Here we set up camp near the boat ramp but there are a number of camp areas along the coastline. There is only a small sand mound between us & the ocean. We liked the area, its quiet, relaxing & scenic. The four of us ( Sandy & John are still at Exmouth still trying to sort out the fridge problem !) go for a drive to the Blowholes which throw up huge water and the noise is so loud (better than Kiama). We then follow the coastline nth along dirt tracks & road, with us stopping to gather wildflowers & greenery (the girls made 2 posies) We then come to the HMAS Sydney II memorial which overlooks the Ocean with a small rock monument with a flag pole. Later today there is a 70yr memorial for the 645 sailors that lost their lives when a battle occurred between them & the German battleship the Kormeran. When we arrived there is an old man with all his medals attempting to set up the Naval Flag, so with our help we raised the flag pole & flag. We then continued on to Quobba Homestead where there are camping sites. Here the coastline has rugged rock faces, with deep holes which would be great for fishing but the swell is up over 2-3m and the wind has picked up. We then headed back stopping at the Sanctuary Cove which has a great reef which backs onto our camp site. Here we meet up with Phil & Donna who we met somewhere on our trip & they come back to our site for a cuppa. Then the 2 girls along with Donna & Phil (who had a great uncle aboard the Sydney) headed off to the memorial, with Caz & Di giving one posy to Phil to lay at the Memorial..It was a beautiful memorial with us & about 40 locals.
To see the veterans dressed with all their medals, the Indian Ocean with the sun setting behind & then the man played the bugle, very emotional, had to wipe a tear away. After the official wreaths were layed, Donna & Phil layed theirs, a moving moment, then Di & I did ours. It was one of those times when you don't plan something but it will remain a nice memory of the trip. Di & I then headed up to the lighthouse to get phone service to ring our loved ones, what a beautiful view up there,........ Meanwhile Tezz & Rans stayed back at the camp to look after the eskies !!!!. By the time the girls had returned the wind had picked up so we had tea in our own vans & had an early nite or so we thought. The wind blew all night and the van rocked (due to the wind) we had to pull down the pop top as the wind was that strong. SUNDAY 20 NOV....Up early to push the pop top back up! The wind had eased since last night, so we head further down the beach to Black Rock for a fish. As soon as we threw the lines in, the wind picked up again but we continued for a couple of hrs but no success (AGAIN ). Later that arvo we headed down into the Sanctuary and tried our luck for oysters, 
Rans got about 2 doz & although they weren't large they were fresh & nice. Terry returned later to try his hand at Squid but the wind again picked up & no good, we meanwhile went down to the coral cove in the Sanctuary & Rans had a snorkel, he said it was good. We then came back and had a shower outside enjoying the freedom, (we couldn't put up the en suite due to the wind) The camp shower was very hot, had to add cold. Another windy night so we pulled the pop top down prior to sleeping but the wind died during the night & it became hot so we pushed it up again. Rans then had the urge to sit..... so here he is sitting outside on the toilet looking up at the stars, he even watched the moon rise at 2.30am.....no not his, the real moon!! MONDAY 21 NOV...Up early, the wind has died down but the seaweed that has come in is about 2-3ft high on the shore, but again we try and get our line caught up in weed.. yeah I know we are making every excuse, but when we do finally catch a few, then the stories will start!! In the arvo we head up nth again seeing if we can fish off the rocks but the swell is up still so no luck there. Us 2 then head down to the coral cove again and we have a snorkel. Visibility is crap, but the area is shallow so you get a great view of the coral with some great colours and there are heaps of small coloured fish. On a perfect day it would be better than Coral Bay. We sit outside for a time watching the stars which seem to be brighter than most places than that we have been. We like this spot, shame about the wind but we can't have good conditions everyday ( still have not seen rain since mid May !)
