Above: Sunset colours at Cape Keraudren

2nd June 2009

After leaving the Albert Tognolini rest area we drove just 17kms to the Auski roadhouse where we stopped to check our tyre pressures & top up fuel. In just this short distance the country changed dramatically, seeing us leave the Hamersley Ranges behind & move in to extensive low scrub on flat country that was to continue all the way back to the coast. Our intention to simply top up air & fuel & leave were thwarted by the fact that when I turned the ignition key we had no power. The starter batteries were flat - again! On checking the batteries with a multimeter with the motor running ('jump started' from our 'house' batteries) I determined that the alternator we had repaired (new brushes) in Geraldton was again dead. Choice words were uttered on the subject of paying good money for stuff that doesn't work. We seem to be doing a bit of this lately & our 'kitty' is rapidly diminishing & once it's gone it's gone. Would be ok if we got what we bloody well paid for, but basically we may just as well get the cash out of the bank & burn it for all the good it does. And it's not finished yet. Extremely frustrating & the cause of much heartache & early morning ruminations. I try to see it as 'all part of the adventure' but find this almost impossible, a black cloud obscures my view. MrsTea is my rock & comfort blanket, bless her.

Anyway, we got going & didn't stop until we reached South Hedland, where we booked into a scruffy caravan park, so we could plug into mains power to charge the starter battery, & sought an auto electrician. The best the CP manager could offer when asked for a recommendation was to hand me the phone directory. Without a word. 3 auto sparkies listed. Only one answered. Went around to see him, an old fella, one man band in a large shed, an electrical junk yard with bits on shelves & benches everywhere. At one end of the shed was his motorhome, a large converted bus, a good sign we thought, "he'll understand about our vehicle being our home". This turned out to be an accurate assessment, he offered to let us 'camp' in his yard whilst the work was done, without us needing to ask him. We arranged to return in the morning.

3rd,4th & 5th June 2009

We spent 3 days. It was not a good place to stay. On the CMCA forum I moaned " We will be so glad to get out of here. Cars, trucks, all seemingly with reversing beepers, wake us at 5am, after a night of little sleep due to our proximity to the local dog pound, whose residents feel the need to bark & howl all night. Also trains that go through regularly, with train drivers who like to get creative with their horns & the hoons who utilise the road alongside where we are as a wheel spinning venue makes for a very noisy place. It's quieter here at mid day than it is at midnight.

Things went from bad to worse. Having removed the alternator, an awkward job, Murray gave me the bad news. The plastic brush holder had broken up. A previous repair had failed. Geraldton did not tell me about the holder being broken, just that they had replaced the brushes. Grrrr. Don't know if they broke it or not, but they should have mentioned it. The news got worse. No aftermarket brush holders available. May or may not be available from Nissan, but only ex Japan, no stock in the country. We were informed, by a Nissan dealership that the part was listed on the computer, but that this was no guarantee that it was available. Policy was to pay for & order the part, & then wait several days to see if the part was actually available. If so it would then take several weeks to arrive ("2 if you're lucky"). If not our money would be refunded. What a crap way to provide customer service! We did not wish to remain in South Hedland any longer than we had to, so spent the next 24 hours exploring other options, either adaptable new alternators or second hand/reconditioned alternators. Once again mates on the CMCA forum came to the fore & assisted by offering leads to try for what quickly became obvious was a quest for 'hens teeth'. It turned out to be impossible to 'adapt' any other alternator & eventually we were left with just one option, a secondhand (not reconditioned) alternator the same as ours at a wreckers in Sydney, & sourced by one of our 'forum helpers'. Good one Julian. We arranged for it to be sent on to Broome, where we will get it fitted & in the meantime will utilise our generator every couple of days to keep our starter batteries charged. Cost for this secondhand alternator was more than for many of the new ones we had checked out, but it was our only option.

Whilst staying at the yard, we did go out & about a bit on the bikes, mainly shopping, replaced our broken camera & got a new battery for the Suzuki. We tried sightseeing, but there seemed little worth looking at in this ugly industrial area. A sign indicating an opportunity for drivers to pull over for a photographic opportunity gave access to a huge pile of salt with a dozer driving around on top of it. "If this is the Hedland's most scenic attraction .................." (shakes head).

