Up to Cape Leveque

Sunday 25^th May 2008

Naturally, Paul wasn’t feeling so great this morning so guess what.... another slow start. But we were out of the caravan park by pretty close to 10am. However, we did forget to tape up the back of the trailer and, boy, did I come to regret that...

The road up to Cape Leveque starts as an unsealed one and it was definitely the worst one we’ve encountered yet. We had to go at around 60km/h with constant swapping from side to side to find the flattest and least dirt covered parts of the road. To make matters worse we came up behind another trailer so had 50km or so of eating dirt – joy! There were some really bouncy bits and I had visions of doors flying open in the trailer and food and utensils going everywhere.

Just as we were starting to get really fed up with it, the bitumen appeared – seemingly in the middle of nowhere and for no particular reason. It was a very pleasant surprise. We heard a story this evening about a guy who’d come up the day before but decided he’d had enough and turned around at what must have been only 2km out from the bitumen!

Once we reached Kooljaman which is at the tip of the Cape we realised that we were by far the biggest trailer here – everyone else was in tents, small tent trailers or pop-up 4WDs rented from Britz. I reckon they use the dodgy road to put off people who aren’t really keen or maybe we are too intrepid for our trailer?!

On opening up we found a sea of red dust – and if that wasn’t bad enough, when Katie opened the fridge for a drink it was full of coffee grounds. One innocent little packet had been put in the shelf of the door and had a little hole in one corner and yet everything in the fridge was covered – it had got right into the cheese and the butter and had collected in the grooves of the door shelves. Needless to say, I wasn’t the happiest camper in town – and I had no one to blame!

Our allotted spot is fantastic – we got it by default because it was all that was left. It is without power which I was annoyed about when I booked it but in fact it is one of the best spots in the whole camp – sitting up above some small cliffs which look out to the west with only a couple of people beside us, nice big, open, grassed area, toilets and shower only 20m away (but also only used by three others) and a perfect view of the sunset.

It was pretty warm once we’d set up (with the camper facing straight into the sun – didn’t think that one through properly!) so we went to investigate the swimming beaches which are on the east side. It was pleasant enough but I think we’ve been spoiled by all the fantastic scenery we’ve witnessed and I was disappointed because there wasn’t really anything worth taking a photo of.

However, the weather stepped in to create the most amazing sunset I have ever seen. There was a lot of cloud around which had made the beach a little dull, but once the sun had gone below the horizon incredible colours appeared in the sky – for a while it actually got lighter because of the light reflecting down off the clouds. And, for once, I was really pleased with how some of my photos came out.

Another episode of the Young Ones was watched before the girls were shuffled into bed. The stars were really clear to the south (the clouds were still hanging around in the north) and I saw three shooting stars in half an hour but am still nowhere near Andrej’s record (of 9).

Bumming around in Broome

Saturday 24^th May 2008

We were even slower starting today – it is nice not having any agenda but it also seems slightly wasteful – never mind, I’m sure we’ll get back into it soon enough.

We went to a place called Zanders for a late breakfast – it sits up above Cable Beach and was a very pleasant place to sit and while away the time. After filling ourselves Paul and I let the girls get some exercise in the playground (we didn’t feel the need to be energetic ourselves!) and then decided it was hot enough to go in the pool at the caravan park.

The Stanleys were already there so we spent a pleasant couple of hours before repairing to our respective homes for a bite to eat. I went to the shops to try and get weekend newspapers while Paul and the girls went back to the pool – it’s a hard life, sometimes! The Weekend Australian doesn’t get in til 4pm so I took Holly to the local mini-mart which also has internet and she spent her carefully saved $3 on a half hour session of Club Penguin on the internet which she has been waiting to do for about five days.

To ensure that we really didn’t do much today, Richard and Lynsey invited us for dinner at their place. The girls had bangers and mash then read stories in the kids’ annexe (well, the beach tent which was set up under the bushes) before settling down to a dvd. The adults had a delicious curry, several wines and some scintillating conversation – in my opinion, anyway! Paul’s talk kept coming back to soccer and Bristol City – he’d phoned his family and Duncan earlier to help build up his excitement about the game and eventually he and Richard strode down the road to the Divers Tavern where they’d arranged that one tv would be set up for them to watch Bristol City v Hull City in their play-off for promotion to the Premier Division.

The rest of us sank gratefully into our beds – the kids were shattered from all the swimming and I was just shattered from being awake today! Paul stumbled back in some hours later and was decidedly grumpy because the City hadn’t made it, but it didn’t keep him awake for long...

Broome

Friday 23^rd May 2008

We didn’t have to be up and out until 11am so, of course, we didn’t achieve anything this morning other than another load of washing.

We went to see the guys at BAMA (Broome Aboriginal Media Association) who are the people who do the local radio and tv and create content that is going all over the country. They have just had two segments selected to be shown during coverage of the Olympics (not sure when or why) which is quite an achievement. Our family trust has donated money towards a program to provide computer training for anyone who is interested but targeted particularly towards at-risk young people. The training starts off general but if they are interested enough they can progress towards media with jobs being available for those who want to go there. It is a fantastic project and they are at the stage of constructing the training rooms – within an existing cyclone-proof shed. The original plan was to use demountables constructed down in Perth and trucked up here but they found another way. The beauty of even this is that a local builder has taken on young, fully trained local lads (I think all aboriginal) and these guys have realised their own potential and decided to form their own company. Kevin (the guy in charge at BAMA) had managed to gather his whole board to greet us, despite me only contacting him last night so that he couldn’t do anything fancy! Paul and I were once more impressed by their level of commitment and the achievements they continue to bring in.

Katie was fascinated by Bamba’s false leg and barely managed to keep her voice to a whisper as she pointed it out to me. The girls lost interest fairly early on but perked up again when they got to watch some adverts that had been made to encourage people to do more exercise. They were corny but fun. There was also a Doberman wandering around and they were very taken by his friend the little terrier – I can see they are missing Charlie. Luckily Duncan has been sending regular photos of him in cute poses. We just need some photos of their friends every now and then and we’d be ok.

Our next mission was to find a bookshop and, as luck would have it, we encountered a secondhand bookshop that was well-stocked with up-to-date books – I guess all the tourists come through with their new releases bought specially for their holiday. We all found a couple of things to keep us going and through my good management (for once!) we actually had all the books we’d finished with lurking in the car so were able to trade them in. And best of all, Holly’s desire for crime/detective books was solved with some books that didn’t excessive passion or blood and guts, can’t think why I didn’t come up with them before because I read loads of them myself as a kid – Agatha Christie. We bought two – Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile with a view to buying more when we return from Cape Leveque if she likes them.

Next stop – food. Actually we had to go via a couple of pearl shops, but then we are in Broome. We had a look at the menu at Cheffy’s (next to the Roebourne Hotel) and decided it would do – the deciding factor for the girls was the mist machines which created a cool, damp atmosphere.

Some fairly average meals later and we were at Target Country looking for bathers and actually found some for Holly to replace the baggy and stretched bikini that she has been insisting on wearing even tho’ it covers almost nothing anymore!

I booked in for a session to fix up the state of my legs (missing you, Tasha!) while Paul and the girls went to see the new Indiana Jones movie which had all the usual thrills and spills. The girls came out full of adrenalin saying how fantastic it had been but apparently there was a fair amount of hiding behind Paul that went on!

