Wednesday, 1st October 2014 - Exmouth … Day 487 of our ‘Around Oz’ trip
After fiddling around for the morning we then decided that there would be enough fuel in the Jeep (remember … we had no key for the fuel cap) to visit Charles Knife Canyon which we estimated was about a 66 km round trip. So off we went. There was not much promotional info on the canyon so we were not expecting much. When we got there we were absolutely ‘gob smacked’. The graded gravel road wound up into the hills running along a saddle that crisscrossed numerous deep and stunning canyons. The area really reminded us of the Grand Canyon but on a much smaller scale. Ok it wasn’t as long, wide and deep but the views were really spectacular.
We drove the 11 kms to the end of the road where the, now capped, original historic Wapet Oil Well No. 3 site is located. This was the first well sunk in the Exmouth area in the exploration of oil. It was sunk down to 3400 feet with no viable oil deposits found. There was an interpretive sign at the well but nowhere else in the park was there an interps sign to be seen. It would have been good to be able to read about how the canyons formed and the geological structure We stopped quite a few times on the road back to take photos but whether they will show it in all its splendour remains to be seen. Although this canyon didn’t seem to be promoted much, and even the sign on the highway was lacking, we still saw about another 10 vehicles taking in the views or picnicking along the way.
On the way back the low fuel light came on but we had plenty in reserve to get back to the house. The rest of the day was just ‘same as, same as’!
Thursday, 2nd - Friday 3rd October 2014 - Exmouth
Normal household, motorhome, woofit and chook chores.
Sandy from Midtown Marina rang and she has managed to get me some copies of Bow2stern which has my ‘Hebe’ paddle wheeler article in it and she is sending it on to our next house sit. I then sent off an invoice for it which normally seems to take over a month to be paid.
Geoff got me to post a photo of his wine cask holder that he made on the facebook page of a caravan and motorhome forum site and it has gone viral (for us) with the comments (111), likes (509) and shares (418). Wow! As Geoff says on his FB post, it is amazing what tickles peoples fancy.
Saturday, 4th October 2014 - Exmouth
Heather rang early this morning to say that their car had been broken into at Karratha overnight. She had lost a lot of gifts that she had bought in Broome plus her iPad. She asked me to see if the iPad box was in her cupboard with the serial number on it, which it was, so I messaged her back with it. What a bumma!
The day was spent, basically, just sprucing the place up in readiness for their return. Not that it was really dirty but I like to wash the linen and leave everything clean and sparkling.
They got home about 5.30 pm and the woofits were pleased to see them, in their lay back kinda way. We had a good chat to Heather and she said we could stay and continue to do house sitting in the area as heaps of her friends wanted to engage us. Sorry … booked out now!
Sunday, 5th October 2014 - Exmouth
We spent the day doing boring stuff ready for departure, such as the final washing, cleaning off the solar panels etc. That evening we had a final dinner with Heather and Peter .
Apparently Telstra land lines and ADSL internet have been out for a few days. We hadn’t noticed, of course, because we use mobile phones and wireless internet. After dinner Heather came up and used our internet to see whether she could trace her iPad which can be done if it is ever switched on after being stolen or lost. She didn’t expect too much but was delighted to see that it had been accessed 40 minutes prior giving the location on Google maps. Off she went to ring the police in Karratha and left it with them so let’s hope they catch the B’s.
Monday, 6th October 2014 - Minilya
At 7.40 we said our goodbyes to Heather as she was heading off to work. We slowly packed up, said goodbye to Peter and the Woofs . We popped into Exmouth first to fill up with diesel before heading south. Geoff had intended to stay overnight at Coral Bay not realising it was school holidays and the place was packed. Not being the kind off people who like to camp on top of other campers we decided to give it a miss, even though it was very pretty with aqua waters and the Ningaloo reef to snorkel on close by and you could see why people flocked there. Before we left we drove around the bay to the other side where the boat ramp was located. We found this bay much more appealing but, of course, no camping. Onwards and southwards until we found quite a nice free camp at Minilya where we settled in and had a good chat to our two neighbours, two single guys, like us … ex poms ... towing a caravan each.
We were heading off to Quobba Point and the Blowholes today when we realised that we didn’t have enough fuel to make the detour so we headed on in to Carnarvon to fill up. We then decided to stay overnight so visited the Information Centre to find out about the cost of caravan parks. We chose the Outback Oasis Caravan Park as they did seniors discounts and the cost was $32 powered which we thought was reasonable. It turned out to be a nice and tidy little park and friendly.
Whilst we had lunch we pored over the brochures we had picked up at the Info Centre and found that most of the attractions closed at 2 or 3pm. By this time it was too late to go to the Space and Technology Centre so we jumped on the scooter to visit the Heritage Precinct which sounded quite nice. When we got there, the museum was closed, of course, so we wandered into the café where they had some historical displays. One of the displays was the remains of a steel lifeboat from the German Raider, Komoran, which sank the HMAS Sydney И with the loss of all hands in 1941. Some of the Komoran crew were also lost but about 318 made it ashore just north of Carnarvon at Quobba Point. There was also a short amateur DVD of what is known of the history of the battle which was made in 2001 before the wreck of the Sydney was found in 2008. Quite interesting, if out of date!
