Cars and Capers in Carnarvon ( I love alliteration in titles, but C is hard)

So I am still catching up on all the adventures, so we are still back in Carnarvon on this blog. Anyway, here is all our Capers in Carnarvon.

So the car and caravan arrived intact in Carnarvon, and we settled down to wait for our car. Meanwhile, we enjoyed relaxing after all our dramas! The car was getting fixed at a car mechanic that had been recommended to us, and we were staying in a caravan park close to town.

We all got a nice brown tan at Exmouth, and I even managed to get a watch mark where I wasn't tanned.

We were all fervently hoping and praying that the car could be fixed easily and cheaply. And.......

It was fixed quickly (but not so cheaply!!

It was eventually found to be an electrical fault, and we had it back within 3 days as soon as we got it to Carnarvon. Will go down in history as the quickest our car ever got fixed...

It was comforting, but, as there was someone else in the caravan park who had also broken down. Dad had a chat to him in the reception of the car mechanic.

After getting the car back, we explored Carnarvon, visiting the jetty, parks, and the shops. On the weekend we did the big trip!

As we had booked in for a week (weekly discount) we had to leave on Sunday. So, on Satruday, we headed out to Point Quobba.

We had originally planned to camp there on the way down, but the best laid plans always go astray, and we never made it there.

But, we still managed to visit the coast along there. We had heard all about Red Bluff, and as it was apparently great surfing we also planned to go there to have a surf.

So we set off nice and early and enjoyed the drive in. We had heard that the blowholes were really good, but we could not see them, and instead were awed at the force of these mighty waves pounding against the sheer cliff faces.

After that we had a look at Point Quobba Campground (which had plenty of space and old buildings. I wonder what it used to be?), we headed out to Red bluff to (hopefully) do some surfing.

The road out to Red Bluff was a corrugated and sandy road. The bouncing rattled us all up a bit, especially when we stopped at a lookout (thankfully before going all the way) and saw there was no waves. Such a great ending to be being bounced and jolted around. We then turned around and jolted our way back.

We did, luckily, find a good surfing spot where the boys hopped in for a surf. Dad and I opted out, mainly due to the sharp, shallow reefy bottom.

I sat on top of the car and took photos of the boys as they surfed. There was another surfer out there too at the start, and I kept on taking photos of him. Don't know why, as he was a better surfer. Must of thought the boys were really, really good or something.

After the surf, we headed back to Point Quobba Campground for a late lunch, and then headed home.

So now you have caught up on Carnarvon, we will next move to Monkey  Mia and Denham. Luckily we stopped for a while, otherwise I will be permanently behind for a month for the rest of the trip......

Oh, and the SD card that we had all our photos on isn't working, and there is  now no photos. I'm not very happy, as we lost all the way from Carnarvon to Geraldton.....Any suggestions on how to rescue the photoes??

Our Dream Caravan.........

Now this is the top 10 things Mum would have in our dream caravan (my list is smaller: 1. Water, 2. Somewhere to sleep, 3. Shelter at the bare minimum). Anyway, welcome to our dream caravan (Oh, you know that 1 week sewing blitz? It has now turned into two).

1. Electric Frypan- You can do anything with an electric frypan. Roasts, curries, stirfries, steak, chops, sausages and the list goes on.

2. Lots, and lots of storage- You can never have enough. My bed is my main storage place, and half the time I only have half the bed to sleep on! Lately, because of all my sewing, I have to sort of shove everything everywhere just to sleep. Thank God for the spare bed!!

3. An air-conditioner- Now, if you’re smart, you won't have your air-conditioner running for 8 months on end. We're not, and we hit the Top end in the wet season. But, an air-conditioner is still a wise investment.

4. Diesel Heating- Again, might not use it if you’re smart, which we weren't. Free camping in the snow with no power (thus no heating)? Not everybody's idea of fun. It was a bit chilly, bust still a fun experience. We would like to put one, in, but when we are winding up or trip, putting so much money on an old caravan seems a little useless. Also, we will use really valuable storage space, which we can't get enough of.

5. A shower cubicle- Not necessarily with a shower in it, but just a cubicle to have a shower where you can wash indoors if it is cold.

6. A kettle- We do plenty of washing up with a family, and a kettle is essential to get a hot sink of water. Would not want to see the washing up in cold water when even hot water washing up turns out bad......

7. Access to water- You can not survive without water, wherever you like it or not. We have 130L of water under the caravan, and that can support us for about 3 days (without showers, just washing up and drinking). But, it is quite a heavy load for the caravan to carry extra, and we prefer not to free camp without access to water.

8. Access to power- Power just adds a touch of luxury. A solar and battery set up would be great, allowing us to be self-sufficient, but we don't have that capability. Instead, we have a 3.5 kVa generator, that doesn;t always work. Yes, that happened at Exmouth.

9. Adequate bench space to prepare food on- Our old kitchen set up was extremely hard to prepare food on. There wasn't a lot of space, and it took a bit of shoving to cut something up, Our new bench set-up is great, giving us heaps of room (and not a dirty, stinky, rotting kitchen).

10. Vinyl on the floor, easy to sweep- We've seen carpet in caravans. Carpet! Like seriously, carpets. Come on, we don't need that much luxury!! Our vinyl floor is the absolute best, especially when we end up sweeping the caravan 6 times a day..... Our broom is shorter than knee high, and we all got a sore back sweeping that many times.

