Geraldton to Contos Field

Wednesday 14 August – Geraldton to Cervantes and Nambung NP (The Pinnacles)

Morning tea stop on the way to Cervantes

Leaving Geraldton, we headed south keeping as close to the coastline as possible.  We checked in to our caravan park at Cervantes and, given the weather was quite good in the afternoon and forecast to deteriorate tomorrow, we headed out to Nambung NP to see the unique Pinnacles.   We started off by doing the 1.5 klm walking track and then drove the 4.5 klm driving track to make the most of this extensive desert of naturally occurring standing stones.

The Pinnacles started life some 500,000 years ago when shells broke down to form fine-grained sand rich in calcium carbonate (lime). This lime then mixed with quartz sand and was then blown into sand dunes. After that no one really knows how they formed.  The theory I like is that rain leached the lime into lower layers of sand forming the limestone thingies we see today.  Today the thingies are called Pinnacles and are found over an extensive area even down into the ocean nearby.

National Parks have done a great job with a new Discovery Centre showcasing the area’s history, flora and fauna, walkways and road system to give visitors like us a good understanding and access to these quite unique rock formations.

Thursday 15 August – Day 2 Cervantes and Nambung NP (Thetis Lake) and Hansen Lookout

The weather slowly deteriorated all day.  The wind and showers picked up overnight warranting the awning to be rolled up and everything to be packed away.  We were up and away early to make the most of the morning’s relatively good weather and to see the remaining sights around Cervantes. 

Hansen Lookout

We drove to the northern end of Nambung NP to climb to Hansen Lookout for Cervantes, ocean and reef views followed by a walk around Thetis Lake to view some more stromatolites and their relatives, the thrombolites.  The lake is 1.5 times saltier than the nearby ocean and is ideal for the survival and growth of these living rocks.  After fruitlessly searching for a decent place to have lunch in Cervantes we fuelled up the car in preparation for tomorrow’s travels and headed home to have a nice homemade lunch.

Stromatolites and thrombolites - Lake Thetis Walk - Cervantes

As forecast, the weather deteriorated during the afternoon with the showers and wind picking up and the temperature falling dramatically.  With 55 klm winds and frequent showers, like everyone else in the van park, we spent the afternoon relaxing in the caravan as it was constantly buffeted by the winds.  The seas were 5.4 metres high and the ocean was wild and covered in whitecaps.  Around midnight everything outside started to settle down allowing for a better sleep.

Friday 16 August – Cervantes to New Norcia

An Abbey Ale with lunch

Heading east south-east away from the coast and the strong south-west winds we enjoyed a pleasant rural drive, including an unexpected 20 klm of muddy dirt road, before reaching the Benedictine Community of New Norcia, founded by the Benedictine Monks in 1847.  Julie had read about this rather unique little town in a caravan magazine articles and we thought why not pay the remaining nine monks a visit. We set up camp in the Abbey cricket owned field for $7 per night. For that you get to camp on the Abbey owned field and nothing else.  After setting up we walked across the Abbey road to the Abbey Pub and sat on the balcony of the Abbey owned New Norcia Hotel, drank the Abbey Ale and had a good Abbey lunch.  This was followed by a 2 hour guided tour of the community which included the four old boarding schools that had been effectively segregated by gender and race having opened in the early 1900s until closing in the mid to late 1900s.    The Spanish influence in the architecture and artwork is very strong.

One of the Abbey's chapels.

Returning back to the van in the middle of the Abbey owned field around 4pm we sat on the lee side of the van out of the biting wind to enjoy a coffee while we watched the sun and the temperature go down.  When they had gone down enough, we had had enough and went inside into the relative warmth of the van. 

We both enjoyed our little detour into this rather unique and picturesque part of Australia.

Saturday 17 August – New Norcia to Perth

Travelling to Perth via Toodyay we planned to spend a couple of hours here.  On arrival we were greeted with the full blown Western Australia TARGA Rally.  Obviously being the slowest vehicle in town, we navigated the detours and passed the quaint little coffee shops we had earlier dreamed of stopping at only to spend a little time at the local tourist Information stop on the outskirts of town that made no mention of the fact not to visit Toodyay on the 17 August 2013 due to the TARGA Rally!

