Half way Day

Catch of the day at 1 Mile Jetty

Thursday 6th October, the day we reached Carnarvon, was the half way point of our trip.

We have been travelling in the Blunderbuss, towing the faithful old Jayco for 102 days. All of the kids are still alive, although it is touch and go some days. Dave and I are still talking to each other most of the time.

Some (more) travelling trivia for you:
Kilometres travelled ... 17180 (to Carnarvon)
Litres of petrol used ... 2163.5
Cost of said petrol ... $4386.50
Dearest petrol so far ... $2.14 per litre
Cheapest petrol so far ... $1.43 per litre
Number of loads of washing ... 28
Cost of all the washing ... $92
Number of teeth lost on trip ... 2 (Ella)
Tooth Fairy visits ... 2
Number of times the kids have done the dishes without whinging ... 1. Maybe 2
Near misses with Road Trains ... 1 - although every one scares the hell out of us
Music Rehearsals ... on-going
Average number of phone calls to organise a busking outing ... 5 and several emails as well
Busks so far ... 3 (Mindil x2, Carnavon)
Donations from busking ... $543
Unsuccessful attempts to busk ... 4
Number of times I have reversed the rig ... 0
Number of times I intend to reverse the rig ... 0

Highlights of the trip thus far:
Canoeing Katherine Gorge
Busking and ABC Radio in Darwin
Snorkelling at Ningaloo and Coral Bay
Ormiston Gorge
Uluru
Fishing
Charters Towers truckstop (kids)
Lowlights of the trip thus far:
Sandflies, mossies and flies
Hitting the roadkill roo and the live wallaby
The broken chassis
Charters Towers truckstop (Dave)
Long days in the vehicle with grumpy occupants
UHT milk (Lachlan!)
38 degrees
The sticky accordion key which meant Jackson was photographed with a pink ukulele for Australian Geographic!

Stay tuned ...

Snorkelling at Coral Bay

The remains of the jetty where MV Krait and Z Special Forces
departed on their mission to Singapore

Leaving Exmouth, we stopped to visit the cairn marking the departure point of Operation Jaywick, where MV Krait and the Z Special Force left for Singapore in 1943. There was not much left of the jetty but we enjoyed seeing where the Zed's slathered on their Helena Rubinstein makeup (Mid-brown, I believe!), popped on their sarongs and left to wreak havoc on the Japanese fleet in their small fishing boat!

Back out onto the "red road". I just don't know what those early settlers were thinking, taking a direct route through the vast plains and not following the coast! Coral Bay wasn't far and we were soon catching another glimpse of the Indian Ocean.

First glimpse of Coral Bay - WA School holidays!

The campground was full. It was packed. There were KIDS everywhere. Quite a shock to our systems as we have been enjoying our first ever holidays not aligned to school holidays! Grey nomads don't make nearly as much noise as families! It was really tight getting into our site - guys came running at the sound of our reversing beeper. At first I thought they were being friendly, but then I realised they wanted to make sure we didn't reverse into their fancy boats! Dave worked his usual reversing magic into the site and we set up quickly. The kids all know their set-up jobs now and if everyone is on the ball it doesn't take long.

We did a much-needed cleanup to get Ned's Camp out of the Blunderbuss and caravan before a walk along the windy beach.

The kids had a great time in the camp playground the next morning, along with all the other inmates. Dave took the kids snorkelling for a couple of hours as I had succumbed to a virus and was feeling horrible. They loved the snorkelling and said the coral was like a vegetable garden, but came back very cold due to the howling gale. Someone told us that WA stands for Windy Always and so far we would have to agree!

Porker-faced pair!

Things soon warmed up with a few games of Texas Hold'em Poker ... even Ella is in on the act now and is working on her "porker face"! Sometimes she forgets the names of the cards, but we all know what she means when she has "a pair of As".

Lachie woke us the next morning to tell us he was off to the playground. It was very early! After playground time, we wrote some postcards and got our gear ready to go snorkelling again. I wasn't feeling great, but didn't want to miss out on our last chance to snorkel at Coral Bay. The wind was a little less ferocious, thankfully, and we enjoyed a couple of hours at the bay. The fish were prolific and the coral was different again from Ningaloo. One patch was exactly like cabbages - I could see why the kids called it a veggie garden! More card games and poker rounded off the day.

Goodbye to Coral Bay

Lachlan was again up very early to get to the playground. He was begging us to stay another day to play some more there! However, there was still a lot more of WA to experience, so we packed up and after having morning tea overlooking the bay, left to travel to Carnarvon.
Stay tuned ...

Snorkelling at Ningaloo Reef

For Sale - Architecturally designed nest
with magnificent water views. Seamless
transition between inside and outside.
 Great reception.

