Heroes of Circumstance

Well, here it is. A Saturday morning in Karratha. I have officially completed all my university work for my degree. Our original plan was that we were going to be planning our 5500km journey back to Kingaroy, across northern Australia on the onset of Summer. But as you may well be accustomed to by now, these plans have changed.

And this is the reason I am writing a blog post on a Saturday morning rather than being hard at study. Not only have the plans been changed they have evaporated into something greater. Karratha has transformed into our final destination…at least for the next few years.

Caleb has received a permanent job with Rio Tinto here in Karratha, so we have decided to tough out the hot, cyclone prone summers, and enjoy the marvellous weather Karratha has to offer the rest of the year for a little while. I too have just achieved employment in town upon finishing my degree.  We have found ourselves among some terrific people, and despite the fact that most of them will move on eventually, as will we, as is the nature of the town, the sense of community here is quite strong. We have seen some remarkable answers to prayer while being here in Karratha and feel this is where God wants us to settle for a while.

So here we are, living in a caravan park in Karratha, with our 12ft Jayco Sprite chained down in preparation for cyclone season that officially starts in November. The temperature during the day is regularly hitting 37 or 38 degrees and is only climbing.

This of course does not spell the end of our adventures, but it is the end of our nomadic travels around this great country for now. I guess that’s why it has taken me so long to announce the end officially on our blog – it’s kind of hard to believe it’s over. Of course, we are still planning a Tasmania trip sometime in the future, and there have been whispers of rumours of an Asian backpacking adventure in the mid to far off future, and there is the ever present threat of holidays at Ningaloo reef, further adventures in Karijini and even Broome. And as many of you may be excited about, we are still heading home for Christmas. But our Australian adventure of towing a 12ft caravan around the country, working in different places for a few months has come to an end. What a terrific ride it has been, and even though it has somewhat been cut short, I have no doubt great things will come from us staying here in Karratha. Thank you for sharing this adventure with us through our blog. I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

Karijini repeat - Dingoes, Red back spiders and Ninjas

Well, I bet you have all been wondering what on earth has happened to those two crazy Mayne kids?? In actual fact we have been keeping ourselves busy in Karratha, almost as far away from Kingaroy that you can get on mainland Australia, at work and at study. But let it not be said that we fail to continue the Mayne Adventure! Remember me telling you we got rained out of an abseiling tour while at Karijini National Park, way back in May? Well, we managed to set aside some times to correct that disappointment. Given that it was mid-semester break and Caleb had a couple of RDOs to use up, we made the most of it and took a long weekend off.

While packing for this adventure, I discovered a red back spider in our food box, or at least it would have been our food box had I not fumigated the female with insect spray. Didn’t think carrying food in that box would be too hygienic after that. Just thought I would let you all know that I nearly died, as the box was under the van, and I was trying to get it out by sticking my hand inside when I couldn’t see…or perhaps I’m dramatising the whole event a little. I tend to do that in this blog.

We left on Wednesday afternoon, took the Rio Tinto Rd short cut. Drove part of the way next to a massive train carrying iron ore. Yep, that would probably make its way to China and build up our economy. Scenery was spectacular though. It was along this road that we managed to spot three dingo puppies – they were so cute!

Thursday was our abseiling tour. I am hoping to upload a video of it. They gave us all the photos and videos they took throughout the day, but the video they did at the end was really long, so I will cut it down a little and post it up here another time (when I have time to do it). It was spectacular. In my opinion, Karijini National Park is one of Australia’s best kept secrets. It is amazingly beautiful. Breathtakingly stunning. My use of adjectives may be superfluous but I believe they are warranted.

We did the tour with four other people and a guide who looked a lot like Russel Coigt (lucky for us it was only by looks that he reminded us of him!) The water was cold, so we were dressed in wetsuit tops and pants – transformed into Karijini Ninjas! We climbed down one gorge (Knox Gorge) which got really narrow. We had inner tubes that we were pushing along in front of us, and we came to a water fall 8m high that was a natural slide. We slid down. Then abseiled down another 5m waterfall, before scrambling out of Knox gorge into Red Gorge – the biggest, with green water and red cliffs lining it. We then paddled on the tubes (totally the next Olympic sport) 1.2km to a place called Junction Pool. It is here that four gorges meet. We had seen it from a lookout on our previous trip and it was great knowing that we were at the bottom. We then climbed up another narrow waterfall, through a place called the Centre of the Earth, to come to another pool we had to rock climb around and up. After that it was a mere spider walk and a couple of climbs out of a different gorge (Hancock). I have put a few photos here to give you an idea.

 

It is difficult to describe these gorges though, they are unique and incredible. Nothing we have seen (or I have seen) in Australia rivals them. The rocks are in layers, perfectly straight, broken off at right angles. The water is crystal clear and has a gorgeous emerald colour. There are intricate patters and designs on the rocks and it is just so much fun to do the walks!

We were lucky enough to be able to share the rest of the trip with a couple we have met through the Baptist Church. It was great to be able to spend some time with people, get to know them and have a great time swimming and trekking through these gorges. We also met a nice German couple on the abseiling tour, and Caleb took the opportunity to invite them around and educate them on Australia. After a glass of wine or two, I was game enough to recite a German poem I learnt in grade 5, and they actually understood what I was saying! We had a great night that night, sitting around a fluoro light, watching the bugs fly so fast that they look like lines, gazing at the stars and the biggest Milky Way you have ever seen!

For more photos, check out the side bar of the blog (as well as Facebook) where I will be putting some photos shortly. It really is magnificent.

