28/7/20 The road is calling 80 Mile , land of sunsets

       It was nice to be moving again , leaving Port Hedland into a headwind that would stay with us for days to come . We arrived at De Grey River Rest Area and decided to stop for lunch , and the rest of the afternoon and night as well . 

  After lunch we wandered down to the bridge for a look . The treed area beside the river was very sort after several years ago , as it had shade and was closer to the water . That was before it got infested by Noogoora Burr - a noxious weed that closed it down last year . Now the treed area is fenced off with no vehicle access . 

       You can see the rest area on the top left of the photo .

      

       This flower is from the Indian Rubber Tree - somewhat of a new pest here as well .

       Mulla Mulla is starting to appear as well 

      This thistle is spreading rapidly as well - probably due to the flooding from the cyclone earlier this year - water was flowing just below the deck of the bridge , and over the rail bridge further up the river .

   

      Here's sunset over the river and rest area 

   

       After a quiet night with about 28 other vans etc , we headed back onto the highway and into the wind again . We continued past Pardoo and Cape Keraudren , and went on to 80 Mile Beach - After an 11klm red sand track in , you drive over a sand dune to see this - quite a sight to see after all the rugged outback we've been driving through .

     

      Here's the beach from the updated sunset viewing platform .

       This is looking east up 80 Mile Beach . The park is separated from the beach by a sand dune .

       Unlike the above photo , the tide goes out a long way here - about 2klms at the moment , makes for some great sunset photo's as well .

   

       Time for a different angle .

       The sun just melts into the horizon .

       The show continues for another 45mins after the sun disappears .

       Next day we went for a walk along the beach , tide was in and it was more like normal - cars & fishing rods everywhere . Still plenty of shells on the beach

       Yes another sunset and all the different colours for you to enjoy .

        Our visit is tinged with sadness , people we had met at Corrigin in 2015 and again here in 2016 , had both died as a result of a car accident in March 2017 . We had looked forward to seeing them again , but was not meant to be be , our 2 days were left feeling a little hollow . RIP Ray & Wendy .

        Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1Xbw8HTsgcPGq4mom307YjCHSRarzoKuQ&usp=sharing