Outside the café was an historical jetty called 1 mile jetty and it was, what we could only call, dilapidated. You could walk its length for $5 a head or take the ‘Coffee Pot Train’ for $10 each with the money, supposedly, going towards the upkeep of the jetty. Why we splashed out twenty bucks is beyond me but we were soon on the tatty train going at the fast speed of a brisk walking pace. The journey was a bit ‘iffy’ as the jetty did not seem to be very safe. The rails were bent and the jetty was not at all level. Geoff says they should have sold stickers stating ‘I survived the 1 Mile Jetty Coffee Pot Train’! When we got to the end we found it wasn’t really the end as there was an area cordoned off that was obviously going to see tourists plummet to their deaths. Here was nothing much to see except for rickety floor planks with holes in them, rusty iron work and the sea. We spent 5 minutes there (we were allowed ten) and then were heading back to the shore backwards by the surly, non committal driver. Would we recommend it … definitely not!
We then did the tour of the town which didn’t inspire and then checked out the wharf and boat areas before stopping at the teeny weeny shopping centre for a couple of supplies. It was obvious from the type and variety of shops that Carnarvon was not a ‘must see’ destination. There are more caravan parks here than anything else. Obviously it is just an RV stopover on the way north to more exotic destinations like Broome etc.
Wednesday, 8th October 2014 - Quobba Point
This morning found us heading back north 75 kms to Quobba Point where we intended to spend the night. According to the lady in the caravan park it is not busy as the winds have been very strong causing stinging sand. I checked the forecast and today was a day of lesser winds around 30 to 35 kms per hour , or 15 to 20 knots for our nautical friends, which we thought would be okay. Tomorrow the forecast is for 35 knot winds so we will probably only stay one night.
We arrived at the Blowholes just after 11 am with high tide being at 10.35 so the main Blowhole was blowing in all its magnificent splendour. I never realised they roared so much! It was worth backtracking 75 kms just to see it/them. Neither Geoff or I have ever been at a blowhole at the right tide so it was a first for us.
From the car park it was a bit of a rock scramble (why no path?) to the main blowhole and Geoff put his camera on the motor drive setting to ensure he g0t a good photo. As the winds had been so strong over the last few days the seas were rough causing them to smash into the cliffs around and sending spray way up into the air. Quite spectacular.
Just a little south was the campground where we found ourselves a solid based spot close to the beach.
Later, despite the strong wind, we ventured outside to sit with a drink and nibbles and watch the waves breaking on the reef further out as it got to low tide. A quick trip down to the beach for me … Geoff had already been down there earlier … and feed the seagulls. I think this would be a lovely place to camp if only a slight breeze was blowing. Still, can’t complain as it isn’t crowded.
Thursday, 9th Oct0ber 2014 - Edagee Rest Area
What a night! Geoff slept through it all. Instead of the wind dying down as it often does overnight it grew in intensity and woke me just after 2 am. I think it must have been the change coming through. It took me ages to get off to sleep again as since Ex Tropical Cyclone Oswald I hate high winds.
We were heading out at around 9 am just as the ranger was coming in so we parted with our $16 camping fees. If we had left 10 minutes earlier we would have missed him.
We drove the 75 kms back into Carnarvon to visit the Space and Technology Centre. We found that it was a new centre which had only just been opened on the 20th September this year by the Australian Astronaut Andy Thomas. It was, apparently, 5 times bigger than the original centre which had been opened by Buzz Aldrin in 2012. It was $7 each concession to get in and, being Carnarvon, we didn’t expect much but were very pleasantly surprised indeed. We spent a good 2 hours in the centre being educated in the role the Carnarvon OTC Centre played in the US Space Program. We had funny photos taken, we rode in the space capsule mock up and were launched into space. I very much doubt the vibrations were as mild as we experienced! There was a 60’s room complete with a TV 0f the time showing the first live broadcast between Australia and the UK in 1966, and all made possible by an error with a satellite going into the wrong orbit. When the ’authorities that be’ realised that the satellites track would go over the Carnarvon area (which did not have TV in those days) a broadcast team and all its equipment made the dash from Perth to Carnarvon and enabled three expat families to link up with their families back in the UK. All this was done in a 22 minute window. Really fascinating, I can’t remember it in the UK but I am sure I would have watched it. There were rooms full of old electronic machines from that era and some I remember using as a young adult in the UK and early days of Oz. Especially punching cards for the computer which took up a
A quick bit of last minute shopping and we were on our way south again stopping at the Edagee Rest Area overnight. There were better places to stop but these were on the beach and the winds were forecast to get to 75 kph over the next few days so we decided to stay inland a bit. Had a nice chat to an Irish and French backpacking pair.
Friday, 10th October 2014 - Denham
We were soon heading south through a flat and barren landscape. The land was fenced either side of the road so there must have been stations about but there didn’t look to be too much feed around for stock. On the edges of the road we saw quite a few goats (feral?) with kids, sheep and cattle (Herefords now, the Brahmans are well and truly gone) so we had to keep our eyes peeled as you never know what they are going to do.
Eventually a hill came into view and there was a sign pointing to the Gladstone Lookout which afforded 360º views with the Indian Ocean on one side and the barren desert type scrub as far as the eye could see into the interior. It was another of these lookouts that was used for memorial cairns. The most interesting mound was a large gnome gathering with memorials to many people. Some were tatty and some were quite plush.
Onwards to then visit Hamelin Pool, 100 kms south od Denham, to have a look at the Hemalin Pool and the stromatolites. These stromatolites first appeared on the earth over 3 billion years ago and are still surviving here today. There’s twice as much salt in Hamelin Bay than in the sea and because there’s a bar across the entrance and the water is shallow this causes the water to evaporate really rapidly. As the critters that normally feed on the bacteria of these stomatolites cannot tolerate the saline water the stromatolites are able to grow here successfully and undisturbed. Click on the hyperlink for more info on these weird and wonderful things. They are not very beautiful and interesting looking but when you read all of the interps signs you can appreciate how long they have been around, how they survived and, most probably, are how we humans can now survive on this planet.
