Day 37 DeGrey Rest Area (12 October)

Travelled approx 300kms north (past Port Hedland) to the rest area which is near a bridge and river. There is only a small amount of shallow water in the river, it would be lovely to see after the wet season and we could see from the bridge pylons how high the water does get. Apparently sharks and crocs have been seen in this river. The trees alongside the riverbanks are gorgeous, paperbarks and other gum trees. The description of the rest area says that it is a great place to sit on the grassed riverbank and watch the bird life. Evidence of grassed areas was rare but you could probably imagine this after the wet. We arrived there at 1.30pm and it was hot! and of course we had no power so couldn’t switch on the a/c. There was a lot of station cows (look like brahmans) seeking refuge among the trees and the riverbank. We believe the farmers round them up before the wet season even though a lot getting killed during any floods the wet season brings.  Also lots of birds mainly white cockatoos. We found a really nice quiet spot among the trees and waited for Scott and Joanne to arrive. They arrived and another couple (Julie and Murray, Monique and Sam) that they have travelled with also joined us. It was great to catchup and by this time the breeze was in and we had a very pleasant evening sitting outside enjoying the beautiful setting and the company. I really enjoy the free camping, getting back to nature is lovely even if we have to rough it and we (and everything we own) continually are covered in red sand.

Days 35-36 Point Samson (10/11 October)

Moved into the Cove caravan park. A fairly new park and clean if not a bit sterile although it’s a relief to be able to stay clean and not be continually covered in dust. After settling in went for a cooling swim. The scenery here is very rugged but also lovely. There is something about the Pilbara that is special, the colours of the rocks and landscape with beautiful blue water as a backdrop it is quite spectacular. The tides are amazing, we reckon they have at least 5m tides and they change very quickly. Walking along the beach at sunset when the tide is out, the colours on the sand and the rocks are quite spectacular and sometimes look like lunar cities. Point Samson is a pretty little town with some lovely homes. It is fairly isolated being 9kms from the closest shopping village in  Wickham and 50kms to Karratha.  There are some nice walks around here for Coco. It is also a popular spot for the workers from Port Hedland and Karratha for family weekends.
Another hot day after a very warm night. The water was like glass and looked beautiful. We went for morning snorkel and were told to snorkel around the derelict jetty pylons. Despite the water being murky it was quite a nice snorkel. The water temperature was not too cold for a change! The tides here are amazing and go out many metres so we had to scramble over rocks to get to the waters edge. Once in, we were amazed at the amount of healthy coral. There was also quite a lot of fish life including a tawny nurse shark or wobbegong not sure which. And a huge bat fish. We battened down for a hot day with the airconditioning and a good book. Tomorrow we leave for a free camp site called De Grey Rest Area 70kms north of Port Hedland to catch up with friends who are continuing on north after their trip into Karijini.

Days 33-34 - Roebourne (8-9 October)

Checked into the Harding River Caravan Park. Predominantly a mining workers campsite with 99% being permanents. We as tourists were a novelty with the permanents driving slowly by checking us out. Roebourne is a very rundown town with the majority of residents being indigenous. Everywhere is closed, next to impossible to get a carton of milk. Locals travel to Wickham (9kms away) to shop at the Woolies there. However it is central to Karratha, Dampier, Point Samson and Wickham. It has a lot of history being the oldest town in the northwest.   We opted to stay here as finding accommodation in Karratha is next to impossible with parks being taken over by dongas and workers, consequently the parks don’t cater for tourists and the parks are fairly dirty and not well maintained. We drove to Karratha (approx 32kms south) for a shopping fix.  Karratha is the next biggest shopping area north of Perth so we went to get our shopping fix.  We stocked up in Karratha at a Woolworths where we didn’t have to pay ridiculously expensive prices. We also checked out Point Samson (19kms away) and decided to move there on Saturday. It is near the beach and looks really nice. It is so hot here – by 9.00am it is in the 30s. We are having second thoughts about going north beyond Port Hedland. May backtrack some way and head east. We discovered the broadband dish doesn’t work here – something to do with the area!!! Maybe its all the ore?? No-one seems to know why. So we will be without internet until Port Hedland and even then it is not guaranteed.  The Whim Creek hotel is north of Roebourne and really is in the middle of nowhere, only open from 3-9pm!

Day 32 Exmouth to Robe River (7 October)

385kms today. A long drive to our first free camp called Robe River and it was great. We camped (in the caravan of course) next to the river and just sat and watched the birdlife and soaked up the peace and quiet. Lovely! During the drive we went passed a lot of mining activity in the middle of nowhere. You have to wonder how much damage is happening out there and what rehabiitation is being done – being so remote you have to wonder. A lot of mining vehicles on the road many being hire cars – no expense spared. Tell you what though you can see why they pay these guys so well – they have to. The remoteness, isolation, working and living conditions would test the toughest of them I reckon. We are definitely in mining territory. The landscape is very impressive, the colours are wonderful and the rock formations are really interesting. We saw lots of Sturt Peas (red flowers) along the road edge. How do they grow in the red dirt!

Days 29-31 - Exmouth (4-6 October)

Went to the beach for the last time and then spent some time packing and cleaning in anticipation of moving on north. John spent a good part of one day installing our water filter that arrived today and it turned into a big job of course.  The water up here is pretty bad, spoilt by Busso water.  On the way back from the beach we spotted the dingo sign, they are around not that we saw any unfortunately.  The picture of the prawn is on the way out of Exmouth at Kailis Bros - big fishing concern.

Map of Western Australia (for our non Aussie friends)

 For our non Aussie friends this map will give you an idea of where we have and are travelling to.  WA is the biggest state and to give you an idea of distance, we left Busselton (228kms south of Perth) which is just below Bunbury and are now in Exmouth (a total of 1442kms).    Our next scheduled stop is Port Hedland which is another 778kms.  Add another 610kms and you'll be in Broome!  It's not called the big country for nothing.

Day 28 Exmouth (3 October)

We have had a fantastic day.  We started with a snorkel at a site known as Oyster Stacks (3kms south of Turquoise Bay and 66kms from town in the national park).  It is one of the best snorkels we have done (I think better than Turquoise).  Access is via rocks but not difficult and straight away you are in the 'aquarium'.   There is so much coral and fish life it is unbelievable.  Whilst we didn't see any different fish the ones we saw were big.  The water temperature was OK, a little cool but because there was so much too see you didn't notice.  Unfortuantely we weren't aware that the best time to snorkel there is mid to high tide and we got there just as the tide was going out so it was fairly shallow (hence lots of people leaving as we got there plus the wind had picked up).  Didn't stop us enjoying immensely though even though it meant we could only do one snorkel safely without damaging the coral or ourselves.  It is definitely a must do and we will do again when we return.  After this snorkel we headed to Yardie Creek (91kms from town) where along the way we saw a wedge tailed eagle sitting on top of bush near the road.  We jumped out to take photos and it flew off and gave us a magnificent display of its size, it was huge.  It was very windy at Yardie Creek but we still opted to kayak in the gorge.  It was lovely, we saw four black footed wallabies (one with joey) and as they are rare this was very special.  Its amazing how they can climb around the sheer rock faces!  The water was extremely salty which surprised us and in parts mangroves were clinging along the edge.  It was a pleasant easy kayak heading into the gorge but a different story coming back straight into strong headwinds - we were exhausted by the time we got back.  The on the way home we saw an echidna crossing the road in front of us - its bizarre becuase the last time we were here (about 4 years ago) the same thing happened.  We jumped out of the car again with camera in tow and John took the video below.  Very lucky I think to see an echinda.  What a day!