Newman to Meekatharra

Wild Flowers at the Revolving Restaurant


We enjoyed our 3 days and four nights in Newman. Like I said, I really enjoyed the park and the town had more than enough services to satisfy us.

On our second day we took a drive out to the local water supply Opthalmia Dam and then on to Kalgan Pool. The dam is very pretty and a 4WD track up a steep little hill gave gave excellent views of it and the surrounding country. We got a great look at a mine blast across the dam while we were there.
Opthalmia Dam


After stopping at the dam, we headed back the way we came and on to Kaglan Pool. We turned right onto an excellent road we'd got a permit for and travelled along the railway line as we were supposed to, but couldn't find the road under the railway line. On and on (and on) we travelled, until the rail line stopped and the mines finished and the aboriginal land started. So back around we went. Reading the map, we crossed at one of the two level crossings and took a hard left and headed to the pool. The sign to the pool was missing, but "that happens". We drove about 15ks but instead of heading to the hills, we seemed to follow the railway line. Finally we arrived at a GATE. As it happedned an ambulance had just gone through and the driver was shutting the gate. He waited for us and when we explained we were lost, said that he'd guessed that. We said we'd turn back but he waved us through explaining we'd better be careful as we were going through an active mine site, but it would put us on the Marble Bar Road in moments. It did and we realised we'd taken a wrong turn coming out of the dam and forgotten that that bit of the Marble Bar road was sealed unlike the good mine road we'd found!

So, once again we headed out along the Marble Bar Road, made the right turn under the railway line, found the sign to Kaglan Pool and managed to lose our way again and end up up in the hills on a degraded overgrown 4WD track.

It Looked OK, But Wasn't a Couple of Ks Later!



So back again to the railway line where we eventually found the second sign to the pool. Off we went only to decide after 13ks of huge corregations and a boat motor banging around in the back, to turn around, go home and have a glass of wine.

Yesterday we decided to go see the Aboriginal rock etchings 73ks back towards Tom Price. We stopped along the way at Silent Gorge-it really is silent and the colours in the rock were amazing.

Silent Gorge


The art site isn't sign posted (not unusual for Aboriginal sites we've discovered)except by a pole with a pink ribbon tied to it, but we'd spotted the turn on the way in to Newman on the day we arrived. Well, guess what, there'd been roadworks in the area, the pole and its pink ribbon had been knocked over and we missed it. It wasn't until we were 13 ks down the road we thought to check the speedo (just talking and looking around), turn round and go back.

Rock Art Site


It was well worth it. We were the only ones there, the etchings were easy to access in one small area and were amazing. We sat on a large river boulder, ate our lunch and just looked at etchings that have been there for tens of thousands of years.



This morning we packed up and drove the 420ks to Meekatharra. We both agree we have never seen so many trucks, passed so many over width trucks or had move off the road and stop as massive mine trucks and equipment were driven by us. I think we saw a new mine being outfitted today. We have seen trucks of all sizes , mine equipement of all sizes and shapes, rail trucks, rail truck wheels, and dongas being hauled. We saw trcukloads of small vehicles too-new mini busses, 4wds, fire trucks, ambulances. It makes the days we've travelled across the Nullarbor seem quiet almost! After visiting a few mines, it's been amazing to see all the pretty colours new equipment comes in. I don't think it takes too long before everything turns basic brown. It was a big day for road kill too with the road littered with dead roos, cows and eagles.

Newman

A Pretty Place for Some Repairs


We are now in Newman for 4 nights. It was a relatively short drive of 255ks from Tom Price to here yesterday and very pretty through this part of the Pilbara. We joined the Great Northern Highway about 100ks out of town and were amazed at the instant increase in traffic-mostly road trains and mine vehicles. On the way here, one of the straps that tie the boat down snapped and we had to stop fix it but it isn't much of a worry as the boat is actually bolted on to the roof rack. It's a bit like gloves on a food handler-just for looks!

Newman boasts the largest open cut iron ore mine in the world and is found in the largest shire in the world. Things are BIG out here.

Big


The caravan park we are staying in was much cheaper than Tom Price ($25 compared to $33) and although it has only 25 tourist sites and about 200 rooms in dongas for mine employees, it has a nice feel about it. The 6 washing machines are marked NO WORKCLOTHES or WORKCLOTHES and there are 4 dryers (I've never seen so many driers in a park before). Our site is right by the laundry and clotheslines and last night one guy had hung out his washing and had a whole line of socks. I haven't seen so many socks since the boys left home. We never wear shoes and socks these days.

After setting up we went down to the shopping centre. It's a nice enough little one with a Chinese restuarant, pizza and Chicken Treat and a huge Woolies. It was difficult to get into there and not feel like we had to buy a months worth of groceries before moving on. And amazing to think they get fresh meat, fruit, veg and herbs everyday. It will be pretty much like that now apparently until we get to Perth as we are now on the main highway to Broome and many of the other mining towns.

This morning we got up and did a mine tour. It was really pretty good and quite different from the other two we've taken. This took us through the work shop areas and tyre stores before going to look at the open cut. It is supposedly the largest mine of its kind in the world.

Bigger


After lunch we went 4wding out to the Revolving Restaurant. I originally thought that it was pretty impressive that a tiny town like Newman should have a revolving restaurant out in the ranges, but it turned out to be the name of a hill that gives 360 degree views of the Pilbara. I'm sure the girl behind the desk was smirking as she patiently explained that to us.....

