Karatha to Perth

Kromatalites

If only I could catch  fish

Sea Hunt Lloyd Bridges eat your heart out

The Indian Ocean on a quiet Day

What a view

Spiderman 200 metres to go

After 3 days in Karratha doing day trips to Point Sampson Cossack Roebourne and Dampier checking out the ore loading facilities and history of the area we headed south to 40 mile beach where we met up with the Hutchies on the beachfront. Popular spot which we shared with other campers and a drilling crew who were laying a pipe line to an offshore gas rig which will supply 20% of Perths natural gas requirements by the end of this year.

After bidding farewell to the Hutchies over a red or 2 we headed to Bullara station 85 kms south of Exmouth, a good campsite with historical shearing sheds and yards where once they shore 12000 sheep form the 500000 acres of the station. We did a day trip to Exmouth as accommodation was becoming a premium due to school holidays as it was at Coral Bay but we were fortunate to get an unpowered site at the Caravan Park which we shared with the sliding door brigade and the foreign back packers.

Coral Bay is famous for its proximity to the Ningaloo coral reef which protects the bay from the Indian Ocean and its Marine Park where striped Trevally and other Reef fish can be seen by snorkelling inside the reef. Obviously the crowds of holiday makers made it a little uncomfortable but you can’t have everything.

From Coral Bay we continued south to Carnarvon where we replenished our supplies and purchased some beautiful locally grown fruit and vegetables and had a great lunch of fresh fish at a famous little restaurant down near the wharf. We also did a day trip out to the Blowholes north of Carnarvon which provided a spectacular showing of the ocean against a rugged coast.

Continuing south we headed for another station at the bottom end of Shark Bay called Hamelin Station another famous sheep station which had set up camping facilities and accommodation. Where we were able to access Hamelin Pool which we did by foot to see the oldest known living creatures called Stromatolites and the shell stone quarry formed from molluscs shells bound together with calcium and used for building in 19th and early 20th century.

From Hamelin Station we booked into another Caravan Park at Denham which we were fortunate again to be able to access and did day trips to Monkey Mia (famous for the dolphin feeding) and to Cape Peron where I attempted fishing with little success except to be ravaged by Sandflies.

Our next stop was Kalbarri where unfortunately we had to stay in another Caravan Park although we had a good site which backed onto a bush setting but still were subjected to the sliding doors. It was in Kalbarri we celebrated Pat’s birthday and had one of the best restaurant meals we have had in a long time.

As it was Pat’s birthday we had to continue the tradition of something outrageous but due to the bad arm it had to be within reason. So we hired a put put boat and ventured out onto the Murchison River only to be drowned in spray as we turned the little boat into the wind. We had a good laugh.

Kalbarri is a very pretty town located at the mouth of the Murchison River and is famous for the Kalbarri National Park where the river has developed some magnificent gorges and subsequent scenery. While it is a bit early in the season due to good winter rains we were fortunate enough to see some of the wildflowers for which this area is also famous.

The coastal scenery from Exmouth to Carnarvon is harsh and spectacular as the desert meets the ocean with the red rock cliffs balanced against the white sands and as we ventured further south the limestone cliffs provide another perspective.

From Kalbarri we were determined to have a couple of days bush camping and drove through Geraldton about 100 kms to a place recommended to us by the managers at Hamelin station called Cliff head where we found a great grassy camp site on the beach under some limestone cliffs. Our new best friends who were also camped here are from Albany and enjoyed our camp oven cooked roast with us around the campfire. We also decided to try our hand at cooking bread in the camp oven which to our amazement apart from a little burn on the bottom turned out perfectly.

We camped 3 days at Cliff Head in beautiful weather and then proceeded down the coast and across to the historic monks town of New Norscia and then onto Perth.

In Perth we have caught up with an old neighbour and family friend from Pat’s youth who has been the perfect host and as they are all doctors have arranged for further scans and a visit to an Orthopaedic Surgeon. The shoulder after nearly 10 weeks has limited movement in elevation and is still causing pain.

It is now 26th July and we would like to be home by mid August so have decided not to do the south west corner and will depart Wednesday across the Nullarbor.

North West WA

It is the end of the financial year and I think it is Wednesday, 27 degrees and we are in Karatha after spending the last couple of weeks at Karajini National Park, Newman, Tom Price and Millstream National Park. The scenery has been nothing short of spectacular. Much too hard to describe and photos do not do it justice.

We checked out some of our investments at Newman and Tom Price and being an ex trucky I practically got a hard on over some of the trucks and trains they operate over here. It is all big and I mean big.

Pat’s arm has been improving. It is now six weeks and although we were concerned she would miss out on some of the gorges in the Karajini as they are difficult to access, she soldiered on and we did some great walks at both National Parks and of course we met a heap of new best friends.

