Day 167: Carnarvon

                                                                    Mauritius Beach

                                                                         more turtles

We left Ningaloo (Exmouth) last Thursday and arrived in Carnarvon Thursday afternoon and the wind hasn't stopped blowing although if it wasn't blowing it would be very hot.
Today we headed back north to Quobba Station and Blowholes, it is an amazing coastline that has little simming available but the view was spectacular, there is also the memorial monument to HMAS Sydney which was sunk on the 19th November 1941 off the coast by a German ship, 645 sailors were killed which was the entire crew with only 80 on the German ship.

 The Blowhole

Some of the fish in the the best free aquarium

               A turtle in the rough water at the blowhole

The HMAS Memorial Cairn

A wind eroded rock near the HMAS Sydney Memorial

this is the view we had whilst having lunch somewhere on Quobba Station.

That's all for today, until we do something more take care.

Day 162: Ningaloo Lighthouse Caravan Park

This is one of the many turtles we have been swimming with @ Mauritius Beach Ningaloo Reef Exmouth.
Below is a pair of turtles mating, how does he hold on so long?

I have finally sorted out the problem with uploading our photos and why it was taking so long, when you start a new blog there is 1Gb of storage for photos included free and when that is full it won't let you upload any more (but they don't give you any indication that you have reached your limit you have to work that out for yourself and we all know I'm not the most literate when it comes to computers) until you pay for more space, which I have done so now it should be a lot easier.

I'll send more tomorrow after the increase in data goes through.
Bye for now

day 160: Exmouth - Ningaloo

Back again, our travelling took us into Onslow where we stayed 2 nights and it was just as well as the battery on the car failed and we needed the power to charge it, all's well.  There isn't a lot to do in Onslow but it is a pretty little town although I'm not sure for how much longer as more mines pop up around the area.
The next 5 photos are from the remembrance park, dedicated to those who lost their lives during wars or the sea.  It is on a picturesque point with a rotunda to sit in and contemplate all that you have a mind to.

This is the conveyor belt that takes the salt mined in the area out to waiting ships

This is some of the ant mound just outside of Onslow     

We have been in Exmouth for 4 days now and it is a great spot albeit a little on the windy side, I guess that keeps the temperature comfortable for with out it it is hot.  Our stay here was originally for 2 days but we are still having trouble with the batteries going flat and as this will stop us from free camping Nev thought we should buy new ones so it is an extra 5 days we will spend in paradise waiting for the new batteries to arrive as the auto electrician will not order them until Tuesday.
Exmouth is situated on the east side of the Cape Ranges National Park which includes Ningaloo Reef conservation area which is a great spot to snorkel and see the reef, not as colourful as the Great Barrier Reef but it has some amazing wildlife.  we went swimming yesterday and swam with a small turtle and today we went to Mauritius Beach and there were a lot of turtles swimming and mating so close to the edge of the water it was amazing.  This beach is a clothing optional so we had a great swim.


Mum or Dad out for a walk with the kids



 This is Sandy Bay in the Cape Ranges National Park where we went for a swim the water was so warm, it was like a bath and the entertainment of the parrasailers was great, you would have to have good arm & leg muscles.                                                                                                                                                                       

This is a view of the Lighthouse caravan park where we are staying. Can you pick our van? The photo was taken from the lighthouse lookout.

                                                        The Ningaloo Lighthouse




                                                              Sunset over Ningaloo Reef.

That's all for today because it is taking too long for the photos to upload and it's time for bed so stay well until I send more news.

Day 155: Robe River Rest Area

Hi All, we have left Indee Station today after 7 weeks of helping out, it was a great experience and we'd both go back someday.  We were cleaning the ammenities, making beds and cleaning the dongas helping with the meals for the men that were staying on the property, Nev was also keeping the generators running for the power and any other job Colin could think of including changing tyres on rims, fixing windmills and watering the gardens and trees.
We met some really nice people and some strange, one couple came in to stay in the camp area and they are travelling around the world on the back of a motorcycle which the guy has built a canopy for and they have all their gear stowed in every possible place on the bike, there was no wasted space.  Another couple are travelling around Australia and supporting themselves with coin detector that theyuse on parks, reserves, football fields, rodeo grounds and basiclly anywhere people congregate, they have found enough in the first 4 months to pay for the unit ($1400.00) pay their rego & insurance and for repairs to their vehicle ($2000.00) not to mention how much jewellery and watches they have found, not bad for a couple of pensioners.
One of the jobs I had @ Indee was to hand feed a couple of calves, I named the Matty & Sammy, there is also a donkey called wonkey donkey and an unknown number of geese & ducks.