. TUESDAY 22 NOV....We went for a walk down the beach this morning and it is like glass, no wind hardly any swell, still heaps of weed but, we head off back to Carnarvon as we are heading sth tomorrow. We pass Sandy & John who have made it down to Carnarvon with the 2nd fridge (which doesn't work) so they gave them a Waeco portable fridge/freezer which also didn't work, so they gave them another one until another fridge (No 3) arrives at Geraldton. oh Boy.... On getting back into Carnarvon we clean the van & car as the salt & sand from the winds is caked on. We then did some shopping & go for a walk by ourselves out to the 1 mile Jetty. It only takes 10min to walk as a section has been burnt out by some vandal, approx 2/3 of the way out & you can't go any further. It was disappointing.
Usually there is a old train ride out to the end but some idiot spoilt that ! We then returned & tidied up and got ready as to head off early tomorrow. We have done Monkey Mia & want to see new places/areas. We then went for a swim in the cement pond and meet up with 2 couples, one who new Merrynne & Billy(Carols cousin) and the other whose daughter lives in Umina and Rans knowing of them. Carol had made a nice meal for everyone (Lamb shank Curry) which everyone enjoyed with all returning for 2nds. We then had some of the those nice strawberries & ice cream. WEDNESDAY 23 NOV... We are awake early and wait for sunrise 5.40am before we head off. Today is a big drive approx 430km's taking 6 1/2hrs, but we are glad we did leave early as it turns out the wind was favourable and it is 39deg, so by the time we set up in Kalbarri we got a chance to look around and cool down. This is a nice town, we went down to the local for a drink, sitting outside with a cool one looking over the river, just great. THURSDAY 24 NOV...Rans went for an early morn walk and is away for almost 2hrs, said it was one of the prettiest walks he has done looking over the ocean.
We then did some paperwork before heading out to do the lookouts. It might not sound much but as you start in Kalbarri & work your way sth along the coastline, each lookout just gets better, with some of the most magnificent ocean & rock cliff views ever seen. We took some lunch with us and we sat at a shelter at the Natural Bridge looking out over the ocean, eating our lunch, it doesn't get much better.
We then made our way back to Blue Holes which is an area where you can snorkel without fear of sharks. It is a sanctuary and although small it is enjoyable with heaps of fish. Yes Carol snorkeled again!!! We made our way back, they have a sausage sizzle on here tonight so Rans might get a snag. Carol will no doubt cook herself a great meal !! FRIDAY 25 NOV.....Happy B'Day Maureen & Abbey. Hope you had a great day, we know you would have Maur with Emma flying in from Kununurra this morning enjoy your time together. We are up early today as we headed into the National Park and you need to be out there before the heat sets in. We are glad we did as it was quite warm by the time we finished. The drive out is on corrugated road but not as bad as Karigini N.P. but still not up to standard.
We first headed to The Loop where we walked down to the lookout and saw another AMAZING sight, with River Gorges looking down onto the Murchison River, and rock faces with so many different colours, fantastic, we then made our way to the Natures Window where a hole in the rock face overlooking the gorge. Here we had a photo taken of us two by Sebastian who we met yesterday out at the Coastal walk. He is out from Germany and likes bush walking as he done the 8km walk yesterday and was about to do another 8k's. We then headed over to Z bend lookout which has also great views of the gorge. Along the way out we stopped a number of times as the wildflowers are still out so Caz got heaps of photos. (It was like being back in Canada with the wildlife on the side of the road!!!). We then drove to Hawks Head which is sealed road, but you should see the Pink Wildflowers, so many even Rans thought it was AMAZING.
We then went to Ross Graham lookout but this was no where near as spectacular as the others. We then headed back to our site where we enjoyed a arvo snooze before heading back out to the beach for some photos & rays, we then returned and Caz had made a number of calls but she said she didn't hear from Sandra to see if she made it to Monkey Mia safely, so she sends a SMS & the next thing Sandra rings back with not great news, their front nearside tyre had sheared off, (lucky they have duel wheels) hitting the door before going into the bush. Luckily no vehicle was coming in the other direction as it would have been disastrous. Di & Terry were following behind, so the boys went and arranged for a tow truck, whilst the girls stayed with the vans. The result was it took 2hrs to get the van onto the truck & it has been returned to Carnarvon with Sand & John who are in a cabin at Wintersun C/P. Di & Terry have gone onto Monkey Mia. It looks like when the van was serviced in Broome it was not done properly (so rans is checking on his now as we had the same people do ours!) and the wheel nuts have sheared off. OH MY GOD, what else can go wrong for them. We then had arvo drink, rang Di who had made Monkey Mia safely.We then headed off down to the beach at Blue Holes to watch the sunset.It was windy but sitting on the sand having a cold one, watching the sun go down with the waves crashing on the reef in the foreground was good to watch, enjoyable.
