JOURNAL 2006

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January 11th 2006 (Wednesday)

Another silly season gone and although we were stuck at home we managed to enjoy ourselves. As Belle’s vegie garden is starting to take off we are tied down a bit and not touring much. I will have to solve that by putting in a reticulation system.

The next big project is to get a new 12v compressor fridge and get rid of the useless gas fridge in the caravan. That will mean another trip into Perth in the near future. We have a price from Barry Edwards (who we now deal with for much of our 12v gear) of under $1100 for an 80 litre Engel. That seems pretty good so that is probably what we will go with.

January 25th 2006 (Wednesday)

We ordered a couple of 12 volt fans for the caravan last week and they arrived today so I spent an hour or so installing them. They aren’t cheap at $94.50 each but they are quiet and only use 0.2-0.3 amps each so we can run them all night if it is hot and not chew up the batteries. As an added sound dampener I inserted a rubber pad under each stand so that any vibrations won’t be transferred to the caravan cupboards.

We are planning a trip to Mandurah early next month as we want to pick up the Engel 12v fridge we have ordered ($1075) I then need to get more wire, some low voltage plugs, an amp meter, another 2 x 12 volt fluro lights, a digital volt meter for the car and some drinking water hose for the bus. That will just about clear out any spare money we have managed to build up but then we can start thinking about a trip down south before we start getting ready for our journey to Broome for the winter.

31st January 2006 (Tuesday)

The last three days have almost had a touch of winter about them. Here we are in the middle of summer with temperatures at night of around 7-9C. It was so cold that we actually had the heater on one night. What a nice change it is from the blazing hot summers we have been getting over the past few years.

We should be off to Mandurah next Monday to do some crabbing and a quick trip to Rockingham while we are there to do some shopping.

2nd February 2006 (Thursday)

I keep trying to come up with the ‘ultimate packing list’ but things change so much that no list remains current for very long.

I leave the food to Belle so I don’t even attempt to list that side of things. Most food items can be bought during a trip anyway so my job is to try and remember everything else. Something always seems to get left behind though.

February 10th 2006 (Friday)

Well the packing list must be getting pretty close as I don’t think there was anything we needed on the last trip. (As it was only 4 nights away I can’t claim complete success yet though.)

Monday was a very long hot stressful day. We took the van down to Heron Point and dropped it and the boat off before heading to Rockingham to do all our shopping. We didn’t get everything we wanted but managed to do about 90% of what we had planned. The big item was the Engel upright fridge at $1059! Then wire, plugs, lights, drinking water hose, switch and the boring stuff like food and drink – well maybe the drink wasn’t all boring…..

On Tuesday we put the boat into the water and the wind immediately picked up so it spent the day bobbing about trying hard to drag the anchor or undo the knots holding the anchor on.

On Wednesday morning we finally got out and did some crabbing and were quite happy after 4 runs with 18 size crabs. The forecast for Thursday was for strong winds all day so we were up early and out before it got going. After just two runs and 8 size crabs the wind arrived with a vengeance so we came back in and put the boat up on the car ready for departure on Friday. As soon as we had packed everything up the wind stopped and stayed down FOR THE REST OF THE DAY! B#%!!&R!!

Never mind we did get 26 crabs which for us is plenty. In all the times we have gone crabbing we have never taken the limit of 40 (for a boat) and I don’t think we ever will.

Friday rolled around and we reluctantly had to finish packing and head back out to the bush picking up some fruit near Dwellingup on the way.

February 18th 2006 (Saturday)

What started out as a quick drive today ended up going to Wickepin, Dundinin, Harrismith, Tincurrin and back via Narrogin. It was interesting to see the effect of all the rain recently on paddocks east of here. At this time of year they should all be brown, crispy and bone dry but there were pools of water, the dams were full and the fields were green. What a nice change.

We spotted an interesting caravan for sale yesterday and went round to see what it was like. It only had 12 v lights (no 240v) and all the existing lights needed replacing. There was no water tank and signs of some water leakage in the ceiling but that had been fixed. Otherwise it was very interesting. It was a 20’ Millard mid 80s model and looked to be in pretty good shape. It lacked a shower but that isn’t high on my list of ‘must have’ items. The asking price was $8900 and after working out what we would have to spend we offered $8000. That wasn’t quite enough so we haven’t bought it but you never know, if it fails to sell the owner may change his mind and bring the price down. (Later: turns out he did drop the price later on but by that time we had rebuilt the engine in the Cruiser and didn’t have enough money to justify getting the van. In hindsight this was a huge mistake.)

Having just finished all the modifications to our existing van I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find we end up buying another one sometime soon.

It looks like we will be off to the south coast sometime in the next week or so, so thoughts of another van are a long way from my mind at the moment.

February 21st 2006 (Tuesday)

The first hot day of the Summer for this season, 39C today.

March 2nd 2006 (Thursday)

We are off towards the south coast at last. The temperatures have dropped so we are taking advantage of it and going off exploring before it starts to warm up again. We went south through Wagin then Katanning, Broomehill, Gnowangerup and then stopped for the night at a nice rest area north of Borden.

Tomorrow we expect to get to Cape Riche where we intend to spend a few days.

March 3rd 2006 (Friday)

We did get to Cape Riche but it was after 18 kilometres of dirt road. The first section (up to where the farm properties ended) was fine but the last 8 kilometres was as rough as guts and looked like it hadn’t been graded for the last six months. When we got to the end it was packed out and it was about then that we realised that it was a long weekend. There was water coming from under the van so I just turned round and went back out again. By the time we got back to Wellstead to have a look at what had gone wrong the inside of the van looked like a tornado had been through it.

The worst problem was the fridge door which thanks to stupid short bolts holding it on, had fallen completely off and the entire contents were strewn across the caravan floor. We sorted that out and found a shelf in one of the cupboards had also come adrift. The waste pipe underneath had let go, as had the outlet pipe from our water tank. These two were easily solved but some shielding had come adrift as well and that will have to wait until I can get the caravan home to sort out.

We enquired at the local Telecentre about staying at the sports ground and we were able to pull in there for the night in order to straighten everything out. Since we also have a problem with the flange gasket in the cruiser we are currently camped out near the local motor mechanic’s shed so we can get that sorted out next week.

March 8th 2006 (Wednesday)

Finally made it to Albany today after a minor repair on the car yesterday done by the mechanic at Wellstead. (flange gasket replaced). Anyone with mechanical problems in this area should ask at Wellstead as the mechanic there has a good workshop and doesn’t overcharge. You can even camp outside the workshop while waiting for work to be done. (Very handy.)

We dropped the van off at Cheynes Beach caravan park ($22 a night on power) and shot off into Albany to do some shopping. We met up with Gerry & Ingrid (www.australianoutdoors.com) who we met last time we were down this way and were pleased to see that Gerry is getting much better after a health scare a little while ago. Gerry is going to take over the sales of Camping Australia again so we can concentrate on updating the guide.

We had planned to do some shopping at Kmart but as their computers were down we went elsewhere (and probably got a better deal too). Lunch was a pie, and this pie deserves special mention. It came from a shop near Kmart called Jesters. The pie cost $3.90 and was supposed to be chunky meat. Well there was meat in it, two smaller than fingernail sized pieces surrounded by what tasted like Gravox gravy mix. What a rip off!

After completing all the shopping and blowing around $400 we went out to Norman’s Beach (Et. Al.) to see how busy they were. Sadly we found the roads were in poor shape and I have doubts about taking the caravan out there after the fiasco of trying to get to Cape Riche. We have booked in for two nights at Cheynes Beach so will make our minds up what to do tomorrow.

March 9th 2006 (Thursday)

We took a drive out to Waychinicup National Park (only about 10 kilometres from Cheynes Beach down a reasonable unsealed road). There are tent camping sites at the National Park but campervans could also get in to some of the parking bays.

The inlet is one of the most spectacular areas on the whole south coast and anyone in this area should really make the effort to get there and have a look.

As we didn’t quite get all our shopping done yesterday we have decided to go into Albany for a night or so and did a quick phone around to see what the caravan park charges were. We found a $9 per night difference between the cheapest and the most expensive. The results were as follows:

King River Palms $19, Kalgan River $20, Panorama $20, Cheynes Beach $22, Albany Tourist $23, Happy Days $24, Oyster Harbour $24, Mt. Melville $24, Emu Beach $25, Middleton Beach $28.

$19-$22 is our budget so we will be going to King River Palms tomorrow. (This park turned out to be a reasonable choice but the ablution block is in desperate need of refurbishment and there is some noise from the tavern and nearby function centre on the weekends. The park owners are very friendly and helpful but my big gripe about the park is all the silly posts around the roadways. They are really are horrible and make getting a caravan in and out quite difficult.)

