Clare and Ross - a van, no plan.

Would have happily stayed another day at the aquarium....people told us about seeing large octopuses...? Octopi.....but need some power and to refill our water tanks before 5 nights in Cape Range National Park.....so on to Exmouth. Lunch stop at Coral Bay..... beautiful bay with extensive sand.....going out to coral reef......all protected by the main reef further out. Lots of fish, purple coral, ...... families sitting in the warm water and snorkeling with us. Exmouth...huge campground....3 swimming pools, massive camp kitchen. No internet now for 5 days.

Short drive to the blowholes at Quobba point. Putting on a good show! Multiple holes blowing. Pounding seas on one side of the point .... then a beautiful shallow bay protected by a reef on the other.... definitely time to try out the snorkel gear....they call it the aquarium. Big parrot fish, angle fish, stripped, spotted and luminous blue fish...fantastic!. Then a turtle grazing on a big piece of coral....not bothered by us at all.....up for a breath of air then back he came for more.  Camping just behind the dunes so time for another late afternoon swim....then a glass of wine while the sun sets.

Carnarvon was the relay for NASA during much of the 1960's and 70's. Their pace museum was excellent!! Took off in the capsule of Apollo 11. Highlight was Space Invaders .....many many hours at uni spent perfecting our techniques....all came to nothing today as we were unable to get through stage 1. Nice landing on the moon though. Tried out the local tennis courts.....again no-one else in sight and it took perceverance to locate the key. Followed by an ANZAC Day drink at the local pub....very nice in the cool.

We drove all day Thursday to get to an Auto Electrician before the long weekend. Spent much of Friday waiting for another set of theories why our caravan batteries won't last long. Saturday - A day of cycling. Rode out to where the 1 mile jetty was destroyed by the recent cyclone...built at the end of the 19th century to export sheep and cattle...also aboriginal men women and children in their hundreds all believed to have venereal disease.....sent to another of the islands in the delta to be "treated"....they were forcibly removed from their families and locked up. There was an old railway line that ran out to the end of the jetty.....but long ago abandoned..... Nice cafe near the jetty though. Indian Ocean swim.....very salty after the fresh water we have been swimming in. Explored the harbour....fishing industry remains alive and well ish.

Tour of Rio Tinto's Tom Price mine. Hard hats and safety goggles for everyone. Massive tip trucks with wheels as high as a bus. A whole mountain removed and replaced with a massive hole with highly acidic water in the bottom....ultimate plan is to make it into a fresh water lake. Very high grade iron ore...crushed and then loaded automatically into train carriages....the trains are 2 and a half km long....loaded as it moves forward at 1.5km per hour....when loaded it is automated to take itself 500km to the port to set sail for China....amazing, ugly, very few people to be seen....must all be in control rooms. Tennis on brand new courts....just opened yesterday....we were the first guests to use the courts...we were the only ones there.

Tom Price...highest town in WA Rio Tinto town...iron ore mining. Green sports fields, Olympic pool.... inviting but empty, supermarket, 3 cafes and a restaurant. A day of restocking the fridge, lunch and dinner out, internet, power and water..as much as we want. Washing and planning. Camped in Nameless Valley infront of Mount Nameless with the local galahs.

We have left the 2 gorges that have the most difficult gradings for last. Getting better at dirt road driving. Weano Gorge was, we decided, the highlight of our 5 days here...down to the gorge bottom by rock steps...then removed the boots and put on our water Sandles to negotiate the water and rocks to come. We swam and waded through several long pools where the gorge walls were  just a few metres apart  Scrambled our rocks the further pools to swim along. Ended up at a waterfall into Handrail Pool....handrails help you down the waterfall and into the pool.....cool,clean and deep ....it was lovely!! The exit to the pool was another very narrow gorge with deep water...amazing to float on your back and see the red walls going up and up with a narrow crack of sky far above. The return trip was just as good. Feeling very happy that we had managed the scary level 5 walk quite well decided to also do Kermit's Pool in Hancock Gorge. Again steep decent to the bottom then leave your boots a

Long drive to the Hamersley Gorgeon the furthest side of the park....mostly dirt.... getting better at corrugations. Went via Tom Price as shorter roads were closed. This gorge not as deep as some of the others but amazing wavy rock layers on both sides with so many colours. Large swimming pool with a long extension as the gorge narrowed. Water was Ochre coloured and completely opaque due to the recent rain....no vision of the rocky bottom. It was lovely to float and admire the rock walls. Long drive back with the range on our left...very scenic. Drove through Wittenoon ...ghost town where they used to mine asbestos...until they all died of mesothelioma. Now signs warn to keep windows closed and air on recirculate.

