finally into Perth

Our last camp out before the big smoke is at Bindoon Hill just 95km north of Perth.  Listed in our Camps Australia book it turns out to be ‘just’ a rest area and not very inviting for an overnight stay.  On both sides of the highway there is a rest area and we note that some of the heavy semi’s coming up the hill are pulling in there for a break so we decide to try the little dirt track that runs off just before it.  Well that suited us just fine, bit of highway noise but it did quieten down later in the evening.  I was able to go for a wander along the track and find some more flowers (not yet photographed) to add to my collection.  We had a restful night and of course woke early as the trucks started coming up the hill again for a new day.  Wanting to miss the worst of peak hour traffic through the city we didn’t leave till nearly 9am and then enjoyed the trip down the highway passing through lovely green hills and wineries throughout the Swan Valley region.  Safely to our next ‘stop over’ by mid-morning we are all set up by lunch, washing under way and sitting back having a cuppa and a chat.

Perth will be home for the next couple of weeks before we head off again down south.

roses at Dallwallinu

petunias galore along the main street median strip

murals at Moora

the statue is of a draught horse to honour their contribution to settlement

the statue of a kelpie honouring the contribution he has made

Wildflowers galore

Leaving Northampton we headed out along the Chapman Valley Way which took us up and down the rolling hills that became wheat fields. 

Our rest stop for the next two nights was at Fig Tree Creek and we took the time to go for a stroll and check out the various flora around this area.   On walking down to the creek we saw some nasturtiums flowering in the midst of thick undergrowth showing their shades of orange flowers clearly. 

                                                      this one has a 'grey' beard on top

this one has a white 'beard'

We also found some lovely flowering grasses and loved the colour and their softness.  There were quite a few other campers enjoying the rest area and one chap we spoke to was enroute to taking up a job at a wheat silo where he would be directing the trucks that deliver the wheat from the properties.  He did 6 weeks last year doing the same thing and that had been considered a ‘poor’ season so it would be fair to say that he will be working a bit longer this year as it is thought it has the potential to be a really good one.

Travelling into Geraldton we see wheat growing each side of the road and some sheep as well.  The paddocks are all shades of yellow with some with a tinge still of green.  There are also paddocks that have a lovely purple tinge to them and this was found to be a grass type plant with purple flowers on top.  More delights as we drive along.

up close and personal with the plant

Geraldton was a busy hub and there were masses of colourful bougainvillea in gardens to be admired.   Doing the necessary shopping and refilling water etc gave us enough of ‘civilisation’ and we were pleased to head out of town and get off the main highway and back onto a minor road as we head for Mullewa.  More different wildflowers beside the road and we took any opportunity we had to stop and take more photos.

We certainly seem to be travelling through the WA ‘wheat belt’ now as everywhere we look we see hills covered by golden crops.  When you think that we are only seeing a tiny slice of Australia’s total wheat cultivation it is hard to imagine seeing it all together (even though this would be impossible).

Leaving Mullewa we head out for Mingenew and come across an elderly gentleman broken down in his old trusty Ford Transit van he has as a motorhome.  Yes it started but just wouldn’t go into gear for him (coming up a hill) so he was stopped over on the side of the road.  We were not able to assist in any way other than to go on towards town to try and arrange for someone to come out and help him.  Well Mingenew is not the largest town you could come to, so no mechanic, no one to help at the Shire Office, no one home at the Police station (but the light was on) so finally we went to where someone knows everyone, the local caravan park.  Carol, the manager there was able to ring a mechanic back in Mullewa and he was going to contact the local police for them to go out and check on the chap and hopefully to arrange in some way for the towing of the vehicle back to town.  Who knows how long it will be before he can have it repaired as he mentioned to Lawrie that he had no spare money, so probably lives from pension to pension.  He didn't even have a phone so hope now that he is settled somewhere.

mural at Perenjori

Mingenew, Three Springs, Carnamah, Perenjori, Buntine, with the roads in-between lined with wildflowers proved to be a wonderful couple of days driving.  The shutter finger is getting RSI!   Just as well there isn’t much traffic as we were constantly stopping.  