March 10th 2006 (Friday)

At some stage during moving out of Cheynes Beach a branch must have snagged the solar panel wire on top of the caravan and as a result we lost the entire wire. I don’t know yet what the damage is but we will have to get someone out to look at it next week.

March 11th 2006 (Saturday)

As we hadn’t been out to the West side of Two Peoples Bay before we took a trip out there today to have a look round and found a very nice area with boat launching from the beach, a nice shaded picnic area with electric BBQs and an interesting visitor’s centre. Not far away was Little Bay which is just one of the many scenic attractions on the coast near Albany.

March 12th 2006 (Sunday)

I checked the solar panel again today and found that the damage wasn’t as bad as I first thought. Hopefully a bit of wire and plastic moulding will fix it.

Apart from that we went exploring north west of Albany to Frankland, Mt. Barker and Kendenup. Along the way we found two good campsites at Kendenup, Lake Nunijup and Lake Poorrarecup. The one at Kendenup is at the local recreation ground and for just $5 a night you get power, flushing toilets, water and showers. For a more natural setting the two lakes are great but Nunjiup is easier to get to (sealed road all the way) and has better sites for big rigs. Lake Poorrarecup was my favourite even though the area for camping was smaller and not very level, there are some nice areas along the lake shore and a very nice shelter. The easier way to get to this site is from the north as it is only about 9 kilometres of unsealed road this way.

March 13th 2006 (Monday)

Good news bad news time again. Good news is that the solar panel damage is now fixed, also some damage done to the water drainage pipes on the caravan. Bad news is the Cruiser needs more engine work and it looks like it is going to be pistons and rings at a cost of around $2000. We are taking it in to get a compression test done tomorrow but it is likely that the rings need doing so we will just have to fork out the money again. We knew this was coming so it isn’t unexpected, just unpleasant.

March 15th 2006 (Wednesday)

Took the Cruiser in to Campbell Automotive today then got a hire car through the RAC Plus scheme. The hire car is a Mazda 2 and it feels like driving a toy after being in the Cruiser for so long. Campbell Automotive was recommended to us by Gerry (www.australianoutdoors.com) and we are impressed with the help we have been given so far by them.

With time to kill we went along the coast to Denmark for the day but when we got back to the caravan we had bad news about the Cruiser. It looks like the engine is basically worn out and instead of just (did I say just?) $2500 to fix the pistons and rings we are now looking at getting a replacement engine and God alone knows how much that is going to cost.

I wonder why our car troubles are always the most expensive ones?

March 16th 2006 (Thursday)

Well if we thought $2500 was going to hurt, $4000 is going to hurt a lot more. Some days I really hate cars. The rings have scored up the bore in the engine and so another $1500 has been added to the price. Thankfully the RAC will cover us with a hire car until the repairs are done which we expect to be next Tuesday. We will have to save money somehow as we are still intending to go north for the winter, although it is likely to be Karratha again as that is the cheaper option.

March 22nd 2006 (Wednesday)

We are finally back home after a longer than planned trip but despite the expense of re-building the car engine, the trip went quite well. We did get a bit bored in Albany after the first 10 days but I managed to do a lot of photography and see some new places.

In the end the bill for the car was just over $4000 and that was basically for an engine re-build and new injectors. The AWN warranty we have on the car is actually going to pay $800 of the bill which is a great help. This is the second time they have paid up so we are very happy with the warranty. We had no problems with the car on the way home and will cross our fingers that things will stay that way for some time to come. If anyone has car problems when they are near Albany contact Jordan at Campbell Automotive, we found him very good to deal with. The charges seamed reasonable and it looks like he does good work. He took time out to explain everything to us and we appreciate that as we are not exactly mechanically minded.

We bought another Trojan 130 amp hour deep cycle battery that will replace the second battery in the car. That was from Marshall Batteries (Chester Pass Rd. Albany) and was the same price as Perth at $205. (12 Volt World up the road wanted $245 and wouldn’t budge – crooks!) We also got a motorcycle battery ($47) also from Marshall. They were very good and got the Trojan on a truck from Perth overnight. We can highly recommend Marshall Batteries in Albany if you need that sort of gear. See Peter if you need help.

We did buy some other gear from 12 Volt World, and although they are very useful, I would avoid shopping there again as the woman behind the counter was very unfriendly and snooty.

As I said before, an expensive 3 weeks away, but thanks to the AWN warranty and RAC Plus we saved $1171. We did end up spending most of our time in caravan parks instead of free camping but what the hell, we got around to almost every site we wanted to see and managed to catch up with Gerry and Ingrid again.

Now it is unpack, clean up and then get ready for another trip north for the winter and only 6-7 weeks before we go.

March 23rd 2006 (Thursday)

Fitting the new Trojan battery to the Cruiser was a bit of a challenge. It was fine width and length wise but after everything was attached and it came time to close the bonnet, it wouldn’t close! B#%!!&r! I had to detach everything and pull the battery out before removing the plate it sits on and doing to quick panel work with a BIG hammer. It still isn’t perfect but at least the bonnet closes now.

I finally got round to installing an amp meter on the inverter and discovered that the Engel upright fridge actually uses about 1 amp when the silly thing is turned OFF. We are less than impressed with this shoddy fridge. First the door falls off, then it rattles and hums like nothing we have ever heard before and now we find that it uses power when it is turned off. Engel have come up with the biggest pile of junk we have ever seen in 12 volt fridges.

We are more or less unpacked now and can finally sit down and have a break. The weather has gone all wintery with rain last night and very cool temperature today. Odd that just 3 days ago Perth had a temperature of 37C and Albany had 34C.

We need to get a garden shed organised as we have managed to accumulate too much junk and now we need somewhere to put it all when we go away.

April 1st 2006 (Saturday)

A rainy day as we get the after effects of Cyclone Glenda. Thankfully it only side swiped Karratha so we should still be on track for heading up there in about 6 weeks time.

April 3rd 2006 (Monday)

We took the Engel in to the local repairer (RetraVision Narrogin) to get it check over and hopefully sorted out but I doubt if the rattles in the cabinet will ever be solved properly.

Our quest to get a shed has come to nothing because of the cost of putting down a concrete pad. The shed would have been around $450 but concreting would cost another $350 so we have given up on the idea for now. $800 for a garden shed is crazy!

We have found an alternative folding trailer made by Flat Out Boats in Bibra Lakes. We need to get down there sometime this week to have a look at it and see if it is possible to replace the Little Bulldog. The new trailer is supposed to weigh about 20 kilograms as opposed to 70 or so that the Bulldog weighs.

I have finally got around to drawing up a basic schematic for our battery systems in the caravan and car. The following diagram shows what we have ended up with. I still think we need another 80w panel and another 130ah battery but we just don’t have the room for them.

April 5th 2006 (Wednesday)

Yesterday we did a quick trip into Perth to have a look at a new folding boat trailer (by Mangrove Jack Marine, 8 / 15 Port Kembla Drive, Bibra Lake, W.A. (08) 9494 2500 www.flatoutboats.com.au) It looks like it will suit our needs better than the Little Bulldog that we have been using for the past three years. We ended up getting the trailer ($536 with all the optional extras – see the review in the ‘interesting stuff’ boating page – which include a stainless steel axle, wide wheels, hitch lock and extension bar. We will hang on to the Little Bulldog trailer until we are completely satisfied that the new acquisition will do everything we need it to.

On the way in to Perth we managed to get a flat tyre which caused a problem when I found the bottle jack I carry won’t go in the right position once a tyre goes flat. We were rescued by a couple with a scissor jack that managed to get the wheel up enough to get it changed. B#%!!&r me! if on the way home we didn’t get another flat tyre but thankfully we got the original flat repaired in Perth before coming back. While we were in Perth we also picked up an electric winch from Super Cheap (groan, how long will it last before it gives up?) and we will be using that to get the boat on to the new trailer as it doesn’t have a winch of its own.

Today we did some testing and found that the winch will do a good job of loading the boat on to the trailer but not on to the roof rack.

April 7th 2006 (Friday)

A group of caravaners have come to the park for the weekend so we spent some time swapping travel stories before retiring for the evening.

April 13th 2006 (Thursday)

Just 4 weeks to go before we head off and time has (predictably) slowed to a crawl as I run out of jobs to do. With Easter right on top of us now there is no point in trying to go anywhere but once it is over I might start thinking about making and early start but not going too far too fast.

April 15th 2006 (Saturday)

Boredom got the better of us and instead of just sitting still and saving money, we took off on a short exploration trip today. We went through Narrogin and on to Wagin to have a look at Norring Lake. This is a great spot about 10 kilometres south west of the town and although it is reached by unsealed roads they were in good shape at the end of a long dry spell.