Tom Price

Mt Nameless

We stayed at Tom Price CP last night and will again tonight. We thought about going out to the gorges for a drive today but 350ks is a lot of fuel to go somewhere we've been before 2 years ago and tomorrow we'll drive right through the centre of the national park on the way to Newman anyway. Instead we went right to the top of MT Namelss here behind the park for some beautiful views of the ranges and the iron ore mine. I was too cowardly last time to go right up, so it was great to go see it this time.

Views From the Top



And On the Way Down

Nanutarra Road House

On the Road to Nanutarra


We reluctantly left Coral Bay yesterday and set off for Paraburdo or Tom Price. We'd slept late, so Paraburdo made more sense but we weren't sure if it had a caravan park.

It was a pleasant drive to Nanutarra RH where we planned to refuel before going on. We had decided to ask about a park in Paraburdo, then phone ahead-if there wasn't one there, we would be travelling into Tom Price to late for us (many roos and lots of stock on the road).

The road house had been without phone coverage for a couple of days so we had to raid our money box to pay for a tank of fuel, then the young (and very busy boy) "thought" there was a park ahead. In the end, we decided it was safer to stay so we ratted the last of our stash of money and spent the night there. And if the Paraburdo or Tom Price had no phones, we might not get fuel there either. It's the third time we've stayed and we actually enjoy it-the others who stay are always keen for a chat and the atmosphere is very friendly. It's a cheap overnighter, but the price of fuel makes up for that-we paid $2.30 a litre there. It was $1.98 here in Tom Price today.

Anyhow, after a lovely drive through the beautiful Pilbara with lunch at Paraburdo, we've arrived at Tom Price for a couple of nights. It was nice to get to Coles this afternoon and shop as we we used our very last fruit and veg last night. I also went to the chemist to get a prescription only to be told they wouldn't be able to fill it until tomorrow when the truck arrives.

Last Days in Coral Bay

Wednesday we fished again and unfortunately (for Russ) once again I caught all the fish (3 lovely Spangled Emperor).

Yesterday it was windy with big swells, so we had a quiet day reading and computing. Boredom must have got to us, because we booked a passage to Tassie in January over the net. We leave on January 27th and will have 10 weeks there which should be lots of fun. It's supposed to be pretty good fishing and will definately be different from here. I was pleasantly suprised at the cost to get us, the car, boat and van there and back and can't wait to go.

Today was a bit windy for fishing, but as it was to be our last chance for a couple of months we went anyway. Russ was happy to be the only one to land any good fish in the boat (2 Red Throat and 1 Spangled Emperor) and we were out and back with them in a couple of hours.

Tomorrow is pack up the boat and trailer and wash the fishing clothes day, then it's off to the inland on Sunday.

Spangled Emperor

Sunset Over the Sand Dunes


The last three days have been great fishing for me. I seem to have figured out how to catch the much prized Spangled Emperor found here. Sunday I caught 3 (and a nice golden trevally), Monday 2 and Tuesday another two. Russ has caught quite a few 38/9 cm ones but they have to go back as the minimum size is 41cm. He's getting quite frustrated and has rigged up a bigger, better rod and reel for todays challenge.

We are very happy with our fishing success as no one gives you much info on where the fish are (naturally). We spotted some bottom that should suit the Spangled Emperors but were suprised to catch such big fish consistently in 1.8 metres of water, so close to shore.

Our neighbours have enjoyed the fish too as we've given two feeds of fish to each recently.

(738)

Coral Bay 2008

We had a lovely day today. I'm really enjoying it here this year.

At 9am, we headed out fishing and by 11am we'd caught our limit of Red Throat emperor. Not long after we headed for home and lunch. We gave two fish to a couple I'd met while Russ was getting the car and trailer. They were having no luck off the rocks and were thrilled to get two very alive fish for their lunch. Russ filleted the remaining 6 fish and we gave half to the Victorian couple parked behind us here.

For a change, we bought ourselves a couple of pies from the bakery over the road, then went swimming. There is a lovely little secluded beach where we've been fishing, so we let some more air out of the tyres and headed for that. It was great to have it to ourselves and the water was a pleasant 21c so very nice for swimming. Russ had a snorkel out over the reef, but my mask needs to be repaired beofre I can go out tomorrow.

When we got back, we went to the pool here for another swim before coming home to watch a bit of football (unusual for us) then we started dinner. I made a Greek fish dish with a rich tomato sauce, feta cheese, olives and fresh herbs. Yum.

Along the Coast Access Road

After a couple of fairly successful days fishing, we decided to take a break and go for a drive along the Coast Access Road which starts about 5 ks out of town. Our neighbours Todd and Melissa and two boys did some of it yesterday and recommended it to us.

We left around 10.30am and got home right on 4pm. It was 80ks of sand and 50 sealed. The sand had a good firm base, but was very, very corragated. Letting our tyres down made it pretty comfortable though.

We travelled through Cardabia Station (no stock) to Brudbooodjoo Point-it's a pretty popular camping spot and we counted 25 vans and tents. The fishing looked like it would be better than here (less fisherpeople), but we aren't set up to camp like that. It seems a bit late in our travels to be investing in generators, shower tents, satelite dishes etc. and the thought of how much water they need to carry puts me off too. I guess I like the soft option.



After leaving there, we pulled in to a very pretty spot in the sand dunes over looking the reef for some lunch. We stopped a lot actually for some beautiful views. It was really a worthwile drive.