Our next planned target was the pretty caravan park of Karrinyup Van Park.  Phoning ahead they confirmed there was no TARGA International Car Rally being held in the van park.  After checking in we drove down the back to look for Glen.  There was Glen in his 6 seater golf buggy waiting for us beside the pretty lake filled with ducks and other water birds that, at the time, held no interest whatsoever for us as we were still traumatised by the disappointment of arriving in Toodyay and not being able to stop there.  Glen showed us around in his little golf buggy pointing out the highlights of the van park – “To your left is a toilet block, just a little further on the right is another one, and there is a Camp Kitchen, the Dump Point”.  We chose a lovely site overlooking a small local lake filled with water birds and no rally cars.

View from our van, Perth

Sunday 18 August – Day 2 Perth

Almost 12 months ago we boarded the boat in Amsterdam to travel via the Rhine and other rivers through Europe to Budapest.  On this wonderful trip we met many interesting people some of whom  we, over time, became friends with.  Two of those people were Joan and Ken from Donnybrook south of Perth.  Julie sent them an email from New Norcia saying we were in town and we were hoping to catch up with them.  As fortune would have it Joan and Ken were up from Donnybrook staying in their seaside house in Rockingham, about an hour south of Perth.  So the day was planned - we caught up with Joan and Ken for a long and enjoyable lunch at a restaurant on the water’s edge at Rockingham, followed by a couple of hours at King’s Park in the centre of Perth and then a couple of hours with Julie’s cousin Tania and her husband Damon and two delightful children Romy & Bram.  Today was just one of those great days where you catch up with lovely friends and relatives and just wish it would never end.

King's Park - Perth

Monday 19 August – Day 3 Perth

Monday and all the shops are open.  Julie hasn’t had a haircut since Darwin so it’s on.  An appointment is made at a local hairdresser about 5 klm away.  I’m am looking forward to a bit of boy time around the van.  To no avail, I have to print out some documents for Julie after she is dropped off to have her golden locks shortened.  No problems I think to myself – a quick trip to the local library, print off the document from the USB stick and back home to the van to do some maintenance and to sit in the sun and read the local news to find out how the TARGA-bloody-Car Rally went –as if I really cared!  To find out more about how this all went, see Tips for Caravanning at the end of this blog.

Tuesday 20 August – Day 4 Perth

We decided to stay a 4^th night in Perth as we had not been to Freemantle and its historic precinct.  The day was lovely and the traffic had thinned out enough for us to enjoy the drive.  First on our agenda was to vote in the upcoming Federal election given today is the first day that early voters can do so.  Parking the car we set off through the city centre to an address in a shopping centre for an early voting centre.  We found shop No. 5 but it was a derelict, empty, heavily bolted shut, shopfront beside an adult entertainment shop – which really represents what voting in this Federal election is all about, like buying something in an adult entertainment shop, no matter what you choose someone is going to get scre…ed.

Freemantle Prison

Gallows

Freemantle Prison was our next target and to our delight it was open.  We did a very interesting 1.15 hour tour of the prison that started its life as a prison for convicts and then for regular prisoners only to be closed down as recently as 1991.  The tiny 4 foot by 7 foot prison cells were still there.  In later years two cells were combined into one as it was believed to be too inhumane to keep someone locked up for 18 hours a day in such a small space. This kind thought was often overlooked as the prison became crowded and two prisoners were housed in one cell.  The tour took us through the admissions area (where I was chosen to demonstrate the “bend over and think of England” position each prisoner had to master before they could be admitted), kitchens, solitary confinement, the lashing post and the gallows (where 40 plus people were hung). 

Solitary Cell

Cell 4 foot by 7 foot

The prison never had heating or cooling, sanitation or running water to any of the cells.  Cell temperatures would fluctuate from near freezing in winter to 48-50 degrees in summer.

Inmate wall painting

Freemantle Prison cell block

Lunch was at Little Creatures micro-brewery on the waterfront where we had a pleasant lunch washed down by a large Little Creatures pilsner.

On our way home we dropped into another early voting centre on the outskirts of Perth that was open and had literally just received the relevant voting papers for our electorate in Queensland.  We have now voted, so if anyone wants to know the answers we can help you with them.

Wednesday 21 August – Perth to Wellington NP and Honeymoon Pool

Honeymoon Pool - Campsite (old No 13) from 1997

We were both up for a bush camp if for no other reason than to have a break from caravan parks.  South-west of Perth is Wellington Dam NP and a bush camp called Potters Gorge on the banks of the dam.  After setting and before lighting the fire we headed off to see the sights in the region.  Of particular interest to me was a visit to Honeymoon Pool, Site No 13, where I camped 16 years earlier.  Unfortunately caravans are not allowed here anymore as the campsites are too tight.  Site No. 13 is now closed down but still there.  This was a great site in its time as it is located on a little promontory that juts out into the mountain stream.

