

Setting Tommy for Lakes Entrance just as we were leaving it really started to rain quite hard which continued for a couple of hours until we were well clear of the city limits and heading out along the freeway to the Gippsland.

Our journey took us through Wonthaggi, Leongatha, Sale, Stratford on Avon, Bairnsdale and finally Lakes Entrance, having tried to follow the coastal road all the way. Every little town and village had so much to offer in the way of walks, boating, fishing and holiday entertainment for all the family.We could have spent months here…………. perhaps another time.

We passed at lot of bikies on their way to Phillip Island for the motor bike racing being held there.

Everywhere was so green with folding hills and the distant alpine mountains of the dividing range.

Many of the rivers were flowing and the dams full which must really please the farmers.

The lakes go from Sale all the way through to Lakes Entrance , and are known as the Gippsland Lakes and are the largest navigable inland waterway in Australia. The lakes Wellington, Victoria and King cover 320 km of shoreline and encompass 340 Sq km which could take you months to explore.

Having settled in to the caravan park we walked out to the waterfront to see all the fishing boats and the hand carved wooden sculptures along the way.

Monday 12th October Melbourne

2009-10-13T03:12:00.001-07:00

Instead of walking to the Springvale railway station we decided to drive to Glen Waverley and catch the train from there into the city.

It was an overcast start to the day though thankfully not too cold so we were keen to have another walk around the city and visit the museum.

We left the train at the Southern Cross Railway Station and made our way to have at look at the Etihad Stadium and the views across to the development at Docklands and with skies having cleared and the sun shinning, we were able to see across the city.

From here we ventured up Bourke Street to Swanston Street, being blowing around by the gusty winds whilst trying to cover our eyes and mouths from all the pollen coming from the trees that lined the street.

Other than that, it all looked quite striking and you could easily have thought that you could have been walking along a street in Paris, with the trees and round advertising type pillars.

Though of course the trams aren’t something you can see going through the streets of Paris.

From here we went on to the museum to see the exhibition. Where we spent a good two hours viewing A Day in Pompeii.

With that we walked to Flinders Street Railway Station and were lucky enough to just catch a fast train leaving for Glen Waverly, so we were back to the car within 20 minutes. However we had to pick up a few supplies before returning to our home which we did at the Woolies supermarket.

We both agreed that Melbourne has a lot to offer with so much more that we could have looked at and walks that we could have done. No doubt we will come back again one day. We had also been quite lucky with the weather having been fine and sunny for three of the four days we had been in and around Melbourne.

Sunday 11th October- Melbourne

2009-10-12T03:58:00.001-07:00

Today we drove up to the Dandenong Ranges to Upper Ferntree Gully where we stopped off to pick up our tour map which we followed throughout the afternoon.

We visited Cloudehill Gardens and nursery where we took our lunch into and sat under the trees amongst the flowers and garden beds. www.cloudehill.com.au Thankfully the sun was shinning and the day had some warmth but as the afternoon progressed the clouds came over and it appeared as though we going to get some more rain.

We continued the drive which gave us breathtaking views of the surrounding ranges and on through the magnificent towering Mountain Ash Trees which lined the narrow road that snaked its way up to the top. We continued to do the loop which took us up to Mount Evelyn then past the Silvan Reservoir, which is Melbourne's water supply and back down to Monbulk.

We went back to Kallista and Belgrave where we completed the loop. The rain had held off and the day had been most enjoyable and we came away with a greater appreciation of the Dandenong Ranges and of course the great fear there is of Bush Fires which earlier this year had caused such havoc and loss of lives in Victoria.

We set Tommy to get us back to the caravan park in Springvale and were back there in just over half an hour.

www.parkweb.vic.gov.au

Saturday 10th October Melbourne

2009-10-11T15:02:00.001-07:00

Celebrating Bob’s birthday today! Happy Birthday!!

With a beautiful day forecasted we decided to travel into the city of Melbourne which was celebrating a week long Art Festival of Melbourne.

The Yarra River

Having been advised that we could walk to Springvale it being the nearest railway station we set off to find it, where 30 minutes later we fronted up to buy our tickets and were advised that all seniors could travel for free over the weekend! What a bonus.

After 35 minutes we arrived at the Flinders Street railway station and armed with our tourist map we headed for the Yarra river where there was much activity going on, with the rowing eights,quads and solos gliding up and down the river.

On to the National Gallery of Victoria where we checked out the French impressionists after which we walked over to

Victoria Park which in the warmth and sunshine was most enjoyable. Everybody seemed to be out enjoying the break in the weather which was expected to last over the weekend when the rain and cold was due to return

The Up Hill Road. Paul Cezanne

On to Federation Square for lunch and then a quick look into the Ian Potter Centre NGV where all the Australian Art was exhibited.It was great that in both galleries I was able to take any non flash photos as I wanted.

We hopped on to the free shuttle bus outside Flinders Street Railway Station to do the 40 minute tour of the city which gave us a good opportunity to see where everything was.

It was time to head back to the Sundowners Caravan Park where we arrived back at about 7 pm after having a very long and tiring day which was however most enjoyable.

Melbourne is a very vibrant and cultural city and had a very pleasant feel about it. We will be back again on Monday to have another look around.

Tomorrow another sunny day is forecasted so we’ll drive out to the Dandenongs.

9th October 2009 – Apollo Bay

2009-10-09T04:46:00.001-07:00

www.greatsoutherntouring.com.au

We continued on along the Great Ocean Road which was built as a memorial to all the Victorian soldiers who died fighting in the First World War. We followed the coastline to Lorne where we stopped for our morning break and stretch of our legs by walking through the town trying to keep out of the cold wind. They say that if you are tired of Lorne then you might as well be tired of life. Well that may be so, however on this day it seemed quite deserted with nobody enjoying the thin strip of pure yellow sand and the dark blue ocean waters. It is however a favourite holiday destination for many people and during the summer it is humming with outdoor activities and life.

Leaving Lorne we continued on, stopping at the various lookouts to admire the views. From Lorne to the heart of of the Otways there are many water falls in the area.

We chose to tackle the walk to view the Sheoak Falls which was quite spectacular with plenty of water running. From here it was on through Aireys Inlet, Anglesea and Torquay. It was a bit disappointing for us that it had been so cold during our drive and adventure along the Great Ocean Road, however we enjoyed the experience once again and saw many changes and improvements that have been made since our last visit 25 years ago.

From Torquay it was all about some serious driving to enable us to traverse Melbourne. So we set Tommy up for our destination caravan park in Springvale which guided us through the maze of flyovers, motorways and also over the Westgate Bridge which was truly an experience. Thankfully our E-Way toll pass worked just fine and beeped at all the right places, however we had no idea how much it was costing us.

Mt Gambier 7th October

2009-10-09T04:25:00.001-07:00

Rained during the night and was again quite cold. However armed with our trusty map and with all the places that we were told we had to see we set off for a day of sightseeing.

Mt Gambier is built on top of extinct volcanoes and is the second largest city in South Australia and one of the richest. Here the major industries are pine plantations, dairy produce and seafood.

We did all the local tourist attractions visiting the blue lake which hadn’t turned too blue as it usually occurs in mid November when it then turns a brilliant blue which lasts until April when it then returns to a gray colour for the winter. This is also the water supply for Mt Gambier, it contains 36ooo million litres with an average depth of about 80 metres.

We also visited Brown, and leg of mutton lake the later having dried up over the years.

Despite the strong cold wind we walked up the steep pathway to the Centenary Tower which had been built in the 1930’s to mark Mt Gambier's 100 years of existence.

Drove back in to the centre of town to look at the Cave Gardens and the Engelbrecht Cave which go under the town across 6 streets and about 19 houses which is the extent that it has been explored by experienced cave divers,it had for many years previously until the 1970’s been used as a local tip and was finally cleared of all the rubbish by the local Lions club and revitalised as a tourist attraction.

Walked through the town doing the history tour of the old and important buildings which included the Robert Helpmann theatre who was a native son of the area.

Looking for another cave we headed for the Umpherston sink hole which had had quite a history as part of a family estate. They had exquisite gardens, a lake in the middle with a row boat and even a small island.

They said it was like a fairy land. Saw mills were built next door to the family estate and then it eventually it fell into disrepair along with the family home home being demolished in the 1960’s. Eventually it was rescued and now has been transformed into a beautiful sunken garden full of arum lilies and many other colourful hydrangeas.

Making our way to visit the tourist information bay and to see a replica of the Lady Nelson I was greeted by a very friendly member of the South Australian Police who pulled me over for a random breath test at 4 in the afternoon. Coming up negative we then decided to call it a day and made our way back to the caravan park for afternoon tea, dinner and a drink.

6th October-Mt Gambier

2009-10-09T04:23:00.001-07:00

Drove from Adelaide through the hills and over the Murray Bridge stopping at Tailem Bridge to buy some fresh bread and some eggs from a local man who had lived in the area for 52 years since arriving as a boy from the UK in 1952.

This is the mouth of the Murray which opens into Lake Alexandrina , had it been a warmer day we might have taken the ferry across to Wellington. Drove along the coastal road which goes through the Coorong the National Park which is a series of inland waterways,flat marshy lakes with sand hills and then the ocean. Stopped at the big lobster at Kingston SE (lobster capital)for lunch and also bought half a fresh lobster for our dinner. Went along the coastal road going through to Robe which we didn’t recognise at all due to all the new developments that had taken place. Continued on to Mt Gambier staying at the Kalganyi caravan park, where it was cold and wet and quite late so we went to the RSL for our dinner.

Driving through these areas it was mostly flat with huge pine plantations, some of which had recently been logged and then reseeded and dairy farms which all looked really good due to the amount of rain that had fallen over the last few months.

8th October Mt Gambier to Apollo Bay

2009-10-09T04:18:00.001-07:00

Packed and on the road in under two hours. Overnight the temp had dropped to under 4 deg, however the morning was a bit brighter with the the temp up to 8 deg. We were over the border into Victoria driving the coastal road to Portland. More low laying flat land with depression visible everywhere in the fields with many fenced off for safety. They landscape was very green with plenty of dairy cows and the pine forests in abundance for mile after mile.

Drove into Portland stopping off at the beach front which all looked pretty bleak in the cold windy rain. Drove on to Port Fairy which had many more tourists evident and in the summer and warmer months is obviously a very popular place.

Went on to Warrnambool which we drove through without stopping. Further along we made a stop at the local cheese factory and the Devondale milk processing plant. From here on we joined the Great Ocean Road stopping, and looking at and walking around the Bay of Islands,

The Grotto,London Bridge (now fallen) The Arch and finally the 12 Apostles, where it had been transformed with a (yet to be opened tourist information bureau), a new underpass of the road and a walkway to the viewing platforms to see the

12 Apostles. Once again it had all changed over the last 10 years when we previously just pulled off the road to a car park and on to the viewing platform.

We continued to drive in the rain over the Ottway Ranges on narrow winding,mountainous roads through more pine plantations and down into Apollo Bay where we stopped at the Apollo Bay Bay Recreation Reserve park for the night.

Monday 5th October – Adelaide

2009-10-05T04:01:00.001-07:00

A public holiday here today .

We did a tour of all the beaches from Port Adelaide down to Glenelg.

Stopping of at one of the new marinas to have lunch and then drove back to Adelaide so we could visit the Botanical Gardens which we walked around for most of the afternoon before returning home. We had to endure the noise from a Rock concert taking place in the gardens as the sound carried to where we were staying.

They said it was a musical festival! To be honest we couldn’t wait for it to end as most of the other residents in the area felt as well I’m sure.

Tomorrow we head out for Mt Gambier via Robe.

Adelaide Sunday 4th October.

2009-10-05T03:55:00.001-07:00

Saturday we went out to see Port Adelaide to visit the SA Maritime Museum to see the history of of the area, and to do a heritage walking tour of Port Adelaide.

We were impressed by the number of the original buildings that had been retained and the work that had taken place to keep the Ports history alive, especially since it is no longer a major working harbour. Seeing a cruise boat about to take a trip on the Port Adelaide River we decided to pay our $5 each and hop onboard. This is advertised as a dolphin cruise and we were introduced to the numerous dolphins that play and live in the Port Adelaide River.

We passed the submarine base, the container ships unloading and the vessels alongside the grain silos being loaded.

It had been particularly cold onboard so on returning to shore we went into the market being held in one of the old warehouses nearby. Having been to many markets which mostly seem to all be the same this one was very good, having a great variety of stalls from antiques to haircutting which Beatrice took advantage of and had her locks trimmed. I just bought a few more books!

We took a round about trip back into Adelaide having a look at some of the outer suburbs until we decided we were tied and hungry so called it a day and so I could listen on the net to the second half of the RL grand final being played in Sydney.

Saturday 3rd September= Adelaide Hills

2009-10-05T03:01:00.001-07:00

Today we decided to go up to the Adelaide Hills, the weather wasn’t the best, however the sun was trying to break through, but it didn’t make much difference to the temp which hovered around the 10 deg mark.

We drove up to Bridgewater stopping off to have a look at the old water mill and to walk a little way along the 1200 km Heysen trail.

It was the off to Hahndorf. We had to revisit the Cedars, Hans Heysen’s historic home where he lived from 1912 until his death in 1968.

It which sits amongst many of the great trees that featured in his paintings. Having visited his house twice before we contented ourselves this time to just look around the book shop and an exhibition of some of Nora Heysens works being displayed in the studio she used whilst her father was still alive. As the village of Hahndorf was celebrating the Heysen Festival we drove there, parked the car, wrapped up against the cold wind and walked the main street visiting all the galleries and art exhibitions,

from the Heysen Prize competition at the academy which included some amazing body art,an outdoor lantern cinema and local bands just to mention a few things that were going on.

When it came for lunch we settled on having some hot soup and of course a stein of beer, at the Hahndorf Inn in the main street What a great atmosphere with the accordion being played and most of the guest joining the fun and singing and dancing to the typical German songs.. www.hahndorfinn.com.au

We had a great time and enjoyed it along with all the others who were there.

We ran back to the car in the rain, to have a further look around the Hills, driving up to Sterling and then back through some of the other villages.

Despite it having been a miserable day weather wise, we were once again quite taken by what we had seen of the Adelaide Hills District and will no doubt visit again sometime in the future.

Adelaide 2nd October

2009-10-04T04:20:00.001-07:00

The forecast for the day was a max of 16deg and a slight chance of rain. Well it was about 12 deg until midday when it briefly made it to 15deg, and of course it did rain.

Not to worry we managed to walk into the city along the river once again, the hazard doing this is, is the amount of cyclists that speed along the shared footpath!

We visited the South Australian Art Gallery, the Museum and then we walked through Rundle Mall. We jumped on the free bus that makes a round trip of the city which we did when it started to pour with rain. Had our lunch and then boarded the tram that took us out to Glenelg a beach side suburb.

Glenelg

Once again the weather wasn’t going to be kind to us with the cold wind and rain showers. Still we walked down the main street and also attempted to walk the pier but decided that it was just a bit too cold and windy.

We caught the tram back into the city which had about 18 stops along the way, however it was very smooth and comfortable and best of all, any seniors card holders travel on all Adelaide's public transport for free between 9.30 and 3 pm.