After an interesting hour or so at the Information Centre we were threatened with mutiny if snorkelling was not immediately forthcoming, despite Dave relishing the reading aloud of the Dangerous Marine Creatures and Warnings list!

A short drive up to the aptly named Turquoise Bay and we were decked out in snorkels, goggles and flippers very quickly.

The stunning Turquoise Bay

Dave shows his true colours, with his
usual nod to high fashion!

Due to growth spurts, we found ourselves with snorkelling gear to fit Ella, Lachlan and Dave, but Marcus, Jackson and I all had to take turns with one set. The others all went first and came back buzzing. The water was clear, the fish amazingly abundant and varied and the coral was colourful. I couldn't wait to get in since I had missed out on seeing anything at Great Barrier. Lachie and I walked up the beach and out into the bay, where we drifted back over all the coral. WOW! Truly an experience worth waiting for! Lachie was like an excited Labrador puppy, and I was quite dizzy by the time we got back from all the "Mum! Look at this!" shouts. We saw parrot fish, beautifully coloured wrasse, moorfish, reef sharks, stingrays, turtles, crocodillie long toms, boxfish, cowfish, blue "antler" coral, "brain" coral ... and so much more. It was fantastic. It was windy and cold on the beach so we went back to camp, where the kids went straight into the sandhills to play while I made dinner. The boys were thrilled that we were in a showerless camp, and the fact that they were covered in sand bothered them not a jot.

Marcus counted 10 emu chicks

"I slept in the Great Sandy Desert last night" Lachie announced as he stepped out of the caravan the next morning. We all felt his pain! We took a drive into Exmouth to remedy the snorkel gear situation and get some groceries. On the way in we took a detour up to Vlaming Point Lighthouse, where we saw a pod of whales swim past the coast. We also saw an emu with lots of chicks from our vantage point and Marcus spotted them again as we joined the main road in time for a photo.

Talk about monsters from the deep!

We got snorkelled up again and did 2 more drift dives at Turquoise Bay, although this time all six of us could snorkel at the same time, which was great. It was really windy and cold, so we called it quits after the second dive and returned to the sandcastle and hole digging back at Ned's camp.

Marcus, never happier than when digging a hole, outdid himself here

Jackson is pretty pleased with his castle

Jackson and Marcus were up, breakfasted and on the beach before the rest of us were properly awake the next morning, Kings in Sand Castles. We went swimming before lunch at "our" beach while we waited for the high tide to snorkel again. The current was really strong, so after one speedy drift dive we called it a day. There is a gap in the reef and the current does its best to suck foolish snorkellers through it. Although we do have a satellite phone for emergencies, I don't think it is waterproof! The kids occupied themselves on the beach again until dark, which was great after being cooped up in the Blunderbuss for 15 000 kms!

"Mum! I saw a shark!"

On our last day at Cape Range, the kids were again up just after dawn to work on their creations on the beach. After a quiet, peaceful morning we got organised to go for our last snorkel. Jackson burnt his hand on a pot at lunchtime, so decided to stay back in camp with Dave and the packet of frozen peas. I took the others for our last experience of the amazing Ningaloo reef. It was just lovely, floating along, holding Ella's hand and marvelling at all the marine life. We did two dives before returning to camp where the kids disappeared - guess where! - and we tightened up the guy ropes as it was blowing a gale. The wind got worse overnight and no-one got much sleep with the tent threatening to take off - even though it was weighed down by Dave, me and the double bass! Lachie thought someone was punching the caravan and anxiously awaited dawn. Next morning Dave and I were completely covered in sand which had blown in through the fine netting on the tent.

Stay tuned ...

 

Port Hedland to Cape Range National Park

Salt piles awaiting export at Port Hedland

So to sum up my findings, I order you
to travel with more lollies

We made a quick getaway from Port Hedland and started the cheerless drive south. It was again frustrating to be covering vast tracts of land alongside spectacular coastline hidden from view by the endless plains of the Pilbara. Passing Whim Creek, we took its advice and drove off the highway to have morning tea by the ocean at Samson Point. It was a totally gorgeous little town on the beach and a lovely break from dry, red scenery. Nearby Cossack, the first port of the North West and a major pearling centre until the late 1800s was another worthwhile detour. The stone buildings still standing were lovely and we explored the social history museum in the courthouse. The place was empty, so we also had a couple of trials. The case of Jackson v. Ella came up under Judge Marcus, but the case was thrown out of court for lack of evidence. Judge Lachlan likewise threw the Marcus v. Dad case out with a stern warning against wasting travelling time.

This beautiful Cossack Courthouse was seldom used as
Cossack was deserted for the larger pearl shells of Broome
just after it was completed 

Dave, Jackson and I have been enjoying reading some local interest and historical books, while Lachlan and Ella read Harry Potter and Marcus seems determined to finish Captain W.E. Johns (or Wee Johns, as he calls him) entire ouvre. He became very excited driving along out of Roeburne, as Biggles was suddenly flying in Western Australia and mentioned Derby, Broome, Roeburne, Onslow and Cossack, all places we have just travelled through.