The timing was just right to hit Cable Beach for sunset. We started off on the hill but the tide was so far out we couldn’t resist the chance to walk on the lovely soft sand and check out the rocks. There was a wedding going on and there were hundreds of 4WDs filling the stretch north of the beach entrance but south of that was relatively people free (except for the couple right down by the water, who appeared in almost every photo I took!) with excellent reflections off the wet sand. We watched the sun set with the standard couple of pearl luggers making for even better photos and the girls pottered around making pools and castles in the sand. (What are we going to do when we have to move away from beaches again?).

Back at the caravan park we had just exited the Landcruiser when the Stanley family came over (Hannah’s family) which made Katie very happy since she’d been lamenting the fact that she was going to have to wait another day before seeing them. They had a few tales of woe to relate. As you may remember (if you were paying attention) when we left them they’d just had a blown tyre and a dodgy alternator and were going into Tom Price for a mine tour. While in Tom Price their alternator died altogether and there isn’t anywhere there that does secondhand ones for Pajeros. So they had to order one up from Perth which meant waiting two days. All their stuff was at Karijini in their camper trailer, but they couldn’t get to it... Their insurance did cover emergency accommodation but the only place that had any room was a very expensive hotel and they couldn’t stay there two nights because it was so expensive and the insurance didn’t cover it all so they then moved into some backpacker accommodation at the caravan park – two sets of bunk beds – and had to borrow cooking and eating utensils. Meanwhile, the other friends we’d made out at Karijini were worried at their non-reappearance and had reported to the rangers that they were missing.

So now, of course, they are waiting for the third thing to go wrong and, lucky them, they didn’t have to wait long – somewhere between Karijini and 80-Mile Beach an eagle flew into their windscreen filling it with a big circle of cracks and guess what... the people in Broome don’t have one and have to send down to Perth for it!

Anyway, Katie was delighted to have her friends back, even Holly gave Gemma a big hug and Paul and Richard had a good chat about the football they are going to watch tomorrow. Lynsey and I discussed laundry and the other exciting things that are filling our days!

To Broome, Staircase to the Moon

Thursday 22^nd May 2008

We tried for an early start today but Holly had chosen this morning for a sleep-in and if she’s tired enough to sleep longer it’s in everyone’s best interests to leave her! The ceilings of the beds had serious condensation and the towels and washing were still pretty damp but we had to pack it all up. I removed all bedding from the beds and miraculously was able to close the camper up on my own with no effort whatsoever! Paul was very impressed but also had a touch of the ‘I told you so’ about him as we hitched up once more – no tape on the back of the camper this time because apart from the 10kms out from the beach it was all going to be bitumen.

The only moment of any interest on the drive was passing through a small bushfire beside the road where flames were still licking the undergrowth. We phoned the local police who said to ring 000. They put us onto the fire department who just took the info and said they’d pass it on to the appropriate people. They probably already knew all about it and weren’t worried but our thought was that maybe everyone else was thinking that way and it was better to overload them with calls than for it to be ignored.

Coming into Broome we couldn’t find anything else that we were all happy to listen to on the Ipod so we put on the radio and found Radio Goolarri which provided a welcome change even if it does only play really old stuff!

Once we were safely ensconced in a caravan park not far from Cable Beach Holly cooled off in the pool while I put on the first of several loads of washing.

We found the local shopping centre and re-stocked our cupboards (and Paul got today’s newspaper which made him happy) before heading into town for an early dinner. We chose Matso’s which is a boutique brewery with some interesting beers. I tried a ginger beer which is a bit weird – like a fizzy wine with a ginger taste – and Paul had a ?..? Bishop which was actually quite nice. The girls were a bit wired so our stress levels were slightly raised but we made it through without mishap.

We then headed down to Town Beach to watch the phenomenon of the Staircase to the Moon which only happens a couple of nights a month and only in 10 months of the year. It occurs when the moon rises over a very low tide so that its light reflects off the water over the mud flats. There were a lot of people down there with the added attraction of a market to feed and entertain the visitors. The moon wasn’t quite full but it was a stunning orange colour and created a fantastic spectacle for 10 minutes before it rose too high to have a decent reflection. Paul spoke to a guy who’s been in Broome for a year working at the markets and he reckoned it was the best one he’s seen yet. Coulda bin a loada wotsit to keep us tourists happy but we were convinced we’d been very lucky and were suitably appreciative. We also enjoyed the hot doughnuts that we bought from a stall that seemed to be the busiest there!

To 80-Mile Beach

Wednesday 21^st May 2008

Having successfully negotiated the dirt road yesterday we were buoyed up with confidence and ready to try another today which the landlady had said would cut a couple of hours off our trip. While I didn’t think we’d be able to achieve speeds that gave us that much of a saving (well, not with our trailer on tow, anyway) it certainly seemed to cut off a big chunk and we certainly didn’t need to get any closer to Port Hedland.

The road was very mild, except for one narrow part that wound through some wriggly hills, and decidedly uninteresting. The only thing I’d comment on is the level of rubbish beside the road that increased in quantity the closer we got to the turn off for an aboriginal community and diminished as we left it behind.

The 80 Mile Beach caravan park is enormous! But the grey-nomads haven’t fully arrived yet since it is still May so it was half-empty and really quite pleasant. Once again, the tape kept out a lot of unwanted (is it ever ‘wanted’?) dust – joy! I stuck on a couple of loads of washing while Paul and the girls investigated the beach but was disappointed to find that most of the clothes came out just as dirty as they’d gone in. I guess you can’t expect too much from machines that seem to be in constant use from the time the laundry opens until quiet time in the evening.

Paul and I set the girls up with a DVD (which meant there was no chance of them going anywhere or getting into any mischief) and took ourselves for a stroll along the beach just before sunset. The tide goes out a VERY long way – worse than Weston-Super-Mare! and there were thousands of small sea creatures – crabs, snails etc – wherever we tried to step. There was also a fantastic selection of shells, mostly white in colour but with some great shapes and designs. We watched the sun set into the silvery sea in spectacular fashion before heading back to the drudgery of dinner and bedtime routines.

Paul and the girls watched the next episode of the Young Ones which they are loving – Paul seems to know most of the script by heart which is lucky because there are constant questions from H and K as to what is going on – and it is a bit surreal in places!

To Marble Bar

Tuesday 20^th May 2008

Paul was all chipper this morning since we’d be moving to semi-civilisation today – that was until we had a fight with the camper trailer to get it closed and ended up with me standing on the roof while Paul applied all his weight to pulling it down. We decided it was because it is slightly bent after the howling gales of the Cape Range but I don’t think we can do much about it. We also taped up the back of the trailer with masking tape to see if we can stop some of the insidious red dust from finding its way into every nook and cranny inside!

We took the Great Northern Highway for a while and were very impressed with the massive, four trailer road trains – how big are they?!! We stopped at the Auski roadhouse for an early lunch because there wasn’t going to be anywhere else and our meagre supplies didn’t stretch to anything substantial enough to count as lunch.

The turn off to Marble Bar was actually signposted (none of the other side-roads had been) but that wasn’t necessary anyway because my superior map-reading skills had us pinpointed down to the last 500m – I think! Actually – it wouldn’t have mattered how good they were because about fifteen minutes down the track it was all changed anyway with the appearance from nowhere (according to my map) of a new train line down to Fortescue mine which we were forced to dog-leg around.

This drive was one of my favourites so far – it wound through hills of light sandstone and provided Paul with some interesting challenges. We only met one other vehicle on the whole 2.5 hour trip. The road conditions varied considerably – sometimes red gravel, sometimes white gravel and other times grey sand, sometimes very smooth and other bits where slowing right down was imperative. In one particular place there was a very sudden dip (yes, through a floodway, of which there were loads and loads and loads) which left us all wondering if anything would still be in place inside the camper trailer! Speaking to some other visitors in the pub later, as they passed that dip there was a low-loader trying to reload the bobcat that had jumped off its trailer, so we weren’t the only ones to suffer.