With the rain threatening once again we decided to head for home.Thankfully we covered the distance without getting wet or getting bowled over by any of the cyclists or runners along the way.

Having been on our feet all day and walked quite a considerable distance we were happy to turn on our heater, have our evening meal and read our books. Tomorrow we’ll drive up to the Adelaide Hills.

1st October on to Adelaide

2009-10-02T03:22:00.001-07:00

Woke up to a very cold, misty and damp day with the temp down to 12 deg. With very little visibility once again we decided to leave for warmer and greener pastures. We passed through the small towns of Laura, Gladstone which all looked pretty deserted and forgotten. Laura had very a very wide main street with trees all down the middle. We stopped at Clare for coffee where all the vineyards start along with the cellar doors for wine tasting. Thankfully as we headed on down to Adelaide the temp started to climb to about 18deg along with the sun trying to make a breakthrough. We set Tom Tom for our destination caravan park in the city and it guided us to the front door without a hitch. It was strange having to negotiate all the city traffic after mostly being in the outback and smaller towns.

Once we had set up we went for a walk along the Torrens river which started right beside the caravan park and took us into the city through the University of Adelaide. All up it we must have covered about 4 km there and back so we are quite happy that we’ll be able to walk to the city without having to take the car or use the buses.

It was good to get back and have our dinner and settle down for the night after a long day of driving and an evening walk.

30th September- Travel to Port Augusta.

2009-10-02T02:58:00.001-07:00

Morning dawned cool and fresh in Port Lincoln,seas calm and mirror like where we had a beautiful view of the bay from our hillside caravan site. Packed in record time and took one last look at Port Lincoln and headed out over the hills to the north. The coast line reminded us of the South of France, the houses, the road and the ocean drive hugging the coast just like in Nice.

It warmed up as we drove north, stopping at Cowell a small fishing town for our coffee break. It was very oldie worldly with the buildings kept very original. Here they have special pale green Jade but the shops were closed over the lunch period.The temp reached 33 deg and it started become very overcast with a low mist so that we couldn’t see past the fields. Cowell

We stopped at Whyalla, here it was very very windy and the visibility was extremely poor, however we did have a look at the Whyalla Corvette in the town which they had hauled two miles up from the sea to its present dry land display at the museum. We drove straight through Port Augusta, we did see the one steel HQ and the dumps from the mines but unfortunately we weren’t able to see anything of the Flinders Ranges because of the poor visibility as we drove over the Horrocks Pass. We continued on over the pass on to Melsrose the oldest town in the Flinders which is at the base of Mt Remarkable where we stayed at a Bush camp in the National Park.The camping ground by the stream was full so we had unpowered site over on the other side of the stream in the Nat Park, much better and quieter with open fires optional, toilets provided and cold running water.

We went into town over the swing bridge so we didn’t get our feet wet and walked around looking at all the old buildings, the disused brewery and huge old gum trees, also and checked out the Heysen Trail (for Stuart V.)and the Mawson Bike Trails which pass through here. Had a look at the candelabra flat style power poles which are very often painted with a local scene.

The story of Jacka’s Brewery –photo above

It was still very warm though we were expecting the weather to change. Overnight we had strong wind gusts, when I had to get up in the middle of the night to secure the awnings over the bed pullouts. The temp also started to drop along with some heavy rain squalls. Thank god we weren’t in a tent. However we both slept warm and dry.

Strange sort of house on top of a crashed Dodge Truck!

A great old tree in the centre of the old gravel road at the back of town

Mt Remarkable with the mist coming over the top.

29th September- Port Lincoln

2009-10-01T06:51:00.001-07:00

Population 14000 and a major commercial centre for the Eyre Peninsula and a popular tourist destination.

Out of Streaky Bay and on down to Port Lincoln, the tuna farming capital of Australia.

We Drove down the B100 stopping off after 40 km to see Murphy’s Haystacks which are huge granite inselbergs, huge rocks purported to be over 1500 million years old. This unique outcrop of pink granite boulders is quite a tourist attraction.

Continuing on down the coast our next stop was Venus Bay a seaside town and a favourite holiday destination for those that love to fish, surf and other offshore activities.

Next off track venture was to drive the cliff top coastal sculpture drive which took us to some magnificent views along with the sculptures from the recent festival and are now located on the cliff top.

This then took us on down to Elliston which features an historic jetty and a mural of the life and times of the town both historical and the present. Its has all been painted on the external walls of the Town Hall.

The continuing drive was quite flat with the land cultivated and looking very green and lush. With good rainfall for the last three months its all looking much better for the farmers this year.It looked truly magnificent.

On arrival at Port Lincoln we drove out to the caravan park just ensure that we had somewhere to stay for the night. We needn’t have worried as it seemed to be quite empty though they were expecting a full house for the weekend as it is a public holiday and the school holidays have started.

Once set up we drove out to the marina and saw one of the largest working fishing ports in Australia. The Lincoln Cove Marina has been developed with many new residential properties on the waterways and around the vicinity of the port. With many new areas being marked for sub division this is going to be a huge suburb.

We walked down to have a look at the life size statue of three time Melbourne cup winner Makybe Diva on the foreshore. The $180,000 bronzed statue of the supermare stands on the foreshore of Port Lincoln, the home town of her owner Tony Santic who is a fisherman but most well known for owning Makybe Diva.

We checked out the local Maritime museum but unfortunately it was closed!

In the evening we went back to the Marina and enjoyed a great fish dinner looking out across at the lights of the harbour.

28th September Streaky Bay

2009-10-01T06:42:00.001-07:00

Went for a walk into town this morning and did the historic walk around the streets following the map showing all the old buildings and events from the development of Streaky Bay which was originally called Flinders and then returned to the name given by Matthew Flinders which was Streaky Bay because of the appearance of streaks in the water when he visited here on his circumnavigation of Australia. We were well wrapped up as the wind factor really brought the temperature down to about 14deg, however the sky was blue and as the day progressed it did warm up.

After lunch we took to the car and drove out to Bauer Point and on the way stopped and walked down to Hallys beach before reaching the point and walking to the blow holes on the cliff tops.

Here it was very rugged and dangerous which is the reason the council was having a magnificent board walk built out across the sand dunes and across the top of the cliffs, not only for the safety of the visitors but also to prevent further erosion by people trampling across the rocks and sand.

It was a good drive and we managed to get a really good perspective of the area which is still very much unspoilt from its inception back in the early 1900’s. The weather really changed for the better by the afternoon becoming quite warm and with the wind abating it became quite pleasant.

Purchased a dozen oysters at the local outlet which were very enjoyable and quite inexpensive.

Tomorrow we will head down to Port Lincoln.

Sunday 27th September Nullarbor/Streaky Bay

2009-09-27T04:37:00.001-07:00

We were one of the last to leave the caravan lay by area but as we weren’t in any great hurry we didn’t really mind as we didn’t intend to travel too far. Prior to leaving, we were walking back form the toilet block and encountered a local dingo who seemed to be quite interested in what we were doing, so we jumped into the car and drove off, just to be on the safe side.

During the night we heard the road trains passing by and then in the morning a small single engine aeroplane landed just behind us on the gravel runway and then taxied round to the front of the road house to pick up some passengers. These small planes are used by most of the owners of outback stations as its the only way they can get around in the shortest time frame.

Not long after leaving we turned off the highway and drove the 12 km down to the Head of Bight. This is where the white sand dunes and beaches meet the Bunda Cliffs of the Nullarbor. Here we paid our 10 dollars each and walked down the board walk to the cliff top and was rewarded with the sight of at least 10 Great Southern Right Whales and their calf's just cruising around off the beach. We really enjoyed the views and watching the whales even if it was a bit windy and cool.

We pressed on along the Eyre Highway stopping at the old and now closed roadhouse at Yalata to have our lunch and finish all our remaining fruit before crossing the quarantine inspection point for South Australia. Here we saw the start of the dog fence that controls the wild dogs (dingoes) that goes up through the country.

We stopped at the quarantine check point and opened up the trailer for the contents of our fridge to be inspected, however as we had eaten all the fruit and dumped what vegetables we had earlier we were given the all clear and drove on to Ceduna where we stopped off at the

Tourist Bureau to pick up some information and collect our certificates to say that we had crossed the Nullarbor. We then headed off to the Flinders Highway driving south to Streaky Bay where we arrived at about 5pm. We booked in at the Foreshore Tourist Park for two nights, set up our home and then went out for an inexpensive meal before settling down for the evening to discuss the next days activities.

26th September – Nullarbor crossing continued

2009-09-26T05:11:00.001-07:00

We set off again for a full day of driving and sight seeing. Not much to see really as we were crossing what they call the treeless plain of the Nullarbor.(See the link and read all about it)

After leaving Caiguna we advanced our clocks by 45 minutes. We were driving through what was mostly just scrub land along the Hampton Tablelands.

They do have signs up warning that the roads were unfenced and that there was the possibility that we could encounter either Camels,Emus or Wombats and kangaroos. We only saw a kangaroo and that was a road kill just off in the gravel. We drove on passing by the Madura Pass and Roadhouse.

We encountered many road trains that thunder along this stretch of road that seems at the maximum speed that they can get away with. They loom up behind you and pass by at great speed causing the car to sway from side to side so you have to ensure that you have a strong steady grip of the steering wheel and keeping as steady as you can whilst maintaining your speed. Having your UHF radio on channel 40 you can hear the drivers talking and there is the possibility they could call you and let you know they are about to pass.

We stopped off at Eucla to have a look at the view and walk around the gardens of the motel.Here there was also the ruins of one of the original telegraph stations that first opened in 1877 which helped link WA with the rest of Australia sending 11000 messages annually

We had our break and lunch just past the WA/SA border check point and advanced our clocks another 45 minutes so we would be in SA time. We didn’t have to go through the quarantine checks here as they do when travelling west as the east bound travellers go through at Ceduna, another days driving away. We will have to ensure that we have eaten all our fruit and vegies by then. www.quarantinedomestic.gov.au

We stopped off to see some of the magnificent views of the cliffs and coastal beaches from the top of the cliffs which were all well sign posted as being unstable and could possibly fall away. We kept well clear from the edges as we didn’t fancy plunging down the +50 odd feet to the bottom.

We finally stopped for the night at the Nullarbor Motel/Hotel Caravan park (see map) at about 6.30 pm new time. It was quite cold though fortunately for us there was no rain. Tomorrow we will try and reach Streaky Bay and then go on to Port Lincoln.

25th September- Nullarbor crossing

2009-09-26T05:09:00.001-07:00

With the sun shinning and the wind a little cool we prepared to leave Kalgoorlie and head down to Norseman and then start our journey along the Eyre Highway to Adelaide.

Leaving the caravan park at 8.30 we set Tom Tom for Norseman which took us a different way this time by not going through Coolgardie which we did coming up. The country side was much the same mostly scrub and general bush. With so little rain fall in this part of the country there are no crops or live stock. This is mining land with many roads leading off from the highway to the various gold mines and nickel smelters. Driving through Kambalda we pasted Lake Lefroy a dried up salt lake.

After 206km we arrived at Norseman where we stopped to have our lunch take a few photos of the tin camels and visit the tourist information office to pick up our free map with all the fuel stops and places to stay overnight during our 1979 km drive across the Nullarbor. We had marked the places for the clock changes and where we would have to pass through the quarantine check point in South Australia. We would have to ensure we had eaten all our fruit and veg's otherwise we’ll have to dump it all before continuing our journey.

Having filled up with fuel and filled an extra 20ltrs in our jerry can we set off east.

Tom Tom was set and indicated that we should drive along the Eyre highway and after 1198 kms turn left!

Our first stop after 188 kms was at Balladonia hotel/motel/roadhouse to fill with fuel again and have a stretch and a walk around. Not much here at all so after a short break we pulled out and not long after passing the old ruined Telegraph Station and the Afgan rocks we started to drive on Australia's longest stretch of roadway-145kms ( 90 miles). Since leaving Norseman we haven’t had to negotiate any stop , give way signs or traffic lights. In fact the drive is non stop unless you pull over for a rest or fuel.

Just at the end of the straight stretch we pulled into the Caiguna road house for a fuel fill up and to stop for the night at a powered site as it was going to be cold and we also wanted some hot food, heater and hot showers before setting off again in the morning.

During the evening we saw a light plane land right behind us and then taxi back to the rear of the roadhouse to fill up with aviation fuel before taxing out to the runway and taking off again. During our drive we had driven along a stretch of road that is also used by the Royal Flying Doctor in emergencies as this is all very remote country.

With a little light rain falling and a cool wind blowing we settled down for the night along with another 12 caravans parked by the Caiguna roadhouse.

Thursday 24th September Kalgoorlie

2009-09-24T06:07:00.001-07:00

Today the sun was shinning and the temp was expected to reach 22deg. So we headed off to town to Coles so we could restock our supplies before we headed down to Norseman and then start our drive across the Nullarbor Plain. We replaced our LPG gas and will fill our water tanks so we can be independent and stop off at the overnight rest stops on our way across.

Had my hair cut and then we had another look around the town before going back for our lunch.

It was then off to tour the historic Questa Casa,Australia’s oldest working bordello.Over 100 years old.it is the last of the original tin bordellos.We were advised that the tour would surprise the 11 of us who lined up outside to do the 2pm tour. It was interesting and gave us all an insight into the part the bordello plays in this mining town. Read http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3597/columnists/13158/in_the_pinkmadam.html for a good story about the place, though we didn’t meet Carmel as her daughter was looking after the place whilst she was away on stress leave! Her daughter emphasised that it was a business for her and her mother and that neither of them were working girls and never had been or intended to be.

Buildings in Boulder and Kalgoorlie

Kalgoorlie and Boulders are almost unchanged from the turn of the 1900’s. They say that the streets of Kalgoorlie are paved with gold which is not too far from the truth as the used all the tailings from the gold fields which at that time, they were unable to extract. Now days that problems doesn't exist and all the gold possible is extracted . We visited the super pit www.superpit.com.au which has a viewing platform overlooking this famous landmark which will eventually stretch 3.2 km long,1.4km wide and go down to a depth of more than 600m which has incorporated all the gold mines that were once in the so called golden mile and are now all in the Super Pit which is run by KCGM.

Another fascinating fact about this area is that all its fresh water is pumped by a water pipe-line from Mundaring Weir in Perth which is 563 km away that was built in 1903 by the genius foresight of the States Engineer C.Y.O’Connor. Its obvious that water here is a very valuable commodity and very expensive.

Kalgoorlie 23rd September

2009-09-24T05:27:00.001-07:00

www.kalgoorlietourism.com

Cool night though it soon warmed up to 24 deg with not a cloud in the sky or a drop of rain!

Today we drove off to the Australian Prospectors and Miners Hall of Fame. We booked in for the underground tour and the gold pour demonstration and as a bit of fun we took the opportunity to make our fortune by doing some gold panning.

The underground tour took us down 120mtrs to the first level to see the tunnels and chambers where the gold was extracted up until 1967 when it declared exhausted of all payable gold. On to the gold pour when gold was poured from a white crucible into a bar,though we were told at the end that it was actually not gold but other minerals giving the same effect.