Returning to camp, we carried armfuls of provided firewood to our fireplace.  Roast veggies in the camp oven were on the provisional menu.  As it turned out, the provided firewood should be ready to burn sometime in October I would think.  Until then, no matter what is tried, it will not burn as it is so green and oily! 

Julie tending the fire - view from van

That is how the National Parks make the firewood last so long. As a consequence, I went for a little drive with my bush saw and was able to find a nice deadwood sapling which I cut up and put on the rack on top of the car.  Whilst the veggies were safe for another night we had a lovely evening around the fire.  By chance, we were the only ones here with no one  within at least a 7 klm radius – Julie was a little on edge about that so while she stood guard all night while I slept like a baby.

Next morning we walked along the banks of the Wellington Dam before heading off.

Wellington Dam walk

Thursday 22 August – Wellington NP to Busselton via Donnybrook

Today’s target is Busselton but on the way we travelled via Donnybrook to again catch up with Ken and Joan on their lovely property.  We stayed for morning tea and enjoyed their company and Joan’s fresh scones right out of the oven – beautiful.  Again it was great catching up with them.  We said our goodbyes and drove to Busselton to set up for a couple of nights. 

Busselton is a pretty seaside resort town.  For us it was a very pleasant surprise to come across a good location with hardly anyone there.  It is still off season and the place is comparatively deserted.  We walked the foreshore but had to return to the van as my right knee is a bit sore at the moment.  I told some old bloke standing on the shoreline all by himself, about my knee but he was unmoved.

Friday 23 August – Day 2 Busselton

Today was about exploring the region without the caravan in tow.  We travelled to Dunsborough for morning tea.  Dunsborough is also very pretty with lovely beaches and quite a vibrant feel about it. 

We then headed to Cape Naturaliste lighthouse and did the national park headland walk and saw a few whales in the distance. 

A bit further south from here is Yallingup with its many surf beaches and some of the best surf breaks in the world. 

We travelled further south along the coast to Canal Rocks and sat on the headland and walked the boardwalks while the huge surf pounded the coast.  Lunch today was at a Margaret River winery – Swings and Roundabouts.  We had an ‘authentic Italian pizza’ and sampled their wines.  Julie felt that the local wines were good enough to warrant further sampling so a dozen were loaded into the back of the car.

Saturday 24 August – Busselton to Contos Field Campground, Leeuwin-Naturaliste NP

We saw an advertisement in the caravan park laundry seeking someone to babysit a house and Jack Russell dog for four weeks.  Busselton is really pretty and we thought long and hard about the opportunity to spend some extra time in the area.  In the end we decided maybe next time we are over here.  So we packed up to start heading south again towards Augusta. Travelling via the town of Margaret River we stopped for morning tea at the Cave Centre then headed into our National Parks  campground at Contos Field. 

Contos Filed campsite

Roast veggies in the camp oven tonight

The region is now well wooded with lovely rolling hills covered in vineyards, dairy cattle and dams and streams filled to the brim from all the recent rains.  The weather has become very cold and, combined with the showery weather, it reminds us a lot of the UK.  

Given the ordinary weather there are comparatively very few travellers around these parts. Being a weekend we expected the campground to be busy. Tonight we had a couple of one-nighters nearby and the place to ourselves the next night.  With better firewood and a sunny afternoon we cooked up roast veggies for dinner in the camp over.

We walked a very small part of the Coast to Coast track.

View on our Coast to Coast walk

These white lilies grow everywhere

Sunday 25 August – Day 2 Contos Field,  Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park

Boranup Drive

Rain developed overnight and we woke to a cold, wet and showery day.  We jumped in the car, turned on the climate control, seat warmers, windscreen wipers, headlights and pulled back the sunroof cover to enjoy the picturesque Boranup Drive through 100 year old regrowth Karri forests.  Karri is the third tallest tree in the world  reaching a height of 60 metres or more.

We called in to the pretty seaside village of Hamelin Bay and watched a pod of dolphins surfing past where were stopped.

Then on we went to the township of Augusta.  Nine klm from the township is the 116 year old Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse,

Clever photo hey?

Calcified Waterwheel

the tallest on mainland Australia where the waters of the Indian Ocean meet the waters of the Great Southern Ocean. Of interest was the old Water Wheel constructed in 1895 during the building of the lighthouse to tap a spring to provide fresh water for the workers.  The Water Wheel has turned to stone over the years.

