JOURNAL 2005

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25th January 2005 (Tuesday)

DISASTER struck last week when the laptop computer had a hard drive crash and we lost a months worth of work. Murphy’s law being what it is the crash happened just prior to the regular monthly backup. Now I have had a chance to work out just how much gets done in a month and have resolved to backup every week (no, make that DAY) from now on.

Some of the data loss will be permanent as there are things we cannot recover. It has taken several days to get the system back up to a point where it is useful again but by the end of the week I hope to have things back to a reasonably normal state.

A big section of the diary is missing but there have been some developments:

1.We purchased a Toyota Landcruiser HJ60 and are getting it mechanically sorted out.

2.I have started re-painting the Western Belle as she was starting to look a bit shabby.

3.We have a new annexe being made for the same reason.

4.The Coaster is now for sale.

5.We are not going north this year but have been booked as house sitters until September in 3 separate houses. (Well that was plan ‘A’)

6.2 of the house sitting jobs fell through due to ill health of the owners so we are still in the bus until March.

7.Christmas was HOT and uncomfortable and we stayed home for a change.

7th February 2005 (Monday)

Hard to believe but the computer crashed AGAIN today. The data loss isn’t so severe this time but we have managed to lose quite a few photographs which is a real pain.

12th February 2005 (Saturday)

$315 poorer today when a new hard drive went in to the laptop. $270+ poorer yesterday when we put a new tyre and 2 inner tubes on the Cruiser.

21st February 2005 (Monday)

Took the gas fridge from the caravan up to Maddington to be repaired. It isn’t easy to find a gas fridge repairer so if anyone in Perth is looking the ONLY place you can now get one fixed is at:

Caravan Fridge Repairs, Unit 8, 11 Malcolm Rd. Maddington.

After dropping the fridge off we went to Fremantle and finally managed to have a look at the Maritime Museum and get a tour through HMAS Ovens. The tour is reviewed in the attractions section of the web site but for the record: if you haven’t been to see the museum and the submarine, then take time out and go, you won’t be disappointed.

1st March 2005 (Tuesday)

Back to Fremantle to have a look at the old prison today. (Reviewed in the attractions section of the web site) Without repeating everything in the review the main points were the price is a little steep but the tour was worth while even though it doesn’t cover all the prison.

20th March 2005 (Sunday)

An eventful time over the last 2 weeks saw us go house sitting, sell the Coaster ($15,500) and go shopping:

1hp reverse cycle split system air conditioner $299

New 34cm TV $99

Wheel carrier for 4x4 $150

Roof rack for 4x4 $225

Pop up shower tent $89

Pop up screen enclosure $49

Portable 12v TV $50

Remainder of the latest wish list:

Inner spring mattress for caravan.

Video camera (maybe)

Vodaphone mobile connect card (need to look in to this more first).

12’ dinghy with echo sounder

Boat trailer with standard sized wheels

Small break down boat trailer that takes standard sized wheels (later)

Change boat motor for 8hp. (maybe)

And some boring things like new eye glasses.

29th March 2005 (Tuesday)

A rather uneventful time lately as we have been stuck at home over the Easter break. We had planned to be away but found at the last minute that the new wheel carrier caused a problem with the trailer when turning left. We are about to get that fixed today with help from our friend Gunter. With a little luck we will finally be off towards Collie tomorrow but we will wait and see what happens.

31st March 2005 (Thursday)

Despite deteriorating weather, impatience got the better of me and we took off in the Cruiser with trailer attached about mid-day. Arriving at Waroona we first had a quick look at Drakes Brook Dam which I have always seemed to miss on previous trips. Despite being day use only, it is a nice place and has toilets, BBQs, shelters and would be an excellent swimming hole in the warmer months.

From here we went up into the hills just behind Waroona to Waroona Dam where there is a caravan park and a separate campsite further in next to the lake. The weather was steadily deteriorating and we decided not to stay as there are no facilities near the dam. We pitied the group of campers in tents who were all out in water proof gear. It was going to be a VERY cold night.

Our last stop for the day was at Hoffman’s Mill (turn off 10Km north of Harvey) where we had been for a night in the bus back in 1998. Despite the 11km of dirt road, this is a reasonable site to take big rigs as there is plenty of room in the campsite and the road isn’t all that bad. There are nice modern toilets (with disabled access) and there are tables scattered around the camp. All very nice in dry weather but by now the rain had well and truly set in.

We managed to back the trailer in close to the toilet block and cooked a very basic meal before retiring to the back of the Cruiser for the night. Cold and uncomfortable just about sums it up.

1st April 2005 (Friday)

April fools day and what a fool I was for coming away in this awful weather. With not much to pack we got away early but only made it to the top of the first hill before the engine started to get hot. Oh no not again! Why do we always have such rotten luck with vehicles?

The top radiator tank had split and we had to nurse the car back down the hill and on to Harvey where we found no one could fix it. Nothing for it then but to head another 45 kilometres to Bunbury where there was some chance of getting the repairs done before the weekend. In the end we did make it in to the bigger town without any major drama but had to wait round most of the day to get the repairs done. $460 poorer we took off again at about 3pm heading for Ironstone Gully Falls between Capel and Donnybrook.

This is another site that we had been to in the bus back in 1997 and now there is a pit toilet, BBQ and seats and no indication that over-nighting isn’t allowed. A nice spot but the parking area may be a little small for big rigs.

Our final stop for the day was at Grimwade, a new site for us as we have missed it on other trips. This turned out to be the best site so far with heaps of room and sealed road all the way in. There are no facilities there but it is very pretty with lots of shade an even a lake to swim in when the weather is hot.

We pitched camp for the night and finally the rain began to ease.

2nd April 2005 (Saturday)

After a VERY uncomfortable and sleepless night I decided to push hard today and get round to most of the sites I wanted to check on before heading home. This involved travelling to Bridgetown, Boyup Brook, Lake Towerrinning, Collie, Australind, Mandurah and finally home. A long tiring drive but we managed to see all but 3 of the sites I had ear-marked for this trip. Not bad in just 3 days.

The best campsites were Hoffmans Mill, Grimwade and Lake Towerrinning. All three can accommodate caravans and big rigs and we will try and spend more time at each of these some time in the future.

After all the rain, wind and expense we are happy to be home in the bus and we can now start planning our trip north which is only a matter of 5-6 weeks away.

3rd April 2005 (Sunday)

Now preparations start for our trip north. Today was all about sorting out what we need to take and starting to pack the caravan. We have fairly limited space so there is no room for everything we would like to take. We have quite a few things to get done before we go including:

1.Strengthen the rear springs on the Cruiser.

2.Pick up the gas fridge and put it back in the caravan.

3.Get inner spring mattresses made for the caravan.

4.Get our eyes tested and get new glasses.

5.Get a 100 litre water tank.

5th April 2005 (Monday)

Picked up the gas fridge today and stopped off at Caning Vale markets. When I got out of the Cruiser I noticed oil had leaked from the rear left axle cover. Looking closer I noticed 2 studs had snapped off and one fell out in my hand as I tested the other 4. We called the RAC who suggested we take it directly to a repairer and thankfully an Auto Masters was just around the corner. By the time we got there only one bolt remained – very scary stuff!

Now we are up for $495 in repairs after just paying out $460 for a new radiator, $363 for the gas fridge and on Friday we are booked in the have the springs re-done and that will cost at least $330. That is $1648 IN ONE WEEK!

I hope nothing else goes wrong for a LONG TIME as we will be really struggling if it does.