The gold panning yielded us a few specks of gold which we picked up with some cello tape which we were told was probably worth more than the gold speck.

Here we also learnt about the history of prospecting and mining in Australia. www.mininghall.com

We drove into the Boulder part of the town and walked the historic main street and were fascinated by the many building still standing from the turn of the century and which are still in use for some retail businesses. www.boulder.com.au

Back to the caravan for a late lunch and some quiet time before going out for dinner in Kalgoorlie.

22nd September 2009

2009-09-22T05:42:00.001-07:00

It continued to rain on and off throughout the night with the temperature dropping to 5 deg, so it was all quite unpleasant.

However when it was time to get up in the morning at 6am we were delighted to see that the sky was blue and the sun was shinning, however it was still quite cold.

As we closed up the trailer I noticed that one of the shock absorbers to the leaf spring had snapped the holding bracket and was hanging down loosely. We would have to have it repaired as soon as we arrived in Kalgoorlia-Boulder about 205km north.

The drive was good, the sun was shinning and we were warm in the car as we pulled out of the caravan park just after 8.15am.We were on the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway which was in good condition. We didn’t see to many other caravaners on the road and those that we did always waved as they passed which we eagerly acknowledged, it was always good to see fellow travellers.

We passed some vast salt lakes and dead trees from the salinity in the ground. The soil was now no longer sandy as in the south west, here it is red. The land here was cultivated in some places that supported live stock and the growing of wheat and canola along with other crops that we were not able to put a name to.

We drove into Coolgardie which was once a very busy town with a population of nearly 15000 at the turn of the century in the 1900’s.

Today the gold mining days are over and the population is down to about 800, as the nearby town of Kalgoorlia is the main hub of the area. However some of the old buildings from its glory days look quite good and along the main street we stopped to read the history of many of them. It was still quite cold and we were looking for somewhere to have a cup of coffee but not finding anywhere we set off for Kalgoorlie 39 km away.

As we entered this much larger town we saw a truck and trailer repair centre so we pulled in to see if we could get the repairs we needed. Not being the right place we were directed to a steel fabricator where we could probably have the brackets made and fitted. We found them to be very helpful and they could make and fit what we needed. So we unhitched and left the trailer which we could pick up again at 3pm.

We immediately left for town where we had our coffee and then off to the tourist bureau where we picked up a local map and some info and then headed out to the gold museum and a walk along Hannan street which was the main street in town which had many great historical buildings.

Here we also read all about Paddy Hannan whom the street was named after.

We treated ourselves to some lunch, walked around town a bit more and then went back to pick up the trailer and check in at the caravan park and set everything up for our stay.

Check out some of the photos of the city buildings etc.

Monday 21st September-Ravensthorpe-Esperance

2009-09-21T06:35:00.001-07:00

We managed to set up last night in the dry and was pretty well assured that it wouldn’t rain during the night, so we unfortunately did not roll out the awnings over the bed ends. Well needless to say it wasn’t long before the rain came thundering down,we didn’t get wet just a little damp. By morning the rain eased and we made sure we got the trailer packed up at top speed so much so that we pulled out and on our way just after 8am having had breakfast and our showers etc.

We set Tom Tom for Esperance 186km away and said we would decide what we we would do when we arrived there. We had passed the WA Standard Time Meridian line and then the No 1 Rabbit Proof Fence which goes all the way up north. This has protected WA from the rabbits entering from the other states since it was built in the early 1900’s.

The rain started again soon after we had started and continued until we reached Esperance. It was also quite cold with the down to about 10 deg along with a very cold wind.

Needless to say we decided that we would drive around the 40km circuit that would take us past some of the best beaches in Australia. In fact Twilight beach was voted the best beach in 2007. They did look good though the seas were very rough and windswept.

In the summer they would be magnificent as would all the other tourist attractions and activities that can be enjoyed here. Not for us though or in fact it seems anybody else as the caravan parks were quite empty and there weren’t many tourists around. The warmer weather and better conditions were forecasted for the coming weekend which is also the start of the WA school holidays.

We finished our drive,visited the tourist centre and then drove on to Norseman. The rain stayed with us until we arrived at Norseman 207km north stopping only at Salmon Gums to refuel. Here they were ecstatic that they were getting some good soaking rain which they said they needed very badly.

We checked in at the caravan park and sat in the car until the rain eased off so we could put up the trailer which we were able to do in one of the rain breaks.

The weather forecast for the next week is clearing showers and sunny breaks with the temp expected to reach the low 20’s. Lets hope so because tomorrow we are heading for Kalgoorlie where we intend to stay for a few days before coming back down to Norseman and then heading east across the Nullarbor to Adelaide.

On the circuit we drove past the pink lake which was no longer pink as the rain and freshwater had cleared all the alga which causes it to go pink

20th September- On to Wave Rock and beyond.

2009-09-21T06:22:00.001-07:00

Quite a cold night however we didn’t have any rain. We learnt that west of Katanning the rain fall was far less than on the SW of WA.

Lake Grace is a wheatbelt town with a population of about 650 people and has a very large commercial centre.It got its name form the two large interconnected north and south salt lakes 8 km west of the town making up the lake system and is 50.5km long and up to 7.25km wide. www.lakegrace.wa.gov.

As we drove on we passed some of the wheat silos and the many acres of wheat fields along with the canola. We were heading for Hyden and the Wave rock which is located near by.

Wave rock is a very popular tourist site with a caravan park and resort there to cater for the many visitors that it attracts. We were only going to stop long enough to have our lunch and walk over the top and around the rock which in fact took us a good couple of hours by the time we had finished.

Wave rock is 15 metres high and 110 metres long and its rounded like shape has been caused by weathering and water erosion which has undercut the base and left a rounded overhang.

Here is Hippos Yawn

Hippos Yawn consists of an unusually shaped granite tor that was formally part of the crop.This is second most visited site and is connected by a walking track from Wave rock with interpretive sites located along the route explaining about the landscape.

We were lucky that the rain had held off whilst we had been out walking on the rock, however it was a bit cooler than we had expected.

Time to make tracks for Ravensthorpe about 180 km SE where we were stopping for the night. It just started to rain very lightly as we set off along some very long straight roads with very few cars travelling along it, so we had a very good run except for some minor road works where we had some speed restrictions.

The country side was planted with fields of wheat, barley, oats and canola, as we were still passing through the wheatbelt, however here the dams were not as full and it all looked much drier than where we had being driving through a few days before when we were further west.

www.ravensthorpe.wa.gov.au www.railtrails.org.au

Saturday 19th September-Leaving Margaret River

2009-09-21T06:18:00.001-07:00

Thankfully it was not raining as we packed up our little camper to start our journey eastwards heading for our home state. We have now been away for nearly four months and probably still have another month before we actually get home. However we are still enjoying ourselves though we don’t like the cooler weather and of course the constant rain that we seem to have been having for the last few weeks.

We had to go south on the Bissell Hwy passing some more of the vineyards on the way until we reached Karridale where we turned east and headed for Nannup. Here the country side was very green with the dams full and the crops looking very healthy. Cattle and sheep grazing country interspersed with acres of canola, wheat along with other crops growing in abundance. WA is expecting a bumper grain harvest this year which no doubt will be the best for many years.

Pressing on for Bridgetown we drove for many km through the rain squalls passing along side the Great Southern Plantations of trees which in time will be logged. We saw evidence of recently logged areas being cleared and made ready for the replanting and the process starting all again under the renewable forestry timber logging plan.

As we neared Bridgetown we drove along side a most magnificent Blackwood river which was full and gushing as it cut its way through the trees and fields. Here the country side is most appealing and the many tracks and walks that are posted shows its popularity with hikers and campers. The town of Bridgetown was another great discovery looking very much like a southern highland town in NSW such as Bowral. Cafes offering log fires and hot soup, restaurants , arts and crafts, and the general shops of a small town. With many people milling around it looked like it was a very popular place to day visit or stay in one of the many small hotels that we passed and of course the caravan park.

We headed on for Lake Grace which was to be our stopping off place for the night. We drove through Kojonup, Broomehill, Gnowangerup and then on through Pingrup to Lake Grace. This route took us through cultivated fields, cattle and sheep grazing country, more tree plantations and uncleared scrub land and finally the lakes areas and the salt pans.

Our stop was a small caravan park which just had a few sites occupied so we didn’t have any trouble finding a spot. Having set up for the night we ventured off for a walk into the small town that consisted of an IGA, Bank and some government offices and of course a pub which we stopped of and had a drink before making our way back to the caravan whilst watching a very beautiful sunset dipping below the fields in the distance.

18th September Margaret River.

2009-09-21T06:08:00.001-07:00

After a night of wind and rain the morning sun came as a bit of a surprise. Still quite cool with the temp around 12 degs,however we made sure we had our raincoats and headed off in the car to do some exploring. We drove up up to Dunsborough stopping off for a walk to the mouth of the Margaret River.

Here we had to battle some strong wind gusts as we walked along the cliff and down to the river side.

On to Gracetown and to the beach where we walked up along the cliff top and came across the memorial to the nine people who had been killed by the cliff collapse back in 1996. The tragedy occurred when the local primary school was holding a surfing carnival and some of the family and friends were sheltering from a rain squall on the beach under the cliff when it collapsed and buried them .

The one and only survivor was found after two hours of digging.We were very moved by the memorial that had been erected to the memory of those lost.

We watched the kite surfers skimming across the rough seas as we headed back down to the car to drive up to Meelup beach where we had our lunch of bread rolls and some venison bought from the local farm along the way.This is a beautiful beach and on a summers days we imagined it would be very popular place for the family as it safe and protected from the wind. Alas today was cool with constant showers which we had to shelter from every now and again.

We visited the Ngilgi caves at Yallingup one of 300 hundred caves in the Geographe and Margaret River wine region between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin. We didn’t venture too far as the tours would have taken too long and we had more places to visit.

It was back down the Caves Road where most of the 100 vineyards are situated. We stopped off at a few of the cellar doors and purchased some wine from Clairault vineyard. www.clairaultwines.com.au

The vineyards looked most impressive, very green with many of the vines beginning to sprout some leaves.

It was then back to the town to buy some provisions for the start of our journey heading east and towards our home state to rejoin our family and friends. However we still have a good few weeks of travel and at least 4000 km before we get there though. So far we have covered 19500 km since leaving home on May 29th.

17th September Karrinyup to Margaret River

2009-09-21T06:00:00.001-07:00

Thankfully the rain eased off so we were able to finish closing up the trailer and start off for Margaret River.

We passed through some beautiful country side with rolling hills, big properties, horses, black/brown/white cattle, lamas, sheep and dams full of water.

Wildflowers in abundance with arum lilies in most of the waterways.

However it continued to rain with some very heavy falls which caused us to slow down and stop as the visibility was reduced to almost nil. Here they have been in a state of drought for the last seven years so of course the farmers are overjoyed with the rain.The water restrictions however are still in force though the dam levels have almost reached 50% which is nearly double what they were a few months ago.

Our route from Perth took us across country by passing Bunbury.We just missed the opening of the new 73 km highway which is due to be opened this Sunday 20th, which will cut off half an hour from the route we had to take.

As we listening to an interview with Thomas Kenneally on the radio he was talking about his new book Australians and a chapter on Captain Stirling and the massacre of the aboriginals in Pinjarra,which we happened to be driving through at the time and then passing Sterling's cottage. Quite a coincidence we thought.

When we arrived at the Margaret River Tourist Park it just started to rain again as we checked in. We found our site and waited for a break in the weather and then very quickly set up. Thankfully the rain eased off so when we had finished we decided to stretch our legs and go for a walk down the local high street. Well we got soaked, as no sooner had we started off the rain came gushing down. We had had enough so we headed back home and tried to dry off before settling down for the evening. After our dinner we tried to have a game of scrabble but we were both too tired so we called it a day and turned in, listening to the rain belting down every now and again along with some strong wind gusts.

The weather forecast for the next few days didn’t sound encouraging either.

14th-16th September – Perth

2009-09-16T06:39:00.001-07:00

Well since we have been here for the last few days we have visited Freemantle a couple of times so we could have a another look at the Maritime Museum and of course the markets. Unfortunately the weather hasn’t been good so we made use of the free CAT bus that runs around the town which gave us a good over view of the town.

We did much the same when we visited Perth using the 3 different CAT buses that run throughout the city, which are totally free. We used the buses and the train to get into the city from the caravan park which only cost us 3.30 for any bus or train on the day. Here the public transport is excellent and Sydney could certainly learn a thing or two about running a transport system.

In Perth we visited the Art Gallery of Western Australia which had a great exhibition of Ariel photos of Australia by the Dutch photographer Richard Woldendorp.

We drove up to the Perth Hills,visiting Kalamunda, though once again the weather was not favourable for walking around as the rain and cold was not too enjoyable.

On a bleak Tuesday afternoon we drove to the beach suburb Cottesloe to visit family friends for a cup of tea.

We move on down to Margaret River tomorrow and just hope that it will warm up and the sun shines.

Sunday 13th September Perth.

2009-09-13T06:43:00.003-07:00

Today the sun was shining though it was still a bit cool. Thankfully the wind wasn’t blowing like it has been.

We visited the Swan Valley to do some of the food and wine trail. With all the wineries being so close to the city it is a very popular place to visit,especially on a sunny spring day. www.swanvalley.com.au.

Among those that we visited were, Houghton's, Windy Creek Estate,Edgecombe Brothers,where we enjoyed a very pleasant lunch sitting in the garden and then on to Sittellas. Finishing off at the Chocolate Factory where we took advantage of sampling many of the products they produce.

After all that eating we drove on to Guildford a historic town where we did the town heritage walking trail. This was just what we needed having been eating and sitting for most of the day.

The weather stayed fine for us and we had a very enjoyable day in a very beautiful part of WA.

12th September Perth

2009-09-13T06:43:00.001-07:00

The wind eased off a bit in the morning and the sun broke through the grey clouds so we headed out for the city. Tommy took us into the centre where we drove around for awhile before continuing on to Freemantle for our morning coffee and walk around town.

Its pretty much as we remember it all, though there are of course new apartment blocks being built but thankfully they are preserving the main historic parts of Freemantle, having refrained from demolishing them as so many other places have done.However it appears as though the developers are trying to move in and build some kind of massive 5 storey building down by the wharf which has resulted in posters and flyers being handed out to rally support to stop it all from going ahead.

That was our Saturday.

Drive to Perth via Dalwallinu 10th September

2009-09-13T06:42:00.001-07:00

We pulled out of Geraldton having felt very lucky that the weather had been kind to us. Thankfully the wind had abated for a few days and the sun shone making it much warmer than we expected.

We decided to drive through the wildflower country www.wildflowercountry.com.au as we have read and heard so much about the wild flowers that are out about this time of the year. We headed for Mingenew www.mingenew.wa.gov.au which we were told was the best place to start. Unfortunately the sun wasn’t shinning however we were very impressed with country side which looked very green and the crops looked absolutely magnificent with the yellow of the canola glowing in the sun when it did come out from behind the clouds. After 6 years of drought the farmers must have smiles on their faces as the rain fall has been very good for them.

