Wandering Along

The wind had dropped this morning when I woke up, which meant I could go and do the dishes from last night outside. Last night I was just too exhausted and Dominic advised me to go to sleep first!  Very good advice.

There were loads of bunny tracks in the wind blown sand.  They are very shy, however, and we haven't seen any around while we are in the camp ground.  Oskar really wanted to set a bunny trap overnight and catch one, but we ran out of energy.  Plus I didn't want to distress the bunny, although I don't think the parks people would mind.  They have been introducing Spanish fleas to carry viruses to infect the rabbits with diseases to wipe them out.  They are trying to reintroduce species native to the area (bilbies, Mallee fowl) but need to get rid of the feral foxes, goats, cats and rabbits first.  The feral cats are proving particularly hard to get rid of.  They are not interested in the baits they drop by air, and are too clever to get caught in the traps.  but so far 'project Eden' as it is called has had great success with freak fox reduction and introduction of the bilbies and mallee fowl.

Grant went out early this morning to try some uninterrupted fishing while everyone else was asleep.  Usually  he spends the whole time baiting, casting, repairing and unsnagging other people's lines.  His peaceful interlude didn't last long, however, and everyone woke up one by one and went off to the beach to fish as well.  When the fish are biting, it's very exciting,

They weren't biting this morning, however, so everyone came back for breakfast and packing up.

Nadine cooking the fish from last night for breakfast

We made it out of the sand towing the van with no trouble, and back down the narrow tracks, scrubby bushes sticking out on either side, and pulled in to the compressors to fill our tyres back up with air.  Who should we meet, letting their tyres down on the other side of the track, but Kumar and Jill.  They were going to try for the campsite we didn't get to, a lot further along the soft sand stretches, so we wished them luck and waved good bye.

Around the corner we stopped for a final dip in the artesian hot tub, boy it was hot, and a quick tour of the old shearing shed and shearer's quarters.  This area used to be a sheep station run by the Pepper family, and it was only when the lease ran out in 1991 that it became a National Park and was listed as a world heritage area.

Nadine, Dominic and Cooper were very interested in the shearer’s shed

Both the shearing sheds and quarters were interesting, with lots of information on the shearing process.  Because of all the scrubby bushes out here, they were unable to muster the sheep in the normal manner, instead they caught them all at water holes in one way pens (they could go in, but not get out), which could take up to two months.  Then they were walked back to the station along fenced trails by drovers.  The longest trail was from below Monkey Mia and was 40km long.  It took a few days to walk the sheep from there.  Sounded like a lot of fencing to maintain.

It took us a long time to get back to the North West Coast highway, with stops at Denham for fuel, Eagle Bluff for a walk to the lookout and a last view of the clear waters, and Shelly Beach where we saw the millions of tiny cockle shells that make up the beach.

 Joseph Covered in shells

mass shell toss

Shell Angels

We read about Dirk Hartog, a Dutch sailor for whom the largest island in Western Australia is named.  It forms the western boundary of shark bay, and is off the shores of steep point, the westernmost point of the Australian mainland.  Dutch Captain Dirk Hartog landed there in 1616, the first recorded European to land on Western Australian soil, and another Dutch explorer discovered his pewter plate, nailed to a post, when they landed there in 1697.  That's a long time later.  It's also a long time before 1788 when the first fleet arrived in Sydney Harbour.

Spelling tests and maths books in the car - seems to be the only time we have to do them.

We didn't pull into our roadside camp on the banks of the Murchison river until 6pm, however the sun wasn't quite down, and the boys tried throwing in a line. Joseph caught the tree above his head and Dom caught lots of weed.  The fish weren't into squid here.

Murchison River campsite

Grant and the boys brought a giant spider out of the van as we were all sitting down for dinner.  I can't believe it got in there, and Oskar was a bit nervous going to bed a little later.  Nasty looking thing.  Hope there's no more.

Spider is middle foreground

It was a long day, and we are ready for bed.  Glad to be away from the big wind and the wasps.

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Vicki

Monkey Mia and Point Peron

Driving through Francois Peron National Park

Grant woke us all up at 5:45am this morning, rushed us through our breakfast, and bundled us into the car for the trip to Monkey Mia, on the other side of the peninsula.  Monkey Mia is well known for the dolphins that swim up to the shore to be hand fed fish every morning. 

