Day 8 - Kalbarri to Denham (Shark Bay)

Yet another early packup and 380 kms to drive. We are over these one night stops, too tiring.  We have agreed that in future we will look at staying for a minimum of one week in each spot.  Not so windy today so much smoother and easier drive, could even get into fifth gear!  Saw some pretty wildflowers, an emu and a racehorse goanna (kind of).   We stopped at Nerren Nerren which is a designated 24 hour free camp for a breather.  We were very impressed with the setup and feel more comfortable about doing some free camping in these designated sites in the future.  Quite a few caravans and campervans camped there (even a Winnebago!) which surprised us considering it was lunchtime.  We are now 1067 kms from home - at this rate we will be home by Xmas after seeing the whole of Australia!   Its a long drive into Denham from the Overlander turnoff, 130kms and it goes on forever!  Some excitement is driving over the grid that 'barks'.  This is meant to keep the cats out of the area. We haven't seen as many feral cats as we did last time we were here in 2006 so maybe it does work.  The Denham Seaside Tourist Park is well setup.  We are camped on crushed seashells and the site is well sized.  They have a unisex ablution block which have 10 individual ensuites, ie toilet, shower and sink, so been able to get dressed on a dry floor is great.  Fairly windy but managed to get the annexe up without too many dramas, needed to be well pegged to stop it flapping all night.  Apparently it is windy all along the coast so must be the time of year.  I think the receptionist here thinks we are slighly mad heading north this time of year due to the heat we will experience further north.  Most people are heading south!  The couple next to us are from Victoria and he can't get over the distances in WA and is still getting used to the fact that roadhouses are landmarks and that the roadhouse is all that is in a location.  Quite funny really.  We are here for 4 nights and tomorrow will have a day of catching up with chores, ie washing and tidying the van before exploring begins.