We have come back to our van now, after a great four days with friends and nature. Back to work and study. Only 5 weeks left of this semester for me, and after our little interlude, its time to get cracking and knock this degree on its head!!

A Hike, A Misadventure and Dust…Oh the Dust!

Since repairing our car in Broome we have managed to cram an awful lot of adventures into a short space of time. It is hard to believe only two weeks have passed since Broome when I reflect back on hikes, canoe trips and an incredible amount of dust. So for this particular blog post, my advice is this: grab a coffee and maybe a snack so you can settle in (and buckle up) because she’s gonna be a big one!

The Hike



Trekking the Bungles

 The Bungle Bungle Range is one of Australia’s more recently discovered landmarks. Only made a national park in the 1980s, it’s only about 100km off the main highway. Bit of a 4WD to get there – something like 14 river crossings comes to mind. Nevertheless, a truly unique part of the country. Upon arrival we discovered an overnight hike that can be undertaken into Piccaninny Gorge.  Normally we shy away from overnight hikes as we did not carry our hiking gear with us on this trip. But as this one was relatively short (30 odd km return) we decided to brave it with one hiking pack, half a tent, no mattresses and nearly 10 litres of water all up. Yes, I had my share (although, not entirely sure it was a ‘fair’ share) in my day pack as well. Caleb is an absolute trooper and my hero. That’s all I can say. The track itself was actually a creek bed consisting of sand, gravel and rock. Mainly sand and gravel. While this terrain is not conducive to hiking with a ridiculously heavy pack, winding through the domes of the Bungle Bungles is an extraordinary experience. They are pretty spectacular – like giant bee hives. The gorge itself was stunning – red cliff faces that made for terrific puppet shows that night, palm trees and boulders of conglomerate rock. So while there and back again was more than just a fair hike, it was well worth it. The only downside? The tourist helicopters flying over every 15 min or so…
Other highlights of the Bungle Bungle Range include Echidna chasm – over 100m long and incredibly narrow, as well as another (much shorter) gorge walk. Our second night camping in the north side of the park was complete with howling dingoes during the night. We also had a debate on whether or not it was acceptable to call the place ‘The Bungle Bungles.’ All the signs name it ‘The Bungle Bungle Range’ and in Caleb’s mind it therefore should be called ‘The Bungle Bungle’. But as I pointed out to my wonderful husband, there are no signs in the South Burnett (to my knowledge) pointing to ‘The Bunyas’ yet that’s what everyone calls them…Anyway, a mere trivial point of discussion. There are much more exciting adventures to relate before this post is done! So, moving on to the East Kimberley and the Kununurra region…

The Misadventure

All of you who know my husband know that when it comes to camping he is about the most prepared camper who was never a boy scout. Very rarely are we in want when we camp and if we are it is generally because I have forgotten something (like pillows, or oil, or insect repellent, or sleeping bags, or a toothbrush) and not the other way around.


Our Canoe in the early morning Ord River

 We arrived at Kununurra after hoofing it from the Bungle Bungle Range around lunchtime on a Sunday afternoon. There is heaps to see and do around Kununurra so we made a few calls and a few bookings. The first, and most important, was a 3 day self guided canoe trip down the Ord River. Over the phone we were told ‘all you need is food, clothes and sleeping bags – we provide the rest!’. Righto then. We went on with our day, which was a cruise on Lake Argyle (see below) at the end of which we had a glass of wine while watching the sunset and simply did not feel like doing anything particular afterwards. Of course though, we had to prepare for this canoe trip which was beginning in the morning. So we did the shopping and our packing and fell into bed ready to wake up early the next morning. We drove over to the canoe hire company at 6am the next morning where we met our mate Macca. Our mate Macca was your typical Aussie bloke who kindly took us through the barrels we were to load on the canoe and what they included – tent, mattresses, kitchen utensils, ‘fire sticks’ (I can only assume these were meant to be matches), pillows, sheet. He also went though what to expect at the camps – gas cookers, fire pits, platforms etc. We were the only ones going out that day so we would have the campsites to ourselves. Righto then. So off we go to the dam at Lake Argyle where our 55km canoe trip was to begin. We loaded the canoe, proved that we could control the thing without capsizing or arguing and set off on the first 20km of the trip. The first 20km were actually the most fun because the river narrowed at places which meant we barely had to paddle due to the water going so fast. Didn’t see any crocs on the first trip but we did hear quite a few splashes. The only precarious moments were when we leant over the side of the canoe for a drink of water (as we realised we had forgotten water bottles and none were supplied) and when the two tour boats operating would come screaming around the corner making bow waves to negotiate – but even then we didn’t even come close to capsizing (sorry folks, it’s not that kind of misadventure!). We came to a gorge to paddle down and the best part of the day, for myself personally, were the pair of jabirus we saw soaring, gaining height on thermals. They were magical. After a wonderful and fun day of paddling we arrived at the first campsite. A bit shabby to be sure – obviously the canoe hire business does not pay enough to finance simple repairs, but nevertheless, we had the entire place to ourselves, and a loo with a view to boot. We unpacked the barrels and went through our kitchen utensils, checked the gas bbqs, noted that while there was a fire pit, the fire wood was under water. Never fear, gas will be ok. But wait…Caleb, were there matches in that barrel? No. No matches. Ey? They supplied a frying pan, dishwashing detergent and cloth, can opener, peeler etc…but no matches??? It was one of those ‘surely not’ moments. When your stomach is telling you this simply cannot be true. At first it doesn’t seem to be a big deal, but then you realise with two days left on the trip you don’t actually have enough food that doesn’t need to be cooked. Oh no!