When we continued on we passed the 26th Parallel for the second time. We had passed it earlier in the day on our way down and then passed it again as we headed north to Shark Bay. This is the only place we have seen a sign for it anywhere. We did a quick detour to have a look at the national park coastal campsite of Whalebone Bay and may take advantage of it on our way back out.
When we got into Denham we made a beeline for the Information Centre where they rang the Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort to see if they had any vacancies. None for our size today so we booked in for tomorrow. We then found the cheapest van park in town, which was $28 unpowered and a bit tatty but never mind.
It was quite windy overnight with stronger winds to come. By 9am we were on our way to Monkey Mia, 23 kms away on the eastern side of the peninsular. We got a nice site at the resort and settled in. Even though we are on the lee side of the peninsular it is still quite windy. I soon had my little washing machine in action and then we went for a walk around the resort. It was a reasonably sized resort and we had just found the national park theatrette and were watching a dolphin doco when a lady came in and asked if I was Maz. Her name was Angela and she was the sister of Lin who used to have the cat ‘Rosalee’ before it was lost along with 2AB in the Bundy floods. We had only met Lin a few times but became FB friends after the flood. I then became a FB friend with her sister Angela as Lin had said they were travelling the same route as us and we should look out for each other. How Angela recognised me from my FB photos is beyond me but she did and at last we have met up. We had a nice chat with Angela and her hubby, Richard, before they headed off to go fishing. What a small world!
After we left them we then noticed a sign on the theatrette window asking for volunteers from the 10th to 28th October from 4 days minimum to 14 days maximum. Oh wow … what an opportunity … so we went and checked up on it. The tasks were dolphin and pelican feeding, prep of fish for the dolphins and pelicans, cleaning the fish room, dolphin data and collation, running the daily movie program, keeping the visitor information centre clean and tidy, rubbish collection and window cleaning, public enquiries, visitor surveys and assisting with the presentation of interps activities. The only problem was that we have to stay here at the resort which is expensive. But the upside is that we won’t be forking out on diesel. In the end we decided it was too good an opportunity to miss out on and we would probably never be this way again so will probably take it on. We have a couple more logistic issues to sort out but we could be starting on Monday.
Up early to see the dolphin feeding at 7.45. It was quite windy so there was a bit of a wind chill factor as we waited in calf high water whilst Jenny, the ranger, gave us a spiel on the dolphins. Soon Nicky came in with her calf soon followed by Puck and others. Nicky is about 38 years old and was originally called Nick until she arrived one day with a calf so they stuck the y on the end and named here Nicky. She was called Nick due to the nicks out of her dorsal fin, in fact, this is how they identify the dolphins plus the spotted patterns on their under bellies. Eventually the volunteers came down with their buckets of fish. There were four volunteers in total and each only had about 5 fish in their bucket so they don’t feed them much. The volunteers waded out into knee high water and then us onlookers made our way back onto the beach which was the indication to the dolphins that it was ‘tucker time’. The vollies randomly selected people from the crowd to feed the dolphins and Geoff was lucky enough to be selected out of a crowd of over 150 (could be more, we didn’t count them).
So … 4 vollies each with 5 fish means that only 20 people get selected to interact with the dolphins. They do not want to feed them too much as they don’t want the dolphins to become reliant on hand feeding as they then do not teach their calves how to hunt and often forget to let them suckle. Four out of five calves were dying before they brought in the stricter regime and now four out of five are making it to maturity. Plus there is no feeding after 12 noon so they have to go hunt their own meals. According to their licence, there has to be at least a 10 minute break before they are allowed to feed them again and today the dolphins were back within those ten minutes so it all started again, but this time to a much smaller crowd. 7.45 is the time when you are almost 100% guaranteed to see them but after that it is all up to the dolphins, which can come in up to three times up till midday.
We then chatted to Jenny and told her that we could commit to volunteering until the 22nd October which she seemed quite pleased about. We thought it was too good an experience to miss out on. Then it was off to reception
After brekky Geoff pegged the outside flooring down, pulled out the awning and pegged it down and also connected the privacy screen. Whether the awning and screen will stay up is yet to be decided as it is quite windy. It is the noise factor that will determine it as there is a lot of creaking and it may keep us awake. Nope, it didn’t stay up and was back down by late afternoon.
Monday, 13th October 2014 - Monkey Mia
Household chores and then off to our induction at 1pm. Whoops, it was for tomorrow but Angie, the ranger, did it anyway as they said the needed us to start tomorrow. It took about one and a half hours and we came out of there with our heads spinning but I am sure we’ll be alright after a couple of hours of muddling around with the more experienced volunteers.
Relax for the rest of the day.
Tuesday, 13th October 2014 - Monkey Mia (Losing my S on the keyboard so hope they are all there!)
We were up t 6.30 for a 7.30 start. It takes us a little while to get going in the mornings. Shower, brekky and we were on our way.
As I said before there were various tasks to perform throughout the morning and the first job was to sweep out the sand from the interps display and the theatrette. Then it was time to defrost five buckets of fish for the dolphins. There are strict guidelines on how much fish each dolphin gets, depending on the dolphins size. The three main dolphin get 500 gms and the two younger dolphin get 300 gms, give or take 20 gms. Depending on the size of the fish this could 2 to 5 fish. At the same time a yellow bucket of fish bits is made up for the pelicans to keep them occupied whilst the dolphins are being fed otherwise they will try to ‘horn in’ on the dolphin feed. The National Parks buy the ‘by catch’ from the trawlers and have to take what they can get, hopefully small fish. The main matriarch dolphin is Nicky who was born in 1975 followed by Puck in 1976, Surprise in 1977, Piccolo in 1992 (offspring of Puck) and Shock in 1994 (offspring of Surprise). There are heaps of other dolphins that come in to visit now and again but these five are the ones that are fed. If you want to read more about the hierarchy of the Monkey Mia dolphins click on the hyperlink.