We saw a couple of interesting hills – see what you make of them...

The caravan park was not exactly large but we had a pleasant grassy spot with a bit of shade and only two other sites in the park were occupied so it wasn’t going to be a noisy night! As we all hit the showers to try and shift the orange (unsuccessfully) we saw a big red kangaroo hopping around in the park. The tape had made a big difference to the amount of dust so clean up was pretty quick and easy – yay!

We decided to treat ourselves to dinner at the Iron-Clad Hotel – one of two drinking establishments in this one-horse town. It wasn’t what you’d call busy – two other sets of tourists and a couple of locals – but it was very friendly – everyone was talking to each other across the room, sharing in conversations and the landlady kindly sold us some ice-creams from her own personal store. They had no beers on tap – just cans and bottles – but Paul was delighted to find some cider to wet his whistle.

As anticipated, the caravan park was in silence when we returned at 8:30.

Hancock Gorge, Spider Walk

Monday 19^th May 2008

We had some more enforced times table learning – Holly seems to have got it and Katie is trying because she desperately wants to see a movie when we get to Broome – this is the carrot we are offering them this time and seems to be a good motivator – shame there won’t be any more cinemas until we get to Darwin (I think, anyway).

The drive over to Hancock Gorge took us about 45 minutes during which time we tried to generate some enthusiasm for the Spider Walk. We checked out the Oxer and Junction lookouts but both girls were grumpy and not inclined to take any interest at all. Holly was distracted by a memorial to a SES guy who’d lost his life trying to save others in some floods – she is always interested in other people’s stories.

After some sandwiches and wafer biscuits they did revive somewhat and were almost keen to get down into the gorge. It started with a 6m ladder and yet more scrambling and soon came to a bit where the only way through was to wade in the freezing cold water. Paul had his Blundstone boots on because his crocs don’t protect him from sharp stones when rock climbing but the boots don’t go well in water. I handed over my crocs which almost fitted him and Holly did a relay with them so that I could get through while carrying Katie who had developed a tummy ache and wasn’t at all inclined to go any further. Holly thought she might then try and get to the other side by climbing the cliff but didn’t quite make it and soaked her jeans and half her t-shirt! We changed her into her bathers and left the clothes to dry on the hot rocks.

She and I did some reconnaissance of the next section because it involved either some deep wading through slippery black rocks or clinging tightly to the shelves of rocks at the side and we wanted to see if it was viable for Paul and Katie. Katie set herself up on a ledge with her towel over her and the bag for a pillow and wasn’t planning to move on but we did manage to cajole her into the next section which is called the Amphitheatre – with good reason.

After that there was the Spider Walk and there was NO WAY she was going in there, which was actually something of a relief because I don’t think her limbs were really long enough to reach across. Paul was sceptical but I pushed him and Holly on while I sat with Katie who was making a remarkable recovery now that she didn’t have to go anywhere!

Holly and Paul investigated Kermit’s Pool before Paul relieved me of the Katie-sitting duties and I had a turn at walking between rocks. It was a bit scarey because my arms aren’t really very strong (specially since I haven’t been doing my pilates since we left) and I couldn’t rely on them to keep me up above the chilly water and smooth as silk rocks below.

Beyond that bit is an amazing sort of cavern (with open top) that is solid dark, shiny rock with a passage gouged through it by the millennia of water. The rocks create weird reflections and strange light and there was a distinctly eerie feeling. Holly and I did a bit more investigating before heading on back to the sunny (and safe) amphitheatre.

On the way back we passed Paige and Cate with their family and also Lynsey who’d left the sleeping kids back in the car park while Richard tinkered with his dodgy alternator. We hung around for a while discussing future travel plans – a common thread with everyone! – before going to have a look at the Eco Retreat which we thought would probably also be a source of ice creams to supplement the dry and uninspiring biscuits which were all we had left in the car.

I cooked up what is fast becoming my favourite camp meal (being quick, only a few ingredients and eaten and enjoyed by everyone) of pasta with a bacon and sour cream sauce. The girls were hanging out for their friends to return but there was no sign until about 8pm. Richard and Lynsey had a blow-out of the very tyre that had been discussed earlier in the afternoon, had spent a while swapping it over and Brad and Denise had stopped to help out. They came round to tell us about it since they were off early into Tom Price and we’d be leaving for Marble Bar.

Knox Gorge, Joffre Falls

Sunday 18^th May 2008

Katie is keen to do her school work but Holly is a reluctant student and this morning was more evidence of this. We were concentrating on the 7 Times Table – I decided we’d better do the tricky ones first ‘cos we may not get through many more!

The other two families were having relatively quiet days today which meant the kids were all free to play. I took advantage of the girls being busy to head off to Knox Gorge without them because it sounded tricky and I didn’t want to ‘over-gorge’ them when there will be so many more coming up!

I negotiated with Paul to stay another night because I wanted to make sure we saw as much as possible and also I found out from the camp hosts that Hancock Gorge has a thing called a ‘spider walk’ which I thought the girls would be interested in (more on that tomorrow) so we needed another day.

These gorges are amazing because they more or less appear from nowhere. From ground level you can almost miss them because they are just huge holes in the ground where the water has worked away at the rock over ridiculously long periods of time until now there are these 60m or so deep gouges in the landscape. Some places are wide and full of vegetation of various kinds while others are much narrower with not much sun coming in at any time of day.

I had to scramble down a very steep slope littered with loose shale and met a couple of people coming up but after that I was on my own. Once in the gorge, finding the path wasn’t always straight forward and sometimes involved climbing through greenery that perched on rocks with water sliding through beneath. Since it was the middle of the day there was a fair amount of sun in there which kept me warm (not hot, though) and I tried not to hurry or think about how Paul and the girls were coping.

Once again I was blown away by the amazing colours – even in the water there were new reds, greens and blues that glittered in the sunlight.

The gorge ended for me at a narrow opening that dropped away dramatically down into another gorge (Red Gorge) but this section is recommended for those with ropes and climbing equipment only so I just took some photos and admired it before heading back the way I’d come. I built my own ‘chinese house’ (so named by the girls) which is a pile of the flat rocks of diminishing size stacked on top of each other.

I stopped off at Joffre Falls lookout and was glad I’d chosen Knox for my walk because at Joffre the walk was around the rim so not very challenging or interesting. The lookout had a view down into the gorge and pool which was impressive but with the direction of the sun I couldn’t get a decent photo and I couldn’t make out if it was possible to get down there anyway.

The camp was deserted when I got back so I drove round to Fortescue Falls to see if I could offer the others a lift – they were there which was lucky considering I’d made the climb down already. Katie declared she wanted to try the Class 4 walk (to Circular Pool) so she and I set off but when I checked that she was prepared to go all the way and climb up out the other end it was a different story. She wanted a bit of excitement but I wasn’t prepared to deal with the fallout when she realised how far she had to go and how much effort it was going to take. Much easier to go with the others – in air-conditioned comfort – and she’d be able to play with her friends that much sooner (which was Holly’s plan, too).

I managed to get both girls under the camp shower (which was only warm because of how quickly everything cools down once the sun goes down) but getting rid of their orange ‘bad fake tan’ look was another story – particularly on those troll feet! Despite copious amounts of soap and using up most of the water (with a makeshift canopy around them to preserve their fledgling modesty) they were not much cleaner than when we’d started – at least they smelt better!

