23/6/18 Onwards & Upwards 3

  After a quiet night and a great nights sleep , we were woken by a Butcher Bird singing away to anyone who wanted to listen . We took our time , no rush today , only about 3 hours on the road up to another free camp at Robe River .

  The countryside is drier than we’ve had for the last few days , but there’s still water around and everything is a lot greener . 

  Entering the Pilbara Region is a great experience , rugged mountain ranges start to appear and the views are awe inspiring , but hard to capture in photo’s , the scene is too large for a single photo . Here’s a couple from higher up , past the Onslow turnoff .

Just on lunchtime we arrived at Robe River Rest Area , there were half a dozen vans here , 3 of which kept driving after a break . We decided to stop for the day and picked a spot on the bitumen , set up and then had lunch . That’s about when the flag was waved and people started pouring in - in about an hour there were 30 odd vans set up for the night . This isn’t the biggest rest area so people were driving back & forth trying to find somewhere to park , there are toilets & dump points , even some free wifi - 15mb - it gets used very quickly !!

  We walked down to the river for a look , water crystal clear again , fish swimming around , birds & some cattle wandering along . Near the bridge there’s an a large piece of rock , multicoloured and about the size of 2 wheel barrows .

   Under the bridge we found some recent rock art , even had the artist sign it .

   Wandering along the banks , we made our way across to the other side , views were good .

 One of our favourite birds were flying around doing acrobatics whilst catching a meal , Rainbow Bee Eaters are an amazing coloured bird , these ones didn’t disappoint , they were brilliantly coloured , but wouldn’t cooperate with the camera to get the full colour range on their backs - but here’s some of my attempts .

 Wattle trees are in blossom at the moment as well , and look great against a backdrop of brilliant blue sky .

   On our way back around to the van we saw a couple of small birds running along the bank , not sure what they are , but here’s a picture .

  We chatted to a couple from Gosford for a while , they used to be from Goulburn , so they knew exactly where we used to live . 

  A cold beer & salsa was called for and we sat at a table outside enjoying the warmer weather .

That’s it for today , here’s a map link :- https://drive.google.com/open?id=15qa6SL2gUl_g1dr-dqHTaQP_W0I2uZXf&usp=sharing

22/6/18 Onwards & Upwards 2

  Today has been another new experience for us , to see this country this green is amazing . Road verges are bright green , normally dry orange & red sandy loam with the odd shrub clinging to life , now the shrubs are looking like they want to be here . 

 Water is lying beside the roads still and was across the highway again in a few spots . It has done a lot of damage to the roadside , with a lot of compacted gravel washed away . In some places it’s between 300 to 450mm deep and rutted - I wouldn’t like to be forced off the road in a lot of places - you would still be there , or you wouldn’t be able to drive out due to damage !!

 As we approached Minilya River Roadhouse the landscape had changed to red sand dunes , with low areas covered in water .

 Stopping for a break we were struck by the colours again , the vivd blue of the sky , the red sand dunes , green trees and of course the white ute & van !!

 Lunchtime arrived just as we got to Minilya River Rest Area - a popular stop and free camp right beside the usually dry river - another flowing river - amazing .

  Back on the road again we passed the Coral Bay & Exmouth turnoff . It felt funny not to be turning off , but we kept going on the hwy north . The road went through the sand dunes , and gently rose over the dunes and down the other side . The dunes rise anything up to about 15m over the surrounding ground , and run for long distances . 

 Still we are driving with all this green either side of us , it has made the drive a much nicer one , I know I’m going on & on about it , but it’s a novelty , it’s not like this normally .

 It was warm enough to get heat haze happening - that makes us happy - it’s getting warmer !!

 Arriving at Yannarie Bridge , we pulled off the hwy and made our way down toward the river off the bitumen , finding a nice spot to set up for the night . The ground was nice and firm , so there was no need to worry about getting stuck here . After setting up we headed down to the river for a look , yes , water in here too !!! Crystal clear and little fish swimming happily .

 There’s at least another 50 vehicles here , buses , motorhomes , caravans & camper trailers , as well as the backpackers either sleeping in their cars or in a tent . 

 Time to kick back & enjoy , here's a map link :- https://drive.google.com/open?id=1l3GQGveRVaYlYCBpAy56qaEdE8pLhP4k&usp=sharing

21/6/18 Onwards & Upwards 1

  Leaving Kalbarri was a good feeling , the wildflowers aren’t out yet so we are not missing them and it is such a different landscape when you know what it can look like in bloom . 

 Back onto the Northwest Hwy , heading north of course !! It’s warmer there !! It wasn’t long before we got passed the hills and started on the flat areas again , difference being the water , yes the water , it is lying everywhere . It has been over the highway in a few locations and still is in others . If you’ve been here before you know how dry this state can be - this is a whole different view of it .

 Water is lying everywhere , gravel roads off to the side of the highway are closed to traffic , it would be bad enough driving off the road shoulder let alone go down a wet gravel road .