From here we went west to Arthur River and found another spot just north called Carberdine Pool. It can be reached from Albany Highway, Noble Road and Carberdine Road but overhanging trees could be a problem for tall caravans and motorhomes. It looks like a nice quiet spot by the river but it obviously has a few yobs going there from time to time judging by the broken beer bottles lying around.

On the way home we passed a ruined farm house not far from Williams on the Narrogin Road. I just had to stop and turn around to take a picture. Ruined houses have always fascinated me and we have so few of them in W.A.

As I look at these places I can’t help but wonder about the people who lived there, what their lives were like and what happened to them? There are so many stories lost in time and the ruins show all too clearly the impermanence and uncertainty of life. I look through the windows to a place where a family once lived and feel a sense of melancholy. What happened to make them abandon their home? What stories could the walls tell if it could only talk? I can imagine them sitting on the front porch in the evenings looking out on to a very different world to the one we live in today. Echoes of lives still linger in these places even though the people have long gone. Ruined buildings always seem to leave me with a sense of loss, strange, perhaps this is my way of having a mid-life crisis' Whatever the reason, I am always drawn to photograph buildings that (like me) are falling apart.

I will never forget the first time I visited Wittenoom (1995) and the huge impression the abandoned buildings left on me. I was so disappointed when we went back 9 years later to find that the Government had come in and managed to almost wipe the place off the face of the Earth. What a crime that was! Thankfully I did take some footage of the buildings when we went there and important buildings like the hotel, fire station and the hospital were recorded. Very sadly I did not take any still photos at that time and so have nothing to put up on the web site.

April 18th 2006 (Tuesday)

We are checking caravan park rates in case we decide to stay somewhere along the route to Karratha but with the prices we are being quoted the caravan parks can all get stuffed! We will stick to free camping instead of paying the ridiculous rates some of these crooks are charging. Our results to date (for powered sites) are as follows:

Kalbarri:

Anchorage $22 p.n.

Murchison $22 p.n. (price rise in July)

Red Bluff $22.50 p.n. $141.75 p.w.

Tudor $24 p.n. $142 p.w.

Carnarvon:

Marloo $22 + power p.n. $110 p.w.

Norwesta $20 p.n. ($18 for CMCA members) $120 ($108) p.w.

Plantation $21.50 p.n. $117 p.w.

Tourist $21.50 p.n. $23.50 p.w.

Wintersun $23.50 p.n.

Norwesta is the only one we consider to be reasonable and that is only because we are CMCA members and get the $2 discount. Our base line for commercial parks is $18 p.n. or $108 p.w. We believe that is reasonable and anything over that amount is just greedy. When you consider that we have found shire parks that charge from $6.30 to $12 a night for powered sites, some of these commercial parks are really ripping people off.

Tomorrow we will try some shire parks to see if we can find anything cheaper.

Goomalling $12.50 p.n. $75 p.w.

Ballidu $10 p.n. $60 p.w.

Mingenew $16 p.n. $105 p.w.

Wongan Hills $20 p.n. $140 p.w.

Mullewa $16 p.n. $80 p.w.

Horrocks Beach $19 p.n. $114 p.w.

Hutt River $10 p.n. $70 p.w.

Port Gregory $22 p.n.

Geraldton

Batavia $19 p.n. $114 p.w.

Belair $20 p.n. $120 p.w.

Drummond $23 p.n. $153 p.w.

Greenough $22 p.n. $143 p.w.

Sunset Beach $19.80 p.n. 118.80 p.w.

Tarcoola $20 p.n. $105 p.w.

S Bend $18 p.n. $108 p.w.

After researching prices for caravan parks in a number of places along the coast we have come across some REAL RIP OFF MERCHANTS.

Our awards for the 9 biggest thieving parks we have found on the north west coast so far, go to:

Dongara Denison Beach $35 p.n.

Peoples Park Coral Bay $32 p.n. $208 p.w.

Cooke Point Port Hedland $32 p.n.

Pilbara Holiday Park Karratha $30 p.n.

Balmoral Holiday Park Karratha $28 p.n.

Bayview Coral Bay $27 p.n.

Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort $27 p.n.

Roebuck Bay Broome $27 p.n.

Exmouth Cape Holiday Park $26 p.n.

How the hell do caravan park owners expect people on a budget to pay the crazy fuel prices we are forced to pay and then cough up these obscene site fees? These fools are pricing stays in caravan parks out of reach of the majority of travellers. All for a patch of dirt, a toilet, shower and less than $5 worth of power. WHAT A DISGRACE! No wonder so many people are building self contained rigs and free camping.

April 28th 2006 (Friday)

Most things are packed up now, the boat is on the car, the suspension is sagging and we are very close to heading off. Night time temperatures in Karratha have come down from the mid-twenties to the high teens so we may be away as early as Sunday.

April 30th 2006 (Sunday)

Even though it is a bit early we are starting the long drive north and hoping that the temperature up there isn’t going to be too bad. We went north through York, Northam, Wubin and then off the main highway to a campsite called Buntine Rocks. A nice quiet night but quite chilly. Note: The road north of Wongan Hills to the Great Northern Highway is one lane bitumen most of the way.

May 1st 2006 (Monday)

We explored a bit of new ground today going to Morawa, Perenjori and Mingenew before filling the fuel tank at Geraldton and pushing on to the rest area at Nerren Nerren.

May 2nd 2006 (Tuesday)

From Nerren Nerren we continued on to Carnarvon for another fuel stop and thought about stopping the night at a caravan park but then decided not to give our money to the greedy b#%!!&rs and went on to Barradale instead. When we got there and opened the caravan door we found that the fridge door on the upright Engel had fallen off AGAIN. We have been over nothing more rough than a few cattle grids on the sealed highway today so to say we are disgusted with this fridge is the understatement of the year.

May 3rd 2006 (Wednesday)

Finally arrived at Cleaverville but not without our usual hassles on the road. When we stopped to put a drop of fuel in at the HORRIBLY EXPENSIVE Fortescue roadhouse $1.80 a litre!!!! (Word is that Nanutarra was $1.88) the Cruiser gave an ominous clicking sound (starter motor) when we tried to re-start. We did manage to get a tow start from another helpful traveller and made it to Karratha where we filled up at the truck stop (without turning the engine off) and then picked up water before making our way to Cleaverville. (Now you have to go 6km in to the tourist office in Karratha to get water as the tap at the info stop on the highway has been removed.) To our great delight the track to the campsite had just been graded and we got the caravan to the campsite in record time.

The bad news is that there are no longer rubbish bins at the campsite (I wonder why the camping fees are still the same) and campers have to take their trash to a big bin near the highway.

Kilometres travelled this trip: 1777. The cruiser averaged 6.08 kilometres to the litre. Not bad considering we had two days of very strong headwinds from Carnarvon to Karratha.

May 6th 2006 (Saturday)

We are patiently waiting for the wind to drop enough to go out in the boat but experience has shown that it may be some days yet before we finally get to go fishing. The temperatures here are still a little high to be comfortable with nights varying from 17C to 20C and days hovering around 30C. There is some high cloud around making it humid and stopping us from getting all the solar energy we need.

The car’s starter motor has been co-operating over the past couple of days and hasn’t played up again but it is only a matter of time before it stuffs up again.

There is some soft sand piled up near the boat launching area – courtesy of the cyclone that came through here a few weeks ago. Low pressure tyres and low range 4wd will be needed to get the boat into the water until the sand gets flattened out by the passing of many 4x4s.

May 7th 2006 (Sunday)

We had hoped not to spend too much money this year but we have found that we will need a good battery charger to keep the batteries going. The past few days have been nothing but cloud and the batteries have gone from a high of 88% right down to 43% and the regulator switched off all 12v power.

On top of that we have decided to get a marine radio for the boat so we can legally get out further and catch bigger fish.

Then of course we have to get the starter motor in the car done so by the time all that is paid for we probably won’t have much change out of $2000. <sigh>

May 8th 2006 (Monday)

We found a battery charger at Repco but it is only 12amp (20amp RMS) but as it was only $279 we have decided to try that instead of spending around $1000 on a 50amp charger.

We also bought a ‘Flo-n-go’ fuel dispenser as they have now dropped from around $40 to around $20. Although we use a boat fuel pump for moving fuel at the moment, we may need to move water if our water pump ever plays up so this was a good chance to have something as a spare.

We decided to try and be as legal as possible when going offshore fishing so we finally bought a marine radio ($169) and aerial ($70) and two parachute flares ($42 each). I do, however, refuse point blank, to be blackmailed into spending over $500 on a new EPIRB.

We replaced a malfunctioning rod and reel at Kmart (one reason we buy so much gear there is their excellent product replacement policy) and then picked up food and drink supplies so we hope to stay away from town until late next week.

