We’re off grid at the moment but if I don’t empty my head, I’ll have forgotten what we’ve been doing.

I last left you in Karratha where we had one more night.  On the Saturday night there was entertainment at the site and we all went along to that and had a great time and a good old sing-along.  On the Sunday morning Carol and I spent a couple of hours planning our itinerary for about the next month as school holidays are starting soon and our usual style of just winging it might not work. Then we headed over to Dampier in time for lunch there and a look around and of course see the famous Red Dog statue which was wearing a footy strip as Dampier were in the grand final that weekend and it’s a tradition that he supports them.  

Monday was pack up time again and we drove to Onslow (Ocean View CP) which is a beautiful little coastal town with a population of only about 850 but its beautifully looked after and has the most amazing Anzac memorial and the sunrise through it is spectacular.  So on Tuesday morning both Carol and I were up at sparrow fart and got some great pics.   We had a bit of a walk around the town and visited the museum they had there then in the afternoon we drove out to Old Onslow where the town used to be situated.  There’s only ruins there now including the police station and the gaol. We crossed over the Ashburton River and spotted a group of brolgas and also pelicans in the water.  Back to town and we checked out four mile creek and enjoyed an afternoon ale there before heading back to camp for tea.

Our next stop was Bullara Station.  This is a well known park with a real rustic feel.  We’d two nights there and went along to see the entertainment one night and then the next morning enjoyed their delicious scones and coffee in their little garden café.  We took a drive out to the edge of the Exmouth Gulf though there wasn’t a lot to see as the tide was well out.

And so on to Exmouth.  Craig had been looking forward to this stop as he also spent a bit of time working there way back in the 70s.  He was gobsmacked to say the least.  It’s a thriving town with some amazing real estate prices – beautiful homes built along man made canals with a large marina.   We took a drive round and saw there were still some of the US built navy base houses and the Navy Base and all the antennas is still there though now owned by the Australian Department of Defense.  We visited Bundegi beach with its beautiful white sand and aqua water. We had two nights here and one night we all went to the Potshot Hotel – a former haunt for Craig – and had a few drinks and then dinner there.  Nudge and Carol were keen to go swimming with the whale sharks but the idea didn’t appeal to either of us.  When they went to book they were told that although there were spaces the next day, the forecast was for strong winds and if that were the case the tour wouldn’t be on. But they could go the day after. So they made a booking for that and extended their stay at the caravan park (RAC Exmouth) for one extra night. The next day it was blowing a gale but we decided we’d go for a drive into the Cape Range National Park.  We visited the Vlamingh Head lighthouse on the way then checked out a few different spots along the coast including both Neds camp where we had our picnic lunch and Mesa camp. Mesa in particular was a beautiful spot.  But the wind made even trying to walk along the beach an exercise in being sandblasted. We headed back to camp for tea and an early night as Nudge and Carol had an early morning pick up.

Craig and I got ourselves packed up and headed to the next spot on our journey – 14 Mile Beach which is about 17km south of Coral Bay on the Waroora Station. This is a camp where you must be fully self sufficient including having enough water for your stay.  It is part of the station but is now managed for them by Dept of Parks and Wildlife.  So we’re settled in here for four days.  It is absolutely breathtaking. We are glad however that we opted for two spots in the dunes rather than right on the beach because that wind is still howling and while its pretty severe where we are, it’d be murder on the exposed beach front. But the colours as you can see are just amazing.  Yesterday Nudge and Carol arrived around lunchtime but meantime Craig and I had taken the shortcut track into Coral Bay for a look around.   Another place which has changed so much since he was last there but still has the same wonderful turquoise water and only a small shopping centre as well as the caravan parks.  We hadn’t been able to get into a park here as it’s crazy busy.  But we had a walk around town and onto the beach and up to the lookout before catching up with Jackie and Trevor who we’d last seen at Barn Hill. Trev had just made a batch of his delicious scones – blueberry and white chocolate! And we enjoyed them with a cuppa and had a good chat and a couple of Facebook pics.  We managed to get hold of Nudge and Carol on the phone before they were out of reception and suggested we do a glass bottomed boat tour on Tuesday so we got that booked. We then came back to camp and tracked them down on the beach.  It was still very windy though had been a bit calmer in the morning so we still haven’t had a swim in the water.  We had sundowners then tea and another early night.  Today Nudge and Craig have gone out on a fishing charter so they had to be in Coral Bay ready to go at 6. 30am and there’s a half hour drive along the rather corrugated track to be negotiated first.  So we were up about 4.30am this morning.  Needless to say I had another wee nap after he’d gone.  Now I’m almost out of battery on the laptop and of course can’t charge it till we next get some power or we’re going a reasonable distance in the car when I can charge it on the plug there. 

So I'm now in Carnarvon and have power so will quickly finish this off and get it posted. The boys had a good day fishing and though they both had a bout of seasickness,  came home with a few feeds of fish.  Carol and I went down to the beach and spent a while there and had a couple of swims in that beautiful aqua water.  And of course there was fresh fish for tea.

The next morning we were up and off to do our glass bottomed boat tour.  While the shapes and structure of the coral were fantastic there was very little colour in it and the lack of marine life was really disappointing.  Craig remembers snorkelling on Ningaloo reef and the colours of the fish were amazing.  We had lunch at Bills the restaurant there then headed back stopping off to check our Turtle Rock and were none the wiser as to why it was called that.  It was another gorgeous day so Craig and I went down the beach for a couple of swims and a lie on the beach.

Yesterday was moving day again and we're now in Carnarvon.  Yesterday afternoon was spent catching up on the washing so we haven't seen anything of the town yet.  Today we'll need to get some groceries and Craig wants to do a bit of maintenance on the van but after that we might check out the town.  See you soon.