 Carnarvon appeared on the horizon , and we stayed for 3 nights getting a lot of washing done and a few little jobs on the van .

  Heading out for a look at town again , we had a look at the Fascine - they were still landscaping it when we were here last , now it’s finished and looks great .

 At one house there was a tree growing , about 5m high and had some amazing looking red sprays of fruit/seedpods ?????? - any help here would be appreciated .

  Next we headed out to the north of town in the fruit & vegetable growing area of North River Rd and South River Rd . We were gobsmacked to discover the Gascoyne River was FLOWING !!! It normally runs undergound and is nothing but a stretch of sand and gravel . It has been in flood , in fact the causeway had been covered , the northern side was buried in sand & mud !! 

  We went up North River Rd , checking out the zuchinni , pumpkins , bananas & tomatoes all growing well . Watermelons had finished but there were still a lot lying on the ground - obviously not good enough for sale and now rotting away . 

 We stopped at the highway to check the river out at the bridge - it was full width of the river and flowing quite well !!  

After some lunch we headed back out to the beach on the southern side of the old pier , and went for a walk in the sunshine . It's not much of a beach , but it was nice to be out for a walk .

 A piece of backbone from some fish ?? was lying on the sand , it was the size of your palm so must have been a significant sized fish .

 There are lot's of little jelly creatures on the beach as well , they glitter in the sun and make it look good .

  That's it for Carnarvon , here’s a map link :- https://drive.google.com/open?id=1XihEatMh1EtQUA6wm9cj7Rf6gIkWfeZ1&usp=sharing

18/6/18 Onward & Upward

     The weather hasn't been terribly nice , wet & cold , and we don't like it !! So up we go , northbound , it has to warm up doesn't it ???
   We are revisiting some roads and towns , trying to warm up aching joints on the way . Geraldton was our choice for a few days after having an overnight stop after a later start in the day before . We found some nice weather , but the rain & cold was chasing us , we did get 2 nice days out of 3 though.
 I managed a game of golf , and we did some driving around checking out the works around town - some that have been completed near the harbour and some more underway just to the north - new parking bays , cycleways & landscaping  it will be impressive when finished .
   The water is crystal clear up here at the moment , and we had a magical day in the mid 20's .

 
  Recent storms have done a lot of damage to the beaches here , the sand has been removed and there's a 2 to 3 metre drop-off onto the beach !! It will all return in time like most other beaches .

 It has been interesting coming back to somewhere we have spent some time at previously , it gives us the time to see things differently , to be able to take more time and be more selective . Here's a spot we love HMAS Sydney Memorial .

 After a few days , it was again time to move northwards , this time to Kalbarri . Outside go Geraldton , we started to go into some wheat fields that are growing nicely with the recent rains . It made the view very different from when we were here last , instead of being dry and brown , everything looks fresh & green - very green !!

 Similar conditions greeted us on the way to Port Gregory .

   Nice weather was the go here as well and we set up , had lunch , and headed out to Kalbarri NP - the coastal section . Again , we hadn't been to this part for 3 years , so it was interesting to see it all again . Conditions were spectacular and so were the views , we walked a few kilometres along the cliff edges on great tracks and raised walkways .

 Although we are too early for the wildflowers , we did manage to find a Murchison Rose , not a rose in the traditional sense , but still nice . All the plants here on the coastal cliffs have taken a battering with the winds , it will be interesting to see how it affects the flowering .

 Australian Hobby - also known as the Little Falcon , was flying around , soaring the sea breeze whilst looking for it's next meal , which it found pretty quickly , eating it while flying around .

 The cliffs are made of a lot of different materials , limestone features prominently .

  Back to another favourite  - Murchison River Kalbarri NP . When we were here last , the river was dry , and the road in had a lot of sand/gravels roads - it now has bitumen all the way !! There has been talk of a suspended walkway out from the cliffs edge at the West Loop Lookout -in all the paperwork it was supposed to open mid 2018 - Hmmm - the builder apparently went broke and it won't be completed till mid 2019 - maybe !! This is the view toward West Loop and the walkway will be built on top off the cliff in the middle of the photo .



 Plenty of water in the river this time , and while we were having lunch down from Natures Window we could see hundreds of fish swimming around - must be healthy !!

 
  The rock formations are incredible , with hundreds of layers of different rock & siltstone making up the composition of these hills & gorges , quite fascinating walking on , through and over all of this history .

 We walked along part of the 8klm loop track for a different view of things , in the rocky ground these little flowers are just starting to appear - they are only as big as the old one cent piece !!

   This is the view back toward the carpark and Natures Window , quite amazing and well worth doing .

  After heading back to town we went up to  Meanarra Hill Lookout - it wasn't well loved previously , but now has had a great facelift . The view is expansive to say the least , perched on top of a limestone hill , views stretch to the horizon and almost 360 degrees . This is looking straight over town and the Murchison River .

 That's it , your caught up again , here's a map link :- https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qk9_oTa84RpflsRgTWeJoW0MALUasZ6O&usp=sharing