October 18,2014

Arrived Carnarvon, after a disappointing visit to Coral Bay, not what I expected, nice beach and a reef to snorkel at but the town was small, not so clean and things were expensive. So just drove in and out.

You do not expect what you get in Carnarvon, out of the dry red earth scrub to a green oasis.  Banana plantation, field of produce, table grapes, citrus and other tropical fruits. Stayed at a great caravan park and went out for a great dinner. In the morning we went to the town to shop needed to get groceries and to see the one mile pier.  The town main streets are lined with palms and every where there is green grass.  Later drove around the areas that grow the fruit and produce.

On leaving Carnarvon you get about ten miles out of the city and you are again into dry red earth and scrub.

                                                              Wagon at Carnarvon Jetty

Carnarvon water front

Carnarvon Jetty track appears to be twisted but is not

Water front in the town of Carnarvon

Banana plantation

Vegetable gardens 

Galahs

Robin

October 15, 2014

Mostly this type of terrain all the way from Broom to Exmouth and then on to Carnarvon

In Exmouth, situated on the north west cape, has no wet season.

Since Broom had has a couple of hot days but the nights have been cool and this evening sitting here feel a bit chilly, only about 24C.  Have gone to a number of places Sandfire, Roebuck , Port  Hedland, Whim Creek, Fortescue River Roadhouse, Roebourne,  Dampier, Karratha, Onslow, Bullara Station and Learmouth..

Did a free camp west of Port Hedland a along a river that was home to a flock of black swans. Had a  young couple and a gentleman stopping there also. We all sat around a camp fire in the evening .

From Darwin  going across the northern part of Australia there is a massive amount of mining going on.

Darwin is going through a growth spurt and has several large camps for personnel who fly in fly out.

You actually do not see the ore truck trains until you get to about Derby and from there on you seen them coming and going and also large camps for the personnel who work in the camps. 

At Fortescue Roadhouse where we stayed there is a 1000 man camp and just up the road there is another 3000 man camp and they all fly in and fly out.

Last evening we stayed at Billara Station, a working cattle ranch of 1/4 million hectares.  At one time they ras 20,000 head of sheep but now only have cattle and a small caravan park and some cabins. 

Tonite we are staying a the lighthouse caravan park just across the road front the ocean ( Indian Ocean) 

Got the laundry done for another week, in the morning going  up to the lighthouse and later out to the wreck of a old ship.  then it is on the Coral Bay.

Exmouth beach

Exmouth

Emu at the caravan park 

Oyster catcher

light House at Exmouth

Beach at Coral Bay

green flowers on the Hummingbird bush

Coral Bay

Dry 

Old tractor at Minilyn Roadhouse

At Bullara Station

Press use to put wool into bales

Outdoor shower at Bullara Station

Bullara Station

Dry

Cossack - old townsite 

Broom October 9, 10,

Have had a couple of cooler days  spending time in Broom. First night we spent at a roadhouse about 40Km from the town and watched the total eclipse of the moon.  Drove into Broom in the morning and got a place right on the beach front.  Cool breeze of the water is great and the temperature is at least 8 to 9 degrees cooler.  Went up shopping, finally got a swim suit.   Spent the rest of the day just sitting on the beach and taking walks in the sand.  In the evening there was a night market, great Thai Food and then watch what they call here the stairway to the moon, but there was a bit of cloud cover so was not great but will see what happen this evening. Took the tour of Broom it was very informative and gave you an idea of where it is situated and just what industries contribute to the economy here.

Went to Cable Beach it has declined since it's it was originally built on the late 1980 and the zoo is no longer there. The prices are still the same and the beach is beautiful.  Went for a second time to see the moon rise but there was a cloud cover so no so good again.
Tomorrow will be back to the hot again as we are heading inland and then eventually back to the sea and south to cooler weather. Does not seem that we have been here for two and one half months.

Tribute to the Pearlers and Japanese divers

Old part of Broom

Roebuck Bay where we are camped 

Tides out

Stairway to the moon

The remains of the boats that brought the Dutch here from Indonesia as the Japanese advanced but unfortunately the boats were shot up as the sat in the harbor by the Japanese and 80 lives were lost.

Sea Eagle

Cable Beach - got it name from a telegraph cable .

Child on the beach

Barge with pearl oysters

Tides in

October 8,2014

In Fitzroy Crossing for two days, went out to Geikie Gorge and took a trip up the Fitzroy River to view the gorge from the water very impressive, seen fresh water crocodiles and a few birds.

it has been very hot here, over 40C every day, but we are coping, drinking lots of fluids.

Eagle

Found another place named after me

At Halls Creek

They call this the great wall of China as it runs for several hundred miles a large grannet wall of rock

From Kununurra to Fitzroy where is either low mountains or laege grass lands 

Parrots

Wallaby in the grass

Fresh water crocodile

Geikie Gorge

Lime stone cave

Fruit bats 

Heron

Monitor Lizard

Beautiful parrots