Carnarvon to Geraldton/Northampton - 18/09 to 10/10

18th September to ......

Moved from Carnarvon to Denham today. Denham is the main town in the region known as the "Shark Bay World Hertiage Region". There had been recent rain along the road south but the Rodeo has missed out on a much needed wash.

The vegetation beside road to Denham is very similar to Moreton Island.

Wind! Talk about wind! We drove into head winds from Carnarvon to Overland Roadhouse & then we got buffeted in the Caravan Park. We stayed in the smallest park in town & there was good room between vans & others there were friendly.

Went over to Monkey Mia to see the Dolphins & really only Tangalooma revisited except that it is on the other side of the country.

The power at Denham is generated by wind vanes with a back up generator, however the caravan park people said the cost of electricity & water was tripple what Perth residents would pay.

Interesting to note in many places the reference to French explorers in the 1700's & Denham has a plaque in one of the parks honoring some of these early visitors to our land.

From Denham to a camp area called "Nerren Nerren" but found that the gas fridge has thrown a wobbly. Out with the generator & instead of a leasurly trip to Northampton I hot footed it to Geraldton. Was lucky that the problem with the fridge was only minor (build up of carbon on the gas igniter) & fixed within an hour at a caravan repair place.

I plonked myself in Geraldton for a couple of days & then went back to Northampton for 5 days to stay with an old army mate. It was great to catch up with him & go through old photos etc plus have a look around the area.

Monday, the 29th

Back to Geraldton & now some time to look around the region including the HMAS Sydney Memorial. This is a most impressive monument & is built on a hill overlooking the City and the coastal area.

I got my vehicle serviced while here & cross fingers all was ok.

I was ready to move & lo & behold some rain so I've taken off on Friday (3rd October) & gone east to Mullewa & Pindar & then south to Tardun. The wildflowers are out but not as colourful as I had expected. I think I am a little too late. I'm not too late for the flies though they are as thick as!

I have managed to crack a window on my van in a free camp area so I've decided to head back to Geraldton to get it fixed.

I must have done something wrong as a few things have gone wrong here. The lock on the van collapsed & I had to drill it out (with the help of another camper) before I could get back in the van. Luckily I was able to buy a replacement lock at a caravan spare part shop. Cassie decided to eat the remote control for the Satellite decoder. I was able to get a replacement from Townsville & it only took 2 days to get here. The Foxtel card won't work so I've sent it back to Brisbane & my neighbours will run it through my decoder box at home & once it is working again will send it back to me. It has rained again so I'm delayed again from moving.

Roebourne to Carnarvon - 6/09 to 18/09

1. 6th September to 18th September
   
   We ended up staying in Roebourne for a week and did the tourist thing and some shopping plus veged out on a couple of days. In Wickham, a purpose built mining town, there is a Woolies and in Karratha these is a Target, KMart, Woolies & Coles. Believe it or not but the prices weren't too bad. The township of Dampier is also situated nearby & at the entrance to the town is a statue of "Red Dog", The Pilbara Wanderer. He was a legend in his own right back in the '70's. The area is very industrial/mining orientated although the area around Point Samson & Cossack have a different flavour with historic sites & local commercial fishing. A few in the caravan park come here for the fishing but it has been windy these past few days making it unpleasant in the smaller boats.
   
   Cassie managed to pry open a piece of of the fly screen on the caravan door (my fault for the lack of maintenance) in the early hours of one morning & did her own local investigating for a couple of hours before I eventually found her.

On Friday (5th Sept) we watched the Broncos beat Newcastle, thank goodness for the Sat TV.

2. Left Roebourne and headed for Robe River and camped there for a night. Very peaceful and relaxing as we camped right beside the water. The "desperates" managed to have a swim & then a roll in some more red dirt. The joys of it all!! We are starting to find a number of "free camp" spots having a 24 hour stay limit.

Then onto Barradale (Yanmarie River) for a couple of nights. On the way we visited Onslow and would you believe they had a Bakery. Yum! Here they have a War Memorial in the shape of the "Rising Sun" and on Anzac Day the sun rises through the middle of the structure. Onslow was bombed during the WW 2, a fact that I was not aware. The Memorial is being dedicated on the 15th September the Anniversary of the first bombing raid in 1943 & the RAAF are providing aircraft for a fly past. It crossed my mind that the "do gooders" & lefties want us to remember Hiroshima but our children are not taught about "incidents" that occurred on our own soil. Hmmm, we could go on, but........

At Barradale I came across a few of the Citroen 2CV's that have completed a trek through outback WA including the Canning Stock Route, the Gibb River Road and they finished in Kununurra.

Right across the top of the country there are many Museums etc with untold memorabilia from those times. Old airfields etc are littered all over the place and some relate to the early days of Aviation in Australia.

Instead of staying in Exmouth I opted for a Homestead stay at an ex Sheep Station that has been bought by the WA Government. The area is to become a National Park. Giralia Station buildings were nearly wiped out by Tropical Cyclone Vance in 1999 but most were rebuilt. The stay was interesting but more information could have been available.

