Nanutarra to Point Samson

This morning there was a mackerel sky, which effectively lowered the temperature for the first two hours of driving. There was a free continental breakfast offered at the roadhouse, but the girl was rushed of her feet and I would have been better making my own. I took this photo of one of the huge road trains that pulled in:

I was soon on my way again. I stopped for a break at the Fortescue Roadhouse, little shade, and the bowsers very difficult to work (presumably to stop people filling up then driving away without paying). The Fortescue River had plenty of water flowing, as did the smaller rivers further north.

I had booked a chalet at The Cove caravan park in Point Samson. I was looking forward to improved facilities after the primitive donga at Nanutarra. As I approached the town, I stopped at the Information board. This was situated next to a large rock by the roadside, which was a traditional spot for the gathering of yellow ochre to use for  aboriginal face painting.

My chalet is right next to the pool, which meant I could choose my time to do a few lengths without little kids jumping in. Then it was time for a walk along the coastal path to Honeymoon Cove, a picturesque spot with striking striated rocks:

I couldn’t linger there because I noticed a dreaded sandfly had landed in my arm. Their bite is far worse than any mosquito!

I took a couple of photos, looking south to Cape Lambert, where iron ore was being loaded from the jetty. I could just make out no less than 13 container ships on the horizon, waiting their turn to load:

On my way back to the caravan park, I spotted a road train that had shed its trailers. It was kept in immaculate condition by its proud owner:

As I sat on my balcony, I had a chat with the couple next door. They had driven here all the way from Tasmania: true grey nomads!

Carnarvon to Nanutarra Roadhouse

I was off early this morning to the One Mile Jetty. I wanted to see the damage caused by the catastrophic flooding which occurred a few weeks ago. I couldn’t get onto the jetty as it’s now considered unsafe and is all boarded up. There is a little museum (closed) and lots of ancient machines on display outside.

After a quick visit to Woolworths for supplies, I was keen to find a car wash. Some nasty birds had left deposits all over my car which had been parked under a tree at MM.  When I eventually found the car wash, there was a queue as not all the machines were working. I didn’t want to hang about so I left that job for later in the trip.

Passing by the banana plantations and veggie gardens near the river, I couldn’t see any sign whatsoever of flood damage. There had been absolute devastation shown on TV a few weeks ago. A few kms short of Minilya Roadhouse, I did see where the road had completely fallen away on the left hand side. It was now banked up and had a gravel surface, almost ready for a new layer of bitumen. Machines were working on the verges and there were several sections with one-way traffic and a pilot vehicle taking cars though at slow speeds.

I drove as far as Nanutarra Roadhouse and booked into a single donga. A man in the cabin opposite described how he had got completely bogged by going off-road near Carnarvon, intending to set up a bush camp. It cost him several hundred $$ to get pulled out, he told me!

This is the vehicle that got bogged. The dongas are behind: very basic accommodation, but handy on the road.

View of the bush from my cabin.

Monkey Mia to Carnarvon

Having breakfast on my tiny balcony, I watched lots of boats and 4WD’s coming and going. 

Then it was time to hit the road, avoiding all the wildlife:

I saw an eagle feasting on the carcass of a small kangaroo who hadn’t quite made it  crossing the road. In the second pic, the eagle decided I was a bit too close and flew off, showing his huge wing span:

Next stop was at Shell Beach, which is made up of millions of tiny shells.

After another hot day’s driving, it was a relief to arrive in Carnarvon. I had booked a room at the Gateway Motel. This place has remained unchanged over the years and still provides a really popular buffet dinner. Tonight it was Chinese and diners piled their plates high. Earlier I made a quick trip into town to walk out on the jetty. I only got as far as the first stop of the old tramway:

Monkey Mia zero day

MM is just the spot for a rest. I didn’t do a lot: had a swim in the pool at lunchtime, when all the little kids had been removed. It’s really hard to swim in the sea. The water is so salty, you bob around like a cork. At sunset, when it had cooled down a bit, I went for another walk on the beach. There were a few pelicans waiting for a hand-out from people returning from fishing trips:

Denham to Monkey Mia

Denham is all about fishing. As I went for an early morning walk at 7.00 am, several fishing charters were about to set off in search of big fish. Not my thing at all! At the service station, a man was filling up his boat: half a tank cost him $300. What a waste!

I took a couple of photos of the recreational jetty for JL. It was funded by Royalties for Regions and opened by Colin Barnett in 2015.

I was soon on the road for Monkey Mia, only 30 kms away, so I arrived long before check-in time at 2.00 pm. My main priority was to find a shaded spot to park the car in the 30 degree heat, in order to protect my food supplies as best I could till I had access to a fridge. Then a quick coffee at the beachfront cafe.  Wow: three dolphins were already coming in for a feed! Mostly they arrive early in the morning. After that, it was time to sit under a palm tree doing nothing.

At 1.45 pm I received a text: my room was ready. This is a studio with really cold aircon and all mod cons, though the most desirable beachfront ones are all fully booked. I should have planned it better, but MM was not on my itinerary before lockdown. My little balcony overlooks the unpowered caravan park and what I take to be a desalination plant. The drinking water is excellent.