11th April 2005 (Monday)

Ordered new beds for the caravan. Two singles for $159 each. Hopefully they will be ready next week. We both had eye tests today and I have ordered new lenses ($224) expenses never seem to end. Hopefully the only thing we need to buy now is a couple of 50 litre water containers. The Cruiser will need an oil change before we go and then it is just the cost of fuel to get up north.

19th April 2005 (Tuesday)

Well all the bits and pieces have been done (and all the money spent). We are packed up and ready to go. Now we just hope that we don’t have any major hassles along the way.

There are a number of sites we want to re-visit on the way north including Sandy Cape, Cliff Head, Seven Mile, Gladstone, Bush Bay and then on to Karratha. As temperatures north of Carnarvon are still in the high 30s we will try and take about 2 weeks covering the first 900 Km and then do the final stretch once the temperatures start to come down a bit.

20th April 2005 (Wednesday)

Originally we planned to get going on Thursday but Alan (who is heading north as well) motivated us enough to go a day earlier. Turns out we were ready on time but he wasn’t so we ended up going early and Alan will follow along and if we don’t catch up with him on the road we will see him in Karratha.

By 2pm we arrived at Sandy Cape (just north of Jurien Bay). The shacks that were here when we first visited this spot 10 years ago have all gone which is a real pity but bat least the area has been turned into a nice campground even if it is quite expensive. ($14.50 per couple / $11.00 pensioners / $5.50 each extra person and $2.50 for children) There are now toilets and the council plans to add cold showers but the prices are still too high.

There is room (during non-holiday season) for all types of motorhomes and caravans but it is best for big rigs to turn right at the T junction near the beach as there is a good turning circle at the end of that road. Our friends Andy and Deb brought their 40’ Silver Eagle in here so smaller rigs shouldn’t have any problems at all if it isn’t peak season. If it IS peak season then give this place a miss as it gets vastly over crowded.

The area is a popular fishing and cray fishing site and there is a place to beach launch your boat if you have a 4x4. The caretaker (most of the time) is Brian who will be known to most people who have been to 40 Mile.

21st April 2005 (Thursday)

We waited for Alan to arrive but no sign of him. Either he decided to go on to Dongara or hasn’t managed to get away yet. We will move on ourselves tomorrow.

22nd April 2005 (Friday)

Moved on from Sandy Cape to Cliff Head North just south Dongara. Very calm day and flat water, looked like a good time to get the boat out but it is a bit too much effort.

23rd April 2005 (Saturday)

On to the rest area at Galena Bridge today. The weather gets warmer as we head north so we are trying not to go too far too fast. Alan has sprinted ahead and is already at Bush Bay. We may get that far tomorrow but that will be about as far north as we want to go until the end of the month.

24th April 2005 (Sunday)

By the number of boats we passed heading south today I guess the fish around Exmouth have taken a hiding in the last couple of weeks. Thankfully Monday is the last of the school holidays (for a couple of months at least) and the yobs and the kids are all back in the city (Yay!)

We caught up with Alan today and arrived at Bush Bay. As Karratha is still hovering in the high 30s we will stay at Bush Bay for a week or ten days and hope that things further north start to cool off a bit.

The pop up shower / toilet tent and the pop up shade house are proving to be very handy on this trip as setting up and putting them away takes only a few minutes. The gas fridge is still not as cool as I would like but there isn’t much we can do about it at the moment. The only hiccup on the trip so far is a missing cover for the power steering fluid which has been temporarily sealed with glad wrap, tin foil and an elastic band.

1st May 2005 (Sunday)

After heavy rain was forecast for Carnarvon we quickly packed up and escaped Bush Bay just before the storms hit. Bush Bay is one of those areas where you can get trapped after just a few hours rain. We stopped the night at Lyndon River east and continued to Cleaverville the following day.

By the end of Saturday we had more or less finished setting up camp and started enduring the heat and sand flies that abound here until about the third week of May. We arrived early to get a prime position right on the beachfront but I made a big mistake in getting the caravan positioned and bogged it and the 4x4 in some loose sand. After spending an hour getting it out we finally managed to find a spot that was hard enough to take the van and hopefully catch any wind that might blow to cool us down.

The gas fridge is on the blink as usual and I will get rid of the useless thing once we get back to Perth. They just can’t handle hot humid weather.

Once camp was finally set up we got the boat and fishing gear ready and spent a couple of hours fishing the reefs just off shore. We caught some sweetlips, flag and lots of undersized tusk fish that we had to throw back. As usual with the snags in this area we also lost plenty of hooks and assorted fishing gear.

Fishing books list sweetlip (or slate bream) as only two star eating but crumbed and put on the BBQ they were delicious. We caught enough for Alan and Kim and Maria (who we originally met at Bush Bay) to have a feed as well so everyone had a good time last night around (but some distance back from) the campfire.

Fishing Info: Half moon, LT:8.22am 2.1 HT:2.50pm 4.0

3rd May 2005 (Monday)

We decided to try and catch some mud crabs today and went round to one of the small creeks not far from the campsite. After going up and down for about two and a half hours with 10 nets we only managed to catch one crab. Luckily it was big enough to keep but rather disappointing as we expected to do much better this early in the season.

The wind came up while we were in the creek and we had quite a rough ride back round to point with waves almost going over the side of the dinghy on a couple of occasions.

Not bad for our first day out – a couple of different types of sweetlip.

4th May 2005 (Wednesday)

We have been having all sorts of problems with the gas fridge and even the 12v hasn’t been doing too well so we have decided to bite the bullet and spend some serious money on a 60 litre Engel fridge. Engel certainly have the best reputation of all the portable fridge makers so we are hoping to be able to report good things about them in the months to come.

After phoning around we found Retra-Vision in Karratha were cheaper than having a fridge shipped up from Perth ($1599 as opposed to $1698 + freight from CAMEC). As they had one in stock we went into town today and picked it up. We will sell the gas fridge when we get back to Perth and may sell the 40ltr 12v just before we leave here if we can.

The weather was horrible yesterday, about 90% humidity and no wind at all until a front finally came through in the evening bringing some very welcome rain. Today is much cooler as a result.

6th May 2005 (Friday)

Yesterday we found that the solar panel on the roof of the caravan isn’t working and we don’t have the equipment here to take it off and see what has gone wrong. We are hoping that the Engel will survive using 2 x 40w panels and a 6 amp charger when the generator is on. If it can handle this then we won’t need to buy another panel just yet.

The last two days we have been fishing from the beach and have caught 1 shark (released), numerous grass tusk fish (released) and some garfish and hardy heads which have gone into the freezer as bait. We have also managed to catch octopus on the reef at low tide so we shouldn’t have to pay for bait any time soon.

8th May 2005 (Sunday)

Went fishing today and didn’t catch much (1 shark – released, 1 long tom, 1 monocle bream and a couple of undersized tusk fish) so no fish for lunch today. Bringing the boat up the beach the jockey wheel caught in some loose deep shale and the whole thing fell over on its side. The worst damage was to the engine cover which was cracked but it looks like everything still works so we were lucky.

The easterly wind arrived today which isn’t exactly unwelcome at the moment as it helps keep the temperature down.

Lots of hermit crabs around at the moment, we see them at night as they scuttle around looking for scraps.

Fishing Info: Dark moon, LT:4.37am 1.4 HT:10.35am 4.7

10th May 2005 (Tuesday)

Another trip into town yesterday and more money spent. A portable gas BBQ ($69), a DVD/VCR ($249) and a new LCD screen for the computer as the one on the laptop has given up ($399 + $99 extended warranty).

The Toshiba laptop has proven to be very poor quality and has had the following problems since the 1 year warranty ran out:

1.Power switch detached and fell off inside.

