Last day in Broome

Monday 29th June 2009
We had bit of a sleepin this morning and used up the last Bacon we brought from Wodonga for our cooked breakfast. As soon as brekki was finished I zipped into town to get some morning tea and Ilse did a few loads of washing. The kids settled down for some school work and we had visitors, Jenny and Alan from Melbourne, who we first met at Monkey Mia. Of course once we got talking time just flew and after another late lunch the kids went swimming to the pool and I went out for some more shopping. Amongst other things I bought a jerry can holder, so on my return to the caravan park I got busy and worked up a sweat fitting the jerry can holder to the roof rack.
Ilse had a dentist appointment at 4pm to fix up a filling and I used the time to get the car ready for tomorrow's trip. On the way home we called in to say goodbye to Louise and Bill and their 3 kids. They gave us some tuna steaks from yesterday's catch. Our kids and their 3 kids got on very well over this stay in Broome and we are looking forward to catching up with them when they move back to Baranduda next year.
Ever since we've been on our fishing charter all our dinners have been fish and we've still got some more in the freezer. Tonight's fresh Tuna was certainly a highlight in our fish eating experience. Tuna steak is absolutely superb and would have to be one of our all time favorites.
Unfortunately today was our last day in Broome and we are a bit sad that our 10 day stay is coming to an end. I could easily stay here for the rest of our holiday but there are places to see and people to meet so we must move on. Broome has certainly grown on me and I can already see myself joining all the other retired Victorians for their annual pilgrimage to this wonderful part of the country.

Willie Creek and Cable Beach

Sunday 28th June 2009
Another early start - by 7:45 we were on our way to Willie Creek Pearl Farm about 40km out of Broome. The road is partly red dirt with corrugations so the going was fairly slow in parts, but the last few kilomters lead across some tidal flats which are fairly smooth. At the pearl farm we added to our knowledge about pearls and pearl farming. One of the more interesting facts was not so much about the pearls but that the Oysters which don't produce pearls anymore (>5yrs old) are processed for their Mother of Pearl. These days buttons are not longer made from this stuff but I was surprised to hear that Mother of Pearl is used in holograms on credit cards, metallic car paint and to produce the lustre in lipstick. Of course this is nowhere near enough to drive pearl farming so the fashion industry, where pearls demand a very high price, is just what they need to keep the money rolling in
As you can see from the photograph, the people at the pearl farm immediately sensed my immense talent and put me to the test - my job was to remove a real Keshi pearl (no, not the $100,000 variety) from the Oyster. Sadly I failed the test as I took far to long and killed the Oyster in the process - and I was so looking forward to spending my working life in Broome playing with pearls!
Morning tea was part of the tour and we were served very nice "Beer Damper" - I have got the recipe, anyone interested please email me.
By the time we got back to Broome we were ready for lunch and some shopping at the local Woolworths. During our stay at Broome we have learnt that when buying Squid, which is bait of choice for the local fish population, is cheaper to buy the stuff for human consumption at the supermarket than to buy the stuff which is packed and sold as fish bait.
Strange as it might seem, even at the wholesale level squid for humans is cheaper than fish bait squid.
In Woolworths I ran into a bloke from Rutherglen whom I've known for a number of years - how strange, this is the other end of Oz and neither of us knew that the other was going on a trip and they are going anti clockwise, whereas were are going clockwise. The chances of meeting on this trip are extremely slim yet we just happen to bump into each other.
As we were driving out of Woolies Louise and Bill (with kids) were driving past, with their boat in tow, returning from their Sunday fishing trip - we followed them home to check out the catch and it was very pleasing to see the three Bluefin Tuna and one Emperor they caught.
Today was the day where we went to see the famous sunset on cable beach. To our surprise cable beach was busier than Burke street and that's not an exaggeration - there were people everywhere and anyone with a 4WD or even a "pretend" 4WD was driving their car onto the beach to watch the sunset. Every man and his dog was taking a photograph of the sunset and mixed in with that were some motor scooters, 4WD buses with more tourists and a heap of camels.
The sunset wasn't that spectacular (missing the high cloud) but that didn't stop the snapping of cameras. Once the sun was down it was on for young and old to get of the beach via the only access road. For me this was the first time that I have seen a traffic jam on a beach. We had to make sure our kids didn't get run over by cars or trampled by camels. In fact, the hive of activity at cable beach was far more interesting than the fairly ordinary sunset.
In fact, we had much better sunsets at other places where we didn't have to put up with such a mass of people (and cars and camels).
Ever since we have been on our fishing charter we've been cooking fish every night and tonight was no exception. Javelin Fish for dinner ended another excellent day, but I'm afraid tomorrow will be our last day in Broome.

Broome Pearling

Saturday 27th June
I woke up this morning thinking "Thank goodness the weekend is here and we can relax", but by the end of the day I found that we didn't even have time to go fishing.
First up we had to go to the Saturday market to get more of those frozen fruit things (that's what they are called "Fruit Things"), then we called in on Bill and Louise (from Baranduda) before going to the Pearl Luggers to learn a little bit more about the history of Broome which goes hand in hand with Pearling. The tour guide had to speak fast to fit all the information into the allotted time but we learned a heaps and saw a lot of pearling equipment. Alexander was even allowed to try on one of the pearling helmets - see photo.
Every year a lot of men lost their life either during cyclones or by getting the bends from pearl diving. Most of us think that Pearling is about shiny (and expensive) little while balls strung around a girl's neck, but back then pearling was about the Mother of Pearl which was used to make buttons (for garments) prior to the invention of plastic in the 1950's. In the early days the Pearlers harvested this particular Oyster from the ocean floor and every now and then they found a pearl in one, but that was only "By-catch" which just happened to be rather valuable.
After the introduction of plastic the market for Mother of Pearl shrank significantly and the fleet of over 400 Pearl Lugger pre World War 2 was never ever re-established.
However, the Pearling industry soon changed into growing pearls commercially on Pearl Farms - tomorrow we will visit Willie Creek pearl farm.
We also had a look at the associated shop where one could buy a pearl necklace at the bargain basement price of $29,900, but for those that wanted something special there was a 22mm diameter pearl worth in excess of $100,000 - needless to say, I didn't buy either.
After our Pearl Luggers visit we had a late lunch and then headed to the Broome jetty to admire these colossal tidal movements before returning to Bill and Louise to exchange more fishing stories and a have BBQ to end the day.