6th June 2009

This morning Murray finally got back to our bus, put the alternator back together & refitted it without the brushes. It won't work, but there is a vacuum pump fitted on it's back, which is needed for operational brakes. He charged us for 6 hours labour (including much time he had also spent ringing around trying to source parts/alternatives) at $140 per hour. $840 made for our most expensive camp spot to date! By the time we left the day was getting on, so we decided to try another 'venue' in town for the night. Overnighting at 'Pretty Pool', a car park with public toilets, overlooking a pleasant river estuary & beach, just out of sight of the nearby grubbiness of Hedland. We were joined by a chap sleeping in his small car whilst working & searching for elusive accommodation. Later, a bit further north we got an insight into how the mining boom in the Pilbara has distorted the local economy, whilst talking to  town resident having a fishing break away. Everyone working in town gets paid highly. Even a supermarket checkout chick is on a higher hourly rate than MrsTea  (registered nurse) is back home in Vic! However accommodation is   in such demand that house prices & rentals ensure prices equivalent to Sydney, but for very modest iron clad houses. A million dollars for little more than a tin shed is crazy! The chap I spoke with was renting. $1800 a month sounded pretty high for a 4 bedroom iron clad bungalow, but when he corrected me, saying $1800 a week, I had to ask him to repeat himself several times! Phew! Just crazy!

7th June 2009 - 10th June 2009

Finally we leave Port Hedland. However we are still heading north with concerns about our head gasket blowing again. I am monitoring it, but the signs are not good. It looks as though we are back to square one on that front. We can do little but carry on, keeping an eye on the coolant expansion bottle, syphoning coolant back into the radiator before we lose it by overflowing. Needs doing about each 100 to 150kms. Sigh!

Having looked at the De grey River rest area late morning, we decided that it would make a very pleasant overnight stop, but not a 'destination', so carried on to the nature reserve at Cape Keraudren where we ended up staying for 4 nights. Sitting under our awning gave us with a view directly over the beach & the ocean. A pleasant place to be. At low tide the water goes out a *very* long way, exposing rock pools & coral that gave us hours of fun exploring. Octopuses ((Octopi?) were frequent finds. They were quite entertaining, watching us as we moved around them, & squirting jets of water at us when their chameleon like colour changes failed to put us 'off the scent'. Fishing attempts at the high tide 'window' were regular but unproductive. Walking away from the beach took us to quiet & sheltered mangrove lined creeks. Most of the time a breeze kept sandflies at bay, but they did become a problem on one still afternoon. We have been religiously taking Vitamin B1 tablets, in the hope that they would make us less appetising to such little 'bities'. I can report that if the B1 works, it only worked for me. MrsTea should be renamed MrsSpotty, we counted 171 very pronounced & incredibly itchy red circular blotches on her, which continued itching for days. I didn't get one bite!

Found the brake lights were not working. Traced the problem to a failed brake light switch, the new one I bought in Casino, NSW last July/August. It has failed internally & getting into it would destroy it. They sure don't make things to last these days! We also discovered a leak in our hot water system. The flexible braided pipe that screws to the base of the sink tap has failed & will need replacing. At least I'd had the foresight to fit an isolating gate valve to the HWS, so have been able to still have pressurised cold water to the sink until a replacement hose tail is obtained.

Despite the ogre of mechanical problems sitting on my shoulders, we still managed to enjoy Cape Keraudren. It's a great low cost camp area, especially if you don't let the officiousness of the ranger raise your hackles, it's just his way. Nod, agree & repeat back what he says as your own & he becomes quite pleasant, whilst retaining his wry outback wit.

11th & 12th June 2009

Moved on to 80 Mile Beach which is as it says, a beach that is 80 miles long. As we arrived at the caravan park (on a station) we observed people thronging through the park carrying huge fish, all well over a metre long & assumed they must all have boats. Not so, these fish were Giant Threadfin Salmon & had all been caught off the beach. The park was buzzing with excitement, nothing much had been caught lately, but today over 80 of these big fish had been pulled in. A chap made heaps for the RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service) by providing a filleting service at $5 per fish. Walking onto the beach (very close access from the park, over one line of dunes) revealed people fishing for as far as the eye could see in either direction along the white sand. By the time we'd set up camp high tide had come & gone, so I resolved to try for a big fish the next day.

