Moving day(s) as we had to say goodbye to one of the truly spectacular
and magical places we’ve been to. It might start sounding repetitive, but this
one was one of the best. Such a unique place and opportunity, and the kind of
experience B and I had in mind when we started thinking about this whole
adventure.
We managed to get off our site with little to no fuss. It's amazing what can happen when you have a bit of a plan, the right equipment and a little bit of common sense. I think B too was glad we didn't get bogged...
We spun around via the ‘front desk’ to thank Rossco and
Lesley for their hospitality and take a couple of unique pics of the truck and
van nice and close to the water. I sincerely hope this isn’t the last time we’re
at this special location.
Just adding another colour of sand and dirt to wash off the van... eventually.
Not too many colours in this pic, and yet, I love it.
Back out to the front gate we needed to air up the van and
the car which is when we hit a bit of a snag. The compressor hoses wouldn’t
reach the van wheels! Hmm… thinking about it, it was B that came up with the
idea of perhaps jackknifing the car and van to get closer to the wheels. See…
that’s why I married the girl.. sheer brilliance as it worked a treat and saved
a bit of time. Having said that, was still 30min from go-to-whoa to pump up all
8 tyres including the manourvering. Much quicker than unhooking and much safer
and cheaper than driving on under-inflated tyres.
The kids often rotate who helps with the tyres, and this time Sam jumped at the chance. He might have regretted it by the end but I think he understands why we do it. I'm not sure they teach about tyre pressures in Grade 4, but I think he'd do OK if they did.
Our first stop was an overnight stay at Bullara Station, a
working cattle station a little south of Exmouth. A great piece of Australia
and a nice insight into the work involved in keeping the cattle industry
ticking along in this part of the world. We free camped up the back of the
grounds but made absolute full use of the showers on offer.
Nearby cattle. The Big Green Lizard is literally just out of site to the right. This cow I think was a little confused to being on the wrong side of the fence. Was making a hell of a racket. Little did she know...
...we were packing an Evie, the Alpha Female of racket. She went over and sorted them out. She once mentioned that they were speaking human to her, but stopped when others came over. Unique. A little weird. But unique.
This was 'Snowflake'. A very grumpy ram. He wasn't allowed out due to his constant charging of campers! The kids found him interesting though and soon had his measure as he stormed off to the outside section of his pen.
Now… I’ve had some unique showers in my time, but these take
the cake. Woodfired with a bucket for a shower head and tree for towel and
shower rail, it was brilliant. Outdoors, looking up at the stars and moon
having a stonking hot shower… So good….
I'm almost thinking I want a set up like this when we resettle, but something tells me the novelty in a Victorian winter might wear off quickly...
Bullara was a great little stop, with a communal campfire
with complimentary damper cooked by ‘Damper John’ each night, we loved our
stay. A highlight was talking to another travelling family from Perth, as well
as a german backpacking couple into the evening about pretty much every topic
under the sun. Artificial Intelligence, language, arts, crafts, you name it, we
covered it. And I only had one beer… strange.
Kids as usual made friends as if they'd known them for years.
Another brilliant sunset over a cloudless sky.
Up the next morning we headed off but not before scoffing a
serving of the homestead cooked scones and barista coffee. Wasn’t cheap, but
there wasn’t any left either!
Parking the van on the way out to get scones. Looks at home doesn't it?
Was a quick run into Exmouth where we pulled up stumps at
the local RAC caravan park. It wasn’t cheap, but there was little option for us
with bookings later in the week and a desperate need for a washing machine and
some power.
So we set up camp, which practicaly felt like sleeping in
the Melbourne CBD after Warroora and Bullara. Nice sites though and it was
great to feel grass underfoot.
Nice wide sites, no issues fitting in here, other than waiting for the sprinklers to be turned off.
A drive around town left us a little uninspired by the
presentation of the town but the people in the shops were what made it. Ever so
helpful, friendly and accommodating, nothing ever felt like it was too much.
The blokes in the fishing and camping sites were particularly forthcoming with
advice and banter with the kids, and they were rewarded later in the week with
some repeat custom.
Strangely this seat had a weight rating of 60kgs... which meant no adults allowed. Only cheeky boys!
A drive out to the newly constructed marina left me a little
unspired for land based fishing spots but Sam seemed optimistic. But then… he’s
always optimistic when it comes to fishing.
No cartwheels here please Moo...
It looked pretty new the rockwall, and then I realised it probably got torn to pieces by Cyclone Vance in 1999. Might need to check that out. Cyclone Vance for those not in the know landed pretty much on Exmouth and recorded the highest ever wind speed recorded on Australian mainland. Just a lazy 267km/h...
But this would begin our time up on Exmouth region where so
many new and awesome memories were to be made…
Reading Harry Potter outside, but near the bed end so James, who was being silly earlier and sent to bed could hear it if he lay still. Walk in to find James asleep. Nailed it.
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