Entries about automotive

This will probably be our last blog. Have had no time to blog since the Nullarbor Plains. We have been on the go for a very important mission. Destination Wollongong. Geoff had to be at his graduation for 15 December.

After all the slog (at home) after work and the final parts of his thesis spent on cold nights outside, early in our journey. Remember this one.

Geoff studying with his mates

We had to do a lot of clapping but finally the moment arrived and we can now bow to 'Master of Forensic Accounting with Distinction' Geoff! Anyone want to hire an expert?

Master with Distinction

Unfortunately only 3 people were allowed to attend the ceremony. Geoff got his moment of glory. So here are the photos with 3 proud people although we know there are more family members who are very proud of him. A big thank you to Helen and Glenn who transported Geoff's Mum and sister back home to Sydney.

proud Mum with Master Jones

and there's proud Karen

Master and proud Boss!

Thanks for reading and responding to our blogs. We will be home around 24 Dec unless the caravan parks are full. We have thoroughly enjoyed every moment of our trip and can't really say what the best was. It has been amazing and it is going to take some time to absorb our travels and come back into normal society. To do this we will be spending our time at Burleigh Heads for a month until early Feb.

yipee it's all over!

We got to Exmouth not knowing what to expect. Our caravan park was below a lighthouse and when you drive up the hill you can see the ocean for miles. Another thing you can see are the whales returning to Antarctica with their babies. It was guaranteed sightings - FREE!

Ningaloo Lighthouse caravan park

part of the 360 degree view of the ocean from the lighthouse

free whale watching - can you see them?

The lighthouse also became the place to view the sunsets and catch up with internet/phone to keep in touch. Below the lighthouse hill we were 'out of range'. Unusual for a place that has a government base with major communications networks - I think it was a spy place.

lighthouse at Exmouth aka internet/phone cafe!

We'll give you 2 maps so we know what area of the WA coastline we are at.

Darwin to Perth simple map

Broome to Coral Bay map

Thanks to all those brochures we collect along the way, most of them have a simple map for our blogging!

Our caravan park and surrounds were powered by wind turbines but something happened to these ones. Maybe the winds were too strong for them and they fell over! We have seen a few along this coastline servicing small towns.

wind turbines powering Ningaloo reef area NOT

Another thing that popped up into the landscape was wildlife walking around the camp grounds looking for food.

looking for food!

We saw a lot of them from here on all the way to Perth. Some roadkill as well.

Geoff was looking forward to snorkelling off the beach. Again the waters were still turquoise and clear as can be. It was a bit intimidating to walk into the water and see fish all around your ankles looking for a feed. They are so tame. One could do very well with a fishing net! Of course being the conservationists that we are, it didn't even enter our heads then!

You could get into the water at one end and let the current drift you to the other side of the beach whilst snorkelling along the corals. It was hard work trying to not drift too far away anywhere out to sea. There is reef all around not too far from the beach and big waves breaking onto them.

Turquoise Bay at Ningaloo reef

swimming again at Turquoise Bay

Geoff thought that the corals and fish were not as good as the Barrier Reef but you don't have to pay a fortune to go on a boat to see something. We stayed for a day or 2 and then left for Coral Bay which is also part of Ningaloo reef. It was about 150 kms away.

This is where tourists come from all over the world to swim with the giant whale sharks from March to about May. There is an abundance of fish to see and also reef snorkelling. One could also snorkel straight off the beach - what a beautiful place. Had a prime spot at the caravan park called 'People's Park'. It overlooked the ocean and it was beautifully shaded.

turquoise waters at Ningaloo reef

Coral Bay is only a small town with a few convenience shops there as well as the diving/snokelling/boat trips you can book. It is very popular with Western Australians who live in Perth and further south because they have cold winters. They book years in advance just to get a spot in the caravan park for at least a month and/or more. Of course it is also well known to the tourists.

Coral Bay

Another popular thing to do was fish feeding daily. Mainly snapper and they were already swimming around early because they know what time it is!

the crowds that can't wait to feed the fish??

Often they appeared on your dinner plate at night if you had fish and chips! They are so trusting that they swim right up to you and you can feel them slithering between your legs. Again a few people commented how good they would taste for dinner at night. Mostly they were snapper and very large. Yum!

here come the snapper! Yummy.

friendly snapper coming in for food

In fact as soon as you go into the water to swim they come up to you!

the 'fish whisperer' returning from a big day of snorkelling at Ningaloo reef

We also did some walking along the beach and this was a nice photo I took.

