Some Like it Hot

So continuing north from Monkey Mia, we passed the area that flooded a couple of weeks ago, drowning the town of Carnarvon and at least three of its gas stations on the edge of town. From the looks of things, they must have been cut off from the highway access for a few days at least ,and the road was still under water at one point - Rick enjoyed driving through the shallow lake rather than taking the detour, just for video sake. We asked a lady in the local fish and chips shop if the town had much damage, but she said just the places nearer the highway in the old riverbed, and some farmlands where they grow mangos, banana and vegetables. We could see pumpkins floating along the fencelines, quite a bit of damage to the area, but clean up was underway.

The temperature was rising the further north we got. At the Overlander Roadhouse we askedthe temperture, and were told about 42 or 44 maybe, not as hot as last weeks 46....ugh. and with the humidity from the flooding, it was damn hot. We did have some cooling as we ducked back off the highway towards Coral Bay, but 38 is not much cooler. With the air conditioning on full, we were happy to spot the beach.

We were warned back in Busselton that the reason most of the caravan parks were full and busy with summer holiday'ers was due to the horrible heat up north - who would want to go up there mate? but yeah, we couldn't come all this way and not see the sights, whatever the time of year.... but for these Canucks, there is such thing as too much of a good thing. And the sticky flies, well, they just put us just about over the edge.

SHARK!!!glub, glub, glub

The caravan parks in Coral Bay are all along the ocean, with a nice breeze and a spot of shade. The water there is crystal blue, with white sand and shallow a long way out, water as warm as a bathtub, to the point of us wishing it was cooler.

With our masks on, we could see large snapper fish and small spotted rays, and yes, we see sharks! First glimpse and a swallow of seawater later, heart racing, yes, shark body but a flat head like a ray.... mmm.... does it even have teeth? Well, this type of shark is a bottom feeder, moves relatively slowly and didnt seem that concerned with us at all. A dogfish shark, according to the fish chart we saw later in the dive shop.

Travis and Derek both had great fun following it around, and then spotted at least three more of them, one up to three feet long. Katie thought it was cool, once assured it didn't want to eat her like the ones on Discovery Channel. Jaclyn liked the rays better, as they had some personality, looking back at you with there top surface eyes, and calming floating tothe next spot for a feed....no barbs on their tails, so very unthreatening. Katie was singing her favorite bath-tub song"Imaging the ocean I can see, waves in the ocean here with me.... I see creatures big and small, lots of fish, I like them all!"

Shark Bay and Dolphins at our feet

North from Geraldton, we drove four hours with the temperature raising and the wind gusts increasing.  The roads are good, though passing “road trains” gives a pretty good gust against the motor home, keeping Rick with two hands on the wheel.  The Billagbong Roadhouse was an interesting gas stop, and a good place to make lunch.  We arrived at the Overlander Roadhouse around 1pm, and turned onto the World  Heritage Drive, which leads us onto the double bay peninsula that creates the Shark Bay area.  This unique area is home to over 28 species of sharks, as well as other marine life like dolphins and dugongs.  Dugongs are really cool, one of the two species of sea cows in the world ( the other is Manatees), and a good percentage of the world’s population live in Shark bay.

Our first stop in the area was Shell Beach, where shells have been piling for like 4000 years or so…. 10 meters deep and about 3 miles long by 300 meters wide, that was a lot of shells.  They are mining in one small area, using the shell as chicken feed additive for laying hens.  The water there was ankle deep for  perhaps a kilometer out, and felt slippery with the lime of the decaying shells.  Reminded us of the Dead Sea water, stinging our skin.  Next was Eagle Bluff, with an awesome view of a sea cove below, and we managed to spot about 10 sharks swimming below, as well as manta rays and some other large fish in the clear, shallow water, very close to shore.  Okay, forget about swimming in Shark Bay, I mean, you could, if you were so inclined, but we felt we would rather find a caravan park with a pool.  Those sharks may be harmless, but really?  What if they were really hungry, or just curious? Denham’s Shark Bay caravan park, complete with pool, it is.

Dinner was a wonderful seafood assortment, a treat of the local delicacies - crayfish, oysters, snapper, calamari, prawns.  The restaurant was a hand-cut shell block building, very unique, and the sidewalks paved in pearl shells…..nice little windy town.    Woken by a cackle of wild parrots this morning.  And an early dawn visit to Monkey Mia meant we were able to have a private visit with the local dolphins before the irritating park rangers arrived.  Seriously, they started hassling visitors the minute they arrived - don’t stand there, you must move your car, you are camping illegally, don’t touch anything, wait on the boardwalk, gather here, move back, etc, in high pitched bossy voices ( Derek‘s comment was we didn’t need to go on a catamaran to find the sea cows)  …… very glad we arrived early enough that they didn’t wreck the entire visit to the dolphins, who themselves were extraordinarily friendly..  They played in the water for at least two hours close to the shore and genuinely interested in checking out the people - amazing experience with wild creatures of the sea.