When the dolphins came into shore their names and the time they arrived were radioed to us by the rangers and were duly recorded in the diary. The rangers gave a 30 minute talk on the dolphins and we radioed through when there was 5 minutes left of the 30 minutes. At the end of the talk the volunteers grabbed a bucket of prepared fish each (each bucket had the dolphin’s name on it) and we made our way down to the water and waded out to the dolphins at about mid thigh level. The rangers indicated to us which dolphin was which as it takes more time to learn who is who than the few days the volunteers have here. We, the volunteers, then chose someone from the crowd to participate in the feeding. No mucking about for photos, unless they’re quick, as the feeding has to be swift and methodical and over within 5 minutes. When we had one fish left in the bucket we raised our hand. We then called in our last participant and we fed the last fish all together with Nicky being the last dolphin to be fed. We then poured the remaining water from the bucket into the sea indicating to the dolphins that the feed was over. This was also when the pelicans, who had been patiently watching that yellow bucket all of this time, got their little piece of fish. The dolphin experience is usually over about 8.30 but there are normally a couple more feeds before midday if the dolphins come in. Being wild animals they are encouraged to do as they please. Today, there was no third feed experience.
Geoff participated in the first feed experience today whilst I did the pelican distraction. During the first feed there was a ruckus between the dolphin, Puck, that Geoff was attending and another and all the volunteers were told to leave the water until the altercation settled down. Apparently, so we were told, if you got side swiped by an angry dolphin’s tail it could cause you to be a one legged dolphin attendant as they can easily snap a leg. On the second feed I also went in and also had Puck and Geoff had the dolphin named Shock. It is quite an experience having a dolphin ‘lean’ on you leg and looking up at you whilst waiting to be fed.
There was a young female volunteer, Pinky, from Taiwan who was finishing up today after 4 days and a young couple from Denmark, Erik and Lisbeth, who leave after tomorrow and then we will be the ‘old kids on the block’ when the new volunteers start on Thursday.
On the way back to the motorhome we stopped and chatted to a couple about our age who were on holiday from the Netherlands. Nice couple. Then back for some lunch and to relax and mull over the experience of the morning.
Later in the afternoon Erik and Lisbeth called by and we showed them the website for Beltana Station as we thought they would love it there. We also told them about helpx and workaway and also chatted about them doing the Black Abyss caving adventure in New Zealand when they get there. Erik then went and grabbed his car battery which had gone flat so Geoff could charge it up overnight and then Erik and Geoff worked on Lisbeth’s laptop which had decided to go on a ‘go slow’.
Wednesday, 15th October 2014 - Monkey Mia
Today Geoff had to tell a guy who was swimming in the dolphin ‘no go’ feeding zone that he had to leave the water. Geoff got his national parks customer control techniques from Bob Adams when he was the Ranger in Charge of the Port Campbell and Mt Buffalo National Parks.
It was a bit windy again today (does it always blow in this part of the world?) so I chose the task of the Pelican distraction as I can’t keep my balance properly in choppy seas. The other volunteers are more than happy to participate in the dolphin experiences. One of the Pelicans is named Rogue because she is a little brain damaged through some cause or another. She snaps her beak at her wings, the air, passers by but she doesn’t worry me as I stand quite still with ‘My god, the yellow bucket’. Geoff prepared their fish this morning and I think he is more generous than the other volunteers so they got a nice bit each.
Today the d9lphins came in for three feeds and this time the fish were quite small as we had received a new batch. This meant more people were able to participate in the dolphin feeding. The volunteers choose randomly but it always helps if the prospective feeder wears some distinctive clothes and stand out. The vollies try to choose a cross section of participants from kids up to oldies and everything in between. Eye contact is made to let them know … yes, it is you … like the man with the red T shirt and glasses … but not “The fat lady there” as one overseas backpacker was heard to say! Bribing, standing in the water and putting your hands up will have the opposite effect that you want as you will then certainly not be chosen. No sunscreen or bug replant should be worn.
Today there were over 200 people and 5 dolphins in the first experience, about 68 people and 3 dolphins in the second and 3 dolphins and about 60 people for the third and final experience.
In between feeds I thoroughly dusted the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) shop and booking office, swept out the theatrette and display centre and Geoff cleaned up the Swallow poo from the theatrette plus a few other jobs. We met the new vollies. We finished at 1pm today as the volunteers take it in turn to finish up one hour later to clean and close up.
Back to the motorhome for lunch but not before chatting to more people on the way back. Maybe it is because we are wearing volunteer T shirts and name badges.
Thursday 16/10/14 - Monkey Mia … Day 501 of our ‘Aro9und Oz’ tour
We decided to go in a tad early this morning as there were three new volunteers starting today and we thought they might probably feel a little lost and apprehensive. We had met them yesterday and they were Judy (Chien) from Taiwan and Sebastien and Flavie from France and all in their early to mid twenties. Judy is a little hard to understand but Sebastien and Flavie are a much easier to understand although their English is still accented. On the way to the ‘fish room’ we met up with Judy whose little face lit up when she saw some familiar faces and walked in with us with the other two arriving soon after. We were soon showing them the ropes and probably making their heads spin.