2.2 USB ports intermittently malfunction.

3.Hard drive died and was replaced at a cost of about $300.

4.Key tops are starting to detach from the keyboard.

5.Add on card ejection button fell out.

6.Backlighting for LCD screen failed and has been replaced with an external screen at a cost of $399.

Toshiba was once a quality brand in laptop computers but like all the ‘name’ brands that now get their computers made in China ,it barely outlasts the woefully inadequate 12 month warranty. We have met others on the road who have Compaq laptops and they have all sorts of problems as well. No such thing as quality anymore, today it is all about getting you to buy a new machine once the warranty runs out.

12th May 2005 (Thursday)

No luck fishing in the past few days. The weather is still quite warm (Mid 30s during the day and 20ish at night) but the night time temps have dropped by about 4C since we got here two weeks ago.

Still lots of sand flies and other biteys about.

17th May 2005 (Tuesday)

Last Friday we found the seam on the dinghy had split again and as soon as we were unable to use the boat the wind vanished and we were treated to three days of flat calm seas. No surprise then when we got the boat back today the wind returned. Only Alan was happy as his wind generator finally started to turn.

As we had to drop the boat off yesterday and pick it up again today we decided to have a look around Dampier and along the peninsula to Woodside. We hadn’t been to the peninsula since 1998 but not a lot has changed. Hearson’s Cove now has ‘no camping’ signs up but it still might be possible to sneak a night out there if you arrive late enough. There are toilets and shelters with BBQs.

Since the old dinghy has been a constant source of leak problems we have decided to get a new dinghy and have ordered a Stacer Seasprite 350. We really would have preferred a Savage Snipe but they turned out to be too wide for the roof rack. The dinghy won’t arrive until June (it comes from Victoria apparently) so we will persist with the old boat until then. The cost? $2125 …. Gasp. Why didn’t we buy one in Perth before we came up here'

21st May 2005 (Saturday)

We went fishing over the last two days and managed to catch enough for a feed. Mostly we are catching grass tusk fish, striped sea perch, cod (which we usually release), sucker fish – no good to eat and yesterday I caught a large flat head; the first I have ever caught in this area.

The old dinghy has been repaired and we will make use of it until the new one arrives. The weather is finally cooling off and nights are more pleasant at 19C than they were at 24C a few days ago.

We have already been away over 4 weeks and have been at Cleaverville for 3 of those.

Fishing Info: Full moon-3, LT:3.00am 2.0 HT:9.00am 4.0

23rd May 2005 (Monday)

Yesterday was very wet and cloudy. We are running short of petrol for the generator so decided to try and get in to town today and do some shopping. The track had other ideas and despite having a 4x4 we turned back after only about 5Km and by the time we got back to camp the poor Cruiser was just about coated in mud.

It has continued to rain today and more is predicted for tomorrow. As the track takes at least 3 days to dry out we don’t expect to see town until next week.

To pass time we went fishing from the rocks just below the campsite and although we only caught two long toms it turned out that once filleted they are very tasty deep fried in a beer batter. The two I caught were about 2 feet long but I did hook one that was much bigger. Sadly it bit through the line before I could land it but it jumped a couple of times and it was the largest long tom I had ever seen.

26th May 2005 (Thursday)

Too windy to get the boat out over the past two days but we did some fishing off the rocks. The result was 2 cod, 2 undersized bream and one undersized mangrove jack. (Undersized ones went back of course.)

The track to the highway is getting better according to reports from other campers so we will go in tomorrow and do the shopping we were going to do on Monday. At least we save money here when it rains.

29th May 2005 (Sunday)

The track to the highway is being graded AT LAST! So the ride to town won’t be so bad for a few weeks until the corrugations come back.

We went fishing at Cleaverville Creek yesterday but only caught catfish and one bream. Very poor and no fish for tea. As compensation we cooked a beef roast so I can’t complain too much.

The wind is still stopping us going out and fishing over the reef but then we are used to that up here now.

June 3rd 2005 (Friday)

Went fishing at the creek today and caught some cod, javelinfish, catfish and a weird thing called a frog fish. In the end we only brought the javelin fish in as we hadn’t eaten them before and had been told they are good eating. Turns out they are quite nice but we probably won’t take any more as they aren’t all that big.

The wind looks like it is finally calming down and everyone is predicting tomorrow will be a good day. We hope so as we haven’t been fishing on the reef for a while.

Time has flown and it is hard to believe that it is over 6 weeks since we left Perth, 5 of those have been at Cleaverville. In that time we have only managed to get out fishing on the reef 3 times. No wonder people who only come up here for 4 weeks at a time get very disappointed at the few days without wind.

June 4th 2005 (Saturday)

Today was a perfect fishing day. We started off fishing at the reef between the campsite and Dixon Island but only managed to catch one NW Snapper and a few garfish for bait. After moving around several times and having no luck we decided to head out behind Dixon Island and almost as soon as we put the lines in we were hauling in snapper. A couple were undersized but most were between 30 and 41cm. We finally came in with 7 snapper which we will all be having for dinner. Gunter and Brenda were out as well and although they were only a few yards from us they didn’t catch any snapper. They did catch a few perch so everyone went in with something.

Fishing Info: Dark moon-3, LT:2.40am 1.9 HT:8.45am 4.1

June 6th 2005 (Monday)

Yesterday we went crabbing but didn’t do as well as we had hoped. We did get 14 (blue swimmers) in the end and everyone had a feed of crab at happy hour so it turned out ok.

This morning we went out early under darkening skies and managed to catch some NW snapper, a chinaman fish, flag and Belle got the catch of the day, a 53cm black spot tusk fish. As she brought it in on pretty light line she did very well and is very pleased with herself at the moment.

Fishing Info: Dark moon-1, LT:4.09am 1.8 HT:9.28am 4.3

June 7th 2005 (Tuesday)

Out fishing again. That makes 5 consecutive days of good fishing weather. That must be close to a record up here. Our new boat has arrived so we will probably pick it up in the next couple of days and I shouldn’t have to worry so much about our very low freeboard.

As we motored away from the boat launching area today I had a bit of a fright as I was motoring towards a big rock that I hadn’t seen near the ramp before. Imagine my surprise when the ‘big rock’ started moving and then swam away with a huge swirl of water under the boat. I still don’t know exactly what it was but Belle thinks it was a big fish of some sort. That I would be quite happy with but my worry is that it might just have been a croc. As they have been reported at Balla Balla just 100Km east it isn’t too far fetched that one could turn up here.

Whatever it was it was BIG and it left a large swirling trail on the surface of the water.

Fishing wise we are starting to get more choosy about what fish we keep. As we now have a few days supply put away in the freezer we have started throwing back fish under around 32cm. Ones we would have kept now seem a bit small after the nice fish we have been catching in the past few days.

To date we have caught 1 fish over 40 cm and 3 fish over 50 cm. Today wasn’t quite as spectacular but we did bring in 3 sweetlip emperor, 1 flag and 1 cod.

Fishing Info: Dark moon, LT:4.46am 1.7 HT:10.42am 4.4

June 10th 2005 (Friday)

The new boat arrived yesterday so we went into town to pick it up. Now we have a boat that isn’t in danger of being swamped by tiny waves. We did manage to get out for a short trip yesterday but the wind came up and fishing wasn’t that great so we took it out to the creek today and tried again without much success. We did catch a mangrove jack and a bunch of small cod but nothing worth keeping.

The boat is bigger in every way than the old Savage and is 26 kilos heavier. That doesn’t sound much until it is time to put it on the roof of the car, then I know how much more it really is!

