30/5/16 Long walk on shaky ground

 Hi there , after a couple of busy days , we ventured out . In the last few days we've been busy washing and polishing the roof of the van , and the day before riding into town on the bikes to go to the Saturday markets .
  Today however , we chose to go to one of Carnarvons bigger attractions - One Mile Pier . The pier was once the lifeblood of the town , state owned ships would come from Geraldton & Perth bringing supplies , taking back cattle & produce to markets . There was , and still is a rail line that runs to the end of the pier - now used by a small locomotive that takes people almost all the way to the end of the pier .

  The locomotive is gradually having it's distance shortened as the condition of the pier deteriorates , and after walking it's entire length today , it's lucky it's running at all !!!!
  The sleepers used in the decking are weathered and loose and very uneven - you need to watch where you are walking otherwise you will trip over - and that's a shame because you don't get to take in the views . Admittedly the view for the first 600m is mainly tidal mangrove flats , then another 300m of beach before you get to the water , the surrounding landscape is generally flat , with the main feature behind you being the satellite dish .
 Out at the end of the pier the last 100m is fenced off . The old timber pylons have rotted away at water level , making this part a little shaky to say the least - it doesn't stop the fishermen though , they go around the fence or through the hole that's been cut in the steel mesh !!

   

  The birds don't mind the end of the pier either .

 

 
 The have been some sections of the pier replaced after someone decided to set it alive 4 years ago - they replace 75m of decking and supports at a cost of $1.3million !!!!!! There was a lot of community funding used to help replace it - I don't think there is enough community support to save the rest of the pier , and it will probably be closed for public access sooner rather than later !! They do charge you $5 each to go for a walk out there , our $10 won't go far in the restoration stakes . The rail tracks are held in place with coach screws - at least what's left of the tracks - rust is also taking it's toll !!

 There was an interesting cloud formation , making for interesting photo's .

 

   
   After chatting to some of the fishermen/women , we wandered back , stopping occasionally to take in the view of the estuary of the Gascoyne River and the beach .
  Back at the ute , we drove past the small rail museum . Some of the carriages are still there , all in various stages of deterioration / restoration .

 

   
 Don't adjust your computers , it is black & white - just having a little play !!
  From here we went back into town and grabbed some fish & chips and then went down to the Fascine beside the water . Last year we got some amazing photos from here - it is now finished - they have completed the upgrade they were doing . There is now a retaining wall with footpath / bike path, grassed areas and access to the inlet for boats to tie up against , seating , and fish cleaning tables - it is a really nice feature for the town .

  Especially for my golfing friends , here are a couple of photos for you - however dry you think your course is , check this out - Carnarvon Golf Club - Ist hole 195m Par 3 from tee to green ( sand scrape) and the 9th hole looking from green (sand scrape ) to tee - down the fairway ????? - not much fair about this , it's all sandy on a clay base !! and only 9 holes !!

   
 So there you are , all up to date again , bye for now !!

27/5/16 Not so exciting

  Overcast skies and a few drips of rain greeted us this morning . After deliberating and wondering what to do for the day , we finally decided to check the wheel bearings and clean the van . Not overly exciting you might think - it got exciting though !!
  After going down the street to get some new split pins , I checked the nearside ones first . The split pins I got were too big , so I went back down the street to get some smaller ones .
  Back again , all things were going great , the bearings were in great shape , and only one needed to be tightened slightly !! Job done .
  Then the fun started , we checked the tyres . They were a little worn on the inside edge when we inspected them at christmas time when the bearings were changed , so we rotated front to back and back to front ,  only the back tyres had worn , and were now on the front . There was a slight problem with them now - the side that was wearing before , had now worn a lot more - removing evidence of grooves & tread on the inside edge of the tyre . Fortunately there was no canvas showing , but couldn't have been too far away - very glad we checked today though !!! Now we have these little puppies on board !! All 4 of them .

  Now that the wallet is a bit lighter , here are some shots of yesterdays and todays sunset for free !!

 Now we have some appropriate tyres , correct pressures , and some piece of mind !!
That's our lot for today and yours - see ya !!!