The day proceeded as normal until the second feed when Rogue, the brain damaged Pelican, decided she was not going to leave the dolphin feed area to go to the boardwalk and the yellow bucket which was manned by me. Eventually she was coaxed far enough away by a ranger enticing her with a fish for the feeding to continue. The dolphins that came in for a feed today were Nicky, Surprise, Puck and Shock, so where was Piccolo? It is mating season so if she doesn’t come in for a while we can only presume that she has been herded away by the frisky males for mating. The other dolphins that came in were Missel, Static, Flute, Widiya and Kiya but these dolphins are not fed.
Alas, for the crowd, there was no third feed experience today. The dolphins had decided to go elsewhere so it was a shame for those people that had only just arrived for the day.
More cleaning, chatting, movie playing and then we were finished for the day.
Friday, 17th October 2014 - Monkey Mia
A bit of a tiring day!
Up at 6.20, as usual, and off to volunteer. This, in itself, wasn’t tiring and there was, once again, only two Feed Experiences and not a full contingent of dolphins coming in. Because there wasn’t so many dolphins on the 2nd feeding Judy did the Pelicans and I was able to take some photos of the others , but not Geoff.
The tiring bit was hopping on the scooter after lunch and heading into Denham which took about 23 minutes as Geoff took the scenic route towards the end. There was a bit of a cross wind and when cars went by they kicked up the sand which really stung our bare legs. Just as we were coming into Denham there was a large Emu just standing in the middle of the road. He/she didn’t move until we got up close and Geoff tooted the horn and we think she might have been sleeping.
When we got to Denham we found the Resource Centre which housed a sub agency of Centrelink and they were able to obtain a rent certificate for us. In fact, she gave me 6 copies for later use … thanks.
I also found the chemist which turned out to be a micro-chemist which was housed in a newsagency along with the post office. But they had what I needed, or close enough, so I was happy. Onto the butcher to get meat for the next four days and IGA Express to top up on a few bits (including 5 litres of bottled water as the desalinated water of Monkey Mia is not the best) and the bottle shop so Geoff could buy 6 beers. That was all we could carry back so we were done. We had a tail wind going back and we took the slightly shorter direct route so it only took us 18 minutes to get back, even loaded up.
After a quick cuppa I filled in the rent certificate and we wandered down to the resort office and it was all soon signed off so it will go in the mail tomorrow. It will make our stay here a little less expensive which will be good.
Time to relax for a while.
Saturday, 18th October 2014 - Monkey Mia
Up and at it. Alas, only two dolphin feeds again today so the new volunteers are a bit disappointed. Flavie and Sebastien asked if they could stay another day as they are supposed to be finishing up tomorrow. We said we would take the day off and let them work if that was okay so we will get a lay in on Monday … how nice. Sebastian has been drawing in the volunteer book and he looks like he is a good artist, clever boy. All volunteers put comments in when they leave and it is very interesting to see the drawings or photos and comments. They made Geoff very emotional.
Once again I did the pelicans for the first experience and one of them was very pushy and persistent. Geoff did the pelicans on the second feed and said the same thing but as long as you stand still they do not peck you. The caravan people have been complaining about the emus attacking their dogs, especially the smaller dogs. Apparently it is only one emu that has a chick that is causing the problems. They are thinking of removing him as they do not want to make the resort a ‘No Dogs’ park, which is the only other solution. It is the emu’s habitat, after all!
About 10.30 the rain arrived. What is this wet stuff? It has been a long time since we saw rain, maybe Victoria? I was the one to stay back to 1pm today and Geoff got saturated as he made his way back to the motorhome. Luckily I had gone back when it looked a bit ominous to close all the hatches and windows. When I left at 1pm the rain had stopped so I was fine.
Sunday, 19th October 2014 - Monkey Mia
Poor Geoff was crook last night, poor thing! Not sure if he ate something not quite right but he had stomach cramps and some diarrhoea. Then during the night he had rectal bleeding which was a bit of a worry. He had a restless night and we were up at 5.30 and ringing Nurse Sally in Victoria for advice as Victoria was three hours ahead of us. Sally gave us some good advice but then I rang the Shark Bay Medical Centre which, according to the web, was open 24/7 for emergencies. Not so … it went to the WA health line so Geoff spoke to a nurse who took down all his particulars and put it online and then put him through to a GP. After an extensive phone conversation he told Geoff he probably had in infection and a blood vessel had burst and to give it a few hours and it should ease and to eat soggy foods and drink electrolytes.
So, I left him in bed and went of to do the volunteering tasks. There were lots of dolphins and pelicans today and the dolphins came in for three feeds so Sebastien and Flavie were very happy. Chien leaves today so we said our goodbyes.
When I returned, just after 11am, Geoff was still in bed. He went off to the loo and came back and said it was no better so we discussed our options as there is no doctor in Denham and the doctor only flies in from Carnarvon twice a week. The nearest doctor and hospital was 440 kms away in Geraldton. We rang the health line again and gave all the same information out again. This time she put Geoff through to the resident nurse in Denham who said the doctor was flying in tomorrow and she would fit him in. This seemed a better option than driving all the way to Geraldton as it was too late to leave this afternoon and get there before dark. The roads out here are treacherous with wildlife after dark and I am not a good night driver at the best of times.
We decided to wait until after Geoff sees the doctor before making a decision whether to leave or not.
Monday, 20th October 2014 … Monkey Mia
Luckily we were having the day off today anyway so we slept in till gone 7.30. Just before 9am Geoff rang the doctors office in Denham and she gave him an appointment for 11am. I put some washing on and we went to talk to Jen, one of the rangers, and discussed our movements.