We plan just one more stop after our camp today at Buntine Rock before heading into Perth on Friday.  Yes Julie we really are coming! 

Airing of the Quilts at Northampton

What a lovely country town Northampton is.  We spent the night camping at the ‘most haunted house in WA’ at Oakabella Station Homestead just south of the town which is a sheep and wheat property that is still farmed by the same family from the original settlement in the late 1800’s.  We enjoyed a stroll around the grounds and explored some of the old buildings built of stone.  The wind was still blowing and the flies were still maintaining their ‘stickability’ so you have to wonder at the tenacity of those workers on the land enduring these conditions day after day.

                                                  roses edging the street in town

After a ‘ghost’ free night we found a parking spot in town and started to wander and check out the various stalls set up in each of the parks.  The buildings in the main street were displaying quilts of all sizes and designs both inside and out so the wander along the footpath was quite delightful.  We enjoyed chatting to some of the locals and hearing about their life in this town just north of Geraldton.  The quilt show is hosted by a different quilting group from WA each year and this year it is Bridgetown’s ‘Hanging Threads’ group that have arranged a great display.  Lots of food stalls to satisfy the hunger pains, CWA ladies with tea/coffee and home baked scones along with sausages on the bbq situated at both end of the main street and then a local café catering for those that wish to sit and be served.  Shady areas under spreading trees provided picnic settings for groups who may have made the day a ‘girls day out’ and we saw lots of these.  Great weather, friendly folk and ‘craft’ from every doorway meant that I had a wonderful day…..and Lawrie enjoyed himself as well!

the roses up close and personal, and the perfume was great

wildflowers

I have many times attempted to grow a flower garden with mixed success.  For the past week however my ‘flower garden’ has been all I could ever dream of.  We have spent the last 10 days staying in the various rest areas between Carnarvon and Northampton (about 300kms) and have been fortunate to have wild flowers growing all around us. 

As we stayed up to 3 nights at a couple of the areas we took advantage of being able to go for a walk along the tracks out of the rest area (we think an old road at one) and the flowers in bloom were just there for our enjoyment.  Driving along the highway you would catch a glimpse of colour at various times but being able to really stop and just wander was a whole different experience.  Needless to say the camera finger was kept busy trying to record all the different varieties we came across. 

Hopefully one day I might be able to name them all.  This certainly is the time to be driving through WA and as we are making a list of the places to visit next time, we now know many of the freebies and will certainly do the trip September / October.  Many of the freebies have toilets and dump sites whilst others have water.  We were able to fill our tanks in both Port Hedland and then Carnarvon so we were able to do at least a week without worrying about needing water. 

This last stop before Northampton has tanks so the washing has been done and we have only used our own water for drinking and cooking.  Northampton will be our next ‘fill the tanks’ and that should take us to Perth. 

We are heading into Northampton this Saturday (15^th) to check out the ‘airing of the quilts’ along the main street.  This will be the end weekend of the school holidays so we can then head down towards Geraldton, again catch up on shopping etc, before heading inland a little and then down to Perth, checking out wildflowers and free camps along the way.

Port Hedland heading south

Headwinds, strong headwinds, very strong headwinds!!  Wow what a difference to fuel consumption these winds are making.  The wind does die down at night however by 8am next morning it is back again.  We had travelled down the highway from Port Hedland and passed through some lovely country.  Hills of red sand with grey spinifex clumps growing everywhere and blue skies, the colours of our country roll on hour after hour. 

There are mine road trains coming towards us full and the empties coming from behind and overtaking.  Our first freebie campsite was very dusty!!   The wind was still howling when we stopped and as soon as we opened the door the dust started coming in.  It covered everything and we spent the rest of the evening wiping down the inside of the van with dampened paper towel.  Didn’t take long to fill the rubbish bag!!  Oh well the curtains and bedspreads will all need another wash sooner than had been planned.

