Broome to Denham

12^th News letter.

Tuesday 15^th September, reluctantly we left Broome and headed south on The Great Northern Highway. Our stay in this picturesque town was outstanding and would recommend to anyone that it is a must see place on this planet. Unfortunately like many places on the West Coast it is an expensive place to live particularly when it comes to Real Estate whether buying or renting. It makes me realize how cheap our places are on the Sunshine Coast by comparison. Our first port of call was Barn Hill, however as we pulled off the highway we discovered we had a small engine problem in so far as the intercooler pipe had a slit in it and oil was leaking onto the engine bay. Out came the ever-trusty black tape and after a lot of wrapping, on we went to Port Smith Caravan Park some 23 klm off the highway on another dirt road. An almost deserted park as we are now far behind the crowd that has already gone home and planning their next trip. Before we had even hooked up to electricity a very nice man came over and offered us four fillets of fish that had just been caught. Now you can’t beat that can you? I might add they were delicious. We took a long walk down to the waters edge, as it was low tide and wondered amongst the sand flats enjoying the clear aqua water on an incoming tide.

Wednesday 16^th It was a long days drive to Port Headland some 500klm away with a dickey pipe so we were careful not to go over 80 klm an hour. I have two words to say about Port Headland, DON”T GO if you can avoid it. It’s a mining town that ships Iron Ore on massive ships to god know where. Everything in the town is covered in Red Dust and looks revolting. Best of all, you too could buy a house that costs $750,000 that you wouldn’t want to live in because it’s so horrible and rent it out for $2,500 a week. We stayed in one of the 3 caravan parks in town that was so feral I couldn’t believe we were there and they charged $35 a night for the privilege. I figured they should be paying us to stay there. The run down feral dongers they rent out for $450 a week, I think their sense of pride disappeared a long time ago.

Thursday 17^th A special day looking at the high and low spots of Port Headland from the car window as I refused to get out except to go to the supermarket. Ken of course made it his business to overlook the unpleasantries and had a ball watching the big ships being loaded with Iron Ore and jostled about with the help of tugboats. It’s the small things in life that make it worthwhile. We were not able to buy a replacement hose in this town so phoned Perth and arranged for one to be sent to our next Port of Call, Karratha, our worst nightmare would have been having to stay in this town for a week waiting for the part to be sent, as it was we stayed 2 nights.

Friday 18^th On our way out of town my unstable and very disturbed partner Ken mouthed the fact that if it wasn’t for me he would have liked to spend a few more days in Port Headland so he could watch a few more ships come and go. He obviously is not well, poor thing. A good job he has me along for the ride to look after him. Another 200 klm down the road we stopped in Roebourne, a small settlers town for lunch. It is said to be the oldest town on the NW coast of Western Australia. Established in 1866 it comprises an array of restored historic buildings to its credit. We noticed many Indigenous people were sitting along the roadside, probably to greet us. It’s strange how they all know we are coming and find a nice tree to sit under for the day to make us feel welcome. On to the small deserted town of Cossack, which was home to the North West’s first pearling industry. Cossack boasts of 8 restored buildings including an impressive courthouse and a neglected cemetery. Just when I thought I had seen it all, a trip to the headland had to be included and I might add it was a spectacular view. After many hours of stepping back in time enjoying our history it was time to find our camp for the night at Cleaverville Beach. Situated some 14 klm west of Roebourne we turned off the highway onto 13 klm of yet another dirt road to eventually find something close to heaven. It’s an area of about 100 acres of natural bush land on the ocean. The council has put in some good dirt tracks to enable you to find your own camping site, and from ours we have 180deg view of the ocean including sunsets to die for. There are very few people here at this time of year as the season is nearly over so it’s nice to have the place to ourselves. The only amenities offered are garbage bins and sewerage dump points, however water is 35 klm away in Karratha, so one has to be super careful with its use. The cost of this place is $7 a night per van so we are pretty happy with that. The down side however are the midgies, those little blighters that love to bite you and even get through the netting in the van so while we are here we are also sleeping under another netting erected over the bed.

Tuesday 22^nd Today we can take it no longer, the sandflies/midgies have won. This morning we woke to hundreds of the little buggers under the mosquito netting with us, and our bodies covered in bites. Ken raced outside to pack up while I set too and packed the inside. After about 20 min of midgie agro, we put Wendal outside on a lead and sprayed the van until my arm hurt. What a pity, as it has been such a beautiful spot and we have enjoyed 4 lovely days. We believe the start of high spring tides has flushed them out. Swallowing as many Phenergan as possible, we then tried not scratching our way to Karratha. We pulled into Balmoral Caravan Park on the edge of town and as it was still quite early in the day and went to check the P.O. to see if our intercool pipe had arrived. Yes we were in luck, so Ken put it in and I did our washing and also washed our very red caravan. Wow it looks good without being covered in red dirt, so does the cream leather lounge after some elbow grease. Apparently we could not leave the area without a visit to Dampier so as the sun was setting we hightailed it to have a look at the port.