At 10.30 Geoff headed off on the scooter to Denham and I waited impatiently for him to come back which wasn’t until 1pm. Apparently the doctor was not that impressed with the advice that the doctor from WA Health had given him which was, mainly, to leave it and see if it improves. He said continual rectal bleeding always needs to be looked at. So he gave Geoff a generic referral for a doctor in Australind when we get there in a few days so that Geoff could get a colonoscopy done just to check that all was well there. It is better to be safe than sorry. So we will stay the two more days that we planned and have paid for.
Geoff spent the afternoon making a photo montage along with a little poem I had done and a little spiel about our stay for the volunteers dolphin experience book. Unlike Sebastien we are no good at art so photos it will be.
Later in the afternoon Flavie and Sebastien popped around for a quick visit and then I cooked tea. Geoff ate some this time as he I feeling better.
Tuesday, 21st October 2014 - Monkey Mia
You will so get fed up with dolphin photos but bear with us a we only have one more day t0 go!
Geoff is feeling a lot better today and things seem to be settling down although his tummy is still a little tender. I was up at 5.45 as I couldn’t sleep and Geoff wasn’t far behind me. I am always worried I am going to sleep through the alarm. We worked with Kye, an Aussie, Sharna from America and Anna from Germany. Nice enough youngsters but not as much fun as the previous five volunteers. There were three feed experiences today
I then bought some souvenirs from the DEC shop and, yes, I have another fluffy toy which I have named ‘Puck’. Today, for the first feed Geoff had Surprise who is very heavily pregnant and due any day. We have all been hoping she will give birth whilst we are working. I looked after MY pelicans again.
Because the feed finished early we left the three other vollies to finish up and started to wander back to the motorhome. This 5 minute walk took over 30 minutes. When you are wearing your volunteer shirts and name badges you tend to get approached by visitors to talk about the dolphins which is fine by us as we enjoy talking to people. The group that stopped us today were four Chinese of which three were Aussie citizens and one was a fourth time visitor from Hong Kong. He had just retired from the Hong Kong police force after 36 years service. They have to retire at 55 years of age in these type of services so he must have been older than 55 but looked about 40 years of age. We chatted about the dolphins, living in Oz, the demos in Hong Kong, China itself etc. They were surprised at our knowledge of the situation and also that we knew of some of the history of China. A nice group and we enjoyed chatting with them.
Wednesday, 22nd October 2014 - Nerren Nerren Rest Area
Boo hoo - all good things must come to an end and so it was today with our last morning working with the pelicans and dolphins.
Geoff participated in two ‘feed experiences’ and distracted the pelicans during the other feed. I went in for one last dolphin experience today whilst Geoff was feeding the pelicans and worked with Surprise. As she is heavily pregnant I needed to be in deeper water as she is so rotund and I got quite wet. Plus Rogue, the poor brain damaged pelican, would not stay with the yellow bucket and snuck down to see if she could steal from a dolphins bucket, which she did, and then caused a bit of mayhem in the dolphin feeding area. Anna, from Germany, was seen being pursued by Rogue and another pelican as she waved one of the spare fish to try to distract Rogue and lure her away from the dolphins.
After the feed the rangers said they had seen our contribution to the volunteer guest book and said it was great and they really loved my poem. Thanks.
We finished up at 11.15 and went to finalise the packing away. We stopped at the resort office on the way out to ensure our account was paid up. The account looked a little weird and I couldn’t quite see what they had done so we will check on our credit card online in a few days. It was lower than I thought.
On the road again before midday and we stopped in Denham to treat ourselves to a bought lunch. We went into the bakery and bought two pasties. My pastie was the worst I have ever eaten with hard pastry and stringy meat inside. I was just complaining to Geoff about it when a seagull came swooping our of the sky and plucked it out of my hand. He took off with a large flock of squawking seagulls following trying to get a piece. Cheeky B … but I didn’t want it anyway. Geoff said I should have gone back to the bakery and complained but I hate confrontations.
On the way we stopped at the lookout overlooking L’Haridon Bight and Shell Beach and, of course, as usual Geoff took a panorama photo to remind us of our time in this area.
Southwards, ever vigilant as there were a lot of feral goats on the road. We also saw a feral cat and missed (I think and hope) a large lizard. We stopped at the Nerren Nerren Rest area for the night and Geoff took the opportunity to make a short dolphin movie for the new volunteers, Kye, Shawna and Anna and sent it off to them.
Thursday, 23rd October 2014 - Howtharra, near Geraldton
Awake just after 6am, bugga, that’s these early rises for you. We must get out of this habit!
We were on the road to Geraldton before 9am. About 170 kms before Geraldton the landscape started to change with different and greener trees, even some firs, then another 20 kms on the land became more fertile with grassy paddocks. It is so nice to see a lot of green again! Now, Geoff says, we could be anywhere in Oz.
We soon passed the ‘Principality of Hutt River’ which is, supposedly, an Independent Sovereign State having seceded from Australia on the 21st of April in 1970 and is about the size of Hong Kong Island. For more information on this strange little story click on the hyperlink above. We didn’t go there as a lot of the road is dirt. Well, Australia is not going to make the road to a sovereign province, is it?
Onwards and just missing another slow moving large lizard. As we came into Geraldton we heard a strange flapping cum vibration. As it sounded a bit like a tyre shredding … yes, we are paranoid now … Geoff stopped and checked all the tyres but there was nothing amiss. When we took off again I wandered back into the motorhome and located where I thought the vibration was coming from. When we parked I checked the outside and noticed a bolt had come loose from the middle awning support so Geoff said we would fix it when we stopped.