Fishing at Broome

Friday 26th June
Broome is really starting to grow on me, its this tropical oasis located many kilometers from anywhere, yet quite metropolitan and providing all goods and services we are used to from larger cities.
The weather is unbelievable at this time of the year - nights are mild (20°C), mornings are coolish (15°C) and daytime is beautiful with 25°C before lunch and 30°C after lunch. The sky is always clear and the sea is always calm and very light breeze makes beach time really pleasant. There are no Mosquitoes, Sandflies or other insects at all. We sit outside at night time under our white fluorescent light, which would attract millions of insects back home, but there are virtually no insects.
The kids love our coconut spotting tours around Broome where I drive and they look, when we find a coconut on the ground we stop and pick it up. Alexander loves to drink the fresh coconut milk straight from the coconut and then we both share the sweet, white flesh inside.
The houses around here look very different - no tiled roofs, they are made of very well secured tin to make them cyclone resistant. No guttering as the high rainfall during the wet season would be too much for even the largest of guttering.
There are numerous signs indicating the current cyclone warning stages and pointing out location of emergency shelters. I found it very interesting to see a Boab tree in the middle of a roundabout tied down with a number of steel ropes. The soil there is so sandy and trees so shallow rooted that they blow over in a strong wind.
The caravan park we are in had most of its trees damaged or uprooted in the last cyclone in 2000. However, most of the trees survived by being propped up and put back into the ground as their root system doesn't get destroyed during the uprooting.
School times are also different up here, kids start school at 8am and finish at 2:10pm. This leaves much more time for play in the afternoon.
Broome is like another little world within Australia, a sort of island with its own rules, climate and population.
Today was another easy day - I'm finally feeling like I'm on a holiday! We started with our daily trip to the bakery and the fishing tackle shop before Alexander and I headed for the big jetty to do some fishing. We got there an hour or so before the top of the tide and it was running furiously - there was no way we could keep our bait on the bottom, the tidal flow would always lift it up no matter how many sinkers I put on. We expected the flow to stop at high tide, but to our amazement it kept running as strong as ever. I don't quite understand the physics behind this phenomenon, but it sure got me confused. We went back for lunch and then over to Ron and Vicki's caravan to fit a couple of heat extraction fans to their fridge - a must to keep the fridge working effectively on hot days.
By the time we finished the work it was 5pm and we rushed down to the jetty for some more fishing at low tide. When we arrived we found a very different landscape as many parts of the coastline were now out of the water. It was much easier now to keep our bait on the bottom and we were rewarded with biting fish. Although the fish were rather small (15-20cm) there was plenty of them on the bite and Alexander was so pleased with his success that we continued fishing well after sunset utilizing the street lights on the jetty. Spanish Mackerel on the dinner plate brought another near perfect day in Broome to an end - now there's only 4 days left before we move on.

More Crocs and Snakes

Thursday 25th June
Last night was rather humid and when we got up in the morning the towels on the line were still wet and we could feel the water in the air.
After brekkie and other morning duties we went back to the post office for more mail before heading out of Broome to the Wilderness Wildlife Park - this is Malcolm Douglas' second and latest park.
We visited the original park last Sunday, but it has only crocs whereas this newer park has many other animals. When Malcolm established the original park it was a good distance away from the town but now it's surrounded by Resorts, Caravan Parks and private properties, all in close proximity to Cable Beach. I think, if one of those salties got out it would cause a real headache.
We have heard of some baby crocs escaping the hatchery and making their way to Malcolm's neighbours' swimming pool.
The tour guide was David, the same bloke that took us through the original park on Sunday. This park houses a famous saltie called "Maniac" - it is said that he is the most dangerous croc in the world. Some of the crocs got a feed and other just thrown a large ball (a marine fender) on a rope which they attached viciously. At the start of the tour the kids (and grownups) were allowed to hold a baby saltie - the kids were most impressed.
In addition to crocs they also have a variety of bird life including a barking owl and an colourful overgrown chicken called a Cassowary. These birds are as tall as a grown man and are know to be dangerous. David, who goes into the croc cages and handles venomous snakes, will not go anywhere near a Cassowary. They have the biggest drum sticks I have ever seen and a pretty large and pointy claw which they use to rip chest cavitys open.
One of the enclosures houses pure bred dingoes which came up to the fence for a scratch by the kids.
At the end of the tour the guide got out one of the local snakes, a Black Headed Python, and anyone interested was also encouraged to hold it. As always our kids were at the front of the line and only too keen to hold this 2 metre reptile (see photo).
The other object of great interest at this park is Malcolm Douglas' old, green short wheelbase Land Rover which was used in his early adventure documentary "Across The Top". This old 4WD has not been cleaned up or made presentable in any way, it came from the paddock straight into the display room.
We had lunch back at the caravan and then went to the camping / fishing store for a new camping chair and some fishing tackle.
After 4pm we went to the big jetty at the port of Broome to try our luck. The tide was near it's low point and it was a long way down to the water - I estimate 20-25mt. As the difference between low and high tide is around over 8mt one can really see the strong tidal flow. If a fish bites one has to be lucky to keep it on the line all the way up to the jetty. Most people were just using hand lines but we only had our normal fishing rods. Still, we managed to catch another one of those box shaped Puffer fish, although this one was larger than the one caught in Kalbarri.
I can see why many Victorians spend the winter months here in Broome, the climate is near perfect, the off shore fishing is great and they are even biting when on the shore or jetty.
I wonder if we should open up an office in Broome?