Back to the flower run. We were a bit disappointed with what we had seen so we drove on to Morawa where we had lunch and also went into the visitors bureau www.morawa.wa.gov.au Here we chatted with Paul who had put together a local map marked with all the locations of the best flowers and wreaths that we could see. So we set off on a wild drive around which took us over open railway crossings and along dirt roads into the back of beyond. We did see some great flowers however the wreaths evaded us and as the weather hadn’t improved that much we finally decided to make our way to our next stop as we like to be somewhere for the night before 4pm. So we set tom tom for Dalwallinu www.dalwallinu.wa.gov.au where there was a caravan park we could stay at. We arrived as the wind really started to blow and found that the place was almost full as most travellers had decided to pull off the road early as the weather had really turned nasty. We were able to have a site between some of the bigger caravans which would act as a bit of a wind break and give us some protection. We set up just before the rain started to belt down and in fact then continued on for most of the night. As this was the first heavy rain we had had since Tamworth we were anxious to see if we would be ok. We shouldn’t have been concerned as we stayed dry, maybe a little damp but otherwise we were very happy with the Jayco.

Geraldton 8-9th September (09.09.09)

2009-09-13T06:38:00.001-07:00

We we have been really lucky with the weather. Where as the wind had been blowing quite strongly before we arrived, for us it has just been a gentle breeze which has meant that we have had a couple of very pleasant warm days with just a smattering of rain only occurring during the night.

During our time here we have visited most of the main attractions. Fishermans Wharf, Separation Point Lookout,and the Geraldton Regional Art Gallery which is located in the old town hall building. Here we viewed the Doug Moran portraiture entries and the supporting photographic competition which is in its second year.

We couldn’t go past visiting the old historic gaol,(1858) located next door to the Visitors centre. They now run a local art and craft shop and display there.

St.Francis Xavier Cathedral we though was also worth a visit,though we didn’t think we would see anything that surpasses the great churches and cathedrals we saw in France. However it had its charm and is credited as being one of the masterpieces of John Hawes who before joining the priesthood was an architect.

We checked out the IRIS sundial opposite the Cathedral, which was quite unique,though it did take us some time to work it all out.

It was then a drive back out to visit the Hampton Arms Inn, Greenough,which we found was closed the other day.We chatted to the owner who had been there for the last 27 years and during this time has established a business dealing in rare and out of print books. They also a run a B & B offering an opportunity to stay in a hundred year old converted shearing shed, all located in a rural and historical setting. www.hamptonarms.com.au

Not far from here we could see the Alinta Wind Farm and some of its 54 turbines twirling away in the distance.

We walked along the 7 km path from the sand dunes to the Chapman river that goes all along the foreshore and passes through the towns newly opened (Oct O8) beachfront. Work is still in progress here with many new apartments being built along the marina frontage with most of them already having been sold off the plan.

Tomorrow we leave and head south to Dongara to pick up the wildflower trail.

11th September on to Perth

2009-09-13T06:31:00.001-07:00

We slept quite well only being woken every now and again by the wind and the sound of heavy rain, had our breakfast and managed to put the Jayco down after we had wiped what we could to try and dry the canvas. We knew it wasn’t going to be packed up for too long as we only had a couple of hundred km to drive before we would be at the next caravan park .

The rain eased and we set off and once again we enjoyed some of the wildflowers ,but what really impressed us again was the luscious country side with the crops looking just great with acres and acres of fields, as far as the eye could see on both sides of the road,all looking very green or a golden yellow. This, is all land under cultivation with just a few fields with cattle and sheep grazing.

As we came closer to the outskirts of Perth the number of new housing estates that have been built are prolific,they seem to back on to each other, also there are so many sites that have been, or are being cleared with subdivisions in place and ready and waiting for the new homes to be built . The great thing about it all is that they have put the infrastructure into place ( unlike NSW) with excellent trains and divided dual highways criss crossing the suburbs. It also appears that each suburb has a huge shopping centre with Woolies and Coles and many of the other majors to cater for these estates.

However in the papers it was saying that this is still a rapidly growing city and that Perth’s population is expected to to exceed 3 million people by 2050 and that an additional 700,000 more homes will be needed which is double the infrastructure that is currently in place and fortunately unlike many other cities in Australia this city is not yet out of control, however, they must plan and discuss for its future.

Tom Tom had been set and continued to take us along the motorways and roads right to where we wanted to be. We have really come to rely on Tommy and sometimes wonder how we would have managed managed without it

It was a good thing that we had called ahead a few days beforehand for a site, as they were completely booked out. We set up on our powered site and were able to have everything in place before the wind and rain started up again. www.kwr.net.au

Tomorrow we’ll have a drive around and go into Perth to check the place out.

Geraldton 7th September – Population 33,000

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First of all Happy Birthday to Danielle. Sorry we weren’t able to be with you to help celebrate the day. We were thinking of you though.

After all the domestics were completed like the washing etc we set off for the HMAS Sydney Memorial which has been built on what was once just a sand hill. Here are the names of everyone of the

645 sailors that lost their lives on that fateful day in November 1941 just of Shark Bay whilst engaging the German raider the Kormoran. There are many tributes to the Sydney up and down this coast and although its final resting place on the ocean bed has been located there is still disbelief that there was not one survivor from the ship and

that there are many questions about it all that still need to be answered, however most believe that the events that lead to its loss will remain a mystery for ever.

After lunch it was on to the Museum where we learnt about the numerous shipwrecks in the area and the tragic story of the Batavia shipwreck and mutiny in 1629 and of the Zeewijk in 1727. This very well presented museum is well worth a visit and we spent a good few hours looking around it and still didn’t see it all.

We then headed out to Greenough 25 km south of Geraldton which is a historic settlement that has been recognised as tremendous heritage value and has been extensively worked on preserving it. We walked around the eleven buildings dating back to the 1880’s and of its history and the people that lived there until the 1950’s, after which in fell into disrepair until the 1970’s when the National Trust started to preserve the buildings with the work still continuing.

We visited the Hampton Arms but we found it closed on Mondays.

We also were also fascinated by the leaning trees , a result of the wind that is constantly blowing.

(However today it was very calm.)

Tomorrow we explore further.

Kalbarri to Geraldton-6th September

2009-09-07T06:25:00.001-07:00

We departed Kalbarri this once quiet fishing village and now a popular tourist and holiday spot and headed for Geraldton. We went off the main highway about 84 km south and drove into Port Gregory a picturesque fishing village that boasted clean safe beaches for bathers and a natural harbour surrounded by a 5km exposed reef ,a large jetty and a water-ski area. Here we stopped for our morning coffee and chatted to one of the local fisherwomen who was checking out the conditions. Plenty of good fishing outside of the reef and the crayfish were the go, however she said said it wasn’t the season right now. We looked out to the deep blue ocean and once again saw the whales blowing as they made their along the coast.

We drove on past the pink lake so called because of the bacteria grown in it which makes it glow as the sun sinks changing it from a mauve or pink to a darker purple. On to Northampton 52 km north of Geraldton which we read was one of the oldest settlements outside of Perth.In 1993 it was classified by the National Trust as a ‘Historic Town’.Today it incorporates agriculture, horticulture crayfishing and tourism.

Here we ate our lunch in the park having walked down the main street checking out the buildings and the old convent which is now a B & B.

We took a detour through Nabawa and then on to into Geraldton where we found the Tarcoola Caravan Park ,situated along the beach front and just 5 km south of the main town.

Having set up we drove into town to visit the Tourist Information Bureau to pick up all the pamphlets for seeing and what to do for the three days we will spend here.

Saturday 5th September – Kalbarri

2009-09-05T06:50:00.001-07:00

Last night it poured with rain for a couple of hours which is really the first that we have encountered since Tamworth in NSW which was when we first set off in May.

In the morning it was about 12 deg ,cloudy and windy, however we decided that as it had started to clear up and with the sky turning blue we would head off to the Kalbarri National Park and have a look at the gorges and the Murchison River

some of the roadside scenery

About11 km north out of town we turned off onto a dirt road to enter the park. We showed our seniors card and paid up the $5 and then drove for another 20 km to the gorge .

Here the key attraction was Natures Window a natural rock arch that superbly frames the upstream view. We only had to walk 400 metres from the car park for this, however we could have continued on and walked the 8km loop walk trail which would have taken us a couple of hours.Since we were not prepared with our sturdy boots and adequate drinking water we decided to give it a miss.

It was also starting to rain! Perhaps next time if we find ourselves this way again. We then drove on for another 6km to view the Z bend where we saw some of the most breathtaking scenery where the gorge plunges 150 metres to the river below.

With the weather not really being on our side and not use to the cooler winds we hopped back into the car and headed back into town stopping off for lunch back at our little home.

It was then time to have another look at the Rainbow Jungle which they say is regarded as Australia’s most beautiful parrot habitat.We wandered around and recalled our previous visit about 15 years ago and noted some of the changes that they had made with some additional enclosures.

www.rainbowjunglekalbarri.com

The gardens were very well laid out with water ponds and paved walkways winding through the enclosures

The Kalbarri Coastal Cliffs

We then headed out south to see some of the views from the coastal cliffs. We went to them all from Blue Holes and down the coast to Eagle Gorge. It was very windy however we braved those and were rewarded not only with some great views but also the sight of whales making their way north just a off the shore line. With there breaching and blowing.

There out there somewhere! (the whales)

With the sunset we went down to the local fish and chip shop which is well known for its excellent locally caught fish and headed back home for our evening meal and of course to catch up with the Manly game from Sydney over the ABC on the net and talk to Michael Q over Skype.

Tomorrow we head fro Geraldton where we intend to stay for a few days before heading off inland to drive the wildflower trail as we make our way down to Perth. Lets hope the weather warms up a bit as we aren’t use to all this rain and the cool temps.

Friday 4th September 2009

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Leaving Denmark for 343 km heading south

It was time to pack up and leave Denham for Kalbarri

However before we finally left this beautiful part of WA we still wanted to see a couple of places on our way out on Shark Bay Road. After 40 km our first stop was at Shell Beach which comprises of countless millions of tiny shells. Here the shell build up is 25-30 feet deep. Once upon a time cars were allowed to be driven on the beach but now it is all protected and the shell cannot be removed or driven on. There is some commercial mining in another area that provides shell for pathways, poultry feed additives and making of some building blocks to replace some of those in heritage buildings that were constructed many years ago. (Unfortunately my camera battery had discharged and I was unable to take any photos.)

We then drove on to see the Stromatolites at Hamelin Bay. Click on the name and you can read all about them and see the photos of the board walk that we went out on to view them. When we visited the tide was out but we were still able to appreciate the significance of these living microbes. We also took the opportunity to visit the old telegraph station here and read of the history of the area when it was used as a sheep station and the wool was carted out in to the pool put on to lighters , taken out to the deeper water and then on to ships that transported it down to Perth to the markets. We had our packed lunch and continued on our journey. Much of this area namely Dirk Hartog Island,Peron Peninsula and the Nanga Station have all been purchased by the government so it can all be returned to its natural state and also be protected for future generations to enjoy. They are also reintroducing much of the wild life that has been decimated by the feral cats and foxes which they are currently baiting and trapping.

We turned onto the North West Coastal Highway after driving along a mostly low flat scrubland until we approached the Murchison River when it appeared as though we had entered another country. This pastoral land had been cleared and was well cultivated, it all looked very green and hilly and the abundance of the wildflowers truly made it look quite stunning. We were constantly amazed at the beautiful scenery and colour and found it all so contrary to what we had been experiencing over the last couple of months.

We continued on admiring the carpet of wildflowers that some times was so prolific that it appeared as though snow or frost had appeared under the small wooded areas that had not been cleared. We both remarked how much it looked like the French countryside and even the green fields of England.

We turned on to the Ajana Kalbarri Road for the 65 km drive to the coast and the township. It wasn’t long before we entered the Kalbarri National Park and at the moment the country side reverted back to the scrubland and bushy trees. It all appeared as though it was returning to it natural state which has its own beautiful landscape and which we are looking forward to seeing.

We were lucky to have been able to check into the Murchison Caravan Park for two nights as they only had a couple of sites left. We found out that they and the other caravan parks were full every night as this area is extremely popular with the West Australians from down south who are escaping the cold weather there and there was also the general run of tourists and overseas visitors and of course many of those had come to see the wildflowers which WA is well known for at this time of the year.

Denham 3rd September Monkey Mia

2009-09-03T06:46:00.001-07:00

Today we continued out 23 km on the Shark Bay Road to Monkey Mia over on the east side of the Peron Peninsula. Here is where they hand feed the dolphins. We have been here before about 15 years ago and not much has changed over the years except that they now charge to enter the area.

To us it appears as though its just another grab for money using the excuse that its to pay for the protection and control of the dolphins that are in the bay. This is the only place, outside of a National park, that whilst on our trip around Australia that we have ever had to pay to go into an area to be able to walk on the beach or have a cup of coffee and something to eat. We were not impressed!

From here we went back for lunch and then drove out to the Eagle Bluff where a very impressive board walk had been built along the cliff top which enabled you to look down on the bay and out to see the bird life on Eagle Island.

Here the marine life can usually be seen but as the water temp was still quite cool we were not lucky enough to see much except for one small stingray. However the scenery was quite magnificent and when the water temp becomes warmer we’re sure it would be a great place to view the marine life.

Later that day I visited the the Discovery and Visitor Centre in Denham, a new building that was a full of the history of the area and why Shark Bay is World Heritage listed.

www.sharkbayinterpretivecentre.com.au

Wednesday 2nd September

2009-09-03T06:44:00.001-07:00

Carnarvon to Denham

The journey was much the same with little low bushes and very flat. We aw lots of feral goats which are causing a real problem with the damage they do to the environment . So much so that they have put into place a eradiation programme to try and reduce the numbers. Again a lot of dead wildlife though it was good to see a few emus roaming around. We turned off the North West Coastal Highway on to Shark Bay road for another 128 kms which took us into Denham. The road was very straight as we headed north once again and quite hilly as we passed through the heathland, with little flowering bushes and trees about 8-10 feet high. The wild flowers were out with shocking pink everlastings and flowering bushes.

DENHAM- Population 1,200 Name derived from Captain H. H.Denham who charted the whole bay in 1858.

We came into Denham and did a drive through along the beach front before turning about and pulling into the Blue Lagoon Caravan Park where we checked in for a two night stay.

Having set up we walked out and along the beach front stopping to chat to the fishermen who were just back from a days fishing and were in the process of gutting the fish they had caught.

Some of them have been coming up to Denham from May to Mid September for the last 15 or so years so they can fish and escape the winter down south.

Carnarvon 1st September

2009-09-01T06:37:00.001-07:00

We completed some of the domestics around the place such as the washing, sweeping and washing the floor before we headed out for a day of sightseeing.

First stop a drive out to see the blowhole at Quobba located 73kms north of Carnarvon. Here a powerful jet of water is forced with terrific pressure through a whole in the rock up to a height of 20 metres. It was a sunny day though there was a cool wind still blowing. However the scenery of the coast line being very rugged was quite stunning and of course very dangerous.

We walked along the cliff and down to a great beach which was protected by a coral beach which contained tropical fish and hundreds of oyster shells.