SATURDAY 26 NOV.... Today we head off early and drive Sth to Port Gregory, just before the turn off there is a huge PINK coloured lake which follows the roadway around to the town. Yes I did say PINK, it is caused by some weird named dietary supplement " betacarcotene" Anyway it is not something you are expecting.
Port Gregory is a small fishing town with a reef surrounding the foreshore. It was very windy so not picturesque as it would have been. We then stopped at a convict settlement called Lynton which has a number of old houses, barns etc, with some magnificent relics inside. There was also a number of trees which due to the wind grown horizontal with the ground. We then went to Northhampton, which a small town on the main Hwy, it had a cottage feel about it. We then drove into Horrocks another fishing town, but it has these fishing shacks which are in line & painted in diff colours, cute.
They are also livable (more than Quobba) with million dollar views.We then made our way back along the coastline. After lunch Rans ducked down to the local for a bet, nothing has changed here in WA..... the same result... no wins ! The rest of the arvo was taken up with photos, blogs etc. SUNDAY 27 NOV Wash & tidy day. This morning it is overcast & windy so we do cleaning, Rans checks his tyres, than we muck around with photos & blog. We now have 4000 photos saved from our trip. We see photos of the Bewells van, there is damage between the tyres and the entry door to the van and it is not superficial. Also the axle is bent, it would make you cry....I know Rans would. We head down to the beach carpark for lunch, then over to Blue Holes, where we hang around for an hr or 2. Rans had a swim. We then went to one of the other van parks to look for friends Matt & Sarah & we find Phil & Donna. We talk to them for a while then headed to another park where we find Matt & Sarah. We have a drink with them before heading off to pack up & tea. MONDAY 28 NOV... Up early and head to Geraldton.Stop to check tyres which are OK. We booked into the Belair C/park nice site out of the wind. We head out and have to do a number of shopping things, have a look at John & Sandra's van OH BOY !!! & then have a brief look at the sites of the town especially the war memorial for HMAS Sydney, which is one of the best memorials. 
We then head back to van park & catch up with John & Sandra who looks tired & exhausted both physically & mentally and who wouldn't be. We decide to go out for tea to a pub in town(The Freemasons). The pub is OK but it is expensive, but the girls at least get nice GF meals. It has turned cold and cloudy tonight so early to bed. TUESDAY 29 NOV.. Rans is up early AGAIN, he leaves at 5.30am to go & vacuum & clean the car but returns in 10min...Because you know what.......yep It started to RRRRRain, yes that's right after 191 days we had rain & although it wasn't heavy or went for a long time, it was rain!! After breakie we went down town to get some groceries etc, as we are going to do some free camping in the next few days. We returned hitched and said out goodbyes to the Bewells & wished them all the best with their repairs etc to the van. We then drove Sth stopping at S Bend caravan Park at Greenough & then continued on by passing Dongarra as we had stayed there before and our friends who live there are away. We then stopped at Leeman a nice small town on the water, we had a look around & at the C/Park & decided to continue to Green Head which was a good decision. We set up here, we are the only van in the park other than a couple of permanents here, we are almost totally out of the wind which has picked up again..surprise surprise!! After lunch we went for a drive along the coastline which has a number of bays/inlets/lookouts with all having drive access to the beach, its just so good, so pretty the only thing is the wind & weed but there are a number of small beaches protected, which we will try tomorrow to bake, snorkel & fish. this is a must place to come to, just to see the coastline & the many bays.
Tonight is baked dinner, we think we'll stay here for another night then head to Jurian Bay and then inland a little to National Parks away from this wind and free camp for a week or so. So we will post this now as we mightn't have service soon, so bye until next time, Happy B'Day Katelyn Holman, Jade, Maureen, Abbey & Katelyn Manson.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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