Above: Cuppa reclines on Shell Beach, Shark Bay.

19th April 2009

Left Kalbarri, completing the 'loop' back to the highway, stopping at a couple more gorge lookouts along the way (sealed road access). We have to get used to putting in some bigger mileages again. Since entering WA at new year we have dawdled along, mostly only travelling short distances between stops. Initially we planned to drive from Kalbarri to the Billabong roadhouse, but by the time we reached there (& stopped for one of their egg & bacon sangers - $13 for two!) we thought we might continue on. We turned west toward Shark Bay at the Overlander roadhouse, & drove to Hamelin Pool, expecting a small town & were surprised to find just an old caravan park that has seen better days. No town, no settlement, but it is here that a world rarity occurs. Stromatolites are what have been called living fossils, they are pillars of limestone, built up over centuries by some of the earliest life forms on this planet. They look like an odd rock formation & can exist because of the hyper-saline conditions found here.We also walked through an historic shell block quarry. Over millions of years tiny white shells have been deposited on the shores here. Rain leaches calcium carbonate from them, which somehow results in them sticking together in a rock like form. In the past houses were built from blocks cut from the ground with crosscut saws. The caravan park held little appeal, so we moved on, ending up on top of the cliffs at Eagle Bluff. Surrounded on 3 sides by water we had some great views & full on exposure to the wind which didn't let up for a moment. Another rocking bus night.

20th April 2009

Despite Eagle Bluff being cited as one of the world’s best spots for viewing Dugongs (sea cows), overlooking as it does, extensive seagrass 'fields' in shallow waters, we didn't manage to see any at all as we walked along the clifftops just after sunrise. Perhaps they were late risers, or just didn't like the wind.

Drove into Denham & collected  a parcel from the post office (actually post office/newsagents/pharmacy combined) & wandered up & down the main street, along the foreshore. Several emus were also wandering in the street, occasionally to the annoyance of drivers (who presumably were still driving on city time). The caravan parks all looked crowded, & we had passed a sign entering town threatening instant decapitation, or some such punishment, for camping anywhere other than in a caravan park. We decided to continue on to Monkey Mia, home of the world famous dolphins which visit the beach daily for a feed. Again our expectations were inaccurate. We had thought Monkey Mia would have fancy hotels & upmarket accommodation, A cross maybe between Uluru & Port Douglas. In fact it too is a fairly 'second hand looking' caravan park & backpackers place, although there were also a few slightly more selubrious looking cabins right on the beach.

The CP was jam packed, with the only available space being squeezed onto the side of an access road. For this the cost was (no power, no water) $28 per night, expensive yes, but preferable to the $25 sites in Denham. Why ? Because Staying in Denham was like living in a wind tunnel! On the northern side of the peninsula at Monkey Mia - no wind at all.

21st April 2009

Like just about every other person staying at the Monkey Mia 'Resort', we got up early to congregate on the beach by the old jetty to see the dolphins. They had arrived early & were waiting for us. Half a dozen of them swam into the knee deep water awaiting their daily feed of fish. For half an hour the crowd 'Oohed' & 'Arghed' as the dolphins swam in & out, around our legs, close enough to be touched. Although this close, & despite the absence of any rangers, the crowd were exceptionally well behaved, with no one actually trying to touch the animals........ quite different to the kids who had thought it fun to throw sand at the Manta Rays which came into the beach south of Margaret River at Hamelin Bay (not to be confused with Hamelin Pool in Shark Bay). At the appointed hour of 7:30am the rangers arrived with a bunch of boy scout volunteers in tow, all carrying buckets of Dolphin brekky, 'Yellowtail' was the days menu. The dolphins recognised the humans' behaviours, knowing that when the ranger instructed everyone to step back onto the beach meant that brekky was imminent. At this point they commenced cruising up & down parallel to the beach waiting for their fish. The rangers selected a small number of onlookers to hand the fish, one at a time to individual dolphins, who obligingly snatched them out of willing hands. It was good to see the dolphins so close, but we preferred our previous encounters when there had been less, or no other people around. Seeing dolphins unexpectedly seems far more of a 'buzz' than the 'planned arrivals'. We took our kayak out into the bay, beyond the 'dolphin interaction area' & waited, after the crowd on the beach had dispersed, we were rewarded with several occasions of dolphins swimming past us quite closely. Later whilst lounging on the beach the odd lone dolphin would pass by just a few metres off shore.

Swimming had the edge taken off it by the arrival of stingers in the water. These jellyfish are impossible to see, but there tentacles cause irritation on the skin, not the deadly sort thank goodness, just minor discomfort. They seemed to come & go throughout the day. Watching other people in the water seemed like the best way to judge when to go in for a cooling dip.