Whilst here I visited Exmouth & looked around the area. The dogs spent time in the sea and have returned to their normal colour. At least the red dusty look has disappeared.

There is a RAAF base at Learmonth but from what we understand it is mainly used for joint Army/RAAF exercises. There was a Sentry position on the airport perimeter & for those of us who did a "sentry" night at the end of the runway at Nui Dat, this structure would give you a giggle.

Managed to see a couple of whales frolicking in the water off the west cost, Cape Range National Park, but they appeared to be small in size. The views from the lighthouse at North West Cape were spectacular.

The Harold Holt Naval Communication Base is big set up & much larger than I anticipated with a predominance of Naval & Federal Police personnel on site.

Exmouth was expensive for food & out of kilter with other areas we have visited. A rip off for the tourists?

I left Giralia Station & headed for Coral Bay on Thursday (11 Sept). The views of the water here were colourful but everything here revolves around the tourist & I expect the permanent population is below 200 people. Expensive, yet again!

11th September - Carnarvon
We looked to stay at a rest stop further to the south, but we were there soon after midday & as it was an open area without shade we pushed on to Carnarvon. We will stay here for a week and probably move to Bush Bay which is on the coast not far from here. Meanwhile we'll do the tourist thing, buy some supplies & catch up on the domestics.

Watched the Broncos do a number on Easts last night (Friday the 12th). Sweet, indeed!!

One of the others checked out the road to Bush Bay & it is badly corrugated so we will give that a miss.

Here we have been a bit slack but have managed to visit the OTC dish that was closed in 1987. This communication dish was used during the "space days" & played a part in the first moon landing. The One Mile jetty & Train Museum were worth a visit as well as the Memorial to the HMAS Sydney. There is the HMAS Sydney Memorial Drive that has a tree planted (645 in total) for every member of that ship with a plaque bearing the name of each crew member at the base of each tree. There is a further Memorial in the town centre along with a Memorial to a Vietnam Veteran who was KIA in 1969. He has been a member of 5RAR.

There are many plantations in & around Carnarvon & many market gardens producing fruit & veges. Bananas, tomatoes, tropical fruits, mangoes, pumpkin, grapes etc are grown here. I read somehere that this is the "salad bowl" of WA.

Brisbane to Roebourne - 4/08 to 5/09

4th August to 5th September

4th August - Monday - hit the road

As I was 3 weeks behind my desired leaving date I decided to fore go Borroloola & Darwin & headed straight for Katherine. I was able to "free camp" at Chinchilla (rellies), Morven (at the Showground - top spot), outside Longreach (Macsland Rest Area, 24km NW of Longreach - plenty of room), outside Mt Isa (Lake Julius turn off rest area - plenty of room, although pretty full & a Rodeo on in MT Isa on the weekend) and then near Three Ways (41 Mile Bore - 70km east of Three Ways). I was surprised at the lack of "road kill" in the NT, particularly after the area between Roma and Morven and other areas in Qld. Except for the dogs being sick on the first day (blood & bone spread around my Mum's garden on the Sunday) this part of the trip was uneventful.

9th August - Saturday - Daly Waters
On the way north from Three Ways I passed Banka Banka & the area set aside for caravans was inviting, but that will have to wait for another day. At Elliott I had a good talk with the lady at the petrol station (one of 3) about the lack of infrastructure for the Indigenous. There was a camp at either end of the town with a total of about 800 who had little or nothing to do during their day. We stayed at the Pub at Daly Waters NT for $9 a powered site, had dinner in the pub and listened to a Country Poet. Not bad! The camping area was about half full when I arrived but by dusk it was chockers & included a couple of Coach Tour groups. The history around the Airfield at Daly Waters was intriguing & something I was not aware of. The Museum in the hanger tells the history of early aviation, WW 2 & Qantas. From here north there were many remnants of WW2 buildings, hospitals etc but I will need more time to look at this history, so I will be back through here in a couple of years.

10th & 11th August at Manbullo Station
Then onto Manbullo Station, just outside Katherine, for a couple of days. Checked out Johnney's Electronics (renowned for his Sat TV gear) and restocked my food supplies & the domestics. I look forward to coming back to this area again as there is so much history throughout this region & one really needs to take time to have a good look around.

12th August - Tuesday - arrived in WA
I got an early start from Manbullo Station & headed west but any free camp area was full so before I knew it I was at the WA border (the 1 1/2 hrs time difference helped) & Kununurra beckoned. If you have pets you can stay at the Show Grounds here & there is plenty of room for walking your dog/s.Caught up with some of the others there however they moved on after one day (were they telling me something?). There are a number of crops grown here, a legacy from the Ord River Scheme, & there were plenty of places to visit including the local Hoochery Rum Distillery which produces rum (of course) & many liqueurs. I had a few days here & looked around Lake Argyle (Ord Dam) & Wyndham.