We checked out a couple of stores to see if we could replace Geoff’s camera which had developed a blurred section on the lens but neither of the two shops we went into had the model he wanted so it was on to Bunnings to get a ball valve to try to modify the waste water outlet, yet again, as the waste water was not draining out.
On to Howtharra and Allana’s place, an olive grove 30 kms north of Geraldton, where we were staying the night to touch base for the house sit over Christmas. We met the cat ‘Cat Cat’ and the Blue Heeler ‘Smeg’ who were both rotund little creatures. We got to know Allana over a cuppa and then she gave us a tour of the small Olive Oil factory, we learnt a bit about how to know what is good oil and what is not and we came away with 5 litres of pure Australian Olive oil which was great as we were just about to run out.
Geoff then fixed the awning bracket with a little help from me and then put the valve on the washing machine so he can shut that off from the waste pipe so he can then get some water pressure up the pipe when it blocks up. After all that, it is still not draining. Allana said we can put one of her water hoses up it. We hadn’t asked her as she is not on town water and water, of course, is precious. Geoff will do that tomorrow.
We then went in for a lovely roast lamb dinner with 11 year old Smeg eyeing off the lamb. Her patience was rewarded and she received the lamb bone and off she went.
Friday, 24th October 2014 - Cliff Head Rest Area overnight
We were slow to get started this morning. Geoff filled our tanks with lovely fresh rain water and he also man-aged to get the waste water flowing out but the gauge still shows full. We can only surmise that the waste water sensor may have got scale built up around it from all of the bore water we have been using and probably the outlet pipe has also got scale in it. Geoff said he would buy some descaler to see of that helps.
When we eventually got going we had to, again, miss three very slow moving lizards that we making their way across the roads.
Time to find a camp overnight so on past flowering red & yellow banksia which I can recognise & many other wildflowers which I couldn’t. A quick detour into Lancelin where we thought there was a CMCA camp but it now had no camping so we eventually finished up at Moore River where we were soon chatting to our new neighbours and Geoff was looking at her laptop and putting on some new virus protection. Later a whizbang (combivan) with some foreign backpacker types came in and parked in between us and really close to the entry door of their caravan. Definitely too close but we think it is because space is at a premium in Europe and this is what they do.
We packed up and said our goodbyes to Ross & Meryl after agreeing to visit them at Australind while we were there doing our next house sit.
It was a straight forward run through Perth on the freeway after one little hiccup when our GPS wanted to take us another route. We stopped at Pinjarra which had a lovely little overnight spot for self contained vehicles only and soon got chatting to the people in the other motorhome with us.
M onday, 27th and Tuesday 28th October 2014 - Waroona 
We helped Ken out with some maritime stuff so that he is ready to start his modules for the coxswain course he is doing. We said goodbye to Lorraine who was working hard in the office and headed off about 11am.
Thursday, 30th October 2014 - Australind
Spent the day going around the property with Martin showing us this and that and then we went out in the car to take Max for one of his daily walks. We got a tour of the town and then had lunch when we got back. Made a doctors appointment and an opticians appointment for Geoff for tomorrow.
Apart from changing Sally and Martin’s website, that was it for the day.
Friday, 31st October 2014 - Australind
We were slow to get started this morning. Geoff filled our tanks with lovely fresh rain water and he also man-aged to get the waste water flowing out but the gauge still shows full. We can only surmise that the waste water sensor may have got scale built up around it from all of the bore water we have been using and probably the outlet pipe has also got scale in it. Geoff said he would buy some descaler to see of that helps.
When we eventually got going we had to, again, miss three very slow moving lizards that we making their way across the roads.
After a quick visit
to Bunnings to but some descaler we went onto the HMAS Sydney И Memorial which
commemorates Australia’s worst naval disaster. As I said in a previous journal,
after a battle with the German raider HSK Komoran the Sydney sunk off Geraldton
with all 645 hands lost. The memorial was very impressive with the dome being made
out of 645 stainless steel seagulls in memory of the 645 lives lost. When the
ship was located out from Geraldton in 2480 metres of water a second memorial
was built in the shape of a pool with 644 seagulls depicted around the sides
and the 645th seagull standing on its wingtip in the middle of the pool on a
chart which shows the HMAS Sydney’s final resting place. It is a very beautiful
monument to these sailors and you cannot but help feel shocked by the number of
lives lost in one moment of time. The names are listed on gran-ite wall panels
and, of course, there is a White, Brown and a Greenwood! Next to both memorials
is a bronze statue named the waiting woman who is gazing out to sea. Originally
she was looking for her lost ones but she has since been moved and now gazes
towards the co-ordinates of the ships last resting place.
Heading south we
decided we were definitely no longer in a remote area with large stations being
replaced by rolling farmland of golden swaying grass. We detoured quickly into
Dongara which was a sweet little town and then it was onto the Cliff Head Rest
Area for the night.
After a cuppa and a
relax we went for a walk along the sandy track and found quite few places to
camp overlooking the coast. After chatting to a couple outside their caravan
we found the authorities had just imposed a 72 hour limit to stop people almost
setting up homes there. There were already quite a few fisherman’s huts along
this piece of coast. Often they have a lease due to the fact that they were there
before these places became government reserves etc. Later we had a nice chat
with a couple from Rockingham who had come down to the rest area for a relaxing
cuppa. You get to meet some really nice people when you are on the road.
