TIME ELAPSED SINCE DEPARTURE : 48 WEEKS
DISTANCE TRAVELLED : 28,650 KMS
80 MILE BEACH
Eighty Mile Beach is off the Great Northern Hwy (Highway 1) via a dusty, occasionally corrugated red dirt road. Given our experience with corrugations on dusty side-roads off the Nullarbor back in May, I really don’t like taking the caravan over them. It can get injured. A bit like me when tying a shoelace – can pull a hamstring. But on this occasion, all good. At the end of the road lies a long and wide stretch of sand and a caravan park and nothing else. The type of place where once the car is parked, you have no need for it until the day you leave. No phone reception, no TV but you can access WiFi at the neat little onsite café/reception area. The sites are wide and grassy and shady. 😊 A nice spot for a handful of days beachcombing. There is plenty of that to do as there are thousands (and thousands) of shells to pick over and not one piece of plastic or glass to be found. Pristine. Susan loves picking over shells and things on beaches so she was in heaven. (Sooz: FYI – I found some interesting shells, such as sand dollars, which I have never seen on beaches on the east side of Australia – only in Florida! Who knew they would be here too?!) The tidal movements a huge and at low tide the beach would be 500 metres wide and once you got to the water’s edge, you have to wade out another 100 metres just to get to thigh depth. Normally (apparently) there is good fishing to be had but the water was (apparently) cooler than normal (we guessed 21) and the fish also seemed to have decided that it was too cold and had dispersed. I didn’t even try as no one was catching a thing but plenty were trying. That’s a good thing about fishing, there is always plenty of valid excuses as to why the fish are not biting…… (Sooz: I had a couple of swims here, even though the water was murky. That is, until someone told me that she has caught sharks, sawfish, and sea snakes at this beach as well as seeing people who step on sting rays and get stung here. Oh well…)
80 MILE BEACH CARAVAN PARK 7.5/10 Sooz: 8/10 (The café pushed it up in my eyes)
RED DUST
I love it’s iconic colour but I am starting to dislike pretty much everything else about the
stuff. It gets onto and into everything. Every surface, every crack, crevice and body orifice! As my old mate Gus said in a phone conversation, I will be ‘growing potatoes out of my ears’. And I almost sob every time I look at or get into what was a nice, clean, white, fresh smelling
new vehicle 15 months ago. This part of the world has aged ‘Eric’ by 5 years and that includes a few stone chips from trucks. I should have bought a red vehicle. That would have hidden the dust. Despite taking it to car wash stations and giving it vacuums, it very quickly looks dirty again and when you give one of the seats a slap, a cloud of red dust puffs up. Breaks my heart. (I have always loved my cars) So the car, the caravan and all items within both including our clothing and bed linen etc, all suffer in this regard. We need to sweep the caravan floor almost daily. (Sooz: Leigh is a bit obsessed with this and is sweeping several times a day! LOL!) You can wipe the kitchen bench down and within 3 or 4 hours, a fine layer of red grit will have settled on it again. A losing battle. That’s outback Australia. Diesel & Dust. (Sooz: and more dust, and more dust and more dust!)
The next leg of our journey was almost 400 kms and it passed through a large area that had been belted by Tropical Cyclone Ilsa last April. Ilsa was rated Category 5 with winds hitting 260kmh. It set a record for the highest average wind over a 15 minute period for a cyclone in Aust. Driving along Highway 1 in the area where Ilsa hit, all trees had lost at least their top half and one of the only two road houses over the 400km stretch to Broome had been totally destroyed. As you passed by what’s left of Pardoo Roadhouse & Tavern and view the ravaged vegetation over a 100km stretch, you get an in-your-face appreciation of the destructive forces that these systems have. (Sooz: Obviously, this drive was pretty uninteresting. Oh well, not everywhere rates a mention.)
BROOME
It’s a frontier town of about 15,000 people set on a peninsula. On one side of the peninsula sits Roebuck Bay, which has the port, and the main part of Broome is near here. On the other side, the Indian Ocean side and about 6 kms away form town is the famous Cable Beach which is a resort mecca. Roebuck Bay has a couple of swimmable beaches and a lot of tidal flats and mangroves while Cable Beach is blessed with lovely sand, camel rides and turquoise water. Cable Beach really is the Gold Coast of WA. Quite up-market and inviting. Nicely presented. It didn’t take us long to get in the water and at 23 degrees, it made for a pleasant dip. Sure enough, down the beach a bit further were the camels, about 15 of them, all lined up with saddles on and ready to earn their owner lots of tourist dollars.