Barra boy is not a bird whisperer!

Finally we left Broome after such an adventurous time. Could it get any better than what we had already experienced? Surely the mining towns are nothing much to write home about. Well we certainly did see what BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Woodside Petroleum are up to and what is happening to all our resources such as iron ore.

Broome to Coral Bay map

To break our journey to Port Hedland we stayed at a place called Eighty Mile Beach where apparently all the migratory birds fly to and from Siberia depending on the weather. We saw none. What we did see was devastation from the cyclones last year. All the trees had to be cleared and chopped back. It was a nice caravan park and popular with families and fishermen. The poor people who run the caravan park were doing their best to tidy things up. Unfortunately for them cyclone season is about to come back again soon. The road on the way to the destinations along the WA coastline is long, rugged and very open. Of course there are always graziers trying to make a living from this land with cattle and sheep. It is semi-arid country and you can see that winds have decimated some parts of the coastline. Our large expanses of unused land is what attracts the European tourists and of course the differences in landscape from Europe.

With the winds we also saw quite a few willy willies (whirlwinds). All with the red dust. You can see them from the horizon a long way away.

pindan dirt whirlwinds

Someone had decided to make arrival into Port Hedland a little bit interesting and did this to termite mounds. There were several of them dressed up in outfits and named.

arrival at Port Hedland - termite mounds have been dressed!

Our caravan park at Cooke Point overlooked a huge flat and dry area that overlooks town. During the day it was a boring scene but at night we got these beautiful breezes and a lovely view of the sunset.

sunset at Port Hedland view from our caravan park at Cooke Point

We also did a mining tour to see what BHP Billiton is all about. This tour was the part where the huge trains (2-3 kms long) come from the mines fully laden with iron ore and go to a processing plant to be sorted before it is loaded onto the ships for export to countries such as China, Korea and Japan mainly.

spaghetti junction at BHP iron ore plant

The spaghetti is all the conveyor belts going in all sorts of directions. Of course there are ones that go to the ships to load them up.

ships filling up with iron ore for export

I know it is hard to see but there is one on the left fully laden with iron ore and ready to leave - that's why you can hardly see it and the blue one on the right is next in line.

Ships are lined up along the horizon ready to come into harbour. They never fill them up as they need to be able to get into and out of the port for the high tide. They are all booked in for a certain date and time so there is no room for error. BHP can't afford to have one ship outstaying it's welcome. There are ships to fill and money to make!

The trains are sometimes up to 2 to 3 kms long which meant they needed quite a few locomotives to pull them. BHP built the railway line and own everything including the carriages and locomotives. A huge operation. One of the trains they ran was the world's longest and heaviest. It stretched 7.4 kms, had 682 ore cars and eight locomotives. They also have mechanic workshops to maintain and upkeep their rail carriages and locos.

the train locomotive says it all

empty train carriages going back to Newman for the next load of iron ore

Unfortunately the open cut mine is about 600 kms away at Newman and we thought it a bit far to go there just to see iron ore pit.
The other thing they do on a smaller scale is make salt for pharmeucetical and health tablets and such. It is also exported. WA has a problem with water evaporation and therefore salt is easily farmed. The salt piles looked just like snow!

salt farms

pile of salt at Port Hedland being tidied up for export

Next stop was Karratha which is also called 'cyclone alley'. This is apparently where most of the cyclones come in. It's easy to see why on the open and dry, windswept landscape. We didn't do the mining tour at Karratha but it is a town full of workers for Rio Tinto. Similar operations happening and a port to take the iron ore away at Dampier. Also at Dampier was Woodside Petroleum which we saw at an information centre. Gas and oil platforms are everywhere. They also have salt farms whereby they export the salt. There are also plans to build another one in the Kimberleys which most people up there don't want. We can understand that. It would change the landscape and turn the quirky place into a mining town. Housing to buy or rent is extremely expensive in the mining towns. Houses 3-4 bedroom are above $1 million and rentals attract around $1200 upwards per week. I think we would like to buy some demountables and collect a fortune but the land would cost a bucket load! We ended up staying at a lovely beachside fishing town at Point Samson where we had some delicious fish and chips. Yummm!