The long awaited fishing adventure

Wednesday 24th June
Out of bed at 6am, a little bit of brekki for Alexander to avoid motion sickness and we were out the gate to be picked up by our bus. The bus took us to the beach where we boarded a small amphibious vessel - a big rubber ducky with hydraulically driven wheels that lift up when in the water (see photo). I'd love to have something like this for my tinny, but at a price tag of $100k I wan't be able to sneak that one past Ilse.
We were taken out to a big (60 foot) boat customized for fishing charters. After a 1.5hr trip we were 42km of shore and the skipper was trying to find some fish for us. On our first drop of the line we hooked a big (over 1mt) Cobia, but once we had it on the surface it took of and snapped the line - what a shame, no one else caught another one of them all day.
We had a good morning fishing in about 45mt of water and hooked all sorts of interesting fish, some of which were too small, yet others were not good for eating such the Black Spotted Travelly in the photograph. I shared a line with Alexander but he found it very hard to reel in some of those big fish which took a lot of effort and physical strength.
I discovered that a fishing charter is really good for lazy people like me. When we had a fish on the line the crew would come along, take it of the hook for us and mark it as ours. While we continued fishing straight away the crew gutted the fish and put it on ice for us. If we had a tangle, and tangles do happen when 12 people fish in the same spot, the crew untangles it. If part of the rig goes missing the crew just hand you another rod while they fix the broken or lost rig. All we had to do was fish, the crew did all the hard work.
Once the sharks move in on a fishing spot the fishing was over as they took our fish of the line and also quite often bit of our big 20oz sinkers. One 3mt shark came all the way to the surface so we could get a good look at it before the line was cut.
Lunch was cooked for us on the onboard BBQ and we had some of the freshly caught Sweet Lip and Javelin (Grunter Bream) there and then - fish eaten within 2 hours of being caught certainly tastes nice.
While we were having lunch we also trolled a few Lures in the hope of picking up Spanish Mackrel - we were lucky and went through a school which netted three of these magnificent fish. They were all 1mt long and they are very hard work to get back onboard but well worth the trouble.
A bit more bait fishing after lunch and soon we were on our way back into shore where the bus took us back to our caravan park. Between our friend Ron, Alexander and myself we had two Javelin, one Blue Line Emperor and one Spanish Mackrel.
Now we had to fillet the fish at the fish cleaning station in the caravan park - my least favourite part of fishing.
With all the fish filleted we split the loot in half with Ron and ended up with enough fish for six dinners in the freezer plus some Mackrel for tonight.
This was without a question the best day's fishing I've ever had and probably the most exciting day ever in Alexanders life.

At home in Broome

Tuesday 23nd June
After a few days in Broome we are now feeling quite at home here, we know where the relevant shops are and we can navigate around town without using the map.
We've been trying to buy some cask wine but in Broome (and many other places in the Pilbara/Kimberly) the sale of alcohol in containers greater than 1 litre is against the law to curb the alcohol problem.
Today was R & R, which means no tours or other events, just a lazy sort of a day. Ilse did some washing and we went to the post office to pick up our redirected mail. It took them a good 20 minutes to get all our mail together, during which time there was a long queue forming behind us and our popularity stakes decreased rapidly. Redirected letters get a number when they arrives in Broome and all letters (not just ours) are sorted in number sequence. The computer tells them which numbers belong to us - so they have to look through many hundreds of letters to find the numbers which belong to us - What a system!
After a little bit of shopping and checking out the local fishing and camping supplies we had lunch back at the caravan before we went to visit Louise and Bill from Baranduda who are on assignment in Broome for 2 years.
They were kind enough to pass on some local fishing knowledge so our odds for catching fish should improve. Afterwards we went to the Broome Hospital (this time not for Alexander) to visit Bill's father Ken, our Honey supplier from Baranduda, who's here on holidays but was forced to extend his stay.
Once back at the caravan the kids went for a swim in the pool and I wired up a newly acquired Fluorescent light to illuminate our annex.
Tonight we've gotta go to bed early as we have another big day ahead of us tomorrow, a 7am pick for an off-shore fishing charter!

Cape Leveque

Monday 22nd June
A 6am rise ensured that the whole family was ready by 7am for pickup by the 4WD tour bus which took us north onto the Dampier peninsula. Cape Leveque is at the top of the Dampier peninsula and the road leading to it is normally flooded during the wet season cutting off many aboriginal communities.
The first part of the road, a stretch of some 90km, is unsealed and ranges from 4 lanes wide to single lane width and from freshly graded to extremely corrugated. Sections of the road were driven at walking pace and everyone got a really good shakeup for an hour and a half.
After that part it was back onto sealed road and into Beagle Bay aboriginal community where we stopped for smoko and to inspect the famous church with lots of Mother or Pearl.
From Beagle Bay we moved onto One Arm Point community where we visited a hatchery of all sorts of sea creatures but mainly shells which are polished up after harvesting.
After a bit more driving we arrived at Cape Leveque for lunch and time on the beach (picture).
On the way home we called into Lombadina aboriginal community which was the only place where a local member showed us around and explained a few things about the community.
Aboriginal communities on the Dampier peninsula are "Dry", that is there is no alcohol for sale.
The government provides around 200M$ per year for the communities on the peninsula so they are very well provided for with diesel generators, health clinics, community stores and schools. However, work is a bit scarce up here and there isn't much to do for people once they have finished their schooling or trade.
Virtually all communities are based around a catholic or Anglican church, some of them over 100 years old, as they were missionaries until earlier last century. When the missionaries arrived and brought their particular religion along with them, they had a very convincing way of converting the population to their religion: The people that didn't want to convert were taken a couple of kilometers away and shot. It didn't take long to convert the whole community.
It was certainly an interesting trip and we finished the day very tired when we were dropped back to the caravan park at 7:30pm.

Crocodiles

Sunday 21st June
It was a bit of a slow start to the day as we had no commitments or appointments and it was Sunday. After a lot of chatting to other travellers in the Caravan Park we finally got away at 11am and headed straight for the market for some more frozen mango and coconut minced into an ice cream like consistency. A quick exploration of the other end of Broome took us to town beach and many other nice spots. Broome has an odd layout, its spread out with a number of small centers in different areas. We did a little bit of coconut spotting on our drive through town and we even picked a coconut (see picture). Back at the Caravan Park it took quite a bit of effort to strip the outer part of the coconut away and get to the inner nut but we were rewarded with fresh coconut milk and the tasty coconut flesh.
After a late lunch we headed to Malcolm Douglas' Crocodile Park which is just around the corner from our caravan park. The feeding tour started at 3pm and a guide took us through the park and fed some of the crocodiles. This was a most interesting experience as the crocs in the park are mostly salties, a very large and rather vicious example of the species. These animals, which have been around for millions of years, in a pretty much unchanged form, instill fear into most people with their razor sharp teeth, huge body mass and those staring green eyes.
Although the highlight for the kids was the 50cm baby saltie which they were allowed to hold and pet (see picture), Alexander was pretty happy that he has seen Malcolm Douglas in the flesh. Malcolm's residence is at the back of the Crocodile Park and he happened to be out and about feeding the Kangaroos and some of the other animals. We also managed to see "Walkabout", Malcolm's boat from his movies, and Bundy, his dog, which is now getting on a bit and not quite as agile as we've seen in the movies.
Our travelling companions Ron and Vicki were also at the Croc Park and we went back to their caravan park for a site inspection before returning to our caravan for dinner and a shower before turning in early tonight so we are well rested for an early start tomorrow - our trip to Cape Leveque.