One of the first things I noticed about Broome is that the vast, vast majority of structures – commercial or residential – houses, shops, the airport, the library, the pub – everything is built out of corrugated tin, colour-bond etc. The roof, the walls, the entire building. It doesn’t look strong enough to cope with cyclones that pound this northern coast every year. I will be interested to hear how it copes with a direct hit should one occur in my lifetime. Broome is thus one big tin shed. Does it detract from its appearance? No – it gives Broome its own unique look. Further, none of the structures have roof guttering. The water would pour straight off the rooves and onto the ground. The claim is that traditional guttering would not be able to cope with the volume of water during the wet season, so why have it? Fair enough.
The mangroves and general appearance of Roebuck Bay reminds me of my ‘lads’ fishing trips to Cape York – it looks like there would be a lot of marine creatures and a walk out onto the town’s two jetty’s does not disappoint. Over a couple of hours one afternoon, at the ‘Town Jetty’, Sooz & I saw 4 or 5 turtles, two Mobula rays (they look like small Manta’s) a Hammerhead shark, a Bronze Whaler and a large Bull Shark. There were a few fish being caught but it was crowded so we didn’t join the throng but intend to have a go over the next few days. Looking forward to it.
Those who know my life in Sydney know that I am a member & fan of the Manly 16’ Skiff Club. Love the joint. Beers on the deck on a summer’s day – cannot be beaten. I am pleased to report that Broome has it’s own version – the Broome Fisherman’s Club. Maybe it’s not quite as presentable as the Skiff Club, but it has a nice local feel to it and it’s own quirkiness. Nice spot for a beer.
Sooz: The Broome Fisherman’s Club is near where we saw the best examples of dinosaur footprints. Yes, that is what I said… We saw footprints from dinosaurs on the “dinosaur coast”. Wow! I stood in the preserved prints of huge beasts that lived 130million years ago!
About 30 km’s out of Broome and along the shores of Roebuck Bay via a heavily corrugated red-dirt road is the Broome Bird Observatory. We had to let our tyres down and switch to 4WD to make the journey somewhat bearable. Strange that the road was like that as there was a bit of traffic on it and money has been spent on a good visitors’ centre at the observatory once you get to the end of it.
Anyway, the bird observatory was built because we learned that the tidal mud flats there host the most migratory water birds in the world! There are a number of different species that make an annual return-trip to Siberia each year, via the Yellow Sea between China & Korea as a stop-over for a few days. The number of birds that make the trip are around 70,000 thousand, and the only ones that don’t are young hatchlings that still have ‘L’ plates on. Not yet ready to fly that distance. Thus there are birds to spot all year round but it is in the Broome summer months when the mob is at it’s peak number. Who would want to be in Siberia in winter? They get the heck away from the oncoming blizzards and go to Broome instead. Smart birds.
Because most of them were up in Siberia at this time of year enjoying the Northern Hemisphere summer, the numbers we saw in the lovely, warm Broome winter were at their minimum. Still good to see. I reckon these waterbirds should just stay all year. The Broome winter is glorious – day after day of cloudless skies and daily maximum temps somewhere between 25 and 31 degrees. Why fly all the way to Siberia and back? Dumb birds.
Sooz: We had the most fantastic time catching up with friends from Sydney who were also in Cable Beach at the time – Alison, Bruce and Sasha were here for a holiday. We were lucky enough to catch up – the first night they were in town we got to see how the other half live in Broome and visited them at the luxurious “Pearl” resort for dinner. What a great spot! Then we all headed out for dinner the next night at the Beachfront and saw a glorious sunset over Cable Beach. Thank you Ali, Bruce and Sasha for enjoying a few nights together in Cable Beach!
On our last full day we went on an offshore fishing . I was looking forward to what species we would land. We would be reef fishing aka ‘bottom bouncing’ which is my preferred style. It means you are (hopefully) catching fish that swim in and around a reef and are often pelagic. So big trevally, snapper etc. I am not a fan of trolling and hooking up Marlin and other grand fish like that. These ventures aren’t cheap so we decided to share a line. One working, one watching. Like roadside workers. That’s fine coz when you are not holding the rod it gives you a chance to wander around the boat to see what else is going on. As is typical of tropical waters, there was action aplenty with lots of keepers being hauled in including the prized coral trout (but not by us). Still, there were big Golden Trevally, Spanish Flag (like a stripped snapper) Striped Emperor as well as plenty of apex predators (sharks) buzzing the boat and stealing fish that were hooked. We came away with a variety of fish that was filleted by the crew and according to Sooz’s calculations, about $150 worth. We have meals that will take a week to consume. A good day out on the water.