Have we mentioned the heat? Yes it is a dry heat which is more bearable than the heat with humidity. Only thing is with the dry heat comes something else. See if you can guess what?

must have coffee at all costs!

Well that was the Pilbara coast as they call it here. Mostly populated by the giants and their staff. Our next main destination is Coral Bay and Monkey Mia. Yes, more water!

What a beautiful place and so different to our beaches. This is the mecca we have heard about on the East coast and it is indeed a very unique part of Australia. The heading of this blog is something quirky that stuck in my head. It is the name of a rental car company.

This blog is only part one of our very exciting time in the West Kimberleys. Wait until you see what happened in week 2!

Broome started as a pearling port in the 1880s. It was populated by people of many nationalities - mainly Europeans, Malays, Chinese and Japanese, as well as the Aborigines - who came to the shores of Roebuck Bay hoping to make their fortune from the pearling industry. The influence of the pearling industry, and its various cultures, has helped to create the character and charm of Broome. The town was bombed by the Japanese in 1942 and people were killed, many injured and caused much damage to the town.

The contrasting colours of the sea, sand and red dirt dunes together is just an amazing sight.

such contrasting colours

The population of Broome is around 14,500 but triples that figure in tourist season. People (like us) come here having heard a lot about beautiful Broome but perhaps not knowing what to expect. For those of you thinking about coming here this author has summed it up well (if not then read on after the bold type):

"Tropical paradise and holiday hot spot with throbbing beach and night life, fun and adventure water sports, cafes, bars and nightclubs...

OR - Broome, Western Australia - a remote Outback post in an untouched wilderness, where nature and adventures beckon. The ancient Kimberley where the indigenous owners of the land still live their traditional lifestyle and have limited contact with white people.

Well, you actually can find all of the above in Broome. That's the problem. People usually prefer one or the other. If they are looking for a beach holiday destination they arrive with certain expectations. If they come to experience the vastness and solitude and "magic" of the Kimberley they arrive with certain expectations. In both cases chances are that they will be disappointed with Broome.

No aspect of Broome in Australia is as heavily marketed as the beaches. Actually, I should say as heavily marketed as Cable Beach. That's what all the brochures rave about.

The brochures also show flash resorts and fancy restaurants, lush tropical gardens, pubs and bars packed with people and so on. You know what to expect at the strip along the beach or the esplanade of any popular holiday destination...

Everything you expect from Broome is there. I mean, one or two of each... There is a resort at the beach. There is a bar at the beach. There is a cafe, and a pub. But there aren't dozens to choose from. (Mind you, there will be soon. They are building like crazy...)

Broome is a small place! You have to understand that there just isn't much there. "Where the red desert meets the sea" is one of the slogans used to market Broome. That's exactly it.

The desert on one side, the Indian ocean on the other.

Makes for great photos, but no brochure ever mentions that there is not much in between, and absolutely nothing above or below except more desert and ocean.

That's all there is to the coast of northern Western Australia, and to Broome.

And regarding the tropical flair: the temperatures are tropical, the vegetation isn't.

Sure, all the resorts, backpackers and many residents planted lots of palm trees around the place, but those gardens are like little islands.

Better think "Outback", not "tropical paradise".

Another complaint that comes up repeatedly is that it is so hard to find the things that are there. Not enough sign posts, not enough touristy infrastructure.

Probably true, and to some extent maybe even deliberate. At least wherever the locals have a say in things. Most of them aren't real happy about the way Western Australia tourism to Broome has exploded in the last few years. Not that anybody can do much about it. Basically, tourist numbers have increased a lot faster than Broome can or wants to grow.

Which creates another problem that upsets many people. To find affordable accommodation in Broome during the main season is near impossible, unless you book months ahead.

And this leads to the flip side of the coin. What about the people who aren't looking for your typical beach holiday? The visitors who come for the remoteness and Outback hospitality, the nature and the wilderness adventure?

Broome In The Western Australia Kimberley
The Last Frontier
Oh blessed be progress. It's not that long ago that it took the dedicated traveller many days on potholed or unsealed and corrugated roads to travel between Broome and other Western Australia destinations. Alas, today we can board a plane and be on the east coast or in Perth in a matter of hours. Great.

