A Trip to Foreign Parts- August 2018

This trip doesn’t involve the camper – I wanted to get away from the Australian cold so am making a short visit to Malaysia. I haven’t been for three years and this is probably not the ideal time to go as it is the wet season.

My usual Canon camera is playing up too so am making do with a tiny Olympus TG 320 well past its use by date. The following photos illustrate how poor it is when trying to deal with anything other than an outdoor daylight shot.

Am visiting friends in a town called Jitra in northern Malaysia near Alor Setar and not far from the Thai border.

After the flight from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur and an eight hour wait for the domestic flight I was pretty exhausted by the time I arrived but, after a nanny nap, spent the evening visiting the local Tesco for essentials like a six pack of Tiger beer followed by a meal at a popular Chinese restaurant (the camera again showing its shortcomings).

Tomorrow will be a quiet day in preparation for a few days visiting the island of Langkawi.

29th April 2018–Clermont

Distance: 258 km
Fuel: 57 L

Was woken up at 1.40am by some of the park residents returning from their Saturday night frolic, not a problem, it was Saturday night and I went straight back to sleep.

Set off at about 8.30am which seems to be my ‘usual’ time. Only 250km today, because Charters Towers or even the roadhouse at Belyando Crossing is just too much driving to do comfortably in one day.

Stopped at one lookout on the way to view the Staircase Ranges – could see why they are so named but frankly it is not particularly spectacular.

Next stop was Springsure and the Virgin Rock. Have actually stopped here several times before.

Called into Emerald for fuel.

I have been to Clermont a few times but previously stayed at a local motel, there seems to be only one caravan park but there appeared to be plenty of space though it filled up more as the afternoon went on.

After setting up the camper (I had to reverse into place for the first time this trip) went for a drive to see what Clermont has to offer. Apart from mining the town is famous for the 1916 flood when many people were killed and the whole town was subsequently relocated to higher ground.

Reminders of the 1916 flood are well signposted.

20th March–Home again

Distance: 301 km
Fuel: 31 L

Was home about 1pm after travelling mainly on the Hume Hwy as Boorowa is only about 45km north of the Hume.

Total distance travelled was just over 2000km – averaging about 290km each day. I find about 300km a comfortable maximum distance to travel each day taking about three and a half hours driving time which leaves plenty of time for stops and visits each day.

31 Oct 2017–Grafton

Distance: 400.9Km

Left Murrurundi at about 9am driving north on the New England Highway to Tamworth then on to Armadale.

Stopped at Uralla to look at the grave of Captain Thunderbolt the bushranger who was shot nearby in 1870.

At Armadale followed the B78 to Grafton a narrow and winding road but less traffic than the appalling and equally winding Gwydir Highway. There is no way you can get anywhere near the 100kph speed limit for (at a guess) half of its length.

Arrived in Grafton and found the caravan park after a couple of wrong turns which involved lengthy detours to get back on track.

24th May 2017–Broome Day Three

Distance: 30 km

My temperature estimates yesterday were a bit off – Day 32’C Night 19’C.is more like it.

This morning I was shocked to see clouds so I took a picture of them.

Smile

Went to the Visitors Centre this morning to book a cruise if one was available for today. I was lucky and booked a sunset cruise on Roebuck Bay. They would pick me up at 1.40pm at the Visitors Centre.

As it was only 9.30am I had plenty of time to do other things. I returned to Chinatown for a coffee and time to plan the rest of the day.

The Sun Picture Gardens is an open air cinema, the oldest in the world, built in 1913. It is still in almost original condition.

Next up was a visit to Broome Museum because it had a display about the pearling industry and the attack on Broome in WWII. Normally I avoid small town museums because they tend to be just like visiting my Grandmother’s or Great Aunts’ houses but as country museums go this one was quite interesting.

After the museum I had a look at the Pioneer Cemetery and Town Beach complete with mangroves.

In a day when one cemetery is never enough I also visited the Japanese and Chinese cemeteries. One thing I learned at the Broome museum was why there are so many Japanese and their descendants in Broome – it is all to do with pearling – the White Australia Policy and the notorious English test was not applied to Japanese pearl divers however they and their Australian born descendants were all interned during WWII.