Meanwhile we wait (impatiently) for the wind to go away.

May 10th 2006 (Wednesday)

Finally the wind was down this morning so we hitched up the boat and headed off to the boat ramp about a kilometre away. As the new boat trailer was still very much ‘on test’ we drove at walking pace and were very surprised to find that before we had even got to the boat ramp one of the trailer wheels fell off.

This in turn caused the axle to bend and we were left in a position where we had to empty the boat, pack everything into the car, put the boat back up on the roof rack and head back to the campsite. Obviously we are less than impressed with the new trailer and will have no choice but to ask for our money back. The trailer would be fine to move short distances by hand but it is totally unsuited to towing behind a vehicle for any distance at all as the plastic bushes on the wheels just melt and disintegrate.

Despite the problems we have with weight and storage for the bulldog trailer we have decided to purchase a new one and sell out old one when we get home. It is an expensive option at $1993.00 but if I drove home to pick up the old trailer that would cost at least $950 in fuel and more in wear and tear on the cruiser so buying a new trailer is the easiest option we have.

May 14th 2006 (Sunday)

While we wait for the boat trailer to arrive (we found out later that it was already here) and for the wind to drop I have had time to start looking at the figures coming from the PL20 solar regulator and I have to admit that I am still mystified about how these silly things work.

In the past 7 days we have had clear sunny weather with temperatures around 30C every day. You would imagine that this would mean that each days solar input would be more or less the same; not so.

The average input for the past week has been 69 amp hours a day, This means 23 amp hours per day from each of the 3 solar panels. That is a lot less than I would expect but the solar panels are working properly and each putting out close to 5 amps each. What is happening, and I have seen this by checking the input with an analogue meter, is that the regulator isn’t allowing the full input from the panels in to the batteries. So while we have a theoretical daily input of 35 amp hours per panel in clear weather, we are getting only around 23'?

I have to assume from the behaviour of the regulator that adding another panel won’t help as it still won’t let in all the power available. This is something I just can’t comprehend.

Having said that we have had an average of 69 amp hours a day over the last week, that needs to be qualified by adding that we have had a high maximum of 90 amp hours in one day and a low maximum of 43. Why the huge difference I don’t know as the daily temperatures are similar and the sunlight hours are the same as there have been no clouds.

We have found that to keep ahead we need to charge the batteries each night using the generator and 2 battery chargers. In theory this keeps us ahead as that system can deliver around 59 amp hours a day. Even so the low voltage reading each morning of about 11.2 volts makes me think that the batteries are getting too low overnight.

May 16th 2006 (Tuesday)

We went to Wickham today, mostly because we were getting bored and while we were there we phoned the freight company in Karratha to see what time the boat trailer was due to arrive tomorrow. Turns out it arrived Saturday night but no one bothered to let us know so we went from Wickham to Karratha to pick it up.

The new design for the Little Bulldog has several improvements over the old one but it is still very heavy and cumbersome to pack in the back of the Cruiser. We have purchased a caravan rack for the trailer which will help once we get a bigger caravan but for now we are stuck packing it in the car.

May 18th 2006 (Thursday)

After just over 2 weeks we finally got out behind Dixon Island and did some serious fishing. Yesterday we took the boat down to the creek and unexpectedly caught some blue swimmer crabs on fishing lines. In the end we lost about 4 but got 6 in to the boat. Belle caught a reasonable sized cod but we let that go.

Today the wind stayed down and we got out to a reef and brought back 3 snapper and 2 flag plus Belle’s trophy golden trevally. She brought it in all by herself with no help from me and it was a real fight. The rod almost bent double as the fish went under the boat but Belle held on and this is now the biggest fish she has ever caught. I have only caught two that would have been bigger so it was a real achievement for her.

The tally to date excluding what I have just mentioned is about 26 garfish and 6 whiting that Belle caught off the beach, plus several snapper and flag that we let go today.

The boat launching area is proving to be difficult due to all the lose sand and shale and even though we didn’t have a problem today a Little Bulldog trailer was just about written off when one of the regulars got bogged. We are going to have to be very careful there until it starts to flatten out.

LT: 7:28am 1.93m HT: 1:25pm 5.20m FM+5

May 22nd 2006 (Monday)

The weather forecast is for rain on Wednesday so we took the opportunity of heading in to town today and get the shopping done. The wind and tides are against fishing at the moment so we just do the chores, read books and watch DVDs and chat with the other campers at morning tea time and happy hour.

May 24th 2006 (Wednesday)

We couldn’t make up our minds whether to go fishing this morning and as a result missed out on what turned out to be a good calm morning. Everyone is still worried about the amount of loose sand on the launching area and everyone seems to be waiting for someone else to go out first.

May 25th 2006 (Thursday)

Fishing today was a little less successful if you count the number of fish we brought in but it was still fun as we did catch and release a number of fish including a couple of whiskery sharks, several cod, small snapper and two golden trevally. The first trevally was the biggest I have ever brought to the boat and if laid on the seat would have overlapped both sides of the dinghy. It fought a good fight and I was quite happy to let it go once I brought it up. I always seem to feel much better about letting big fish go rather than killing them.

Temperatures have gone up at night and cloud cover makes it very humid so we are very happy with the Caframo fans we installed earlier this year. The forecast is for rain over the next few days and it looks like the wind is coming up again tomorrow so no fishing for a while at least.

Collie had -3C last night and we had 22C, what a difference!

Fishing Info: Dark moon -2, LT:3.08am 1.99 HT:9.05am 5.13

May 26th 2006 (Friday)

Bought a Kross DVD recorder from Woolworths today. I have been wanting one of these for ages and now the 80gb model is down to $299 it seemed like a good time to finally go ahead as I have dozens of video tapes at home I want to transfer to digital format as well as all the original footage I have taken over the years. (This DVD recorder lasted all of 3 months before we had to return it and get our money back.)

Weather wise, the clouds came over and it was hot and steamy. Lots of sand flies and midges about today making everyone’s life hell.

May 27th 2006 (Saturday)

The wind returned today with a vengeance. The cloud cover means using the generator most of the day so testing the new toy and copying DVDs took up most of the time.

It feels like a long time between fishing trips, but looking back at this time last year we had only been out 4 times as compared with 4 times this year so it hasn’t been as bad as it feels.

May 30th 2006 (Tuesday)

Went fishing out on the reefs again but the fish didn’t seem to be that hungry. We only caught a couple of small snapper, a cod and a blue nose plus one very hungry crab on a fishing line. Everything went back.

The cruiser is struggling to get through the deep sand at the boat launching area and other cars are constantly getting bogged so we are going to give up on getting out that way. It means a long trip round to the creek to launch but as the Cruiser seems to be slipping out of 4wd when it gets into the sand it probably makes sense not to push things until something breaks.

Weather wise it is STILL cloudy and everyone is now using generators to get by until the sun puts in an appearance again. Thanks to the new charger we are at least managing to keep the batteries full.

Fishing Info: Dark moon +3, LT:6.28am 1.64 HT:12.16pm 5.41

June 3rd 2006 (Saturday)

The cloud broke up a bit during the day but returned in the evening so we are now in the longest period of cloudy weather that anyone can remember up here at this time of the year.

As the wind is still blowing we went down to the creek to catch some fish to use as bait for crabbing. We went down with the intention of catching catfish but as it turned out caught cod, bream, blue swimmer crabs and even a mud crab so the day turned out to be pretty good. We let the cod go even though a couple were quite large enough to take and ended up taking two bream back to eat and one blue nosed salmon for crab bait. (plus the crabs of course.)

The mud crab we caught (185mm across) was on a fishing line not in a net and as it didn’t even have claws it was quite remarkable that it came up at all.

June 4th 2006 (Sunday)

Back down to the creek and this time we got some catfish for crab bait. We also caught 4 more blue swimmers (3 on fishing lines and only 1 in a net.)

Cloud continues to cause problems with the solar system but sunny patches allowed us to use the generator less today.

June 9th 2006 (Friday)

The wind is still blowing so the only fishing has been at the creek and so there isn’t much to write about.

June 13h 2006 (Tuesday)

Despite the wind’s continued presence we managed to have a good day today. We decided to take all the crab nets down to the creek and hoped to catch a few blue swimmers. When the first net came up with one blue swimmer in we were quite pleased, the next net came up with another one and the third net came up with a mud crab so we were steadily getting more and more pleased with each net. The next net produced 2 more blue swimmers and the next produced 2 mud crabs. By the end of the first run we had 4 blue swimmers and 6 mud crabs. On the second run we only got one more muddy before deciding to call it a day but by that time we were having trouble keeping the muddies in the container we usually use for the blue swimmers.