Jewel Cave -  Straw stalactites

There are 100's of limestone caves in this region with three of them open to the public. 

Jewel Cave was our cave of choice because it was nearby when the rain came in again. It is Australia’s largest tourist cave and has one of the world’s longest straw stalactites at 5.43 metres in length – apparently it’s the third longest in the world. 

Jewel Cave

The coastline near Contos Field has many beaches all of which we explored on the way home. The car was so warm and comfortable compared to camp so we maximised our time out and about.  The surf remained huge and for ages we sat mesmerised as the huge swells pounded the coastline.

Returning back to camp we locked ourselves in the van for the night as the rain came down and the wind howled in the trees above us.

We have now been travelling, on this trip, for 18 weeks.  We have travelled around 18000 klm's and the car has been faultless and the van nearly the same, except for the washing machine episode in Broome which was our fault.

I'll end this Post here as it is now been a while since my previous one.  Next episode we enter big timber country, with wild weather and rain.

Hope you enjoy the read.

Jeffn'Julie

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Tips for Caravaning (continued)

How to Print a Document (6 pages) on the road.

Background:

We were in Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, in the middle of a resources boom, I had just dropped Julie off at the hairdressers and I was given the task to print out a 6 page document from a USB stick before I could return to the van to soak up the winter sun overlooking our lovely lake views in Perth.

How to:

We have an Ultrabook and a Telstra 4G wifi gadget that work well for us on the road.  The document was downloaded onto a USB stick from a website and all that was needed was a quick visit to a local library to print it out.

Using the Ultrabook and Telstra 4G thingy I identified a local library 500 metres from Julie's hairdresser - too easy - Perth is a boom State with resources everywhere.  I arrived at the library just one minute from where I dropped Julie off to get her golden locks made more golden – the idea of sitting under the awning of the caravan soaking up the sun very clear in my mind.  

Arriving at the entrance to the library I came across 78 primary school children queued up outside on an excursion, excited to be meeting a local author of 40 or more children’s books. Pushing several kids to the ground while their teachers and parents weren’t watching I was able to get to the front of the queue.  The automatic doors opened for me and I’m in!  Racing to the counter with my USB extended I quickly explain to the librarian with the Coke-bottle glasses that all I want to do is to print 6 pages of a simple document for my favourite wife currently undergoing a golden follicle treatment. 

Giving ID to print out document

“Are you a member?”  What are you talking about – I’m here from Queensland how could I be a member – I think to myself.  “No?”  "Give me some ID and I’ll make you a member - no cost”.  Handing over my Driver’s Licence, Medicare Card, Visa Card, RACQ Card, Blood sample, IUD, and a $50 note (I don't know where that came from, it must be yours?) I hoped that I had enough points to qualify for a Library Card.  I filled in Form No 45.67-AXVT-34-&^% in triplicate, signed it three times, provided both a stool and urine sample followed by another blood sample.  “Mmmmmm – yep looks all in order, but I'm worried about your sugar levels.  Here's a referral for another blood test” says the Coke-bottled-eyed trainee librarian.  Trainee Librarian!!!!! ….. Bloody Hell!  “I'll enter everything in the computer and get "The Librarian" to check everything and then she can authorise the Library Card so you can print off your document.  “Sounds good” I say biting through my lower lip while somehow keeping a smile on my face.

Meanwhile the 78 school kids have filed in and "The Librarian" is busy taking photos to mark this monumental event in the Libraries history.  All I can pray for is that Kevin Rudd isn't going to arrive and give me a Gonski!  All I want is to print out 6 pages, black and white, before Julie has had her golden locks recoloured. 

"The librarian", fresh from photographing this monumental event with 78 kids, checks everything and approves the library card – YES!!!!.  The trainee then carefully pushes the “print” button and just like has happened 1000’s of times before, the little printer spits out a library card with my name on it, including a bar code!  “My goodness!” I exclaim, so easy as I am gleefully handed my own library card.  “My goodness” I think to myself, “what has this got to do with printing a 6 page document”?

Biting what is left of my tongue I ask “So where do I go to print off my document?”  “I’ll just register you onto the only computer in this well resourced library that allows you to print off a document, you will need to give me $1.40 for internet access (but I don't need internet access, I have a USB) and 15c per page …..  oh it’s in use and booked up for the next hour.”  “WHAT!!!!” I say in a soft and controlled voice.  “If you like I can book you for an hour later this afternoon….”  