June 13th 2005 (Monday)

We did go fishing yesterday and had a very frustrating time getting plenty of big bites but missing all the big fish. We caught plenty of smaller fish and two legal sized snapper but in the end we let them go and came back in when the wind stated to come up. I did have a floating line over the side because some big fish were attacking schools of garfish but when the bait was hit only the tail vanished and the rest of the bait plus hook stayed where it was. We did get a glimpse of the big fish that came in and attacked it but not enough of one to identify it.

We went back to the same spot today and the bait fish were being chased about again so I set up a dedicated float line on the big rod and dropped the bait over the side. Only about 5 minutes went by before the rod bent over and the reel began to scream.

I quickly picked up the rod and set the hook and right away I knew I was in for a bit of a fight. Plenty of line had streamed off the reel and it took quite some time before we managed to see anything. By the time I saw colour I knew I had hooked a reasonable sized fish.

Belle got the gaff ready and I brought the fish along side, it didn’t like the boat much and took off round the bow and immediately went straight round the anchor line. Belle managed to get the line loose enough for me to let some more out and the fish came away from the anchor rope only to go right back round again once it got the chance. By this time we knew it was a good sized tuna and when Belle hooked the gaff under the lower jaw of the fish we knew the fight was over. Up came the anchor rope, line and fish. We didn’t weigh it but estimate it was around the 25kg mark.

Looking at the fish Id book we have, we believe it is a yellow fin tuna. (Turned out to be a long tailed tuna.) We put some nice thick slices on the BBQ and enjoyed tuna and fried rice for dinner. This was yet another fish that had one mouthful too many. When we cut it open we had a look at the stomach contents and found there were no fewer than 30 small fish inside. Even though its stomach was very full it just had to try and eat the hardy head I had in the float line.

Fishing Info: Half moon-2, LT:7.59am 2.0 HT:2.10pm 3.9

June 16th 2005 (Thursday)

The last couple of days have been windy as a high settles in the Bight and the wind swings to the east again. Today we have had some rain and again the wind has been up so no fishing for the time being.

June 17th 2005 (Friday)

Managed to go out crabbing today and caught 17 so we had enough to feed everyone at happy hour again. An almost perfect day for boating but difficult tides that made it a bit awkward bringing the boat up from the creek.

June 18th 2005 (Saturday)

Another almost windless day but the tide is against fishing so we just sat around grumbling about it.

June 24th 2005 (Friday)

After a week with no fishing and high winds we finally got back out again today. Things started off very slowly and we moved from spot to spot until the wind came up and pushed us back towards Dixon Island. This turned out to be a good thing as we caught 8 keepers and a few others we let go.

Last night we sold the old dinghy for $500. Strange that we should have bought it here in 1998 and ended up selling it in the same place the same day the original owner turned up from Perth.

Fishing Info: Full moon+2, LT:5.47am 1.5 HT:11.47am 4.7

Cod, Chinaman, Flag, Blue Lined Emperor and Bream

June 26th 2005 (Sunday)

Well the easterly winds have come into full effect now and with the tides going off from Tuesday we aren’t expecting to get out fishing again for at least another week.

July 1st 2005 (Friday)

Tide and winds have been bad all week – no fishing.

July 4th 2005 (Monday)

Just when we thought the wind would never go away it dropped this morning and a flotilla of boats streamed out into the ocean. I have never seen so many dinghies out here all at the same time.

We caught a number of undersized fish and moved around a fair bit and in the end came in with 4 snapper ranging from 32cm to 43cm, so all in all we were quite happy. There is a small chance that tomorrow might be a good day as well so we are keeping our fingers crossed.

Today’s dinner? Fish and chips of course…

12 days of good fishing weather so far out of 9 weeks and 4 days or about 18% of the time we have been here. Looking back at previous years, that seems to be about the average. As we might be here another 10 weeks we should manage at least that many good days again.

Fishing Info: Dark moon-2, LT:3.00am 2.2 HT:9.00am 3.8

July 5th 2005 (Tuesday)

Another chance to get out and fish today but at 13-18 knots the wind was always going to be a bit dodgy. Turns out the fish were asleep and the wind wasn’t.

July 6th 2005 (Wednesday)

10-15 knots and perfect fishing weather today. The catch for today was 4 snapper, 4 flag and one mangrove jack. We did catch a coral trout but sadly it was too small and had to go back.

Fishing Info: Dark moon, LT:4.39am 1.9 HT:10.34am 4.1

July 7th 2005 (Thursday)

Crabbing today but the wind came up and we only managed to get 8 before going in. Never mind it was enough for a feed. We went back to the creek to try for some muddies but no luck there. We did manage to catch a few gardies for bait and one large black (pikey) bream that we had for lunch.

We are getting fed up with the numbers of people coming up here to kill as many fish as they can. One lot has already sent 20kg of fillets back down south and already has another 40kgs ready to go. Why have people got to be so greedy? Even though the legal limit is 20kgs per person there is no need to take that amount just because you can. There are several people at Cleaverville who continually do this and some who even ignore the 20kg limit. I just wish fisheries would get off their backsides and come up here to catch the cheats. We even found someone today who still insists on taking 48 crabs when the legal limit is now 40. The ones who cheat always seem to be the ones with the big new vans and expensive 4x4s – we were taught that cheaters don’t prosper – what a crock that was!

The fish we catch are enough for three or four meals, we aren’t up here to fill huge freezers and rape the sea. Why can’t everyone do the right thing and just take enough for their immediate needs.

July 9th 2005 (Saturday)

The wind has been up over the past two days so we decided to go down to the creek for a bit of fun and catch and release fish on light lines. We pottered about for a while before getting a few decent bites and changing rapidly from light gear to heavier line. We were rewarded with 3 bream and a small trevally. Not bad considering our track record in the creek this year is pretty awful.

July 12th 2005 (Tuesday)

Sunday was the wettest coldest day we have had up here this year. It rained all day without a stop but at least it filled up our water tanks that were almost running dry.

Monday the clouds cleared and we did manage to get out a do a bit of fishing. Nothing spectacular but we did come back with 3 NW snapper which did for last night and tonight’s dinner.

Today was a b#%!!&r as far as fishing was concerned. The weather was good but we were looking for new fishing spots and spent half a tank of fuel and an hour and a half running round in circles getting nowhere fast. I did catch a 36cm snapper and a shark but nothing else and it turned out to be very frustrating afternoon.

Fishing Info: Half moon-2, LT:7.55am 1.6 HT:1.55pm 4.0

July 13th 2005 (Wednesday)

As we had run out of petrol for the generator (serious) and had run out of booze (disastrous) a trip into town was called for. After a visit to Taylor Marine we were suddenly $400 poorer as we found a Two Zone addition for our Engel fridge. Now we can sell the Vitrifigo and only run one fridge motor for the same amount of fridge space we have been running two motors for.

It amazes me just how much we spend when we come away on trips like this. It also amazes me that Ben Yates, the CEO of Caravanning Australia (the mob that represents caravan parks), asserts (most incorrectly) that travellers spend only $32 a day in local economies and less than that if they are not staying in a commercial caravan park. What a huge jackass! Since we have been in Karratha our average daily spending has been around $120 a day (frightening!). Admittedly we have bought two big items – namely a new boat and an Engel fridge, but we bought them away from a major centre and have put money into the local economy. We have seen other people here buying cars, satellite systems, WAECO fridges, Engel fridges, wind generators and all sorts of other big ticket items.