Broome .... here we come

Saturday 20th June
We managed to get up really early today and were leaving Barn Hill station before 8am in the morning. We could have easily stayed a few more days (or even weeks) at this pretty spot on the West Coast but we are booked into Cable Beach Caravan Park today.
Barn Hill is one of those places where we drive away making a mental note that we have to come back to stay for a few weeks at some stage in the future and bring a little tinny with us.
The temperature in the morning was quite warm so we were happy to be packed up early and on the road to Broome. As we arrived in Broome just after 10am the temperature gauge read 30°C and we were told that the famous Broome market was on until 1pm. So we parked the Caravan, set up the bare essentials and headed straight to the market where we encountered a real mixture of people and products from many nations. There is a large proportion of Hippies selling their wares and waiting for the 60's to return. The best food we encountered was frozen Mango, Coconut and Banana pushed through a mincer - what a taste sensation.
After the market we went to the visitors centre and got brochures on the local attractions before exploring the town and seeking out the Supermarket and cheapest fuel - we have found differences of up to 15 cents in some towns.
When we returned to the caravan park we had Ron and Vicki (our travelling companions) come around for a visit as they are staying in a different Caravan Park this time.
Then it was time to hit the swimming pool at the caravan park - it's a great pool with a waterfall feature (see picture) and surrounded by palm trees. I think we can manage our 10 day stay at this caravan park.

Another Day in Paradise

Friday 19th June
The day began with a hearty breakfast at a reasonable hour as we had another rest day. The phone reception at our site is sporadic at the best of times but this morning it worked well so I got onto the internet, did a little bit of work and had a bit of a chat with other caravaners, but after that I really slowed down and got into a lazy day.
At lunchtime we got a fresh Vienna Loaf which is baked right here on the station and there wasn't much left by the time lunch was done. The afternoon was again spent lazing around and not doing much apart from school work with the kids. The beach fishing hasn't been very good lately so I didn't even try but the sunset was once again glorious so I decided to take few photos. This was our last day here and we really enjoyed our stay and the friendly atmosphere at the station. Tomorrow we will once again be on the move, but this time not very far, just up the road to Broome.

Relaxing on the station

Thursday 18th June
Today we celebrate the completion of our first month on the road. We have done over 9000km in the car and stayed in many different places. We have experienced everything from Rain and Hail to Sunshine and high Humidity. We have used the electric heater but also the air conditioner.
It doesn't really seem like one month of our holiday is already gone but the calendar doesn't lie. The caravan seems to be big enough for us, everyone is coping pretty well and is enjoying the adventure so far.
Our current location is absolutely wonderful. Barn Hill is a working cattle station which runs 8000 head of Brahmen for the live export market on 202,000ha of land. The Station is a pretty big concern but the family has 10 children and most of them either run or help on the station. The camping/caravan facility runs from April to November and is closed during the wet/cyclone season. Many of the people in the caravan park are regulars from Perth which stay for 3 month or more during the winter, but there are also a few Victorians in the regular crowd.
The climate is absolutely perfect - Daytime nice and warm for swimming, nights very mild without a hint of tropical humidity - the washing even dries on the line overnight. The amenities are unisex and some have no roof so one can shower (or sit and contemplate) under the stars.
They bake Bread, make Pizza's, Pies and Sausage rolls on the station and a very small shop sells milk, bread and a few other basics.
We had a lazy sort of a day today, a bit of school work in the morning then a bit of chat and some domestic chores, some fresh hot bread for lunch, a bit of surf fishing in the afternoon, Pizza for tea and the day is over before we even know it.
From the caravan area the land drops about 30 feet down to the beach. Stairs make it easy to get down and the wide beach makes for an interesting colour transition from the red soil to the white sand into the blue water.
Broome is some distance across the water (out of sight) but at the elevated position on the waterside the Phone reception is quite good. So I take my laptop, find a nice spot with view over the ocean, connect to the Internet, and that's my office for an hour or so.
I think I could get use to this lifestyle ....

Barn Hill Station

Wednesday 17th June
By the time I woke up and got out of the caravan Ron had already got the campfire going and we invited Matt and Paul (the bike riders we met yesterday) to join us for campfire pancakes. They were both very appreciative of the pancakes as their limited luggage space didn't give them a lot of variety in foods. We had the campfire out in no time and were back on our track north with GPS showing Broome only 600km away. A quick stop at Pardoo Roahouse were we got the most expensive Diesel on our trip so far ($1.61/lt). Sandfire Roadhouse (see Termite Hill photo) was much cheaper at only $1.50/lt. We've been experiencing a lot of headwind today so our fuel economy is somewhere between 22-24 lt/100km.
About 200km after Sandfire Roadhouse we found the sign to Barn Hill Station and turned left onto the soft red sand track which goes straight out to the coast. As this is a working cattle station we had to go through a few gates along the 9km track before we arrived at the station which located right on the coast line.
Our site is a great shady spot located right opposite the toilets and washing machine - very important with kids.
Tonight I'm sitting outside the caravan at 10:30pm in shorts as the temperature is a nice 20°C. Daytime temperature was 31°C today - I think we have finally reached that nice northern winter weather now that we are less than 200km away from Broome. The caravan park has fallen silent (they all go to bed early here) and the only noise around are waves cashing onto the beach with a big thundering roar. Tomorrow we shall go and explore the coast.

De Grey River

Tuesday 16th June
Auski Roadhouse is nearly 2000 feet above sea level an during winter the wind just howls through there from the east. This morning we had a bit less wind but still a bit nippy at 12°C when we left the Roadhouse. Today's track took us north, nearly 300km towards Port Hedland. We have been warned that Port Hedland is not a nice place to stop so South Hedland was our next best option. We stocked up with fresh Fruit & Veg, fuelled up the car, and we were happy to leave South Hedland behind as it wasn't that good a place to stop either.
We stopped for lunch on the side of the road a few km's north and enjoyed the much warmer temperature of 27°C. Another 80km north along the track we found a beautiful rest area on the De Grey river and decided to stay there for the night. There were 50 or more caravans and motor homes parked along the river, all in their own private shady spot. As most rivers up here the De Grey is also flowing under the surface but there were quite substantial areas of water in the river bed.
We parked our caravan on a level spot and, together with our travelling companions Ron & Vicki, got a campfire going to cook our steak. I made bread and butter pudding for desert using the grill in our caravan.
We also caught up with a couple of young blokes we'd see back in Coral Bay over 1000km ago. We remember seeing them as they were travelling on their push bikes with a little trailer behind each bike. Their names are Paul and Matt, they've left Port Macquarie (NSW) over 4 month ago and pedalled some 10,000km across the bottom part of the country and up the west coast. As you can imagine they looked very fit after doing up to 200km a day for last 4 month.
We sat around the campfire and looked at some stars until before retiring to bed in this unreal and tranquil setting on the side of the De Grey river.

