So, this is winter.... 'not happy, Jan'

Saturday 31^st August 2013

Hello folks,

Well, winter has arrived and hit the travelers like a bombshell. We have been freezing cold, drenched to the bone, hailed upon and have been driving with 20 metres of visibility in front of us with a 35km side wind whilst towing a camper- scary!!. And that was just the first day! So this must be why all theses WA’ers head north every winter- smart move!!

But let’s back up a bit and pick up the story from my last blog- Monkey Mia. Yes this place is the proverbial rip off. Everything was expensive and there isn't an awful lot going for this place except for the dolphins (and I am now 100% against them feeding the dolphins every day too!!)

Again, we called ahead to book in here and guess what? The only caravan accommodation left was a “beach front site for $64.00”!!! Oh my happy aunt- $64.00. Up until now the most expensive overnight cost on this whole trip was $54.00 at Port Hedland, and we privately complained when we booked this one too. The reason it’s expensive at Pt Hedland is that most of the people staying in the caravan parks are permanents that get an accommodation allowance from BHP, Rio Tinto and the like, so the caravan parks here can charge what they like knowing the people aren't out of pocket. No such luck at Monkey Mia- they've got a captive market and are greedy, especially when you also take into account you have to pay a fee to enter the grounds as it is classified as a National Park. Most overnight costs on this whole trip have been around the $35/night mark so this one was just a wee bit excessive.

Had we looked at the map a bit closer though, we would have realized that Monkey Mia (MM) is only 25km from Shark Bay/Denham and we could have done MM as a day trip. But I must admit that once we got here, the place wasn't so bad. The ‘beach front site’ was huge and we were literally right on the beach- not even a path in front of us and the amenities were good too (always a good indication of a half decent caravan park, so we have learnt!). 

The view from our 'beach front site'

We also had the most divine late afternoon drinkies, sitting down with a bottle of champers and some cheese and biccys watching the most special sunset with an uninterrupted view of the ocean. OK, $64 for that was a bargain!

The $64.00 sunset, with champagne and cheese & biccys!

 As soon as we were set up at MM, we headed down to the beach and saw the 3^rd (and last) dolphin feeding of the day- the 10.45am feeding. The ranger talks about the dolphins and how they ‘live in the open sea and do not always come in to be fed’. One dolphin though started getting fed by the rangers when it was too young and is now 100% reliant on the feedings. The ranger admitted that this is wrong and that they now do not feed the young ones until they are 2 years old and have been weaned off their mother’s milk. But to see this one dolphin nudging the rangers leg as she was doing her talk demanding fish was so wrong and unnatural. This dolphin has also not kept her babies, leaving them to fend for themselves too early and not being a mother to them. The ranger also said that most dolphins get scratches and marks on them from fighting to get food out in the ocean, but this one dolphin has no marks on her at all. The fact that some of these dolphins don’t forage and hunt for food, which is a natural ‘survival of the fittest’ defense mechanism, is just wrong. Human intervention has made this a false feeding environment, and it is done so people can ‘feed a dolphin’ and ‘be close to a dolphin’. What’s also wrong is when the time does come to feed the dolphin (and you are selected individually out of the crowd, which the day before us was huge- 228 people!!), the ranger says quite emphatically DO NOT PAT THE DOLPHIN. And of course one person did while we were there, and the dolphin freaked out. The lady was lucky the dolphin didn't attack her.

The dolphin feeding stats for the last week (above) and the dolphins- mum & bub (below)

So on we traveled  The next place we visited was Kalbarri and it was on the way here that the winter gods made themselves known. This was where we got the squall that gave us minimal visibility, strong side winds (very scary while we were driving with a camper!) and we got soaked when we set up. Welcome to winter!! And to think that the day before we had snorkeled at Monkey Mia (where there is 0% visibility and nothing to see- another negative thing about MM!!). So do I hear you all saying “yes happy travelers, it is still August and it is still winter down south- it had to happen sometime so stop complaining!” But it is such a shock after 78 days (yes I just counted it!) of beautiful warm, sunny weather.

Kalbarri- the dramatic coast

All around the town of Kalbarri is the Kalbarri National Park. Sadly half of the park was closed for road work/improvements so we decided to look at the coastal points of interest instead of the inland points of interest. The coast was a lot like the 12 Apostles/Great Ocean Road coastline but we did see some whales cruise past, which was good, but too far away to take any photos of!!