We drove out along the cliff top on a dirt road to see the HMAS Sydney Cairn.

From here it was up to the light house and then back to Carnarvon to have a look at the OTC Dish which was opened in 1966 and used when in participated in the space race to put a man on the moon.

The station closed in 1987 after assisting in tracking Halley’s Comet. Here we also had a terrific view of the town and the surrounding area.

Memorial Drive

We then drove along the HMAS Sydney memorial drive where there were 645 trees and plaques dedicated to every Officer and Seaman lost.

We Drove over the Gascoyne river which is very wide but quite unusual in that the water sits unseen below the river bed in underground reserves protected from evaporation by the sand.The river does flow visibly after heavy rain inland which then filters through the river sand to the underground aquifers and from here the water is drawn for the town supply and the plantations.

We decided that we wouldn’t drive out to the Mt Augustus Nat Park which was 460 kms west of Carnarvon where the worlds largest monocline is, which is twice the size of Uluru.

Tomorrow we continue south and then up to Denham and a quick visit to Monkey Mia.

31st August Coral Bay to Carnarvon

2009-09-01T06:16:00.001-07:00

We packed up and departed Coral Bay, after fighting the for ever blowing wind as we tried to keep the awning from blowing away whilst we were rolling it up and set out for Carnarvon about an hour later which was 220 km south.

Coral Bay was a great place despite the wind and the fact that there is very little fresh water there.In fact it all has to come through the desalination plant built for the area. It is very limited and of course cars can’t be washed as it is only allowed to be used for drinking water. The power is supplied by 3 wind turbines that provides about 60% of the electricity used in the winter months and about 80% in the summer. The rest is provided through the grid.

As we headed on the country side was once again very flat. We saw what we believed to be wild goats on the roadside just after we passed through Minilya. The soil with very red with low scrub and small trees. We did notice that the wind had dropped quite significantly as we came inland a bit more. We didn’t see much of Lake Macleod as we passed by.Regrettably there was a great amount of road kill on the sides of the road with it mostly being kangaroos and some cattle as well however we did see the beginnings of some of the colourful wild flowers that are quite prolific in WA.this time of the year.

We stopped off at the road roadhouse and had our coffee before continuing on to Carnarvon where we pulled into the Norwesta Caravan Park reputedly labelled as the friendliest in town.

We crossed over the TROPIC OF CAPRICORN

CARNARVON – Population 9046 Known for its luxurious plantations of bananas and other tropical fruits all grown with the aid of water pumped out of the sand of the Gascoyne River.

Having set up we headed into town and the Tourist information bureau to pick up some ideas as where to go and places of interest in the area. We set on the one mile jetty where we went out to the end on a little train that they run for those that don’t want to walk it.

The sun was shinning but the wind was cold and as I had taken our jackets out of the car before we left we were feeling the sharp wind. We also looked around the local museum there and saw the life boat that brought some of the survivors ashore from the German Raider the Kormoran that sunk the HMAS Sydney II in 1941.

They were also running a video giving the story about the whole tragedy that cost the lives of 645, being every person onboard the Sydney.

HSK Kormoran Lifeboat

By now we were cold so we headed off to buy some fresh prawns and then the supermarket to stock up on our dwindling supplies to cover us for the next few days.

We made some calls and caught up on some emails after our feast and had an early night to have some rest and be ready for our sightseeing tomorrow.

Coral Bay 29th-30th August 2009

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The route taken so far on our trip around our island!

Currently at

CORAL BAY-

NINGALOO REEF (Great Photos here )

The journey so far- No longer are we Grey Nomads as we are now called recycled teenagers. Well maybe!

To date we have travelled 16,661 kms and estimate we are just over half way around. We intend to travel to Perth stopping off along the way and then continuing south, along the south coast and then on across the Nullarbor to Adelaide.

The last couple of days we have been taking time out in this very relaxed spot in the world. This small (town)? has a permanent population of only 150 during the season and even less in the summer as it just gets too hot with the temps up in the high 30’s – 40’s. Of course the population is bolstered by the number of travellers either in their caravans,tents,mobile homes or staying in the cabins or the small hotel. The developers have tried to build a massive resort in the vicinity but due to public protests and the government they were denied permission. However we expect it will happen one day!

Tomorrow we head off for Carnarvon and then to Denham so we can check out Monkey Mia once again. They say that the wild flowers are about to blossom very shortly with spring upon us and that Kalbarri is one of the best places to see them. We’re not sure yet if we’ll make the detour to see them there as we are sure to see them elsewhere.

A little friend came out to see us whilst we were on the beach.

Coral Bay. Friday 28th August 2009

2009-08-30T02:36:00.001-07:00

A very cool and overcast start to the day. We’re not use to these 12 deg starts. Thankfully by 9 am the clouds had cleared, the sun came out and it started to warm up.

We were deceived, the wind here in Coral Bay seems to never let up. Yesterday we had booked up for our glass bottom boat and snorkelling trip and they quite clearly stated there were no refunds! So at 11.45 we duly fronted up and I selected my snorkelling gear, mask,snorkel and flippers and we made our way down to the beach with a few other hardy souls. Thankfully the sun was shinning and when sitting on the right side of the boat in the sun we found it to be a lot more comfortable. We cruised around looking at the coral which at Ningaloo reef is hard coral so there is much less colour in comparison to the Barrier reef which is soft coral and much more colourful.

Then the time came when we made fast to the buoy and snorkelling instructions given, where we should swim, not to go behind the boat as we could end up floating off with the fast running tide and finally who would like a noodle to support them. I declined the noodle and then along with a few of the others we slowly slid into the choppy cool water. It was about 22deg and very clear with the cauliflower,stag horn and brain coral in abundance and along with numerous fish swimming around it was most enjoyable. All was ok until it was time to climb back onboard the boat, that was when the wind chill factor came into play, so it was a question of getting dry as quickly as possible and getting some warm clothes back on. The humour from the your Irish contingent that were also onboard helped to keep us all amused and we were soon feeling a lot better.We cruised around looking at more coral through the glass bottom when surprise surprise it was time to have another snorkel as we were now in a great spot for looking at the fish, especially the huge spangled emperors which are very tame.Not everyone took up the opportunity as it was still quite windy and cool, however I gave it another go until I started to shiver which I thought was a good time to get out and try and warm up again. It could have all been so much much better had the weather been warmer and the water less choppy. Never the less it was a good experience, however as the weather was much the same when we last visited here some 14 years ago we have come to believe that we would be unlikely to give it another chance any time in the near future.

Our home away from home.Not quite the same but the advantage is we can move when ever we want to! We just hitch it up and go!

Thursday 27th August – South to Coral Bay

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Still quite windy and about 22 deg with a few clouds in an otherwise clear blue sky.

We set off for the 180 km drive south which we would take our time over and stop off at some of the other sites that we wanted to visit.

Just south of the Town Centre there are some huge resort developments in progress.However one of the most impressive were the canals that were currently under construction with all the plots around them having being subdivided and staked out for sale. There were already one or two homes that had been built, but there must have been at least a couple of hundred still available, with many of the prime spots being the ones that will front on to the canal and will no doubt have its own boat pontoon. Already in place was a hotel resort and a marina, a new bridge walkway and with many other plans in place, that when its completed will be quite a development and no doubt the place to live in Exmouth!

Next was a stop off at the Kallis Prawn fisheries where we purchased some fish supplies that will help us get through the next few days.

From here we continued on to see the Krait Monument which was the actual spot that it left when it made for Singapore and had a successful mission sinking some 37ooo tons of enemy shipping before returning safely home again.

It was then miles of quite flat country side with straying cattle and emus . Regrettably the road kill was once again quite evident with the birds scattering off the road as we approached.

We were quite fascinated by the numerous termite mounds that seemed to stretch for miles across the country side.

After travelling 150 kms we arrived at Coral Bay just before noon and checked in to the Bayview Coral Bay Caravan Park just across from the beach.

CORAL BAY - Quote-“is situated just north of the Tropic of Capricorn and is one of the most beautiful holiday areas in WA.It is the southern gateway to the Ningaloo Reef, which forms a natural lagoon that runs for 80 kms 3-7 kms off shore, starting about 300 metres from the beach.”

We set up and after lunch booked in for our glass bottom and snorkelling boat trip for the next day and then headed for the beach where we enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon swimming off the beach and evading the huge speckled emperors that swim right up and around your legs, that they almost allow you to touch them. Of course they are protected and are this tame as they are hand fed at 3.30pm every day on the beach.

It was then time to catch up the blog and emails during the evening after having had a hot shower and a glass of wine with our dinner.

Exmouth 26th August

2009-08-27T06:37:00.001-07:00

Today we went off to explore the east coast of the cape and to view the different gorges further south. Heading out we looked in at the Town Beach and Pebble Beach and here we read that nearly the equivalent of 5oo truck loads of the pebbles had been removed over the years( for landscaping etc) so it was now protected and anyone caught removing them was liable for a heavy fine.

Further on we turned off onto a dirt track for the Shothole Canyon. What a surprise, after a few km we found ourselves driving through some magnificent gorges with the most incredible rock formations and canyons. At the end of the road we climbed up the footpath for a great view of the area.

We drove back out and then on to the Charles Knife Canyon Road which is about 23 km south of Exmouth. This road follows the original trail made by Charles Knife and Jack King in the 1950’s to what was regarded as an impossible access to the Cape Range Oil drilling site.

Here again there were some great views out across the range and the canyons which we found to be quite impressive.

After stopping off at looking out at all the viewing points and at the Charles Carter lookout we slowly made our way back down again and headed home to the caravan park for a late lunch.

We had decided that tomorrow we would head south to Coral Bay where we had phoned ahead to ensure that we could secure a site for a few days. This is where we will do our snorkelling and viewing the reef from a glass bottom boat and the option to hop over the side and get amongst the reef fish.

25th August Ningaloo Reef

2009-08-27T05:48:00.001-07:00

Today we wanted to see the reef,unfortunately though the weather was not the best with the southerly wind blowing quite strongly which wouldn’t be the best for snorkelling on Ningaloo Reef

The communications base

However we made our lunch and set off to explore the area and drive south to the National Park.We drove up to Bundegei Beach and the Harold Holt Naval Communication Station which is a joint Australian and USA government venture. It is a strictly prohibited area so we kept well clear and only took a few photos of it all before we thought we might be discovered and locked up! We went up to the Vlamingh Head Lighthouse ,where you can get a great view of the reef and then on heading south, past all the beaches, some of which we drove down the sand tracks to check out. With the wind blowing we didn’t see them at the best namely Hunters, Mauritius,Jims and Jansz Beaches.

However it was on to the Cape Range National Park and the Ningaloo Marine Park which are collectively known as the parks of the Coral Coast.They support a range of wild life habitats from the ocean reef. We saw emus, seabirds and the odd kangaroo. We stopped off at the Milyering Visitor Centre where we were advised that the best place to snorkel for the conditions was at Turquoise Bay, so we headed for there to have our lunch . Here we saw a few swimmers doing the drift snorkel where they entered the water with their noodles for buoyancy and basically drifted with the tide and wind over the reef for about 5oo mtrs. It all looked pretty good, however we decided to wait until the water wasn’t so choppy and would be a little clearer.

We continued on to Yardie Creek which is a far south as we were going which is about 90 km south of Exmouth.This is a spectacular gorge which boasts a great amount of birdlife and rock wallabies. We scanned the cliff faces and saw the birds but were unable to see the wallabies.

The start of the sand track down the Ningaloo Road on the west coastline to Coral Bay and the water crossing at the start that can sometimes be almost impossible to cross depending on the tides and weather etc.

It had been a long day so we started for home which was now a drive of about 120km until we could get back to our Jayco to have dinner and settle down for evening.

24th August 2009 Exmouth

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We left Giralia after a very swift pack up which we are getting quite good at now. The drive on to Exmouth along the Burkett Road was once again across some very flat country aptly named the Scrubby Range. We encountered straying cattle wandering all over the road and also a few sheep as the sides of the road were all unfenced. Obviously the wildlife must be quite abundant due to the sad sight of the recent road kill of kangaroos and other small animals from being struck by vehicles overnight. The massive kite eagles were gorging themselves along with the other usual birds that scavenge the road kill. The Minilya Exmouth Road is quite undulating with many places that are subjected to numerous floodway's which no doubt would cut access to the North West Cape at various times during the wet season.

We pulled into the Exmouth Visitors Centre to enquire about availability of spaces at the caravan parks and was surprised that there were plenty available at any of the parks. However there were no spaces available in the Cape Range National Park which are basically bush camps but are in the best position for the Ningaloo Reef.

Not Knowing too much about the different parks we just drove into the nearest one, the Ningaloo Caravan Park and booked up for a few days.

It didn’t take us too long to set up our site and then drive to the local shops to restock our supplies to last us for at least another week.

We sat down and planned that tomorrow we would drive up,around and down to the Cape Range National Park to check out the beaches and the snorkelling opportunities and of course the reef.

Sunday 23rd August 2009

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We set off from the Harding River Caravan park just before 9 am setting off for Exmouth or in that direction as we knew we couldn’t make it all the way.

The roads were once again were very good and most of the time very straight as they cut through the wide flat expanse as we passed along the edge of the Great Sandy Desert. With the odd cattle grazing beside the road we had to take care in case they decided to wander, we did see some beside the road which were quite bloated, lying with their legs up in the air, providing a feed for some very large eagles.

We knew we wouldn’t want to risk trying to get to Exmouth in one day as we weren’t sure whether we would find a place if we arrived late so we decided to stop at one of the stations for the night. At about 4pm we found the Giralia Station that took campers and some B & B’s.It was about 125 km south of Exmouth with a 4 km dirt road to get into it.

Checking in at the homestead we were shown a site under a shady tree and set up our trailer. Limited power was available for a few hours in the evening so we could make our dinner etc, though we can run on gas and batteries if need be and we carry all our own water.We joined a couple of other caravaners and later on a few other camper vans came in as well and during the evening a coach arrived with 17 campers who set up their tents and camp kitchen under the light of their gas lamps.

The Homestead

We chatted to the owner who invited us to have a look around at the shearing shed and the shearers quarters etc. It was all now in disuse as the whole station of 685000 hectares and some 70 km of beach front was sold in 2006 to the the National Parks and wildlife who had indicated that they would purchase it if they ever wanted to sell. He told us it had been in the family for 110 years and it had been a very hard decision to sell but as they had fallen on hard times running the sheep and cattle and the agreement was that they could still live in the homestead they thought it was a good decision.

They have been running B & B and have places for campers and caravans. We also checked out the landing strip which they have for the couple of small planes that they use along with the quad bikes and horses. The old shearing shed

The camp fire was lit and in the absence of any city lights the stars were magnificent. Its a great place and well worth a visit.

The gate to the dirt air strip

A great camp fire and a beautiful morning set up for breakfast before heading off once again for Exmouth.

Roebourne 21st August 2009

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Roebourne a population of 1400 and about 14kms from the coast on the Harding River is the oldest town on the NW coast of WA.You can read about its history on the link. We went to the old goal which is now the tourist bureau and looked through all the old buildings which had now all been beautifully restored with the help of local volunteers and the inmates from the local prison which is nearby.

