Before we get into the in’s and out’s we invited a guest writer to our blog to give an intro:
“Hey there- so I have been given permission to say a quick ‘Hi’. I am currently serving 9 months on the inside. I am nearly 4 months into my time. Currently that makes my EDR October perhaps early November if I behave cheekily (EDR= Estimated Date of Release for those not down with the lingo). Mum and Dad assure me that early release for good behaviour is not preferable- I wouldn’t be reformed (or maybe it was refined) enough or something like that.
So apparently Mum and Dad didn’t want to fit the true grey Nomad style so they invited me along and now I am confined to doing and going wherever Mum and Dad take me- which today was a hike in Katherine Gorge in the middle of the day-will someone remind them i’m in here! and not a fan of exercise at 35 degrees!. I’m hiding out back at the moment so I guess with no ‘baby bump’ to show- due to mums amazing abs (brownie points please) it is hard to tell I exist. (P.S Dad says I can’t pull the wool over the eyes of anyone who knows Mum- apparently exercise isn’t her strongest point so those ab’s arn’t likely to be why I get to hide- maybe I am just shy like Dad). I was trying to remind them every morning with the sickie trick but Mum was so not impressed and even Dads patience even ran out on that one so I have given up on it. Kicking will be my next skill and I can’t wait- for now I have to grim and bear Dad squishing me with his head trying to feel any movement- just you wait till I can kick back in objection. Don’t get me wrong I do like affection but Dads head is heavy- brains for sure (more brownie points pls). Anyway before I ramble on like Mum will after me I shall see you in October God willing. As for photo’s they as so backward- still black and white, so I shall wait until you can see me in person.”
Well if that isn’t news enough we will fill in the gaps between Carnarvon and Katherine. HOT HOT and SUPER HOT pretty much sums it up. We have become caravan juckies to escape the up to 41 degree heat. Free camping when the min overnight temp is in the late 20’s early 30’s is not favourable.
From Carnarvon we followed the coast to Kalbarri- a pretty coastal town in the middle of nowhere. Cyclones off the coast of Exmouth threatened but we frightened them off. We skipped Exmouth- unless you had a million dollars (well a lot) to swim with the whale sharks and go on cruises it seemed to be more beaches- of which we had seen thousands. Onto Karrutha/Dampier where the caravan park in non peak was $54 a night!. Karrutha was very much a mining town surrounded by mining camps. A 3 bedroom basic tin house rents for $2000/wk and the town is surrounded by mining camps- lots of donga’s for the purpose of housing FIFO- flyin flyout workers. Dampier had a large salt mine and a busy port and natural gas plant.
Port Hedland was a fun stop- we stayed with friends who showed us the sights, introduced us to their friends and took us on picnics. Neil did some beach 4wd and sightseeing on the weekend- meanwhile Baby Woods really turned it on and I spent a day or so between bed and the bucket. The town itself was once again a mining/industrial town. Rent was even higher- up to $2500 a week. The port was very busy and we saw many ships come and go to be loaded with Iron ore from the mines. Large trains with over 300 carriages bring the iron ore in to the port.
The stretches of road are huge with nothing in between. 500-600kms a day are the normal- and that’s not rushing- there is literally nothing in between.
Broome was like a little oasis! We loved it. For starters the temps was closer to 34 than the 41 which had been killing us. The coastal breeze made for happy campers too. It was like a holiday within our holiday- been the first touristy town in ages. We made sure we were at Cable beach for sunset each night to see God’s stunning array, watch the camel teams travel by and enjoy a cool swim. We exchanged tales in the park swimming pool with fellow travellers trying to get cooler in the middle of the day. Pearls beautiful pearls tempted at every corner. We learn’t a lot about the pearling industry. Got to hold and admire a $156,000 strand of pearls- not I (Naomi) didn’t get those for my 30th a few days later. Actually the south sea pearls don’t come cheap- the cheapest item in that jewellers was $500 so I guess I shall be sticking with my beautiful freshwater pearls grown in mass in Asia somewhere but equally as beautiful. We explored the old Chinese settlement/town and were surprised by the huge tide variations- water on minute- kilometres of sand the next.
From Broome it was east through Fiztroy Crossing- a small predominately Aboriginal town – largely dry due to tight restrictions and milling with people- reminded me of Africa where people come out of the woodwork everywhere. We stayed the night at Mary’s Pool- a nice spot on the Mary river. The road in had only recently opened by the looks as water was still lapping at the causeway. We didn’t see the illusive crocs on every warning sign.
On through Halls creek to Kunnunara where we checked out the Ord river irrigation scheme- surprisingly a lot of which is used to grow Sandlewood plantations and of course the beloved Mango- which was out of season. We met George the freshwater Croc who came daily to the caravan park for a free feed. Definately give me a freshie any day- they are so much smaller than their saltie cousins. He even looked a bit cute and friendly- though we weren’t getting into the water to find out though the locals actually use that lake often for water ski-ing.
Boab trees have fascinated us over hundreds of kilometres – they really are quite clever storing water and have the most unusual shape about them and large nut.
From Kunnunara it was straight through to Katherine- had to bypass the Bungle Bungles as the road is for hardcore 4wd only- one guy had 5 flats on the 52km of road in so with our caravan in tow we continued straight past. Flights over the Bungle Bungles weren’t an option either (neither were they over Katherine Gorge) At $101 for 8 mins- yes thats 8!. Must be the overseas tourists who are cashed up cause we saw plenty of helicopters on the ground but they must get business at some stage.
So here we are in Katherine- oh fresh bread is the first thing we notice- would you believe that right across the top of WA Woolies and Coles sell only frozen bread- actually several weeks out of date frozen bread- sure it goes mouldy in a heartbeat but seriously they charge twice as much for expired frozen bread than normal bread- which they never have on the shelf- go figure.Aside from bread we have been for a lovely swim in the hot springs- a constant 32 degrees. A walk at Katherine Gorge was interesting- quite hot and not quite as spectacular as the brochures and TV ads lead you to expect- that said by walking we could only see one gorge- several hundred dollars each would have brought us a 1hr cruise to see 3 gorges. Perhaps flights and cruises are the best way to see the area but the cost is mind boggling. One gorge and we were happy to come home for an arvo nap.
Mmm now we may sign off for another visit to the hot springs .