Horray!!! All the gorges are open today. Decided to discover Joffre Gorge first. Dirt roads to get there , corrugated but generally in good condition. Lookout at the top showed us a beautiful Ampitheatre with a waterfall at the head and big swimming hole at the bottom...sparkling in the sun. On the opposite side of the gorge we could see kids jumping and hopping down the rockface where the path rating changed from grade 4 to grade 5......not a problem..... obviously very conservative ratings. We skipped and jumped down the first section then came to the grade 5 bit...OMG we slithered on our bellies and our bottoms....hung on to rock ledges with our fingertips and wished our legs were a metre longer. BUT....we made it to the bottom. The swim was fantastic, the water was deep and clean but not too cold. Lunch, then up we went, up the cliff face....no problem!!..much easier than down. Had a lookout at Knox Gorge...no waterfall and very deep. Back to Kallamina Gorge....very gentle...again

Only 2 Gorge's are open today due to recent heavy rain. We walked along the cliff top to look down on Circular Pool....access blocked by a big rockfall. We were able to go down into the gorge though, via rock steps then along the creek to Fortescue Falls...several swimming holes along the way. Asbestos layers in the rock. Fortescue Falls and the large pool at the bottom looked spectacular as we crossed the outlet on stepping stones. The water was beautiful!!! and the setting amazing....red cliffs on both sides. Lots of people on the rocks around and swimming. We had a long swim...very clear, clean, deep, refreshing water. Later walked a little further to Fern Pool Very quiet but also beautiful. We were the only ones swimming for a while. Fish nibbling toes left in the water, shower under the waterfall. We deserved our dinner tonight! Seem to have solved our battery issue with the extra solar panels.

Hills started to appear as we got closer to Karijini and some winding in the road....all very novel! Big spread out campsites....many not occupied...everyone has scurried home before the cyclone. Walked to the lookout over Fortescue Falls...all of a sudden a big crack appears in the earth with a waterfall at one end and a large waterhole with lots of people swimming, a creek at the bottom with real trees growing.....amazing!! No internet , no TV reception so no contact with the outside world for 5 days....bye bye world.

4 hrs of driving with 1 Roadhouse in the middle has got us to Newman, a BHP town centred around a big iron ore mine. Crossed the tropic of Capricorn. Every vehicle is white and has a red flag on a long antenna. Everybody wears yellow fluro shirts. It seems a busy thriving town in the middle of nowhere. Ocre is the predominant colour. We were not able to book a mine tour...they only run on Fridays at the moment. Powered site on the edge of an oval as no caravan park open in town. Woolworths!!!!! Dinner at the Newman Hotel, very busy with large groups of young people who all appear to work together.

The roads remain closed and the queue of trucks waiting to get through is unbelievable. We are told roads may open midday tomorrow. We have decided to go North towards Newman and Karijini National Park to let the coastal comunities clean up and recover a bit before we visit. The desert is enormous. Stops at Cue....again nice sandstone buildings from a bygone era....but almost all abandoned. Its main claim is being miles from anywhere. Meekathra....a small supermarket but no fresh supplies due to road closures, a caravan selling burgers, sandwiches and wraps. We have stopped at Karalundi, an old aboriginal mission...now an aboriginal girls boarding school .....school holidays though....and small caravan park attached. No drugs, no smoking and no alcohol. 1st flight with the drone....

We hunketed down as best we could on Sunday night and waited for the eye of the storm to pass. We were about 200kms north of its projected path and by then, 1 am, it was expected to be down from a Category 3 to Category 1. Nothing happened In the morning, as we awaited updated news of roads etc everyone started getting ready to leave. Slowly reality dawned. Trucks started to stop on the main street, their engines still running. Then the internet cut out. The trucks continued to build as we heard the roads west and south were closed by police roadblocks. Our choices were to wait or head north 1200kms through the desert. At about 6pm we got back internet and learnt the roads are still closed and our next planned stop, Kalbari was heavily damaged. We enjoyed a local museum, did our washing, discovered the standard Mount Magnet headgear and had an early drink with Dutch and Danish tourists.

Knock on the door at 8 am to advise us that the caravan park was closing due to expected damage and we needed to get out....the road was being closed at midday. We were advised to go towards Mount Magnet to be on the outskirts of the expected path....we all packed up and off we went ....in convoy. Another 120km East....back into the desert, red dirt and scrubby bushes. The caravan park owner at Mt Magnet could not believe his luck...people arriving from all directions. He managed to squeeze us all in. 37 degrees and very windy. The main Street has a butcher....boarded up, open air cinema...boarded up, 2 pubs...one open, IGA ....closed but promises it opens tomorrow, a seniors shed... $8 lunch on Tuesdays, Cafe...boarded up, trading post..closed, Aboriginal Art Centre...boarded up.   BUT....the Roadhouse just outside town had ice creams....worth the walk. So we are all sitting waiting to see what will happen at 11pm when it gets to us.

