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Published: April 19th 2006
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Fishermen At Horrocks
We watched a sunset from here, and spotted some Dolphins catching waves into the beach! On The Road Again, Reef Break, Princess Shirly, Muddy River & Johnnie Jump, Top Of The Genocide List, Moon Window.
(First appologies, this crap PC does not have USB so i cant upload any pics (will try to another time), It also lacks word or any other typing program to manage my spelling. Think Phonetics, i doo.)
Well having Betty back on the Bitumin was a real releif but it took a lot longer than it should, i think Shane rather fancied the old girl and kept her in over a weekend for a little auto action.
With our cabin feaver reaching its zenith we decide to take Bruces bright yellow Hyundi Getz hire car (from now on called Mellow Yellow) up the coast a hundred and a bit k's. Packed with kite, camp and beach gear Yellow Mellow just Getz us there, and the there in question is another quaint little cray fisshing town, know as Horroks.
This place is georgeous, realy nice, friendly people, great camp site, white beach, 18kts cross on, and best of all, 300 meters out from the beach is a shallow reef that picks up any Sou or Westerly swell. Jimmy
The Archetect Makes temporary shade in Shark Bay..
Nylon, an amazing thing, and totaly essential to our trip! and i get two great sessions here and for me wave riding finaly clicks.
Normaly wave riding is prity hary with a kite as you catch a beach break and head with some speed into the sand, have to pull a hairy turn in white water, then power out through the wave you just cought!
The great thing about the reef break is that you can kite out from the beach in perfect flat water, try some ticks, then head for the break, ither through it, or working around one edge of the reef. From here you can kite back in and catch a wave, which are realy long here, get a couple of turns on it, escape the break and your still a way out from the beach. Normaly wave riding is prity hary with a kite as you catch a beach break and head with some speed into the sand, have to pull a hairy turn in white water, then power out through the wave you just cought!
Let it be know that Bruce is shapeing up to be a first class kite bitch, pluss he has gone blick and reads a book a day!
From
King Lenord Of Hut.
If I were a sheep farmer who became a king I think would have a similar grin. Horrocks Jimmy and i zip back to Gerraldton to pick up Betty before we all head north in convoy, its kind of funny seeing Bruce grinning with determination and a little insanity as he folows Betty on the endless streight roads through the bush. We pass a sign reading 'Next Fuel 260k', Bruce pulls over instantly to top up his 30L tank, 'Boys, do ya think ill make it'? We answer with a rev from a V6 and the dust of our departure.
We leave the dullest road ever after only 200ks of nothing and take a sharp left onto gravel tracks, i switch to sitting with Bruce to keep his nerve up as i convince him that its fine to go 70kms down these unsealed roads, there are no corners or traffic, what could go wrong!
Our destination now is the Kingdom Of The Hutt River Province. Yep thats right, as bizzar as it must seem (and it seemd prity bizzar) their is infact a small independant Province within the Comonwealth of Australia. This is a Monarchy around the Hutt River of about 500 square K's, and realy is an independent Kingdom. An old sheep and wheat
Jimmy On The Kalbarri Clifs...
Englishman Abroad, what can i say? ranch the Hutt River Province was heavily taxed and had its subsidees removed in the 70's, in protest the owner of the farm hired a lawyer and found a legal loop hole allowing him to claim the land as a independant Kingdom with himself the King. The legal loop hole was rapidly closed and the Australian government pretends that the Hutt River Province does not exist, though having been there i can confirm that it realy is and independant country.
On arival the first thing of note are the insane Flys, after getting a fly net on, i spot a large statue of King Lenord himself, a rather typicle looking Ozzy shep farmer. An elderly lady saunters from a small shed with a grand sign reading 'Government Offices and Post Office' she introduces herself as Princess Sherly! The Princess takes us on a guided tour of the offices, stamping our passports, and recomending we change some money to use in the gift shop. I notice that the Kingdom has its own stamps, money, driving licences, and an armed forces. The army consists of veterns who live localy, the navy is a small tinny in one of the sheep
Johnnie Jump Ripping it.
Im afraid i only have Video of his other antics but check that wave, man o man! sheds, while the Air Force is the Kings own Sesna, Air Force One for Royalty!
Unfortunatly the King is away visiting some mates, and both princes are out on the farm looking after the sheep, but Princess Shirl is a very nice guide and the tour is about the wierdist thing ive ever done. Only in Australia!
From The Hutt River Province we head on to Kallbarri, where the Mighty Merchiston river meats the Indian Ocean in a georgeous terquoise sweep of flat water. Or so the LP tells us. Unfortunatly the Cyclone up north has turned the Mighty Merchiston into a rageing torrent of muddy flood water. We stay in Kallbarri two nights and manage one short kite on the Muddy River, at one moment when i lost my board i was hit by something solid and slimy, im not sure if i bumped into the fish or it bumped me, with all of 2cm visability it was probably both at fault. I had to realy think about not thinking about sharks for the rest of that surf.
Another attraction of Kallbarri is a Big wave known as Jaques. The surfers guide describes it as 'A
Screaming Left Hander with a near virtical takeoff, over urchin infested reef.' and warns 'Dangers: What can we say, The Wave, The Rips, The Sharks, The Locals, its all there!'. Jaques is a Point break over reef near a steep rock ledge, its the best viewing wave ive ever seen as you can get on the ledge and be all of 20m from where the surfers are takingoff. I shot a good 30mins of some amazing surfing, includeing the local legind Johnnie Jump. JJ in his late 30's sports long blond hair, heavily weatherd skin, blue of blue eyes with bloodshot whites. He is renound for his excentric surfing style, which include the dead locust (on his back with legs in the air), and one footed spastic (you have to see it to belive it), and this is on no small wave, this is Jaques in 4m easily doubble overhead, balls of steele. (will definatly get pics when i get to a better PC). We have a chat with Johnnie as he packs in for the day, we offer him a beer but like most surfers out here he dont drink, he just says 'No thanks boys, its just good
to see you grinning'.
Inland from Kallbarri we go for a hike in the Merchiston gorge national park looking for 'Natures Window' a natural window offering scenes of the gorge the river runs through. After 5 minutes walking i have re addressed the creature on the top of my Genocide list, the Sand Fly! My god, never in my life have i met an insect that can be so small yet so painfull and in the long run, totaly mindblowingly irratating. Its fair to say that these little fuckers mauled us, i must have killed hundreds on my legs but still they managed to bite me, getting up my Tshirt, inside my hat, all over my legs, and the bites end up bigger than the flys, they swell and itch and swell and itch and swell till your crying tears of missery three days later..........
Through our torment we do find Natures window and just as im lining up the most brilliant photograph Jimmy pulles a great moon throgh the rock opening, nice one bro, hope the sand flies got ur ass hole!
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