We drove out to Point Samson and checked the port out which the previous evening we had seen at low tide and this time was at the maximum tide, which was over a range of nearly seven metres.

We enjoyed fish and chips as a special treat(cutting the batter off) and a nice cold beer before heading off to walk the beaches to see if we could find any different shells! We did like all the sturt desert pea which was meandering all over the sand.

We checked the local beach which a few people were using. It was then off heading in the direction of Roebourne and then stopping off at Cossack a historical town dating back to 1863 which had quite a history in its glory days until the pearling fleets moved up to Broome because the pearls had been exhausted and also when the gold rush subsided which had begun in 1887.In 1901 the population dropped to 166 and in 1910 the Municipality of Cossack was dissolved. By 1930 less than a dozen buildings remained the others being destroyed or dismantled and finally in 1950 the town was abandoned. However in 1979 restoration work was commenced and in 1991 the Heritage Council of WA took over its management and the restoration work continues to this day.It has now become a tourist destination along with some budget accommodation.

Then on to Wickham, which we just drove through and back through Roebourne and on to the caravan park

We did see this tree in Wickham which we thought was quite funny.However we now know where the witches hats come from!

Saturday 22nd August Trip to Millstream

2009-08-24T07:07:00.001-07:00

We decided to take a round trip passing through Karratha which was established in the 1960’s to serve the major local industrial projects such as Pilbara Iron,Dampier Salt and Woodside’s North West development. It has a population of about 13 thousand along with most of the governments departments being located in the town as well which serves the area.

It was then on to Millstream – Chichester National Park for which we had to obtain a special pass so as to be able to drive along the private roads which are managed by the mining companies. Before we received this we had to watch a video on the safety aspects of driving on dirt roads, meeting road trains and going over train crossings.

We have visited Millstream before and remember the homestead the palm trees and the oasis springs fed from the aquifer contained in the porous rocks which is fed by the Fortescue River. However we were quite shocked to see the damage that occurred to the palms and the walkway around the lily ponds from the cyclone floods that came through in 2006.

The homestead was still OK and we walked around and had a pleasant encounter with some of the local children who insisted that I should take their photo ,so I was happy to obliged.

We then went on to the Deep Reach pool on the Fortescue River where on our last visit we all had a swim. Its much the same as it was then, however this time we decided not to swim.

It was then on to Python Pool which was a walk along the dry river bed.

The drive into the park was about 150 kms which was half on bitumen and the other half on quite a good dirt road. The wild flowers and the landscape of the rolling Spinifex hills with the spectualar escarpments was truly quite impressive.

Again we encountered road works that were in progress as they repaired the water pipes that had recently burst from the excessive water pressure and also constructing a new floodway crossing.

Mulla Mulla growing on the side of the road.

In the distance we saw a train carrying iron ore from the mines to the port, that must have been at least 3 kms long being pulled by 3 huge diesel locomotives.

We continued on to Dampier where we encountered the road trains and other heavy vehicles driving to and thro from the mines and the ports.

As most of the wild life comes out at dusk, such as the Kangaroos we wanted to ensure that we wouldn’t be driving on the road so we pressed on to Roebourne and back to the caravan park after what had been a long warm day when the temp got up to 33deg. Thankfully the evening was much cooler.

Ships being loaded at Dampier.

Rocks that appear to bubbly out of the top of the hills right across the landscape.

Thursday 20th August.

2009-08-21T05:10:00.001-07:00

Time to Leave 80 mile Beach. What a great place, even better if you like fishing or shell collecting. We picked up quite a few but not as many as some people seemed to be gathering up. I’m not sure what they do with them all.

We headed off early, clearing the park by 8am heading for Port Headland as the first stopping off point to see where we wanted to spend the night. after we had visited the visitors bureau. It was a warm day with the temp getting up to a high of 34 deg C.

We set Tom Tom for Roebourne about 472 kms away down the great Northern Highway also called the Warlu Way. All much the same, the road was good and mostly straight,the landscape very flat all the until we were on the outskirts of Port Headland when there were rocky outcrops very reminiscent of Mount Isa. Extensive road works were in progress just south of Port Hedland which resulted us having to stop on numerous occasions.All this resulted in the car and trailer getting covered in red dirt. We passed a group of termite mounds that had all been capped with white hard hats which was quite amusing, there must have been about 15 of the them.

Port Headlands major change took place in the 1960’s with the development of of the iron ore deposits. Major expansion took place in 1965 with the population exploding from a mere 1200 people to 15000 nowadays. The port handled 100,000 tonnes of cargo in that year however today the port is one of the worlds largest in tonnage terms with over 70 million tonnes of product worth more than $3 billion shipped each year.

As we drove into the area we saw some of the largest salt piles and some of the longest trains ever at up to 5 kms long being pulled by 6 locomotives.

This is a mining town with everything geared towards the support of the mines and the hundreds of people that work in them. Everywhere you looked there we people walking around in their work gear of overalls and bright coloured safety vests. Nearly all the vehicles/utes were from the mines complete with the long whip ariels and red flags that they all seem to have. no doubt so they can be seen.

We found the tourist bureau and picked up whatever leaflets and information we didn’t already have then drove off to the park to have our ready made lunch before driving out and on to Roebourne.

We had already tried to get into a couple of places at Point Samson however we were unlucky as they were both full for the night so to cover ourselves we phoned ahead to the Harding River Caravan Park where we were able to get them them to hold a place for us.We will set up there for a few days and drive out to the places from there, we can cover Point Samson,Karratha and Dampier quite comfortably in a day and then we can set off heading for Exmouth.

It all worked out OK and we set everything up and had our dinner and settled down for the evening with a gentle breeze blowing and the temp down to a pleasant 24deg.

Eighty Mile Beach Wednesday 19th August.

2009-08-20T06:42:00.001-07:00

Eighty mile beach is a listed wetland and feeding ground for migratory birds. Each year millions of migratory shore birds arrive in Northern Australia from their breeding grounds in the Arctic Circle and as at Roebuck Bay in Broome they would have travelled between 10000 and 15ooo kilometres.Some of them might only have been hatched for a couple of months and Eighty Mile beach is rich in the food source that they require.

Without a Telstra G network phone we are totally out of communication with the outside world and with no Internet either we are unable to read our emails or send them.

Last night we decided we would stay another day so after checking in we headed off to the beach and was absolutely amazed at the sight of the number of people lining the beach fishing. They were as far as the eye could see from one end to the other. This explains why this place is so popular and so full with many people staying in the caravan park staying for weeks so they can fish. Here we did see them being caught in much greater numbers than any where else we had been. We walked the beach for a couple of kms checking out the catches that had been made and saw some great fish which we were told would make excellent eating. Unfortunately we weren’t offered any! We sat and watched the whales on the horizon breaching and blowing as they made their way down south.

After lunch we walked down to the market stalls that had been set up in the park, with fellow travellers selling their read books and watched videos etc, things they had made or items they had brought in for the market. We purchased a couple of books and another talking book to keep us amused on the long stretches of road that we will have to travel to get across the Nullarbor.

We then headed back to the beach for some walking and checking the shells that had been left from the high tide as it appeared to drain away into the distance.

Now have I got a sample of them all ?

It was time for evening nibbles, a couple of drinks and dinner before settling down for the night and making plans for our departure tomorrow morning when we head off to Roebourne or where ever we end up as we hadn’t decided for sure as we would visit the tourist bureau in Port Hedland to pick up some information.

Tuesday 18th August –Leaving Broome

2009-08-20T06:20:00.001-07:00

Well the day has finally arrived to leave. We feel quite sad at going but move on we must. We have really enjoyed our stay here and have said that we hope to return some day and maybe even visit the area in the wet season as it must be awesome to see the rivers flowing and to experience the steamy heat and the pouring rain.

Departure time is 10am and there are people lined up outside waiting to take our spot as nearly all the caravan parks are still full and will be so until at least the middle of September. Then they say that the parks can be full one day and then heading towards October empty out in a couple of weeks as everyone heads back down south again before the wet and cyclone season kicks in.

Our destination was Eighty Mile Beach about 330 kms to travel.From the turn off at Roebuck Roadhouse and heading south there really was not much to see. The country was just flat and mostly scrub/bush. We didn’t see much wildlife at all and practically no road kill. We thought this was probably due to the fact that they discourage anybody driving this Great Northern Road at night and we know that’s when most of the road kill occurs.We saw the flat salt plains in the distance that shimmered and looked like water but not much else. The roads are very good and very well maintained and very straight. Mostly we watched the fuel needle just going down and listened to the Pilbara ABC to keep us amused. We passed Anna Plains Station 240 kms out of Broome and saw some cattle by the roadside. By now we were really looking forward to reaching the Sandfire Roadhouse so we could maybe have a coffee and a walk about as this was the first and only place for fuel for 300 odd kms. Imagine how we felt that when we finally arrived to find that the only part remaining was the petrol pumps as the whole place had burnt to the ground in 2007. As no doubt they must get asked a thousand times what happened etc they had a notice board up saying that a new Roadhouse/restaurant/shop etc was currently being built in Perth and would be dismantled and transported up in October and reassembled in situ. So all that was left was the caravan park a few toilets and an old shipping container with a window in it so you could pay for your fuel and that was it!. We filled up as our tank was nearly empty though we do carry a spare 20ltrs just in case.

It was then another 50 kms for the turn off down to the caravan park which was a red dirt road for 10 kms.

As we turned onto it and drove over the cattle grid we saw on the side of the track the burnt out remains of what once must have been a large caravan. After we had checked in and parked the Jayco we were chatting to our new neighbours who told us that it had happened a couple of days ago and it seems that people must have been travelling with their frig operating on the gas system and the ignition must have sparked the fire. Anyhow ,whatever it was the caravan was totally destroyed and they were lucky that had been able to detach it from their car before that too would have caught fire. They were now with their friends for a couple of days before heading home early minus their caravan! We settled in and heard the bugle of the Viet Nam veterans having a memorial service to mark the 40 years since Long Tan. I was sorry we missed it as we still setting up at the time.

We walked down to the beach which was just over the sand dune to see that the tide was way out. It would have been at least a km to reach the water, as here the tidal range was still huge. That night we heard the crashing of waves when the tide came back in.

Eighty Mile beach is known for it shells so we walked quite a way looking for suitable ones that Beatrice wanted to collect and perhaps make something with.

We walked back with our pockets full to make dinner and have a game of scrabble under our battery lights as we were on an unpowered site.

Monday 17th August Broome.

2009-08-17T06:28:00.001-07:00

Once again we found ourselves in Coles, shopping for provisions and this time having to load the trolley up a bit more as we expect to be travelling through some more remote areas., especially if we can get into Millstream Nat Park. I’m getting quite good at looking at unit prices and being more price aware! However I’ll be quite happy to let Beatrice handle it all on her own again when we get back home.

Back at the caravan we packed our stores away and started to sort a few things out ready for hitting the road again.

As a last adventure we headed off to one of the beaches so Beatrice could pick up some more shells and coloured pieces of rock etc.

Finally we drove down on to Cable Beach for a last swim and some exercise before heading back to start our departure preparations.

On the way I picked up some cardboard to cover the back window of the car, taping it all down and then covering it with black plastic. This time when we are on the dirt roads I’ll feel a lot more confidant that if a stone flicks up again against the glass it will be protected and it will stay in one piece.

We took down the awnings and washed all the bat messing off it before rolling it up and putting it away in its cover and zipping it up and also took up our outside floor matting and cleaning that and packing it into its bag.

It all took us about an hour which is a great help as it will be less to do in the morning and also the the dew can be quite heavy overnight and we didn’t want to pack away damp awnings.

With all that could be done we had our showers and took ourselves off to Matso’s for dinner.

It was then enough time to write a few cards and catch up with the blog.

Sunday 16th August Broome

2009-08-17T05:53:00.001-07:00

Today for the first time the day started quite cloudy however it soon cleared to the usual clear blue sky and a warm 29 deg.

Having bought the Weekend Australian it was time to read the newspapers being a Sunday morning.

It was then time to visit Cable Beach, maybe for the last time to laze on the beach and have a swim. With the surf up a bit, it was also good to do some body surfing. A couple of hours passed very quickly and then it was time to return to have some lunch.

We finished up sitting on our chairs on our own beach front having afternoon tea and gazing out across the ocean at the yachts and the general activity of the keen anglers launching and retrieving their tinnies.

A great prawn pasta with a glass of red finished off our day along with catching up the blog and a game of cards.

Tomorrow we have to start clearing up in earnest as we have to vacate by 10 am on Tuesday so we’ll take down the awnings and pack them away as that usually takes up most of the time.

Saturday 15th August Broome

2009-08-17T05:51:00.001-07:00

Well we are now on the count down to saying farewell to Broome where we have been since the 28th July when we pulled in from Fitzroy Crossing which all now seems a long time ago.

Since being here at the caravan park we have seen many others come and go and have had many neighbours. We have had the snorer who really made the ground vibrate. We have never heard such a noise before and it caused us some concern as we believe it can result in breathing problems. When I asked his girlfriend how she managed to sleep through it all she amazed me by saying that she had become quite use to it and of course the evening drinks help her sleep well. She did admit that her partner suffered from sleep apnoea and would in future make him wear his breathing mask at night, which should fix it. True to her word we never heard another sound.We have had those people who seem to have a booming voice and can’t talk quietly,the couple that watch movies with ear pieces and continually laugh out loud and giggle. The crying children and the camper vans full of youthful overseas visitors. Not forgetting the caravans that have satellite TV and watch it with the volume at a level that we are almost in there with them except we can’t see the picture. Do you know how annoying those games show can be! We chatted to a young couple who have been travelling around Australia for the last 18 months getting work where they can. They were very happy as she had secured a nursing job at the local hospital and he as a mechanic at the scooter hire shop. Unfortunately they had also hired a scooter and came off it at a round about with Emma getting grazed quite badly and ending up back at the hospital where she had just had an interview. They didn’t think it would take long to heal and that she should still be able to start work in a couple of weeks time.

Though there are some upsides to it all because as I sit here every where is very quite except for the most beautiful singing and guitar playing that I have ever heard, just wafting across the park under the stars and the coolness of the evening. She truly has a great voice and in the darkness has gathered quite a crowd around her , as she sits by her camper van and the the flickering of her candle light.

We sat and read and started to tidy the place up as we seemed to have spread out a bit over the last few weeks.

Broome 13th-14th August 2009

2009-08-15T06:15:00.001-07:00

Thursday for us was a quiet day where we basically took time out and read our books sitting in the shade on our Town Beach enjoying the days warmth.

We did go into town in the morning to visit the Post Office and buy a few supplies.

In the evening we listened to the radio and had a game of Scrabble, our only regret being that we didn’t bring a dictionary with us to settle those debates you tend to have over some of the words that are attempted!!

Out Tawny Frog Mouth Owl put on a performance most of the night along with the bats that have made their home in the trees around us. We still managed to get a goods night rest though.

Friday 14th

We decided to drive out to Ecobeach about an hour away, 130 kms south of Broome, with only 12 kms of it on red dirt roads.

www.ecobeach.com.au

This wilderness resort has only just recently been reopened after being totally destroyed by a cyclone in 2000. It is now a very exclusive resort with a coastline of 15 kms of deserted beaches and rocky headlands.