That's a good idea I think to myself - I can pick Julie up, drop her back at the van so she can sit in the sun and look at the lovely lake views.  Then I can drive the 9 klm back to the library, log into the internet, for no reason at all, print my six pages and drive back to the van just as the sun sets and it is time to go inside because Julie is so sunburnt!  I am tempted to insert the USB somewhere opportune but refrain myself as there are 78 little witnesses sitting on the floor in front of me.  With my brand new useless library card in my hand I leave the library saying USB, USB, USB over and over.

I ended up going to Office Works 8klm away, paying $2 for a preloaded card and spending  just $0.48c from it to print off the document.  One hour and 36 minutes later I left for home appreciating the fact that I'm retired but still fully employed in a productive and rewarding lifestyle on the road.

As I park the car, turn on the kettle to make a cup of coffee, my mobile phone rings and it's Julie ready to be picked up from the hairdressers.  Out I go again, pick up Julie and return her home with the 6 pages carefully laid out on the table.  “Oh … thanks, did you have a good day” is all I get for my days hard labour.

Carnarvon to Geraldton

Sunday 4 August – Carnarvon to Denham

Morning tea view from van

Under clear skies and with light winds, we left lawn bowls central in Carnarvon and headed south on the North West Coastal Highway leaving the north-west of Western Australia when we crossed the 26^th parallel.   The 26^th parallel falls just north of Gympie in Queensland so hopefully this indicates how far north we are in Western Australia for those of you in Queensland who don’t know Western Australia. 

Morning tea was at a lookout high above the flat clay pans that lead into Shark Bay.  We re-entered the North West when we re-crossed the 26^th parallel heading up the peninsular towards Denham.  We called in to Hamelin Pool to view the ancient stromatolites (my son Ryan will remember looking for their footprints in the dirt when he was here 16 years ago), then on to Shell Beach where we had lunch before finally arriving at Denham mid-afternoon. 

Stromatolite footprint, Ryan?

Stromatolites at Hamelin Pool

Stromatolites are rock-like structures built by microbes (single-celled cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae). Shark Bay’s stromatolites are only 2,000 to 3,000 years old, but they are similar to life forms found on Earth up to 3.5 billion years ago. They provide a unique insight into what the world was like at the dawn of time and, because they produce oxygen, are credited with creating the oxygenated atmosphere we have today.  Hamelin Pool is one of only three places on Earth where you can see living marine stromatolites. (The other two places are in the Bahamas.) Stromatolites are found in Hamelin Pool because its water is twice as salty as normal seawater. Few predators and competitors can survive these conditions, allowing the microbes to flourish and form stromatolites much as they did billions of years ago. Growing only five centimetres every 100 years, they are extremely exciting to go and see, as we found out.  This area of Shark Bay Marine Park is World Heritage listed and is picture perfect with many stunning ocean views.  

Cockle shells - Shell Beach

Shell Beach, like Hamelin Pool and its stromatolites, exists due to a large sandbar that formed at the entrance to Shark Bay some 6000 years ago causing minimal tidal flow and the subsequent high salinity of the sea water in the bay as evaporation occurs.  No predators can live in the high salinity so the little cockle shells grow in abundance.  When they die their tiny white shells wash ashore and form a pure white shell beach 110klm long and up to 10 metres deep.  This allows for tourists to wander down on to the beach and throw the little white shells in the air creating lovely photographs.

Shell Beach

Monday 5 August – Day 2 Denham

This has been a magical day.  

Monkey Mia

With an early start, we headed off to watch the dolphins at Monkey Mia.   People travel from all over the world to see these wild dolphins swim close to shore for some hand feeding.   On most days, three generations of dolphins turn up – grandmothers, mothers and their calves - exactly the same behaviour as the tourists that come to watch them.   We saw about ten dolphins of which three mature females chose to be hand fed in the shallows.    

Waiting .... waiting ..... waiting....

Monkey Mia dolphin and its escort

Whalebone Campsite south of Denham

With perfect weather we were captivated by the spectacle.   We then headed back towards Denham and down south to check out potential beach camps (Whalebone, Fowlers Camp, or Eagle Bluff) for when we leave on Wednesday. 

Right along the coast we looked over the clearest water out to the horizon towards Useless Loop (containing Steep Point, the most westerly point in Australia) sighting numerous shovel nosed sharks, rays and many schools of fish swimming in and around the seaweed banks that are home to around 14,000 dugong.   The lookout and boardwalk at Eagle Buff provided a good opportunity to gaze out at the sparkling smooth waters.   