The inside of the caravan is another orange zone but I’m trying not to think about it too much because there will only be more to come.

I made curry for dinner – definitely a staple of our travelling diet – and we all rugged up warm against the night’s chill.

Kalamina Gorge

Saturday 17th May 2008

Almost as soon as they were awake the girls wanted to be off with their friends but we managed to force some breakfast in first. Paige and Cate were doing schoolwork (which made us feel guilty and strengthened our resolve for tomorrow) but headed over as soon as they were finished and the girls all spent the morning doing their ‘stuff’.

We packed up a semblance of a lunch and dragged the girls off to the visitors’ centre. I found it very interesting but the girls (and Paul to a lesser extent) were soon bored and wanted their ice-cream and out! There was a lot of stuff about how the aboriginals lived alongside white fellas – often as almost slaves but there was also some celebration of how people managed to survive in such harsh conditions and there was some about aboriginal traditions in the area. I don’t think the place is very old but parts of it were showing signs of wear – I suppose that’s another result of the harsh conditions!

We then had to coax the girls into another gorge – this time Kalamina Gorge which is halfway between Dales and Hancock. This was along more dirt roads but luckily the Landcruiser is better sealed than the camper trailer (although not immune altogether – that stuff gets in everywhere). Once we’d got them going they really enjoyed themselves with Katie yomping on ahead at every opportunity. It was a relatively easy clamber with some breathtaking viewpoints and at the end a natural archway in the rock which could only be reached by swimming so we admired it from afar!

The colour of the rocks is amazing, as are the formations and the fact that during the wet season there can be metres of water above where we were standing – torrents gushing down the gorges that are the reason for the plentiful signs warning of flash floods.

Back at camp the girls were suitably tired but still put up the usual bedtime fight. Paul and I, however, were adamant because we wanted to watch the next episode of Six Feet Under before the laptop ran out of power again!

And, apparently, it got to 6 degrees tonight, so no wonder we were still cold despite the addition of jumpers and socks to our bedtime apparel – so attractive!

To Karijini – Dales Gorge, Fortescue Falls and Fern Pool

Friday 16th May 2008

We packed up once again (no awning because we’d had shady trees, and basically, any excuse not to put it up and take it down is good enough for us!). Although I’d done a big job of cleaning up inside, everything on the outside is still covered in very fine red dust – all our nice clean clothes immediately took on an orangey hue.

A few last minute supplies were picked up in Tom Price (it’s a very friendly place with lots of green) such as today’s Australian newspaper – by 9:30!! It obviously came in with some miners or something but whatever, it made for a happy Paul.

I directed us to Dales Camp which is on the Eastern side of Karijini National Park for a couple of reasons – the Savannah camp sounded too big and touristy (being now next to the Eco Retreat), the girls’ friends families were at Dales Camp, if we were only doing 3 days (at Paul’s request) then I didn’t want to be setting up twice when the two main areas of the park are within driveable distance.

Driving into the park we saw our first dingo slinking along beside the road. It’s hard to distinguish them from a dog really but we were all suitably impressed at seeing a real wild one. Once in the camp we were told that they’ve been howling at night and scavenging around the sites – we’re really out in the wild.

Some people would be happy with the amount of space around each site but for Paul it was not a good thing and I have to say that it is a teensy bit bleak – and not very warm, either, probably ‘cos we are relatively high up.

After setting up, just as I was beginning to wonder how we were going to keep the girls entertained I heard kid’s voices and one in particular which sounded like little Gemma (2yrs old). I sent Katie off to investigate and she and Holly came racing back with Hannah and the news that Paige and Cate were also camped just a little bit further around the corner (although they were currently out). Well, that fixed everything. Pretty much whenever we were in camp there was at least one other set of children and they all had a great time making disgusting red dirt pies that meant they were continuously orange coloured from their heads to their toes (particularly their toes, in fact, which Paul likened to trolls’ feet!). They also made ‘food’ – it must have been for fairies or something because the bowls were mini gum nuts and they used even smaller ones for drinks with pieces of Spinifex for straws and fluff as the froth on the ‘fizzy’ drinks! Very inventive.

Once we’d had some nutritious salami sandwiches (well, that’s what Holly had) we headed off to investigate Dales Gorge. This involved negotiating a steep climb down to Fortescue Falls which was, however, well worth the effort. On one side the water rages down into a beautiful green pool whilst to the right the rocks come down in handy steps of various sizes but mostly big enough for a few people to catch the last rays of sun before it moved around and left the pool in shade. Holly and Paul ventured in but I could see it was cold so thought I’d leave it until/unless I got really hot (most unlikely). Katie wouldn’t contemplate it because she couldn’t see the bottom.

The girls found a brown snake hiding under some rocks but he must have been feeling shy because of his flaky skin and didn’t come out to bother us. I clambered over the top of the falls to get a better view and of course Holly followed me round because it involved danger... Actually – it was a very mild taste of things to come! (Yes, I am writing this with hindsight again).

We moved upstream to Fern Pool which has a small, but impressive, waterfall into a large, tranquil pool surrounded by lush vegetation and only limited access for us mere humans. We were allowed to swim there but were asked to respect the ‘sacred’ atmosphere by keeping noise to a minimum. Hah! Some chance with our two loud-mouths around! The colour of the pool was amazing and none of my photos do it justice – I’ll just have to use my memory – ahem!
I did swim in here – it’s supposed to be one of the warmest pools in the whole of the Karijini Park – mmm, well, warm isn’t quite how I’d describe it but I suppose there were some patches that were warmer than others. The water coming over the falls was definitely warmER but it came down with such a force that sitting under it wasn’t actually a pleasure.

We met up with Richard and Lynsey again here – Richard had just done a quick hike down the gorge to look for photographic opportunities and I was inspired to try it out but knew that neither of the girls would be very interested because we had also bumped into Brad, Denise, Cate and Paige and they were keen to get back to camp to play with them. Paul kindly agreed to accompany them while I went off for some rock-hopping.

It was a gorgeous hour or so – clambering through reeds and other greenery and over rocks and parts of the Fortescue river. Very picture-squew, I must say, and also nice to have some time to myself. I took a few photos but, once again, couldn’t get anything close to showing the splendour of the place.

That part of the river ends at Circular Pool which is like a huge cylinder has been taken out of the earth and another beautiful green pool placed at the bottom. The climb up out of the gorge was steep and even more precarious than the one at the other end but I thought diligently of how good it was for my thighs that have been neglecting their pilates exercises and ignored the rasping in my chest and made it safely to the top.

The walk back to camp was flat, hot and unexciting – except for watching some very industrious ants taking spinifex seed to their nests and leaving a big mound of husks around the entrance.

Having just come from town with our fresh supplies, Paul and I had extended an invitation to Richard and Lynsey to have dinner at our place so at 6pm they wandered down with extra plates, cutlery and cups and some all-important chilled white wine as well as a very large box of a red that went down rather too easily. The kids had macaroni cheese and were then shuffled inside to watch CBeebies on the laptop (Holly very gracefully conceded that Harry Potter might be a little too scary for the younger two). The adults didn’t really care what they were eating – it was just good to have company with a million things to talk about and a few bevvies to help things along. We really enjoyed their company and managed to ignore the cold until finally the laptop ran out of batteries and we admitted that our children really should go to bed!

Tonight we were ALL in sleeping bags and Paul even got out his beanie. I think he only put it on to prove me wrong because it wasn’t quite THAT cold! Oh, and we had a visit from the local dingo but didn’t hear her mates doing any howling.

