Aaron & Lib's Australian Adventure

Welcome to Week 6.

Red Dog Memorial, Dampier

04/07/2016 Day 38 (Mo). We arrived in Karratha yesterday afternoon and finally feel like we’ve found the warmer weather. It was 29C and it was awesome. It was another long day on the road with roadwork’s and what not. After arriving in town we stocked up on essentials (food and alcohol) and then checked into the cheapest caravan park in town. It’s not flash but it is close to town and $25 for an unpowered site. Our other option was a CP, powered for $49. They charge like wounded bulls but we blame it on the Grey Nomads because they meekly pay it and don’t kick up a fuss. The park is run down. Power points in the men’s don’t work, the camp kitchen has no cooking facility and it is tight getting into our site but it is quiet, grassy and they allow dogs. This morning we are going to go and have a sticky beak at Dampier.

Red Dog Memorial Dampier

I also picked up my new phone from EB Games yesterday. Woo Hoo! Lib’s also happy because I no longer need to use her phone.

Sturt's Desert Pea, Dampier

05/07/2016 Day 39 (Tu). So Dampier was interesting. Rio Tinto has the second largest iron ore mine in the world there. We saw the Red Dog Memorial and had a look at the Northwest Gas Project. The info centre there was closed but there were enough information boards out the front to give you a general idea of the magnitude of their massive operation. We also saw our first example of the Sturt’s Desert Pea. We had lunch in Dampier and took the dogs for a beach side walk before returning to the CP.

Sturt's Desert Pea, Dampier

Dampier Port

Today we started with a minor hiccup. I noticed that the step into the rear of Bess was collapsing so after some thought to repair options we hit up the local hardware store (Mitre 10) and found the necessary materials. The young man working there was very helpful indeed. We then headed out of town and looked at Roebourne and its old jail and many historic buildings. We then moved onto the ghost town of Cossack. We spent about two hours there wandering around the many beautifully restored circa 1880’s buildings, including a side trip to the cemetery. It was interesting to note that in those days they segregated the races into their own areas of the cemetery.

Salt awaiting export, Dampier Port

Dampier Port

After lunch we continued east up the highway to the Whim Creek Hotel which is an iconic outback Aussie pub. We availed ourselves of the fresh, crisp and cold on tap beer (James Squire for me). The only reason it still exists is as the local watering hole and the accommodation for the nearby copper mine which has been closed several times throughout its history. We are spending the night here camped in the car park for free and it’s not in any guide book, though if you buy a meal you get access to the showers for free too.

Dampier Port

Dampier

09/07/2016 Day 43 (Sa). It’s been 30+C for the last three days. It’s crazy because as I write this its 22C and I feel like putting a jumper on. After leaving Whim Creek we drove through Port Hedland to pick up supplies and then kept moving on to our current location at DeGreys River. Lib’s parents camped here for two weeks, four years ago on their way through this part of the country. I can certainly see why. It is an idyllic location. In amongst the trees, many of them beautiful white River gums, we are camped looking out across the river. This one actually has water in it. We have crossed many rivers on our travels but from Carnarvon onwards, most of them have been dry. This one is not flowing but it has many pools up and down from our camp with the largest right under the highway bridge. This roadside rest area is supposed to be a 24hr stop but it is gorgeous so we will stop here for a little longer to unwind and acclimatise to the heat.

Miner's Memorial, Northwest Gas Project, Dampier

The river here has a bull shark trapped in it. Lib and I are yet to see it but others have in the time we’ve been here. The first siting was 21/06/2016 but at

Cossack

that time the river was flowing. I guess he left his escape too late. Still, that doesn’t deter the back packers from swimming here. Cows come down to the river to graze and drink their fill every day and the grey nomads come and go in their droves. There is a myriad of birdlife including swans, king fishers, magpies, crows, finches, scrub pigeons, storks and many others I have yet to identify. And there are fish in the river too.

There is also a croc warning sign on the way in to the campground and it is the first we’ve seen up this side of the country. Though there is no evidence here and no reported sightings.

We also did the work to bolster Bess’ step so that it is no longer collapsing.

Cossack

The Big Tonka Truck, Wickham

DeGrey's Free Camp

Bess Facelift

Hi All, another blog update for your enjoyment. Included in this week’s update are photos of Bess’ new paint job. Enjoy!

26/06/16 Day 30 (Su). Damn and damn! The fishing charter I was booked into yesterday was cancelled due to wind. It was a beautiful sunny day but it was blowing at 20 – 25 knots and the charter company deemed it too unsafe to be out on the water. Now I’m booked on Friday’s charter and the forecast for that day looks more promising. I can’t go out any earlier because today’s charter is fully booked and then the boat is booked for four days thereafter for a private charter. They are the only charter company operating in Coral Bay at this time.

So we spent the morning finishing the paint job on Bess. And now the tape is finally off!