 

Dolphins getting ready to be fed at Monkey Mia

Grant kept pointing out that Kumar and Jill said it was too expensive and that we could do it in Queensland, and should we really do it.  But in the end we decided that it was the thing to do and we would go ahead.  As we sat waiting on the boardwalk by the beach, Kumar and Jill came up behind us.  They had decided to come after all!

Dolphins are such lovely animals, and watching the baby dolphins swimming in the water with their mothers was lovely.  Dom was one of the people selected to come out and feed a dolphin a fish, so that was pretty cool.

We had another chat with Jill and Kumar, then drove towards Denham, stopping briefly to look at the four large wind generators they have outside the town.  They make a noise almost like an aeroplane engine.

Denham is a tiny little seaside town sloping down to the shallow bay, with one waterfront 'main street' and one back street.  We saw the two buildings built from the shell blocks mined at Hamelin, one of which was the Anglican church,  built in 1952.  Denham itself was only able to be reached by sea until a road was built in 1950.

 

Two different shell block buildings, a restaurant, and the Anglican church

There were quite a few businesses for sale, I thought, particularly as there aren't that many to begin with.  The surf shop, the coffee shop, the pizza shop.  The town was so quiet it was hard to imagine it being a hive of activity during tourist season.  I didn't even really have to check before crossing the main street, there was so little traffic.  But there was also a fair bit of new building work going on.  It was a strange place.

Main street Denham

I read an interesting plaque in the visitor centre, about a Nicolas Baudin from France, who led a scientific expedition to Australia in 1800, bringing 23 scientists from the fields of astronomy, botany, zooology, mineralogy, horticulture and geography. He mapped about two thirds of the coast of Australia, named a lot of places in Western Australia (anything with a french name I guess), and then took back live animals to Empress Josephine who made an Australian zoo in the grounds of her summer palace at Malmaison on the outskirts of  Paris.  He died on the way back to France of tuberculosis in 1603.

Finally out of Denham, we drove back into the Francois Peron National Park and right up the end through 40km of sand to point Peron, where the water was a beautiful clear blue.  I saw an enormous stingray 'flying' past and there was a clean toilet with loads of paper (who gets the job of driving all the way out here to clean the loo!) but the flies were unbelievably bad.  The wind has changed direction to an easterly and brought the flies with a vengeance.  Cooper really didn't cope with flies attacking him from all sides and crawling over his arms and legs and into his nose, so he screamed all along the beach where there were hundreds of cormorants.  Joseph scared them all into the air, then they settled in the water just off shore.  The place stank.  Not sure if that was from the dead cormorants on the beach or the cormorant waste...we were glad to get back into the car but then had to scare all the flies out of there as well.

Looking towards Skipjack Point from Point Peron

We drove back a little way to Skipjack point, named after a type of fish often found here, and walked along the boardwalk and lookouts overlooking the Indian Ocean.  It really was spectacular, and we saw more stingrays swims past and some manta rays in a school (?).

View from Skipjack Point

We stopped at a few more deserted camping spots (Bottle bay and Gregories) before driving back down to the Homestead where there is a hot tub fed by an artesian bore.  It is kept at a constant 40 degrees centigrade, and although it felt burning hot when you first got in, it only took a moment before you relaxed and we soaked in it for almost an hour.  The best bath ever, overlooking green lawn and emus drinking at the creek.

Homestead Hot Tub

Finally we extracted everyone with the promise of a repeat visit on our way out in the morning, and we drove back to the Big Lagoon and our van.

Everyone went fishing off the beach again, despite the huge wind that has sprung up.  We kept three fish, two big bream and a pink snapper that we tried to throw back, but which died while we were getting the hook out. We cleaned them ready for breakfast, we are just too tired tonight.  Cleaning the fish in the sand, crouched behind the van to keep back some of the howling wind, in the dark was an experience. (Grant and Dom and Jo's experience...I hid in the van)

Fried rice for dinner.  It had been a huge day and we were too tired to do anything but fall into bed.

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Vicki

Big Lagoon

As sheltered as we could get at Big Lagoon

A slow start this morning.  Trying to get a few school work items out of the way and hiding inside from the strong wind.  Grant cooked a big batch of pancakes on the free barbecue, and finally we gathered ourselves together and decided to get out for a walk around the Big Lagoon.

The tide was out and we had fun exploring the shallow water, until we saw a reef shark swimming along the edge.  Walking on the sand was fine after that!