Early morning paddle anyone?

 We heard a tour boat approaching, and our mate Macca had told us that he had a good relationship with the tour operators (involving the beer currency of Western Australia I am sure) so Caleb paddled out and flagged it down. No matches on board and apparently no smokers either, but there was a second boat coming in a few minutes, maybe more luck would be had there? So Caleb paddled out to the middle of the river where he was sure to be seen, and in the path of the next boat so it had to stop. Meanwhile, I set about setting up the tent. Going through our barrel with clothes and pillows and sleeping bags…Caleb, more bad news! We forgot the sleeping bags! This was nothing but our own stupidity but still, overcome-able as we had jumpers, towels, a sheet and a tent fly that was used as a substitute. Still unbelievably inconvenient though! Caleb flagged down the next tour boat and out of 30 people, one good Samaritan offered us a lighter. One answered prayer for the day – praise the Lord! Meat was back on the menu! So despite the few things we had forgotten on our own account (sleeping bags, oil) and the things our mate Macca forgot to mention we would need (matches, loo paper, candles for the candle holders, water bottles) we managed to have a fantastic trip. I think we may have cost our mate Macca two cartons!


Herbie's Hideaway

 Day two was by far the highlight as we explored up the off shoot creeks to discover water falls and cascades in seemingly untouched waterways. Magic. Again, no crocodiles but lots of splashes. One such place we ‘discovered’ was a waterfall at ‘Herbie’s Hideaway’. We nearly missed the entrance as it was overgrown with pandanus palms but thankfully there were some land marks to follow. Now, have you ever had one of those moments where things are just a touch to precarious for photos – a little too tense to record? This entrance was one such moment. Not only was it overgrown with palms, but also, golden orb spider webs with some of the hugest orb spiders I’ve ever seen. Literally, 10 or so in a row. Me, being in the front was supposed to ‘use my paddle as an axe to cut down the spider webs’ according to our guide book…but it said nothing about the spiders and I was not going to risk having one run down my paddle and onto me! So began the ultimate game of limbo…ducking under these spider webs, watching them only a few centimetres above your head. I am so glad I was not with my arachniphobic mother! Once we battled the spiders (or rather, avoided them as much as we could!) we paddled till we could paddle no more, then bush bashed until we came to the incredible little hideaway – water falling over red rocks and crystal clear water and better yet – absolutely nobody else in sight! Priceless! Of course, we had to battle the spiders once again coming out, but we found the right line through the maze and all was sweet (we were pros by that stage you see).
Thankfully, the rest of the trip passed without a hitch, and we actually managed to spot some crocodiles slithering into the water, goannas, turtles and all kinds of bird life. So it was a terrific misadventure.

The Dust…Oh the Dust!

The place isn’t that dusty!
All I can see is ‘the cleaner’ from Black Books, waving his clean finger in the air and returning it dusty… “Dirty!”
Up here the dust is inescapable – especially when 4WD-ing with your husband who wants to get to the Bungles quicker than the people in front so he tail gates them…with his window down to ‘enjoy the nice day’. Hmmm. But even so, The other places we visited on this trip where stunning, in true Kimberley style and I will briefly (I promise…briefly!) share them with you now…


Lake Argyle - Like Glass

  Firstly is the largest manmade lake in Australia – Lake Argyle. It’s huge! And beautiful. Dammed in the 1970s, the East Kimberley has more water than home sees in a year probably. They haven’t quite struck gold with their agricultural endeavours, but they are currently giving sandalwood a good go. We did a cruise on the lake and saw the sunset and it was just really lovely. The water is still like glass, and out in the middle, you can’t see the edges. Plus, having had a record wet season last season, there was even MORE water than expected!
Also in the Kununurra region is a station called El Questro. The turn off from the Gibb River Road is on the eastern side. Now this is a station that figured since they had some spectacular gorges on their cattle property, they would profit out of Kimberley tourism. The Wilderness Park is ridiculously expensive ($36 a nite PLUS entrance fee, for a campsite in a dust bowl…a very nice dust bowl by the river though) but boasts some beautiful red-cliff gorges with stunning waterfalls at the end, thermal springs, great escarpments and terrific lookouts. It does encompass all the wonder of Kimberley in a small area and as we were rather strapped for time on this particular Kimberley venture it suited us fine. 

 
Our final stop on our 4 week venture was at Barn Hill. Otherwise known as ‘Grey Nomad Perch of the Year.’  A little south of Broome (we went there on our way back) it is a nice little station stay more than less than half the price of El Questro, on the beach. It was great to have a few nights here to relax before heading back to the hectic second term in Karratha. Didn’t do a lot here, was just nice to be by the ocean, have the ocean breeze, walk along the beach etc.
The Kimberley region is a stunning part of this country – a great illustration of its vast barrenness, but also its intricate and often times hidden beauty. Who would have thought the Bungle Bungle Range had not been discovered until a little over 30 years ago? And all those tranquil places on El Questro, we kept asking ourselves, how many more places are out there hidden from people’s eyes, flowing and magical, just waiting to be glimpsed by us? But for now, it’s back in Karratha, to work and study, work a little more and hopefully, build up enough finances to make is back home at the end of the year before heading south for the Summer. Tassie and Vic - the last destinations on the great Mayne Adventure.
We have been travelling now for over 12 months. It is incredible how much the time has flown and we feel ready to re-enter the work force and contribute to the economy next year. So with our great adventure more than half over, and looking down the barrel of 3-4 months in Karratha, I must apply myself to my final semester of University. This post is adieu for a time, but rest assured, come November (and most probably at certain intervals before that) the Mayne Adventure will be back in full for a final swing!

