31stOctober – Halloween, Reformation Day and Joan’s birthday! Which to celebrate? We opted for the last of these with a dinner booking at Matilda Bay Restaurant in Crawley, Perth. http://www.matbay.com.au/ This turned out to be a stunning restaurant with an amazing view of the bay full of yachts and boats, the city lights and a menu that was hard to choose from as there were so many tempting options. Joan’s slow roasted beef cheeks on a galic mash was topped with dried orange slices. The whole thing was melt in your mouth. Greg’s sashimi kingfish with a seaweed and shitake salad was also stunning. Joan’s main was a pork loin served on a puy lentil mash while Greg had seared tuna with radish and enochi mushrooms. We didn’t really need dessert, but we couldn’t resist sharing ... read more

It was rather strange approaching Carnarvon, especially after driving through more dry arid land with few features. Suddenly we came upon the Gasgoyne River and then large areas of fruit and vegetable plantation; hectares of bananas, tomatoes, cucumbers, stone fruits and other trees and vines. We are so used to our tomatoes grown in large commercial glass-houses that it was rather novel to see them growing in the open on wooden stakes. We were excited about the potential of fresh produce from the Farmers Market held on Saturday mornings in the Civic Centre carpark, only to be disappointed as we were a couple of weeks passed the season for these events. Out of town the growth reverted to desert vegetation. We often saw groups of feral goats sheltering in the shade of bushes. We saw no ... read more

After 16 days of travelling together we left Pat and Marian to enjoy a few more days at Ningaloo National Park while we moved on to try to swim with Manta rays. Travelling together has been a lot of fun but now our schedules diverged. Greg had always wanted to swim with Whale sharks and Manta rays. Since the Whale shark season had passed we turned to the permanent population of Manta rays at Coral Bay. As we Exited Exmouth we bought another MSA rated whole rump from the local butcher. The previous one that we had bought in Alice Springs had turned out to be fantastic so the opportunity was too good to resist. Of course this meant that our first job in Coral Bay was to cut, pack and freeze the rump. The Coral ... read more

We constantly hear about the mining boom in Western Australia and intellectually we know this is happening, but to actually see and experience the activity makes it incredibly real. The landscape is distinctly different from that of the Kimberley. Although the red colour still dominates it is more purpley than orange. Ranges topped with a layer of mineral rich rocks can be seen frequently and stabilised sand dunes increase in number as you go south. The vegetation is more sparse and shady trees harder to find. The daily temperatures still hover around the 40 degree mark. Fluoro orange or yellow shirts with reflective strips could be seen everywhere; on clotheslines, in the supermarkets, at the pubs and walking in the streets. White Toyota Hilux 4x4 with yellow fluoro strips and high-lift safety flags were the vehicle ... read more

http://www.travelblog.org/Admin/Blog/gmap-entry.php?map_id=60524 A white tyre indicated the entrance and a red track, mildly corrugated, lead the way to a treasure of a stay. Barn Hill Station stay was located within the bounds of a working cattle station. It was characterised by red cliffs, a white sandy beach, shady trees, lots of very friendly birds and open air ablution blocks. While there were only a handful of people it was not hard to imagine 200+ vans and their occupants seeking refuge at this site in peak season. We had planned on only staying for one night but just had to stay for two. There was something about the place that made you feel at home. One couple had plans to stay until September 2014! We walked the beach, explored the beach and tried our hand at fishing. The ... read more