26/5/16 Some excitement

 Hi folks , today we headed to Rocky Pools on the Gascoyne River about 40klms out of Carnarvon on the Gascoyne Junction Rd .
  The landscape has dried somewhat from when we were here at the start of October last year . Parched trees & hardy shrubbery are about the only vegetation surviving at the moment , there is some very dead grass in spots around the clay pans . We did manage to see a few cattle , but apart from that it was just a few small birds .
  Arriving at the turnoff , we had seen only 2 cars and 2 trucks , we made our way down toward the river driving through sand and hard packed clay until we reached the rocks - a large area of red rock . Past the rocks is a little oasis for all the local wildlife - a pool of clear water 400m long and about 50m wide . Small fish were swimming around , a few cormorants were drying off , there were kangaroo trails in the sand - this place would be a hive of activity in the early mornings and late afternoons .

   

  The rocks went from red near the waters edge to orange 30m away .

  There are stands of tea trees beside some of the waterhole - most show some signs of flood damage , in various stages of leaning over , some of which are horizontal .

 The highest flood level they had was in the 1960's at 7.5m , but was surpassed in 2000 by a level of 7.62m after cyclone Steve dumped a lot of rain . It would have been a site to see , there would have been water everywhere - apart from the rocky edges here , it is very flat country .

 
  The end of the waterhole has a steep bank of sand & small rocks - it is a bit hard to fathom why this waterhole doesn't fill up with sand & gravel when it floods !!

  We didn't bother getting the kayak off the roof racks , a 400m paddle didn't enthuse us a great deal - I suppose we could have gone up & down a few times .
 With the flies getting friendlier by the second , we jumped back in the ute and headed back to Carnarvon .
 Back to the highway and we turned north and went over the river again - it was dry - last year it did have a pool of water underneath it .
 We drove down North River Rd - part of the Fruit Loop , and checked out what they are growing at the moment - tomatoes ( they grow year round here ), sweetcorn , beans , eggplant , chilli , capsicums watermelons ( just finished ) , rockmelons and zucchini . We stopped and bought some chilli's , and will stop on the way north next week to get some capsicum .
  Heading down toward the old pier , we stopped off at the beach to have lunch , then went for a walk on the beach .
 We were quite surprised to see the quantity and variety of shells washed up on the beach - the biggest of which was a nautilus shell !! it was broken up and only half of the main shell was left . There were plenty of sea urchin shells , crab shells , and many other shells . It was very windy and was playing havoc with our head and ears aching , so we headed for home .
  Here's a map link :-https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ySFC_UaxDxnGfrUSFCDp8fHlojU&usp=sharing

23,24,25/5/16 Update time

Leaving Denham on Monday , we headed up the highway 200 klms and found a free camp for the night  . We could have made it to Carnarvon , but we decided not to , pulling up at 3:15pm - it was only a rest area beside the road , but was good enough for us - and another 8 vans and a bus !!
 We had forgotten about the change in vegetation along the way , the trees got shorter ? they were already short !! and there were a lot less and more spread apart , not much grass or ground cover , mainly just orange dirt !!
 Cooked some tea and sat down inside and ate it watching the sun disappear over the horizon - it was one of the best sunsets and dinners we've had . It's quite pleasant not having tv or radio , you don't have to listen to all the political posturing and BS - life on the road isn't too bad at all .

 Awake with the birds and the trucks , we fiddled around , not in a hurry to leave as we only had 80klms to go to get to Carnarvon - we arrived there at 10:15am ! Finding a spot to stop and chew the fat & pass some time , so we could check in to the park at 11 .
 We had a bit of an audience as we drove in , people were keen for a look , and they all were a bit surprised that Lyn was driving and reversing it onto site !! certainly got a few people talking !!!
 The afternoon was spent shopping , with a bit of chatting thrown in as well . Cloud was rolling in , the forecast was for some rain overnight , they would love it to rain as they haven't had much rain all year , everything looked parched and dry .

  It did rain overnight - a whole 2mm - anything is welcome at the moment !! Overcast skies after a very warm night , it only dropped to 20 degrees at 7:30 this morning . The temperature only got to 23 today , staying overcast all day .
 Not a lot done today , we walked the main street and checked out some shops , bought a map & some puzzle books , before visiting the hardware shop for a couple of bits & pieces , then spent the rest of the afternoon looking at maps and chatting some more .

