Simply The Best

The Best

Coffee –Land of the Pharaohs Cafe, Broome

Pie – (bacon rashers topped with an egg and grilled tomato all in a pie) Kojonup, WA

Camp kitchen/Dining Room – Foreshore Caravan Park, Streaky Bay

Showers – can’t remember but they were hot with plenty of water and a cubicle big enough for all your clothes and room to swing a Great Dane.

Neighbours – a tie for Broome and 80 Mile Beach, both fishermen and both from Albany, WA

Mango Smoothies – The Wild Mango, Kununurra

Park Café – Streaky Bay with Cervantes a close second.

Fish & Chips –Cervantes, Fish & Chip Shop

Bread – Turkish Bread, Esperance

Roadside Camping – WA

Weather – NT

Auto support – Wanneroo Jeep, WA

Sized Camper site –private campsite, El Questro, Caravan Park, Cervantes

Ice-cream – 80 Mile Beach

Hot Spring – Bitter Springs

Museum – Geraldton ( the only one we went into!)

War Memorial – Geraldton for emotional impact

Night Sky – El Questro

Gorges – Ord River, Windjana, Karijina National Park

Boat Ride – Ord River for scenery, Intombi for atmosphere & experiences offered

Things We Learnt Along The Way

Camp showers are often built for midgets.

Never assume the hot tap is the one on the left. Campsite plumbing rules are completely random.

If the campsite is empty, the person who books in after you will set up beside you.

The number of spectators is in direct proportion to the difficulty of the reversing manoeuvre.

One visit to Auto Barn is never enough for the job you’re currently doing.

The light you used last time will have the wrong connection the next time you go camping.

Laughing hysterically at people wearing  “headlight” will ensure that you have one next time you go camping.

A campsite sounds like zips zipping and doors sliding, endlessly.

Bedtime can never be before the Bush Poet has left the grounds.

The first toilet in the row always runs out of paper first, desperate people don’t walk along the line and choose.

Streaky Bay 2 (jumped out of sequence!)

We got up. The wind got up. Yesterday was so nice here but what a difference the wind makes. It blasts straight off the sea and as the other campers seaward of us packed up and left we were more and more exposed. The annexe was flapping about and nothing seemed to stop it so we just decided to go elsewhere. The attractions of Streaky showed some loops you could drive so we went on the Cape Bauer Loop which was a nice drive but the Whistling Tubes weren’t whistling, the Blow Holes weren’t blowing and the Ospreys were obviously staying out of the wind. Looking down from the boardwalk where the Blow Holes were was quite scary with the waves coming in over a giant slab of rock. A boat was just around a bluff in a quieter patch of sea and we saw the “diver below” flag put up but didn’t see anyone go in while we were watching.

Because we’d been told the Cape Bauer Loop was the most interesting we changed our minds about going on the Westal Way Loop and instead decided to check out the Powerhouse Museum but it was closed so then we headed up the road to the Oyster Shed where tours showing all stages of the processing were advertised. A nice young guy there told us they don’t do the tours anymore but we could buy some oysters.

We decided to come back to the Campground, have some drinks and snacks while reading in the lovely big, clean Dining Room. When we reached the Dining Room other campers were already there and ready for conversation & then more arrived so we didn’t read but we did fill in and hour or more talking about different Camper Trailers, campsites and motoring skills/behaviours. After that we walked on the beach so not much to report today. Tomorrow we’ll go to Point Labatt where we’ve been reliably informed there are plenty of Sea Lions to see then we’ll go on to Port Lincoln. Depending on the wind we’ll either stop there or find somewhere more sheltered.

Diver Below

Not sure how the Oyster processing goes but I know they need gloves!