Days like this make putting up with the awful wind worth while. Even though we got more muddies than swimmers we still think blue swimmers are much better eating than mud crabs. Mud crabs seem to be more highly prized because they look bigger but blue swimmers (especially up here) have a superior flavour and are usually much easier to catch.

Our best day ever for mud crabs.

June 16th 2006 (Friday)

Everyone is patiently watching the weather as the charts are showing the possibility of some good fishing weather over the coming weekend. It has been so long since we managed to get out and fish the reefs we are really hoping that this will be the start of a few days of fair winds.

June 17th 2006 (Saturday)

We did manage to get out fishing today and caught 3 snapper, 1 mackerel, 1 shark and a stripey. Not a huge amount but enough for a few meals. One of the more interesting aspects of the day was a group of about 5 small birds that spent their time dipping their feet into the water to get at small bits of berley floating away from the berley bucket. They didn’t seem concerned about us at all and came up right next to the boat. The fact that we were several kilometres out to sea didn’t worry them either and they just kept flitting around us for hours.

Fishing Info: Half moon -1, LT:8.24am 1.89 HT:2.20pm 4.97

June 18th 2006 (Sunday)

Today we didn’t go as far out to catch fish and we did much better than yesterday (when we went about 6km out). The catch today was 1 snapper, 1 trevally, 3 stripey, 1 cod and 8 bream. Although this is more than we usually catch, the weather has been so bad this year that we need to put a few meals in the freezer in case we can’t go fishing again for a couple of weeks. (Prophetic words as it turned out as we didn’t get any more fish until July 9th.)The thing that spoiled a good day out was the new Navman echo sounder playing up.

Fishing Info: Half moon, LT:9.18am 2.03 HT:3.13pm 4.69

June 21st 2006 (Wednesday)

Our old Navman echo sounder gave up the ghost a couple of weeks ago so we bought a new one ($239) and on Sunday it stopped working so yesterday we took the transducer in to town and sent it off to Navman in N.S.W. We hope we will get a replacement soon but I can’t see it arriving until next week some time.

June 24th 2006 (Saturday)

We managed to get out early before the wind came up and do some crabbing. The tally for today was 20 blue swimmers and 1 muddy.

July 1st 2006 (Saturday)

The dismal year (fishing wise) continues unabated. We did get out one more time during the last week but without the sounder (still waiting for Navman to pull their collective finger out!) we didn’t get on to any size fish. That makes just 6 days fishing out on the reefs in the last 8.5 weeks.

We are now more determined than ever to get a bigger caravan and head east as soon as we can. While we patiently wait in Karratha for the southern winter to end we hope to get a few more days good fishing but the way this year is going we aren’t going to do anywhere near as well as last year.

We certainly aren’t in any danger of depleting fish or crab stocks – unlike one other camper up here who has pulled 51 mud crabs from the creek in the past couple of weeks. I’m not sure if greedy or stupid would be the best word to describe this sort of thing? Maybe BOTH!

July 8th 2006 (Saturday)

Desperation took over this morning and we tried to get out fishing on the reefs only to be blown back in within an hour. We didn’t catch any fish worth keeping but were treated to the sight of a sea eagle diving on, and catching, a big blue tusk fish that we had thrown back. The eagle was the only one with a fish brekky today.

July 9th 2006 (Sunday)

A nice windless day today and we finally managed to get out and fish on the front reefs. Plenty of fish around but not a lot of hook-ups. We managed to come in with 3 snapper, 2 flag and 1 cod. Better than nothing but not great for up here.

Fishing Info: Full moon -2, LT:3.11am 2.53 HT:9.03am 4.50

July 10th 2006 (Monday)

Two good fishing days in a row! That is a record for this season. Even though tomorrow is a full moon and we went out not expecting much, we were quite happy at the end of the day with 6 snapper and 1 shark. Belle did very well today catching 4 of the biggest snapper. Sadly it looks like the wind will be back tomorrow.

Fishing Info: Full moon -1, LT:4.03am 2.26 HT:9.54am 4.77

July 13th 2006 (Thursday)

A few days ago we caught up with Gavin and Tracy who are travelling round in their bus ‘Hobohome On Tour’. We had contacted them via the net in the past and it was nice to finally catch up in person. If you spot Hobohome on the road somewhere and need any help (at a very reasonable price) with satellite, solar or electrical problems then see Gavin who is a licensed electrician. They also happen to be really nice people just to sit and have a chat with.

July 17th 2006 (Monday)

The wind is awful at the moment. It has been so bad that I even took to sleeping in the back of the car last night to get away from the flapping annexe.

We decided to have a go at crabbing in the creek this afternoon but didn’t expect much as it has been hammered by everyone in the past few weeks. We ended up getting 4 mud crabs and 3 blue swimmers so it was much better than anticipated.

We are expecting the immanent arrival of an 80w solar panel to replace the one on top of the caravan that got damaged in March and that I wasn’t able to repair. I had hoped the re-wiring I did would have worked but no such luck. We are hoping that our caravan insurance will cover the cost but we have to have at least 3 panels so had to order it regardless.

Looking back over the number of good fishing days (weather wise) makes for very dismal reading this year. We have had only 7 days where we managed to get out over the reefs and chase the fish we really want (snapper). That is in a total of nearly 11 weeks. That compares to 20 days in the same period last year.

To be honest, if it wasn’t for the cold weather down south we would probably already have been on our way home.

July 21st 2006 (Friday)

Went out fishing at the creek yesterday but only caught 1 cod, 1 bream and 1 tusk fish all of which we let go.

Today we took a trip out to Harding Dam to see if it has changed much since we were there in 1998 – it hasn’t but it is still a lovely spot at the end on 27 kilometres of corrugations.

July 25th 2005 (Tuesday)

The wind managed to drop enough for us to go out fishing again today but the fish weren’t co-operating all that well. We managed to get 1 snapper, 1 fathead, 1 mangrove jack and 4 flag but that was it for 5 hours worth of effort. Tomorrow looks like being another good day weather wise but we will have to wait and see if the fish are hungry or not.

Fishing Info: Dark moon, LT:5.13am 1.9 HT:11.00am 4.91

July 26th 2006 (Wednesday)

Out fishing again today and the tally was 3 flag and 4 snapper. Not great but not terrible. We think we may only be here another 3 weeks before it is time to pack up and head home.

Fishing Info: Dark moon +1, LT:5.50am 1.65 HT:11.36pm 5.08

July 27th 2006 (Thursday)

Looks like today was the last day of fishing weather for a while and the fish are still a bit reluctant to commit suicide by grabbing a baited hook. The catch today was 2 snapper, 1 flag and 1 mackerel. If we took the last 3 days into consideration we have caught enough fish to make one good day.

Fishing Info: Dark moon +2, LT:6.23am 1.48 HT:12.08pm 5.16

July 29th 2006 (Saturday)

Went crabbing at the creek again and got 3 muddies and 8 sand crabs.

30th July 2006 (Sunday)

Although the forecast was for 13-18 knots today and the wind was up early, we still went out to the front reefs but this time we stayed in shallow water only 0.5-1km off shore instead of heading out 3-4 km like we normally do. This turned out to be a good choice as we caught two big snapper (the larger one was 48cm), 7 flag (one measuring 37cm), five Queensland school mackerel and three wolf herring (that are good for bait). All in all a very pleasing days fishing.

Fishing Info: Half moon -3, LT:7.46am 1.37 HT:1.35pm 4.97

July 31st 2006 (Monday)

Hmmm…. Silly weather people said today was going to be 10-15 knot winds and it was MUCH higher. I wonder what exactly it is they get paid for because their wind and wave forecasts this year have been way off. Even so we did go out again and were rewarded with just 2 snapper. Both were good size but things were very slow. The wind and tides are due to go right off again by Wednesday so we are hoping for one more day tomorrow even though the forecast was 13-18 knots again. (crosses fingers).

Fishing Info: Half moon -2, LT:8.13am 1.45 HT:2.03pm 4.78

August 1st 2006 (Tuesday)

We did go out fishing again today but it was a BAD idea as the sea breeze came in before we had even left and in the end we only caught some gardies for bait.

We are watching the temperatures further north with some concern as they are definitely warming up and tonight is the most warm and humid we have had for a couple of months at least. Time up here is rapidly running out as we will be off as soon as night time temperatures come near 20C and the sand flies come back.

The tides and the wind mean no more fishing until next Monday at the earliest and we are booked in to do the Robe Iron tour again and are going out to dinner on Friday. After that it may be just a matter of days before we decide to start packing up. Three months seems to have flown by now but I know it did drag on badly when the easterly wind was howling for days on end.

