Week 6 heading north
It’s crazy to think we have travelled over 7,700 kilometres to the other side of the country (granted, that’s impressive), yet we are only a quarter of the way up the WA coast.
Perth marks the shift between the familiar and the unknown, the places I visited years ago, with available water and towns close nearby, to the vast spaces of northern WA. We spent only one night here, catching up for dinner at Little Creatures, Fremantle, with another mate, Emma and her gorgeous daughter, Teddy.
Once again, access to a city gave us the opportunity to do some admin and maintenance. This seems to be the routine: time on the road is followed by time mending, replacing or replenishing. I picked up a new phone, we had the trailer looked at for an electrical issue and we stopped in at the mechanic for another matter, along with a grocery shop.
In truth, after time with Christian in Margs, I decided to add to the gear inventory a second fan in the tent. Having lived in Kununurra for six years, Christian reiterated Jeremy’s advice to me: get a fan. It’s gonna get hot! We now have two upstairs in the Tent Mahal, one for me and one for Jeremy, in case the temp does rise.
Every few days we do some kind of necessary reset. Laundry, vehicle and camper maintenance, repacking to account for missing items. Inventory of food to minimise waste, to make sure we use all we have. There's always something to do.
The day we left Perth, the temperature started to climb. We headed to the Pinnacles in Nambung National Park before camping the night at free camp Tuarts Reserve.
The Pinnacles at sunset (or sunrise) are not to be missed. The golden wash of light as the sun disappeared covered the desert sand and rocks in rosy hues. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the energy to walk with enthusiasm and interest. At each point we stopped, I took a few photos, not straying far from the car, whereas Jeremy wandered off through the landscape, cameras in hand, barefoot, absorbed by the beauty of the limestone pillars.
We expected the WA Coral Coast north of Perth to be a snorkelling wonderland. And with plenty of sunshine we did enjoy the temperature of the water but there was a lot of seaweed on most beaches and poor visibility, so we didn't snorkel. It was a bit of a disappointment, but given our experiences thus far, and what we have to look forward to, let’s put that into perspective.
On the upside, sometimes you manage to luck an awesome neighbour in the campground and we met one such neighbour at Sandy Cape, north of Jurien Bay. Seedy of Seedy’s Garden and Lawn Services, Perth, was camping alone and we shared a laugh and a few stories, chatting about weather and gear and how fortunate we are to be in the great outdoors.
I also shared with Seedy and two other campers, Sarah and James from Perth, blue swimmer crabs which a random guy in the Perth caravan park was giving away. He caught them in the morning and had enough himself, so gave them to me, still alive and fresh. I ate mine at Sandy Cape and it was superb. So Tender and yummy.
Our second camp spot in this area was Milligan Island Camping Node, our gateway to a scorching week. Ae drove out to the Stockyard Gully Caves the temperature gauge hit 45 degrees. The caves, on the old North Stock Route and used from the 1850s to around 1925, formed a natural holding pen for stockmen who would drive cattle from Geraldton to Perth.
As we walked along the dry river bed to the cave, the temperature dropped quite a few degrees as we neared the entrance. Standing in the opening, enjoying a break from the heat, we heard the bees high above us, the wind in the river gums and not much else. In the middle of the 300 metre long cave, our head torches off, I imagined hundreds of lowing cattle, horses stamping and dogs barking disrupting the profound, utter darkness and silence many generations ago.
A night in Geraldton at The African Reef on Tarcoola Beach, with a laundry and ensuite for each site, and power, we washed, cooked in preparation for the upcoming Dirk Hartog Island mission. This included trips to BCF to top up gas (we learnt our lesson on the Nullabor), Bunnings, a trailer service and tyre rotation for the car.
The Geraldton highlight came as a surprise in the BCF car park: Alex Street Food. Alex, from Germany, has lived in Gero for seven years after visiting Australia as a backpacker. He travelled back to Germany, studied hospitality then returned to make burgers here. Of course we sampled his fare, a rollercoaster for the tastebuds. We had the beef onion smash burger with caramelised onion and chicken burger, both with the special burger sauce, jalapeños, pickles salad on a delicious bun.
Travelling. Exploring new places and no work. Sounds blissful. For those who have travelled over longer periods of time, this kind of adventure requires everyone to be patient and understanding, flexible and generous as the time on the road can become tiring and trying. Faults are magnified, qualities can disappear from view. We have to constantly remind ourselves to be patient and kind… after six weeks this is true, too, for us.