And people from the east coast can be in Broome in Western Australia in a matter of hours. Great?

It's good for business, and it's great for people who live far away and want to visit Broome in Western Australia. But the ease with which Broome can be reached now has not only increased the numbers of people visiting.

The type of people has changed, too. It's people who have money to spend and want to spend it, and who are looking for a lot more comfort, amenities, entertainment and service than the hardened Outback campers, who rocked up in Broome in their battered four wheel drives in the past.

And Broome has responded. Everybody wants a slice of the pie. "Commercial", "touristy", "rip off", those are the words used by people who dislike the change. It's just what you see happen in every place in the world that gets discovered by the tourism industry...

The town itself provides a stark contrast to what you find around Broome in Western Australia. Both the Kimberley to the east and the west coast below Broome are magnificent wilderness areas, nearly totally devoid of people. Anybody who has been four-wheel driving, camping, fishing and camp fire cooking their way to Broome from Western Australia will initially experience it as a bit of a shock to the system...

I have to admit myself that after a few weeks in the bush I find it a bit hard to adapt to Broome. On the other hand if I shoot over on the highway (I'm in Kununurra) or fly, then I feel instantly comfortable there. Unless it is July (school holidays and peak season)....

Broome In Western Australia - Should You Go?
If you like places like the Gold Coast and are looking for something comparable then save yourself the time and money.

Everybody else should definitely go. But don't travel all the way to Broome for a beach holiday only. Do some research first. Explore the fascinating history of Broome. Find out what there is to see and do in Broome and around Broome in Western Australia, and be aware that most of the good stuff requires a (hired) four wheel drive or you have to join a tour or cruise.

Book early and avoid the time from mid June to mid August. And just accept the fact that this is a small town in the middle of nowhere, and in its heart it would rather remain a quiet, small town...

To people who absolutely can't handle the touristy aspects I can only say, don't bypass Broome!! Broome itself in the main season might be a bit busy, but as I already said, Broome is small. It doesn't take much at all to get away from people."

Okay, so back to our trip. We totally agree with the above author. We started our first day by doing a tour of the museum and how the pearling industry took off here. We even got to taste some pearl meat which was rather nice. They also showed us a huge pearl which was passed around and very expensive. We were surprised they didn't have the security guys around. Those guys in the big suits that look like astronauts were heroes. When you see what they had to put on and the weight of it all. You couldn't bend over to pick up the mother of pearl shells otherwise you couldn't get up again. Geoff thought he would have a go at it and find some pearls for his lovely wife.

pearl diver Geoff

pearl divers outfit

pearl divers

Broome is indeed a very small town and at first we couldn't work out the shops. They are in tin buildings except for Coles which is in a small shopping centre. It also gets very hot here in the summer months, up to 45 degrees.

Broome shopping

Johnny Chi lane shops

I had a day off from my 'pearl diver' and went to town and then I found all those little shops really interesting for 'girl shopping.' I also went to the markets one day and found some pearls for a very reasonable price. Guess what, they were freshwater pearls made in China!

entrance to markets

what a pearl?

I had to put in a bigger photo so you can see the pearls!!

Actually the town has sections one of which is called Chinatown. Not like you would expect at home and I wondered why Chinatown when the Japanese really started it all here. Well, when the Japs bombed Broome & Darwin they quickly changed the name to Chinatown. They now have a cemetery to honour all the pearl divers who mostly died from shark attacks and the bends.

Japanese cemetery - pearl divers

We were sort of lucky to have the first week of windy days. Not really nice for the beach and swimming but good for checking out the place. Fortunately most of the tourists had left and we could get into the popular (and very shady) caravan park of Cable Beach. There was a beautiful resort style swimming pool as well for the hot days. It is one block back from the beach with resorts in front of it so you can't short cut to the beach. It is about 5 kms out of town. Every evening we would walk to the beach to watch the sun go down. Spectacular.

sunset 4

sunset 3 with ultralight

sunset 3

Cable beach sunset

There were many more enjoying the same as us.

photographers of sunset worship

sunset worshipping

Kerry Stokes holiday home!

One day we went to the town jetty to see a P&O ship come into port for the day. They would have been in for a treat seeing the azure coloured waters of the Indian ocean.