We have been looking forward to the famed wildflower displays and just south of Karratha we started seeing Kangaroo Paw and several other species, hopefully a foretaste of what is to come.

At the Robe River, we stopped for a Taste of the Pilbara picnic. It was very windy and everything we ate was coated in a fine layer of red Pilbara dust. At least our iron levels should be OK for a while. Pressing on, we relied on some iPod entertainment to quell the petulance as we raced towards Ningaloo before the WA school holidays started.

We had our scariest experience yet with a road train. With the sun getting low and the road very narrow, a truck suddenly started to overtake us. With no room to move Dave struggled to hold our line as the truck and trailers passed within arm's reach. It nearly added our rear vision mirror to its bullbars! We were very pleased to pull into a free camp shortly afterwards.



Marcus took this great sunset photo

We were determined to try to get to the National Park gates to try to get a camp spot on the beach, so 6:11 a.m. saw our best departure record yet! Any of you who know how long it takes to get us moving will be well impressed! All were on high alert for roos – we saw 9 - and then as we came through Exmouth Lachie spotted an Emu and chick. We made it to Cape Range National Park by 8:30 a.m. and were very dejected when we spotted the "CAMP GROUND FULL" sign. The Ranger cheered us up by announcing there was a spot for us and that she just hadn't turned the sign around yet. So it was six happy campers who were eating breakfast at Ned's Camp on the waterfront along the stunning Ningaloo Marine Park shortly thereafter.

Stay tuned ...

Broome to Port Hedland

Although we were all keen to stay longer in Broome, time was marching on and there was a huge state ahead of us! We drove off along the edge of the Great Sandy Desert, feeling refreshed after our Broome hiatus. It wasn’t long before the vicious wind was back punching into the front of the vehicle, causing me to drive whilst leaning on an angle. I could barely hear the accordion, mandolin, guitar and harmonica playing in the back over the rushing windsong. Driving through red savannah scrub became fairly monotonous, the scenery unrelieved all day by the gorgeous coastline which we knew was tantalisingly close over the plains. The road was certainly not designed with tourism in mind!

Searching for sand dollars at 80 Mile Beach

80 Mile Beach was the only camping spot within cooee, although the road looked none too inviting, so we turned off and drove extremely slowly over what seemed 80 miles of rough, red corrugations. We parked the van and went straight to the beach, where we were all excitedly collecting sand dollars (or mermaid’s money, depending upon where you are from) until dark.

Seagulls hover as they fly into a very strong wind

The beach was far too inviting to leave, so we packed up next morning and wandered along the beach, collecting another tonne of shells and things of interest. Lachie found a sinker and a triple hook rig which he happily stowed in the fishing bag. We bounced slowly back over the red road to the highway, where I took the wheel so Dave could sit in the back and rehearse some new songs with the kids. Lachie sat up front to keep me company but ended up keeping Harry Potter company instead. He is nearing the end of  book 7 and can’t keep his nose out of it. The crosswinds were vicious again and the drive to Port Hedland very stressful, with both the road trains and us drifting around in the wind. All passing and overtaking manoeuvres were teeth clenching moments. We finally arrived in Port Hedland where the scale of the salt industry and iron ore port operations were simply amazing. After finding a van park, we went further into town to have a very late lunch and book a tour at BHP. Our picnic spot overlooking the tidal flats was possibly the windiest spot in Australia. The shelter roof was humming and the seagulls hung in the air facing the wind. After amusing ourselves feeding seagulls on the wing, we counted 10 enormous ships lined up on the horizon awaiting their load of ore in port. We were disgusted to discover that the BHP tour was not running, due to WHS concerns about their bus. Damn. 

The port area lit up like a huge city skyline at dusk and was actually quite lovely. Few things in Port Hedland could be described as lovely! It is undoubtedly a city of heavy industry and is coated with iron ore dust.

Stay tuned ...

Marcus's birthday in Broome

A very happy 12 year old!

Our last day in Broome, September 25th, was Marcus's birthday. He was up early opening all Ella's little parcels, which included a lovely shell as a hard hat for his belly button! He was already more than half way through the Gimlet and Biggles books we bought him in Darwin. After a quick breakfast we headed down to the beach for birthday camel rides.

Rodney and his cargo

Marcus couldn't wipe the smile off his face as he and Dave got on to Rodney, followed by Ella and I on Zara and Jackson and Lachie on Horris. What a lurch! The camels have a curious gait as they move both legs on one side and then the other. We all had a curious gait when we got off after our camel walk along the beach! We intended to have a swim, but after the boys and I were stung by the red jellies, we joined Dave and Ella back on the beach.