We stayed in two different parks in Broome:
BROOME VACATION VILLAGE : 6/10
RAC CABLE BEACH HOLIDAY PARK 7/10 Sooz: 8/10
DERBY
I am struggling to find one good reason why anyone would want to visit the remote, far-flung dreary Derby set on tidal mud-flats about 30km off Highway 1. It’s winter and the heat is almost oppressive especially before 10am and after 5pm when the breeze drops to dead calm and the mozzies abound. Temps are in the mid 30’s during the day. You cannot swim in the water for any number of reasons : crocodiles being one reason that puts a slight damper on the idea. But let’s take them out of the equation for a moment. Well, you still wouldn’t because there is no beach, even though we are on the coast. There are only mangroves (hence all the mozzies) and knee-deep mud when the 10 metre tides recede. The biggest tidal movements in Australia, apparently. But let’s say that you don’t mind being caught in mud with a mud-crab attached to your toes. You still wouldn’t go in the water because it is a thick swirling mass of brown silt with zero visibility. Brown soup. Are you now convinced that Derby is of limited appeal? The local jetty has local people fishing from it but I have not seen anything being caught despite several visits there. They have their hand-lines thrown into that brown sludge. The fisher people are usually aboriginal families. I asked a lady what she might be expecting to catch and she said ‘barramundi, trevally, catfish, and some other species I didn’t hear properly. The town is 80% indigenous and alcohol abuse is an obvious problem. Housing is basic and unattractive and not particularly well looked after. There are a smattering of commercial businesses – a Woolworths, an IGA, a bakery that is shut most of the time, a couple of servo’s, a hardware place, a camping/fishing joint and a Betta Electrical that has more fortification than Fort Knox, such is the petty crime rate. Our caravan park has an entrance gate and an exit gate. Strong, sturdy gates. The entrance one is closed at 5.30pm and the exit gate is slammed shut at 8.30pm. This is to prevent cars from being stolen and driven out of the park in the middle of the night. And the park has a high fence all the way around and floodlights stay on all night.
Sooz: Alas, we did not get to visit the amazing attraction that visitors come to Derby to see – The Horizontal Falls. Formed by some of the largest tidal movements in the world, the swirling waters of the Horizontal Falls are a natural phenomenon. Massive volumes of water squeeze through narrow cliff passages, with the rapid-like formations creating the unique sideways waterfall effect. It has been described by David Attenborough as “one of the greatest natural wonders of the world”. I did try to get on a tour, however, they were fully booked. So, I may have to go back there one day. Anybody want to join me?
There are lines of magnificent boab trees along the ‘main street’ and that is the best part of the town. Not the main street – the boabs. Such fantastic, unique looking trees – I would love to have one in my front yard. I have found a couple of seed pods and am going to plant them in Forster. Might be dreaming that they will grow there. If I manage to grow one, I will decorate with lights it at Xmas time and it will be a tourist attraction! 😊
Stan – the streaming movie company – is in Derby filming a new series called Population 11. Its apparently a ‘crime comedy ‘……?? Didn’t know there was such a genre. There are several roads closed where filming is taking place and a local told me that the disruption has been going on for three months! I will be interested to see how they portray the place, coz really, Derby is pretty bloody ordinary. Oh, so why are we here then? Yes, of course, a fair question. Sooz got 5 days of work here. That’s great coz it helps to cover expenses, but while she is busy during the day checking out the condition of government buildings, I have to try to find something to keep me busy or amused, without the car. That’s the price to pay for some income and its only for a handful of days. Maybe I can hang out at one of the uninspiring pubs and get to know the locals a bit better.
Through a contact with the remote work that Susan is doing, I was invited to have a round of golf at the local course of which he is a member. The course was pretty good – quite green and well maintained. I enjoyed it. The ‘natural hazards’ were strategically placed Boab trees that often managed to stop a ball in flight. We used the ‘Sportsman’s Club’ which doubles up as the golf social club as a place to have dinner on a couple of nights. The dining choices around town were limited and often uninviting. The Sportsman’s Club was a bit rough & ready, but it had some life and the locals were friendly, and the meals were good value.