In previous years we have bought all sorts of things as we travel around including; two generators, 5 solar panels, a new boat engine, a domestic fridge, a washing machine, two televisions, tree video recorders, one DVD, in fact so many things that when we look round our bus and caravan we can see dozens of items (including our bed) that we bought while we were on the road. In fact we have very little now that we didn’t buy on the road.

As usual the old C.I.A., (Caravan Industry Association) that has given itself the much more user friendly name of Caravanning Australia, is pushing the ‘close free campsites’ band-wagon again. Don’t these morons realise that the people who want to use free or cheap sites HATE CARAVAN PARKS! We do not want to be regimented into poxy little parking bays 6 feet from the neighbours, where there isn’t room to swing a cat (even if you were allowed to have one). We want the freedom of the bush and the right to camp as we please, lighting campfires when it is safe to do so and soaking up nature. You simply cannot do that in a caravan park.

We had a ‘happy hour’ discussion a few nights ago about caravan parks and everyone agreed that even if the local caravan parks were FREE we would still choose to pay a small fee and camp out here where we feel happy. Caravan park owners have this stupid idea that if all the free sites in their locality were closed down, then all the people using the free sites would have to come in to their caravan park. WRONG! We would just move away somewhere else that welcomed us and nothing would change except that their local economy would suffer.

It is time governments and caravan parks woke up to the fact that some travellers (like us) do not want to be in caravan parks at all. If we wouldn’t want to go to one if it was free, why on Earth would we want to be charged $25 a night to stay in one……Some people try to tell me that $25 a night isn’t that much to pay. $25 a night is $175 a week or $9100 a year – I CAN RENT A WHOLE HOUSE FOR LESS THAN THAT, in fact I COULD PAY A MORTGAGE AND BUY A HOUSE FOR THAT ! $25 a night for the use of a bit of dirt, a toilet and a shower and a maximum of $5 worth of electricity! $25 a night is b&**#y ridiculous!

We don’t need fewer free and cheap sites, we need far more of them. The baby boomers are only just starting to make an impact and things will escalate rapidly over the next few years. Sites like Cleaverville are already bursting at the seams and local councils have to seriously consider making more sites like this available before overcrowding becomes a major problem.

Plenty of people want to stay in caravan parks, but plenty, like us, can’t stand them. We have been forced through circumstance to make use of them in the past, but given the choice I would never stay in one again if I could possibly avoid it.

As and exercise I have checked the items we have bought this year alone in Karratha (not including daily needs stuff like food, drink and fuel):

1.New boat $2125.00

2.Engel fridge $1599.00

3.Fridge cover $150

4.Two zone fridge extension $400

5.Video / DVD combo $249

6.Bug light $49

7.BBQ $82

8.Computer screen $399 + $99 extended warranty

9.New transducer for the boat $107

10.80 watt BP solar panel $700

11.(later we also bought a Coleman water heater $277 that isn’t included in the calculations)

That is a total of $5959! Shock horror! So much for $32 a day…. We have been here 11 weeks so far and that lot comes to $77 a day before we even start calculating food, booze, diesel, petrol and all the miscellaneous stuff we have bought. A friend of ours has bought a wind generator, a solar panel, a water heater, a battery charger, a regulator, a shower tent, a 220 litre 12v fridge and a bunch of other items. Multiply that by the 100 or so campsites here and another 80 or so at 40 Mile and the local economy is getting a huge boost from travellers.

Allowing for a weekly budget of $100 for food, $40 for booze, $35 for fuel, $50 misc and $35 for camping fees the roughly 180 camps in the Karratha area that are here for around 3 months of the year put around $621,000.00 into the local economy. The figures I have used are VERY conservative and the real figure probably exceeds $1 million for the 3-4 months of the peak travel season.

Take this a step further: The CMCA has around 30,000 members. Lets say they all travel for around 3 months of the year (obviously some travel more and some less). Using the same rough budget those CMCA members are contributing a staggering $103,000,000.00 to regional economies every year. Now add in the caravaners who outnumber motorhomers by around 5:1 (I suspect it is far more than this) and the real value of travellers to regional Australia would easily exceed $621 million a year. That is a low estimate as well!

July 22nd 2005 (Friday)

Kmart had 25% off all camping and fishing gear sale today and I have been waiting for one of these to get a Coleman water heater. They are normally $370 but with the discount we got one for around $277. The heater is very effective and you get instant hot water. We had our first hot showers since leaving Perth today and it was pure luxury.

July 23rd 2005 (Saturday)

The forecast was for 18-23 knot winds so I started doing the clothes washing this morning with no expectation of getting out fishing. When the washing was finished and the wind still hadn’t arrived we quickly got ready and were first out while everyone else was waiting for the wind to turn up. Of course as soon as we got out that started the ball rolling and boat after boat followed our example.

The only decent fish biting were flag and we must have hooked nearly 20 of them. We kept the biggest 9 and came back in on the high tide quite satisfied with our last minute decision to head out.

Fishing Info: Full moon+2, LT:5.50am 1.3 HT:11.48am 4.6

July 26th 2005 (Tuesday)

I lost track of which day it was we went down to the creek again but as we didn’t catch anything memorable that isn’t surprising.

Today we waited all day for the wind to die down which it did around high tide (2pm). We shot out round the island to find large swells up to about 2 metres. Not a problem for the boat but a big problem for Belle who predictably began to feel sick soon after we dropped anchor. There was nothing for it but to motor all the way back in again and give up for the day.

July 29th 2005 (Friday)

Despite awkward tides we went out fishing early (6:35am) and stayed out until the incoming tide (3:30pm) a total of around 9 hours. Despite the long day we didn’t bring in that many fish. We caught plenty but let most go and only came back with some of the biggest we had caught. The fish didn’t really come on the bite until around 12:30pm so we had a few hours to explore and find new reefs before the action started. The biggest fish for the day was a 48cm NW snapper which is the largest snapper I have caught to date.

Fishing Info: Half moon+1, HT:3.40am 4.0 LT:10.22am 1.5

August 2nd 2005 (Tuesday)

Thoughts are turning towards heading home now and we are probably looking at only a few more days of fishing before we start to pack up and take the long road south again. We are crossing our fingers that the wind will go away and we will get 3 or 4 more fishing days in before the tides go off again around the end of this week.

August 3rd 2005 (Wednesday)

The first really good fishing day. I will say no more and let the pictures do the talking:

Fishing Info: Dark moon-2, LT:4.03am 2.1 HT:9.54am 3.7

PLUS Chinaman and coral trout

August 6th 2005 (Saturday)

The wind is making it harder to get out to the reefs again so we took the crab nets down to the creek but without much hope of getting any muddies. As it turned out we did get a couple and even though the boat trailer got a flat tyre on the way back, it turned out to be a good day.

August 10th 2005 (Wednesday)

With the wind holding off this morning we went back to the same fishing spot as on the 3rd but today we got nothing. As it looks like this may be our last fishing day it is a bit disappointing. Tomorrow we want to go crabbing and had to scrounge up some fish carcases as we didn’t get a single thing today.

Fishing Info: Half moon-3, LT:7.37am 1.2 HT:1.30pm 4.1

August 11th 2005 (Thursday)

We did go crabbing despite the wind and only managed to get 7 crabs. It was an expensive day as we lost a net in water that was too deep (Belle who was skipper has now been demoted to crab pot puller) and had another net demolished by a shark.

August 14th 2005 (Sunday)

Fantastic meal at Les and Dawn’s last night. As always their parties are the best in Cleaverville. 17 people attended and the quantity and variety of food was amazing. Just a few of the mouth watering dishes were crayfish, mud crab, prawns, chicken, roast pork (we did that one), sausages, salads, pasta dishes, in fact just about anything you could think of and then some. There was so much left over we were all eating more today for dinner.