P&O cruise visiting Broome

Swimming at Cable Beach felt safe because they have life savers watching out for you but other beaches are not without danger of sharks or crocs lurking around the place!

my hero

bite my bum!

In town they also have the airport with only one runway which they call an International airport, however there are no international flights yet. There are also lots of light aircraft taking off from the same runway. They also have the world's oldest, operating picture garden theatre. It has the usual deck chairs which looked rather uncomfortable and the planes take off and land right above the theatre. It was either too windy or too hot to go to the movies when we were there so I took the photos instead.

history Sun pictures

the picture gardens with toilets at back of screen

One day I took a trip out to a pearl farm which Geoff was not so interested in. It was dirt road which has the red dirt Aboriginals call pindan.

pindan dirt ahead en route to Willie Creek pearl farm

Pindan dirt road

When we arrived it was explained to us about the huge tides they have around the place. Up to 11 metres high and about a week before they had one which went over the dunes and flooded the open plains leaving the pearl farm like an island.

tidal flood over the dunes and across the plains

I learnt all about the different pearls and how they make them and get them out. Very interesting. We also got damper, a cuppa and a boat ride to show us the clams in cages in the water.

Willie Creek pearl farm

On our final night here we had to do the iconic sunset camel ride. There are 3 operators here so it was hard to decide who would give us 'bang for our buck'. One backpacker Geoff was talking to at the caravan park had suggested that the 'blue camel ride' was the best. They were kind to their camels, all the women got pearl earrings and we got to feed the camel a carrot each. That was the winner!

making friends with Aslan!

blond nomads on beach!

our entourage

beach sunset ride

mmm carrots!

The next day we bid a sad but not unhappy farewell to Broome. The temperatures are getting up to a very uncomfortable 41 degrees.

camel riders

After leaving Litchfield NP we spent another night at Katherine and this time stayed at a 'Rolls Royce' of caravan parks. Beautiful shady trees and even mango trees, huge bathrooms and shady swimming pool. The only downside was the amount of cane toads they have. We're surprised they don't have cane toad hunts. They could send them up to Darwin markets for purses and such things.

This blog has to be dedicated to 3 family members who are all special and have a birthday this month. Annie our sister-in-law, Nicholas our nephew and Jean - Mum. For other people we know, forgive us if we have forgotten your birthday but our Dutch (perennial) toilet calendar is in storage (Brisbane)!! We already have a hard time remembering the day and date each day.

The temperatures are a blistering 36-39 during the day and about 25 at night (yuk). I never would have believed that I would say that the temp. is cool when it is 34/35 but it's true. We have seen a few people getting around Australia in varying forms of transport. Mad I say but their idea of adventure is different I guess.

going around Australia?

bikie nomads

another nomad on the road

We had a long drive to WA. Along the way we saw amazing rock formations and again the red rock and soil. The colours/hues. It would be an artist's or photographer's dream. We are now officially 2 hours behind you in time and probably now in the same time zone as Dean in Hong Kong. So if you get a call at a weird time from us it's because we have forgotten that we are in the western time zone.

the border NT to WA

pioneer?

grasses suited to dry/hot conditions

I will put in a map of this part our journey here because I am sure like ourselves you will be wondering about the areas we are talking about (unless you have been there). We have already done about 11,000 kms in total.

Darwin to Broome map

Also boab trees started to appear in all sorts of shapes and sizes. They are 'characterful' trees. They have no leaves and appear to be dead but during 'the wet' they come to life with lots of leaves. They are pretty impressive and can live up to 1500 years or more. Artists love to create pictures of them.

boab tree 1

boab tree 2

boab 3

boab 4

boab art 1

boab art 2

At the border we had to throw out any fruit and veg. we had because of fruit fly and they check every vehicle coming through. Even our cane toads are unwelcome! They are supposedly not in WA but are fast approaching. Kununurra already has some but they are trying very hard to eradicate them. Unfortunately there are no shops over the border to buy new stuff fruit/veg. We had heard from one nomad that there is a guy living in a shanty on the border who gets to live off the fruit and veg. we throw out. Clever guy.

Our caravan park (Lake Argyle caravan park) was overlooking Lake Argyle. What a view. Even better was the 'waterhole' there. The water was really cold and beautiful. Geoff thought it was freezing. During the day it was perfect for both of us. Check it out.