Lake Argyle has a huge expanse of water & is the home to many thousand crocodiles as well as fish farming. There are professional fishermen here & I'm told it is big business particularly in the export market.

I expected Wyndham to be bigger (only 800 people) but the fuel was 14c litre cheaper than Kununurra, a 100 km away. Go figure that! The lookout at Wyndham overseas much of the region & the river systems but they say the best time to observe the area is at sunrise or sunset. I was there in the middle of the day & it was very hazy. The Port area here is full of historic buildings, including the original Hospital, & it was very interesting to walk around & soak up the history of those who lived here in times gone by.

A 100 or so km south at Turkey Creek I had to give my driver's licence to the roadhouse staff before they turned the fuel pump on. On top of that fuel was $2 a litre. Not impressed! Many people use this place as a stepping off point to go to the Bungle Bungle National Park & I was surprised by the number of people at the roadhouse caravan park. Also there was a company doing scenic helicopter flights from here over this region. I was told that there are very impressive sights in this World Heritage Area.

There were plenty of people on the road & if you did not find a good free camp early in the afternoon you needed to keep moving. Halls Creek was the next overnighter. A number of people had overnighted here & were heading off down the Tanami Road & the Canning Stock Route. Off to Ellendale Rest Area & there were plenty of vans & motor homes here by nightfall & mainly banana benders or Victorians. Surprisingly there seem to be few from NSW but many from Qld, Vic & SA on the road. Another traveller offered me some Lake Argyle Cod for dinner but I had prepared dinner so gave it a miss. I enquired about the type of "Cod" & was told that it was better known in other places as "catfish". My memory of catfish being caught at the mouth of the Brisbane River (near the sewerage treatment plant) was more than enough to tell me I made the right decision to refuse the offer of the "fresh fish"!

18th August - Monday - on to Derby & then Broome
Derby was next on the list & I caught up with some of the others here. Very spectacular sunsets from across the flats. A big difference between the low & high tide mark. A couple of days here & then Broome was our next place of call. We only stayed one night here as at the PCYC we were put beside Basket Ball court & hard area for children with roller blades or skate boards. Cassie wanted to eat some kids on skate boards & roller blades. She went ballistic! TJ then wanted to have a piece of the caretaker as he did his rounds. The PCYC is used as an overflow for travellers when the Caravan Parks are full & it is the only place that will allow dogs. We decided moving was the best option! The town was packed with travellers & the Pearl Festival had just started. I had a look around the water front, the Pearling luggers & old wharf buildings etc but will need to return here in a quieter time.



21st August - Thursday - arrive at Barn Hill

Barn Hill was next on the list & this was nearly heaven. Even some kind ex Navy bloke took pity on me & gave me some fresh fish. Actually he was ok (for a Navy bloke) as both he & his wife had read the book "Trackers". I had a top spot here ( grass instead of red dirt) & the others that I was travelling with were rather jealous, but I told them I had said my prayers that morning as I left Broome. It is now a joke & all are saying their prayers! The "family" have spent some time on the beach and at least for the moment they are close to their original colour after a number of swims. Not much, or actually none from what I understand, fish being caught off the beach but those with boats are having luck off shore.

The wind has been with us since about Morven and luckily it has mainly been from the East. I pitied a couple of blokes I met in Camooweal who were travelling east on motor bikes. They said it was real hard going into the wind.

One could make many observations about the "locals", particularly around Broome, but suffice to say it is a sad state of affairs and no doubt the money being thrown their way is having little or no effect. I understand that since grog restrictions were put in place in Halls Creek & Fitzroy Crossing the problem has only been shifted to Broome.

We moved to Sandfire Roadhouse for a night (26th) & then past Pardoo Roadhouse to Port Headland for a few days (27th to 30th). Port Headland was another industrial town & I understand serves as the local port for places like Marble Bar & Newman. We stayed at a caravan park on the outskirts of the town & although there were many permanents here we met many other travellers who had explored the hinterland. As a matter of interest the average price of unleaded fuel up to now is $1.908/litre. The dearest has been $2.178 at Barkly Homestead & cheapest $1.459 in Dalby. Mt Isa was ok at $1.489 but it has been downhill since then.

We did not go to Eighty Mile Beach as I understood that dogs were not allowed in the parks there. It was a decision I regretted as I understand that was not entirely true & I believe the place is a top place to visit. Next time!

30th August - Saturday - arrive at Roebourne
Now we are in Roebourne where we have spent time in Wickham, Cossack, Point Samson, Karratha & Dampier. I got some more fresh fish from a bloke here but it was surprising he even talked to me as TJ growled at him every time he saw him. Many people from the southern parts of WA come north for the winter & from what I understand will spend 3 or 4 months up here & often in the same place.

The mining is awesome, the trains are LONG and the machinery being used is gigantic. The downside appears to be the lack of infrastructure in some of these towns.