We saw a few sheep on Ningaloo Station (and heaps of emus and kangaroos) but nothing as we went through Bullara Station. They probably de stocked in tougher times and can't afford to re stock now when there seems to be plenty of grass around.

Coral Bay 2008

Back for the third time. The park is full so lots of tents, caravans and motor homes. We set up, got the boat and trailer organised then went for a walk to the other park to visit our friends Ron and Irene. It was lovely to catch up with them and see them both looking so well.

Last night the power went out twice-once as we were cooking dinner and the second time as we were eating. Trouble was, the power didn't come back on until 7am this morning. I was starting to get anxious for all our meat and dairy foods we bought in Exmouth to come here and the freezer, but it was a chilly 6c over night so all was OK.

The New Boat Launching Facility!!!


Today we had an early lunch then headed out fishing. We used to launch the boat off the beach across the road from here, but now have to drive a few kilometres out of town to the new boat ramp. It's a very flash affair and makes getting out of the no fishing zone very fast.The fish were a bit scarce, but it was beautiful out there (as usual). We were fishing in 3 metres of water over sea grass when we spotted two dugongs sunning themselves really close to the boat. They hung around for quite a while.

The View from the Boat Trailer Parking Area

Yardie Creek-Last Day

It’s Saturday and our last full day at Yardie. Tomorrow we drive the 150ks or so back to Coral Bay where we’ll spend 2 weeks before heading to Perth via the inland route.

Thursday we headed out for what was our last day of fishing. It was a little rough with the biggest swell we’ve fished in while here. A little rough means better fishing though as the fish can’t see us in the boat. We caught a number of CCC, releasing any that were smaller until we had 4 good sized ones. I lost a MONSTER fish that I worked so hard to almost get to the boat before he broke off-we’ll never know what he was now. Not long after though and in the same place, I caught a size (41cm) spangled emperor (the most highly prized catch inside the reef) and just after that, Russ landed a 57cm one in the boat. That’s a big fish on the gear we use. We were able to return all the CCC back, alive to the water after that!

We gave the neighbours a feed and kept the rest for ourselves. I made a delicious Indian curry with coconut milk, tomatoes, whole green chillies and curry leaves (amongst other things) from it for dinner, with leftovers for lunch today.

Yesterday (Friday 18th) was a funny day. It drizzled on and off in between very sunny periods. Russ managed to get all the laundry done, out and dry though which was great. Otherwise we had a quiet day.

I did overhear two men talking outside the van about one of the boats in the park being overturned by a whale just outside the reef. It should be true, as there are lots about this year! I’d only commented to Russ the day before that I’d be scared of that happening if we took the tinny outside the reef on a good day. Obviously it happens!

We are seriously considering coming back for a month next year after we’ve been to Denham-if we come back to the west next year. The fishing here is so good and certainly outweighs the slight isolation of the park.

Manta Rays

Tuesday and today have been two of the best days out on the reef so far. We have a couple with three small children behind us and as the kids are early risers, so are we. It’s been good as we’ve been out on the water not long after 8 the last two mornings.

The wind has been really light, the water still and crystal clear. It’s amazing when we fish over the coral.

Yesterday as we headed out, we spotted what we at first thought were fish, then dolphins, then sharks, then as we got very close we finally realized they were giant manta rays. We counted 8 of them all over 3 metres across. They were either fishing, mating or just enjoying the warm sunny morning.

The flat water has made it much easier to spot a number of dolphins and scores of turtles cruising by checking us out. Some of them are huge too.

We’ve managed to catch good feeds of fish both days and on our way home today, I caught a very big squid on a hook using squid as bait. It was fortunate (for me, not the squid) as that piece of bait was our last squid from Denham.

Cape Range National Park 2008

Cape Range NP

Sunday 13th, we went out to the Cape Range NP. We didn’t go last year, so it was a good drive. We’d forgotten how spectacular its gullies and gorges are, and the stunning colour of the rocks. The higher points give beautiful views up and down the Gulf of Exmouth too. I drove as Russ did last time (2 years ago), and was really happy to see they’ve put up new rails in the very steepest, narrowest part of the road. It scared the crap out of Russ last time, so I figure I got off easy!


The road through the bottom of the park was closed due to rain damage (a few months ago!) so we couldn’t go there. Instead we drove back into town and checked out the new canal development. It’s looking very empty and very very expensive so far. I think that three houses are completed and about 2 started since last year. The money however seems to be being poured into it still.

Kailis Prawn Trawlers


On the way out to the park we stopped and bought fresh bread rolls, then at Kailis’s shop we bought fresh cooked king prawns. We peeled our prawns and put them through a mayo, sweet chilli, spring onion mix then piled them into the rolls and ate them for a yummy picnic lunch. We wonder what the rich people do sometimes!

The Soak Picnic Ground


Sunday night, we went over and had a roast dinner at the camp “restaurant”. It was done by the same people as last year and still no better but at $14 for the two course meal, I figure we got what we paid for. I enjoyed the two families we sat with-one from Mandurah and the other from Groote Island in NT. It was especially interesting talking to them about their life there.

Yardie Homestead CP 2008

Sand Dunes Across the Road From Yardie Creek Homestead

We arrived at Yardie Homestead on Thursday 3rd July after a couple of nights in Carnarvon. I’m not all that fond of Carnarvon, but it’s a great place to stock up with groceries at Woolies and IGA and to buy all the wonderful fruit and veg that’s produced in the area. We came away with tomatoes, bananas and avocados in various stages of ripeness. We bought zuccs, pumpkins, eggplant, red and green capsicums, herbs, corn, and pink grapefruit. The stuff is cheap at the farm gates and so fresh you can’t believe it.