The rest of the day was spent exploring the beaches and rocky out crops. We did see a sting ray in the shallows.

So we are spending our days in Coral Bay and our nights back out on the highway to try and mitigate our costs. We are travelling 50 km’s in and out each day but it is cheaper to pay for the fuel than to stay in the CP as it is $45/night for an unpowered site. But it’s all good. Our plan was to spend a week driving from Carnarvon to Exmouth and then stop for a week there. We had planned to do a few days at each of the station stays but with the roads in not being Bess friendly we have modified the plan and will spend the bulk of that time here and then a couple of days in Exmouth. The wind is up again today so we will probably try and find a spot to get some fishing in. Time to chill and relax.

29/06/16 Day 33 (We). Sunday morning I went fishing down at the town marina and had some minor luck catching two wrasse (reef fish). They were very pretty fish and the first was lucky enough to get my sympathy. He was returned to the water but the second was not so. He was lunch the next day. Mmmm, fish burgers! In the afternoon we went snorkelling for an hour or so. We had many problems with the masks fogging up but google came to the rescue and now we are better prepared for our next outing.

Monday was spent just hanging out in Coral Bay as it was a bit brisk and breezy. We did take the kids for a run on the beach and did some grocery shopping but mainly we just hung around the van. We went down at 1530 to see the feeding of the Spango’s again which is really amazing.

Yesterday (Tu) we made the decision to drive up to Exmouth to have a look around because we were starting to get a bit stale trying to fill our days in Coral Bay til the charter on Friday. When we arrived we checked into the Ningaloo Resort CP. Then we went and checked out the town and the new boat harbour. We did some shopping and Lib got in some retail therapy.

We did have one minor hiccup though. After returning to the CP I was ducking under one of the arms on the awning I didn’t go low enough and smacked into it with my head. I’m fine but the arm has a big bow in it now and is hard to put away. Somewhere down the road I’ll have to try and remove it and straighten it out.

Today we went out to the lighthouse and checked out a few beaches. Exmouth’s history is quite something as there was only a radar station and anti-aircraft guns there in WWII and no town there prior to the 1960’s. It was originally built to support the Harold Holt Naval Communication Station. Now they also have a thriving fishing industry with prawns being the major catch as well as a huge tourist industry with the Ningaloo Marine Park and Cape Range National Park.

This afternoon we did some fishing at the boat harbour with no success and then headed out of town and are spending the night in a road side rest area on our way back to Coral Bay.

I really look forward to returning to this part of the country to have a better look when we have upgraded to a 4WD. You really need one to properly explore this part of the coast line as we are quickly discovering. Also a pocket full of cash would help too because everything is super expensive. Today we filled the van and LPG was $1.40/L and petrol was $1.54. It probably doesn’t help that we are here in their peak season either but we didn’t want to visit when it was scorching hot or blowing with cyclones.

02/07/2016 Day 36 (Sa). The last two days here in Coral Bay have been totally fantastic. Thursday the weather was beautiful and after arriving and getting a bit of fishing in at the marina, we headed into town. After lunch we donned our snorkelling gear and after treating the masks with anti-fog we had a great time. The coral was amazing as were the fish. The colours were many and included florescent blues, bright purples, vivid greens, bright yellows and all colours in between. We stayed in the water as long as we could before we were absolutely spent.

Yesterday was the day for my fishing charter and what a glorious day it was. I couldn’t have asked for better. I caught plenty of fish including Rosie Job fish, Golden Job fish, Red Emperor, Trevally, Robbo’s and even two small sharks. We saw Minky whales, Humpback whales and a Bronze Whaler or two. We fished down to 130 metres of water and it was tough work getting the fish up from that depth. Plenty of fun was had by all and heaps of fish were caught. All told I landed about 15 fish, if not a few more. At the end of the day after arriving back at port everyone grabbed a beer and gathered around the fish cleaning station where the crew from the charter company filleted and skinned everyone’s fish for them. Doing it this way instead of on the boat is really good advertising for their business as plenty of passers-by stop for a look and ask plenty of questions. It is the first charter I’ve been on where they clean the fish for you and it’s awesome as I didn’t have to try and butcher my beautiful fish myself.

Lib had a great day too. After leaving me to get on the bus, she returned to the van and took the dogs for a swim at the beach. Afterwards she did some sorely needed house cleaning. After the previous days successful snorkelling she decided to go back in and had another great time duck diving down amongst the coral and schools of amazing blue fish. She even saw a few Spangled Emperors too. A great day was had by all and for dinner we dined on Red Emperor freshly caught and grilled on the BBQ. I can certainly see why it is such a prized catch and am glad I caught one on my time on the water.

Today we left Coral Bay and are now on our way to Karratha. It was a long days driving and tonight we are camped at the Onslow turn off in a road side rest area.