Tour of Iron Ore Mine, red dust clean-up

Thursday 15^th May 2008

Another relaxed start since we had decided to spend a second night here in order to do the necessary repairs and cleaning up without getting stressed in our usual way (or more precisely, without ME getting stressed and causing stress for others!).

We were picked up from the visitors’ centre with a whole bunch of others by a cynical but funny guy called Bob who did a very professional tour – he certainly knows all about the mine. We had to wear white hard hats and safety goggles that were distinctly unflattering (and kept slipping off the girls’ faces) and the bus had seatbelts and we were cautioned that if we were caught without them inside the mine area we’d be fined $20,000 – ahem, the girls were quickly buckled up!

Going past the petrol station he told us that they had indeed now run out of diesel again and he was distinctly unimpressed by their bad organisation.

Inside the mine area was amazing – it is huge and they have cut away SO much of the mountains. It’s been going since 1964, is producing about 20 million tonnes of iron ore a year and is expected to go on doing so for another 20 years or so (probably longer if the price of it stays so high). The purer ore (anything with above 60% iron) was actually yellowy while the rest is a dark colour. But of course, the predominant colour in the whole area is browny red.

Bob was at pains to point out how Rio Tinto/Hamersly Iron (as it was)/Pilbara Iron (the new name) have made a great job of reinstating/revegetating areas that have been mined but it’s still kind of sad to think that whole mountains (well, more like large hills really) have disappeared.

The first stop was at a lookout that took in the whole processing plant which was more or less explained to us. The part I was fascinated by was how they load the trains – for the fine grade it has to be conveyored up and dropped down into each truck one at a time but for the rough grade the train drives underneath the pile and the ore is dropped down into four carriages at a time. The trains are on average 230 trucks long and trucks are processed in pairs so there is always an even number (for those interested in testing their concentration to count them as they go past!)

Our next stop was a lookout over an area currently being mined. This lookout will be lost in about a month because the spot it is on has now become viable again. We had a fantastic view of an excavator filling a dump truck with a bulldozer banging away at a nearby rockface and even a regular 4WD to give us a sense of how massive the machines really are.

The lookout also has an out-of-use dump truck to give us tourists an idea of their size – OMG – they are huge! The obligatory photos were taken with it while Bob explained more about the mining process. We got to see two wedge-tailed eagles – wow – they were just swirling effortlessly around above the pit looking big despite the proportions of their surroundings.

Back in town the girls were given Rio Tinto lollipops and some toy versions of the white hard hats which came in useful in Karijini NP – a story for later if I remember to tell it – yes, this is being written about 5 days later – got a bit behind with it all!

The girls and I set up camp in the library – it was cool, there were lots of books to read (Holly had finished yet another of hers and I wasn’t giving her the next until we had a long drive to do) and Paul sloped off to a local coffee shop to read the newspaper.

The girls were supposed to be doing schoolwork in the afternoon but were distracted by the arrival of Quinn and Harmony (wot kind of names are they?!) who were desperate for young company – Quinn yelled out to Holly asking her to be his friend before they’d even parked their van! A little later beside the park pool (freezing water, apparently – wouldn’t catch me in there) they were joined by two girls, Finlay and Sadie (more ‘unusual’ names!) who are from Horfield in Bristol. The six of them made rocket ships out of towels and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening running riot around the caravan park.

Paul was on a mission to fix up the tap on the a-frame – successfully bought the parts from Muzzy’s hardware store and applied them – fantastic – all sorted... until he thought he’d just tighten it a bit more to make sure and split the plastic! So my grocery shopping trip included a return trip to Muzzy’s!

I spent a lot of time cleaning red dust out of the cupboards and sealing up any potential holes with masking tape. We will also be taping up the back of the van whenever we venture onto dirt roads because the hassle it causes is so great (in my mind, anyway).

It was fish and chips for dinner since tomorrow (Friday) we will be in the middle of nowhere and Paul and Holly need their weekly dose!

Hamersley Gorge, Tom Price

Wednesday 14^th May 2008

Apparently it had been about 9C last night so I’m glad we’d been prepared both girls slept a little bit later due to being warmer but Holly wasn’t any more cheerful when woken by Katie!

I made pikelets for breakfast but the girls had already got up and gone off to play with their friends so it was more like an early morning tea by the time they ate them!

Quite a lot of people left the campsite with us today – all heading towards Karijini. I wanted to take the Access Road down to Tom Price (this section is open but I hadn’t thought about it while in Karratha and hadn’t got the permit) but Paul wouldn’t do it and in a way I was glad because it meant we got to go to Hamersley Gorge and it would have been tragic to have missed such a fantastic place.

First we had to drive through a narrow gorge with a very dodgy dirt road and as we emerged from this part we met a huge truck with two trailers heading into the gorge. He had missed his turn off and was going to have to go on in through the gorge and out the other side before he could turn around – he was going to need some superior driving skills and a lot of luck. I was extremely grateful that we hadn’t met him five minutes earlier!

The trip took longer than we’d anticipated (I’d forgotten we had to go slower on the dirt roads) so by the time we got to the Gorge, the girls were starving (Katie had been asleep for an hour which she probably desperately needed). I had to delve into the camper trailer with the roof raised a couple of centimetres (just enough to open the door!) and find some supplies to fortify us.

We did have a little scare as we pulled up into the car park – water was running out of the trailer – had we split some pipes somewhere? Luckily it turned out to just be the tank overflowing as we were parked at quite a severe angle (the car park wasn’t really designed for campers but we are taking ours to its 4WD limits!).

Paul was more than a little distracted because as we’d started to head down to the car park we had suddenly come into mobile phone range and three text messages from Duncan came through – Bristol City had made it into the final playoff for promotion to the Premier League!

The climb down into Hamersley Gorge was steep but spectacular (once again Paul only had his Crocs but the going wasn’t quite as tough). The pool at the bottom was a beautiful green colour and very ‘refreshing’! It had to be dived into and Katie took a lot of persuading. After a very quick swim the girls were up and over the top of the waterfall to go and find their friends (we’d seen their vehicle in the carpark and super-sleuth Holly had spotted their towels beside the pool). There were several pools one above the other, each almost more beautiful than the previous and all with different kinds of rocks surrounding them.

Paige and Cate and their parents left shortly after (but not before the girls had done a few rock paintings of their own with the many colours of the Kimberley palette) so Holly and I (and then Paul) swam on down the gorge for a couple of hundred metres – that is the most beautiful pool I have ever swum in (also cold and deeper than I cared to check!) with huge cliffs on either side made of thousands of layers of multicoloured rocks and a pristine blue sky above.

We struggled up and out of the gorge – much steeper than it had seemed on the way in – and retrieved our still leaking camper trailer – lucky we’re not planning any bush camping tonight!

The drive into Tom Price was comparatively short and we were soon pulling up outside the visitors’ centre to book a tour of the iron-ore mine for tomorrow. The one garage we passed looked like it was out of diesel so we weren’t impressed to hear that it was the only one in town. Luckily as we drove back past it to see when they might get some more we saw a pump around the side and filled up quickly before that tank ran out, too – as happened earlier in the week.

At the caravan park the worst shock came – the quantity of red dust that had found its way inside was horrific – it seemed to be everywhere – and indeed, it was! I spent a very long time first brushing some out, then trying to wipe it away. It didn’t help that at some stage our bucket had managed to get itself a big crack in the bottom and was rendered completely useless. The other hindering factor was that when we connected up the water we found we had a fountain coming out of the tap mounted on the A-frame at the front. On closer inspection, it became apparent that the constant barrage of small, sharp stones had had a negative impact on the plastic piping that supplied it. In fact, the whole front of the van was covered in small indentations (and red dust!) which I suppose we should have expected.