DUMBARA BURRU CARAVAN PARK, DERBY : 4.5/10 Sooz: 5.5/10
FITZROY CROSSING
I wasn’t really jumping out of my skin about our next stop : FITZROY CROSSING. We had received many verbal warnings about the crime there. As us travellers do, you inquire as to a fellow travellers itinerary. Whenever I mentioned that we had two nights at Fitzroy Crossing (again, Susan had some work there), the reactions were different. You might get a frown, you might get a ‘tsk tsk be very careful there’ or you might get a blank look with wide open eyes. Different reactions, but all suggested the same thing. So while a little nervous about staying there, I was definitely curious to see how the place was faring following the devastating floods that hit in March and completely destroyed the bridge that is the only bitumen road link between Darwin & Broome. We were booked at the Fitzroy River Lodge which on the other side of the river to the township and was the place where people said ‘if you must stay there, that is the place to be’. So that meant crossing the mighty river on the temporary embankment that is in place within view of the new bridge is being built. And while rumbling over the embankment, it becomes very obvious that a massive wall of water had rushed along the river and swept anything in its path away. The natural 10 -metre high river banks looked like Godzilla had taken huge bites out of them. There were large, uprooted gum trees propped up at crazy angles and many tree roots exposed. The new bridge has only got a couple of concrete support pillars in place so far, but before they could be built, a temporary cement works had to be constructed to supply the required materials. Huge cranes had to be brought in, workers accommodation supplied (there are many ‘dongers’ on the grounds of the Lodge where we were staying) and the temporary crossing put in place. At the peak of the flood, the water was 2 meters above the river banks and had spread across the surrounding country to a width of 50 kilometres. Looking across the landscape, many low bushes and things were all leaning in the same direction from the water flow. The Lodge had motel-style rooms that were up on 3 metre stilts so they just survived but everything else was destroyed. You could see where there were once riverside glamping tents and cabins, tennis courts etc but now there was only debris and dried mud. A shame as the place is set on what would normally be very nice, shady riverside grounds.
As for the town itself which is 90% indigenous, well, it has a pulse but it is suffering and it’s poor. Many empty shelves in the few stores (but we have struck that in other remote towns). We did visit the local art gallery where a room with half a dozen ladies were putting their impressions onto canvas in the traditional style. I like paintings like what Albert Namajira did (landscape) but I am not a huge ‘dot’ painting fan. Regardless, it was good to watch them at work and interact with them. The most impressive painter was an old man with a silver beard and hair and a weathered hat who was outside on his own and away from the ladies. He was working diligently on painting 44-gallon drums in a combination of dot and landscape style. They looked colourful and fantastic and he said he was “doing them for a festival in Sydney and they would have lights”. We wondered if it was for Vivid. He wasn’t sure but he said he would be going there. Keep that in mind if you attend next year’s Vivid! (Sooz: FYI – we had no problems in any of the areas we stayed. Yes, we locked up more than normal. Yes, I insisted we hide keys, wallets phones etc. But, I felt safe at both the Dumburu Burra CP and the Fitzroy River Lodge.)
FITZROY RIVER LODGE : 6.5/10
ONE YEAR GONE!
IT’S THE 8TH OF AUGUST 2023 – WE WAVED GOODBYE TO OUR HOME IN BALGOWLAH ONE YEAR AGO TODAY! And it’s gone in the blink of an eye. We have seen so much, but there is so much more that we haven’t seen and won’t see on this trip.
MIMBI CAVES
Only 100 kilometres up the road from FITZROY CROSSING and 4 – 5 km along a dirt road is MIMBI CAVES & CAMPGROUND. It is an Indigenous operated business that does tours of the caves and provide a campground as well. We had booked a night’s stay and a next-morning tour of the caves. We arrived early in the afternoon and found that the campground was nice with low ridges of mountains running in the distance on both sides. It feels like you might be in a flat, grassy valley that has scattered trees. Not the sort of grass in your backyard – the natural, long green/yellow grass that is plentiful in these parts. (Sooz: It is called spinifex and although it is attractive, you do not want to walk through it. Early explorers called it porcupine grass…Enough said.) A very pleasant vista. Remote, in one of the remotest parts of Australia. Real outback. There was lots of evidence of visits from Brumbies and we saw a herd of them on the side of the highway not far from the turnoff to the campground.