Yardie has been a bit windy to do much. We got the boat off the car on Thursday night and put it in on Friday (4th) morning, but gave up after a couple of hours as it got too uncomfortable to fish. It’s a real shame as this is probably the best fishing spot we ever visit. Yesterday we sat around and did nothing. I get a bit bored, lonely and homesick if we can’t get out and fish or do something, soon Sunday (7th) we decided to get moving and go on the boat trip at Yardie Creek Gorge about 55ks from here. It was really good, not long, but very pretty and well worth the drive through the national park. On the way home, we stopped at a secluded beach and had a picnic-stras and leftover ratatouille-simple but so yummy. We’d taken our snorkels and masks along, but the wind was whipping up little waves and it just didn’t feel warm enough to swim.

Yardie Creek


I don’t know if it’s cooler this year, but we are still using our doona and I haven’t had a sleeveless shirt out in a long time. Maybe we are getting acclimatised!

Tuesday the 9th, we braved the wind and headed out fishing for the afternoon. It seems we weren’t the only ones suffering with cabin fever as the boat trailer car park was packed. It was rough out, but still better than just sitting at home for yet another day.

We caught heaps of fish-lots of my favourite, Charlie Court Cod, lots of various emperors and an amazing array of fish that should be in an aquarium. The most interesting of these were a triple tailed wrasse, a hinge jaw wrasse and a blue fish we have only ever caught at coral bay (he was about 4 times the size we usually see). We also caught bigger than normal rabbit fish and leather jackets.

Hinge Jaw Wrasse


We kept 4 Charlie Court Cod and two emperors (a sweet lip and some other variety!). That gave us dinner last night and two feeds in the freezer. Russ made us THE best home made fish and chips I’ve eaten in years last night with two of the CCC’s.

When we were in Perth, we bought two portable gas cookers (the ones that use the disposable cans of gas) to use here, and we have discovered they cook the best fish, chips and steaks! The park has very limited power supply and we can’t use our aircon, oven, hotplates, microwave, toaster, jug, sandwich maker or a hair dryer (not much of a worry to me with my hair). The van has a 4 burner stove, but after 2 ½ years of cooking outside, I can’t bring myself to start using it much. We sometimes boil our water and cook a bit of rice or our veg in here, but that’s about all.

Thursday and Friday mornings, we went out early and had a fantastic time. The water clarity was amazing and with the lack of wind (and waves) the reef was beautiful. I love it when we see all the tiny fish and the ones that steal our bait or we eventually hook. Thursday, we came home with a great feed of CCC and Red Throat Emperor-too much for us, so we gave one feed away to neighbours George and Margaret. They’ve been coming here for years and fish quite successfully off the beach but had never caught or tasted CCC as they live amongst the coral so you need a boat to get them. (Or maybe the neighbours tell everyone that and are kept in CCC ;-)!)

Fishing for Red Throat Emperor in 3 Metres of Water!


On Friday, we went fishing again, but just to go out on a beautiful morning. We released all we caught and took photos of any interesting reef fish we brought up. If anything, the water clarity was better than the day before. We headed in around 12.30 and after a quick shower headed to town to do some shopping (especially needed disposable butane to keep cooking!) We lunched in town at the Chinese and enjoyed it so much (both had delicious noodle dishes) that we’ve decided to do it again when we are in there. It’s almost 40ks to town, so it needs planning.

Dinner on Friday night was a recipe by my friend Jules in Queensland called Trinidadian Lime Thyme fish. We marinated our previous days catch (or part of it) in lime, thyme and dark rum, cooked off an onion and garlic then added two chopped, skinned tomatoes, cooked them down and added the fish, marinade, s&p and chopped coriander. It was amazing over rice and I wish I could eat it again tonight but I can’t as we have some steak about to slide past its use-by date.

After two near perfect days, the wind is up again and we can’t go fishing. So, today is a day of rest. Russ has done a load of laundry and now we are relaxing. Tomorrow looks like more of the same, with the weekly roast dinner put on by the park to look forward to, and then Monday is supposed to be a better day. That works well for us as we’ll be ready for more fresh fish by then.

It’s school holidays here in WA at the moment and the park is chock-a-block full of people. They’ve just started to develop some more sites out the back near the old shearing shed and we reckon there are 50 tents or vans over there without power. It’s making it hard to get a hot shower (actually even a coldish shower is a win) and the boat ramp and trailer park are so busy and full it’s amazing. Anyhow, the madness will be over in a week for another few months.

Carnarvon for a Couple of Nights

Yesterday was our last day in Denham. We headed out to Monkey Mia to go crabbing one last time and were happy to come home with 21 good sized ones-so were Beatty, John and Jan and Brice who all got a few each. North of Carnarvon the blue crabs stop and we won't be going to mud crab territory this year.

Russ packed up the boat and trailer while I cooked and picked crabs, then I made a potato salad for dinner. I used 3 of our beautiful smoked tailor filets in it and it was yummy. It was to share at a final BBQ with our neighbours Beatty and Charlie (Mutard), their friends Mary Jane and Alex, John and Jan, Ron, Carmel and Craig and Brice and Wendy. It was a really fun night.

It was sad saying goodbye to everyone this morning. I don't think we've ever had so many people turn out to see us off. We left around 10 and stopped once for our lunch (fresh bread and crab sandwiches) then arrived in Carnarvon around 2.30.