Typical Kimberley Sceanery

East? No, no, no! West for you my friend!

...Lot's of love, Rodeo.

Well what did we expect after doing 40,000km or so in the past year?


The hills surrounding Karratha

Back to the beginning...We got away from Karratha safe and sound, driving north on the Greath Northern Highway towards Port Headland and we realised we had not left Karratha since our arrival four weeks ago. I guess it's a testament to how much there is to do around Karratha. But passing through Port Headland we were glad we chose the community of Karratha even though it was smaller and rife with FIFO (Fly In, Fly Out) - Port Headland did not appear to be anything BUT industry. Still, it was good to stretch the legs and swap drivers.

Our objective for this trip was to head straight to Kununurra then make our way back through the Kimberley region. We got to the turn off to Derby and decided to break up the approximate 2000km drive by going into Derby, leaving the van for a night and heading along the Gibb River Road to Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek. There are two roads that travel east/west through the Kimberley - the Highway and the Gibb. The highway is for the cautious with a nice sealed road - the Gibb is corrogated gravel. So, as much as we would dearly love to travel the Gibb, after our adventure in Gulf heading to Borroloola, we feel our van would not withstand another such dusting! So the plan is to do both ends.

Bell Gorge

Our adventure to Windjana, Tunnel Creek and Bell Gorge was worth it.To paint a picture for you, the Kimberley region is dry and dusty with grasses and trees just beginning to show tinges of yellow and brown. The landscape is dotted with Boab trees and striking rock ranges with gorges carved into the savannah with pieces of paradise at the bottom. Windjana Gorge - ok, we have seen a lot of gorges on this trip so it  wasn't a wow moment but Bell Gorge was well worth it. The greenest water, perfect waterfall over red rocks - it really was one of the more spectacular waterfalls/gorges we have seen.

Tunnel Creek was different again. Gather round boys and girls, it's time to hear a story about Jandamarra. Before I begin, I will say, travelling through the Kimberley and reading/hearing stories about how the indigenous were treated up here has really shocked me. The British were brutal up here.



Mid way through Tunnel Creek where it opens up briefly



Jandamarra was an indigenous fellow who worked as a tracker for the police force, especially his good friend Richardson. He was a young lad in his twenties and had been ostracised from his tribe for breaking traditional law. In those days local law enforcement were rounding up the tribes for various crimes against pasturalsits, chaining them together and taking them to prison, or simply rounding them up to take them to work on peal luggers. Members of Jandamarra's tribe were rounded up at one stage and to rescue them, Jandamarra shot his mate Richardson in his sleep. For three years after this, he and three of his mates evaded the law by hiding in Tunnel Creek where he met his death at the hands of another indigenous tracker. Now, this took place over 100 years ago so I'm not savvy on the details and the facts - but this is the story behind Tunnel Creek. (More details on Jandamarra here) It's a creek that flows through one of the rocky ranges forming a limestone cave you can walk through to the other side. Self guided wade and completely black in places. Very fun.


Derby itself is not much to look at so we choofed off quickly heading for the Bungle Bungles, 700 odd kilometers down the road. We were 70km into the journey when the car revealed it did not wish to comply with the plan to travel east. We heard a rattle and thought we had unwittingly driven over something invisible, pulled over to discover our power steering pump and cooling fan no longer operational. After much deliberation on the side of the road, trying to determine if the engine would overheat itself if we drove back to Derby, and about 14 grey nomads simply driving past without even slowing down we decided to struggle back to Derby. While driving, the temperature was fine so we decided to head on further to Broome in order to not waste any of our time.

Broome. Let me tell you it is beautiful. At first we were a little shocked to discover that our car parts would take at least five days to arrive, but we soon realised there was plenty to do here. Broome has some incredible pearling history. We visited a pearl farm and were surprised to discover perfectly round pearls are not found naturally, they need to be cultured. We also took a tour of some Pearl Luggers and were shocked at the apalling treatment of the Aboriginals who were considered no more than slaves to the pearl masters, and the hard hat diving technique that claimed 1 in 3 divers on their first dive. I for one would not like to jump from a boat with 120 kilos on me!

View of Cable Beach (west side of Broome)

Broome, while a very popular tourist destination, is still quaint and has bucket loads of character going for it. Japanese and Chinese infuences are very predominant in 'Chinatown.' Back in the day pearling masters were reportedly the richest men in Australia and many of the orignial structures and busineses were built by them. One of these is the little outdoor theatre on the main street. Built in 1916 by the pearling masters (probably in attempt at getting the money the spent on wages back), it is a wooden/corrogated iron structure with beautiful gardens bordering the ourdoor theatre. The screen, not huge but larger than the Kingaroy cinema, has geckos running around it and being interrupted by low flying planes is a regular occurance. Still it has the feel of that 'Old Hollywood Style' and even sells choc-tops! The fourth Pirates movie was well worth the wait to experience this little beauty!

The highlight of this detour however was managing to make it to Cape Leveque. This is another of Australia's secret places - not many people go there because it is 200km one way out of the way. But it is beautiful - red cliffs meeting white sand and crystal blue water and inland thousands of bright yellow wattles, and mangroves lining parts of the coast. Absolutely stunning. We camped the night here, having left our van in Broome and also managed to snorkle in crocodile territory - not something you do every day!

Currently, we are still awaiting the arrival of our car parts before we make the second attempt at heading east to the Bungle Bungles and Kununurra. Who knows, maybe our trusty Rodeo is trying to tell us to hang out in the west for a while longer.