Zara tries to convince us that camels get birthday carrots!

Celebrations continued with morning tea in town, where we stocked up with birthday dinner provisions. Dave, Marcus and Lachlan caught up on some World Cup highlights while Ella and Jackson did a stirling job cleaning the Blunderbuss and the caravan.

Cyclone force winds and showers in Broome

The birthday feast was complete with cake and candles (I found them!) and an older couple across the road came over to wish Marcus Happy Birthday with some chocolate bars for all the kids. We rounded off a lovely day with Cards by Candlelight (or lantern, more accurately) and some hotly contested games of Fish, Euchre and 500.

Stay tuned ...

I am having trouble posting this and I frustratedly quote the computer "An error occurred! Of course".
Ella asks "What's an American turd?"

Beautiful Beaches in Broome

There were hundreds of these red jellyfish

Our first day in Broome was a designated – and much needed – rest day. We did not drive anywhere at all. The kids cheered at that news! The day was spent peacefully reading and doing our own thing. Ella spent ages making presents for Marcus for his impending birthday, including drawing and colouring wombat (his favourite animal) wrapping paper. We ventured over to beautiful Cable Beach to go swimming. Red sand hills meet dazzling white beaches, lapped by the sparkling turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean - but the billions of bloody red jellyfish stung and we exited rapidly from the water! They miss that little addendum on the tourist brochures! However, the sunset was glorious over Cable Beach.

Next morning we went to have a look around Broome, following a stop at the information centre for a map. We visited the Japanese Cemetery where 919 pearl divers are interred, most of whom died from the bends. There were memorials to the hundreds of others lost at sea during storms and cyclones. We were relying on Jackson and Marcus to interpret the Japanese script on the headstones for us, but all they managed to recognise was a number 10 and pu (pronounced poo, and obviously the reason they remembered)!

Lachie's Dream Job!

Lachlan was keen to explore the jetty ("Can we go fishing now?" ... "How about later?") so we wandered out along the long and very high jetty. Ella was terrified as the walkway was open grid and we were up about 8 metres from the water.

Ella is not keen on the jetty!

We are considering these for the next
round of school shoes!

Next stop was The Pearl Luggers where we were given a comprehensive history of pearl diving in an air-conditioned museum. Both were enjoyed! Fascinating details of the divers' lives were illustrated with authentic articles including complete diving suits - woollen underwear, pee bottle (the suit took an age to put on, so bathroom breaks were performed inside the contraption!), rubberised suit, weighted boots, bell helmet and weights. Fully kitted up, the divers were carrying 150-200 kgs. The kids were excited to be able to try on most of the gear - they couldn't even walk in the boots!

We said don't come back without pearl!

I was excited to be chosen to model the $7500 pearl necklace for our group. Jackson kindly pointed out later that I was the only woman there under 75! Our guide also showed us a large pearl worth $100 000, which the kids weren't game to swallow (despite our urging!) as Jock told us what happened to the pearl divers who swallowed pearls. Suffice to say it would have been a long wait on the beach!

Two Pearlers!

On Saturday morning, we still had not had any reply from our busking enquiries, so we decided to walk along the beach instead. It was a lively 6 km walk out to the Gantheaume Point as on the beach we saw sea snakes, crabs and hundreds of red jellyfish. We had crab and snail races while Dave went back to get the van to drive around to see the lighthouse.

"Puhleese can we go fishing?" asked Lachie for the thousandth time. He had changed into camo shorts and a blue shirt so the fish couldn't see him! We went fishing to the deepwater port and its fantastic jetty. It was all very exciting as huge trevally and grouper were swimming in on the tide and creating havoc breaking fishing lines as we arrived. One guy told us that there was a grouper the size of his girlfriend's Rav-4 down there! Another reckoned that one caught there last year filled up the back of a ute and had its tail on the road. Tall tales and true! We soon had our new handreels wet and Ella and Marcus started fishing together. Dave observed that we were really just feeding the fish prawns as our bait kept disappearing with monotonous regularity. Suddenly it was action stations - Ella was calling for help and the boys all keenly helped her haul a huge fish up from the waters far below. As her fish was pulled out of the water, a metre long tuna rushed in to take a bite from it! She had caught a snub-nosed dart, which was the size of a dinner plate. One of the local fishermen was very impressed and told Ella that people drive for hundreds of miles to catch a fish like that. We didn't tell him that we've driven 14 000 kilometres!

Ella was quaking in terror on this jetty yesterday!

Ella had to call in some grunt to get the fish 7 m from the
water to the jetty!

So with dinner organised, we headed back to camp to cook it. We can assure you that snub-nosed darts are delicious!

Stay tuned ...