Nullarbor, Esperance and Jeremy Doble

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Travelling across the Nullarbor wasn’t much to write home about. We stopped to look at the start of the bight, and then again closer to the WA border. A lot of the diversions off the main highway to the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight were closed due to cliff erosion. We witnessed this erosion first hand as we found a dirt track to the cliffs to have our last lunch before the WA quarantine point. This full checkpoint is where they inspect your car and camper for all fruits, vegetables and honey products. You can’t bring anything into the state!
Once into WA we branched south from Balladonia on a 4wd track and passed by an old homestead built in 1890. It is now only a safe house for travellers with basic supplies and a couple of beds, all maintained by the travellers that use them. We were headed to Esperance to restock our fresh produce and then drove back east again to find a nice spot to camp for a while by the beach. Alexander bay was beautiful and the camping area fantastic in comparison with most we had seen so far. We had intended to catch up with friend of mine who lives in Ongerup, north east of Albany but a call to Kym’s relatives in Margaret river found out they were all having a get together which meant we could catch up with them all before they left for their respective jobs.
It was also on this day we discovered the horrifying news that my friend Steve and Sharon, whom we stayed with and had a fabulous time in the Daintree in November had lost their beautiful 5yo son Jeremy to a crocodile. They searched for a week and eventually caught a croc to find Jeremy’s remains within. Jeremy had only known life on the Daintree River and was so full of fun and enthusiasm for his surroundings. Both Jeremy and his brother Ryan were each other’s shadows, and knew so much about the wildlife and the plants it amazed both Kym and I. We were in the Daintree when they received an early Christmas present Champ the boxer pup, and spent some great times with both boys swimming in freshwater creeks, fishing from the jetty, boating on the river and mucking around in our camper. This was a terrible tragedy which bought the Doble family great emotional and financial hardship as their business has now been closed for an indefinite period. They have set up the Jeremy Doble Memorial Trust fund for anyone who wished to assist them through this difficult period. If any of you reading this feel like helping this beautiful family out the trust details are:
Jeremy Doble Memorial Trust Fund
Mossman QLD branch of ANZ
BSB 014663
Account 252309119
The service for Jeremy was held in Mossman bay a few weeks later, and we had services on the same day in Perth and Sydney for the extended families and friends to pay their respects.
This event has touched both Kym and I deeply, and we would like to pass on Steve’s message to you all - an excerpt from Jeremy’s Eulogy.
”Perhaps as may be considered typical in such a time of need, many people asked what they could do to help. What I repeated time after time after time to these wonderful people, and especially those from afar was to hold their loved one or ones and hold them tighter and closer than ever before, tell them they love them and through the demonstration of “love”, strength, love and emotion would permeate into the air. In turn, we would breath that in every second and our bodies would be engulfed in their love, strength and protection even at the lowest ebb”

May you rest in peace Jeremy and may Steve, Sharon and Ryan find strength in the air they breathe.

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Photos

Top of the Bight
Where sand dunes end and the Great Australian Bight begins

Cliff erosion
Was kinda scary standing on the edges

Alexander Bay
The weather was actually great, the sand clean and white and the water 21 deg and blue as blue!

Jeremy Steven Doble
You will be in our hearts forever.