Watched Baz Lurhman's movie 'Australia' on DVD in the evening, not a bad movie at all despite, or perhaps because of it's stylised nature. MrsTea seemed to enjoy Hugh Jackman's performance, but then again it may just have been more of her 'hot flushes'. :-)

22nd April 2009

Took the bikes out & rode to the Francois Peron National Park. This ended up being a little disappointing for us as we were only able to reach the old homestead, which held minimal interest for us (just another farmyard really). The problem was loose deep sandy roads which proved too difficult to negotiate on two narrow wheels. It is not for nothing that quad bikes, with their wider 'flotation' tyres are so popular in WA. We tried, but after having to physically lift the bikes around in the rapidly increasing heat, we decided that the 100km round trip to Cape Peron just wasn't a goer, a shame as this is reputed to be a fantastic wildlife viewing area, especially for Dugongs , at this time of the year. We will have to try again if we are ever able to return with a 4wd. Leaving Francois Peron sooner than we had expected, we decided to give the 'Ocean Park' just south of Denham, a look. So pleased that we did, it was a very interesting tour of ponds & aquaculture tanks that enabled us to see all sorts of sea creatures up close, together with an equally interesting commentary by one of the tour guides. Various large fish, squid, sharks, sea snakes, turtles etc

Riding back to Monkey Mia, we took a turn off along a narrow track, leading to a secluded beach. The track wound through dunes & scrub, but when we arrived at the beach found several other families already there, most unexpected. We were smart enough to park the bikes just before the beach, when the sand started getting too deep. A couple of 4wd drivers were less smart (or perhaps more 'gung-ho') than us, subsequently 'entertaining us  with their efforts to extricate themselves. Several families combined, & at one point we counted 18 people pulling & pushing, all with smiles & good humour.

23rd April 2009

Today was not a good day. We were all packed up ready to leave Monkey Mia, had been around & completed all the usual departure checks that have now become just routine. As I turned the ignition key ....... nothing, zilch, zippo ....... the starter batteries were flat. Either something had been left disconnected between alternator & battery after the work done in Geraldton, or the alternator has died. Couldn't find any obvious loose connections, so ended up getting a jump start from our 'house' batteries onto the starters. Good that we were able to do this, but a bit of pain. We left & drove to Shell Beach about 50kms away. After stopping, the starter batteries were still flat. Putting a multimeter onto the start batteries revealed that they were getting no charge whist the motor was running. After walking along Shell Beach (comprised entirely of tiny white shells, metres deep & stretching something like 130kms along the shores of Shark Bay) we again had to jump start the bus. Drove back to the highway & headed north. When we stopped to re-fuel I asked the servo attendant if he would mind if I left the motor running whilst pumping the diesel in. Turned off the highway & travelled 10 or 15kms on exceptionally rough & corrugated road to a recommended camp spot at Bush Bay. A more windswept folorn beach you could not imagine. It was here that I discovered that the $1600 we had spent in Geraldton had been wasted - the bloody head gasket had blown again, once again pressurising the coolant system & pumping coolant into the overflow bottle & out onto the ground. The Geraldton Mechanics had warned us that this might be a possibility, as the cylinder barrel liners have 'dropped', meaning that the only way to fix the problem involves fitting new barrel liners & pistons, effectively a (very expensive) total engine rebuild. Bollocks!!!

Ran our generator for a few hours to charge our starter batteries in order to avoid the inconvenience of jump starting.

24th April 2009

We left Bush Bay by the same bumpy route we had come in on, very slow going. Arriving in Carnarvon we then did a 'tour' of various motor establishments & auto electricians, trying to work out what our options might be. Complicated by the fact that this was the Friday afternoon of a 'long weekend' (Anzac Day). We had no option other than to find a camp for a few days & hope that our enquiries would bear fruit on the following Tuesday morning. It was indeed a long weekend.

Our first night was spent at the 'Blowholes Reserve' at Point Quobba, north of Carnarvon. Another windswept beach that we failed to enjoy.

25th - 27th April 2009

Travelled back to Carnarvon, & headed inland about 50kms to 'Rocky Pool', a free camp spot (no facilities, no phone reception) alongside a large permanent waterhole in the ostensibly dry Gascoyne River. I say 'ostensibly' because although the big river only runs for a few months each year, it has a permanent flow underneath the river bed. (This provides for irrigation of the banana & other fruit growing farms around Carnarvon). We based ourselves here until the long weekend was over, but went out driving each day just to clock up some miles, observing our coolant system, in the vain hope that perhaps the head gasket had not actually blown, & that the radiator would 'find it's own level' before the temperature gauge began to show indications of overheating, due to lack of coolant. No such luck, we were able to confirm that the gasket had indeed blown again. We also found time to laze around in the shade of some riverside redgums, but with the spectre of engine rebuild costs ahead of us it was hard to relax.

Sitting on the Carnarvon town shoreline we were lucky enough to see a small pod of dolphins chasing a school of 'baitfish'.