It was a lovely drive out of Denham to the highway then on to Carnarvon. It's the third time we've done it in two years and this time was the best. There has been lots and lots of rain recently, so lots of water around still, lots of new greenery and wild flowers already. We saw lots of varieties of everlasting daisies.

After quickly setting up, we headed to Woolworths for a much needed big shop. Tomorrow we'll do our usual trip around the North and South River Roads to pick up our fresh fruit, veg and herbs. We had an easy tea of sausages and leftover salad and were just settling down to watch a bit of TV when the lights went out for a couple of hours. It happened about 3 nights ago in Denham too.

Thursday we are going on to Exmouth, then out to Yardie Creek Station Caravan Park for a few weeks.

Fishing

Friday, Russ and Brice got the boat ready and we headed out to give it a run. We weren't really going to catch fish (or not a lot of fish) so were pretty happy to come home with 6 tailor, 1 black and 1 pink snapper. It was my first time trolling for tailor, so I enjoyed that. We were only in a couple of metres of water, circling a small island (big rock?) and each circle caught us a tailor. We brought them home and Russ smoked them for us and Brice. I made a lovely fish pie from the last one Russ caught and smoked earlier in the week.

A Big Pink


We left around 11am and were back around 3, stopped for lunch in a very pretty spot and just had a nice time. I loved seeing Eagle Bluff, Fowler's Camp and a number of other spots we've driven to, from the water this time. It was an overcast day that threatened rain all the way out (and did on the way home) but the water was steel grey and like glass.

Denham and Wind, Wind, Wind

Sunset from Escapade


Russ and neighbour John took the boat out on Wednesday 21st and came home within the hour with 2 pink snapper-must be over 50cm and can only keep one each, and 3 black snapper. We had fish and chips for dinner and I think it was the best snapper I've ever eaten!

Thursday, Russ and I headed out hoping to do it again. The wind blew up and we had to turn tail and go home. It blew non-stop shaking the van and flapping the awning and driving us crazy. Finally it slowed and on Sunday afternoon we managed to get out for three hours. We caught a size black snapper, two big squid and threw back four sharks. If we hadn't got out, we'd have gone stir-crazy. Strong wind is as bad as rain in the end-you can't do anything. We tried to play mini gold Saturday, but it was shut.

Yesterday-Monday-we went out fishing again. I caught two sharks. The largest was about a metre and he and his mate are both flake in the fridge now. Russ caught a size black snapper and a good sized sailor which he is smoking as I write this.

We got back, cleaned our fish, had showers and went out with other neighbours Beatie and Charlie at 5.30pm for a sunset sail on the catamaran Escapade that is moored in town. It was a gorgous calm evening, with not a breath of wind, so we went out under motor. After sunset, we headed back to a mooring some way off the jetty and stopped for a sausage sizzle, drink and beautiful views of the town. We got home from a wonderful evening around 8 and it cost us a tiny $35 a head. Highly recommended by all of us.

Denham Looking Like fairyland from Escapade

Crabs

Yesterday we braved the wind and went out crabbing again from Monkey Mia. We came home with 12 beauties which we divided between ourselevs and neighbours John and Jan (Carmel and Ron got the last ones). We froze the meat from three and are having baked garlic crab tonight (one of my favourite crab dishes).

We had better luck than the three men we met as we launched the boat. They were just coming back after loosing 10 pots and 15 crabs to the fisheries inspectors for crabbing within the recreation zone that surrounds Monkey Mia (800 metre arc with the jetty as its centre apparently). They had to go and video a statemnt to be shown in court as they can't be there. Lucky we met them as we didn't know the rule although we haven't crabbed in that close fortunately.

It amazes me we'd never tried crabbing out there before, but I suspect it goes back to when we were new at it and I wasn't quick enough hauling the pots up. I feel very skilled at it these days and can tell by the weight of the net if I have a crab in there and hardly ever loose one out of the pot as it comes up.

Tonight we are going to the bowling club for a "social roll" with all neighbours around us, tomorrow we are fishing, then having a casserole tea and sunday night it's a roast at the bowling club. I tell you what, this life is all go ;-)

We got a yesterday message from friends Ron and Irene who we met at Molloy (near Augusta) 2 years ago, and they will be in Coral Bay the two weeks we are there. It'll be great to see them again as they are a really nice couple that we had a lot in common with. Ron made me laugh when we first met him and he told me I was very nice for a Victorian!!!!!

Denham

Day 9 in Denham, we were able to get out at Monkey Mia to crab. We've had a couple of days of big wind and rain and haven't been able to do anything, so it was lovely. Denham has had as much rain in 3 months as they'd had in the 3 years previous, so it's looking great.

Fishing for bait, and then crabbing, was slow ( 5 crabs in 3 hours), but just as we decided to head for home with enough crabs for our dinner (crustless crab quiche) we pulled the pots up and caught 6 crabs out of 7 pots (lost one pot to someone running over the line). We caught 3 small sharks in the pots today, and had a dolphin and calf come visit us for a very short while.

Our neighbours Ron, Carmel and Craig were happy to get 6 nice big cooked crabs tonight!

Squid

Yesterday we took the boat out to Monkey Mia in the hope that the wind would be blowing in a different direction to here. It wasn't, so we brought the boat home, ate our lunch and made our curry for dinner with the neighbours that night.

The wind finally dropped, so at 1.30 we put the boat in at the town boat ramp and headed out. It's very over fished, so we never bother to do that, but had a bit of cabin fever so needed to go out somewhere.