Landing Feet First in Karratha

Just a quick posting to keep you all posted.

Yes, we have arrived in Karratha! Described by some as a distant suburb of Perth (although I'm not sure I agree with this, a little too much of nothingness in between) it is certainly an isolated place - I think even more so than Katherine.

Approximately 1500km from Perth as the eagle flies it is one of the only places you can get decent fresh groceries at half-way normal prices and fill your car up for slightly less than $2 a litre. The Western coastline differs greatly from the east. A tiny fraction of the people, places and probably the sights. Places like Kalbarri, Ningaloo and Karigini are sepparated by arid scrubland and desert.

Now, somehow we have managed to hit strange weather wherever we have gone recently. Here is no exception - I for one am freezing! Granted I understand it's not exactly a pinch on the current temperatures people are experiencing in the 'Roy (yes, I do stay in touch) but we weren't exactly expecting 14 degree mornings. Besides this, when you have spent the last year (or, 11 or so months at least) in sunshine and warmth and gastly humidity the old 14 degrees is a bit of a shock to the system! Still, it's just over a week before we travel north to the Kimberley (Woohoo!) so hopefully we can continue to chase the sunshine!

Caleb and I have both managed to be working almost the entire four and a half weeks we have spent in Karratha. We stepped into jobs the first day we arrived and have managed to find ourselves accomodation which is no easy task in Karratha. After our Kimberly holiday, we have decided to come back here and work for a further 3 months (although given our track record, if I were you, I would not hold my breath!)

It is safe to say that we have landed feet first in Karratha - managed to get out and see Adam Harvey and Becky Cole live, as well as the Melbourne International Comedy Travelling Show despite there being 'nothing to do in Karratha.' Actually, there is even less to do here than Kingaroy - unless you have a boat or want to drive 500km one way for a weekend at Karijini! But we have met some wonderful people and feel that we have been well taken care of here for the time being. But not long now until we hit the Kimberley!

Karijini NP: A Treacherous Shutterbug Paradise

3 of 4 gorges joining at Oxer's
Lookout

I know it's not been long since Ningaloo, but the adventures just keep on coming!

We headed inland to Karijini National Park, where we stayed for a few days. Although we were somewhat hindered by the weather, it is still one of the most spectacular parks we have seen so far. Sure, visitors to Australia think of Uluru, Kata-juta, Cape York, Kakadu etc to all be pretty special and significant. To me, these pale in beauty in comparison to Karijini.










Fortescue Falls - Top of Dales Gorge

The landscape of the Pilbara region is arid and fairly barren. Due to the abnormal rainfall though, the spinafex is quite green at the moment. It's mainly made up of spinafex, small trees, gum lined rivers of waterholes, rocks and mountains. Enter Karijini, home of the Hamersley Ranges, and these mountains are sepparated by the most fantastic gorges. These gorges are red as can be, with crystal clear green water pools that are freezing most of the year.


Caleb on 'Grade 4' Track in
Hancock Gorge

 The set walks are short but challenging - and if you don't do them you really miss out. The gorges get really narrow, at some points almost becoming caverns. Other places you need to scramble over slippery rocks, wade through cold water, rock climb and walk along ledges to navigate to the end.

There is a place at the centre of the park where four of these narrow gorges all meet together. We were planning to go abseiling here, but unfortunately this didn't turn out because of the weather - we had to content ourselves with only going 'so far' into the gorges. Understandable that they want you to stop at certain points - the park is 90km from Tom Price, and should you fall and break your ankle and need rescuing, it can take 10-13 hours before you recieve medical attention at a hospital.






Lisa on 'The Spider Walk'

  Luckily, we avoided injury, but not without a number of 'dumb' moments. For instance, when I, being the shutterbug I am, decided it was a good idea to lean out on a rock over a pool and take a photo of a golden orb spider, lens cap between my teeth, it did not end well. Not a great place for a lens cap - it ended up in the cold water, of which I had to enter up to my neck and fish out my lens cap with my feet.

'Gorging' (as I call it) is probably not the safest place for a bulky camera. But if you trust yourself enough (as I probably shouldn't as at one point there was a bit of a slip and a tense moment) to carry it, the rewards are spectacular (and probably more so when the sun is out). Greens, reds and crystal clear water. A great place for adventure really.




Handrail Pool - Weano Gorge
You can see the handrail coming down the waterfall (on the right)
That's the path

 

The Call of the Coral Coast: Exmouth & Ningaloo

“It’s booked, all booked, next to impossible to get a site,  you had better book a caravan park in town.”

This was the line we were being fed while making calls and enquiries with regards to the availability of camping sites at Cape Range National Park. I deem it all to be codswallop, a marketing ploy used by the caravan parks of Exmouth in order to gain your booking for well over twice the price it costs to camp in the National Park.

Hello, my name is Lisa Mayne, and this post is an expose of Australia’s once best kept secret which I, among many a traveller, am about to blow, by spreading it across the internet. 

Exmouth is on the North Western Cape, just above the Tropic of Capricorn. We have crossed this line of latitude three times in our travels. Exmouth is the gateway to Cape Range National Park, which runs down the west side of the cape, parallel to Ningaloo Marine Park.



our campsite at cape range



Ningaloo Marine Park is home to the Ningaloo Reef – the closest fringing reef to mainland Australia. It rivals the Great Barrier Reef for diversity and beauty and is one of the few places in the world people can have an up close and personal encounter with the biggest fish in the sea – the whale shark.Cape Range National Park boasts over one hundred campsites, all of them beach front, most with terrific snorkelling just off shore and only $7 per person per night. The Novotel, the Hilton and any other high rise hotel or resort cannot boast any of those three things – and it’s no wonder its the pick of accommodation in the area!