Also inside the van, one of the cupboard doors had managed to loosen a couple of screws and abandon a hinge – we checked the other doors but it was only that one – why?

Showers, washing, dinner – all the usual activities on arrival in a caravan park. Katie made another new friend and Holly finished her second book in three days (pretty impressive given that yesterday she didn’t have time to read anything).

It’s cool here but nowhere near as cold as Crossing Pool.

Millstream NP

Tuesday 13^th May 2008

Everyone was freezing this morning and I had slept very badly – I’m sure Paul kept stealing all the covers! It wasn’t until after 9am that I started to feel slightly warm and ready to remove jumpers again.

We dragged the girls away from their friends (they had been taking our ladder and finding trees to climb) on a walk to the homestead along a great little track that started off crossing dry river beds that looked like they had been flooded recently, then we had to negotiate stepping stones through reed beds, through paper bark forests and clumps of Millstream Palms, past gracious Coolabah trees, through an open spinifex area and on past Silver Cadjeputs (I’m only remembering these names because we tried getting the girls to remember them) to the old homestead (now an unmanned visitors’ centre).

We saw an amazing caterpillar train – twelve hairy caterpillars, nose to tail as though they were glued together, negotiating a path across the track and past some very upset ants.

The girls were definitely flagging by the time we got there (about 50 minutes later, so they did well) but perked up when they were able to dangle their feet in the streams that used to be mill streams (hence the name, of course). While Paul and I actually read the displays in the centre, the girls started climbing trees again (well, Holly did while Katie watched). We could imagine how life would have been in the 1930s and I’m not sure I would have been up to it! So far away from everything, so much heat with no escape...

On the walk back we had to find ways to encourage both girls (it was about midday, so I can’t say I blame them for being hot and bothered!) – water and biscuits was not enough, so I was glad when they found the distraction of jumping on some fruits that looked like chinese gooseberries but which made a satisfying pop if you caught them just right. Holly was making up silly, rude songs which kept her happy for a while and Katie had a short turn on Paul’s shoulders until he got too hot and bothered himself.

Getting back to camp there were no friends so the girls deigned to spend some leisure time with Paul and I – we all had a swim and found ourselves some lunch at which point Hannah and her family swung into sight. For Katie it was the best moment of the day and Holly’s happiness wasn’t far behind when her friends returned and were ready for more swimming, camp building and exploring.

All of the kids played together and found a big inner tube which they borrowed for the afternoon and had fun with in the pool. Holly reckoned it was one of the best days of her life because she was having so much fun (will have to remind her of that the next time she complains about being away from home and her friends for so long!).

Paul took the Cruiser for a drive to a couple of lookouts in the vicinity and had such a good hour or so that he declared I should go check it out, too. Part of the fun for him was playing his music super loud as he drove and having the air con on at full blast. For me, it was the quiet and having the windows open to the evening air. I got a couple of good photos and took in some fantastic scenery – it’s amazing there aren’t more people here to see how beautiful it is.

Tonight we were prepared for the cold with sleeping bags out for the girls and Paul and I in jumpers in bed.

North West Shelf Venture, to Crossing Pool in Millstream NP

Monday 12^th May 2008

A leisurely pack up this morning since the visitors’ centre at the Woodside North West Shelf Venture didn’t open til 10am. We figured the girls wouldn’t be particularly interested so primed them in advance that we wanted time to have a good look around and they would have to be patient. It sort of worked... up to a certain point they took in info, past that point they were only interested in food and getting out of there.

It was interesting to find out all about oil and gas recovery and how much is exported (mostly to Japan) and the extreme measures they go to in order to achieve it all. The technology is incredible – the old ships carry Liquified Natural Gas (at ridiculously low temperatures) in big tanks on top of the ship but the newest ship carries it below deck in just a membrane?! Is that safe? Of course, there was lots of mention of all the work they do to maintain the natural environment – revegetating land, donating large amounts of money to various causes, the reef that now covers the undersea pipeline etc. but I was also interested to see how much the modern world relies on these fossil fuels.

We then did a detour to find the biggest (or was it oldest?) cache of aboriginal art in Australia. It’s not at all signposted and the only way we found it was following some indistinct instructions from the tourist brochure, and seeing a car parked off in the middle of what seemed nowhere. We left the camper trailer on the side of the big gravel road and took only the Cruiser down the dirt track, not knowing whether either the track was safe or if we’d be able to turn the trailer around.

We consulted a couple who were just leaving to make sure we were in the right place and I confidently led everyone off down a track that looked like it might lead somewhere. Paul and Holly complained bitterly about having the wrong footwear and everyone complained about being hot and not finding anything after ten minutes of walking. Not wanting to miss out in case the art was really good, I pushed on for another ten minutes before finally admitting that I must be wrong (that took a lot of admitting!).

By the time we got back to the car Holly and Katie had completely lost interest so stayed in the car to read their books but Paul and I tried a different direction – up an overgrown creekbed. Paul’s crocs were not helping him and my thongs (flip flops) didn’t protect me from the spiky Spinifex but after some intense scrambling it opened up a bit and we found a gorge with a small creek and almost running water through the middle.

The rocks up the sides did indeed have pictures carved into them and on closer inspection they were definitely of the aboriginal variety. They are supposed to be very old and the gorge is certainly atmospheric. I was slightly suspicious of one of the ‘etchings’ which seemed to depict a hot air balloon but it is possible that a couple of more recent artists have added their work.

On leaving the gorge we found a much easier way back and to our chagrin there were also a couple of signposts. We worked out that the car of the other visitors had been hiding the first of these and since we had parked beyond them we hadn’t been able to see any of the subsequent ones either.

I think the lack of signage from the road is due to a desire to keep it all protected and hidden – it nearly worked for us!

Back on the road we drove out to Roebourne and then onto our first serious dirt road with the trailer. It was an extremely mild version – well maintained, white/light gravel (none of the notorious red dirt, yet) but it was definitely a longer way around than the Access Road that goes alongside the railway.

We drove past Python Pool without stopping even though we knew it would be a pretty place – there’ll be plenty of gorges to see in the next week or so – so that we could make sure we got to Millstream before dark. The drive past Python Pool, up to Mt Herbert and down again is a sealed road – in the middle of a long dirt road in the middle of nowhere! That stretch is pretty spectacular with views over the plains and the surrounding hills covered in spinifex clumps and white trunked gum trees – and the red dirt.

We made it to Millstream National Park and found the Crossing Pool campsite with no trouble. It is a beautiful spot right next to a long, deep pool in the Fortescue River. To Holly’s absolute delight there was a family with two girls already camped there. Almost as soon as we’d got out of the car they were joining these girls in the water (well, Katie was only watching from the edge), paddling in their canoe and becoming best buddies.

Opening up the trailer gave us a nasty surprise – a whole load of red dust had seeped under the rear bed and onto the counter tops. But we were in the bush, what did we expect?! I cleaned it up and thought no more of it (there will be more of it later!!).

We barely saw Holly and Katie as they played with Paige and Cate and Holly got freezing cold in the very cool water! The campsite is well equipped with two drop toilets, a gas bbq and two gas rings, two picnic tables and even a ladder concreted in to reach down the two metres to the water.

There was no wind, clear skies and a very cold evening. We all huddled under our doonas at bedtime.

Kicking up our heels in Karratha

Sunday 11^th May 2008

It is Mother’s Day today but breakfast in bed was pretty much out of the question given our current situation but I did get chocolates and at least ten minutes to myself to read!