Oskar and Cooper loved to run through the foam

The big sand dunes cut down a bit of the wind as we walked up the beach.  Grant found an injured baby bunny rabbit cowering on the sand.  He decided it must have been dropped there by an eagle, or something like that, and we moved it to the shade of a bush to let it die peacefully.  the kids couldn't believe he needed a second opinion on whether it was a bunny or a bilby.  But when I went to school we were never taught about Bilbies.  Don't things change.  Everyone thought the bunny was very cute, but Grant got a bit carried away with his 'death to feral animals' speech.

We stopped for a very small picnic and endeavoured to snorkel, but decided it was too cold and choppy.  On the walk back we saw several stingrays right at the waters' edge, that shark again, and a big blue sponge.

We had a few fellow campers last night but they have all gone, and we have the campsite to ourselves.  All alone, apart from the huge orange and black wasps.  They were in the toilet water when we arrived yesterday, dead and floating.  (in western Australia the drop toilets often have a bucket of disinfectant water beside them with a loo brush to use inside the toilet before and after.  It works very well.  Except when people think it's for washing their hands, or pouring down the toilet.). I thought that it was just a one-off thing, these wasps visiting the toilet, but no.  During daylight hours the wasps camped out at the toilet, drinking from that disinfectant bucket, and scaring us to death.  The children took to all going together when someone needed the loo, and banging on the corrugated iron walls and generally making a loud noise to scare the wasps away, while someone sat in a very vulnerable spot!  I just went after dark...

The wasps also liked it just outside our van.  So we stayed inside.  Dominic and Joseph declared war at one point and took the two fly swats for some batting practice.  Dom was a good shot, but there seemed to be an endless supply of wasps, so they gave it up.  Not sure if the wasps are a protected species. (they may actually be hornets...)

We fished off rocks about the centre of this picture

Late this afternoon we went back out to the lake to try fishing.  My freezer was stuffed and overflowing with squid, and I wanted it used.  It was very windy, however the tide was coming in and the fish were biting.  Everyone had a great time with all the nibbles and bites we got.  We went through a lot of squid!  I think in the end, though, we had two fish to cook, so I had to make something else for dinner to supplement!  Grant cooked it on the free barbecue and everyone sat around in the bank away from the whirling sand, and picked bits off the bones.

 

We find this the best way to cook fish and share it! The pizza tray came in handy after all!

While we were fishing, after the sun had gone down and the light was fading, I saw all these dark dorsal fins out deeper in the lagoon.  At first I thought it was a group of sharks, but then I realized it was a pod of dolphins, playing and blowing water into the air.

We had a great time, but it was lovely to be back in the shelter of the van when we'd finished.  It feels like a real battle against the elements here.

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Vicki

Stromatolites and stuff

We walked along the clay beach this morning.  We found a dead dugong, a few dead sea snakes, dead fish, dead crab, dead birds and a dead sheep with a little lamb hanging around.  Sort of a dead place to be really...

The wind has dropped off this morning, which makes it so much nicer to be outside.  The forecast was for the wind to pick up over the weekend, so we'll see how we survive at Francois Perron National Park down at the end of the cape that also has Monkey Mia.

We packed up with the usual frantic scramble, and had a final chat to Papa smurf.  He told us that the wind was very good at keeping away the flies.  That made Grant very happy. (Yes and the Mosquitoes which he said in summer with 45 degree temperatures make the place miserable – Grant)

After driving down the very corrugated 6km of road out to the highway, we crossed over and into the driveway of Yaringa station. they were all just gathering under their verandah for morning tea and were glad to hear about the sheep and the baby lamb.  it was probably their neighbour's, but they said they'd send someone down to get it.

Feeling much happier, we set off south.

A few hours later we filled up with fuel at the overlander roadhouse, and checked our emails and blog, then turned right and set off into the shark bay marine park.

A bit down the road we turned off to visit the old telegraph post of Hamelin.  We saw the old telegraph buildings, and walked past the flagpole that was used to direct the lighters (small ships) in from Dirk Hartog Island where they brought in supplies from bigger ships anchored there.  They then returned with wool and sandalwood from warehouses here.  There was also a shell block quarry, where they mined the cockle shells that had been compacted together into blocks to use for buildings.

In the shell block quarry

Thanks to Bruce who first alerted us to the very important marine life forms, the stromatolites, which are only found here in shark bay at Hamelin .  Apparently we are all related to these ocean critters that form rocks or mats at the edge of the ocean here.  The old horse and carts used to drive over them to load the lighters, but now we have a very nice board walk to walk on so we don't disturb these earliest of all life forms...not sure about that one.  The theory goes that they produced the oxygen that enabled us all to evolve.  Amazing that they're still here really.  We got a photo.