Karijini Gorges

Monday 15th June
Today we went to see a few more Gorges, although after the first climb down into Weano Gorge, a ramble along the bottom and a climb back up, my legs let me know that I'm not nearly fit enough for two consecutive Gorging days. I think my level of fitness is more suited to fishing.
For the remaining Gorges, Joffrey Falls and Knox, we only walked as far as the lookout and admired the landscape from above which still provided a great view but without straining those leg muscles.
The landscape in this area is very impressive and the gorges are something to behold. To explore this area to its full extent one would need a week or two and a much better level of fitness.
The trails through the gorges are graded from class 2 to class 5 according to terrain and trail marking. There is another "Danger" class which requires an approved guide plus rock climbing and abseiling skills. Looking from 300 feet above down onto a "Danger" class trail (if you can call it a trail) I can only begin to imagine how difficult it would be to work the way along the bottom of those gorges.
I have heard the expression "Bull Dust" before and various people have told me about it, but today we experienced the red, superfine, sticky and powdery substance for ourselves as we travelled 100km on dirt track. It really does penetrate the smallest of cracks and I could not keep it out of the car. By the time we got back tonight we had this red stuff outside as well as inside the car, on our cloth, shoes, cameras and everywhere else you can think of.
I'm not known for keeping my car clean, but when we came back to day we spent an hour getting rid of the worst of it - this was the first was this car has had and it's now 10 000km old.
Yesterday and today were very windy with a strong Easterly blowing all day and night. You can just imagine, here in the flat country, on the edge of the ranges, how this wind blows the red dust around and covers everything in it. Even the vegetation on the downwind side of the dusty roads is covered in red.
Tomorrow we will travel north again, probably for a couple of days, then stop at Barnhill Station before a longer break in Broome.

Karijini National Park

Sunday 14th June
The usual Sunday breakfast of baked beans on toast got us started for a big day in Karijini National Park. The first stop was the visitor centre where we got the good oil on the Gorges and its native inhabitants. We saw a photograph of a 14mt long Python dragging an adult Wallaby out of a rock pool and a photo of a couple of other 6mt Pythons, one of which has a hair band around its neck. One of the staff explained that the Python came out of a tree to go for the pony tail of a passing woman, the hair band holding the pony tail ended up around the Python where it has remained ever since.
Our first target for the day was the famous Fortescue Falls where we had to descend into Dales Gorge via a steep track in the gorge wall. The reward for all this hard walking was at the bottom of the gorge where the Fortescue Fall drops into a pool of turquoise water where we could see all the way to the bottom. From the fall we went a bit further along the bottom of the gorge to Fern Pool - hat a fabulous spot. On the return walk we first smelt an then spotted a colony of large fruit bats hanging in the trees. Rock Fig can found in abundance at the bottom of the gorge and provides food for the bats.
The only unfortunate thing about the experience is the ascent back out of the gorge which made us earn our lunch. A bit further down in Dales Gorge is another spot called Circular Pool, that's where had our lunch before another, even steeper descent into this part of the gorge.
Once at the bottom of the gorge the walk continues along the bottom with water, rocks, ferns and other vegetation forming a lush, jungle like environment. The walk took us mainly over rocks, upstream, until we arrived at a natural tunnel made up of dense trees. We walked up the tunnel and after a few more rocks we arrived at the totally awesome Circular Pool. Surrounded by vertical rock walls some 150-200 feet high, water emerges from the bottom of the rock walls and flows into the large, turquoise looking pool of crystal clear water. This place looks like something out of a Fairytale or maybe it looks like Paradise itself.
We arrived at Circular Pool just on 3pm and due to the steep walls the sun had already set down there. After spending some time admiring the place we started our walk back out and the ascent back up where we met another couple on the road for one year with 3 kids. After exchanging some stories about kids and their schooling during long trips we made our way back to the caravan, some 80km away at Auski Roadhouse.
Driving back in an easterly direction provided us with an amazing view of the red topped ranges bathed in the golden light of the setting sun - what a sight to end the day.

Auski Roadhouse

Saturday 13th June
Another early start got us on the road by 8:30am. Heading up towards Port Hedland but turning south about 30km before Port Hedland to head for Auski Roadhouse on the edge of Karijini National Park. Although the total trip distance is 437km, fully loaded up with a headwind for most of the way and no fuel there was no way we'd make it without extra fuel. I was lucky enough to borrow a 20lt jerry can from another traveller which got us through to Auski where we arrived safely around 2:30pm. The headwind was very strong for most of the way and fuel consumption was accordingly high with just under 24lt/100km at times.
The landscape has again changed and the red earth is showing very prominently amongst the vegetation. The most prominent feature as we came closer to Karijini were the large red boulders and piles of red rock - all set against the backdrop of those typical Pilbara hills.
I must have overfilled the tank and the Diesel went out the overflow and was distributed all over the back of the car and the front of the caravan, all nicely mixed with the red dirt. Needless to say, I spent quite some time cleaning most of it with Metho.
The caravan park is quite nice for a Roadhouse and has the usual population of mining workers.
While filling the car I got talking to a few geologists from Cambridge University who are travelling around looking for old rock to find future drill sites. Goes to show that this landscape doesn't just look ancient, it is so ancient that scientists from the other side of the world come here to research it.