It is pretty much permanently filled between Easter and September. And, with no bookings accepted, people are allowed in on a first come, first serve basis. Once you are in, you can stay for a maximum of 28 days. This is actually a good system as it keeps the grey nomads from stopping and perching there for three months like they do in Broome, or Karumba (although, plenty of them still take advantage of it…and why shouldn’t they?)

While in Carnarvon, which I might add, boasts the most expensive groceries we have come across so far, we made a few enquiries of various parks in Exmouth to determine the likelihood of snagging a site so close after Easter, and slap bang in the middle of school holidays. “It’s all booked and full” they said. So, we booked a site at the closest park to the NP entrance and were determined to get up at 5am to be at the entrance to snag the first available site (of anyone who happened to be leaving that day). We arrived at the gate at 6am, waited until 8am, had four or five cars line up behind us. Once the lovely parks lady opened the gate, we discovered that there were about…hmmm…maybe 15 sites coming available that day. So you have to ask yourself: is the normal stance of caravan parks in Exmouth to tell you that the National Park is booked, just so you have to pay extra to stay on their patch of sand?

To be fair, we are early in the season – we have heard stories of the June/July holidays going mental with line-ups starting the night before…



Lakeside snorkel site - brilliant



Camping at Cape Range is the way to experience the Ningaloo Reef. Camping on the beach, with the reef virtually at your doorstep? Priceless. We stayed here for nearly two weeks to ensure we maximised our snorkelling and marvelling at the creation below the surface. Snorkelling we saw some incredible bommies of coral – huge cliffs of coral with their own coral garden on top full of tropical fish life. One highlight was definitely the angry fish – took several bights of Caleb’s hand and came pelting towards my mask when I swam to close. Ever played a game of chicken with a fish no larger than my hand? The fish didn’t stop swimming…

The most famous part of Ningaloo/Exmouth is undoubtedly the whale sharks. These sharks are harmless – they eat plankton. But they can grow to 10m in length and very little is known about their way of life. The tourism industry is capitalising on the opportunity to swim with the ‘biggest fish in the sea’ with about eight operators running tours out of Exmouth. They really are quite an awesome animal to swim with – but very difficult to keep up with!

Whaleshark

While here, we also took advantage of the great diving, adding four dives to our log book. Two of these were off the Navy Pier, a site consistently named in the top ten dive sites in the world (Australia has two – this, and the Yongala wreck off Townsville/Magnetic Island). It’s the dive to do if you want to see squillions of fish of all shapes and sizes. People are not allowed on the pier, let alone fish off it, as it is controlled by the Navy. One company is given a contract to run dive tours off it and that’s it. It means there are huge fish any fisherman would be most happy to have in their brag book under that structure. The best part about it is that you don’t need to get on a boat – you can just jump off the pier! The other two were at a site called Lighthouse Bay, where we had an incredible experience – the visibility was all of 30cm…due to an incredible amount of bait fish! Swimming through these, all of a sudden coming across a huge predator – cod, travelly, tailor, all kinds!



Arno and Caleb with their Queenies



And, it was also at Ningaloo that we had some real success fishing. Camped here for the best part of two weeks, you get to see what others are catching and where they are catching them. There are only two of us, so it doesn’t take a great deal of fish to satisfy us for a night. We befriended a backpacker couple from Amsterdam, Caleb took Arno fishing and came back with some great Queen Fish. We had the lunch of kings that day! Each of us managed to catch a shark each as well – I a shovel nose on the beach from our campsite and Caleb what he thinks was a baby bronze whaler.

squiddy before he became
calamari!

the best and freshest of calamari!

But by far our favourite was the squid Caleb managed to catch – boy was he yummy! Although, cooking him did turn out to be one of Caleb’s many pyro-adventures – managing to heat the oil until it was ‘really hot’ and on fire in our van. Luckily, nothing else caught fire in the van, or outside where Caleb tried to poor it out onto the sand (and dry leaves…at least these were scraped away). I think we may have concerned the neighbours a bit, but on the second attempt at heating oil and frying up squid tentacles…our neighbours would have been jealous!

So there you have it – Ningaloo Reef and Cape Range National Park. Ironically, there isn’t a great deal in Cape Range; people come here fore the reef. The best spot for a holiday, even if it is on the edge of the middle of nowhere. It holds the record of the longest time we have spent in one place without working and we enjoyed every second of it!

The Call of the Coral Coast: Kalbarri & Shark Bay

Well, my dear gremlins we have succeeded in travelling north and staying comfortable over Easter with no accommodation booked – cheers to us! We left Rockingham early Wednesday morning I believe and hoofed it straight to Kalbarri, a small resort town on the edge of Kalbarri NP. We camped here for two nights and explored the gorges that line the Murchison River. A terrific spot, although once again we underestimated the heat, and upon completing an 8km hike at 2:30pm we were a bit worse for wear.

From here we travelled to Shark Bay. Now, I say travelled like it was nothing, but in actual fact there was a good 500km in that stint alone. Since leaving, we are now almost 900km from Perth already! Shark Bay is another World Heritage Area and it is absolutely stunning. Upon arrival, we gained one nights free camping before we had to pay $25 for a patch of gravel in the sun. See, being Easter weekend, coupled with Anzac day, everyone had decided it was a grand time for a holiday, and accommodation was sparse. We ended up in an overflow area of a caravan park that has literally, no trees. But despite this crowding, it’s nothing to what you would experience on the Sunny Coast, or the Goldie or Cairns on the east coast. We still had room to move around, even if we did have to wait in line for a shower.