Stromatolites….

Driving on we passed Denham (Western most town in Australia) and Monkey Mia (where they feed the dolphins) and drove into the Francois Perron National Park.  There were lots of great signs about letting down the air pressure in your tyres to drive on the sandy tracks, and even two air pumps at the entrance for letting out the air in your tyres when you go in, and then putting it back in when you come out.  What service!

Letting down the tyres

We drove past the Homestead, through narrow sandy tracks with thick bushes either side.  Grant kept telling us all to watch for big tree stumps on either side of the track – it was a tight squeeze!  We made it into the Big Lagoon Campsite, where there was lots of nice soft, thick sand.  It took us over an hour to decide where to put the van, and then to try to get it there, because we kept getting bogged.  In the end we settled on the only campsite we could actually get into, and we're happy. (We had to drop to 15 psi tyre pressure to get out of the really soft sand - Grant)

Digging us out of the sand

It's very windy again, and apparently it's supposed to get worse tomorrow, so we'll see how we go.  We ate dinner inside tonight (which we'd cooked on the free gas BBQ that's here) as we kept getting  sand blown onto our plates.  It certainly feels like an adventure with weather like this.

 

We passed some more emus on the way in to Big Lagoon

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Vicki

A saggy body needs Oil and a Joe String.

The Landcruiser was sagging lower and lower at the rear. A sure sign I needed to do something was when the exhaust started rattling against the rear axle and when I couldn’t fit my foot between the wheel arch and the rear wheel. Looking at the bump stops there looked to be about a finger width gap and we could feel it each time we went down a dip on corrugations. The “take off ready to launch” look of the vehicle was really bugging me. A search on the internet and I had springs and air bags sent to Karratha to be picked up when we arrived with a vague idea of changing them somewhere.

Karratha Caravan park looked like one of the most respectable parks we had stayed at and I was unsure about the idea of pulling the car apart. The guy across from us had a massive 30 foot fifth wheeler and also had a boat parked in front of it.  I started talking to him and he explained how he had bought it cheaply as it was damaged and he had to weld entire sections of it back together.  “Where did you do that?” I asked.  “Here” he explained.  When he started stripping down the 2 x 160 HP outboards I decided it would be OK to replace the springs.  I had picked up what I thought were strong 1.5 Tonne rated screw chassis stands in Port Hedland but the guy with the boat had 3 Tonne rated stands that made mine look like tent pegs.  After the caravan jack collapsed trying to get enough height, and getting blisters from cranking the manual jack in my car, he also lent me a hydraulic jack.  Lowering the suspension down until the wheel hub was almost touching the ground I could just swap out the springs and fit the airbags.

.   

With only the new rear springs fitted, it lifted it about 90mm over where it sat without passengers which is about 2 inches above standard.  I had also picked up an adjustable height towball in Karratha so that the caravan wouldn’t move into a “blast off” position.

 

Without the airbags inflated as below, and the car fully loaded with 50kg of water, full LPG and Unleaded tanks, people and all the gear, the clearance between wheel arches was almost the same.  20 psi into the air bags and another photo would show the rear about 10mm higher than the front which is what it should be. 

After over 10,000km, the car was also due for a service.  I thought I would also do the heavy driving service (due to the towing load) and bring the other oil changes forward.  I had no idea how much oil this would use.  A lot.  First the 7.2 litres of engine oil, then the front diff oil, then the rear limited slip diff oil, then 2.7l of gear box and 1.3litres for the transfer case. I think this would be an expensive service to get done by a mechanic.

I had heard that I should have fitted a stone guard on the van to stop rocks hitting it and bouncing onto the rear window, however it looked like too much trouble.  After towing on some roads I kept hearing that scary pinging sound of a rock hitting a window.  We finally realised that rocks were hitting the rear window and  that there were tiny chips appearing in it.  We taped carpet to the outside of the rear window which would only last about 50km before the tape fatigued and the carpet started to slip off.  Joseph came up with a great idea using cord that held the carpet in place permanently so I called it the Joe String. It works very well.

Grant

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For those interested in the rear spring heights.

Spring heights for 80 Series Landcruiser should be as follows without load:

 

Stock:
Front 520mm - Rear 525mm
2inch Lift
Front 560mm - Rear 570mm
4inch Lift
Front 645mm - Rear 670mm
6inch Lift
Front 690mm - Rear 725mm

The springs are the same as for the 105 series.