After carefully listening to and reading all advice we have accepted that Geraldton is likely to be at the centre of Cyclone Seroja as it crosses the coast. We decided to join the stream of evacuees, choosing to travel East. We were going to stop 100 km inland at Mullowa but as we pulled up to the caravan park found it had been emptied and closed. We were informed there were 2 helicopters on standby in case they were needed to airlift people out!!! We decided it was prudent to keep moving East...another 100km and we have arrived at  Yalgoo....a tiny town in the desert...red dirt, anthills and a history of gold mining...it was a big centre in 1895......it is not now! The caravan park is full to bursting though with all vans positioned back to the expected winds. Wonderful water park....free....no-one using it but water spurting everywhere. It must get very very hot here. old buildings....including the chapel of St Hyacinth No shop , no cafe.....but...

Today we have driven North to Geraldton. There have been hundreds of caravans and camper trailers passing us going South back to Perth....all heading away from cyclone Seroja. We if course we're heading straight into the storm. It is expected to cross the coast at Geraldton  Sunday night......so we have battened down and chosen a park a little away from the coast. We have also had someone check the caravan  batteries again....they have also said they are OK. An Auto electrician thinks our solar panels are inadequate....we are trying some extra fold out panels.....we will see. No photos today....all business.

Trips out to snorkel with sea lions were all booked so we missed out....school holidays. Instead we made use of the local tennis courts..$5 for as long as you want and a hot shower thrown in. Then decided to tackle the Turquoise Path. 12Km along the coast and over sand dunes. We had a massive head wind 40 - 50km/h, 1st gear on the flat! Beautiful white sand and turquoise is the right colour for the sea. On the way home the wind was behind us...we flew along..home in 45min after 2hrs to get there. We love the orange banksias...all in flower at the moment. Wow our legs felt strange when we got off the bikes.

Spent the day exploring Nambung National Park. The Pinnacles.... limestone rocks left standing in a bed of mustard sand....reminded us of Cappadocia on a mini scale. It was quite extensive...we were disappointed to see cars allowed to drive around the area....we chose to walk. We then did a lap of Lake Thetis admiring the 320,000 year old Stromatolites formed around the edges by remarkable bacteria. The last time we saw these was in Newfoundland....1/2 a world away. Beautiful Yellow flowering gum with massive gum nuts at our lunch spot in Cervantes.

What do we like about Perth? Lots of big green puplic parks, orange banksias, flocks of Red tailed black cockatoos, free lit tennis courts provided by Subiaco council, easy to get to long beaches, lots of dog friendly places, bakeries and soughdough, a feeling of space.....all in all we liked it very much. Farewell to Harry........we are happy that he will get lots of love and attention from Rachael and Andrew. Stocked up on cheep fuel, food and drink ....batteries checked and look OK so hopefully they they will retain their charge. Lunch at Yanchep National Park, a beautiful wetland....first use of our Parks WA pass. On to Jurien Bay...paddocks of grass trees on the way and huge sand dunes. Use of the local recreation park for overflow camping....perfect!

A visit to the dog friendly section of Cottesloe Beach. Lots of dogs and swimming for Harry We were then all made very welcome at Serpentine by Harry and Demetra....Andrew's parents. Stunning views back to Perth. Big plans underway for an expanded orchard, truffles, jetty and pontoon for the dam. Traditional Cypriot souvla...lamb cooked over hot coals, octopus and baked delights. Thank you for a lovely visit!

Entered woodlands at last - trees are a welcome sight. Several very tidy welcoming towns...Southern Cross and Meridian....coffee shops open even on Good Friday. Down from a plateau into Perth. Lovey to be welcomed by Rachael and Andrew in Shenton Park. Were able to leave the van next to Andrew's parents place...thank you. Harry very happy....extensive dog parks.

Driving instructions very simple today. Long expanses of nothing. Audiobooks, podcasts and Spotify all help. Morning coffee and icecream at Belladonia.....just a Roadhouse but had a moment of fame when Skylab crashed into the desert nearby. When we reached Norseman ( the T junction ) it had been 1200 Km since the last town Ceduna. Lunch at a cafe run by Thai's.....very nice and unexpected. Road Trains, fellow caravaners and a few cyclists....they are very brave with huge road Trains thundering past. On to Coolgardie for the night....a big centre in 1895 gold rush area.....very fine stone buildings. 38 degrees with very slow cool down at night.