Croc Country

Friday 12th June
Today we had an 8am appointment in town to get our car serviced so it was an early start
for the whole family. After we dropped of the car we walked to the local Centro Shopping
Centre which had all the usual shopping places such as K-Mart, Woolworth and so on.
We did some shopping and stocked up on supplies for the forthcoming week as the next decent shopping opportunity is Broome.
By time we got the car back, refuelled and stowed all the shopping in the caravan it was well after 2pm before we took a drive to the Burrup Peninsula which is home to the famous North West Shelf LNG Project.
Just outside this very, very large plant is a fantastic visitor centre which explains all about this project and has some fantastic displays. The North West Shelf Project pumps gas from the seabed to the onshore plant, some 135km away, where the gas is split up into its various components, the main part (86%) being Methane or LNG. The LNG is then liquefied and stored in huge underground tanks at -161°C before being loaded onto custom built vessels and shipped to Japan where it is used for all manner of things including electricity generation.
I have never seen a plant as large as this - Very impressive.
On the way back we called in at Hearnes Cove on Burrup peninsula and that where we saw the first reminder (see picture) that we are now in Crocodile country, a sign on the beach saying "Warning - recent crocodile sighting in this area".
On our lap of Dampier we stopped to check out the Rio Tinto loading facility where 4 large ships were being loaded simultaneously with ore. The ore is transported from the mines further inland to the loading facility by train.
Trains are providing sufficient ore to keep up a continuous flow into the four ships. On our way back we saw one of those trains - they are very very very long - my conservative estimate, using the odometer in the car, is 2km total length but it could be more. Pulling the train are three big locos about twice the size of the ones we see back in Wodonga.
Dampier and Karratha are typical mining towns providing accommodation and infrastructure for mine workers. On the outskirts of Karratha are these mining company owned "villages" which house hundreds of workers.
The area is definite 4WD country - about 80% of vehicles on the road are 4WD and large percentage are mining cars which have a second set of rear stop lights and indicators mounted on the roof and a red flag flying from the antenna.
The population must be largely itinerant as most people we spoke to had only been here for less than two years. As nice as the barmy winter temperatures are at the moment, I suppose not too many people like to spend more than a couple of summers in this hot climate.
Tomorrow we're planning to head into Karajini National Park and then onto Barnhill Station - I'm not sure if we will have phone reception in these places but on 20th June we should be back online in Broome.

The Pilbara

Thursday 11th June
Last night was very wet, the whole of the Pilbara received a good drenching (40mm) and a lot of campers at Cape Range National Park got flooded out during the night. Most unusual for this place as the average rainfall is only 200mm (8 inches) per year. The temperature stayed at around 25°C for most of the night and we had the humidity to go with it. They tell me that the Sandflies will be out in force a couple of days after this rain.
After a delayed start in the morning (got chatting to some other travellers) we got on the road by 8:30. The track took us south until we got onto the "Wool Pack Track" heading east towards the North Coastal Highway which took us north into new country. We left the Gascoyne region and entered the Pilbara. It's not just a change in name, as one enters the Pilbara the landscape not only changed from arid into greener and more vegetation but also into those red hills which are so typical of this iron rich soil.
The temperature rose as high as 29°C inland during the day. We stopped at Nanutarra Road House for lunch and fuel and also met up with Ron and Vicki.
After some 600km of travel we finally arrived at Karratha, got the caravan set up and headed into town to check out local scene. It doesn't take long to figure out that this is prime mining country - almost every car on the road is a 4WD more or less covered in red dirt. On the street and in the shops most people wear their work overalls, so it's easy to see who's in mining (and associated industries). Up here non-mining workers are the exception. As a result of the large mining population in Karratha, the caravan park is the most expensive on our trip so far.

Cape Range

Wednesday 10th June
It now feels like we've really reached the tropics - it was warm last night and when we woke up the temperature was still 20°C. We had breakfast outside the caravan under the watchful eye of a rather inquisitive Emu which came up close to check out what we were having. We are well aware that one is not supposed to feed the wildlife, especially not with bread, but our neighbours, a retired couple, weren't so well informed. While we couldn't persuade the well meaning neighbours not to feed these large birds they did change from bread to apple - a much better choice for a wild animal. As you can see by the photo they also got our kids to do some of the feeding.
After the first excitement of the morning was over we commenced our trip into Cape Range National Park which stretches some 70km down the coast.
Our first stop wast the visitors centre which had a very interesting display of bottled wildlife (snakes etc.) but we didn't have time stop for long as our first activity in the park was a cruise into Yardie Gorge on the southern end of the Park. Yardie Gorge was fantastic and tour is run by the local ranger who explained about the mangroves, marine creatures, geology and also the Black Footed Rock Wallaby of there aren't many left and they are expected to be extinct in the next 20 or 30 years. We were lucky enough to spot a few of these rather small (1 foot high) but extremely cute animals which reside in the near vertical walls of the gorge.
After the cruise we moved a little bit further north to Osprey Bay and had lunch beside the beach before going for a walk along the rocks. It was our intention to spend the rest of the afternoon working our way back through all those nice beach locations, such as Turquoise Bay, to the park entrance. However, our plans were cut short when Alexander, in youthful exuberance, running on the rocks, fell over and cut his knee on the jagged rocks. With blood running down his knee and a moderate amount of pain, I tended to the wound but the cut was deep and full of sand which I couldn't clean out safely.
After I stopped the bleeding we drove nearly 100km back to Exmouth and attended the local Hospital where the nurse got almost all of the sand out of the wound. This new wound, together with the Stingray wound will prevent Alexander from snorkeling and any other water activities for a the next few days.
By the time we finished at the hospital it was too late to go back to Cape Range so we caught up with Ron and Vicki, a couple from Echuca, to exchange some travel plans and other stories.

The North West Cape

Tuesday 9th June
This morning, at Coral Bay, I washed my hands on one of the many bore water garden taps and found the temperature to be somewhere between 40 - 50°C, almost too hot for hands. The sprinklers for the grass are dispersing the water into small droplets which cool on their way down so as to not burn the grass when they reach it!
We got away from Coral Bay by 9am and headed 150km north to Exmouth where we arrived before 11am. This was our shortest travelling day so far.
The caravan park that was recommended to us is 17km out of town, on the way to Cape Range National Park, just under the old Lighthouse. From the vantage point of the Lighthouse one can really see the green oasis of the Caravan Park below (see picture) nestled behind the sand dune. As most non-town parks this one is also on bore water and has limited drinking water on specially marked, non dripping, push style taps only.
There is also no phone reception at the caravan park, but the hill with the Lighthouse, just behind the caravan park provides very good reception.
After setting up the caravan and feeding the hungry kids we headed into Exmouth township but there really isn't much to see, actually, we found it rather unattractive as it is set way back from the foreshore and doesn't have much to offer. However, the bakery has very nice Muffins and various other produce.
We checked out Town Beach and the Port and even stumbled across the Yacht Club and the Cemetery.
The most impressive feature of the town, to be precise North of town, is the Navy Submarine communications installation. It is made up of an array of 16 towers the highest 1200 feet (400mt). The installation can be seen from a distance of 30km or more and uses many miles of steel wire to hold it all down during cyclone season.
Another noteworthy observation are the commercial wind generators, found on the hills surrounding the towns in this region, which are designed to be lowered via a winch/pulley arrangement during cyclones so they don't get ripped out of the ground.
The other large tax payer owned infrastructure in the area is the Learmonth RAAF base to the south of Exmouth, a rather large airfield with many unused hangers and a civil airport attached.
Later in the arvo we went out to the tip of Nor-West Cape, the most Nor-Westerly point on Mainland Australia, where the wreck of the SS Mildura rises out of the water. Today we got a really good look at it since the tide was one of the lowest. The Mildura ran aground on the reef in 1907, no lives were lost but over 400 bullocks went into the drink.
We also timed the visit so we could another one of those beautiful sunsets (see picture).
Tomorrow we're going to visit Cape Range National Park on Ningaloo Reef which is the main attraction of the area and pretty spectacular by all reports.