Looked like a perfect fishing day until the tide came up and the B&**#Y wind just had to come up again. We are getting desperate to fit in a few more days fishing before we leave and so we went out anyway. We only went out about 4km and the fish were biting and even though we got about 10 flag and 2 snapper we decided to let them go again as it was getting close to happy hour when we came in and we couldn’t be bothered filleting them – lucky fish!

We did lose our reef anchor and will have to duck into town to get another one tomorrow.

Fishing Info: Half moon+1, LT:10.01am 1.6 HT:3.56pm 3.1

August 17th 2005 (Wednesday)

The anchor price was highway robbery at $29 from K Marine. Reef anchors should be around $10!

Our last day fishing started at 4:40am as the tide was very early and the only hope we had was to get out at daybreak. We weren’t all that successful (at least by our standards) and landed two golden trevally. One we brought in as it had swallowed my last set of ganged hooks and I wanted them back. The fish had to be gaffed to get it in and wouldn’t have survived if it was returned to the water. I did catch another larger trevally later but was able to get the hook out and let that go without gaffing it.

The weather today was lovely, very calm and flat out on the water but cloud cover made it sticky and even 4km out to sea we were attacked by sand flies. Time to start heading for home.

A bit of a fizzle to our last days fishing up here but then we really can’t complain that much. Packing up will start tomorrow and I haven’t a clue how I am going to fit everything in.

Fishing Info: Full moon-3, LT:1.23am 2.5 HT:7.53am 3.5

August 19th 2005 (Friday)

We are on our way back to Perth. I have driven this route a few times now and it never ceases to amaze me at this time of year. The number and variety of flowers is truly amazing. There is nothing to compare with this spectacle anywhere in the world.

A dry seemingly barren land explodes into life and everything is green, red, yellow, white, purple and every other colour you care to mention. The Sturt Desert Peas are in such profusion this year that they look for all the world like a mass of red roses along the roads.

I think I have fallen in love with the Pilbara. I have heard Eastern Staters say it is a wasteland with nothing to see, if only they could see it now! It is a paradise and anyone who passes this way at this time of year and doesn’t think so is CRAZY!

As usual our stop off is at Barradale. Tomorrow we hope to reach Galena and the next day with any luck at all we will be home.

August 20th 2005 (Saturday)

A long tiring drive down to Galena Bridge and after 4 months away we are close to being home again. The wildflowers in the Pilbara were incredible but this year the Gascoyne is rather poor. Even so it is quite a sight for anyone who hasn’t seen it in a really good year.

August 21st 2005 (Sunday)

Looks like we timed it just right and arrived after the worst of the wet weather in Perth is over. Around 600Km travel today saw us go from Galena back to Perth and we are exhausted. Now we have to spend the next few days sorting everything out and putting things back to normal. 4 months away have gone by in a flash. Almost unbelievable!

September 6th 2005 (Tuesday)

Nothing much going on, just waiting for the rain to go away and the fine weather to appear. Typical Spring weather, wet and grey and the odd patch of sunshine.

September 9th 2005 (Friday)

We are continually looking around for things to save money on and the latest was our caravan insurance. The RAC policy we have is about to run out and we have received a quote from C.I.L. for $188 for the same amount as the RAC policy that cost us $286 last year. The CIL policy has a $100 excess as opposed to the $50 excess on the RAC policy but over all the CIL one has much better conditions. CIL Insurance.

The Cruiser is booked in for Monday to get the oil leaks fixed. Looks like a $600+ job but it has to be done.

After that we are going away for two or three days to see if we can find a new home for the bus. The place we have been in for the past two years is changing and getting more expensive than it is worth so if we can get better facilities at a cheaper price – and we know we can – we might as well move.

September 17th 2005 (Saturday)

Ooooo! Did I say $600+, well make that +++++. After taking the engine out there were a number of things that needed attention and it came to $1742! B#%!!&r. At least the mechanic is allowing us to pay it off in stages. That hurts after thinking it would be around 6-700. The cruiser was in all week so I knew by the time we picked it up on Friday that the bill would have escalated. This always seems to happen when getting mechanical work done.

The weather over the last 5 days was good but today it has gone sour again.

September 20th 2005 (Tuesday)

Took the caravan off today and went exploring the wheatbelt towns from Narrogin north towards Goomalling. So far the best site we have checked is Yornanning Dam 10Km south of Popanyinning. We have dropped the caravan off at the VERY TINY Pingelly caravan park. There are only 8 sites here and it is $13.75 a night. I wonder where the 75c came from? (Weekly rates $81.40 – those weird cents again!)

As usual the day we pick to go away is the one that rains and drizzles all the time. Typical!

Tomorrow we will head further north through Brookton, Beverley, York, Northam, Toodyay and finally we hope to look at Goomalling.

September 21st 2005 (Wednesday)

We made it to all but Goomalling which we decided wouldn’t be worth the effort. We did have a look at a place called Kulyaling but it wasn’t worth the effort either. We re-visited Gwambyhgine – a top spot about 10km south of York – and we had a look through all the caravan parks along the way. The ONLY one really worth considering is Broadgrounds near Toodyay. This is a very nice park but it is badly let down by the ablution blocks.

The weather was wet and drizzly this morning but it did clear up a bit and stayed dry, if cloudy during the rest of the day. Tomorrow we hope to get to Boyagin Rock, Wandering, Boddington and then if we have time to the flora reserve east of Pingelly.

September 22nd 2005 (Thursday)

Our first stop was Wandering where we found a small campground operated by the shire. It was almost an option for us but in the end we decided it would not be secure enough to leave the bus when we go off on our travels.

Next we went to Boddington and found a small, quite expensive caravan park next to a very picturesque spot on the Hotham River. We ruled this out because you pay $85 for the first 4 weeks (quite good) but then you start to add power which we were told could be as much as $40 a week. They can forget that!

From here we back tracked to Boyagin Rock where we found a good potential overnight stop for small and medium sized motorhomes. Big rigs could have problems with the last 2 kilometres of track because it is narrow and has trees quite close to the road.

After a stop off back at Pingelly for lunch we headed east to the Tutanning Reserve which looks like a good place to explore in detail later on. Lots of tracks and wildflowers but few suitable spots for motorhomers to overnight.

September 23rd 2005 (Friday)

A drizzly wet morning as we packed up the van and took it out to the new place we are going to call home for a while. A group of caravanners came in during the day and asked us over for a chat and a drink around the fire.

It was a very chilly night but the fire and the booze thawed everyone out and we enjoyed their company very much.

September 24th 2005 (Saturday)

We had originally decided to go back to the bus today but we have enjoyed it so much out here that we decided to stay another night before heading back to start the arrangements to move the bus out here.

Taking advantage of a bit of sun through the clouds we visited Dryandra Settlement, Fox’s Lair (just west of Narrogin) and lastly Yilminning Rock east of Narrogin. All interesting places to visit, especially now with the wildflowers in full abundance.

September 25th 2005 (Sunday)

A two hour drive brought us back to the waterski park and all the associated noise that seems to be getting steadily worse. After the peace and quiet of the bush it seems even more pronounced.

We now have to get things sorted out and arrange for the bus to go up on a low loader. With luck we will get everything sorted out and be able to move within the next two to three weeks. Although we will lose some of the conveniences of being near a big centre like Rockingham, we are moving to a very quiet, laid back place where we will get far more walking done than we do here. As we are both badly out of shape we are hoping to get slimmer and much fitter.