You may have heard of a place called Monkey Mia? Basically it is dolphin Mecca. All up the west coast, towns will advertise various dolphin experience ‘see the dolphins’ ‘swim with dolphins’ ‘environmentally friendly dolphin experience’. Our advice is don’t bother. At Monkey Mia the dolphins are there every day, and it is a nature reserve that is Government run so therefore much cheaper. Dolphins come right into the shore where you can feed them (if you are chosen) and see them and get good photos, et cetera et cetera. To be honest, we saw so many dolphins we are a little dolphined out. They are a beautiful animal though. From Monkey Mia we caught a catamaran and went on a wildlife spotting tour. We saw turtles, a sea snake, more dolphins and a dugong which was exceptionally special. Sailing, we have decided, is one of the most peaceful modes of transport (at least in good weather).

Today we explored the national park. Did a bit of 4WD in the sand, snorkelled and Caleb managed to spear us dinner! So, fresh fish and chippies for us for dinner on our last night in Shark Bay. Tomorrow, we head for Ningaloo Reef and our Coral Coast Adventure will be sure to continue… 

Phase III: North for the Winter

Well it’s that time again ladies and germs: we are quitting yet another job each to head off into the unknown savannah…also known as Northern Western Australia. Now, the plan is that this stint will be remarkably shorter than the previous two, but they are sure to be a riot and a half of fun!

Before we get into plans and the like, allow me to fill you in on our previous happenings, as I have not given you much love for the past month.

Basically it has been same-old same old in Rockingham. Work…and a bit of study for good measure.

We did have a delightful time with Mum and Dad Cheetham though, who very kindly flapped their wings and flew for five hours to have us greet them in Perth. We took them on a tour of our favourite sights of the area, including Busselton Jetty (I did warn you in previous posts – this was a favourite, especially for shutterbugs!) Point Peron, Kings Park in Perth and so on and so forth. The obvious highlight was the dive trip out to Rottnest Island. Two dives, the second through some pretty fun limestone caves – also it was pretty surgy on that one, so you would be trying to dive in a cave against the surge one minute then VHOOMPAA! down the cave you go with the surge. Saw a great Port Jackson Shark and a small fish swimming out of soft corals – which I suppose you would have to be there to enjoy. It’s a special place because (and now for the serious technical/scientific bit) the Leeuwin Current flows from the north bringing warm water and tropical species with it, hence the soft corals and a smattering of tropical fish so far south.

All in all it was great to spend five days with the parents before we head up north…

And now, the plans for Phase III.

Goal = Karratha

Likely attractions along the way = Kalbarri NP, Karrigini NP, Monkey Mia, Exmouth, Ningaloo Reef and whatever else takes our fancy along the way!

If you observe map below, you will notice a marker where we are = Perth (basically) and where we are aiming for = Karratha. We have 3 weeks to cover this distance…Considering we did the Stuart Highway in less than a week, we are fairly optimistic…

So, WATCH THIS SPACE!! This is sure to be an adventure!! Rip roaring and ready to go!

Halt! – Reflection Required

Well, I just had to hold my horses there for a touch – it seems that we are about to embark on phase 3 of the Mayne Adventure, and I thought seeing has we have been in such a rush, and I have given my fabulous and dedicated readers a whole lot of zip on the blog for the past month I would take some time to pause and reflect on some of the casualties of The Mayne Adventure. Some of these personalities (not always actual beings mind you) you may have known, most of them you probably won’t care about, but I believe it warrants a moment of reflection for those who have fallen victim to this crazy adventure we have subjected our lives to…

• Snorkel and Mask – Cause of Death: Love and Frequent Use

We finally discarded the first snorkel and mask I ever owned, that my Dad bought me when I was around the age of 10 or 11, down at Blargowrie. That $30 piece of equipment served me very well and was constant proof that cheap does not always mean nasty…

• Lisa’s Laptop (Barry) – Cause of Death: Unverified (Possibly Lisa’s impatience and frustration, however this remains unconfirmed)

Yes, Barry had been mine for 3 years, had carked it once before and been revived, however this time it appeared it would be too expensive to pay for the drugs to resuscitate him. However, thanks to Caleb who had a second laptop on hand (figuratively) and wonderful parents who ferried said laptop, we figured that was the cheaper option.

• The Trusty Mio  - Cause of Death: Falling from the Dashboard one too many times

And it just so happened that this occurred right as we pulled into the metropolitan area surrounding Perth. After a few weeks of going straight on a relatively straight road and a GPS, the GPS decides to die when we need it…We had to revert back to the good old UBD.

• The Ginger Ant Queen – Cause of Death: Various

There were actually two of these – one was squashed gleefully with a coffee mug, the other was fried crispy with the BBQ lighter…See the “Let Me Tell You About” Page for details on Ginger Ants…

• The Ginger Ant Nest – Cause of Death: The Wrath of God

I truly believe the above statement. The Ginger Ants had apparently formed nests in some of our awning poles and they were not going anywhere despite the heat of Alice Springs. We prayed about this particular frustration, took our jaunt to Kings Canyon whilst leaving the van at a resort in the West MacDonnell Ranges. When we came back, to our surprise the ants in our van were not ginger and feisty, but black and smelly. After a days driving however, our van was practically ant free. It would appear the Black Ants Ate the Ginger Ant larvae and once they had their fill (and decided they didn’t like the bounciness of the van) kindly vacated leaving us in peace – praise the Lord!