The plan was to do a quick shop and head out to Point Samson to have a look around, but the Centro shopping centre in Karratha had a Coles, a Woolworths, a K-Mart and a Target Country as well as a book shop so we didn’t get out of there so quickly after all. It appears that there are a lot of girls aged between 5 and 12 in Karratha because there are no bathers (or even many clothes or shoes) in those sizes!

Once we’d unloaded our shopping the girls were not interested in heading out and just wanted to laze by the pool. So we did.

As it turns out it was probably for the best because we made the 40 minute drive to Point Samson later in the day and there really isn’t much there. We checked out Honeymoon Cove where the girls did yet more rock climbing on the amazing rocks with wavy lines through them. Then we had some pretty tasty fish and chips at Moby’s Cafe (not quite as fancy as the brochures like to make out) which saved me from having to cook on Mother’s Day

Exmouth to Karratha

Saturday 10^th May 2008

A big drive today – approx 600km – all in one go – well, there didn’t seem anywhere worth stopping and getting everything unpacked for in between.

We packed up in superfast time and were off with only a short stop in Exmouth for morning tea while I uploaded more blog stuff.

We were right about there being nothing to stop for - when looking for a lunch stop place there was a river/water way marked on the map, supposedly with a picnic area. Well, it obviously isn’t much used – we were looking carefully but saw no way of getting down to the river, much less any picnic table or such like nearby. So we stopped in a layby, stuffed down the sandwiches and got on with the driving!

We found it bizarre that a place that is big enough to be signposted and even having the 10km interval signs (Nanutarra, in case you’re interested) was actually only a roadhouse, and not a big one, at that!

The road was pretty good – hardly any traffic, the girls were no trouble – we’d set them up with the laptop (and inverter) and they watched two movies and listened to a story on the Ipod, and it really didn’t seem like 6.5 hours of truckin’.

The caravan park in Karratha was SO expensive – there were quite a few people who would have been employed by the mines/gas industry etc who seemed to be living in the park so I suppose they can afford those sorts of rates. I was just happy to have a shower and wash some clothes and the girls were happy cos there was a pool to cool off in.

We chose a local watering hole for dinner – massive tv screens everywhere showing Victoria vs The Rest (except for one small screen where two guys were very loudly watching a rugby game!) and lots of single guys getting their feed for the night.

Milyering, Turquoise Bay and Mandu Mandu Gorge

Friday 9^th May 2008

Last night was a shocker... at about midnight the wind turned into a gale so the whole van was shaking and flapping for the rest of the night. I lay there thinking we were going to take off a couple of times but the van withstood it all. I did nip out and take down all the washing which was starting to loosen itself and I closed the windward side windows and meanwhile, the girls slept straight through!

Everyone was happy with the pikelets I cooked up for brekkie – so happy that the girls even consented to do some schoolwork. I think it helped that Hannah’s family were out for the day (the two girls in daycare while Lindsay and Richard went out with the whale sharks together), otherwise Katie may have been a bit distracted!

I did some tidying and sorting in the camper trailer and came across our camp shower – yay! Hot shower tonight! I filled it up and did some washing at a tap situated about 1km down the road, just off the beaten track (very bizarre, I thought, but I s’pose if it’s out of the way most people won’t bother using it, thereby conserving their water!). This was necessary because the water level monitor in the van indicated that both tanks were almost empty – we’re not sure how accurate this is and it will be interesting to see how much more we can get out. The power level has been absolutely fine so I guess we can be fairly free and easy with the lights!

After a spot of lunch (more meals in the van – please note!) we headed to the Milyering Visitor Centre where Katie delighted in showing us all the stuff she’d already seen. Then we went down to Turquoise Bay to do the famous Drift snorkel but we were slightly apprehensive because of the gale that was still blowing and the report of a French guy that the current was extremely strong making the visibility very poor.

We decided to do it anyway and trotted down the beach being chewed by horseflies. The current definitely was strong and Katie wasn’t keen but I left her goggles way up the beach so she had to wear her mask and I was deliberately misleading about what I would be doing with her so she put on her fins and stepped in with me. We had a lovely drift with her clinging tightly to me. We couldn’t see too much but I was able to point out enough interesting stuff to keep her distracted from the fact that I was slightly nervous and we came back to shore well before the point where the current can push you out to sea.

Paul and Holly had a slightly more stressful experience because Holly didn’t grasp the potential danger and wanted to do it all herself while Paul was getting his hair off with her because she wouldn’t listen to him so neither of them particularly enjoyed it.

To cool things off a little we headed round the point and had some play in the water. Apparently there is usually good snorkelling in there but today was really shite – almost no visibility – so we just enjoyed the beach instead and lamented the unusually high tides, strong winds and large swell.

Since it was now a little cooler – the wind had changed to south westerly – we went to check out the Mandu Mandu gorge. We knew we didn’t have the time, energy or supplies to do the full 1.5 hour hike but we did do a walk up the river bed to the gorge. The beautiful washed, rounded, pale stones of the river bed were in stark contrast to the vibrant orange of the gorge cliffs and the sea breeze made it a pleasant clamber.

The wind kept up for most of the evening, changing round to a south easterly by bed time. I got out the star chart to try and work out some of the constellations that I was looking at while keeping an eye out for shooting stars (none for me tonight). I will need to get it out again tomorrow to make sure I remember some of them – Corvus, Scorpio, that dog one that includes the star Sirius – see, I’ve already forgotten the names!

Moving camp and more exploration

Thursday 8^th May 2008

We got our Camp Host to radio through and book us a spot in our chosen site – Mesa Camp. It should be a bit more sheltered than Osprey Bay, it is closer to town and all the places we still have to visit and, from Katie’s point of view, very important, it is where Hannah is staying.

There are thirteen bays and Paul reckons it’s just a glorified carpark but there are some trees, there’s a beautiful beach just over the dunes and it seems friendlier to be close to others. Hannah’s family was indeed here and our spot was right next door so Katie was soon in and out of their van and bringing Hannah and Gemma into ours.

Once we were set up (by 9:30, I might add – so that’s pack up, travel and re-setting up in just over 2 hours!) we ambled into town with Holly in the front seat as DJ with the Ipod, got the girls some sausage rolls to sustain them and headed out to Charles Knife Rd which leads up to the Carter Lookout. It is a stunning drive up onto the range past some outstanding views of cliffs and gorges that, if they were in the US would be a major attraction in their own right instead of just a small side trip hardly anyone has heard of. The lookout itself was nothing to write home about but if we’d have been equipped (and able) it would have been great to do the walk that started there and looped around the gorge – next time!

Back in town the howling gale had dropped off and the heat was setting in so we found the library/telecentre where it was cool and quiet and Paul did some ‘stuff’ on the internet, I caught up on some diary writing while loading one of the CD books from the library onto my laptop, Holly read Asterix and Katie read and played with some of the toys. We were all happy and all cool!

We then checked out the wreck of the SS Mildura at the very point of Cape, looked in at Dunes (the surf beach) which had no surf today and settled on our own beach back at Mesa Camp for a refreshing dip.

After dinner (yes, we cooked for ourselves yet again) the girls settled down in Hannah’s van to watch Happy Feet on dvd while Lindsay and Richard came round to us for a natter and generously shared their beers (we had done some shopping for them earlier so they didn’t have to go into town – well, it was about 50kms away).