Tomorrow we start heading south to Exmouth and the Ningaloo reef before heading to Perth where we have heard temperatures are not much better than Melbourne. The Hutchies are coming up from Coral Bay on their way to Broome and our paths should cross somewhere along the road in the next couple of days.

Wittenoom the town which they are trying to hide There are no road signs

The new look Pat Honda Goldwings 1800cc Road bike. Note the new Burgal Arab at the back which the owner tows behind the bike

Bore 7 at Lorna Glen

Petenque in the bush

Abandonned car on the Great Central Aboriginals just walk away when they break down

Weater Balloon being filled with Hydrogen at Giles weather station

Doing the washing at the Docker River Camp

Dingo spent the nightand no they are not meatybites

Corregations !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wild Camels near Docker River on the Great Central Road

Farewelling the Tolmers with a glass of Moet at Uluru

The Adelaide surgeon was terrific and recommended not to have surgery based on a study they had done which showed that after 6 years those with shoulder injuries who had not had surgery had better movement than those who had had surgery. He also confirmed that Pat could continue to travel provided she did not over extend herself .The other issue was the fridge which had as previously mentioned decided to crap itself. The part which had to come from Melbourne which normally takes one week took 2 weeks.

Finally we departed on the next leg of our trip. Hutchesons, Gordons and Tolmers had all left and were making their way slowly to Uluru via the West Macdonald ranges and the Menini loop road camping at Palm Valley and Kings Canyon together with some other off road camps.
We decided to take the bitumen route to Uluru in an endeavour to catch up. We stopped overnight at Hensbury Meteorite Craters. It was great to camp out and be away from the Caravan Park.

On 29th May we said goodbye to the Tolmers and headed west past Uluru and the Olgas onto the Great Central Road and more corrugations. The trip was uneventful although the scenery was great as we travelled along the edge of the Peterson Ranges and sighted several groups of wild Camels First night out we camped at Camp site near the Northern Territory Western Australia Border near the aboriginal settlement at Docker River. Bloody Fridge playing up again.
Next day we visited the Giles weather station and did the tour which included the sending off a weather balloon. That night we camped in the bush with a dingo which hovered around our camp over night and was still there in the morning.

The rest of the trip to Laverton was fairly uneventful and the scenery not that interesting except for the abandoned cars all along the route. I estimated there would be over 200 on the 1700 kms from Alice Springs to Laverton. We camped out 3 more nights including a lay day where we read books and played Petenque. One night we had a camp oven cook off where Pat and her able assistant made Pizza in the camp oven Barb did a roast and Gay made a cake for desert.

At last back on the bitumen at Laverton we stopped for lunch at the pub and a quick look around before moving on to Leonora to stock up on food and other essentials. We camped on the way near Mount Morgon which is not significant except that there is a mine next to it and road trains travelled through our van all night.

After stocking up, the consensus was not to attend the Leonora races that afternoon and the Mardegras that night, to Pat and my disappointment but travelled on to a BHP mining town Leinster where we ate at with the miners at the local tavern.

From Leinster we travelled to Lorna Glen Station 160 kms north east of Wiluna. Lorna Glen is a 5650000 hectare station owned by the Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation and is a major restoration program which has been in progress since 1990 to eradicate feral cats camels and foxes and to reintroduce native mammals such as the bilby, bandicoots, marla and of all things the brush tailed possum. We spent 2 days exploring the station however did not see a single bilby, but was impressed with the condition of the plant life since the sheep and cattle have been removed. The managers Bruce and Kay Witnall were very helpful and provided us with the details and progress of the program including how they trap cats and shoot the camels.

From Lorna Glen we travelled back to Wiluna and on to Meekatharra where we bid farewell to Barb & Rob and Karl & Gay as they continued west and we headed north to where we currently are camped at Newman. Tomorrow we are doing the tour of the BHP open cut iron ore mine and moving on to Karajini National Park and on to Port Headland.

Where it happened and the result

Cooking up the Fish caught at the waterhole

Oops the new car up to the running board

Mud flats on the Diamantina

Crossing the Diamantina

After the flood Diamantina

I am not very good at handling this blog thing particularly transferring photographs