We caught a lot of fish-undersized or rubbish, and were pulling a couple in when two big squid turned up to investigate. We've never caught one, but Russ clipped on a jig and we soon had the pair of them in the boat. Dan rang and gave us a run down on cleaning and Russ found ours were huge compared to most that others have been catching lately. We could have caught another two about an hour later, but needed to know we could deal with these two first (and if the neighbours would eat any spares!).

The End of a Pleasant Afternoon


Last night we had curry with our two nearest neighbours-we all brought a dish along to share. It was great. For entree I took a hot crab and artichoke dip that they all went nuts for. They'd all eaten crab, but only fresh picked on bread and butter-never in a recipe. Our neighbours Ron and son Craig are keen bowlers and we are all going up for a roll next week which might be fun.

The night before last, we had a couple from Sale arrive opposite us. They are Rob and Jeannette Howie and he was originally from Warragul, they are dairy farmers and know heaps of people we do (Mike Weisse, Jo Crosby, Ann Adams) and Jeannette bought Rob one of my dad's border collies for his 40th birthday almost 20 years ago!.

Crabbing at Monkey Mia

Russ and I took the boat over to Monkey Mia and did a bit of crabbing today-a first for us actually. The first pot we dragged up came undone and we lost it Grrr, but we managed to catch 8 good sized crabs in the remaining 4. We also caught a gummy shark who is now flake in our freezer and a real toothed but tiny shark. We think there may have been more small sharks around today as we had a lot of bait stolen over the morning.

We were both very excited when a dolphin arrived and spent about half an hour with us right by the boat. She took a couple of fish right from Russ's hand and swam around and under the boat looking at both of us. It was truly amazing.

Northampton to Denham

WA's First Government Railway Station


Thursday and Friday night we stayed in Northampton (about 60ks north of Geraldton). It's a little old town on the highway and boasts some beautiful old churches, pubs, museum, a convent and WA's first government railway station. It has a small main street with a few specialty shops and everyone there seemed so friendly. We stayed in the only park which has just changed hands from the shire to private ownership. It was obviously really run down and the new owners of a week were working non-stop to clean it up. There was an on going battle to stamp out free campers and locals short of water using them in the park.

We drove on to Denham yesterday and arrive here round 2ish. It was lovely to see the country looking so much better after all the recent rain. It's really a huge difference to this time last year when it was so dry and depressing. The big grevillias have massive flower stems on them already, so they (and all the other wild flowers) should be amamzing in a couple of months. We stopped off at Shell Beach on the way in and had our lunch and finally (after two years) got some photos of it. The "beach" is actually millions of tiny clam shells that are washed up there. When it rains, the shells calcify and set as hard as rock-there is a mine further up the beach where they cut out building blocks. Several local buildings are made with them, and the surface of this park is made of loads of loose shells that they bring in each year.



It was nice to pull into the park and be remembered, nice to have an en-suite for the month and lovely to see Ron, Carmel and son Craig (our neighbours last year). We had said as we left last year that we wouldn't be back this year, but Ron reckoned a couple of days ago that we would. Well here we are. I wondered who had died to allow us to have a hotly sought after ensuite and it seems Bluey and Joyce who "always" have this site aren't well enough to come up this year. Apparently though, they'll be back next year (Bluey will be 88 by then!)

We popped up and had a cuppa with Harold and Delys this morning and filled each other in on the last 12 months. They were also suprised to see us back this year. It's the third year in a row for us now, so I guess we can (almost) be considered regulars.

On the Road Again

After 9 fantastic weeks in Perth, we left Wednesday for our winter in the central west fishing. It was hard to go becuase we realise it's the first time in many, many years we've had so much family all in one place (and it will probably never happen again).

Our departure was delayed when we discovered one of the van's stabilising legs had seized up. Russ had to remove it, drive to the suburb of Welshpool to get a new one, then come home and fit it. I wasn't too upset as it gave me more time with Dan, Verity and Kobie who had come over to say goodbye.

We had an easy drive to Dongara where we'd planned to book into the Big4 we have stayed at several times before. It came as a bit of a shock to find it booked out. We ended up staying in another park closer to town-it wasn't as sparkling clean but it was fun. We could have stayed for free if we'd taken the boat off and taken the manager out craying, but it's too much like hard work for a couple of days.

Today we drove 110kms to Northampton (just passed Geraldton) where we'll stay a couple of nights. This park looks a bit tired too, but just changed management a week ago and they are working their butts off to clean it up. You could eat your breakfast off the ablution block floor. It cost us $20 for the first night and $15 for every one ofter that. It's $2 for a load of washing. It's cheap.

Coming through Geraldton, we stopped and bought 3kg of tomatoes, 4 large green capsicums, 2 fresh corn, 2 zucc, a bag of apples and a pumpkin for $11. Here in Northampton we bought honey, grapefruit marmalade, organic oranges and lemons for $15. I reckon we have enough food to tide us over for a very long time now!

Tomorrow we are going to pack a picnic and go out to Horricks Beach to have a fish and check it out for next time we are up (or down) this way. We've heard it's excellent and the park out there is good too.

Sunday we are booked at Shark Bay (Denham) for a month and I'm excited to have an ensuite again as I love that part of the park. Brice will be arriving for about the last 10 days of our stay.