Fishing Info: Half moon -1, LT:8.41am 1.57 HT:2:32pm 4.54

August 2nd 2006 (Wednesday)

As we decided not to go out fishing today the wind did the predictable thing and dropped of all together. Temperatures are definitely on the rise now with last night reaching 18C and 30C today.

August 3rd 2006 (Thursday)

We have started checking out caravan park rates for the route we intend to take home and came up with the following: (based on 2 people on a powered site.)

Mingenew $16 p.n.

Three Springs $15 p.n.

Carnamah $20 p.n. (FOR A COUNCIL PARK!!!)

Coorow $13 p.n.

Calingiri $11 p.n.

Bolgart $8.80 p.n. (Bargain of the year!!)

August 5th 2006 (Saturday)

Yesterday we did the Robe Iron tour again (we did the first one 8 years ago). The tour guide on this trip was excellent and had a huge wealth of knowledge on local history, flora and fauna. The tour is still FREE and anyone coming up here should book at the Roebourne tourist office and go along as it is the only way to get on site at the Cape Lambert works and get an insight into how the iron ore is shipped overseas. Tours run on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and YOU MUST BOOK as they are usually full.

Last night we went out to dinner at the Bay Village that holds a seafood buffet on Friday nights. It is $25 a head which might seem a lot until you get inside and see the incredible spread of dishes they provide. There is everything from prawns done in about 4 different ways to fish, scallops, Moreton Bay bugs, calamari, smoked salmon, mussels, tureens, salads and that is just the cold section. Then there are chips, roasted potatoes, rice, a choice of 2-3 vegetable dishes, gnocchi, roast meat, crumbed seafood basket (yummy) and if you still have room there are cakes, fruit tarts, mouse, fresh fruit salad and six different ice creams with toppings to choose from. Even the fruit juice, cordials, apple juice, coffee, tea and Milo is provided for the same price. (Oh and there are also two types of soup and a cheese board I forgot to mention before.)

Needless to say we pigged out and over did it, but then it isn’t often we get to eat at a place like this.

As we have now been to 4 different buffets in Karratha this year, now would be a good time to mention the others and comment on what we thought of them.

All the others were lunch time buffets, the first (and our favourite lunch out in Karratha) was at the Jasmine Chinese restaurant. This is a little more expensive than the other two (at $12.50 a head) but the quality of food was far superior. The atmosphere is very nice with typical Chinese décor and the buffet has a reasonable choice of dishes with sweet and sour pork and garlic fried chicken being the two most popular. Soft drinks here are a bit expensive; $3.50 a can; but in all other respects we prefer to Jasmine to its two main competitors.

Next was the Red Coy that also has an up-market atmosphere and is $10 a head. The meat dishes here were a bit skimped on but the food quality was good EXCEPT for the sweet and sour fish. We think the fish used was probably threadfin and it was disgusting. It was so bad that it managed to spoil the whole meal.

Then we tried the Chinese restaurant next to Woolworths in the main shopping centre. This was not a buffet but has lunch specials. We tried beef and black bean and a noodle dish. Both were far too salty. The price and décor are good but over salting the food spoiled the experience for us.

Lastly we tried the Universal (yet another Chinese restaurant) that does a $10 lunch buffet. This place is very popular with campers at Cleaverville but for the life of us, we could not work out why. The food is, at best, plain and the décor like the food lacks any kind of flair. For the extra $2.50 a head we much prefer to eat at the Jasmine for lunch.

August 7th 2006 (Monday)

Up before dawn and out fishing before the sunrise – should have stayed in bed. Everything we caught was undersized and had to go back and it only consisted on 2 flag and 1 snapper in any case.

Fishing Info: Full moon -2, LT:2.51am 2.79 HT:8:50am 4.17

August 8th 2006 (Tuesday)

Despite the forecast of 13-18 knot winds we did go out again and managed to catch a few fish before the wind finally came in about mid-morning. The fish started to bite after high tide and we caught 4 bream, 1 snapper and 1 flag (all size) but we decided to let them all go again as we already have enough in the freezer to take home and we don’t really need anything that we already have, although a nice big coral trout or Spanish mackerel would be most welcome sometime in the next week.

Fishing Info: Full moon -1, LT:4.00am 2.37 HT:9:53am 4.59

August 12th 2006 (Saturday)

Looking at the synoptic charts earlier in the week we thought this would be a good day (finally) to go fishing. Reality BITES! And the wind BLOWS! Bored out of our minds we took the boat down to the creek again and the only thing we got was a big mud crab on Belle’s line. At least she was happy with the result.

August 13th 2006 (Sunday)

The early morning forecast was for strong-ish winds (18-23 knots) so we decided to go down to the creek and then go out to the islands if the wind stayed down for a while. As it turned out the wind stayed down all day and we could have been out fishing the reefs instead (thanks again BOM Learmonth for your ‘accuracy!’ Weather forecasting dart board broken again is it?). We did manage to pick up some more bait in the form of garfish and wolf herring and Belle brought two bream back (I let the one I caught go). The forecast tonight looks promising for tomorrow and since we are rapidly running out of time I really hope the wind stays away for a change.

August 14th 2006 (Monday)

The wind forecast was again 13-18 knots but we ignored it and went out anyway. Things looked bleak until the tide turned and in the end we did manage to come back in with 2 mackerel, 2 flag and 4 snapper. Tomorrow could be the last fishing day for this year so we are crossing our fingers that the fishing will be good.

August 15th 2006 (Tuesday)

We were all set to go out fishing for the last time this year and hopped in the car, turned the key and CLICK, CLICK, CLICK! You B*%#$#D! The starter motor chose now to decide to play up again. We collared another camper (Thanks Richard) and asked for a tow start. Thankfully we got the car going and got down to the beach with no further dramas.

We went out to the same spot as yesterday and waited for the fish to come on the bite. We waited and waited and WAITED! But nothing happened apart from catching the odd mackerel or small cod. Finally I did catch a snapper and it looked as though things were about to start happening when the wind came up and the sea went from dead calm to choppy as hell. We had no choice but to pack up and head back in. At least the car decided to start when we got back and we didn’t need to ask for a tow start on the beach. Our tally for the day, 1 mackerel that we gave away. The snapper was still alive so I let it go.

The boat is now unloaded and the trailer folded up so that is it for fishing this year. What a shocker it has been. We are questioning whether we will ever bother coming up here again. The lack of fish this year has (we think) been due to the trawlers ploughing up and down near the reefs day and night. Everyone has been catching fewer fish and everyone thinks that the trawlers are to blame.

We will have to get the car looked at now before we go home (Curses! They cheat you like crazy up here.) but we are hoping to be away in the next few days. The BITEYS Are making a come back so now seems like a good time to start the long journey south again anyway.

August 20th 2006 (Sunday)

After a day or so packing up at Cleaverville we spent the next three nights on the road heading home. The car problem looks like it was just a battery and at $139 that is one of the cheaper automotive problems we have had.

The first two nights on the way back were pretty predictable, Barradale and then Galena, which are our usual overnight stops. From Dongara we took a new route through Mingenew, Three Springs, Carnamah, Coorow, Moora, Calingiri and Bolgart where we spent the night before heading home via Northam. One surprising aspect of the detour along the Midlands Road was the excellent surface of most of the road. It looks as though most of the back roads (especially from the Great Northern Highway turn off to Bolgart) have been recently surfaced and they are in better condition (much better actually) than the main highway. That makes the back roads a good alternative route.

The wildflowers along the route are almost non-existent this year due to the lack of rains. Anyone heading this way in the hopes of our usual breath taking display of flowers is in for a big disappointment this year.

Thankfully the trip home was completely uneventful but I did have to leave two 315 ah 6v batteries I had been given, back at Cleaverville. They would have been ideal for a bigger caravan but easy come, easy go I suppose.

Now we set about getting settled in again and then getting the caravan ready for sale. We were away for 16 weeks this time and the trip overall was a big let down as the wind played havoc with the fishing and even when we did eventually get out the fish were usually very hard to find. We brought home about 15kg of fish fillets which is more than we usually do but then much of it is for people we know to try and we will probably only eat about a third of what we brought back.

August 27th 2006 (Sunday)

We have been home a week and have managed to unload the car, dig up the vegie garden, clear up around the bus and finally order a 3x3 metre garden shed ($538). We have managed to gather so much junk (indispensable junk) now that we have to get the shed in order to put everything away. The weather has been typical of the season with a bit of rain and plenty of cold nights. The wild flowers here are as scarce as everywhere else so I am contenting myself with finding different types of fungi to photograph at the moment.

September 5th 2006 (Tuesday)

We are still patiently (or perhaps impatiently) waiting for the shed to arrive. I think it took less time for a man to fly from the Earth to the Moon than it takes to get a shed from Perth to Narrogin but once you choose to live in the boonies, prompt efficient service it a thing you have to learn to do without.