Coral Reef

Monday 8th June
After yesterday's events Alexander was somewhat subdued and most grateful that he had survived the day.
The morning was spent cruising around the coral beds of the area on a glass bottom boat. This was a great way to see some of the inner coral reef without getting wet or getting attacked by the local wildlife. The skipper was very knowledgeable on the subject of corals and also knew every fish species we came across.
A huge boulder coral, nick named Ayers Rock, is estimated to be some 2000 years old - amazing stuff and beautiful to look at.
After the cruise Alexander and I went fishing but after encountering a rather strong wind and fish that wouldn't bite, we went back to base, had lunch and departed for a walk along the beach towards the Reef Shark Nursery. As it was low tide there were lots of little critters crawling around between the rock and the kids enjoyed great excitement every time they saw a crab amongst the rocks.
At 3:30pm the local fish feeding takes place right in the middle of the main beach. As soon as people put their feet in the water around 20 or 30 Spangled Emperors (or Nor-West Snapper) appear from the depth and cruise around right in amongst the feet. When a finger goes in the water and is wiggled the Emperors have a quick taste before rejecting it.
Once the official fish feeder arrives with food, it's on for young and old [fish]. The fish compete for every bit of food and move in a close bunch of 30 fish with some of them poking nearly half their body out of the water to get the food first. One would be very tempted to just grab a fish, take it out of the water and put it on the BBQ, but it is a marine park, so touching fish is totally out of the question.
After we'd seen these rather larger (80cm) fish we thought we'd have another go at fishing just outside the marine park area, but the fish there are a lot more cunning and seem to know exactly where the boundary is. So we went home empty handed again but a lot wiser.

A Steve Irwin style encounter

Sunday 7th June
The day got underway with a Bacon and Egg and Baked Beans breakfast. Alexander spent a bit of time finishing some of his school work before we went to the beach.
Coral Bay is a beautiful spot with turquoise water, sandy beaches and palm trees (see photo). It is located in the southern part of Ningaloo Reef marine park. Being a marine park means fishing is mostly prohibited and marine life is in abundance.
The main water supply is from a 540mt deep artisan bore and the water comes up hot. By the time the water arrives at the taps in the caravan park it's a nice and warm tub temperature. As it is quite saline and corrodes just about everything, it can't be connected to the caravan so we run on our tanks with water from Kalbarri.
The beach was great but the with a bit of a breeze around in the morning the water was too cold for my liking. The kids however don't feel the cold and had their first go at snorkeling. Alexander's efforts were rewarded with sightings of numerous fish species and Andrea was happy to tag along with her big brother.
After a couple of hours snorkeling things came to an abrupt halt when Alexander jumped up and sprinted out of the water yelling that he'd been bitten by something. Although I felt something touching my feet as it went past I couldn't identify creature. First we thought that he'd just got scared with something brushing against his feet, but when we saw the blood running down his heel and a reasonably deep wound it became clear that he wasn't imagining things.
Ilse took Alexander straight to the local Nursing Post (no Doctor or Hospital) which was closed (Sunday!) but a quick phone call to the number on the door got the local on-call Nurse out within a few minutes.
By the time the Nurse arrived Alexander was crying, shivering and in severe pain with the wound starting to swell up. The local Nurse, a fella by the name of Scott, took one look at the wound and informed us that a Stingray was most probably the culprit - now we know why these creatures are called a STINGray!
We have probably disturbed the animal while sitting in the sand, and as he departed he gave a flick with his tail and inflicted the wound on Alexander's heel - apparently they have a few cases every year.
The severe pain was caused by the toxin left behind by the stinger. Most toxins from marine animals are protein based and the treatment is hot water as it neutralizes the toxin. However, as soon as the water temperature drops the pain returns in full strength. After an hour of hot water treatment the pain level started to become bearable and the nurse flushed out the wound to remove any sand and put on antiseptic to prevent infection.
Due to the unforeseen delay we had a late lunch and spent the remainder of the afternoon back at the caravan recovering from the ordeal. Alexander is now very proud of himself, being the only one amongst his friends to have experienced a Stingray attack - he can't wait to get back to tell them all about it.

The Gascoyne

Saturday 6th June
We were on our way out of Denham by 8am this morning. The track took us around 100km South to get back onto the Northwest Coastal Highway where we headed North once again towards the Gascoyne region. The landscape was very much non existent with large flat areas more or less covered with low shrubs.

By midday we arrived in Carnarvon, drove around town until we got a car (+caravan) park near the Supermarket, stocked up with supplies, had a couple of sangers for lunch, and got back on the road. Heading out of Carnarvon was quite different with large Banana, Bean and other vegetable and tropical fruit plantations.

The area around Carnarvon is arid but the plantations pump from the Gascoyne River - beats me how they grow plants as the Gascoyne River, like so many others, had no water when we crossed it.

The other notable observation was the abundance of Roadkill in the Gascoyne - a dead animal every 20mt, and sometimes even a dead cow.
At around quarter past three in the afternoon we crossed latitude 23°26'22" (see photo), otherwise known as the Tropic of Capricorn, which is the most southerly latitude at which the sun can appear directly overhead at noon. It is also the official start of the Tropics.
After a total travel distance of 583km for the day We arrived at Coral Bay around 4pm, set up camp and went for a quick walk to a lookout where we enjoyed one of those nice sunsets over the Indian Ocean (see photo).