Geoff in infinity!

Nicky in infinity - lake Argyle in background

catching up with nomads

The Ord river was dammed which created lake Argyle. Unfortunately (or fortunately for all the farmers) the Durack family who lived there, had to move their station called Argyle Downs further up. They owned millions of acres of land for cattle. I'm sure they made a fortune from it.

the dam wall and lake Argyle

Ord river up to the dam wall

boats on lake Argyle

The benefits for the whole area meant that the soils were really, really rich for crops such as fruit and veg. Now they produce most of the supplies for WA. It is a huge area and growing and benefits everyone here. You would do very well if you were a crop farmer here.

crop irrigation channels

irrigation canals

farmer Jones

This last photo was for you Murray!

We decided against cruising lake Argyle and opted to take a cruise on the Ord river (such decisions to make). So we went to our next destination which was Kununurra. There we took a 5 hour cruise on the Ord River. Spectacular.

a river somewhere - Ord River

a dead fresh water croc probably killed by a cane toad

years of erosion to create these layers

can you see the fresh water croc?

check out the bats

more red rocks

so many domes - Bungle Bungles maybe?

seeing double!

can you see the rock wallaby?

elephant rock

The Ord from behind our boat

ho hum another sunset!

sunset from our boat

There are so many beautiful photos I can't put them all in the blog but you can check out the photos on the right hand side which will show others. By the way we can't see the fresh water croc or the rock wallaby in the photos either.

We also checked out Kununurra lookout at sunset. Yes, we too have become worshippers of sunsets around here. Here's what we saw.

Geoff worshipping sunset

the thinker

sunset at Kununurra lookout

sunset at lookout Kununurra

Kununurra sunset

Geoff wanted to buy me an argyle diamond (pink) but nearly gagged when he saw the price of a spec. It was smaller than a pin prick and they wanted $380. You could hardly see it. Of course I would want something more substantial than that and the prices went up to the millions for 'earring size' diamonds. The only way now to see the argyle diamond mine is to fly there and not liking those little aircraft we opted not to. So not wanting to disappoint his wife he took me to a place on the Ord river where they sell zebra rocks. We had a lovely devonshire tea there, fed the fish - the photo of Geoff fish feeding is for you Murray. Geoff then purchased me some zebra rock. A huge rock at that which was big enough (and only good enough) to be used as a paper weight. The rocks are from a quarry and that is how they look once they have been cut and polished. Clever people then create art on them.

fish feeding on the Ord river

greedy fish of the Ord river

zebra rocks

artwork on zebra rock

birds painted on zebra rocks

We also had to take a photo of those adventurous people who 4wd across waters such as this landmark. Everyone takes a photo of this crossing. We would like to think our motorhome could handle some water but didn't want to risk it!! Sir Ivanhoe himself?

crossing Ivanhoe?

Ivanhoe crossing

Ivanhoe crossing

We left Kununurra saddened that we couldn't complete a Bungle Bungles trip. Not being a big fan of the small planes that are on offer to see a bird's eye view of them, the only other option was to take a 4wd trip to see them. It is expensive and a long drive to get into the Purnululu National Park and so hot, that taking the walks that are 'must see', was way too hot. It is a good excuse to come back in a cooler time. The hot weather has come too early and they are expecting a long, hot and wet summer. If we had left a month earlier we would probably have encountered a cooler temperature.

Heading for Broome was about 1000kms so we had to break the journey and stay at Fitzroy Crossing. Again very hot but a lovely caravan park so we spent time in the swimming pool. The following day we did yet another cruise on the Fitzroy River and saw Geike gorge. We did the early cruise at 8am and it was beautiful. The boat had no roof so after 1 hour that was enough sun for the day!

plenty of ochres here

Geike gorge

part of the devonian reef at Geike gorge

what colouring

fresh water croc on Fitzroy river

dragonfly

Next stop Broome but along the way we saw some brolgas and an interesting road sign that we are seeing around the top end. Haven't seen any frilly lizards yet (dead or alive) thankfully. We have also seen so many termite mounds of differing shapes and sizes. You would never build a wood house again!

brolgas

Mmmmm yummy???

termite city

That brings us up to date right now, we arrived in Broome yesterday.