 Not very exciting I'm afraid , but that was it , we'll try to add some excitement tomorrow but don't hold your breath !!

22/5/16 Discovering little gems

  After a day that was less than exciting weather wise and a windy night , we wake to another blue sky day - there were some clouds though . After some thought , we decided to have a look at Little Lagoon & it’s inlet from the sea - maybe even have a paddle in the kayak . 

  Driving around we found the wind was picking up again , so that wiped out the kayaking - it was a bit cool as well - the wind chill wouldn’t be pleasant . 

 There’s a track that runs beside the inlet , so we drove down to the viewing deck and checked it out . The water is crystal clear and was flowing into the lagoon , there are only a small amount of mangroves here - maybe too hot and /or barren for them , they used to line the lagoon 4000 years ago , now they only line some parts of the inlet - progress eh !!

   

 Driving out a little further there is a parking area , or for those more enthused , you can drive out onto the beach - we parked and went for a walk instead !! After reaching the beach, we were quite happy to have walked - the sand was very soft  . The local SES were having a training day down on the beach , getting vehicles bogged and extracting them - we weren’t going to join them !!

 The main beach area ( not a lot of beach - about 4m wide ) was looking good for a walk , there were no waves , due to sand banks further out  , and made for a nice walk . Here are 2 photos taken at the same spot - just the height they were taken at changed .

   

    

  There has been evidence of emus around everywhere we have walked - just as I started to think that , 2 appeared on the track we were walking out on .

   

 After that we drove out and found 4 more - mother & 3 kids .

    

 Around to Little Lagoon and of for another walk around the northern side . The lagoon is an old Birrida - a depression that has now filled with water and has an inlet from the sea . It has a lot of fish and other sea life , many shellfish as well .

  

  From the lagoon , we made our way back toward town , taking another track down toward the beach we had been walking on - it took us toward a ridge - more like a headland . Walking up the ridge we got views over Shark Bay , over to Useless Loop Saltworks and Dirk Hartog Island . The white mounds are the saltworks loading dock where they load the ships . We found a covered picnic table - shame we didn’t know about that prior to coming , we would have brought lunch with us !!

  

 Sightseeing done , we headed down to get some fuel , before heading home for a late lunch . Then took advantage of some free Wifi to update the phones and computer . 

  We may be out of service tomorrow as we are moving further north , so we’ll see what happens .

20&21/5/16 What a difference a day makes .

 Two days worth today , yesterday we enjoyed a beautiful sunny day , cleaning needed to be done , so we did just that , cleaned inside and then finished off polishing some of the parts of the van that we couldn’t reach . There was room beside us , so I could reverse close to the slide out and get onto the roof from the roof racks of the ute . With everything done except the roof ( major job ) , we had some lunch before heading down to the beach for a walk .

  Not a lot else to report , as we had a relaxed afternoon watching all the boats get towed back into the park from their days fishing .

 Saturday , the day started out okay but deteriorated rapidly . The winds started to pick up and the cloud rolled in , rain followed shortly after . We went for a drive out to Eagle Bluff , one of the best lookouts we’ve been to . Stopping at Denham lookout first , we headed down to the beach and the Thong Shack - a shelter that has been decorated with thongs , some with names and short stories on them , and from all corners of the world , and others just put up because they could ! The track down to the beach has been carved through the orange sand & soil , and is a contrast to the white sand .

   Off to Eagle Bluff , last year we saw sharks , dolphins , manta rays and stingrays as well as lots of fish , today however , we were nearly blown off the walkway !! The water is still clear , but the wind chop meant seeing anything was impossible . You could see the seagrass beds and the areas with sand , but the rain that was coming put a stop to the sight seeing for the day , so we headed back into town for lunch .

  

   

   The wind didn’t slow down , but the rain came and went a few times , not amounting to much at all . We will see what tomorrow brings .

18&19/5/16 Useless Loop

  After a quiet night at the freecamp / gravel pit , we wake to a cooler morning and get organised . We have a 240 klm day - about 30klms bitumen , the rest gravel in various states of repair . Some needed repair , other sections were fine , the ones that needed a grader going over them really needed it . Then there was the 4wd section - about 40 klms of it , some of which was just crawling over rocks , then sandy corrugations , then tight sandy sections , uphills , downhills .