The happy travelers

 Next place to visit was Geraldton and we both hope to never visit this place again! As soon as we arrived at the Caravan Park, we didn't like the place. We got lost looking for our site which is never good, but the caravan park map was disgusting and the roadways had all these arrows everywhere giving the impression it was one way- oh, it was awful!! Then the heavens opened up and it did not stop raining and blowing a gale for the whole 24 hours we were there. To visit the loo was like having a shower in your clothes. You tended to hold on until you were ready to explode so you didn't have to visit to the loo too many times! Not a happy camper!

The following morning as we started packing up the rain was not too bad, but then it bucketed down. We have a Jayco camper that you wind up the main part of the camper and push out the 2 beds at either end. These beds are covered with a canvas awning but as you pack up, the canvas folds away on top of the beds leaving the mattresses exposed until you push them in over the camper section. This is normally done within minutes, but on this particular morning (and again the following morning as we were leaving Jurien Bay) the mattresses, sheets, floor and anything else near the opening got saturated. And I mean saturated. The towel I was using as a cover (along with a tarp) was a wet as it would have been if I washed it and did not spin the load! And it happened on 2 consecutive mornings. I just wanted to cry on the second morning- everything was so wet!!

But on each occasion I was able to get everything dry as I hung it on the clothes line in each caravan park and the wind basically dried everything in about an hour! But I had a full set of queen sheets, 2 mattresses (double and queen), 2 tarps (that go over the mattresses if it is wet or dusty travel ahead), a sleeping bag, 2 floor mats, a towel and our 2 big parka jackets that were all saturated and on the line!! When we arrived in Perth (after leaving Jurien Bay), I just wanted to head home. But we are here now, in Fremantle, at a caravan site with an ensuite (yay!), and the weather is still really bad, but I am dry so I am happy.

On our way from Jurien Bay to Perth we did visit the Pinnacles National Park. This place is very eerie, and with the dark, cold, blustery weather it made it even more gloomy. You can't see the sandstone pinnacles from the road. They just pop out as you go around this corner. And there are heaps of them- everywhere! Check out the photos!!

Yesterday we visited the Fremantle Markets and walked from our caravan park down to the beach. It was blowing a gale and I’m sure the beach was lovely, but I couldn't see a thing as the sand was biting my face so I stood there with my hands over my eyes!! Today I have done a load of washing (should be my last until we get home- yay!). Anthony has rotated the Prado tyres and also the camper tyres. We did look at going to the footy tonight as the Crows are playing West Coast, but the cheapest tickets we could get were over $50 each, so I think we’ll just watch it on the TV!! Tomorrow we are going out to lunch with the Bradshaw’s, a family who the Morcom’s have known since forever. Actually Rosemary (the Mum) went to Sunday School with Beryl (Anthony’s Mum) so the friendship goes back a long, long way. It’s been ages since Anthony has seen the kids, who are similar age to Anthony, so it should be a good, gossipy get-together. The restaurant we are going to is called Char Char Bull, so it sounds interesting (it’s actually a steak house and we are both sooo looking forward to a nice big steak!)

We leave Perth/Fremantle on Tuesday morning and have decided not to do the southern area below Perth, but will instead head east towards home. It will take us 4 days to cross WA and the Nullabor, having us arriving back in Adelaide by this time next week (next Saturday!!).

The trip has been fantastic and not once have we wanted to go home (until Geraldton and the rain). We have met the most amazing people, seen the true beauty of the Kimberley’s and the WA coast, visited the most brilliant, special places and have swum/snorkeled in the most pristine waters. I have continued to be in brilliant health (and traveled far and wide to keep my medication regime as normal as possible), we have both lost weight, have stayed married and have celebrated a milestone birthday in the most amazing way. We head home with many special memories and with the feeling that we have really had a ‘bloody good holiday'. It has been 3 fantastic months- the best we can remember!

Julie flying over the Horizontal Falls!!!!

Thanks for reading my blogs and we hope to catch up with you all really soon.

As someone on late night TV used to say: 

“good night everybody”.

Love,

Anthony and Jules xxooxx

Anthony flying over the Horizontal Falls!!