In the afternoon, I went back to the beach. Six young dolphins were frolicking around in the shallow water. It wasn’t even feeding time.  A few people were standing still up to hip-level in the water and the dolphins would swim up to them, out of curiosity. I did the same and was rewarded by some amazing videos, to be posted on my Instagram account.

The Internet is very weak here and the free allowance is very measly. I will wait till I get a better signal before posting any more photos. I’m going to stay in MM for one more night.

Geraldton to Denham

Anzac Day (Sunday) and the roads were very quiet all morning. Most vehicles were coming south. I didn’t have to overtake anybody nor worry about people overtaking me. As usual, I stopped for a coffee at Galena Bridge, which is the first convenient spot. This is an official 24-hour stopping place where travellers can spend the night in their van for free, with minimal facilities. It is not to be recommended. TOO MANY FLIES! Each time I come here, the fly population has increased. Apart from this, it could be very nice down by the river.

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It was a very hot day on the road. When I came to the turn-off for the Shark Bay Heritage Area, I decided to take it on the spur of the moment. As I drove along the long straight road, there were tantalising views of the coastline and the bluest of blue sea. After an hour and a half, I found myself in Denham and admired the calm still waters and took these pics:

This looks like the best restaurant in town, but it’s fully booked for tonight. There is a pizzeria which comes highly recommended though!

It is built from shells which are endemic to the area.

Cervantes to Geraldton

Cervantes takes its name from an American whaling ship which was wrecked off the coast in 1844, but we immediately think of the famous Spanish writer.

Just about every street in town has a Spanish name; I saw Mallorca St and Talavera St as I went out for an early morning walk down to the beach.

I was awake early. Motel rooms have a big advantage in that you can park your car right outside the door, but they have an enormous disadvantage in their paper thin walls. There were some hyper-active children awake before 6.30 am. The beach was calling:

Lots of boats were being launched. The caravan site was packed and threatening to overflow onto the sports oval.

I spent a bit of time sorting out my belongings before I hit the road again. In my haste to depart Perth, I had somehow put in 10 tops and only one bottom, no shorts, few items of underwear and no sleepwear. I decided to remedy this in Geraldton at Target and/or the local charity shop. I stopped in Dongara to visit the bakery with the best pies and treated myself to a chicken and veg one, which I ate sitting under a tree in the park.

I received a text from the hotel in Geraldton telling me my room was ready so I could check in early. Good news, since I was pretty tired after yesterday’s excitement and the stress of trying to get away and beat the lockdown. People from Perth are supposed to wear a mask and a kind man checking into the hotel at the same time as me offered to buy me one as he was stocking up for his family.

I had a long siesta and only woke up just in time to do my regular walk along the promenade as the sun was going down:

Today's paper about the lockdown.

Perth to Cervantes: escape from lockdown

I’ve just escaped from another lockdown !  This morning I took JL to Kent Street Weir, where volunteers take people for rides around the park in trishaws. This was a really nice thing to do: half an hour being pedalled around.

Setting off in the trishaw.

JL walking on the weir bridge.

JL was interested in the history of the weir, so I captured this info from the display boards for him.  He remembers the old wooden structure, which was later replaced by a stronger steel structure. To the right of the weir is salt water and to the left of the weir it is fresh water.

After the ride we were sitting on a bench enjoying a picnic, when I got a text from C warning of an imminent lockdown of the Perth and Peel Region. I needed to move, as I couldn't afford to be stuck in Perth. I had bookings in Broome and the Kimberley that I didn't want to lose. Apparently, there had been a leak in a hotel quarantine hotel, where several guests had caught the virus from a returned traveller from India. The person had left the hotel after 14 days and gone to stay with someone in the Perth suburb of Kardinya. They later tested positive and so did the person they were staying with. These two people were out and about in the community which is what prompted the lockdown. All of this seems to suggest that the virus travels in the air between hotel rooms. This hotel is the Mercure and is the oldest of the hotels being used for quarantine.

I returned in great haste to our apartment in Burswood and threw everything I could into the car. Fortunately, I was pretty well packed in case of this eventuality. A few things did get left behind, including some frozen food I'd been preparing for the trip, some fruit as well as my beer and wine supplies - (especially bad news!)  I then drove JL back to Koh-i-Noor Aged Care Home and proceeded to drive north as fast as I could. On the way I heard on the radio that the lockdown was to begin at midnight, and it was only for 3 days over the Anzac Day weekend. I could have waited till Tuesday, but who knows if it will be extended if more COVID cases emerge in Perth.  This was a risk I didn't want to take, so I was determined to get away asap.

I drove as far as Cervantes, and decided to check-in at the Pinnacles Motel. This was not easy, as there was a queue and the phones were running hot. The one woman at Reception was being hassled on all sides, some phoning up to cancel and others, like me, desperate for a room. She finally gave me one for $100 - can't complain at that!  I went for a walk to the beach just as the sun was setting:

Cervantes sunset.

Looking north.

Looking south.