For my car:

	Front	Rear
Prior to rear springs being installed – no passenger load or van.	540 (Which indicates 1 inch above normal indicating to me that a 2 inch lift kit had been fitted to car before load been added to car.  )	500 (indicating 1 inch below normal and sagging from 2 inch lift kit under weight) I suspect this was with the additional weight of LPG, jerry cans, roof rack.)
After installation of rear springs – unloaded	545 (estimated 1 inch above normal – 25 mm.  I still need to put in the front springs they supplied but will do this when get home as balance looks OK to me now with Van)	590 (estimating 2 inches above normal – 65 mm) i.e. 1 inch higher than front – 40mm. Gained a total of 90mm
After loading up with van and people and 20 psi in air bags	550	560

Off to Gladstone

 

Tucked in the bushes to escape the wind at Quobba Point

Packed up this morning.  We got started early after forcing everyone to eat porridge for breakfast after my food talk with Jill last night.  It was good that we worked on it solidly because towards the end we started chatting with Jill and Kumar again and didn't get off until 11am.  They were so much fun to talk to and I picked Jill's brain about cooking cakes in the van, and what to use as snacks.  She has strengthened my resolve? courage? to keep trying to eat good food and help our children to do the same.  I'm a bit of a chocolate and cookie girl.

There are new rules for the camping ground, so these shacks may all disappear.  Our van is centre back.

Burt and Nerida came over to say good bye as well, and Nerida showed us the carrot cake she had just baked on her stove in her frypan.  We were very impressed.  Jill and Nerida have also cooked scones on the stove, so I will try that as well.

While I was reading Exodus in the bible this morning I read from chapter 16, just after the Israelites had been taken across the red sea and were camped in the wilderness.  They must have run out of food and water, and were complaining to Moses.  We've had a few complaining Israelites in parts of the wilderness of WA, and I showed Joseph Moses' response to the Israelites in verse 7, "You haven't been complaining against us, you know, but against God.".  I forget, sometimes, who's really in charge of my life and end up complaining to the wrong people.

We finally got off Quobba point, but only as far as Carnarvon, where we did the fuel, gas and grocery fill up.  I tried to get a bit extra this time and see if we can go longer between shops...we seem to be going every few days!

A right turn out of Carnarvon took us onto the Brand Highway, south towards Geraldton.  We passed the Mungullah power station construction site (not sure if my Dad would be interested at all) and crossed the dry bed of the Wooramel River.

We are still driving through the scrubby bushes and flat expanses of land, but there are goats grazing, which I haven't seen before.  One stood and stared at us from the side of the road with his long, twisted horns sticking up to the sky.  Looked like a wise old beast.

We turned right and out the 6km to the Gladstone camp site, on the coast.  There was a long stone causeway and dilapidated wooden jetty at the end, leftovers from when this was a bustling port, a collection point for camel trains of wool and
Sandalwood that were driven here.  Large ships would anchor off Dirk Hartog Island and then small lighters (ships that could sail in the shallow water) would go around shark bay and here to Gladstone, collecting the cargo and bringing in supplies.  It was once thought that Gladstone would be a bustling town, but the road transport overtook them, and camel trains and boat transport are no more.  Gladstone is now about as deserted as you can get, with only the remains of the wool store foundations reminding you of grander days.

 

On the beach at Gladstone, looking back at our van, left of centre, and the causeway at right

The ranger, Wayne, lives all year round here in his pink caravan, with two generators for the lights and the heater in winter.  Once a fortnight he drives the three hundred kilometre round trip to Carnarvon to bring in fresh drinking water.  He looked a bit like Papa Smurf.  When we went to pay for our stay he said it was free, tourist season was over.  We didn't complain.

We set up camp in the Hilton campsite, according to Papa Smurf, because we were right near the flushing toilet.  There was a big bus camped further up beyond Wayne's pink van, and another pop top camper down the other direction a ways.  That was it.

Apparently this is an important breeding ground for dugong - those sea cow things - and they come here to feast on the three types of sea grass that grow here and in shark bay further south.

The sky was full of stars here, and I think that I found Jupiter with the help of my trusty star finding guide, courtesy of the Guntons.

It seems to be all we can do to make dinner, eat it, wash the dishes, and get everyone to bed!  We will have to manage some board games before we get home...

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Vicki