Eagle Bluff south of Denham

Lunch at Ocean Park south of Denham

Large seagull fishing in front of us at lunch

From here we ventured on to have lunch at the outdoor café/restaurant at Ocean Park where a huge seagull spent time in the water in front of us fishing. 

Overlooking the water at Denham Lookout - with thong overhang

Back at camp the afternoon was spent talking to our neighbours from the Perth region and relaxing.  The neighbour on the other side of us dropped off some freshly caught fish all filleted and vacuum packed by him – dinner tomorrow night.

Tuesday 6 August - Day 3 Denham

4WD track into Francois Peron NP

To the north of Denham lies the Francois Peron National Park, a pristine and desolate park all but untouched.  A 50 klm (one way) 4WD only sand track goes through the centre of the park travelling right to the very top which overlooks the shallow ribbon seaweed sandbar that blocks the water flow into Shark Bay.  Today we drove this track and a number of side tracks to bays, beaches and headlands.  In order to protect the track from unnecessary damage, all 4WD’s must drop their tyre pressures to 15psi.  At the exit point of the national park two excellent tyre pressure gauges are provided free of charge to pump your tyres back up.

The day was stunning with a light breeze and clear skies.  The water is crystal clear and the bird and sea life is in abundance. 

1000's of seabirds on beach - Cape Peron 

1000’s of pelicans, cormorants and seagulls were on the beach right at Cape Peron at the top of the national park.  We saw dolphins, schools of manta rays and huge fish just off shore.  We missed out on seeing the green turtles and dugong that are also plentiful in this area. 

Cape Peron - Francois Peron NP

Today was one of perfect memorable days we only get four of five times a week at the moment. 

Returning home we had lunch at a café on the foreshore in Denham, fueled up and got everything organised for our departure tomorrow.  Denham, like many of the places we are seeing, is a wonderful place to visit with so many amazing things to experience in the area.

Wednesday 7 August - Denham to Whalebone - 25 klm south of Denham

This will probably be our shortest move of our trip - just 25 klm down the road. A couple of days ago we visited this beautiful beachside national park camp and saw a wide variety of sea life including several sharks and schools of fish.  Julie decided it would be worth the effort to come back on our way out of Denham to spend a night here.

Packing up our campsite at Dolphin Caravan Park in Denham we left at 8.45am and parked outside the Tourist Information station at Denham to obtain the permit to camp at Whalebone Camp.  For $10 a night four lucky couples are awarded the privilege to camp here - we were the second in line.

Whalebone campsite - our car and van

By 10am we were fully set up 10 metres from the water’s edge enjoying a cup of coffee overlooking the most beautiful scenery one could imagine.  

View from our caravan at Whalebone

We arrived and the place was empty so we had the pick of the sites.  We were so close to the water’s edge that I could have cast my fishing line from my chair and caught any part of the caravan or car that I chose.  For safety’s sake I walked around the nearby headland and terrorised the local rocks with my lure for a couple of hours.  All the local suicidal fish were in counselling all afternoon, so none were around to take the soft rubbery lure that was expertly cast from a rock beneath an overhanging cliff.  At the end of the day nothing and no one were harmed, which is unusual for me.

Throwing a lure in the water and reeling it back in many times - Whalebone

A couple camped nearby, Kevin and Cathy from Maleny in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, kept us entertained for the afternoon.  Kevin, an avid fisherman and ex-writer for fishing magazines, went out in his kayak and caught a couple of sharks for his favourite Thai Fish Curry – a delicacy of his.  Meanwhile his wife Cathy cooked a slow roast leg of pork on the Weber BBQ for dinner – a delicacy of hers. Our dinner was left over homemade vegetable soup we made in Denham – a delicacy of Julie’s.    We sat around chatting until the sun again set in the west, this time over Useless Loop in the distance.

Checking out the sea life from the headland near camp

This is one of the best campsites we have had on our trip so far – camped 10 metres from the ocean’s edge of Denham Sound with beautiful clear skies, light winds and little waves lapping on the beach lulling us off to sleep at night.  

The Milky Way continues to fill the sky above us with the new moon keeping any light pollution to a minimum.  





Thursday 8 August – Whalebone Camp to Kalbarri

We stayed at camp a little longer than usual in order to make the most of our views and sunny weather.   After a farewell walk up the cliff, we finally headed off on our three and a half hour drive south to Kalbarri arriving at our farm stay destination in sprinkling rain.   With many horses, pet rabbits, pet dog, pet motor mower (aka kid goat), pet budgie, pet peacocks, and pet turkeys with eight day old turkey chicks in evidence, we wondered what else we’d run into or stand on during the night at Big River Ranch.   Other than a Wicked van which arrived late, we were the only campers here tonight.