Zoomed back to Chinatown for lunch I thought there was a Thai restaurant there but I must have seen it somewhere else (I’ll find it tomorrow). I could only find one Chinese restaurant among all the cafes and bars so I had lunch there – to be fair after I had eaten and was leaving the area I saw at least two others.

Went back to the caravan park for a shower before the cruise. At the back of my camper was a lizard – he scuttled up a tree.

I was only waiting at the Visitors Centre for five minutes before the cruise bus arrived. We picked up the rest of the passengers before driving onto the beach next to the wharf. A launch came from the boat to pick us up.

…and drove right up the beach.

I’d never seen anything like it but the bloke reckoned he bought it ten years ago.

The cruise was quite interesting (in my opinion all cruises I have ever been on go on far too long. Water can only hold my interest for so long). We did see plenty of Snubfin Dolphins, some Flatback Turtles, a Hammerhead shark, a Dugong and some fish – the first photo is Batwing Fish (or something like that). I have lots of photos of empty water but these are a few with something visible.

The turtles, shark and dugong got away.

It was a sunset cruise…

21st May 2017–Sandfire to Broome

Distance: 319 km

The worst day of driving of the trip. I kept falling asleep. In the end I virtually had to stop at every parking bay, get out and walk around. Can’t understand it, I had a really good sleep last night yet I seemed to be constantly fighting to stay awake.

Stopped at the Roebuck Roadhouse just over 30km from Broome for something to eat (two sausages and two kebabs) and a coffee before continuing on to the Broome Caravan Park. The lady in charge looked at my camper asked what power I used when I told here just a kettle and TV she booked me in as a camping powered site for $22 a night (I like Broome already). Not many people in the park.

Set up my camp, discovered I was dying of thirst so had two cups of tea, then went for a swim in the pool.

It is a calendar month since I set out – just noticed that fuel and accommodation costs are running neck and neck at around $1000 each and that I have driven nearly 9500km since leaving home.

16th May 2017 – Onslow to Tom Price

Distance: 489 km
Fuel: 53 L

One of the things I like about this camper is how easy it is to pack up when you need to leave a site – literally the biggest job is dismantling the TV aerial. I had a fair distance to travel today so I was ready to move just after 8am.

The first part of the trip was retracing my steps south for 100km before turning off toward the Hamersley Range and Tom Price the mining town. It was nice to get away from the flat coastal plains.

I was soon set up at the Tom Price Tourist Park. Even got some laundry done.

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

10th May 2017–Monkey Mia

Distance: 60 km
Fuel: 26 L

Got up just after 6am, showered, had breakfast and set off for Monkey Mia at about 7.10am to be at Monkey Mia before 7.45am for the dolphins.

Emus wandering through the car park.

We waited for the ranger at the ranger station meanwhile, in the water, so did the dolphins who have, over many years, successfully trained humans to stand in a line at the water’s edge and feed them fish.

Finally we were allowed down to the waters edge to get closer to the dolphins.

The ranger told us about the dolphins and the history of Monkey Mia which was quite interesting but I must admit after a while my interest waned somewhat and I wandered off to take other photos

Even a spider.

Finally the feeding of the dolphins by selected members of the public.

It would have been a lot more interesting if it was the feeding of the Tiger Sharks who prey on the dolphins but to be fair I did enjoy it, it just went on too long.
Had a coffee at the restaurant and by the time I finished they were at it again. They feed them up until noon with a minimum 10 minute break between sessions.
I decided to look at other local attractions; I called in to Little Lagoon on the way back. There was a French family parked who were flying a drone watching them passed the time (actually there seem to be a lot of French tourists). The lagoon is circular with a very narrow snake like inlet to the sea.

Back in Denham during the afternoon it was quite windy and this looked a lot of fun.

BTW my theory about fuel being more expensive here than on the highway was sort of correct – $1.33 here, $1.32 on the highway. Ummm…