It was a slow first few days at Exmouth with me still sick with my cold. It managed to hang around for 2 weeks and made me very teary and miserable by the end of it. I’m happy to say it’s gone and I’m feeling much happier now!
Last Sunday night the park put on their weekly roast. It’s not a flash meal, but it’s cheap and generous. We were lucky to be seated with a NZ couple - Mike and Meg, who were just passing through and Hana and Rick from outside Mandurah. Rick and Hana will stay at the park for another 2 months.
Mike and Meg are from eastern North Island and they came to Aus where they bought a campervan and are travelling around WA sightseeing in between working on organic farms. They also own a B&B in NZ and are very interested in birds and bugs and are loving their time here in WA. They stayed on another night and Mike encouraged me to finally backup all my photos and they borrowed our snorkeling gear to go check out the reef.
The other couple Rick and Hana was interesting too. Rick is a Viet Vet and Hanna a Czech. She and her husband came to Aus in 1991 but he left her two weeks after arriving for his younger girlfriend he had also brought over. Hana is a physiotherapist but couldn’t practice here. She had to work in a factory to survive and read children’s books to learn English. Eventually she decided WA was a cheaper place to buy a house (well it was then) and moved here. 4 years ago she met Rick at a street party and they married 2 years ago. Her ex husband’s younger girlfriend left him for a younger man about 2 years after they arrived in Australia!
Anyhow, meeting these two couples and our nice neighbours behind s worked wonders cheering me up. I’ll be sad to move on now. Carl behind us is a Maffra boy, so we have spent a lot of time talking about Gippsland. When we move out, their daughter and family are taking our site.
Unfortunately, it is cooler and windier than we remember last year and it’s been a bit difficult to get the boat out fishing. We’ve found it pays to wait until about 2ish each day when we see the wind drop and then go. It’s been to cool to think about snorkeling which is a pity and the pool here is freezing. I’m looking forward to moving north to a bit warmer weather! Maybe we’ll leave all the moths behind too. We have been inundated with moths of all shapes and sizes-something I can’t remember from last year either.
We’ve managed to catch a few good feeds of fish. Mostly Charlie Court Cod, but they are my favourite fish, so I’m not unhappy. Most CCC are caught around 30cm, I caught a 37cm one the other day. They have a huge mouth which opens and fills with water when you bring them so he felt like a whale when I landed him in the boat. Last year the park had a CCC comp and he would have been right up there with the biggest. Russ also caught us an octopus on the same day. He brought him in with the landing net, and it was amazing to see him squeeze himself through the little holes in that and stick himself to the bottom of the boat. I think they are amazing creatures. It’s a shame for them they make such good bait.
Rick, Hana and Jesse
Wednesday night, we went over to the beach with Rick and Hanna and dog Jesse and had a glass of wine watching the sun go down over the reef. We spent a lovely couple of hours over there watching the little fishing boats come in and Jesse (who is 10) play in the sand and water like she was a puppy again. It really was a nice time. We sat on the beach by a huge sand dune and were the only ones there-it was beautiful.
Sunset Over Ningaloo Reef
Thursday was windy again, so we packed up at a fairly leisurely pace, then had a farewell drink with Rick and Hana. I almost wish we were staying on a bit longer now we have met a few people.
Yesterday we left Yardie Homestead CP and headed to Karratha. We made it as far as Nanutarra Roadhouse just before 3pm. I hate kangaroos and wandering stock, so we decided that was far enough for the day. We’ve stayed at the roadhouse before and really enjoyed it. Everyone is just staying for the night and always on for a chat-last night was just the same! Lots of friendly neighbors travelling north and south and all happy to talk. We met a nice couple Dale and Maureen who suggested we look them up on any Friday night at Broome RSL. They assure us the meals and drinks are all cheap and it’ll be a good night.
Hopefully better than our night at Nanutarra started out!
I’d packed our wine glasses away in their box in an overhead cupboard, so when Russ went to get them they fell to the floor and broke. Then I sat in one of our much used chairs and it broke, last I moved the TV off the bed where it travels into its normal spot and it fell to the floor and fell to bits! We bought a new one today the minute we got to Karratha and when the sales assistant was carrying it to the checkout, the box broke and the corner off it hit my leg, breaking the skin and giving me a good bruise!
On arrival here and as he was making up the boat trailer, Russ stubbed his toe and ripped back a huge chunk of skin-talk about a sad pair. Now we are here for 4 nights with my sister and BIL arriving tomoorw.
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