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Distance traveled 1535km/4060km(38%).Stayed 2 nights.With heavy hearts we left Exmouth early at 07h15 headed for Point Samson about 830km further up the coast.The key reason for being a little sad to leave Exmouth is simply due to the fact that it has so much on offer and we barely scratched the surface.A revisit for a longer time period has been shoved into that ever filling bucketlist.The routing along the North West Coastal Highway took Washongi about 300kms inland which meant we started to get a glimpse of the hinterland although not quite into the Outback.Relatively easy countryside to describe…..flat with clumps of brown,dried out grasses interspersed with shortish,bright green shrubs and smudges of red sandy areas.There were a few low lying hills as we drew nearer to Karratha,many of which contain the iron ore which Australia mines and ships all over the World.This region is also the epicenter of major gas extraction from offshore fields.All along the route we crossed creeks most of which have no sign of water but in a sense they are oases with silver barked,hardy eucalyptus trees lining the banks.Where there were pools of water,many types of birds congregate to take advantage of the life giving water
supply.Parrots in abundance.The birding list continues to grow with an Australian Bustard,White-Bellied Sea Eagle,Brahminy Kite and Rainbow Bee Eater spotted.Inevitably on the 150km mark Washongi felt a strong magnetic force and we pulled into the Nanutarra Roadhouse.This one was low on character and looked frozen in time.I guess Martians landing there would have said “Is this Earth or a Billabong?…a Billabong!..Hell,let’s move on and find Earth”.Don’t get me wrong…they are charming and have an aura all of their own.Great egg and bacon sarmies and the coffee is always very good.Further along the route we overtook a caravan being dragged around Oz by a twin cab.Inscribed on the back of the caravan was “You are overtaking Angel with an attitude”.A further 150km’s down the highway we pulled into yet another roadhouse.This time to feed Washongi some more of the black stuff which she is guzzling at the rate of 9.5kms/liter.In came Angel behind us who happened to be a suntanned,tough as teak 65 year old(Sue’s estimate)dressed in pink who nonchalantly informed us that she has been on the road for two years and was headed for Melbourne.All of this on her own.Wow!Point Samson is a tiny resort on the edge of
a jutting peninsula and was chosen in preference to Karratha which is a major port for the export of iron ore.It was essentially a hitching post for two nights before we tackle the 900km leg to Broome.The only day spent in Point Samson was probably the worst in terms of weather since our arrival in Oz some four weeks ago.Windy,grey and a lot cooler than the 26-30 deg C temperatures to date.So…a good day to explore the nearby region.Cossack is a small abandoned town down the road with a fascinating history which encapsulates early settler life in NW Australia.Whilst no one lives there,the Shire of Roeburne(another town close by)has taken Cossack under it’s wing and a major restoration project is underway.Cossack developed in the late 1800’s as a result of the pearling boom and such was the frenzy and unbridled greed of early pearl mining that within fifty years there was nothing left and it all shifted to Broome.Aborigines were rounded up,shackled and marched to Cossack where they were forced to dive for Pearls.They perished in numbers…those not killed at sea were prone to pick up diseases from the settlers which hitherto were unknown in their communities.Many buildings have been
restored and there is a wonderful collection of photo’s on display in the little museum(originally the court house)depicting life in those times.A cyclone in 1897 absolutely decimated the town and destroyed all the shipping vessels there at the time.We have been impressed with the way that Australia goes about preserving it’s early history.Australian fact file…..ever wondered what the “Australian Dream” is all about?Well……based on anecdotal information in The Lonely Planet Guide and our own observations it goes something like this.Most Australians aspire to owning a house,a car and a boat.Nothing surprising about the first two but when it gets to boats the impressive bow wave formed gives the dream real meaning.Bearing in mind we have stopped off at probably ten resorts to date the one thing that has been in our face has been the number and size of boats wherever we have been.Some of the old timers we have spoken to have remarked that not too long ago the aluminium “tinny” was the standard when it came to boating.Now you hardly see a tinny.There are probably two over riding reasons for the boat explosion….firstly,the boom times of recent years and the massive spurt in mining activity has created wealth
to fund boat ownership and secondly,it is so easy to launch from the beach launch sites or designated harbours along the coastline.This means that hardly anyone fishes from the shore despite outstanding shore based fishing opportunities.Fishing update…..sorry,”9 to 5 ‘ers”.This was meant to be a one day stop off but hey…..where there’s water there are normally fish.On our way back from Cossack a stop was made at the causeway which crosses a beautiful tidal estuary.The tide rushes in and rises a full four meters.Catching the high tide I caught 4 queenfish and a trevally.All in the 2kg range on fly.Great fun!Next stop Broome.FOR THOSE WHO ARE “COMPUTER CHALLENGED” ALL YOU NEED TO DO ON THE TRAVELBLOG SITE IS CLICK ON COMMENT AND THEN ……COMMENT TO YOUR HEARTS CONTENT.(THAT’S ASSUMING THIS UNFORTUNATE GROUP HAVE MANAGED TO ACCESS THE INTERNET!!)
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Barrie
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Hi Tim and Sue my friends whodid the long trip up the coast a couple of times tell me you still ahve the best parts ahead of you. Seems lik fishing is picking up. Amazing how one hobby can generate so much enjoyment.