We left the caravan at our new home and will catch up with it again soon. I only hope we didn’t leave anything inside that we will need in the next couple of weeks.

October 9th 2005 (Sunday)

The big move happens tomorrow and most things are now packed up and ready to go. The only snag may be the size of the low loader as the measurements we took this end and the ones they took at the transport company mean we literally only have a few centemetres to spare with the length of the bus.

Hopefully everything will go off without a hitch and this time tomorrow we will be out in the boonies enjoying the peace and quiet of the bush. (crosses fingers).

October 10th 2005 (Monday)

Well for better or for worse we are now ‘out in the boonies’ again. We did have a small problem getting the bus up on to the low loader as the tow hitch dug into the ground but after backing off (rather scary with no brakes) I ‘gave it heaps’ and just made it up on the second attempt. Stopping once I was up was simple, just crash into the ‘neck’ of the low loader!

For anyone moving around constantly, putting a bus on a low loader must seem a crazy way to travel but as we don’t really want to move the bus anymore, if we do have to move then a low loader makes perfect sense. In fact it is cheaper than keeping the bus licensed ($450+ a year) and maintained and spending money on fuel. This move of around 200 kilometres cost $460 roughly, and one years license plus fuel and servicing would have exceeded that by a substantial amount.

We do hope though that we won’t have to move the bus again as it is still a very stressful time. Now we just have to spend the rest of the week cleaning up and sorting everything out.

October 11th 2005 (Tuesday)

The unpacking continues and we are fairly well sorted out now. The annexe is up (the first time in almost 6 months) and the boat is off the car. We even found time for a walk through the farm just before lunch.

October 13th 2005 (Thursday)

A quick trip into Pingelly to join the local library and to have a look at the old settlement of Mourambine. Mourambine was the original settlement in this area and Pingelly only developed after the railway came through 10 kilometres south west. Sadly there wasn’t mush left of the old settlement besides the church. A number of the graves in the church yard attest to the harshness of life in the early days. Quite a few graves were of children and even the adult graves showed death occurring much earlier than the average today.

I always tend to look around in places like this and wonder just what it would have been like back in the 1800s and what these people would have seen as they looked at the surrounding land from this little church up on the hill.

October 21st 2005 (Friday)

Took a trip down through Narrogin to Wagin today to check on rest areas and caravan parks, plus do a bit of shopping. Wagin is smaller than Narrogin but bigger than Pingelly but as it is around 100Km from us it isn’t an option for regular shopping anyway.

A few nice historic buildings in the centre of town and a good cheap shire run caravan park. We weren’t able to find all that much around Wagin in the way of tourist attractions but the town itself qualifies due to the heritage buildings that still exist there.

As we got back to Narrogin the rain, which had been threatening all day, finally came down. The weather was gradually heating up but today we are back down around 21C. We are expecting our new home to be a bit on the warm side, but if it gets too bad we can always pack the caravan and head for the south coast for a while.

November 3rd 2005 (Thursday)

The last few weeks have flown by as there has been so much to get done, but finally things are starting to settle down a bit and life is drifting back into a daily routine. There is the possibility of doing some house sitting in the next couple of weeks (back in Rockingham) and then we will have to start thinking about what to do for Christmas. I would like to head off somewhere for a few days but am not sure where yet.

The weather is strangely cool for this time of the year but that is something we won’t be complaining about. The heat will arrive soon enough. The wildflowers around this area are amazing. I don’t think I have ever seen such a variety in one place.

We know we are living in the bush now and that means keeping an eye open for snakes. There was one hanging around in the roof of our toilet the other day but it was only a small one and seems to have moved on now. It was a bit of a shock looking up while taking a shower and seeing this tail slowly sliding over one of the water pipes.

We have explored most areas close to us now and will have to start going further out to see anything new. There are a large number of nature reserves fairly close by and we are finally walking almost every day.

There are a few things I would like to get done (if I had the money) so maybe it is time for the latest wish list to get put down.

1.20 amp solar regulator (done)

2.2 new deep cycle batteries (done)

3.Install water pump in the caravan (done)

4.Get bearings checked and re-packed on the caravan (Checked and seem ok)

5.Find a bigger caravan & sell the one we have (maybe) (done)

6.700-800w sine wave inverter (done)

7.Put 12v power socket in caravan (done)

November 13th 2005 (Sunday)

Sadly the wildflower season is coming to an end and our walks through the bush are soon going to be a bit less interesting. The wildflowers we have in this state must be one of the world’s greatest natural wonders. It is all very well to trot out statistics about how many varieties we have but it isn’t until you walk through the bush at the peak of the season that the astounding variety and the sheer number of flowers really hits you. There are plenty of big showy blooms like the bottle brush and Banksia families but some of the smallest and most delicate flowers are the most fascinating. I am especially interested in finding the various orchids that hide in the dappled shade under the trees. We have at least five different types within a short walk of our bus.

Another month and Christmas will be almost on us again – what a bore! We are thinking about going camping with the 4x4, trailer and tent. I may even take the boat in case we find somewhere to go fishing. We want to look for a secluded spot away from the madding crowd so I have been studying my maps rather carefully.

We will have to make a trip into Mandurah in the next 3-4 weeks to prepare for Christmas but otherwise we are just tootling about the immediate area and exploring.

November 21st 2005 (Monday)

We have packed up the caravan and come back down to Rockingham for a few days to do some Xmas shopping. We need to go to Fremantle, Rockingham and Mandurah so we picked the Lakeside ‘Caravan Park’ on Old Mandurah Road. It isn’t really a tourist park as there are only 2-3 sites for tourists and the rest are all permanent residents. It is a much cheaper alternative than the parks on Dixon Road and at Palm Beach at $90 a week.

November 24th 2005 (Thursday)

This trip has been both very tiring and very worrying.

To start off with it was a woman’s dream come true and a man’s nightmare. We have been to the following shops (in no particular order), Coles, Kmart, Big W, Woolworths, Red Dot, Farmer Jacks, Dewsons, Liquor Land, Woolworths Liquor, Ranger Camping, Bunnings, Barbeques Galore, Repco, Retra Vision, Spud Shed, Golden Ponds, Spotlight, WA Salvage, Baldivis Bottle Shop, Barry Edwards Solar Systems, Canning Vale Markets, Bottle Mart, Dick Smiths, Action and King Kongs. Several of these were visited more than once. Localities varied from Mandurah, to Rockingham and on to Beaconsfield and Canning Vale.

Lastly we went to three mechanics and that is where the worrying bit came in.

As we were going from one place to another yesterday there was a nasty knocking noise in the engine that got worse as the day went on. We dropped in to Drive Safe (who we used all the time when we were down here) and Spence had a quick look at the engine but couldn’t identify exactly where the noise was coming from. We went round the corner to a diesel mechanic who had a listen and then told us that the fuel pump was about to give up. Anyone who has had a fuel pump go in a diesel will know why we were very unhappy about this bit of news. We were due to go home today and now we were faced with being stuck in Rockingham for God knows how long, and having to spend God knows how much on the repairs.

We got the number of an injector and fuel pump specialist (Precision Diesel in O’Connor) and we shot up there this morning after they asked us to come up so they could confirm the earlier diagnosis. Much to our delight the horrible noise turned out to be caused by the fan which had two missing bolts and two that had come loose. So much for the work done by Mundijong Mechanical that cost us and arm and TWO legs!

Left unfixed the fan could have come loose and gone through the radiator. In the end it cost us a night of real worry and $60 and that at least we can live with. Hopefully we and the very weighed down cruiser will be home by this time tomorrow.