Later we attended the Carnarvon Anzac Day memorial service. Not being religious, & not having grown up with the Anzac tradition, this was in fact the first Anzac street parade & service we have attended. Many would say that the Anzac spirit is an essential part of being an Aussie, incorporating as it does the values of mateship & helping out when needed. We witnessed wreaths being laid in remembrance of the war dead by *every* organisation in town ...... & there were a lot of them. It was good to see that at least the deaths continue, even now, to bring people together. We were pleased we were there. The RAAF flyover was unexpected & quite exciting. The references to the Anzac spirit in the context of the community help given to the burned out communities back home made  the event more personal, & surprisingly emotional.

28th April 2009

Morning saw us back on the doorstep of the mechanical services we had approached in Carnarvon with our fingers crossed. They had undertaken to find out what our options might be. We were hoping they may be able to source a fully reconditioned exchange motor for us. No such luck. All they were able to come up with was a secondhand motor, history & internal condition unknown, from the other side of the country, in Melbourne. It seemed that the 'warranty' it was supplied with would be unlikely to be very meaningful, if the replacement motor turned out to have problems in the middle of Woop Woop. Melbourne wanted $3k for it, but by the time freight & fitting were included the price to us rose to $6k. We considered continuing north, stopping regularly to let the motor cool, empty the overflow bottle, & returning the coolant to the radiator manually. Likely this would have worked, but our fear was that the blown head gasket might get worse, stranding us. We were regaled with stories of vehicle recoveries alone costing $2k plus once north of Carnarvon, simply because of the distances involved. Boom time mining in the region has also severely distorted the local economy, one effect of which is the ridiculously high rates charged for any mechanical work done, apparently $140+ per hour is the norm in Karratha & Port Hedland, why would they charge less, when they can earn such high wages in the mines? It appeared that what might cost $6k in Carnarvon, could easily  be doubled up there. Plus recovery fees, if we continued north & got unlucky!  Services in Carnarvon were reluctant to rebuild our motor, in case machining, not locally available, was required. It seemed our best option was to drive the 500kms back southward to Geraldton to get our motor rebuilt. We were told to expect a bill of anywhere between $6k -$10k. Gulp! At least we had budgeted for such disaster, but never really expected to have to use it. We'll 'survive' but it'll be a huge chunk out of our travel budget, belts will need to be tightened!

We grimaced & headed south. It hurt to be retracing our steps, but 'such is life' eh?

Since driving up this way previously, the amount of fresh roadkill had increased. Several times we were very close to some large Wedgetail Eagles dining on large 'roo carcases.

Stopped for the night at a free camp spot at Galena Bridge, on the Murchison River. A pleasant spot, popular with the grey nomads, whose numbers are increasing on the road daily. Every second vehicle going north seems to be towing a caravan. Goodness knows where they all end up, but wherever it is it must be getting pretty crowded!

29th April 2009

By now we had contacted Waltons in Geraldton, & had decided to take the bus back to them for a rebuild. We had received a plethora of advice from friends on the 'net about possible alternatives to a motor rebuild, but having already agonised for days & reached a decision we stuck to our plan for a rebuild. Alternatives, whilst  perhaps feasible, were just too hard when in a strange town without the services required. It is possible that fitting a solid copper head gasket may have prevented it blowing again, but required the services of a laser cutter. The mechanic at Waltons assured us there was no such service in Geraldton. We were also offered accomodation back in Perth again should we wish to take the bus back there for the work, (thanks Graham & Chris) but we just couldn't come at going all the way back there, it would have meant an additional 2000 kms by the time we got back up to Carnarvon, all on roads previously travelled.

Reaching the heritage listed town of Northampton, 50kms north of Geraldton, we stopped for a look around & ended up deciding to base ourselves there whilst the bus gets worked on in Geraldton. We booked into the 'Old Convent', now a budget priced backpackers hostel, where we secured a room for $200 a week, far preferable to the backpacker, on-site vans & cabins, & motels of Geraldton, at half the cost. The small town seemed very friendly & the upstairs & downstairs verandas to lounge around on were the clincher.

30th April 2009 -> ?

Dropped the bus & trailer off in Geraldton & rode the bikes back to Northampton, where we have temporarily become involved in the lives of the other 3 residents in the old convent. A trainee doctor on rural GP placement, a ‘carnie’ from New Zealand visiting family in this area & a 30 something lost soul with a binge drinking habit. Appropriate though eh?  Habit - Convent -Geddit? ;-)

The town really does have a good feel to it, old fashioned, courteous & caring. We are expecting to be here for at least a week, possibly longer if internal examination of our motor reveals the need for parts to be shipped out for machining etc.

Don't really want to be here, but it's as good a place as any to be stuck in, & beats Geraldton hands down.

For more photos please click HERE