It is Friday the 14th May and we have arrived in Alice Springs after just a little excitement.
We travelled the 186 kms back from Boulia to Diamantina National Park where we spent 2 nights and caught a great feed of fish (Grunter) and did some 4 wheel driving towards Lake Constance an Internationally renowned wetland however got one vehicle bogged to the running boards (Dave Tolmer’s new Toyota) He had gone so far in we had to use 3 snatch straps joined together to make the recovery. We missed the wetland which was a bit disappointing.
We returned to Boulia and decided to have dinner at the Pub and joined the locals for a bit of dancing on the tables etc and refuelled for the next leg of the trip across the Donahue and Plenty Highways.
We camped out on the Georgina River for one night and the Arthur River for two nights great bird life no water but could certainly see where it had been both between 500 metres and a Kilometre wide.
Drama with the van again the fridge once again decided to pack it in on the road to Arthur River.
Last night out we camped at Spotted Tiger camp site in the Hart Range just south of the Aboriginal Community Attjere. We met Trevour the only other camper at the camp. Trevour is a youth worker from Adelaide and brings Kids some Aboriginal and some white from age 10 to Bush walk in the area. He is an interesting guy and new all about the local aborigines, the gems fossickers come from all over Australia to find and the vegetation and how it is used by The Aborigines. We talked late into the night and Trevour agreed to take us for a short bush walk in the morning to an Aboriginal Sacred Site.
We arrived at the site where there was some beautiful coloured stone which we had to clamber over. As Pat was attempting to climb onto the rocks with Rob Hutch’s assistance she slipped and dislocated her shoulder. Extremely painful and after some time seated on the rock Trevour agreed to bring his Toyota in to transport her back to camp. We dosed her up with Panadene Forte and I drove as carefully as I could over the corrugations to the bitumen and the two hundred kms to Alice Springs and the hospital emergency.
They dosed Pat up with Morphine and more Panadene Forte and took X-Rays which highlighted the dislocation had also caused a fracture to the humurus and chipped the bone where the ligaments attach to the humurus. Have since seen 2 Orthopaedic Surgeons and is having CAT scan on Monday and a third opinion from another Orthopaedic Surgeon from Adelaide. Surgery is not out of the question.
Have had CAT Scan no further update

Finally departed Beaumaris lunch time on Monday 12th April 2010 heading for Narooma to check on our off the plan unit purchase now in its fourth year. First overnight stop on the banks of the Tambo River at Bruthen. No new friends so moved on to Pambula where wE purchased furniture for Narooma and caught up with Angela Warner.

Stayed a week at Narooma inspected unit which has not progressed much since the builder went broke in November but at least things are happening and estimated completion is now end of June with settlement in late July or early August. We played one game of golf with hired clubs, not fun, and boosted the Narooma economy by eating out.

From Narooma we headed to Sydney and caught up with brother Don & Fee and Alan and Marie stocked up the van and hit the road on Monday 26th April through the Blue Mountains on the Mitchell Highway to first stop and first camp fire on the banks of the Burrendong Dam just south of Wellington.

Next day headed into Dubbo to buy a new mobile phone as mine decided to die and then continued up to 100 kms south of Bourke where we camped on the side of the road in a rest stop. The few road trains that did pass during the night sounded like landing Boeing 747s but we managed a reasonable night’s sleep and headed on through Bourke to Cunnamulla and to our next camp which was on Nardoo station a 50000 hectare working station 40 kms north of Cunnamulla. Here we met some new best friends Mac & Jenny, Brian & Pat and lone traveller Terry around the camp fire where they convinced us to stay a second day. Brian has taught Pat how to cook his version of Damper in the camp oven, so we would be well prepared for our journey across the desert.

From Nardoo we travelled to Charleville stocked up on a few extra necessities and headed to Quilpie and met up Hutchisons Tolmers and Gay and Karl all be it a day earlier and a town before we had planned to meet. We camped out of Quilpie on the banks of Lake Houdraman an extremely pretty small lake with water lilies around the edges and heaps of bird life.
Next day we all moved on to Windorah for final preparations for the trip out to Monkira Station where Karl had arranged with the managers for us to camp on the banks of a waterhole which in the past has provided him with great fishing. Unfortunately upon checking with the information centre at Windorah not only was the road closed but they had lost contact with the Station. Never the less next day we headed off on the basis that should we not be able to get into the water hole we could divert to Birdsville, or come back to Windorah.

The road was good and we made good time to Mokira however upon arriving at the waterhole we could not gain access as they had had so much water the edges of the waterhole were inaccessible. We decided to camp the night and check the road conditions to Bedourie and Boulia as the Diamantina crossed the road a few kms up the road. Fortunately the managers arrived and advised that the road was passable and we travelled through to Boulia.

It is now the 4th May and we have decided to stay an extra day in Boulia and head back into the Diamantina National Park where the road has just been opened and we have been guaranteed good fishing and some red claw.
Next update will be in Alice Springs

Introduction

In 2008 we travelled alone with no committed timetable to provide us the flexibility of travelling where and when we wanted. On this occasion we plan to travel east to west across the centre of Australia through some extremely remote areas and therefore have teamed up with Rob and Barb Hutchison Karl Gordon and Gay Phillip and Dave and Dee Tolmer to travel the Outback Way from Boulia in Queensland to Laverton in Western Australia. It is planned that we meet at Windorah in Western Queensland on 1st of May 2010 from where our journey commences.