November 25th 2005 (Friday)

Thankfully we are finally home after 4 days of madness in the ‘big smoke’. If I don’t see that many shops again until next Christmas it will still be too soon.

November 29th 2005 (Tuesday)

I finally got around to installing a water pump in the caravan today. Half a morning’s work resulted in a small switch appearing on the outside of a kitchen cupboard. Although it doesn’t look much it will make life in the caravan that much easier.

We have also been busy clearing a bit of a fire break around the bus. It is probably a waste of time if a big fire ever comes through here but it may be of some assistance in gaining a bit of time to get things out. I hope we never see a fire through this property as there is so much potential fuel on the ground it will be a real mess.

One of the changes in moving on to a farm is having the room to plant a few vegies for ourselves. We now have 3 different types of tomatoes, some potatoes, oregano, coriander, parsley, mint, basil, lemon thyme, capsicums and garlic chives all planted. We have never been great gardeners but hopefully we will get something useful out of that lot. Next year we will take it a bit more seriously and when we get back from up north we plan to put in a much bigger vegie plot and do the whole thing properly. Anything we can do to cut the cost of fresh food will help. We want to put in some citrus trees, a lime, lemon and navel orange would be a good start. The owners of the property are quite happy for us to do all this and even supplied us with an old cut up water tank which will become our compost bin.

Weather note: The temperatures so far have been quite good. Only 2-3 days above 30 so far this year and we are still getting nice cool mornings when we can get things done. Even a few drops of rain over the past two days.

The wish list I wrote earlier this month is almost completed already! Just the inverter left to get now.

After installing the new solar power system in the caravan (which consists of 3 x 80w panels, PL20 regulator and 2 x 130ah Trojan deep cycle batteries) I took a few readings on various items and got the following results:

1. 12v incandescent lights use 1.7 amps each.

2. The single 12v fluro light uses 0.4 amp (I will have to get some more of these!)

3. The Engel fridge uses between 2.7 and 3.7 amps (why there is a difference I don’t know) on a maximum setting. The Vitrifrigo with the Danfoss 35 compressor uses around 3.2 amps on the maximum setting.

4. The analogue volt meter I have been depending on up until now shows a higher reading than the real voltage.

5. The same is true of the analogue Amp meter I have been using to gauge amp hours coming in from solar.

6. The PL20 seems to restrict amperage input despite having a load. I tested each panel separately and found the average input was 4.3amps. This should have resulted (when they were all connected) in a total input of over 12 amps but the reading was between 8-10amps.

7. The caravan is parked under what can only be described as light cover with a few straggly trees around. I would expect a daily input of something around 76 amp hours in the open and I have been getting 67-69 amp hours with a bit of shade over the panels during the day so it is reasonable to expect more when the van gets parked in the open.

8. One interesting thing, which is logical if I really think about it, is that input drops when there is no load. Today the Engel was on 240v so the amp hours in was only about 17. The surprising thing was that input was less then it could be when there WAS a load.

I don?t know if this is ?normal? but the way the regulator works looks like it puts in extra amps when under load but not all the extra amps that are available. The problem I can see with that is that the sun only gives about 6 hours of good light for solar panels and the regulator doesn?t give all the power that is available. That means that 2 batteries, even if they are 130ah just won?t be enough.

Even being very careful we would still need another 12 ah on the very best days. So after spending lots of money we STILL need the generator every day. With luck we can halve our current use

As I have only just started getting figures from the PL20 there should be some more meaningful figures being generated as time goes on.

December 7th 2005 (Wednesday)

We went back to the Dryandra Woodland today to have a better look around. We are a bit late for the wildflowers and I must go back next Spring to see them at their best. We still managed to photograph a few more as the gum trees are starting to flower now and there are still a few other types in bloom.

Dryandra Woodland covers a wide range of diverse habitats and there are plenty of walk trails and drive trails through the bushland. If you tune your car radio to 100 FM you can listen to short commentaries about areas that are marked on the drive trails. A couple of these areas must have had transmitter problems as we heard nothing and a couple of intersections were unmarked which led to us taking a wrong turn at the end of the drive.

Even so, considering that this is a CALM administered site, and it is FREE (for once!) it is hard to find anything to complain about. The most interesting spot on the drive was at Congelin Dam but one or two of the other stops weren’t all that interesting and could have done with better places to pull off the road.

The highlight of the day was spotting an echidna crossing the road. It was a bit shy about having its photo taken and adopted a typical head down attitude next to a tree. This a typical defensive posture but if you look closely at the photo you can just make out the head and snout. The only other echidna I have seen was in South Australia and I am happy that this time I DID have my camera handy.

After doing the drive trail we crossed the Narrogin – Wandering road going from west to east on Kawana Road. There is a picnic area along this road at Lol Grey Soak. An old well and a fire lookout tree are two of the more interesting items at this site. The road looks like it continues from here and the map show it heading back to the bitumen but both tracks heading south and west were blocked. One by a fallen tree and one by CALM. Why we don’t know but there is nothing warning you that it is a no through road until you get there.

The picnic area could make a good overnight stop for small motorhomes but if you don’t like the look of the first part of the track then don’t go on. The road does get wider and better but the first bit is quite narrow.

December 13th 2005 (Tuesday)

Another week or so and Christmas will be on us again. We have decided to stay put until the holiday season is over and once everything starts to settle down again we will think about taking the tent & trailer down south somewhere.

The weather is remaining cool, very cool for this time of year. I remember this time last year we were in the middle of a typical December heat wave. Yesterday we had the heater on?!?!?

We bought a lemon tree, mandarin tree, orange tree and a lime tree the other day and have planted them near the bus. As it takes a few years for them to start fruiting, let’s hope we manage to stay here long enough to enjoy the benefits. The rest of the garden we have planted is coming along. With free horse, cook and sheep poo on the farm we aren’t short of fertilizer.

The next two big purchases will be a new 12v fridge for the caravan as the old gas fridge is just taking up space. Then I will look for an 800w sine wave inverter and that will be the end of spending for a while (I hope!).

We are still keeping our eyes open for a cheap block of land somewhere within a reasonable distance of the coast but that is an ongoing project that could take ages to be fulfilled.

December 18th 2005 (Sunday)

As we now have an area we can grow fruit and vegetables in I decided to keep track of when things get planted and how well they do. (Also how much it costs to keep a vegie patch.)

A week to Christmas and the weather has now decided to start heating up.

December 21st 2005 (Wednesday)

Went to the dentist last Friday, my teeth turned out to be fine but I have now picked up the flu for my trouble. The longer I can stay away from dentists, doctors and hospitals the healthier I seem to be. Every time I go in to one of those places I seem to pick up some bug or other.

December 24th 2005 (Saturday)

Christmas again! The owners of the property are going away tomorrow so we will be here on our own and looking after two kittens so Belle is thrilled. More so about looking after the kittens than Christmas. The beer I brewed has turned out nicely so I won’t be short of a celebratory drink but I would have preferred being away exploring. I am almost over the flu so at least I can enjoy (and taste) the Christmas fare.

December 27th 2005 (Tuesday)

After being at home over Christmas we blew the cobwebs away today by taking a drive north to the lovely little town of York. It is around 100 kilometres from us and we pass through Pingelly, Brookton and Beverley to get there. I have always been fond of York and every time I go there I find another reason to like it a little bit more.

York is to W.A. what Hahndorf is to S.A. It is probably our most historically complete town with most buildings being well preserved and most attractive. Sadly it is a touristy place so prices are higher and that is why we live further south. It would cost us at least $40 a week more in rent to live in the York area.

The good thing is that it is only an hours drive from us so we can visit the town any time the mood takes us.