And thus, the significant casualties of the Mayne Adventure to date will be remembered!

Jaunts Around the South West Metropolis - A Change of Pace

Well, as you no doubt have heard, Caleb has had some work on 'The Strip" which is the industrial strip that stretches from Rockingham to Kwinana, approximately 40km south of Perth.I too have landed work in the job of my dreams (those dreams being described as nightmares...) at Woolworths in night-fill. On the days off and the weekends, we have been frolicking in day trips around some of the south-west's more spectacular attractions. Here are the highlights for you, in chronological order...

Weekend 1: Bussle in Busselton, the Jetty



Corals on a Busselton Jetty Pylon



Our first visit to the Busselton Jetty was a dissappointment as only 200m of the jetty was open to the public, so the first Saterday afternoon we got, we headed back down to check out the entire jetty. As mentioned before, this jetty is 1.8km long, and is known for its terrific snorkling and diving at the end. We snorkled around the old pylons where there are some spectacular coral arrangements, many fish and stinging jelly-fish. It's a great walk out to the end, and has some spectacular views by sunset.



Busselton Jetty by sunset-light



Weekend 2: Perhaps the most pretty, although impossibly perplexing, Perth





Being only 50km south of Perth, I dare say we will exlore this capital fairly thougholy. I think its also safe to say, that Perth is a thriving, sprawling metropolis that you do not want to drive in peak hour! Also, after so long on straight highways, our trusty MIO has become a casuality of the Mayne Adventure, and died for some inexplicable reason (possibly falling from the dashboard one too many times due to a malfunctioning suction thingy) This means we have to navigate the old fashioned way with a refadex and a finger. Of course, it's handy for a map to show the difference between bus lanes and car lanes, or for Lisa to be looking at the correct map, but to be quite frank, there are so many failure navigation stories on my part, it borders on really, really sad. So I will skip over them. 

We visited Perth one Friday when Caleb had to do a confined spaces ticket. We went to the Perth Mint (where photography was not allowed, due to all the money involved) and to the Bell Tower. Both were a little different, and and interesting introduction to this state's capital city. The Bell Tower, while it swamps the one in Kingaroy for awesomeness of bells (it has 18, some of which date back to 1600s from St Martins in Trafalgar Square in London) the whole purpose of the tower baffles me. Clearly, somebody was REALLY into bells. The tower has virtually no other purpose other than to house these bells. Random. It does provide a great view of the city though, and would be a cool venue for something.

Weekend 4: Freedom in 'Freo'

We've come from over-east, aboard a silver beast

That's been broken several times and left us stranded

Set up in Rocky, jobs, money but not cocky

To fix the silver rodeo before the Kimberley

While here we make the most, so to you I can boast

Of all our jaunts and travels of the South-West

This weekend we learnt the lingo, and ended up in Freo

Thats Freemantle for all you who don't know the West.

I know, it's lame but you can't blame a girl who is on a mission to procrastinate until lunch time. As you have no doubt guessed, I am writing this entry week by week, until I have enough little jaunts worthy of a post. I am currently in the library for a full day waiting for our car to be fixed (well, not fixed, merely getting a new clutch in the hopes of avoiding a clutch malfunction up north hand having to fork out over double somewhere like Karatha).

The Ovens Sub at Freo

We went to the Maritime Museum in Freemantle, where while it was not the most well set up of museums we did have a pretty impressive tour of an old submarine. Thankfully it was not underwater. And also thankfully, I will never, EVER have to work on one. I think I would go mad! Freemantle itself is a nice city full of old buildings and obviously thriving with multiculturalism due to immigration. At times in the south-west, you almost feel as though you are in South Africa - due to the outrageous amount of South African accents you hear.

Weekend 5: Crabs and Combing

In case you are wondering, I am
attempting an impersonation
of Caleb's impersonation of a crab

blue swimmer crab...its red because its cooked
yum

This weekend we travelled north and south. On the Saturday we headed south to Mandurah, and while everyone in Kingaroy was having a grand old time at the Food and Wine Festival, we were living it up (well, in a manner of speaking) at the Mandura Crab Fest. We ate a freash (but frozen) blue swimmer crab, walked around, saw some motorcross and did all that fun stuff for a day, before we had to head home so that I could go to work. Then on the Sunday we headed to Cottesloe Beach, one of the most popular beaches in Perth to check it out. We learnt that you don't go to Cottesloe on a nice Sunday afternoon, because everyone goes to Cottesloe on a nice Sunday afternoon and it is virtually impossible to find a free space (There are plenty of full ones!). Once we did manage to park our car, the beach, while yeah, ok it was just a beach, it did have some pretty funky sculptures!

                                           

Cottesloe Beach

The In-Betweeners...

We have also been doing some relaxing around Rockingham on the weekends we weren't jaunting - going to Rockingham Baptist and catching up with people from there which has been great, also studying in a 12ft van which at times can prove to be an interesting challenge. We are lucky because the caravan park we are staying in is right next to a lake, or recreation park with lots of walking tracks and the like to get some exercise in. And, let me tell you about Bill. Bill is one of the caretakers here, or groundsman, whose mind is obviously not what it used to be (one morning we woke up with 6 sprinklers of Bore Water surrounding our van. It smells like rotten eggs) but he is the loveliest old duck! Always up before us, moving his sprinklers, walking with his cane, asking us how we know about his children when we had only had a discussion with him about them the day before...sweet.  

Well, it appears we have completed enough jaunts to warrant a post...So I will meet you at the published post on the blog!..(i.e. here...)