Blogs from Western Australia, Australia, Oceania - page 13

Friday 28th April Stop, clean and wash day today, feels strange doing normal things again. Washing machines are large and I managed to do all the wash in one for $5 not bad, out on the line in a lovely breeze. Graeme got the vac out and we got rid of all the stones and crap from the floor, looking good again. Graeme installed the in-line filter for the water coming in that we bought yesterday, it will help preserve the pipes and the tanks on the van, but I will still not be using the water for tea or drinking, it is good for washing dishes and hands and flushing the toilet. Headed out for lunch to the Mar e Sol a small restaurant that sits out on the spit in the industrial are near ... read more

26th April route Kalbarri, Billabong Roadhouse, Hamelin Pool Hamelin Pool Caravan Park $45 per night Rating by us 3/10 Very run down, no shade, dirt floors, poor facilities 26th Apr Hamelin Pool Mileage 6171 travelled 349kms Wednesday 26th April Well, the locals were right about the weather it rained heavily during the night and was still showering this morning, hopefully driving north will take us out of it, here's hoping. Chatting with a couple from Perth and there six-year-old "miniature" staffie called Maggie I think she must be a cross as she is half the size of Tippy. They did the normal rough stuff that staffies do and his wife was not impressed, he was OK and said that's what staffies do, but I had to take Tippy away as she was not happy, shame. Pack ... read more

24th April route, Leeman, Eneabba, Dongara, Geraldton, Port Gregory Port Gregory Caravan Park G.Day Park $55 per night Rating by us 6/10 Grass sites, good size with shade, great facilities, walking to beach. 24/25th Apr Port Gregory Mileage 5822 travelled 275kms Monday 24th April Packed up in torrential rain this morning thanks goodness we can pack fast with not much needing to be done. Graeme did all the outside stuff whilst I tackled inside, poor bugger drew the short straw this morning but that's how the team works. Another short drive today covering only 275 kms well within our range for a day. The weather has been miserable with grey skies and rain on and off. We kept driving with a quick shop at Aldi in Geraldton for a few things, good specials today got all ... read more

Start Date - 22nd April 2023 Start point - Bakers Hill WA Start Mileage = 5231 Next Gen Ford Ranger 2022 Jayco Outback Journey 19ft Caravan 22nd April route, Toodyay, Mogumbar, Cataby, Leeman Leeman Caravan Park $42 per night Rating by us 3/10 22/23rd April, Leeman Mileage 5547 travelled 316kms Saturday 22nd April Having packed and loaded most of the stuff yesterday we awoke excited with only a few jobs to complete and of course still to pack Graeme's clothes. We finally hit the road at 9.30am not bad considering we had been up and busy since 6am. We have elected not to drive more than 300kms per day so today was at the limit of what we wanted but the weather was fine, and we were full of excitment, even the dog was racing around ... read more

We were at the jetty right on time, having sussed out where it was the day before. After the mandatory safety briefing we headed out to sea! We took this opportunity to nap for there wasn't much to see but blue, blue ocean! Starting at the place they call the hotspot we spotted blows mere minutes after dropping into the canyon. One of the orcas broke water’s surface with their dorsal while the other hung low, their blows sweeping over the shallow swell lines. We waited patiently while they ducked below the waves maintaining a consistent 3-minute dive interval before resurfacing again. At first, we noticed just 3 then 4, then 10 and finally 12 individuals. The others must have been hiding underneath when we first saw the blows. The large pod had 3 young males ... read more