Perth-the Last Day

Kobie 6 Weeks Old


Tomorrow we head to Denham for the month of June. We'll stop in Dongara tomorrow night and try to catch up with Gary Shanahan in Geraldton for a couple of nights after that. I went to primary school with Gary and we met him in Bitter Springs NT last year.

We had dinner and spent the night with my Recipezaar friend Pat Friday night which was great-lots of yummy seafood, good wine and much talking. Saturday we had a quiet day at home, then Sunday Dan, Verity and Kobie came over and I cooked us all Indian (coconut curried veg, quail in Indian spices, butter chicken and rice) AND I made dessert-a raspberry trifle cake (which was yummy).

On Monday (yesterday), Dan and Verity brought lunch over here then we went to their place for dinner last night. Dan cooked us Guiness stew and garlic mash, then we had apple crumble. I got to bath baby Kobie which was very grandmotherly for us both!


Blair flew to Melbourne last Monday for work and Leah joined him on Friday. They found themselves a three bedroom townhouse in South Yarra to rent so are very pleased with themselves. It has a couple of courtyards and they are able to take the dog and cat which has thrilled Leah. It's a gorgeous house and we can't wait to sit the pets for them. Blair starts work next week, Leah will join him two weeks later.

Todd is most likely moving into an apartment here in Perth and this house (with its perfect van park) will be rented out-he's been offered the next job like his that comes up in Melbourne. Mick is moving back to Warrnambool at the end of August (and then flying to South Africa and the US) and Dan and Verity will move to Melbourne when his restaurant is sold they think. So most of our family are on the move again. I'm so glad we got to spend all this time in WA and all this time with the boys, partners, babies dogs and cats! I'll miss them all so much and I'll miss the pool, high speed wireless internet, foxtel and the food channel!

I'm busy washing bed linen and matress and pillow protectors while Russ shops, then tonight we are off out to The Tamarind with Blair, Leah, Todd and Chris and Carly.

Perth

We got 4 new tyres yesterday (well, 3 and put the spare on for the first time). Russ hit a power pole backing the car out of the tyre place though which was a bit of a nusiance. We also took the car into a Nissan dealer close by as it was idling fast again (which is usually the lead up to it cutting out). They identified the problem with the retro fitted cruise control and fixed it immediately. It was great as we've had it into two other dealers who couldn't find the problem.

Our microwave is repaired and re-installed in the van and Russ saw a dentist today. He has another appointment on Friday. Tomorrow I see a dentist which is lucky since that tooth broke again. Tomorrow the rear bumper is getting repaired.

Mick and Verity will be over for dinner tomorrowe night (Leah and Todd won't be home) then Friday Russ and I are sleeping over at Pat and Chris's place (Pat is my recipezaar buddy). Sunday Mick, Dan and Verity will be over for dinner again, then we'll be off up north Tuesday or Wednesday. So it's a very busy time between now and leaving!

Perth

It was lovely to get home to Perth and see all the boys, Leah and Verity and Kobie.

Last night we went to Piccolo in North Perth where Dan started two weeks ago as head chef. We went along with Verity, her parents Greg and Gaynor, grandmother Bet Bet, Mick, Allan and his partner Jill. It was a great night and I'm so proud of Dan and his food.

He sent out a delicious antipasto platter (two actually) that included duck, quail, chorizo, spiced prawns, pate, Persian fetta and olives, then I had slow cooked pork belly with a salt and rosemary rub, Russ had 1kg of chili garlic mussels, then a cheese platter whil I chose an oven roasted merlot pear.

Kobie has grown heaps since we went away and it was lovely to see him again.

We have a busy week this week with tyres for the car, dentist appointments and some stuff for the kids to do. Lucky I made the dentist's appointment as my tooth fell to bits again last night!

Kuala Lumpur

Our last day of the holiday was spent using the last hours of the Hop On Hop Off ticket. We caught the bus to China Town and had a lovely time looking around there. We had to laugh at one Aus couple who took a look at the place and decided not to get off the bus!

We got home round 2.30 so Russ headed down to the the pool while I decided to stay inside in the aircon. It's quite a bit hotter here than Langkawi and I needed a rest after all the walking over the last two days.

KL is great with its mix of old colonial buildings, huge modern sky scrapers, ethnic areas and great shopping and food. It’s so much cleaner than Bangkok and I find it more interesting than Tokyo. I wish we had an extra night or two so we hadn't had to pack so much into our two days. e liked to take a tour out of the city to have a look. I asked for our hotel to be situated near cheap eateries and shopping malls and I don't think it could have been better placed for those.

Kuala Lumpur

We went down to breakfast (which was great), then back up to our room intending to send another e-mail about the stuff up yesterday. The front desk rang before we’d done it to let us know they had sorted it all out and had been paid. It certainly made us feel better. Looking back to day one I Langkawi, we wonder if the two rooms there was where the mistake happened.

The KL Cat Man

While we were walking around, we came across the KL Cat Man who rescues cats. He encourages you to stop, pat the cats and ask questions and then give a donation if you wish. We gave 5 RM which seemed to please him a lot and he was very happy to talk about his 72 cats and explain a few things to us. I had wondered why so many cats have bob tails and now know they are related to a Japanese breed.

KL Tower


After that we went and did a bit of shopping, then walked to the KL tower to take a look. As we headed up the hill to it, we spotted a Hop On Hop Off double decker bus and after visiting the tower we bought our tickets and off we went. The tower has fantastic views and as usual we got the audio to go along with it so it was really good. The bus ticket was so cheap (especially with Russ being so old) and they are valid for 24 hours. It's a great way to get around and we have used the buses in Rome, Paris and London. We like the bit of commentary you get along the way.