 We drove down a straight road for 40 klms , then saw the bottom of Henri Freycinet Harbour , before starting our turn to the north . 

 The destination for today was toward Steep Point - the most westerly point of Australia !! After duelling with the corrugations on the road in , we finally got to the 4wd section . The first turn to the left took us 11 klms down to Zuytdorp Point and some blowholes , as well as an impressive cliff line. 

 The cliffs here are limestone - jagged potholed cliffs - about 50 m high , and are very porous . The ground approaching the cliffs is sand and rock with little vegetation - it’s like a moonscape !! 

 There are holes at sea level that stretch upwards through the cliff , creating blowholes , some of which appear half way up the cliff , there are 2 that bypass the cliff face and appear 20m from the cliff edge !! They do spurt sea spray and water up into the air , and make a loud woosh as they do it !!

  From here we head north towards Zuytdorp Point , which is on the south side of False Entrance Bay . There are tracks taking you all directions , and you cant see where they are taking you . Some go over the sand dunes , others along and round them . The ute handled everything we through at it today and handled it well . We found our way down to the beach and parked - time for lunch after we picked up some plastic bottles , old ropes from nets , and other bit’s & pieces - they will go in a bin when we leave tomorrow . 

 The cliffs around the southern end of the bay were quite remarkable as well .

 We then headed off further north , the track cutting up pretty badly and corrugations you could lose yourself in . The signs say allow 3 hours for the trip to the tip from the start of Useless Loop Rd , and they are pretty close - it may even take longer . 

  After going about 8klms , we turned and headed for home , the road was getting worse and if we had of continued on , we wouldn’t be getting out till after dark - not something we wish to do on this road !!

  Stopping at the inlets to 2 of the salt works pens , I glimpsed over the side and spotted some fish . They were swimming near the pipe that goes under the road ( like a culvert ) , it must have been good for feeding as they didn’t move , even when we approached on foot . The fish were just under a metre long , and there was about 15 of them .

 After reinflating tyres to 35psi , we headed off again , anywhere between 40 and 75 klms/hr due to the changing road surfaces . 

 We commented on the way in , wondering what would entice people to live out here ? There are 3 stations - Tamala , Nanga and Carrarang , then there’s the saltworks and an indigenous community. The land you pass through is covered in low scrub , some of which is very rocky , other parts are just long sand dunes . We did see goats , but nothing else - doubt anything else would survive .

  Here’s a map to look at :-https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QL6xKWVsq8u_BmbnrTOFeurN_uE&usp=sharing

19/5/16

 We had the camp spot to ourselves overnight - us and the rain - it sounds louder than it actually is in the van and it didn’t amount to much . With time to spare before we have to be in Exmouth , we decided to head in to Denham for a few days .

 On the way in is Shell Beach , so we stopped for another look , plus there is a toilet there . It’s a bit ironic here , there is a sign saying “ Do not take shells from the beach “ when next door is a shell collecting business - they use it for road base , landscaping and all sorts of things , and they harvest it with scrapers !!  

 The skies were overcast , making the horizon hard to see , there was no wind and the water was reflecting the sky . 

  Arriving in town we headed along the water front and found so many cars and boat trailers. Car parks were full , they were parked beside the road , the boat trailer parking beside the boat ramp was full , the side streets had cars & trailers everywhere - we thought we’d be lucky to get somewhere to stay , there must be a fishing competition on . 

 Parking away from the caravan park , we then wandered up to the office - there was already 3 vans booking in ! Into the office and all was good , they’d fit us in no worries - we were in the overflow section up the top - not the one we had last year with water views , but at least we were in . 

  Watching all these other vehicles come in for the afternoon was entertaining , we had a couple of buses with trailers carrying a car & boat , a bus towing a boat on a tri axle trailer , and more and more cars & boats - we think there are more boats than caravans here at the moment !! 

 Todays map :-https://drive.google.com/open?id=1VPkwUwT127PvTWijTSZFcdg_G10&usp=sharing