Spent a couple of hours either side of high tide next day fishing without much luck. Only 5 big fish were caught that day, & very little else. I hooked something bigger than I've ever hooked before, but after brief excitement lost it, the knot I tied my ganged hooks on with coming undone. Hmmmm. Sunsets in this part of the world are always worth a look.

13th - 15th June 2009

Rather than continuing to refill our radiator with the 'pumped out' coolant, I experimented to see if the radiator level would 'stabilise' at a level that would still provide sufficient cooling, or if it would continue to be pumped out. When the expansion bottle was almost full, I syphoned it into a bottle, did not 'crack' the radiator cap, & continued onward. The temp gauge continued to show that cooling was 'normal'. Until we turned off the highway onto the dirt road to Barn Hill that is. Without the cooling of highway speeds, stopped & idling whilst MrsTea opened a gate across the track, the temp gauge started to climb rapidly, the coolant briefly boiled. Replacing the coolant which had again filled the expansion bottle, saw our temp gauge return to normal, remaining so for the duration of the very slow, heavily corrugated sand track into the station.

Not sure if the boiling coolant pushed out 'extra' coolant , or if the pressurisation problem has suddenly got worse. The bottle was full after only about 50kms. I'm trying to be optimistic, avoiding the temptation to 'just push on to find out', it is hard not to let this problem push us around, but so far we are managing to enjoy what Barn Hill has to offer. Our drive from here, to Broome is around 150kms, so should reveal if things have taken a turn for the worse, or are still the same. If still the same, trying to reach Darwin (2000kms) for repairs *may* be an option, but if things have got worse we'll have to hope that Broome has a mechanic who can fix this.

Barn Hill has become a legendary destination for hoardes of grey nomads over the past few years. Many come here for months at a time, some bringing all the comforts of home, including vegie gardens! It is the winter home for many.  Some people talk of it in warm & glowing terms, others warn of cliquey unwelcoming behaviour. Given it's 'legendary' status I thought we should visit to evaluate for ourselves. Well the following is the description I posted on the CMCA forum last night. "we have decided that we do indeed quite like it. What makes this place feel different is that it is not afflicted by the 'get what you can out of 'em' whilst they're passing through' attitude that has felt so pervasive in coastal WA. This really is quite refreshing, Camping prices are reasonable at $15 /$18 unpowered (depending on view) reflective no doubt of the 'returning/word of mouth' market, as are thoughtful touches we see here & there. Flush dunnies out here get a big tick, as do the the the extra 'easy to use'latches on dunny doors to keep them quiet in the wind at night. Reasonable drinking water with plentiful taps, bowling green :-) Sunday market (just got a difficult to sharpen stainless Sabatier kitchen knife honed to a razor edge for $2.50), Sunday & Wednesday dinners, Weekly free entertainment, best ABC radio reception we've had for a while, NextG reception, small shop to ensure you don't starve if you stay longer than planned ...... it all adds up to making it feel welcoming & comfortable.

Bit of a worry eh? Are we becoming old & wrinkly before our time. Will we tap our toes to Vera Lyn tunes this evening? "

Later I wrote  "Had a 3 course dinner tonight watching the sunset , & listening to an aboriginal family band (The Family Shoveller Band) play.

At my request they played Happy Birthday to MrsTea, taking her by surprise & getting all the other diners, wrinkly nomads  every one of 'em, to sing along, which they did with gusto. It's not many birthdays in one's life where everyone singing to you is older than you are, at least not after early childhood. Kinda unique eh. We even danced the Hokey Cokey! We needed to to warm up, it's pretty chilly tonight up here! Honest, I just looked at the thermometer in the bus & it's only 18! Brrrrr.  Almost makes me want to put socks on! 28/29 during the day.

Well that's about it for this entry. We'll most likely leave Barn Hill tomorrow morning, heading to Broome with everything crossed.

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