We ventured out to check out the mini bungle bungles making sure that we weren’t going to be cut off by the rising tide,walking along the beach we waded through the rock pools ,picking up shells of all types and watching all the various creatures popping up out of the sand or scrambling across it. The Jabirus were in abundance along with the wading birds and others that we didn’t know the names of.

We watched the passengers from the luxury Karma IV sailing catamaran jumping out of the tender that had brought to the beach, some with great difficulty as not all of them looked that nimble. Most of them ended up getting wet up to their knees. They had sailed over from Broome which by sea is only 27 nautical miles away, however the crossing does take about 2.5 hours . After we had watched four boat loads being brought to shore we only hoped that they had prepared enough food for us all.

We needn’t have worried as when we finally had changed from our bathers we found ourselves a table in the shade where we could look out across the clear blue ocean as we enjoyed our share of the buffet.

I was tempted to have a swim in the pool but having eaten probably a little too much decided instead to enjoy the warm breeze sitting out on the deck under the shade of the sun sails, watching all the passengers getting wet as they waded out to the tender to take them back out to the catamaran.

We had a great time there, even if it did cost us a few extra dollars!

We set off for the drive back home which seemed to pass much quicker this time as we set the cruise control to 110 kph we seemed to just glide along the mostly deserted roads which had been really well maintained.

Feeling as though a bit of exercise was needed after indulging ourselves with all that food we detoured to Cable Beach to have a swim and to catch the sunset and watch the camels plodding along the beach; along with many others who had set up their tables and chairs enjoying their the drinks and nibbles.

Once again it had been a beautiful warm day and a glorious sunset.

Broome 11th –12th August 2009

2009-08-12T06:26:00.001-07:00

Well we are still here in Broome, in fact we are almost beginning to feel like locals, so much so that after we had attended a local get together of the “Save the Birds of Roebuck Bay” they wanted us to sign up and go on the mud flats to help them record the birds seen and their movements etc. It was a shame we had to decline! However it was very interesting and we enjoyed the new DVD they have put together showing how these waders fly a return trip to Siberia to breed and then returning to the Bay. That’s 12 thousand K non stop and the same again returning and 90% make it. We intend to go out to the bird observatory tomorrow to see some of our new friends once again. www.broomebirdobservatory.com

We have been going off road and driving and walking the cliffs and finding some of the way out beaches.

We also made our way down to the port again to catch the ORION just clearing the wharf after we we had heard on the UHF radio that they were trying to get a passenger down to her before she left. I hope she made it!

It was also interesting to see the road trains bringing truck loads of live cattle down to the wharf to be loaded on to the live cattle carrying ships.

We have checked out the Buddha temple just behind the Cable Beach Resort where you can have some peace and tranquillity and do some yoga classes.

Today we heard on the news that they had to shoot a 3.5 mtr crocodile that was in Dampier Creek which is not too far from the town beach, where we are and that they have their eye on another one that has been coming a little bit too close for comfort. We shall have to keep one eye open when we are swimming! Or may be two eyes open to be safe! and swim with other people near by to reduce the odds.

We also visited the Broome Historical Society Museum www.broomemuseum.org.au and spent some time reading all about the history of the place and chatting to the authors, the Normans, who wrote the book “A Pearling Masters Journey” which was all about his father and some of Broomes history, taking them 10 years to put it all together. www.pearlingmaster.com

We are very comfortable in our Jayco and are enjoying the down time by reading, walking,sightseeing, even some drawing and painting and of course meeting other travellers who all have a story to tell.

We haven’t watched TV since we left home ,except I did see some of the State of Origin and one Manly game, other than that we haven't really missed it.

We leave here on the 18th when we head off to one of the National Parks where we will spend some time, though it will be after we have visited 80 mile beach for a few days.

Its a warm 24degC evening, Beatrice is reading and our resident Tawny Frog Mouth (Owl) ? is making his usual call, non stop,all night……….We are now quite use to it and have been observing more and more of the bird life,especially the beautiful white breasted sea eagles and those on the mud flats.

The other day we were quite startled to have a small kangaroo jump past us as we sat outside having our lunch. Haven’t seen any since.

Almost forgot we also checked out the Broome Golf Course in case anybody might be interested in having a round or two.

Broome Golf Course

This is where the hovercraft go on and off from the beach

We feel as though we have almost become locals and have even been looking in the real estate windows! They have some magnificent houses here!

Broome 9th-10th August 2009

2009-08-10T05:22:00.001-07:00

We have spent our days walking the local beach looking

at all the creatures of the giant tides that pop their heads up in the mud flats as the tide recedes way out, with the range being for these days a low of 1.30 mts to a high of 9.10mts. Quite a change!

We are also enjoying the magnificent Cable beach where I’m able to do some body surfing and have a good swim between the flags so at least I know that there is a watch out for any stray crocs that might make their way up to this end of the beach.

Here we chatted to some of the local people who were net fishing and casting lines out.They were confident of catching a feed as one of them had started the fire on the beach for the cook up.

We even ventured out at dusk to catch the sunset and walk the mud flats

Broome Saturday 8th August 2009

2009-08-10T05:18:00.001-07:00

Roebuck Bay Caravan Park

We have been having such a great time and feeling so relaxed and in tune with Broome that we managed to wangle another week here and will now be leaving on the 18th August. Normally they only allow a two week stay as the spots are very much in demand with people queuing up outside the caravan park every morning waiting to see if there is a space for them. We were lucky!

Back to the supermarket to pick up some bread and milk etc and a trip to the fresh fish outlet to buy some Threadfin Salmon.which is thought to be even better that barramundi.

Walking around Chinatown the motor vehicle is supreme as all pedestrians have to give way to them and most of them are the big 4wd ones so you have to be really careful!

We set ourselves up in the right spot this evening to watch the moon rise at 7.41pm for the effect of the staircase to the moon. Once again the event had created quite a crowd but unfortunately we were all disappointed once again. The fires that were still burning further north had caused a giant smoke cloud along the horizon and by the time the moon had risen above that the effect had been lost. We had one more chance tomorrow but we didn’t think it would be much better as the fires were still burning.

A poor result for the Staircase to the Moon.

Broome Friday 7th August 2009

2009-08-07T17:56:00.001-07:00

Today we drove out to Redell Beach near the race course. The tide was still coming in however we were able to drive down on to the beach and park up on the sand. What a hive of activity we found here. On Wednesday it was Ladies Day at the races and this Saturday it’s the Broome Cup which is a very big event on the racing calendar.

So that's why we were lucky enough to see some of these magnificent horses having a swim and a roll in the soft warm sand before being carted off back to the stables no doubt for a good wash and brush down . They and the strappers looked as though they were thoroughly enjoying it all.

We were also quite concerned about a 4wd and trailer that had been left too close to the incoming tide and watched as the water started to envelope the trailer and then the car.

Thankfully some young guys on the beach were able to open the car up and with their 4wd pull it further up the beach, the owners oblivious to it all as no doubt they were still way out fishing. I hope they were able to thank the guys that saved their car as a half hour later it would have been up to the windows. At this stage we also had to back up the beach as the tide had almost reached our front wheels.

By now our attention was focused far out to the horizon where we saw some water spouts and huge splashes as a pod of whales were making their way along the coast line.Unfortunately too far out to get any photos with my snappy little camera.

As our attention was diverted with the whales a lot was happening on the beach some a little bit upsetting; for as we watching a family launch their boat, there was mum holding a little one and dad and friend backing the car down, and getting the boat off the trailer and another little girl,about 4 years old running around near them, when suddenly one of the guys next to us, along with his girlfriend started running and shouting stop! they had seen that the 4 year old had become trapped under the trailer at the waters edge. Luckily the wheels had not gone over her and they were able to pull her out from the sand and water, probably not aware of the danger she had been in as she didn’t cry. How the mother didn’t see her we just don’t know as she was standing right there. However these things can happening in a split second, luckily it all turned out to be alright and they continued to load up and go out on the boat.I’m sure they will be much more careful next time.

The kayaks tour came down and we watched as they were given instructions on how to paddle and get in and out of their kayak before being pulled out to the waters edge and launched into the calm turquoise water. They then paddled out of sight and around the point hopefully adequately covered in sunscreen as it was now getting quite hot.

It was back to our little home which we are now becoming quite use to, to have a shower and get ready to watch the moon rise giving the effect of a’ Staircase to the Moon”when the moons refection across the mud flats looks like steps. This is a well publicised event and can be best seen from the town beach , right where we are located. Hordes of people descended down on to the beach with their chairs,picnic rugs,drinks and eats to set up for the 6.41pm moon rise.

The park next to us had all the different food outlets doing a roaring trade and of course the stalls with the ice cream and the usual bric a brac and jewellery etc.

The time came and alas we were on the wrong side of the point,along with hundreds of others, as the moon rose far over, behind the small headland so we didn’t get to see the reflection on the sand. We decided not to walk round, as tomorrow it would be on again at 7.41pm and this time we will make sure that we will be in the right spot.

We sat down after quite an eventful day to enjoy our dinner sitting outside under our awning, eating our spaghetti dinner along with a few glasses of the finest Western Australian red, all under the glow of the candle lights.

Waiting for nightfall and the moon to rise over the ocean.

Broome Thursday 6th August 2009

2009-08-07T06:51:00.001-07:00

Today was meant to be a rest day. So we went into town to look at some of the places we hadn’t seen.

Walking through Chinatown we found a great gallery behind the open air cinema where we clambered up the stairs and into a photographic exhibition and multimedia display of Art in Nature. it was called Creatures of the Giant Tides. This was extraordinary photography being macro photographs of tiny mangrove tree snails which are the size of an average fingernail. Mostly taken right where we are staying in the tidal zone of Roebuck Bay. Check it out at www.gianttides.com.au

It was then on to see some aboriginal art- of Walka Putitja- Artworks from the Desert. See www.shortsgallery.com

It was an extremely hot day so we found ourselves in the Roey one of Broomes oldest pubs. www.roey.com.au Here a gentle mist of cool water is sprayed from numerous nozzles around the courtyard keeping everyone just that little bit cooler which we really enjoyed, along with a couple of the coldest beers in town.

Back to the caravan for lunch and a rest and then a walk to the museum ,which had closed for the day, so it was on to Matso’s which is a boutique brewery that makes some really exotic beers which we sampled most of, from a Monsoonal blonde wheat beer to a Chilli beer! Then having a couple of glasses before walking back to the caravan park to pick up the car so we could return for the curries that they are also well known for. We arrived back there too late at 7pm and found the place was booked out, so we gave it a miss and made our own. Perhaps we will try again another evening.

Broome 5th August 2009

2009-08-05T06:21:00.001-07:00

Today it was Ladies day at the Broome Turf Club about 5km out of town.

We pulled out our one set of “best’ clothes and took the opportunity to dress up! As we were looking for somewhere to sit in the shade we teamed up with another couple who were staying at the Cable Beach Club having flown up for a weeks holiday and hiring a 4wd to do some touring around on the dirt roads visiting Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing and a few of the other popular places. After chatting for awhile we discovered they hailed from Clareville and were both retired . We bet on a few of the races only staking a few dollars on each for a place, winning a first ,a second and a third in different races. Probably lost a few dollars in the end but it was all good fun and the weather was perfect.

We returned back to the caravan and shed our best togs for our less formal wear and went down to the beach and walked out on the mud flats as it was an extreme low tide. We estimated it must have been nearly a 1km to get to the water. As we walked back we watched the sun set in a ball of red as the sky was still filled with smoke from the bush fires still burning north of Broome.

Broome Tuesday 4th August 2009

2009-08-05T05:21:00.001-07:00

Another beautiful day though once again a cool start at 12 deg. Today we decided to drive down to Cable Beach and set up our sun shade and relax on the beach with our lunch and a few cool drinks.

First of all we stocked up at Woollies as we were starting to run low on supplies and we had to wait until the tide was running out so we could drive along the beach.

It was all very relaxing reading and having the occasional swim and a few body surfs in the very tame waves. However we did keep an eye out for crocs as the beach was closed a few days ago as one was sighted off shore.

In the evening we went to the cinema (Sun Pictures) under the stars and watched Samson and Delilah which we really could relate to as we have been driving through some of the areas that it was filmed in and have seen seen some of the lifestyle being portrayed ,that the aboriginals find themselves in. It was a very moving film and it deserved the applause it was given at the end by most of the audience.

Monday 3rd August Broome 2009

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Another beautiful day forecasted with a top of 29 deg. However the mornings are quite cold at 12 deg which is quite a shock to the system.

On our way out to Cable Beach we stopped off at the Japanese cemetery which is the resting place for some 900 Japanese divers who lost their lives during the pearling days. It was quite an awesome sight to see all the sandstone rocks hewn into headstones and inscribed in Japanese.

It was then on to Cable Beach where we headed to the north end as we were able to drive along the hard sand which we did for a couple of Kms before turning back. It would have been possible to have driven much further as the beach is 23 km long. however we just wanted to experience the sand driving which was all quite easy as the route was well defined as a result of the number of 4WD using it, mostly to go fishing along the beach.

We returned to the park and took our chairs and sat in the shade overlooking the beach. We were entertained by a 4WD that had been caught in the rising tide as the driver was launching his boat. He had obviously called for some help but after a few attempts of trying to pull him out the police finally arrived in a heavy 4wd and winched him free and out of the rising tide which by now had reached half way up his wheels. Here the tide rises very fast as there is a huge tidal range from under 1mtr up to 9mtrs.

In the evening we drove into China town and had a great Thai meal in a very popular restaurant which is renowned for its excellent food which we can concur with.

Cable Beach - Sunday 2nd August 2009

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Finished reading the Saturday papers then went off to Cable Beach for a cup of coffee before venturing down on to the pristine sand and into the 22deg turquoise clear clean water of the Indian Ocean where I enjoyed a very refreshing swim before doing some very tame body surfing with Beatrice complete with her sunglasses on as somehow she doesn’t get her hair wet!

A warm 28deg soon dried us off as we stretched out on the sand. It was just beautiful and we wish you could all have enjoyed it with us.

Broome Saturday 1st August 2009

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Being a Saturday meant that it was a market day so we headed off to the largest art and craft markets in the Kimberley held in the court house gardens every weekend.

It was quite a hot day and as usual the sun was beaming down as we looked around the hundred or so stalls of locally made jewellery, nick knacks, hats, beads clothing etc and of course the food stalls and best of all the ice cream stand where we purchased 2 mango cornets which were locally made and were delicious.

We must have spent a good couple of hours walking around and looking at everything on offer. I couldn’t resist temptation and purchased another hat as my old white one has almost had its day from the constant battering its been receiving over the last few months. Beatrice was very good and only had the ice cream.

We went back to have a look at the Pearl Luggers and read some of the history of the Pearling industry when Broome was a rip-roaring wild west town, with numerous boarding houses,gambling dens and brothels. The owners of the pearling fleets were Europeans,the shopkeepers mostly Chinese and the divers mostly Japanese and Aboriginal and the deck hands either Koepangers or Asiatics. In its heyday in the latter part of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th there were up to 400 pearling luggers operating and the population exceeded 4000 people.