The Cave tour was good for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because of the caves themselves which were quite unique in that they were situated within a strange, rocky hillside where there was evidence of it once being the ocean floor, some hundreds of millions of years ago. Secondly, because of our guide who was an indigenous lady called Rosemary – probably in her fifties – a lovely lady. Over the course of the 3 hours, she went to great lengths in helping the tour group to understand how sacred the area was, how many generations they had lived in the area and how white man influenced their lives (in both good and disruptive ways) As we passed through small canyons and rocky amphitheatres on the way to the cave entrance, we learned about bush tucker, bush medicine and the spirit world/dreamtime. The walk through the caves where Rosemary and her siblings & cousins played hide & seek in as kids was fascinating as it was actually a rabbit warren of many openings, passageways, narrow sections, dark sections and some swimmable ponds. They must have gotten lost in there as kids. Natural light shone down through cracks & crevices and there were plenty of times where if we did not have a guide, you could take a wrong turn and never be seen again.
At the end of it all, the group sat around in a shady area just outside one of the many entrances (or was it an exit?), had a cuppa and ate some damper while Rosemary told stories. Her interesting stories included stuff about how Aboriginals function in their social groups and their ‘skin names’ which are different to a given name and this determines who they can and cannot ‘marry’. There is definitely sharp focus on no inter-breeding. There were plenty of questions from the group and then came the clanger. “Rosemary – what do you think about ‘The Voice?’” She put her head in her hands, shook her head then looked up and said “we don’t really understand what it all means or how it’s going to work, but we are not sure that we want some aboriginal who we do not know and who doesn’t know us but who is telling politicians in a far away place what it best for us”.
MIMBI CAVES & CAMPGROUND: 8.5/10
(A final word about the Fitzroy River We have all heard of the Kimberley district and of it’s natural wonders. It’s a large area – twice the size of Victoria, or 3 times the size of England or just a touch smaller than California. It has a population of ‘about 50,000’. There is so much of it that is totally inaccessible or requires a permit as it is Aboriginal land. What I did not know was that it is divided between East & West Kimberley. This is marked by the Fitzroy River. Driving into the Kimberley from it’s South Westerly extreme – about 200km south of Broome – you do wonder a little about what the fuss is about. Where is all that untold beauty and wonders? It all changes not long after crossing the Fitzroy River into the East Kimberley. That’s when you begin to see all that you have heard about, and it’s true – it’s very very beautiful!)
We remained off grid for another day & night with a stop-over at a free-camp called LEYCESTERS REST about 90 km past HALLS CREEK. It had a lovely flowing river that compelled a dip. This was a bonus as we had crossed any number of dry river/creek beds. It is dry season, after all. By the way, other than filling up with expensive diesel and maybe grabbing some over-priced takeaway food, there appears to be no good reason to spend any extra time at shabby Halls Creek unless you must. I noticed that the local mechanic had a big line up of vehicles requiring attention, no doubt as a result of some of the rough roads nearby e.g. the Tanami Track and the road into the Bungle Bungles.
Halls Creek was recently converted into a ‘dry’ town for its own good. (Sooz: FYI – Leycesters Rest was a great place to free camp for the night, but it was packed. I reckon there were around 30-40 caravans, campers, motorhomes on the site.)
EL QUESTRO
EL QUESTRO is 700,000 acres of beautiful East Kimberly terrain featuring rivers, gorges, natural springs and classic ridges. It is a working cattle station but there is no evidence of any of that where the large camping area is. The entrance is situated about 100 km from Kununurra along the infamous Gibb River Road. There is a turn-off along 16km of corrugated, rather rocky dirt road with a couple of water crossings, one of which is about half a metre deep and very rocky. Its probably about 30 metres wide. When you first come to it you do stop, look, break into a mild sweat and gulp. But then you say to yourself ‘you are not the first bloke who’s towing a caravan to go across this thing, so take it easy and get going’.
There are light plane rides on offer (it has it’s own bush runway) helicopter rides, horse rides and guided tours here & there. The campground is well set up and has permanent tents for those without caravans/camper-trailers or their own tent. There’s a nice outdoor bar & terrace area, a steak restaurant and a ‘Cantina’ selling pizzas, a shop and a natural swimming hole. We were booked for 5 nights and were allocated a nice big site. (El Questro also offers private, upmarket suites and cabins that are located in other exclusive areas of the station , well away from the riff-raff and can cost over $3000 per night!)