Bottle feeding a kangaroo

Today was a super day in the Land of Oz.
We woke at dawn, packed without waking the sleeping foursome, and hit the country roads heading north before the heat of the day set in.  Sure enough, about ten minutes up the road we spotted an emu with six roo buddies, grazing under a gum tree.  Katie has been bugging us for days to see a kangaroo, and last night's spotting expedition was a bust.  So we hit the brakes, woke the kids, and pointed into the distance as of course, the roos bounded away, wondering what was with the tourists in the motorhome.... Did you see the kangaroo, Katie?  "I think so", she said as she rubbed her tired eyes.  No.
Well, getting desparate enough for a zoo at this stage, I found just the solution in the next caravan park.... beach, shade, pool, and "feed the kangaroos", really?  mmm, worth a try.
Up the highway from Gingin 4 hours north to Geraldton.  We grabbed a quick pub lunch at the Freemasons Hotel and Tavern (not what Rick was hoping), which is no longer the $5 meal it was in the 90's.  Good thing we are cooking our own meals now or we would be back in Canada before the January thaw.  A little further to the caravan park in Drummond Cove, and yes, they have vacancy, and the kangaroos come out at six....okay, just a little more to wait.
But well worth it.  Three roos, one a Big Red that has been bottle-fed since a joey (now going on 12 years old!) and "tame as".  All of the kids got to feed him, and pet him (very soft) and ride him around the paddock (okay, not really, but Travis would probably say he did, lol)
Day 5 in Australia, played with a kangaroo, check!

RV'ing

So first thing on the agenda was getting a place to call our own, on wheels.  Transport and hotel in one.

Landing in Perth

Flight:  Virgin Blue (had to buy an extra one, x6) Bali to Perth, Western Australia, 3.5 hours
Accomodation:  The Ambassador hotel, downtown Perth, booked at the airport on arrival.

An extra night in Bali at the fifth hotel we tried - it is much busier here than it was in Thailand, with mostly Australian visitors (school summer holiday right now).  Nice spot near the beach, I dont remember the name of the neigborhood, but near the airport and good breakfast included, all good if you don't count the rat Rick saw swimming in the "water feature" in the lobby....five star!
Flight from Bali to Perth was 3.5 hours or so, definately budget plane this one.  We were expecting something nice (at least as nice as the South American airlines we flew) from Virgin and Richard Brampton (or whatever his name is) but honestly, like a cross between Westjet for friendliness but Delta for cheap!  Couldn't even get a glass of water without paying extra, and credit cards only, even for $2 transactions.  Wouldn't recommend Virgin.
Landing in Perth, we were rather upside down.  We had planned to arrive in Sydney, New South Wales, not Western Australia, and having done no research and little internet access, we had no clue where to go or which way to head when we arrived.  The tourist bureau helped us find a hotel (central city?) called the Ambassador, but it looks like internet is going to be an issue in Australia.  They handed me a cord when we arrived....mmm, same kind of internet access as Canada, eh?

Changing Plans

We went to the airport early on Wednesday evening to see what options might be available. According to the Virgin website, we could get full reimbursement to cancel or no few for changes, but of course in Bali the local staff had no idea of the state of affairs in Brisbane....mmmm.  So, after much "rigamaroll" we managed to cancel our trip to Sydney/East Australia and reroute for the next available flight to Western Australia.... Perth it is.  That way we can still do the motorhome thing and not get stuck in the mud.

While we were at the airport, the people on our original flight to Brisbane started to "queue", looking anxious and worried about what they would find once they got home.  One young traveller got stuck in the line with us, asked to pay over-weight and extra baggage fees to the tune of "one million dollars" (actually, ruppee, but still over a million!)  He was going to say stuff it, and leave the luggage in Bali, as he didn't have any more cash and they wouldn't take credit cards, he was really upset with the whole process.  We were glad to help him out - and hope that he doesn't have a worse surprise when he arrives at home in Brisbane to a flooded home.  He might need that suitcase, after all.

So unfortunately, our rendez-vous with Mom was not to be, but Perth was a better option for our next six weeks.  We are disappointed to be missing the Great Barrier Reef, and our thoughts are with our friends in Boggabilla as their town is next to be hit.  The weather is wicked - worst flooding they have ever recorded even with the new levy's and dams... not a place for tourists, for sure.