Whale Sharking

Wednesday 7^th May 2008

A bright and early start because Paul was taking Holly and me up to Tantabiddi boat ramp so we could meet the Kings Ningaloo Adventure people for our swim with the whale sharks. Katie was worried and had decided not to go and Paul had graciously agreed that I could accompany Holly who was keener than mustard while nervous at the same time.

Everyone else came down on the bus from Exmouth and we were ferried out to our boat which was large with comfy benches and shade and only 17 passengers. We were taken for a ‘practice’ snorkel so that everyone could show they were comfortable with the gear and saw loads of fish and some amazing coral that looked like someone had taken a pot of paint into the ocean. A couple of the guests reckoned that that one snorkel outshone by miles anything they had seen on the Great Barrier Reef.

I swapped my dodgy mask and snorkel for their fancy, much newer ones and got on much better. Hols was like a mermaid or little fish – diving up and down and round about and swimming circles around all the rest of us.

Swimming with the whale sharks is just incredible – one minute you are standing on the marlin board at the back of the boat, the next you are in the water trying to orientate yourself and move to right side of the spotter while at the same time gazing under water to try and catch a glimpse. And then there it is... looming out of the blue, white rimmed mouth heading towards you, beautiful spotted body gliding gracefully through the water, menacing fin and enormous shark tail gently swishing from side to side. They are SO big and move so imperceptibly and yet their speed was enough to have us paddling quite strenuously to keep up.

The first one we saw is quite distinctive since he has a growth on the side of his head and they call him Luke (short for leukaemia – very tasteful!). He moved fairly slowly so keeping up wasn’t too much of an issue but I was very aware of keeping an eye on Holly who had a tendency to wander too close. He had other small fishes keeping him company – using his slipstream, I guess, and sharing his food but wasn’t too bothered about our presence. There were three or four boats sharing him so we had five minutes or so of ‘contact’ time (we wouldn’t have been able to keep up for much longer, anyway) before our boat picked us up and we moved further in front of him to await our next turn.

We then lost Luke who dived down – probably fed up with being on display for so long – and headed south to where another whale had been spotted by the plane. It was a female but not yet identified and she was moving faster and going up and down a fair bit but she was bigger and still just as amazing.

Once our ‘contact’ time was up we headed back inside the reef for a fantastic lunch and some more snorkelling. Holly snorkelled with her new friend Dakota (12 years old but they don’t care as long as there is another young face around) so I was free to paddle around as I wanted. The visibility wasn’t perfect but it was pretty good and the best bit for me was seeing a couple of turtles – it just seems incredible that we can hang out where they hang out. I also saw an elegant catfish, a brown unicornfish (that was actually green) and a bunch of LongToms (very long and thin with very sharp teeth) amongst hundreds of other, equally beautiful, fish.

Back on dry land Paul drove up with the car rocking to the sound of Iggy Pop and Katie in the front seat looking very pleased with herself! They had spent the day at the Milyering Visitor Centre, Lakeside beach (where they bumped into Hannah and her family – her new friend from Kalbarri), the Oyster Stacks and Turquoise Bay.

We counted kangaroos beside the road as a diversion to stop the girls upsetting each other but even that almost came to blows when Katie was five up on her side and Holly was accusing Paul and I of helping Katie too much! In the 44km we counted 35 on each side (thank goodness it was a draw!) and then four more on the track to the camp! And they are pretty stupid about running in front of the vehicle so driving was slightly stressful for Paul.

Tonight we didn’t risk the bug invasion – we got inside before dark and more or less stayed there. We had a slap up dinner of fresh prawns (or, prunes, as Katie called them!) – courtesy of the boat who had some left over and none of the staff wanted them since they eat them every day. It’s a tough lark, this camping!

We finally got out the head torches to make toilet visits a whole lot easier but the girls thought using them to illuminate the long drop was hilarious – I can tell you it was not pleasant. Surprisingly, the organic stuff they use to keep the smell away is incredibly effective.

I worked on our itinerary – we needed to decide whether to move back into town (the call of a hot shower is strong, as is doing some laundry) but if we can get into another camp site up the road we will stay in the Cape Range National Park for another couple of nights.

I saw a shooting star! Whenever anyone else sees them I am looking in the wrong direction but tonight I really saw one!

To Cape Range National Park

Tuesday 6^th May 2008

Let’s get out of here! The weather was decidedly overcast so the drive up to Exmouth was easy – I drove because I wanted to be able to say I’d done a share but I also knew that this would be a short trip!

In Exmouth we found that there were a couple things we couldn’t do – the road into Shothole Canyon is closed until it is fixed by the Main Roads department (which may not be all that soon, since I’m sure there are far more important ones to tidy up first) and Yardie Creek is impassable.

We filled up our water tanks at the Visitors’ Centre and stocked up our food in the town. They have two supermarkets almost next to each other and both are IGA s, WHAT?! They also had a Brumbys so hot sausage rolls and a couple of custard tarts were ordered up and eaten very quickly. Paul bumped into one of his customers and his wife – Hugh and Elina – Munich Motorcycles has feelers everywhere!

We then ventured into the National Park and checked what sites were available. The very friendly ranger offered us a place at Osprey Bay which sounded lovely but was the furthest away from everything – we didn’t have much option but Paul wasn’t too impressed.

It was definitely proper camping... no water, no power, long drop toilets and best of all, huge spaces between the sites with a great view over the ocean. No shade or shelter from the howling gale but you can’t have everything!

Tempers were a bit frayed by the end of setting up – the wind definitely didn’t help so we decided to go out and try something else. We drove down to Yardie Creek which was way smaller than I’d expected – another long drop toilet, a couple of cars in the car park and a couple of boats moored in the river mouth.

We got out the fly nets because there were plenty of the little buggers around. Katie had left behind her shoes so had to walk (mostly uncomplainingly) on a sharp gravel path that wound gently along the creek to a small lookout point. Holly even handed over her thongs to Katie for some of the short walk.

I was eyeing up the more tricky climb to the bend in the river above the canyon and luckily the girls were keen to do a bit of mild rock-climbing and Paul said he didn’t mind so we set off. It was fun and not too strenuous, until Holly stumbled, grabbed onto one of the marker poles and fell into a pile of rocks that weren’t doing a good job of holding the pole up! She suffered multiple scratches, some of which bled slightly (eliciting more sympathy than might otherwise have been forthcoming), and several exhortations to take more care when skipping down cliffs like a mountain goat.

The scrambling was worthwhile and we were all very grateful for the fly nets even if we did look a bit daft. There were good echoes from the canyon wall and a great view towards the beach and the sun low in the sky. The girls took it in turns to wear Holly’s thongs (great climbing shoes!) and we made it without event back to the car where first aid was administered to Holly (an antiseptic wipe followed by a good dose of listening to a story on the Ipod).

The rest of us walked down to the crossing to see if it really was impassable – HUH – while we were there a Prado waltzed through! It was a very nice stroll out to the low tide level with some excellent reflection on the creek water heading out towards the sunset.

Back at the camper we cooked for ourselves (yes, again!) on the outdoor stove and were feeling very pleased with ourselves – a great spot, a fantastic sunset, hardly a soul around, the wind had died down... but we were besieged by bugs – thousands of them – UGHHH! We sat out to try and eat – big mistake – Katie had an enormous bug land in her tomato ketchup and both girls immediately claimed it had put them off their food (they had just got to the point where they had eaten enough to stave off hunger pangs but not far enough that they would last til breakfast). As soon as dinner was eaten we beat a hasty retreat to the camper where we all got very crabby with each other until the girls were dispatched to bed (not that they went to sleep, of course, some sort of game that involved a lot of squealing had to happen first).