Monkey Mia and beyond

WALUT III beside "Bob McCauley" Memorial Tree

Feb 5: Carnarvon is a nice little town set in the midst of banana plantations....the BEST and freshest we've ever tasted. The campground wasn't much to write home about but it had a few locals who work on the plantations and live in caravans during the picking season. What a crew they were! We had some laughs with them and they showed us the cicada shells still parked on the trees as well as the holes in the ground they live in. THAT was an education and a bit spooky.

Cicada shells after the critter has climbed out

Feb 6: Up and running really early; averaging around 375 km per day and on our way to Coral Bay. We arrived at yet another beautiful bay where no one actually lives permanently....it's a sanctuary and development controlled. The campground was lovely and our site was across from the bay so thankfully we were able to catch the breezes. The biggest difference from Monkey Mia was the humidity. No doubt we are in the tropics now!!! You all know about those hot humid Ontario summer days? Well, add a few more pounds of water to your clothing and you'll know what it feels like here. The temperature was 45C and I'll bet that if they measured the humidex it would have been in the 50's. Thank goodness our air conditioner kept up with it and we made certain we stayed out of the afternoon sun.

We stayed a second day so we could take a glass bottom eco tour out onto the Ningaloo Reef in the morning. This is the first time we've snorkelled during the day and we both wore shirts over our bathing suits.

The captain (John funny enough) is a marine biologist and he gave us so much information as we made our way out to the reef. Once there, he took us on a guided snorkel. We saw stingray, parrot fish, black sea cucumber, giant clam with purple lips, stag and brain coral....the largest brain coral I've ever seen....plus a fabulous royal blue starfish and thousands of other brilliantly coloured fish. John told us that this reef rivals the Great Barrier because it is in really good shape, due to the sanctuary status.

We left the bay once we returned to shore and we headed for Onslow, 368 km's to the north. It was my turn to drive and with my eyes on the road and not on the SIDE of the road, I was startled when Bob suddenly shouted.."A KANGAROO.....A KANGAROO!!!!" He kind of looked as if he was hitch-hiking or contemplating making a run for it across the road. I braked and he thought better of the latter and hopped off into the bushes. Only a few km further on Bob once again raised the alarm (same kind of alarm and at the same volume!!) only this time it was an emu. This creature decided to make a run for it and made it within an inch of it's life. Certainly gets the blood pressure elevated!

The terrain was a bit haggard for a bit then suddenly mesas and buttes appeared in a dramatic deep red...almost burgundy. Then long grasses appeared everywhere.

Photo's: The Outback; changing landscape; termite mounds; significant milestone

Feb 8: All I can say about Onslow is that almost every building is made of sheet metal. A few older buildings are block but most are not. The camp was on the bay but nowhere as attractive as those we'd visited to this point. Dark water instead of the brilliant hues we'd encountered.

We walked the boardwalk to see the sunset and as we rounded a corner were stunned to see a huge elevated pipeline out into the water. Onslow is a petroleum town and like much of Western Australia, is the mining and drilling heart of the country.

The next morning we drove to Dampier which along with Karratha, 15 km apart, is huge in mining....and couldn't we see the evidence. These two towns are hustle bustle and huge money. Almost every personal vehicle is a white Land Rover and the road trains here are 4 trailers long. The trains are 3 km long and we read in the newspaper the other day that a new rail line is being put in to get more minerals out of the state. As a matter of fact, we were concerned that when we reached this area we wouldn't be able to get a campsite because the newspaper reported that mining companies are buying up campgrounds due to the lack of accomodation for their workers.

We found a camp in Dampier that is for transits only and it was on the bay which gave us breezes. Other than that, we can't say the view from our windows was attractive!

Photo's: View from the camp; road train

Feb 9: We left Dampier and drove the long haul along highway that offered no view of the ocean nor anything else to look at except scraggly bush. We decided to stay at a camp off the beaten track (ie. corrugated unsealed road....you know...those roads we aren't allowed to be on...) at 80 mile beach. Bob was driving at this point and he had to drive so slow that the 10 km into the camp felt like 50! However...once we arrived it was as if we'd entered an oasis. Palm trees at every site, no one there except for four other campers and the most magnificent collection of birds and lizards we could ever imagine. The beach was pristine and we saw shells we'd never seen before. Later in the evening, a van rolled in with "Planet Perth" written on the side and out tumbled 14 young international travellers along with their guide. They were doing the same touring as we were so it was great to see them. Some of them slept on only a swag (look it up!!!) under the stars. Great stuff!

Next morning we crawled back out the 10 km to the highway on our way to Broome. Around 150 km north of 80 Mile Beach we stopped by a terrific pub at Whim Creek....a true Aussie pub made of metal and based on the original that was built in the 1800's for copper miners. I say "based on the original" only because no doubt the original would still be standing if it wasn't for the fact that we are now in cyclone country. The walls are covered in photo's of the cyclones that have blown the pub to bits. Trust me, it's horrendous! The owner continues to rebuild. Here you see signs that point you to the "dunnies" and once you find them you see the following signs. We thought it was a fun experience...and they also served a terrific omlette.

Broome is a fantastic town of 14,000 people, renowned for Cable Beach. Unfortunately the stingies are in at the moment so we can't swim however our campground has the most beautiful pool ever! Yes, even more magnificent than Perth!!!

Last night we booked a "Ships of the Desert" ride with a guy called Abdul....a real character but with notably the best camel rides in Broome. We were picked up in a stinky van by young man named Fraser who drove us, along with 5 others with the side door wide open....to a broken-down farm. there was a dumpster that had a side cut out and a sliding door installed that evidently someone lives in, a barn, corrals and another structure (??) with hardly any walls, a low roof and no windows. It was basically open to the elements. Out came Abdul, wrapped in a dirty sheet (looked like flannel) with holes in it and his top was covered in a crossing guard vest. On his head was the requisite Aussie leather hat and on his feet he had one orange Croc and one green Croc. We all stood there with our faces hanging out and Abdul very gruffly told us what to do, how to mount up. A lovely wee girl named Jasmine and Fraser guided us through Hidden Valley, up a hill then down onto the beach. It was truly a great experience! We know why this one is recommended over the other two. Just before the sun set we went back up to the top of the hill for a view of another fantastic sunset. Along the way we were introduced to "bush tucker" (wild berries and fruit) which were delicious.

Photo's: Jasmine; Fraser and last photo is Abdul

Returning to the "farm", Abdul was waiting and had spruced up a bit having changed the vest for a shirt and had doffed the hat. He loves his camels and takes excellent care of them. They all have layers of padding between the saddle and their hide and they appear to be happy enough. The owner of our camp told us that Abdul is a very rich man who travels the world and cleans up real nice. He chooses to live in the shack out in the bush.

Fraser told us that the camels are all wild; they find them by water holes and corner them between two Toyota utes. It takes only around a month to train them to carry and they are smarter than horses and almost every other animal. In the wild they have a life expectancy of 15 years but in captivity they will live to be 69. Believe it or not, there are 100's of thousands of wild camels in Australia.

Most of the trips we hoped to take while here are cancelled due to the wet season (although there hasn't been rain in a long time) and the intense heat. One of the gorges we hoped to see has temps of 50+.

Tomorrow we start our trek to Darwin. We'll keep you posted when we can. Thanks again everyone who emails and posts comments on the blog.

Only two months to go until we return home! It hardly seems possible!!

Love,
Sharon

Anybody recognize this couple who appear to be looking at boat plans in Australia??? Put your suggestions in the "comment" section of our blog. The identity will be revealed in future.