Back at the caravan park we had our lunch and then walked the town beach from one end to the other looking at the shells,mangroves and the beautiful pindan cliffs right where we are located at the Roebuck Bay Caravan park.

Broome Friday 31st July

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We had decided that we would like to stay in Broome a little longer so as to enjoy the warmer weather and really have a good look around and to have a bit of a rest from constantly being on the go and putting the Jayco up and down every day when we on the move.

After checking with the office we were told we could extend provided we moved from our current location to another in the park as our place was really for buses and it was needed from Sunday onwards. So we reluctantly agreed and after we had been through the whole process of packing everything up to move we felt much happier in our new spot as it was much closer to the beach and under the shade of a couple of large trees. As a result we extended until August 11th which was the maximum they allow for casual bookings. We were happy with that as we had a good opportunity to have some down time and do some reading and painting and really have a good look around Broome and the surrounding area.

All this took us until about 2. 30pm after which we went for a walk into the park and towards the town. As we walked through Bedford Park we checked out the replica of a chest belonging to

William Dampier and the War Memorial honouring the dead with the names of the British, American and Dutch servicemen and civilians who lost their lives when a fleet of Japanese zeros made a daring air bombardment of Broome destroying sixteen Dutch flying boats anchored in Roebuck Bay, right where we are staying and where we can see the wrecks of some of the aircraft when it is a very low tide.
We walked on round to Matso’s brewery and the art gallery next door which we had a look at briefly. We will come back another day for a better look and to sample some of the locally made brew.
We had wandered some distance so we headed back to the caravan park for our evening drink and to prepare dinner.

BROOME Thursday 30th June 2009

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An early phone call to arrange our tour out to the Willie Creek Pearl Farm about an hour’s drive out of town.

We then ventured into town to stock up on our provisions which we have to do regularly as we don’t have much space on board Jayco for storage. Sometimes I feel as though we are doing a tour of all the supermarkets around Australia as we have been in that many.

We went back to camp to make our packed lunch and then headed out armed with our map as the pearl farm didn’t register on the Tom Tom.

It was a good hour’s drive heading north up the Cape Leveque road for 23 km which then turned into red dust for another 10km and then across the salt flats following red discs by the roadside until we arrived at the Willie Creek Pearl Farm.

www.williecreekpearls.com.au

We had made good progress the trip taking just under ¾ hour so we had a bit of time to eat our lunch and have a good drink of water before going out in the hot sun the temp being about 30 deg.

It was a most enjoyable couple of hours learning all about the anatomy of the oyster (not the ones we eat) and how they are seeded and farmed.

It was then into the tinnie where we were very much entertained by our guide whom I’m sure hailed from the east end of London. His humour was good along with all the

information about the creek (or estuary actually) and how the oyster shells are farmed. We then took off for a trip up the estuary where we were fortunate enough to see a couple of sharks in a feeding frenzy chasing a shoal of fish, and then as we entered one of the creeks we saw a very docile crocodile, they have named Gloria, just lazing under the sun on the sand under the mangroves.

She has been spotted going up to Cable Beach and as a result there is talk that she will be trapped and sent to one of the croc farms. With the beautiful birds, Kites, Egrets to name a couple that I can remember, it was great way to see them all in their natural environment. Our jovial cockney took great delight in telling all the wildest stories that he could conjure up about Crocs, sharks etc which highly amused everyone. It was back to the farm where we had some refreshments and an opportunity to visit the showroom.

An Oyster cleaning machine

It was back to the caravan park for our evening nibbles and drinks and preparing our evening meal.

Around and about Broome 29th July 2009

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BROOME- 140 kms N of Port Smith and 221 kms SW of Derby.Town Population 13717. However about 100000 tourists visit each year.

William Dampier being the first European to visit the shore in 1688 and named Roebuck Bay after his ship. It took another 200 years before before Broome was gazetted as a town and named after Governor of Western Australia at the time.

Of Course Broome is known for its pearls ever since they were first discovered in the mid 1800’s when the mother of pearl was used for buttons, knife handles, inlays etc etc. It wasn’t until 1952, when it was thought that the industry would die as a result of plastics and polyester being used, that the first cultured pearl farm began at Kuri Bay north of Broome. There are now many pearl farms near Broome and the industry is booming with countless shops and outlets making these unique gems into beautiful jewellery.

This morning we drove into Broome and had a look around Chinatown in the daylight. From what we can remember it has been really upgraded, with wider pavements, centre road angle parking and plants.

Had my haircut again by a young pommy guy who is travelling around Australia and has stopped off in Broome to earn some extra cash. Had a cup of coffee and was entertained by a great guitar and vocals by a local, looked at the bead shop etc etc.

It was then a drive to the port and a walk out on the jetty which is restricted at the end as it is a working port.

However we walked along it and chatted to all the hopeful people with their rods and lines looking for their evening meal. We haven’t ever seen anybody catch any fish of any reasonable size since we have been on our trip. They have been saying that it is very bad this year for fishing right across the top from Cairns to Broome. That hasn’t stopped them going out in their boats or standing for hours hoping that they might get lucky though. We have found the answer by stopping off at the nearby fish wholesaler to buy a couple of pieces of Red Emperor for our dinner. Probably not as much fun as catching it yourself but much easier and a lot quicker.

We then drove off to Gantheaume Point to see the Dinosaur Footprints which are more than 130 million years old and Anastasia’s Pool an almost perfectly rounded pool which was hand built by a former lighthouse keeper for his arthritic wife Anastasia. We were out of luck with the foot prints as they can only be seen at very low tides; however they have very thoughtfully made a concrete replica of some of the prints up on the rocks where they can be easily seen. (We have actually seen the real prints when we went out on a hovercraft when we were on our coach trip some years ago)

Back to the Jayco to have our lunch and then a trip to the famous Cable Beach Club

where Lord McAlpine spent up to $500 million putting Broome on the map and making it a tourist destination., which we couldn’t help agreeing with as it is a great place.

We ventured out onto Cable Beach which stretches for 22 km to see the camels and the rides being set up. With three lots of 16 camels going most of the time it is truly a favourite tourist attraction. Beatrice having had this experience on our previous trip we were just spectators.

This is a magnificent beach with pristine sand and gets its name from the communications cable that links Broome with Indonesia and the Indian Ocean is a a clear turquoise. It comes as no surprise as to why it has been named as as one of the top five beaches in the world.

He didn’t like me taking his photo!

The gathering of the crowds at Cable Beach for the sunset over the ocean were assembling as many set up their tables chairs and drinks to watch this daily event! We must admit it was good especially as it silhouetted the pearl luggers that were out on the sunset cruises.

Home and our fish dinner and a bottle of the local white wine chilled just right!

FITZROY CROSSING to BROOME 28th July

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We were not the first to leave but we all headed out in our various directions, our saviours from yesterday left without us being able to thank them again. We drove into the town and were amazed at the development that had occurred since in the last 18 years (?) as we filled up with fuel at the Shell Coles express using one of our 4cent coupons. Can’t remember any of this along with the new housing developments. (Lynn, wasn’t this the place we called tinsel town and were told about humbugging)

The roads were being worked on along many sections.

A great deal of burning off was also being carried out with small flames still licking along the roadside and plenty of smoke about.

Another 646 kms to go with a side trip up to

Derby for lunch and refuelling before continuing on to Broome. How this has changed! All new roads, roundabouts, housing estates and buildings. No more dirt roads here unless you head off onto the outlying areas. Derby has Tides up to 11 metres.

We stopped off at the visitor’s bureau to find a place to stay as we knew it was going to be hard. On checking the information board outside most places were already full with no powered sites available. However we queued up only to be told they don’t make phone calls to find spaces and that you just have to go round to them yourself to find out. Not -what we had been told in Derby by the visitor’s information there so she took pity on us and made a phone call and we were all set! We ended up at the town caravan park, Roebuck Bay with a guarantee of 5 days when we would have to vacate. We set up and went into Chinatown for something to eat as we were thought we would treat ourselves to a meal out after such a long day.

KUNUNURRA to FITZROY CROSSING 27th July

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Well it was time to leave Kununurra and start the final leg across the top to Broome a total of 1060 km that’s without any side trips. We would have to have a stop at Fitzroy Crossing.

We packed up quite early and were on the road by 8am. Kununurra a population of about 6000 nowadays was originally based on the cattle industry with vast stations one of them being the one million acre Durack homestead and property which is now deep under Lake Argyle when it was flooded in 1971 to form a storage reservoir and is the largest manmade lake in Australia. As we headed out we saw some great rock formations (the Durack Ranges) and kilometres of flat terrain with scattered bush

Boabs in all shapes and sizes and here many of the rivers with some water in them which unusual as most are completely dried up by now until the start of the wet in November. We skirted around the Argyle Diamond mine where entry was forbidden unless authorised (100% owned by Santos and the largest diamond mine in the world) and kept on and on. The roads are being extensively worked on with $230 million being spent building a new highway which resulted in numerous diversions for us along red dirt roads as they are being graded and relayed before the bitumen. The water crossings are being eliminated by the building of new bridges across the floodway’s and rivers that develop during the wet which normally make many sections of this highway impassable for many weeks. So there were many places we had to stop at control points and then only travel at 40 kph which slowed us down. We had a break at Warmun 196 kms south of Kununurra for fuel; here Slingair has a plane based for Bungle Bungle scenic flights. Carrying on for the next leg to Halls Creek it just went on and on running alongside vast cattle stations of thousands of acres such as Springvale, Alice Downs to name a couple. We stopped at Halls Creek to fill up with fuel and have our lunch and pressed on having missed the annual Rodeo which had been on the previous weekend. We passed the turn off for the Tanami track and pressed on to Fitzroy Crossing. Having previously visited these places we just wanted to keep going. Cruising along at 90 kph on roads that had been mostly been upgraded was endless. We couldn’t recall Fitzroy crossing when we arrived, however we stopped at the Fitzroy River Lodge Resort, a very upmarket place, we just parked in the overflow part of the caravan park as they were booked out. By night fall many other travellers had also joined us. Here what I had been dreading happened; as we were opening up the trailer the car just locked itself, with my keys inside and also our spare set. Unable to open the car we thought what next, when a couple sitting outside the trailer having a cup of tea came over and said no problem! And with that he went to his trailer and produced an old coil of rusty wire and a screw driver and with me holding the top part of the door open he pushed the wire through and opened the door just like that! We couldn’t thank him enough and thought how lucky we had been. He even took our spare key and securely attached it hidden under the car so if I was caught out again I would be OK. He had experienced the same problem and had done the same for himself. We invited them over for drinks but as it was his wife’s birthday they were off to the lodge for a special birthday dinner treat. We went to bed tired but happy that our car problem had been resolved so easily,thanks to Dean and Jackie.

TIMBER CREEK to KUNUNURRA 25th July 2009

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We checked out of Timber creek after quite a noisy night. Normally in a caravan park it’s like a morgue after 9.30pm or even earlier so it was quite unusual for us to hear a lot of people laughing, shouting and walking around the place at 1 am.

The drive with the Pinkerton Ranges to our north gave us some great vistas as we approached the Queensland border and the quarantine checkpoint.

Here we had to stop and have our details taken down and the car and trailer opened so it could be checked for any fruit,honey,seeds and plant material which can’t be taken into WA. After we were given the once over we were able to continue on our way in The Kimberley and Pilbara Region of Australia’s Greta North West. www.australiasnorthwest.com

Our next stop was Lake Argyle and the Ord Dam. This is a hydro power plant and also is one of the greatest expanses of fresh water which is also used for recreational purposes. Crocodiles have been known to enter this river system, however they our quickly removed and relocated elsewhere or sent to the crocodile farms. We drove around and had our picnic lunch in the very well watered, green and shady park reserve that had been set aside for tourists.

We continued on to Kununurra with boab trees everywhere in all their shapes and sizes.

We wanted to check into the Hidden Valley Caravan park which we had heard was a good spot. However they were full up, so we headed off to the Big 4 Ivanhoe Village Resort where we managed to get a non-powered site for a couple of nights. Located right next to the camp kitchen and under a tree it all turned out to be pretty good. It had been a very warm day with the temp touching 35deg however it cooled down in the evening and after a few cold beers and a beautiful meal sitting outside the trailer along with our citronella candles and red wine it was all good.

We had to adjust our clocks back by another hour and a half so at 9.30pm we were tired as it was 11pm for us. We would have to adjust to the car lag.

DAY TRIP TO WYNDHAM Sunday 26th July

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After a good night’s sleep we woke up at the crack of dawn, well 5.45 am along with the other campers who were moving on and had already started to pack up. No us! So we had a leisurely breakfast and planned our day.

We decided to drive out to Wyndham about an hour’s drive on the Great Northern Hwy to Australia’s most northerly town, 3216 km NNE of Perth. It was gazetted in 1886 and has had a diverse history of the cattle industry and mining. Today it is a small frontier town of the Kimberley region that mainly relies on adventure seeking travellers who can take 4WD drives into the most remote and scenic parts of this vast region.

This was the area that they filmed a great deal of the film “Australia” starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, which was set in the Kimberley's

We had to be content to drive past the start of the Gibb River Road(4WD ONLY) past the salt plains and the road off to the boab prison tree, which we have visited some years ago, and on into Wyndham. Here we walked the town, which now mostly consists of derelict buildings with information boards in the front giving the history of its better days. As the Government in the late 1960’s decided to make Kununurra the main centre for the north it has brought the town to its knees. However cattle are still loaded here, being brought in by the road trains and minerals are also shipped out from the port.

We visited the local museum with all its past glory days on show with ageing and faded newspaper cuttings and the usual old hospital medical instruments, telephone exchange board and photos of past residents and how they survived and made a living.

As we started to walk back to the car we stopped and chatted to four local aboriginals, James who spoke beautiful English who introduced his brother and brother in law Clinton and Gregory to us after apologises for not having done so when we first started talking. He asked us our names and he told us about his community and how they still speak their own language and how proud they are of their race and of Australia. They are teaching the children about their history and the language and passing on the stories that have been told for many years. We saw they were carving boab pods with intricate detail of crocodiles and kangaroos and their own special markings. We were offered one for $80 which quickly went down to $40 however we didn’t think we could safely transport it for another 3 months so we declined the offer.

We headed out and stopped off to see the largest boab tree in captivity that is reported to be about 2000 years old.

Back on the road again we continued on until we reached the Grotto turn off and drove down for a couple of kms until we reached the hundred and forty steps we had to go down to reach the bottom. Climbing down vertical cliffs carry your lunch bag in 38 degs sounds a bit mad but we made it and it was a lot cooler down there. Unfortunately the water was covered in a film from the vegetation and with numerous goannas around and the water about 300ft deep we gave it a miss and ate our lunch before having to make the climb back up to the top.

With all this exercise and the heat exhaustion it was time to go back to camp for a rest and a cold beer, after all it was a Sunday, a day of rest and the temp had been up to 38 degs!and we had been out walking in it!!!! CRAZY!

Tomorrow we head off for Broome but will have to see how far we can make in one day, taking into account the roads and where we can spend the nights as we don’t travel in the dark.