Roebourne Historic Gaol

Our next day’s travel took us out to Roebourne, Wickham (a small community), Point Samson where there is a loading wharf for iron ore (ships lined up waiting again) and Cossack a ‘ruins’ town that was quite interesting to wander around in.  The stone buildings built in the 1890’s are still standing strong despite the town being slammed with cyclones over the years.  We watched a huge iron ore carrier come in to berth at the wharf with the aid of mighty tugs.  Another carrier at the wharf was still pumping out the ballast water that had filled the holds for the trip to Point Samson for this load. 

                                 building in Cossack once the Court House but now a museum

Today also took us to Karratha, where some of the town’s streets were closed for a sporting event of some type, so we did not get to look around the main part as much as we would have hoped.  We drove out to the headlands however and again, ships everywhere.  There is much new building going on in town so obviously the mining boom is flowing over to other industries.  Lots of greenery around so watering of parks etc is a high priority.  We also saw the stockpiles of salt ready for loading into ships.

We then drove a short distance out to Dampier, home of Red Dog (the hero of the film we saw in Broome).  Again we drove out to the headlands and views of the blue green water.  Another big carrier was coming into berth and along with the 3 tugs assisting the chore, it was fascinating to sit and watch the whole process.

Leaving Dampier we then drove down to Robe River rest area arriving around 5.30pm so a little late to get a good spot down beside the river.  After checking out the area both sides of the highway we decided to park on the road down to the river camping area which was rather sandy.  The next morning we moved over to the area on the other side of the highway and parked up down beside the crystal clear water.  What a pity the wind blew a gale all day.  Only good thing was that the bit of washing I did was dry in under 2 hours.  We spent most of the day inside the van and read and rested so a really restful day. 

 Sunset was magic over the river with the wind dropping and the water giving great reflections of the surrounding vegetation.  We felt for those that were parked higher up in the rest area as they would have the dust again blowing into everything but fortunately for us being down near the water the dust was above us this time.  Sunrise the next morning was again a wonderful experience.  We had planned to leave a little earlier than usual to try and miss some of the wind so was up in time to grab the camera and capture again the reflections as the rising sun lit the bridge.

Our next destination is Exmouth out on the coast and we travelled through some wonderful country and crossed sand hills covered with spinifex clumps.  The road would rise up and the view seemed to reach to Christmas and then you would drop down again before rising across the next one.  No great height but quite apparent.  Who needs to be out in the middle with a 4wd to drive over the sandhills? 

the 'kids' crossing the road, Dad was just behind

We saw our first emu in a long while along with some wild goats and then sheep as we got closer to Exmouth.  This road is part of the Wool Wagon Walk which traces the path those graziers of old took to ship their wool south.  Exmouth seems to be the Karumba – Normanton (Qld) of the West (anyone for fishing?)  It also gives access to the famous Ningaloo Reef and many folk come here to take tours to explore this pristine area.  With school holidays now started here in WA needless to say site fees at the local caravan parks are at their peak so we enjoy our drive around town and then head back along the road back to the highway.  We stop for the night at another rest stop and hunker down to shelter from the ever present wind. 

Next morning we head into Coral Bay, just a short detour off the road and found a new piece of 'paradise'.  Being school holidays it was chock full off holidaying families so after a short explore along the pristine beach and a paddle in the crystal clear waters, we have put this place on our list of 'must stay' next time.  At least a week we think as the bay is sheltered by the Ningaloo reef and there are glass bottomed kayaks to hire or launches to cruise in to check out the colourful fish and coral growing within the bay.

glass bottomed launch in Coral Bay (reef in background)

Broome to Port Hedland

Before leaving Broome we took some photos of the view from the caravan park and were fortunate enough to have an Australian Navy vessel anchored offshore. 

Our caravan park was the only one of the four in town that actually had water views.  The expensive ones at Cable Beach are back about 200m from the beach so no water to see.  And to think they were paying $50 / night to stay there!

