14th May 2017–Carnarvon to Onslow

Distance: 498.1 Km

A warning…

I have about 35 litres of water and 20 litres of fuel plus a full tank on board so all should be well.

Tom Tom reminded me this is not going to be a complex journey. (Turn left in 406 km)

For a few hundred k’s the landscape wasn’t complex either but first we finally arrive in the tropics.

It’s a flat dry land with termite mounds as far as the eye could see until, at last, some variation with some ridges and hills.

After the turn off to Onslow some salt pans and signs of industry.

Arrived at the caravan park mid afternoon, checked in, parked and went for a walk.

Almost adjacent to my camp site is the beach and a small park with an odd combination of memorials.

Of course the ANZAC Memorial which apparently faces the rising sun. I hope to be up early enough to check this out in the morning.

Then a tribute to a couple of local fishing boats lost at sea (during a cyclone?)

I have to say the following one struck me as really odd.

Finally a bronze showing where we are.

Then it was a stroll into town, past the pub, General Store (I bought an ice cream), not one but two service stations, the council chamber and the town’s library with it’s own public art.

There was more…

As I returned past the pub I heard some loud voices and laughter (not much) but a WA Police paddy wagon came round the corner. As they stopped outside a young fella just opened the police car’s back door and got in. The policeman got out, opened the paddy wagon door and told the fella to get out of the back seat and into the paddy wagon part which he did, the policeman got back in and drove off. It was the politest and most low key disturbance I have ever seen.

12th May 2017–Carnarvon Capers

Distance: 206 Km
Fuel: 33 L

Out and about by 8.30am. Straight to I Mile Jetty to walk it before the day warmed up. I paid my $5 to be able to go on it at the honesty box near the beginning of the wharf.

It was a long walk but worth it; you seem a long way off shore; there is a problem at the end – it seems to be in danger of collapse.

Near the start of the wharf were some relics.

This is the anchor of the cargo ship Korean Star which ran aground in 1988 during Cyclone “Herbie” and broke up. The crew were rescued by flying fox within 45 minutes.

Back to the main part of town to see where the 3km of tramline to the wharf once started.

Next up I took a 75km drive to Blowhole Point and Quobba, didn’t see a blowhole but did see some terrific scenery and beaches.

Don’t you hate overcrowded beaches? Somebody got there first.

Drove for Ks over the worst dirt road for the biggest disappointment of the day. The cairn erected to HMAS Sydney II. It is pathetic and serves absolutely no useful purpose.

Returned to Carnarvon to visit the OTC Space Museum. The OTC Earth Station had some duties tracking and transferring data on the Apollo Missions. To be honest it was not clear what. Until Earth Stations were built at Ceduna and Moree Carnarvon also transmitted video and telecomms traffic via satellite to the UK and the USA. The dish is obsolete now but right next door is the NBN satellite earth station.

My car sheltering in the shade of the dish.

It was still only mid afternoon so I drove around Carnarvon enjoying the sights and taking a walk along the Fascine.

Unfortunately the one thing I could not find was a seafood restaurant that served all day. Oh well, maybe tomorrow.

I do like Carnarvon, it quite appeals to me as a town.

Finally one last photo, The town is on the Gascoyne Delta named after the river that flows to the sea here. This is the mighty Gascoyne River in full flood.

Apparently it is like that most of the time, the exception being when a northern cyclone turns into a rain depression and dumps a lot of water into the river’s catchment then it can become several kilometres wide.

11th May 2017–Denham to Carnarvon

Distance: 345 km

After leaving Denham called in at Shell Beach again (I forgot to take any photos last time) and this time walked much further along the beach. It really is a remarkable beach.

It literally is just a mass of small shells – millions of them stretching for kms.

The sea is exceptionally salty, I put my hand in and once it had dried it was covered in a thin layer of crusty salt.

Walking back to the car I saw what I thought was a straight shadow across he road; except that there was nothing to cast a shadow.

On closer inspection it was a happy band of caterpillars crossing the road holding hands.

Carnarvon

I arrived in Carnarvon at just after 1pm, booked in to the caravan park and went looking for a tyre place for a wheel alignment. Quickly found a Tyrepower shop and was lucky enough to book the car in immediately. While it was being worked on I had a wander about what looked like the centre of town.

Found a tourist information bureau and obtained a map and a brochure on local attractions. I also had the most unusual meal at a local cafe – egg and bacon on a waffle with maple syrup! I had to try it… actually it wasn’t that bad but I think I will stick to egg, bacon, toast and BBQ sauce in future.

Back at camp noticed the old OTC dish was lit up right behind my ‘campsite’. It is due a visit tomorrow – they claim to have been an important part of the Apollo moon landing, I can’t wait to find out why.

(You do know that if you click on these photos you get the full size version – click on your browsers ‘back’ button to return.)

Looks like another night without the news. The problem with digital TV is that it either works or it doesn’t, there is no snowy but watchable picture when the signal is weak just a mass of blocky pixels with an incomprehensible sound track. Oh well, I can always watch a movie.

Some Statistics:

It is three weeks since I set off so here are some facts:

Distance driven so far: 6800km
Fuel: 647 litres of diesel at a cost of: $870
Most expensive fuel: $1.76/l, Average: $1.34/l
Accommodation (Caravan Parks powered sites): $590