On our second day we took a tour along the Chamberlain River into its self-titled gorge. Nice. Ancient rocks, eagles, a few little crocs, rock wallabies and near the end of the gorge where the boat turns around for its return trip, there is a fish feeding experience. One of the species is an Archer Fish. You may have seen these featured on a David Attenborough or similar documentary where these relatively small fish (say, 20 cm) spit a column of water at their prey to bring them down to the water surface where they would be nabbed. Their prey would normally be an insect and thus I must look like a praying mantis or something as I copped an Archer Fish’s spit right onto my mouth, as I was looking over the side of the boat into the water! But I won a bottle of ‘champers’ for being the first to spot a Rock Wallaby on the return trip. 😊
Only about 8 kms from the campsite is a most beautiful spot called ZEBEDEE SPRINGS. (This does mean taking on THAT previously referred to corrugated road with the deep water crossing as there is only one road in & out of the camp area) But gee, what a spot! After parking and walking a couple of hundred metres, you come to the most glorious, shady, tall palm-filled oasis at the base of soaring cliffs. Here, large rocks create natural pools that are fed by warm water that flows and cascades out of the 1.8 billion year old cliffs via a fault line. The original water source is deep underground, hence it’s lovely, constant temperature of between 28 – 32 degrees. There were probably 20 people when we were there but such is the environment that everyone – single/couple or small family – get to select their own little pool to wallow in. It was very easy to lay in the crystal clear water for 30 minutes in a magnificent setting until the ‘prune effect’ started on the fingers. Recently, scientists discovered a small, white, ancient crab-like creature in these springs that has not been found anywhere else on the planet. Glad not to have provided shelter to one in my speedos.
EMMA GORGE is meant to be one of the best in the Kimberley Region. Therefore, it’s a must-see. It’s still on El Questro property, but again it means going back out on THAT road to the main road and turning down another dirt road about 8 kms away. There is another accommodation facility (cabins) and restaurant, swimming pool etc but the attraction is the walk into the gorge. It’s a Grade 4 walk that takes in a scramble over lots of rocks for 75% of the distance, and thus the 1.8 km walk in takes a good 45 minutes and guarantees to make you sweat. But you are highly rewarded at the end where a very large and very splendid natural, deep, freshwater rock pool awaits you. This is fed by two water sources. There is a waterfall that during the dry season sprinkles down like rain from the soaring 30 metre sandstone cliffs that encircle about 4/5ths of the pool. It is also fed by a warm-water natural spring from one side of the pool. However, the warm water is not enough to heat the entire pool and the water is generally quite cool. Refreshing after the challenging walk to get there. Clothes were torn off, swimmers donned and in we went. It’s a gift from nature and is really something. There might have been 30 other people there but such is the size of it, another 50 could have been added and there would still be loads of room.
EL QUESTRO really is a very special destination that offers something for everyone and every budget. But I do hate THAT corrugated, dusty road!
EL QUESTRO STATION CAMPGROUND : 9.5/10 Sooz: 9/10
ANT INFESTATIONS. Anyone who has been camping knows what I am referring to! Ants and camping. It’s like fleas on a dog or overpriced food at a football match. One goes with the other. We have had various degrees of ant issues over our year on the road, but we were on the receiving end of a beauty whilst in Derby. One day, all of a sudden, thousands appeared inside. And not just in one place. In cupboards, behind the washing machine, moving along the floor, walls …. it was a full on invasion. And I could not find the source. Eventually, we found that they were walking up a tent-peg, along a guy rope, across a shade screen we had erected and then into the van where, like a well drilled army, they separated into columns to invade all sorts of spaces. One place of particular interest was a jar of peanut butter (that horrible stuff that Americans like. I have tried to wean her onto Vegemite, but it appears she only has good taste in men…….) We ended up buying baits and sticking them in a number of different places and wiped down surfaces over & over but it took a good 5 days before we saw the last of them. We have now invested in containers of ant dust which we sprinkle around any point where the caravan makes contact with the ground. That includes wheels, stabiliser legs, electrical cords, water hose, sullage hose etc as well as tent pegs for screens and awnings. The defensive frontline!
What a great trip you two are having Sleigh! Have to admit in all the time I have know you, I never knew you were so well read, you kept that hidden well.
Keep on sending out the very interesting and enterataining blogs, this is certainly a trip of a lifetime!
Love that you’re able to live off the seafood you’re catching .. so good.
El Questro is now on my list.
Hope Sooz’ work commitments are complete .. sounds like the company would be hard pressed to get someone from Sydney to do a site inspection of Derby and Fitzroy Crossing .. double rate of pay is warranted 😂
Can’t believe 12 months have passed .. what an adventure you’re having.
Keep travelling well.
S&J xx
Finally got some time to sit and down and read more of your blogs and photos etc
What an exceptional job you have done photographing and writing!
Clearly a well documented that you will cherish forever
I particularly liked your “observations” section
See you soon