                                                 Matty & Sammy

Mama goose and her 3 goslings

Wonkey was given to Colin & Betty as a wedding present as they already had every thing they needed














                          The following photos are some of the landscape & Sunsets @ Indee Station.

Thats all for tonight as I'm getting tired, hopefully we will have signal again tomorrow and I'll be able to continue our travelling history.

Day 131: Indee Station

Good morning all, it's a lovely sunny morning here at Indee Station the sun was up at 5.55am and the birds are singing what more can a person ask for. We will be staying here until the end of October as we are helping Betty & Colin with the cleaning of the dongas and ammentities and cooking the meals for the men that stay on the station.  Betty isn't able to walk too far and the staff they had through an employment agency turned out to be in worst shape than Betty as she couldn't bend to make the beds or clean the bathrooms, she only wanted to do light duties (there aren't any) so we thought we would stay on for a little while and give Betty a bit of time to find someone else. This work can only improve our health as we have been a little bit on the lazy side recently and it is so peacefull here. As we only have internet cover spasmodically updates are few and far between and it takes to long to download the photos so for now I'll not be adding any, the wait will be worth it so keep your eye open in early November for lots of photos.
Colin killed a King Brown snake in the kitchen last night, that was the most exciting thing to happen for a while. It came in just as I was about to walk from the kitchen to the dining room so I was the one to see it slither under the fridge, when I told Betty she thought I was seeing a lizard as there are heaps of them inside but when it was forced out from under the fridge everyone was amazed at the size of it, I'll include the photos when we leavehere and have better coverage.
That's all for now I won't be back in touch until early November so all stay well.

Day 107: Wednesday Indee Station

We left Derby and travelled to Barn Hill Station where we caught up with Jim & Gail.  This station has a large ocean frontage which they have turned part of it into a caravan & camping ground albeit primitive which adds to the charm.  After setting up and having lunch we decided to have a swim, it was refreshing but unfortunately there were things in the water that were biting (not very nice). We had a walk along the beach to investigate the rock formations, they looked like crumbling castles from a distance, as the tide was going out the beach was covered with red jellyfish. 

the rocks look like they were carved, this could easilly be an eagle

the remains of an old castle

this could be an ancient pirate ship with a flag on the top mast

how many faces can you see in this one, it's a bit like Mt Rushmore in America

this rock was about 1 metre square and in high tide is under waterwhich has eroded some really nice patterns on it, it would make a great garden sculpture

The colours were amazing in the sunset @ Barn Hill station

Going

                                                 
                                                                                 Going

Gone

Mating time @ Sandfire Road House

and she's not interested

We took another 2 days to arrive at Indee Station which is where Lois & Graham spent 3 months helping out on the station when they travelled a few years back.

Colin & Betty are great hosts, very friendly. There is not a lot at Indee Station but they do have Red Rock Pools and aboriginal engravings which were great to see.

This is all around the homestead, they have dongas which are accomodation blocks, sheds and lots of vehicles (working and not)

These are whats left of the dongas they had after the cyclone in 2007 that hit Indee with one fatality

We had to walk up this hill the other day to finish an important phone call as signal drops out about 7.15 am and doesn't return until after 9.00pm. It was worth the walk up as the view was spectacular.

this chair is about half way up the hill

we made it

A close up of the damage

Nev contemplating the serenity

The geese enjoying a bath

This is how they dry off

This is the second time I have tried to do this weeks blog, after spending 2 hours putting it together in

Port Headland yesterday (Wednesday) the contrary system didn't post or save it so I had to start again today, it's 10.00 pm and I've only had internet signal for the last 1/2 hour so I hope this goes through.

Itlooks like we may be here 'til the end of October as Betty is having trouble getting someone to help out so we've decided to stay on and save some money.

That's all for tonight as I'm getting tired so until we talk again stay well.