Saturday, 25th October 2014 - Moore River Rest Area overnight
On the road quite
early and driving south with the Indian Ocean on our right affording some nice
views on the way. There seemed to be quite a few fishing shacks dotted amongst
the sand dunes. The sand dunes continued all the way down with us on either
side of the road and some were huge with almost white sand. The closer we got
to Perth the more the sky clouded over and looking ready to rain.
We detoured off the
highway to have a look at Jurien Bay where we had a look at the marina and then
found a nice spot overlooking the sea to have a cuppa. Whilst we were enjoying
our coffees six tandem sky dives came into view from out of nowhere and landed
close by. A nice little distraction.
On to Cervantes for a
quick look around and then just a few kms further down the road to Nambung
National Park and The Pinnacles (for more info click on the previ-ous link).
After paying the entrance fee of the vast sum of $6 we were told that our
motorhome was to big to take round the drive. We had the option of walking the
1.2 kms walking trail or taking the scooter round the whole driving circuit and
this was the option we took. We were very glad we did as The Pinnacles are
really fascinating limestone pillars and were extensive so we were able to see
them all. We were on and off the scooter as a section took our fancy with all
their different shapes and sizes and they continued on as far as the eye could
see. Enthralling to say the least. I even took some movie from the back of the
scooter as we went around. Plus we also did something we very seldom do …
bought some souvenirs.
Time to find a camp overnight so on past flowering red & yellow banksia which I can recognise & many other wildflowers which I couldn’t. A quick detour into Lancelin where we thought there was a CMCA camp but it now had no camping so we eventually finished up at Moore River where we were soon chatting to our new neighbours and Geoff was looking at her laptop and putting on some new virus protection. Later a whizbang (combivan) with some foreign backpacker types came in and parked in between us and really close to the entry door of their caravan. Definitely too close but we think it is because space is at a premium in Europe and this is what they do.
Sunday, 26th October 2014 - Waroona
During the night, a
car squeezed in between us and the combi. Why? There was plenty of space for a
car else-where, maybe it made them feel safer. They weren’t noisy and were gone
by ‘sparrows fart’ but the backpackers got up at 6am and didn’t bother to keep
their voices down so everyone was awake then.
We packed up and said our goodbyes to Ross & Meryl after agreeing to visit them at Australind while we were there doing our next house sit.
It was a straight forward run through Perth on the freeway after one little hiccup when our GPS wanted to take us another route. We stopped at Pinjarra which had a lovely little overnight spot for self contained vehicles only and soon got chatting to the people in the other motorhome with us.
After a cuppa Geoff
rang Ken Nottle who lives in Waroona and who used to bring ski groups over to
Noonameena Lodge when we owned and ran it from 1984 to 1994. We have always
kept in touch as he’s a great guy. He convinced us to push on and stay at his
place as he had plenty of room. So we did a quick shop in Pinjarra, as we like
to support RV Friendly towns, and were on our way and arriving just after 2.30.
Natter, natter, natter & then a BBQ tea and it was natter, natter, natter
again. Much colder here so on with a jumper and sheep-skin slippers.
These couple of days
were just spent visiting and looking around the district. Geoff and Ken went
off to see Phil at Picton Mechanical Service, also a guest of ours at
Noonameena and who recognised Geoff and Geoff recognised him … after all of
these years, who said he had done servicing on Fiat Ducato’s a few times so
Geoff will get the service done there. We popped around to see Robert, another
guest at Noonameena, who has a large hydroponic garden and came away with many
varieties of tomatoes to try out.
Later, we had dinner
with Ken and Lorraine and we showed them our New Zealand movies and they showed
us their South African tour photos. All good.
On the Tuesday we
went out to dinner at The Tavern with Ken, Lorraine, Robert and Gloria and the
food was terrific.
Wednesday, 29th October 2014 - Australind, near Bunbury
We helped Ken out with some maritime stuff so that he is ready to start his modules for the coxswain course he is doing. We said goodbye to Lorraine who was working hard in the office and headed off about 11am.
We stopped at
Brunswick Junction for the dump point. What a pain! When you get there you see
a sign saying you need to collect the key from the Eziway Supermarket. So … you
turn around and, hopefully, find a spot to park, queue up in the line in the
supermarket to get the key, then find you need a $5 key deposit for it so back
to the motorhome. Back into the queue for the checkout and get the key after
signing your life away and then drive around the block to the showgrounds as
the road is too tight to turn around, and dump the black water. Back to the
supermarket and, hopefully, find a park, queue up at the checkout again to get
you deposit back and then drive out of town a good 30 minutes later without
buying the groceries you were intending to buy as you are too frustrated and
p’d off.
So it was on to
Australind to meet Martin and Max, the Beagle/Cavelier King Charles X. The spot
beside the house was soft dirt and we span the wheels a bit to get in and are
just hoping we can back it out ok. Martin’s wife, Ati, came home from work
about 5.30 and Martin cooked a seafood pasta … yum.
Thursday, 30th October 2014 - Australind
Spent the day going around the property with Martin showing us this and that and then we went out in the car to take Max for one of his daily walks. We got a tour of the town and then had lunch when we got back. Made a doctors appointment and an opticians appointment for Geoff for tomorrow.
Apart from changing Sally and Martin’s website, that was it for the day.
Geoff went and had
his eyes tested and they quoted him $660 for a pair of glasses. In the
afternoon he went off to the doctors and got a referral for the specialist.
When he got back to the motorhome he ordered a pair of glasses from
Zennioptical in China for $115 with more extras (3 extra pairs of clip on
sunnies).
In the evening we
took Max out on another of his walks. Max is a lovely little dog, if a little
rotund. You can definitely see the Cavalier King Charles in his eyes which are
very expressive.
