Christmas followed a couple of days later and we all gathered again for another great day , Isla's 1st christmas was enjoyed .
We have stayed put for the early part of the holidays , letting everyone get back to work after their 2 week break before we headed off again . We did drive down past Mandurah to Halls Head for some fine views of the coast . The weather has been the opposite of what's been happening over east , with the south west winds coming most days , usually in mid morning . Temperatures have been in the mid 20's and only the occasional day in the 30's - quite strange for this time of year over in the west .
Time to head further south , not far , just down to Waroona Dam where we stayed for 5 nights . It's very popular with water skiers , so there were plenty of boats , we did go for a swim there though .
We caught up with a couple that we met at Musgrave Station Cape York and spent some time with them . We arranged to go crabbing in the estuary with Mick and his son in law Mike the next day .
Before we were due to go out in the boat , we went for a drive to Nanga Brooke - the site of an old timber mill & township for the workers . The town & mill were burnt down in a bushfire a long time ago , now there are camping spots there - it's not national park , but a reserve looked after by National Parks - you have an entry fee to pay unless you have a park pass , and also pay to camp there . The only facilities are competing toilets and some large flat sites for vans & tents , then there's another area near where the old mill was that you can camp anywhere . There were lot's of people camped here . We checked out Murray River - a crystal clear river that was flowing slowly through the forest .
There are lots of different areas to swim at and also camp at , this one was Island Pool .
We kept going to Dwellingup and back to the dam for some lunch before heading back to Mick & Sue's to go crabbing . It was Wednesday , so if you are licensed for it , you can use a net to catch fish - Mick had a net so that was loaded into the boat with the crab pots & scoops , some food & drinks and we were off . Lyn stayed with Sue , while the boys headed off in with the boat .
We arrived at Herron Point and launched the boat , the water was shallow for a long way and the tide wasn't long past low tide so we had to walk the boat out about 100m before there was sufficient water to drive it . We were joined by 3 dolphins swimming around in the channel that we were crabbing in , swimming happily under and around the boat as we moved around - not good for crabs , and definitely not good for nets !!
The crabs seemed to be hiding for a while and their size when we did get some was just under minimum so many were thrown back . Then it was my turn dragging the pots up , crabs started to appear in the pots & we had about 7 after 2 runs , the next run we got another 7 and Mick put his net out to try his luck with some fish . The crabs started to appear then and we had 20 in the crate - here's the funny thing , if you are in a boat you can only take 20 crabs , but if you are walking around with a crab scoop you can take 10 per person - so a family of 5 can take 50 crabs .
The net caught a couple of tailor and a couple of crabs that were thrown back , and as we had our quota , we headed for home . Crabs cooked , boat & gear washed down , we all sat down for a feed of blue swimmer crab and a couple of beers .
Leaving Waroona Dam we headed up to Nanga Brooke campground for 3 nights . It was only 25 kms away , but a world away from everything - no tv , no mobile reception , no distractions . It also got quite warm , up in the low 30's for the 3 days . Emma , Mike & Pepper came for a visit and a swim and lunch .
This was our campsite - they were 15m x 8m , plenty of room .
Then there's the view from above , courtesy of the drone , that's us at the top of the photo .
There were a few flowers about , here's some of them .
This is a photo from Brockman Dam , just south of Yarloop below Waroona . The water was clear and a beautiful aqua green colour , not what we expected to see in a dam . You can camp here as well , there's toilets , but nothing else . As can be expected , plenty of boats & skiers .
Back to the Murray River , and we went for a paddle up the river each of the next 2 days , it was great getting back into the kayak again .
Came across a few ringneck parrots having a drink .
There are plenty of obstacles in the river causing us to stop and get out , drag the kayak through the shallow sections and over some trees as well .
The Nanga Mill campground , and where we are has a spring fed creek running through it and into the river . The water is clear and cold !! Superb Blue Wrens are quite at home here , these were quite happy bouncing around the place .
This is a section of Nanga Brook , quite a bit of water coming down the rocks for a spring fed creek .
Here's some more shots from the paddle .
Battling through the hot days , we enjoyed a float around in the river to keep us cool , this is a wonderful spot to camp .
Leaving Lane Poole Reserve , we headed down to Pinjarra Holiday Park for a week . It's a 600 acre farm that has a lot of horses , a few donkeys , and probably some other animals further out that we didn't see .
There is an old brickworks factory there - or what's left of it anyway , this is part of the roof section .
Must be some heritage order on it as a lot of the walls were propped up to stop them falling over , it did look good though .
Well we are now back in Baldivis again , some repairs have been required - shower leak , a new tv aerial to be installed , and one of our supporting jacks broke , so that had to be fixed quickly - all the fun of being on the road !!!
That's it , you're up to date again , I'll try to update more frequently , but no promises haha . Cheers