Heading out along the highway again the road again stretches out in front with changing vegetation as we travel along.  Mulga scrub and then flat grasslands before again finding bushy scrub.  Cattle can be seen on the various properties and we comment on having not seen any emus since the Stuart Highway.

                               heading south along the Great Northern Highway from Broome

We take advantage of another rest stop by late morning as the day has again become quite warm and we are in no hurry.  We choose some shade and make ourselves comfortable for the rest of the day.  Another few campers come in and we share a conversation with Leslie and her dog Lucy who loves to chase a ball.  Leslie comes from the northern suburbs of Sydney and lives in her motorhome and travels quite happily by herself.  She had been as far north as Derby and was now on her return trip to stay with relatives down in Perth.  It was her 68^th birthday today (as she informed us) so we wished her ‘happy birthday’ as the only non-relatives to do so. 

Packed up and off down the highway again we decided to call into Eighty Mile Beach which is only 9km off the highway.  Well what a dirt road.  Poor Destiny behind must have had her teeth shake cause I know mine did.  We had thought we might stay overnight there however it was only a small park behind the sand dunes and was $30 for an unpowered site so decided to have our lunch and walk on the beach before heading off again. 

                                                                         Eighty Mile Beach

The beach is covered in shells with a large proportion of cockle shells and many other varieties.  So many windchimes could be made from those shells but there is only so much I can collect along the way.  We spent a pleasant couple of hours browsing on the beach and did collect some pretty shells that might find their way into something before too long.  Leslie and Lucy were also there and we chatted again before we both headed back towards the highway.  Seemed the outgoing side of the road was not as bad as the incoming as it wasn’t as rough going back (thank goodness). 

                                                    landscape along the highway south

We planned to spend the next couple of nights at Pardoo Roadhouse just 43km from the station where Anne and Jim were staying.  They were going into Port Headland on Wed for business so we weren’t going to arrive at the station before then.  The caravan park was grassed and green (sprinklers go 24/7 so no wonder).  There is obviously a good water supply.  We enjoyed a quiet stopover at the roadhouse and then headed out on Wed to travel the 30km down the highway before turning off for the station. 

                          some fellow campers at Pardoo Roadhouse making use of the leaking sprinkler

The road (dirt) was well maintained and not as corrugated as the beach road had been (phew).   It was great to catch up with Anne and Jim again and they took us (with our 2wd restrictions) to some of the pretty spots on the 500,000 acre property.  The creeks are tidal and sitting at the beach for our cuppa, we watched in amazement as the tide came in so quickly.  There are areas where (with 4wd) you can walk out at low tide to some rocky headlands.  By gee watching that water you would have to be aware of when the tide was turning so that you could outrun the water coming in.  They tried their hand at fishing as the tide came in and Anne landed 4 small whiting.  They were to be our entrée that night for dinner.

We drove around to a freshwater soak just 200m from the salty tidal creek.  There were birds in abundance and we lost count of the Brolgas we saw.  Anne was able to point out a pair of Sea Eagles that have a nest near the waterway and we could see them sitting on guard in a dead tree close by.

                                        birds and cattle at the freshwater soak on Pardoo Station

By this time the tide had turned and we were able to watch the water rushing out of the creek as the 7m high tide fell to just over 1m in a reasonably short space of time.  Not sure that you could paddle your canoe against it, you would need to go the direction of the water and it would be a fast trip.

Dinner that night was to be our fish entrée followed by roast lamb (cooked in the camp oven) with baked vegies then followed by chocolate upside down pudding with custard.  All under a starry sky, and four friends having a wonderful evening.  What a life!!

Had another fishing outing on Friday and even Lawrie caught a fish.  We again had fresh fish as an entrée for dinner that night.  All in all a great stay at Pardoo Station (if a little expensive).

Arrived Port Hedland on Saturday mid-morning and did the necessary shopping to refill the cupboards and fridge before driving down to the Port to have lunch and check out all the ships in for loading of Iron Ore.  We are sitting here now whilst I complete this blog entry and upload before heading out along the highway again to another free stop for tonight.   

driving forward.....looking back