Friday 9 August – Day 2 Kalbarri

Kalbarri bar 

Having had very fond memories of Kalbarri since I last visited 16 years ago, I was very pleased to see that it is still a lovely small town – a bit like Noosa years ago with the ocean, river and headland walks in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.  The National Park infrastructure is very well designed with good boardwalks and lookouts scattered for about 8 klm down the coastline overlooking the eroded red sandstone striped cliffs.  

We poked around many of them and saved some for tomorrow.

Kalbarri surf

The surf was up with towering three metre waves crashing along the coastline and was quite mesmerising particularly as we watched a few small fishing boats crossing the dangerous bar.  Whales were in the background and schools of dolphins in the foreground and a large turtle surfed the waves for good measure.

The wildflowers are starting to bloom – it’s early days yet however still quite pretty.




Saturday 10 August – Day 3 Kalbarri

We headed back to the coastal cliffs to further explore the various sights with the rock formations all well named reflecting what they resemble e.g. mushroom rock and red bluff. 

Kalbarri NP red sandstone cliffs

The surf again was huge. The history in the area is also interesting going back to European exploration in the 1600’s and a number of famous shipwrecks along the coast of Dutch trading ships. 

After taking our time on the coast, we headed inland to Kalbarri NP lookouts over the Murchison River and one overlooking the whole town, ocean, river and hinterland. Unfortunately the road to The Loop (Nature’s Window) and Z-Bend is closed due to road upgrades so we will miss this part of the NP.  Our camp remained quiet with a maximum of four other campers here at any one time.

Mushroom Rock - Kalbarri

Sunday 11 August – Kalbarri to Geraldton

Lynton Convict Station

We had a short drive today of around 150 klm, so chose the most scenic route.  Initially we drove back through coastal Kalbarri NP then down the coast to Port Gregory, near the mouth of the Hutt River, where we turned east heading towards the historic town of Northampton – one of WA’s oldest settlements being declared a township in 1864.   On the way we stopped for morning tea in the van at the Lynton Convict Station where convicts were assigned work duties in the mid -1800's.

After this, we continued with a scenic back route via Nabawa through glorious pastures of green and yellow from the lucerne flowers before arriving at our caravan park on the ocean at the northern end of Geraldton.

Monday 12 August - Day 2 Geraldton

Geraldton is not one of those towns or regions that is heavily adorned with natural beauty, in fact, it's not even lightly adorned.  It is a major port and commercial centre for central WA but its coastline, although extensive, is somewhat ugly and the town is quite industrial although obviously being upgraded in many ways including quite a pleasant town beach foreshore.

The tragedy of the sinking of the HMAS Sydney which occurred in WWII off the coast in November 1941 and the lost of its entire crew of 645 men after a battle with the German raider HSK Kormoran is beautifully remembered by a memorial perched atop the highest point in Geraldton.  The dome is made up of 645 seagulls, one for each man lost.  A lone statue of a woman looks out to sea waiting for the men that will never return.

645 seagulls and the prow of the HMAS Sydney (right)

Tuesday 13 August - Day 3 Geraldton

Today was one of those days needed every now and then to catch up on all the little chores that need doing, the washing and spring cleaning of the car and caravan.  

The daily migration of caravans out of the van park starts about 7.30am and goes on until around 10.15am.  For several hours the place is half full because half the sites are empty, and then from around noon until 4.30pm the next nights campers arrive and set up.  The race is then on to get to the washing machines first and to start cleaning car and caravan before seeing the sights of Geraldton - good luck with that one. 

We will be one of those leaving tomorrow morning as we continue to migrate south.  We expect the weather to deteriorate as this time of year in south-west WA is often wet and windy.

We are both well and are having a great time.

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Caravanning Tips:

This edition's tip is titled "Walk of Shame aka Bring Out the Dead"   

Caravans have developed remarkably in the last 15 years with one of those developments being the porta-loo.  Our caravan has one of these remarkable devices that, until it comes time to empty them, are considered remarkable.