It was 1.15 when we got on the bus and around 5.15 when we got off and went and did some more shopping before dinner. Kuala Lumpur has some amazing shopping centres and there are 5 huge ones right near here (we visited three today). In the one we’ve been to twice, there are 100 new stores on level 6 alone. While we aren’t big shoppers, we really love window shopping and comparing prices to home, so find it very entertaining.

Russ and an Indian Blue Ringed Parrot


Along the bus route, we stopped for 1 ½ hours at the KL Bird Park. It was pretty good as it contained mostly Asian, Indian and Northern Australian birds in reasonable conditions mostly.

A Flock of Flamingos


We also stopped off at the KL twin towers but were too late to get a ticket-there is a big demand for the free tickets to the observation bridge that runs between the two towers.

KL Petronas Twin Towers


After shopping we found a Moroccan restaurant close to our hotel. It was really, really good. I especially loved the hommus, baba ganoush, tabbouleh and fattosh we had with warm flat bread for starters. We followed that with chicken biryani, lamb tajine, more bread, and lemon and mint juice. All this cost us $32. We haven't been to one since we were in NZ with Todd, Ryan and Blair and this was equally as good. It was pretty entertaining too when the gay Malaysian waiter threw a huge hissy fit, stripped off his waiting clothes, changed and flounced out! Our order got a bit mixed up after that and I had eaten a few mouthfuls of delicious lamb biryani before it clicked that I'd ordered the tajine.

KL Tower from Outside Our Hotel

Kuala Lumpur

We had a good flight to Kuala Lumpur and were met at the airport by our Mayflower driver. It’s a big drive to the city-45 minutes down toll ways at speeds mostly round 120kmh so I imagine it was 60 or 70ks. We passed lots of coconut plantations and lots (and lots) of new housing (thousands and thousands of apartment buildings and townhouses). They were scary in their sameness.

On arrival at the hotel, we were really impressed until we discovered they didn’t have a booking for us! So, we have now had to pay again while we wait (hopefully) for it to be sorted out. The travel company here (Mayflower) claims to have no money sent for accommodation for us in KL, only transfers!

The hotel is way better than we two povey pensioners have ever stayed in before-the bathroom is enourmous and beautiful with lights and mirrors and huge bath and separate shower-the whole thing is as big as a bedroom. We look directly out our tenth floor window at the twin towers of KL. They are amongst the tallest buildings in the world and very beautiful day or night. If we stand right at the window and look left, we can see the KL tower-also very beautiful at night. We also have a monorail station nearby and plan to take a ride on that while we are here. The hotel is right in the middle of a really good shopping (about 5 huge shopping centres) and restaurant district, so now I wish I had more than three nights here!

The View from Our Room

The shops open late, so after finally working out how to connect to the internet, I sent a frantic e-mail to our travel agent in Aus and then we went shopping. We stopped for dinner on the way home and had bbqued pork (the first I’ve seen on a menu), duck, beautiful veg in oyster sauce, rice and prawn dumpling soup, 7up and a Chinese tea for 39RM

Nighttime View KL Twin Towers

Langkawi

Eagle Park


Sunday we drove into Kuah again to do the last of the duty free shopping we needed to do and to take a walk around Eagle Park. Fortunately the rain let up enough for us to do it. I can’t get over how much thunder, lightening and rain we’ve seen and been in, then it clears up for a while and off we go. Then it starts again.

Before we shopped, we took ourselves to a hawker’s centre for brunch. We were the only westerners in there but we did see quite a few Hash House Harriers (and also saw some taking the Mangrove Tour the other day too). I had BBQed chicken with rice and chilli and a clear soup, then fried noodles with chicken and prawns in a soy sort of broth and a lime juice (8 RM for all that) then Russ had a Thai mix of fried chicken and egg, chicken ham, braised garlic vegetables, a chicken and veg dish with salted fish 9so lots of little bits) it was a huge plate for 7.50 MR (or under $3). It was a seriously local, scary sort of eating place and we keep waiting for something to kill us, but so far so good (touch wood!).

We swam for a couple of hours in the afternoon. It rained a couple of times, but was lovely in the water. I’ve really enjoyed a swim every afternoon and although I miss the daily massages by the pool we get so cheaply in Bali, I haven’t missed Linda the nosy, intrusive masseur!

Enjoying the Jacuzzi



We’d picked a Thai restaurant for dinner and headed down town only to find it closed, so had to choose again. We went to another Thai/seafood restaurant Difiqi and were really happy with it. It cost the two of us a tiny 19RM for excellent tom yam soup, chilli chicken, gingered beef 2 serves of rice and 2 lime juices. The servings weren’t large, but the food was delicious and so cheap.

Monday we slept late again, then went down town to the Breakfast Station. We both had roti and curry dip, then I had an omelette (capsicum, onion and mushroom) and Russ had coconut rice with various accompaniments (anchovies, chilli seafood, cucumber, peanuts etc. etc.) an iced lemon tea and lime juice and cost was 23 RM.

After a bit of shopping and very nearly buying myself a pair of Calvin Klein prescription glasses for $190 we returned the car to the hire place. I didn’t buy the glasses in the end as I was worried I might be paying a lot for a fake-cheap if they were real though.

Our last dinner at Cactus was good-we had the duck, coconut curried vegetable, black pepper beef and rice for 59RM.

For breakfast on Tuesday morning, we both had the full English.