Wednesday 23^rd We headed back into the centre at Karratha to do a wee bit of shopping; I hate to miss the opportunity to visit Woolies. My watch had stopped so I needed to find a jeweler that sold a suitable battery. Also two of our gas bottles were empty. Shopping for supplies always takes us a while so we didn’t leave town till after noon. Our impression of Karratha is it’s a very prosperous town due to the massive iron ore and gas industries. Lots of new houses being erected and my guess is the shopping centre will follow suite. Another long drive and we had already decided to stop at a free park so chose Robe River, which was already near capacity when we arrived at 4.30pm. On our arrival we noticed two ladies coming out of the drop toilets with rubber gloves on, disinfectant in hand and cloths that were obviously going to the nearest rubbish bin. On enquiries as to what they may have been doing we were informed as to the state of the toilets. They were chokers, with a clearance of about 15 mm below the seat. No I won’t go into further detail, however the council should get its act together and have more frequent pump outs before people start getting sick. The other joy about this place was the red dust and the strong wind that blew it through the door and every nook and cranny.

Thursday 24^th Saw us on the road to Exmouth and enjoying much cooler weather. Just outside the small town of Learmonth we came upon a huge fiberglass Prawn, so the car pulled itself off the road into the driveway and 2 kg of prawns were deposited into the Evercool, which makes Ken a very happy boy. Ningaloo Caravan Park in Exmouth was chosen to be our home for a couple of nights, however finding a shady spot proved to be a challenge. Later in the afternoon we decided to take a 4 klm walk to the new Novotel Resort right on the ocean and we were both taken with what a beautiful place it was. The resort is designed in a semi circle with the reception, bar and restaurant in the middle and the two story bungalows curving around on either side all facing the sea, pool and water features. A great place for a drink and a cool off.

Friday 25^th Ningaloo Reef here we come. The first thing we came across was the Naval Communication Towers, which are the world’s largest very low frequency transmitter. The central tower, known as Tower Zero, stands at the centre of the base surrounded by twelve others and all can be seen from a great distance. It is said to be the second tallest structure in the southern hemisphere standing 387.6 metres high and weighing 800 tonnes and can withstand winds up to 500km per hour, very impressive by anyone’s standards. Next stop was the wreck of the SS Mildura, a cattle ship that now sits on the sand bar at the tip of the cape, it was destroyed in 1907 by a cyclone while traveling south. On to Vlamingh Head lighthouse and a view that is beyond words, however breathtaking is close. Today the wind is picking up the sea and rolling it over the reef that can be seen on the horizon. Closer to shore aqua clear water with the occasional wave coming off a reef closer to shore, was a surfers delight. As we drove down the coast into Cape Range National Park the road followed the coastline allowing us to stop for yet another view of this magnificent sight. There were only a couple of possibilities for snorkeling due to the windy and rough conditions, but Ken did manage about an hour or two with his head under water. I enjoyed lying on the beach tanning up my very white legs.

Saturday 26^th We traveled on to Coral Bay, a village only 150 klm down the road, comprising 2 caravan parks, a hotel and a couple of shops. We were hoping to stay quite a while but were told we could only stay one night because it was fully booked for the next 2 weeks due to school holidays. Well we did what we could to enjoy the place for the rest of the day. Ken went snorkeling and I went shopping and had a sleep. Toward the end of the day the park filled up with families on holidays, tents touching, children squealing, and dogs making nuisances of them selves.

Sunday 27^th Drove to Carnarvon Caravan Park and booked in for one night. Drove into town and walked on the old one mile jetty that was built in 1897, and it is still used by young families and old men fishing ‘trying to catch a feed’. Back at the van park we met some of our new neighbors and all promised to get together tomorrow evening.

Monday 28^th A quiet day in sleepy old Carnarvon, I did house hold chores and a wee bit of baking, some nice fattening choc chip cookies, fortunately they don’t last to long when Ken is around so very few pass my lips and go to the hips thank to the cookie monster. Drinks with our new neighbors proved to be a most enjoyable affair, Lyn & Louise come from the USA, Pam and Ivin come from United Kindom and now reside in Queensland, and Pam and Bob from Victoria, such a diverse and interesting group of people.