Last Day in Denham

Friday 5th June
While out in the main street of Denahm today I discovered the real Road Runner (see picture), an Emu, which strutted down the middle of main street as if he owned the place, followed closely by another baby Emu. In total there are four Emu's that regularly frequent the main street of Denham for the entertainment of tourists.
After a somewhat leisurely start to the day we call in at the Shark Bay Discovery Centre. This centre has a fantastic display showing everything from the local history through to endangered species. The kids got a worksheet which kept them busy for a long time. The history of Shark Bay was particularly interesting.
After we finished in centre it was high time to feed the kids and then head out to our next destination, the Francois Peron Homestead just a few km's out of Denham.
The homestead was great but the highlight was the artisan bore which brings up water from 540mt at a temperature of 44°C. The warm water flows into a hot tub (see photo) which we had all to ourselves for the hour we spent there - very nice.
After the homestead we went back to the caravan and I went down to the jetty for a spot of fishing. As always, the fish nibbled the bait of the hook but didn't really bite. A Blowfish and a Black Brim, both very small, got themselves hooked and were pulled out but released very quickly.
Once the sun set the breeze got a little bit fresh and it was time to call it a day and get ready for our departure and trip to Coral Bay tomorrow.

Feeding the Dolphins

Thursday 4th June
We got away early today and managed to see the Dolphin feeding at Monkey Mia. Around 4 or 5 adult dolphins turn up, some with their young, for a feed of fish. The young don't get fed, only the adults and they only get 20% of their daily food intake to ensure they don't loose their hunting skills. Every dolphin has a name and is identified by nicks and markings on their fin. Scientists from all over the world come here to study Dolphins, Dugongs, Turtles and other species - we saw two of them (from the US) running around with lists and recording various things about the Dolphins.
Andrea, Alexander and I were lucky enough to hand feed (see photo) the Dolphins with fish.
Dolphins are very curious creatures, they turn on their side so one eye is out of the water, and then check out the crowds. A close encounter - well worth the visit.
Greg, the skipper of Aristocat 2 (the 60 foot catamaran we were on yesterday), invited us to come along for today's cruise as their was a good breeze blowing and he knew we like sailing. What a great cruise on a big cat powered by a 20kt breeze, we zoomed through the water at 12 knots. It's great to encounter a tourist boat operator who loves sailing!
Due to the unplanned cruise we had a late lunch back at the caravan before heading to Ocean Park where we had a great guide telling us all about (and showings us) marine creatures such as Sharks, Water Snakes, Squid, Cuttle Fish, Lobster and many others. This guide was amazing - a walking Marine Encyclopedia - and we had him almost to ourselves for over an hour.
Another 40km south and we arrived at Shell Beach, a very wide beach made of squillions of small cockle shells. On the way back to Denham we had a quick stop at Eagle Bluff to enjoy the great views and sunset. The sun was well down when we arrived back and both kids are now very tiered and ready for bed.

Monkey Mia

Wednesday 3rd June
After a somewhat late start to the day we went to Monkey Mia, some 28km away where we missed the feeding of the dolphins but were just in time for the departure of Aristocat 2, a 60 foot custom built sailing catamaran. The catamaran took us to the Blue Lagoon Pearl Farm, a small family operated business which produces around 4000 pearls a year. At the farm one of the owners gave us a detailed run down on pearl farming and showed us some of their product. A product which I have never seen before is the gold nugget implanted in a shell which then grows the pearl and produces a pearl encased gold nugget. The same is also done with Opal.
From the Pearl Farm we cruised to the sea grass areas where the Dugong reside. Although there are not many around this time of year, we managed to see a Dugong, a Turtle and some Dolphins.
While sailing back to the jetty the kids went into the "Boom Net" (see picture), which is attached to the stern and drags the occupants through the water while the cat is moving forward. Needless to say the kids loved it.
After our return to shore we had lunch and spent a little bit more time on the beach before returning to Denham. Tomorrow we'll try and get up early so we can go back to Monkey Mia and see the dolphins closeup for their feeding.

Pushing further North

Tuesday 2nd June
By 9am we had left Kalbarri and were on our way further north. The total travel for the day was 373km with a quick fuel stop at the Overlander Road House and a bit of sightseeing at Hamlin Pool which is about 100km before Denham.
Hamlin Pool is famous for one of the worlds rarest life forms, the Stromatolite - it looks like a rock but is actually alive. It is said that the Stromatolite were the dominant life form on earth some 350 million years ago and is responsible for raising the oxygen level in the earth's atmosphere to 20% which was a prerequisite for life forms to evolve from sea onto land. Without these single cell creatures Human Beings wouldn't exist today.
Click >here< if for more Stromatolite information.
The reason why they exist in Hamlin Pool is the extremely high salt level of the pool which is separated from the main ocean water body by a sandbar some 47km away. This bar restricts tidal flows in the shallow pool and the increased evaporation is responsible for the high salt level.
The other interesting part of the area is the shell quarry where a mass of little shells has been compressed over 6000 years and "welded" together by leeching calcium - many years ago the locals used a cross cut saw to cut blocks and use them for building. I suppose these shell blocks were an early version of what we know call a "Hebel Block".
Another hour's drive up the road saw us settled into a Caravan Park at Denham. The park is build on a hill made from shells. The vista from the elevated caravan sites is indeed very nice, with a view over the bay and the moored boats. The day ended with one of those nice sunsets over the Indian Ocean - see photo.

School away from School

Monday 1st June
Today was the first day of winter and Founders Day, a public holiday in WA.
AT 8:45 we went to see the pelican feeding which takes place opposite the Caravan Park. At the appointed time the Pelicans duly arrived and got a feed of fish from a feeding volunteer. Apparently one of the locals, who lived just opposite the feeding spot, started feding the Pelicans back in 1976 with fish scraps. He did this for many years and when he didn't go out to feed them, the pelicans would come to his house (just across the road) and demand their food! When the original feeder passed away a group of volunteers took over the feeding and this event attracts many spectators every day.

Starting at 9:30, the day was spent back at the caravan coaching the kids through their school work. We had recess and a lunchbreak and finished off at 3:30pm just like proper school. A real day of school away from school.
Andrea just loves her school work and can't wait until she receives the next installment by email. For Alexander on the other hand, school is a means to an end. It was made clear to him that the "end" was fishing, so there was no problem getting him through the "means".
After school finished we did some fishing (or more feeding) of the local jetty. We cut up some squid and put it on our hooks only to feel the fish nibble it all off without geting hooked up - very frustrating.
However, Alexander eventually hooked a Mulloway, also known as Jewfish. These species can grow to 1.8mt in length and more than 60kg. Unfortunately Alexanders fish was only 15cm, so we asked the little fish to come back with his parents and released him to be caught another day.