No sign yet of the wildflowers putting in an appearance.

September 8th 2006 (Friday)

The shed finally turned up and we spent the last couple of days putting it together. To start off with it seemed very flimsy but as the pieces were put together it got stronger and more rigid until now it seems very solid indeed. It certainly wasn’t an easy task but with a bit of help we finally got there. Now we need to get some shelves and I will be able to sort everything out at last.

The weather has gone all drizzly again so working on anything outside has had to be temporarily abandoned.

September 16th 2006 (Saturday)

Most things are now packed away in the shed and we have the trailer full of camping gear. Weather wise we have had bright sunny days for the last few days and temperatures up around 22-25C.

Not much to write about at the moment so it looks like a good time to write a new ‘wish list’.

1.Buy 18’ tandem caravan and then sell our old 14’ one. (done but it was 20’)

2.Sell Bulldog trailer. (done)

3.Sell Honda 2kva and buy a Yamaha 2.5Kva generator (maybe) (got another Honda)

4.Buy a new DV camera before we get back on the road (done)

5.Buy a quick to erect tent for upcoming camping trip in Nov-Dec. (done)

6.Buy a cheap regulator for the car (old one got broken) (done)

7.Get pay TV (Select TV looks good at $29.95 a month) (done)

8.Get new replacement computer before this horrible Toshiba gives up. (Finally done in Karratha)

9.Get a sine wave inverter to replace the old square wave we have. (Ditto)

10.Work out why the Canon printer won’t print using black ink. (Gave up got new printer)

11.Remove 120w solar panel from bus and put it on the new caravan when we get one. (Done)

12.Get a second satellite dish so we don't have to move the one for the bus when we go away. (done)

September 29th 2006 (Friday)

32C today, that is very hot for this time of year. Lets hope we aren’t in for a stinker of a summer.

October 4th 2006 (Wednesday)

Spending time getting all sorts of odd jobs done and slowly getting the van ready to head down to Perth on Sunday. We have a lot to get done in Perth so will probably be there at least a week. Items to get while in Perth include a flat screen TV for the caravan (as we want to get rid of the old Orion we have been using), a quick to erect tent for travelling the south west later this year, possibly a new stereo to put in the caravan when the one we have there sells with the van and we also need to look at DV camera prices and computer prices as this Toshiba is about on it’s last legs.

Also pick up a couple of cheap solar regulators, return the trailer we had problems with in Karratha, return the DVD recorder as it has already broken down only 3-4 months after we got it, fill the gas bottles, return the broken mudguard to Bulldog and do all the odds and ends shopping plus see a doctor, dentist, catch up with friends in Applecross and Rockingham, Mandurah and finally collapse exhausted in a heap.

Oh… and look for another caravan while we are there….. Hmm I think I need to make a list:

Fremantle area:

Barry Edwards Solar - regulators

Little Bulldog Trailers – return mudguard

Mangrove Jack – return trailer

Rockingham:

ABBA Caravans - look

Bunnings – glue, sealant, screws, wood, rake.

WA Salvage - look

Spotlight - look

Ranger Camping – tent

Kmart – General shopping

Coles – General shopping

Woolworths – General shopping and return DVD recorder

Auto One – paint for car

Repco - look

BBQs Galore – refill gas bottles

RetraVision – fan heater, FS TV, stereo, look at DV cameras & computers

Catch up with Mick & Jean

Doctor

Dentist

Spud Shed

Chemist

Mandurah:

Big W – General shopping

Catch up with Dave & Carmel if possible

Applecross

Catch up with Gerry.

Canning Vale & Maddington

Shopping at the markets

Look in caravan dealers

Perth:

Do some sight seeing and photography if we get the chance.

October 6th 2006 (Friday)

We haven’t even been to Perth yet but have already started spending money. We saw the shelves that we bought for the shed on special (how typical is that!) for just $19 when we paid $32. We still needed a couple more so we bought them and at least managed to save a little bit. We also decided that having a good BBQ for the time we are back at the bus and the summer heat makes it too hot to cook inside would be a good idea so we picked up what looks like quite a good 4 burner with hot plate, grill, lid and cover for just $149. If it lasts a while it will be good value for money.

Tomorrow we will finish packing up and then head down on Sunday. I think we are in for a busy and expensive week.

October 17th 2006 (Tuesday)

The trip to Perth was reasonably successful as we got most of the things on our list done. We are having an uphill battle finding another caravan as the spec we are looking for seems to be quite rare. We did find one that was close for $11,500 but it had no air conditioner and we have decided we really do want one of those. We looked in about 8 different dealers as well as several private sales but nothing doing yet.

We did get an LCD TV and a second satellite dish which I finally got installed along with much swearing. Now we have the free to air channels and SelectTV and all we have to do is swap cards to switch between them.

Mangrove Jack refunded all the money we paid for the light weight boat trailer as they promised to do (it really is nice to find a decent honest person in business these days). They have come up with a much better and stronger design now but it looks like the price won’t be much less than a standard Bulldog at around $1500 retail. That is a bit of a shame but now retailers are involved in selling the product the price is higher that it would otherwise be.

We also managed to find a quick erect tent from Ranger in Rockingham (OzTrail at $299). It is a reasonable size for overnight stops and is made from canvas so another review will need to be written on the website.

It was a big surprise to find all sorts of changes at Canning Vale markets with all the Asian shops we used to go to moved to new premises. Only one of the original shops has stayed in the complex so Belle managed to get most of what she wanted.

Another surprise was finding WA Salvage closing down but we did make good use of the 30% off prices they had. A real shame they won’t be around anymore but I guess Bunnings has out competed them.

The place we stayed while in Perth was great. It is a private property in Oakford and in that location it was central to the places we wanted to get to. It was also nice and quiet so going back to the caravan after a full day fighting the traffic was a big relief.

A trip wouldn’t be a trip for us if we didn’t have some sort of car trouble. We parked at Spencer Village, did a bit of shopping and hopped back in the car and turned the key…. CLICK, CLICK, CLICK! The old problem was back to haunt us yet again. Ok, so it wasn’t the battery, perhaps it was the alternator?? The RAC man turned up after only a short time and started us up easily enough with jumper leads. He then got out a couple of testers and quickly determined that the batteries weren’t getting a charge from the engine (I wonder why this wasn’t checked by the RAC in Karratha?). Long story short – he found the plug from the alternator was loose and as soon as he pushed it back in the batteries were being charged again. HOORAY! Finally a mechanical problem that didn’t cost a brass razoo to fix.

I have often thought that being an RAC roadside assistance mechanic must be a very rewarding job. You spend your time helping people who (I suspect like us) are always extremely grateful for the help. I think if a poll was held on the subject, the RAC mechanics would be one of the most liked and respected of all workers. They have certainly helped us out countless times and we have nothing but good things to say about them.

October 21st 2006 (Saturday)

How the year is flying by. Checking entries for this time last year I note that I was commenting on how good the flowers were and that they were only starting to die off in November. This year has been totally different with the bush looking like it is summer in mid-September. The river has already stopped flowing and the fields are mostly brown. The farmers are going to have a tough cropping season but they are better off here than in many places over east where many didn’t even have the chance to put in a crop.

Today was around 32C and it looks like it will be a very long hot summer. We didn’t manage to get away over Christmas last year but we are determined to do so this time. We put the new tent up and left it for a few days after wetting it down to break it in. When I went inside to pack it up I felt something move under the floor and being where we are the word ‘SNAKE!!!’ immediately popped into my head. Being very careful I lifted a corner and had a look underneath but it turned out to be a couple of bob tail skinks and a dark coloured scorpion that had taken up residence. The lizards were gently moved on and the scorpion ‘gently’ put to sleep with a big rubber mallet.

Up until last night the evenings have been quite chilly but it looks like that has all changed now and the winter quilt can finally be put away until next year.

October 26th 2006 (Thursday)

Speaking of SNAKES, the other day I was looking for a bit of copper pipe and looked on top of the chip heater in the toilet. After picking up a piece of pipe from the top and moving some stray bits of plumbing fittings around I turned away and my brain did a bit of a double take and somersault. That wasn’t a bit of hose I had seen just a few inches from my fingers was it!?!?

Looking back on top I saw the unmistakable coils of a snake curled up next to the flue. Thankfully it turned out to be a python, the same one I suspect gave me a bit of a fright in the shower last year. It must have been living around the toilet all the time but this is only the second time I had seen it. I must have disturbed it’s slumber because it uncoiled and wound its way up a pipe on to the roof.

It was back again today but found the chip heater getting too hot after I lit the fire so made its getaway again up the pipe, but not before I had managed to take a few photos.