Tuesday 29^th It’s raining today and the wind is blowing like hell and very cold, this is the first rain we have experienced since leaving Walkamin. in Qld. Winter jackets and dooners are coming out of their hidey-holes with great speed and even the electric heater is being sought to warm our cold feet. How quickly the weather can change. Since being in Carnarvon we have had access to lovely fruit and vegetables all locally grown on the farms that surround the town. Eggplants, tomatoes, baby egg tomatoes, beans, spinach, avocados, bananas, paw paw all very reasonably priced, for example a bag of tomatoes cost $1.

Wednesday. 30^th Today the weather has cleared up enough to take a drive to The Blowholes, some 75 klm North of Carnarvan. Powerful ocean swells force water through sea caves and up out of narrow holes in the rocks, forming jets of water sometimes to a height of 20 meters. It’s a spectacular sight and was worth the drive however the chill factor was not to my liking. Never happy I hear you say, could be right. By this stage afternoon drinks have become a regular affair with our newfound group of friends.

Saturday 3^rd October. Can’t believe we are still at Carnarvon, however we ARE leaving tomorrow. We have a booking at The Seaside Tourist Village in Denham as of tomorrow night, so no excuses. One of the reasons we have been here for so long is due to school holidays here in WA and all the coastal parks are booked out a long time in advance so we decided to sit put and wait it out.

Sunday 4^th The highway from Carnarvon to the Overlander Roadhouse we have renamed as Road Kill Highway due to the extraordinary amount of animal remains. At least every kilometer one comes across yet another Kangaroo, Emu, Goat, Sheep, plus the odd Cow all at differing points of discomposure, very unpleasant when you have to drive around a fresh one. Too much information I am hearing you say, well I have to agree. We also noticed that many human fatalities had also occurred depicted by crosses and wreaths marking the spot, it seems strange that in all our travels we have just never seen so much death in such a short distance. Fortunately we have arrived at Denham in one piece with out any hiccups.

Thursday 8^th What a beautiful day it is, with not a cloud in the sky and the wind abating so we can enjoy this lovely part of the world. We have been here for five days now so will try to relate just some of our experiences, but first of all some history. Denham is a small seaside town located on the Peron Peninsular in Shark Bay Marine Park. Shark Bay Marine Park is some 748,735 hectares in size covering 1500klm of coastline, said to be the largest marine embayment in Australia. The aquatic life is amazing with a myriad of dolphin, dugongs, sea snakes, sharks, eagle rays, manta rays and turtles. The bay region has the largest number and area of seagrass species in the world and is a breading ground for dugongs estimated to house one eight of the world’s population.

This has been a world heritage area since 1991 covering all four of the natural criteria for world heritage listings, in this case Natural Beauty, Earth’s History, Ecological Processes and Biological diversity. The world heritage attractions include Hamelin Pool Stromatolites, being one of only two places in the world where living marine stromatolites exist. What are stromatolites I here you ask, well they are living fossils that contain microbes similar to those found in 3,500 million year old rocks. Another attraction is Shell Beach, the beach is made of trillions of tiny shells, all from one type of animal, the Hamelin Cockle.

There are prolific numbers in the area due to the super salty water and the discarded shells have heaped into massive piles up to 10m thick. Tonnes of bleached white shells form the beach up to 1km wide and many kilometers long, it is a sight to behold. Eagle Bluff is located some 20klm south of Denham and it provides an opportunity to view this expansive coastline and the myriad of marine life that exists in the shallow waters of shark bay. A newly constructed boardwalk was a great place to view turtles, rays, sharks and dugongs, and I was also impressed that the broad walk included wheelchair access.

Monkey Mia is arguably the most popular attraction because of its dolphin interaction experience. The ritual of feeding the dolphins has been going on for 40 years and we were very fortunate to be part of the experience. I am not sure if it was my orange coat and shoes or if it was the bribe Ken paid so his lovely bride could be one of the ‘chosen’ selected to feed these beautiful creatures, despite standing in the back row. Ken decided to take photos while I got to meet one of the grand old ladies of the sea. The dolphin turned on her side and just played with the fish I was giving her, while staring at me with her right eye. (Apparently they are able to use their eyes independently of one another, depending which side of their brain they are using). I really did feel a wonderful connection and was grateful for the experience.

Just before leaving we visited Ocean Park and enjoyed a few hours being entertained and informed by some very young and enthusiastic Marine Biologists in regard to the fascinating marine creatures found in this world heritage area.

Friday 9^th October. It is time to move on to our next destination Kalbarri, but before we do I must say how much we have enjoyed our stay at Shark Bay and would highly recommend to anyone to put on your MUST DO list.

Well good friends enough from me, this update has been a long one. I hope I am not hearing any snoring. I don’t believe I have mentioned our beautiful boy Wendal in this update, well he sends his love and is behaving beautifully. Hope this finds you all well and happy. Take care, regards Elizabeth.