The dreaded Red Light:  At three quarters full a little red comes on to indicate it's time!!!!  It's time to think about emptying the cassette, and that's all I can think about over the next few hours - the impending Walk of Shame.  The destination for the Walk of Shame is the romantically named "Dump Point". Most caravan parks have one and there are 1000's of dump points in towns across Australia and in many roadside camps and they are usually well signed.  That is the next problem, they are so well signed and everyone knows where you are going to or are coming from. That, and the fact that you're carrying a big plastic container grey with bright green parts to it.  That is the second problem, why the bright green parts, the whole thing should be camouflaged.

The next problem is that the cassettes hold about 22 litres, yes 22 litres and it has to be carefully  manhandled by turning upside down over various designs of Dump Points.  

Transportation:  Sounding a bit like sending a convict to colonial Australia, transporting the grey and bright green cassette is the next problem.  Removal of the cassette from the side of the caravan is easy enough until there is nothing to support it anymore.  Feeling like all we pass is liquid lead, the cassette weighs much more the the expected 20 or so kilograms.  

Our cassette is one of the new ones that has little wheels on it very similar to airline carry-on luggage - now I'd like to see security cope with a full cassette going through the scanner.  Many transport personnel, aka our fellow campers, use modified or current golf trolleys, airline luggage trolleys or the right shoulder dislocation technique to transport their liquid lead cassette to the Dump Point.  The little wheels seem like a good idea but wheeling the lead laden cassette down the bitumen road creates a loud rumble that tends to draw the attention of everyone, their dogs start to bark and large flocks of birds take flight from all the trees around. Just a little too much attention for this happy camper to cope with.

Timing:  Now this is a difficult topic that takes a lot of analysis and preparation.  

Remembering that one is nearly always camped beside another caravan and that one of the first indications that someone is about to Bring out their Dead is the audible grunts emitted as the removalist 'takes the load' of the lead laden cassette or 'LLC' as we in the industry call it. I find just on sunset is a good time.  Check to see that there will be no unexpected or late rays of sunshine likely to burst through the clouds as these light up the bright green bits of the cassette and you look like a rabbit in the headlights if this happens. 

Make sure there is no one heading to the Dump Point at the same time you are.  This happened to me at Fitzroy Crossing and it really felt like I had arrived at the funeral before the one I was supposed attend.  What can you possibly talk about and where should you look while someone is in the process of burying a weeks worth of work in front of you.  I would be pleased to receive anyone's ideas for topics of discussion for this circumstance.  

Happy Hour:  - these usually start around 4.30pm each day.  They can work for you and, more likely, against you as you undertake the Walk of Shame.  Depending where everyone gathers for Happy Hour it may provide the much cherished private path between you and the Dump Point (DP) or, more likely, a large group of highly tanked grey nomads locate themselves between you and the DP - this is the worst case scenario.  

The worst thing you can do, in my experience, is to start Happy Hour yourself at 4.30pm and decide at 6pm, just before sunset, to run the gauntlet.  Control is key to a successful burial. With half a dozen beers in you, you feel brave and fearless but you have no control.  With several beers in you, think about having to take the strain when removing the LLC, having to decide on the Path of Least Embarrassment (POLE), undertaking a 'dry' burial and having to return to the right caravan in the dark.  There is nothing more embarrassing than being caught trying to shove your toilet cassette in someone else's tunnel boot after dark.  People were sent to the Colonies for that!

Happy Hour does not equal a Dry Burial.  

My Method:  

1. Forget trying to convince Julie that it's her turn - apparently this is definitely men's work.
2. Don't wait until the second red light (100% full) comes on as you will need someone else's help to remove the steaming, bulging, seeping and bloated lead laden cassette (LLC)
3. Do a recon on foot earlier in the day to establish the location and design of the Dump Point (DP), the path of least embarrassment (POLE), any surrounding obstacles eg low branches, speed bumps, road surface, corrugations and location of any large clusters of aluminium chairs likely to be used for Happy Hour.
4. Reverse the car up to rear of van
5. Place tarp over car and rear of caravan
6. String up crime scene tape around car and caravan
7. Remove LLC and place in hearse car
8. Turn on headlights to show respect and commence transportation
9. Put on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
10. Attempt to achieve your second Dry Burial for the trip
11. Place empty cassette in rear of vehicle and PPE in Hazardous Waste Bin
12. Park vehicle and turn off headlights and making sure you are in front of your van.  Be aware that a tunnel boot is not where an LLC goes
13. Install LLC and lock external door
14. Commence your own Happy Hour

I have the above instructions located in the caravan and the car for quick reference.

So thats all there is to this simple but all too regular part of caravaning.

If readers have any topics they would like covered in future issues please let me know.