November 2nd 2006 (Thursday)

Checked the Quokka for caravans again today and finally found one that sounded like it was what we were looking for. After phoning and getting more information we shot down to Rockingham to have a look. The upshot of that is that we are almost 10K poorer but 1 caravan richer.

The van is a 1986 20’ Evernew with a roll out awning / annexe, new split system reverse cycle air conditioning, 4 burner cook top and grill, new double bed, new upholstery and vinyl floor covering, new tyres and is most of what we wanted in a van. On the down side it has only a 240v fridge that we will have to replace and strangely it has no water tanks. The water tanks will have to wait until we can sort that out but I can get most other bits and pieces sorted out without having to spend too much more money. It is Queensland licensed so we will have to re-register it in W.A. and there are a few odds and sods that need attending to but overall we hope to get a fully functional van by only spending a couple of hundred dollars more on it.

November 4th 2006 (Saturday)

After two days of fiddling around we have managed to get most things sorted out in the new van and now have to put the old van in a saleable condition. I am finding it harder and harder to get things done as my back tends to play up all the time and I end up having to take big orange ‘horse pills’ and lying on my back for hours on end waiting for the pain to ease off. Getting old sucks!

There is quite a long list of things to do and (even worse) things to buy.

1.Water tanks and water pump need installing. (This sort of work is now too painful as I can’t crawl under things these days so we will need to get someone to take car of this.) (done)

2.Solar panels need mounting on the roof. (Same as above). (done)

3.Finish installing 12v fridge. (Need wood) (Done)

4.Get 2 x 6 outlet power boards. (Done)

5.Get safety switches checked (test switch not operating).

6.Get wiring checked as there are some signs of a short in the past.

7.Get electric brake controller fitted to the car. (done)

8.Get rear bumper on car re-welded or fixed. (done)

9.Get car serviced. (done)

10.Return LCD TV (not working after only 2 days) to RetraVision. (done)

11.Get pole to mount Sat dish on caravan. (Done)

12.Get caravan rear bumper modified to take Little Bulldog trailer mount. (done)

13.Get Generator sorted out (cycles on eco throttle) (done)

14.Get van licensed in W.A. (done)

15.Get curtains made up for bedroom door, main door and front window. (done)

16.Get new dustbin for the van. (done)

17.Heavy duty jockey wheel. (done)

18.Fix front right stabilizer. (done)

19.Stove top cover. (done)

20.Get matching wood for fill in above the fridge. (done)

I don’t even want to think about how much all this is going to cost. If we can sell the old van for a decent price I will be a lot happier. (By the time we had finished – which included two new tyres for the Cruiser and a new set of rear springs, we didn’t get much change from 4K.)

November 18th 2006 (Saturday)

Hopefully by mid-December we will have all the work on the new van finished and we can finally think about going away somewhere. We aren’t sure yet if we will go away in the van or stick to the original plan and go away camping in the tent. I have to admit that now we have a bigger van, that option is a little more attractive.

I have been testing the Engel upright fridge to see what it draws in Amps at various settings. I have found that on a setting of 2 it will not freeze anything in the freezer and the cabinet only goes down to between 9-12C. Not at all suitable for perishable foods and meat. The draw at this setting varied between 12 and 24 amp hours per day over a period of about a week. I am not sure why there is such a big variation on the power usage as the fridge has been kept full and the door rarely opened. Next I will test it on 2.5 and then on 3 to see what the differences are. I do know that set to 3 it will freeze meat.

November 21st 2006 (Tuesday)

After more testing we have found that the Engel will freeze water on a setting of 2.5 but that at this setting the cabinet temperature only drops to 7.4C. Again not low enough to be safe for things like chicken and milk. At that setting it was using between 30 and 47 amp hours a day. This was during weather with temperatures in the mid to high 20s.

Yesterday and today saw some good progress with regard to the new van. We got the electric brake controller fitted yesterday ($125) and got the van inspected and licensed today ($56.50 inspection $216.10 license including the rip off stamp duty.) These charges really start to mount up.

November 23rd 2006 (Thursday)

We have done another quick ring around of caravan parks to see if we can find some more good value ones but we were a bit disappointed with what we found. The results are as follows:

Broomehill $25 (what a crazy price for a town with nothing much to offer).

Peaceful Bay $20

Parrys Beach $7 - $10

Windy Harbour $16 ($12 concession) No power but generators are Ok.

Darkan $14

Northcliffe no answer

Wharton no answer.

November 27th 2006 (Monday)

With the van finally licensed we have booked it in to have new water tanks fitted next Monday. That means another trip down to Perth and I can’t say I’m looking forward to all that traffic again but the work has to be done. We will probably get the solar panels fitted to the roof as well as this will mean I don’t have to worry about them being pinched when we are away from the van and need to leave the fridge turned on.

We (and the rest of the wheatbelt) are suffering from a plague of locusts at the moment. That has meant strapping some fly screen mesh on the roo bar to stop the little beasites from clogging up the radiator, but it doesn’t stop them splattering all over the rest of the car and sticking in to just about any crevice they can find. Although we thought that they would attack the vegie garden it has remained intact, but what the locusts have left alone the cabbage white caterpillars have found and made a meal of.

I really think growing your own vegetables is a bit of a waste of time. We would have been eating much better if we had put the money into the food budget rather than into fertilizers and insecticides but it keeps Belle amused at least.

Even though we are still a few days away from the official start of Summer, we have found that the temperatures are now regularly in the mid to high thirties. (39.6C the other day). We are now planning a short trip away over Christmas with the caravan – just to see how it goes – and then a camping trip as originally planned to the south coast, where hopefully the temperatures will be a bit more pleasant.

December 2nd 2006 (Saturday)

Very strange weather. It is now officially Summer and as I write this I have got the heater on. The past few days have been wet, windy and quite cold.

We are due to head down to Rockingham tomorrow and on Monday the new water tanks should be going in to the caravan. We haven’t had much luck selling the old van yet but being right out here in the boonies, I’m not overly surprised. We will probably have to take it down to ABBA Caravans and put it there on consignment.

December 10th 2006 (Sunday)

We are back from Rockingham with the new caravan almost sorted out. After spending $880 on new springs and shocks for the Cruiser and over 1K on the caravan we are really hoping that the old van sells quickly once we take it down to ABBA Caravans and put it on consignment. New rear tyres for the Cruiser were also needed so we won’t see any change from 3K (and not much from 4) from this last trip. We still have to get a rear diff seal done but that shouldn’t be too expensive. (Turned out to be $72). As long as nothing goes wrong for the next 6 months we will be ok – some hope though!

December 14th 2006 (Thursday)

The old caravan went down to ABBA Caravans in Rockingham today and as the new one is almost finished, all we have to do is pack up and get ready to head off for Christmas. We have picked a small town about 150Km north of where we are and are expecting Christmas to be very quiet there (just the way we like things to be). We expect to be there anywhere from 2-4 weeks and then head back home to get ready to do a tour of the south west. That is still plan ‘A’ anyway.

This will be our tenth Christmas since taking off in the bus and every one has been spent in a different place. As long as we can continue to do that, life should continue to be an interesting experience. Some places have been less than attractive but even God forsaken dumps like Halls Creek still left us with some interesting memories and weird experiences.

Looking at where we actually were each Christmas day it turns out that of those ten years we were only actually in the bus on three occasions. Last Christmas probably stands out as one of the most boring to date as we didn’t try to go away from our current base.

December 18th 2006 (Monday)

We arrived in Goomalling and settled in at the local caravan park. After two very hot days today is overcast, cloudy, humid and still very hot. Thankfully as we are on power we can use the air-conditioner.

The local caravan park is very good for a shire park and as CMCA members we get a very good discount. The local swimming pool is next door and the small commercial area of town is only a short walk away. From here we intend to travel round to the surrounding towns spending some time checking out as much as we can.

Goomalling is a small town but displays a high level of civic pride that seems to be missing in some other small wheat belt towns. People here seem very friendly, more so than where we are based, so it looks like a good base to explore the central wheat belt from.

December 19th 2006 (Tuesday)

As we usually do when we are staying in a new town for a while we joined the local library and I found some more material for the W.A. Guide that will keep me busy until after Christmas.

The weather today had turned drizzly – no surprise after the heat of the weekend – and we have discovered a small leak at the front of the van. Hopefully it will be easy to fix as leaks in caravans can be a real source of hassles.

December 31st 2006 (Sunday)

A few very hot days later and Christmas is over with only New Year to get out of the way before we start to think about what to do next. The ankle biters don’t go back to school until the end of January so we won’t want to go near the coast until then.

We have managed to get out to Dowerin, Cadoux and Wongan Hills and still plan to have a look at Wyalkatchem, Cunderdin, Meckering and Toodyay before we leave the area.