Sharks, Sweetlips, Seaweed and Sun at Ningaloo

 Joel and a kanga.

Say hello to Joel, our resident fisher and part-time blogger.

When we were in Ningaloo, before the famous floods, we went fishing. The fishing at Ningaloo is considered by some to be world class. If you have a boat or a kayak, it makes it much easier and you can catch more fish. We did try several times off the shore but only got seaweed.

Whilst we were there we caught a big Painted Sweetlips for dinner. We also hooked heaps of Spanish Flag and Spangled Emperor. We also managed to catch an octopus, who was not very happy. Numerous times big Golden Trevally would cruise though but they never touched any of my baits.

Also while we were there, we saw numerous sharks, they would swim around and you would see them. They are mainly harmless black and white tip sharks. We even hooked a few sharks who tried to give us a lift out to sea.

The tranquility of it....

On one memorable occasion, we had been fishing on a reef with big boulders, and had decided to go snorkelling to see some of the fish that we knew were there due to the hook-up we had. I decided to drop a big bait out on the big rod on the edge of the reef. We hoped for a mackerel, or something besides a shark.

Bethany had opted to stay in the kayaks to watch the rod, and Josh, Chloe and I slipped in the water to go snorkelling. Just as we were preparing to go down and do some in-depth exploring of the depths, Bethany started yelling.

Trying to get a fish from the shore, but not as good as from
the kayak.

Something had got the bait! The drag was way to tight and the line was only just not snapping, I yelled to Bethany who was being towed out to sea to loosen the drag. But as luck would have it she tightened the drag and the line snapped.

On another occasion we hooked a shark on a 60lb handline the shark jumped out of the water several times before we ran out of line.

Joel and Chloe relaxing. Soon after the photo, you could
just see the legs swing into the kayak well clear of the
water.....
I wonder why......

Whilst we where there there was a fellow fisho who had a 4.2 metre boat which he took offshore He would always come back with some mackerel and give us some and the ones that got eaten by sharks we used as bait.

See Ya.

Come back tomorrow for my next  blog post on............




You'll have to come back tomorrow to find out!

Gliding in after a hard day's fishing on Ningaloo

Exmouth, Behind all the drama's

So today I will talk about Exmouth. Now, you might think I have written enough, but that was only the drama's!! (See posts 1, 2, 3, and 4). We actually did do other things than escape floods, fix generators, walk for water, laze in the sun, and kayak. But then again, I really can't think of anything else really important that we did...........

Just look at that water......

Anyway, we did get to visit some snorkelling spots, namely Turquiose Bay and Oyster Stacks. We visited Turquoise Bay smack on low tide, and the current was just strong enough to slowly take you over the coral. There was heaps of coloured fish, and it was fun to dive under the coral and see all the fish swimming below. The coral was not really colourful, unlike the photos you see the Great Barrier Reef coral. After some research, it is apparently because of the different types of coral that colours vary on different reefs.

Here qre some facts about coral:
- Corals are either reef building (hermatypic) or non-reef building (ahermatypic)

Oyster Stacks, crowds and all

- Hermatypic coral is only found in warm sunny waters, as there is little blue green  algae (Zooxanthellate) that live on the outer tissue layer, and produce food for the coral through photosynthesis.

- The coral around Exmouth was brown coloured due to the presence of Zooxanthellate in the outer tissue layer.

- There is three ways that coral obtain food:
1. In the tentacles, they have 'harpoon' like structures. The polyps 'fire' the harpoons, which contain toxins, into microscopic organisms. They are then ingested.

You could get pretty far out, all the way to
the end of the reef as it narrows down so
much. Reef meets the ocean.

2. Coral can also absorb food directly through their skin! Boy, wouldn't have to worry about eating again, just wallow in a bowl of spaghetti bolognaise!!

3. And, they have some one else prepare their food!! This is the function the algae that lives on the coral performs.

- Coral reefs are built of coral fragments, coral sands and solid limestone. As little as 50% may be coral. There are also other small organisms that live on the reef and contribute their penny's worth

So lets talk about the snorkelling spots (that was really fun researching the information above!!)

See? Reef to Ocean difference is obvious.

Turquoise bay was great, and the drift snorkel was good and it required a lot less kicking. We did not have enough snorkelling gear all around, but we all managed a good look. The wrasse were really colourful, as well as some other colourful fish. there was plenty of dart around, and when we got out we had fun identifying what we had seen on the sign near the carpark. 

No sharks thankfully, but we did see some blacktip reef sharks later on in our stay. At the secret snorkelling spot, where we also fished, two sharks hang around and Joel even went snorkeling with them. Thankfully they aren't aggressive. 

Osprey Bay.

Oyster Stack was not as good, mainly due to the fact that the entry to the water was diffusion and visibility poor. Joel and Chloe both managed to get slammed into an oyster stack (yes, there is some) and cut themselves up a bit.

We also took a drive down to Osprey Bay, where we got some good family photos. The water was just the right colour as a backdrop.

Tommorrow, Joel will act as guest blogger and write about some of the awesome fishing of Ningaloo Reef.

A Sewing Blitz!

Skirt no.1, my first attempt,
and my second favorite
after my new one.

So I am having a practical week for schoolwork this week, and I thought I would tell you a little bit about my sewing projects....

Before we left for our big trip, I had already started sewing. I had made a quilt under mum's direction, just a simple 'raggy' one. I then went to a sewing class which Mum had found in Macksville, and made another quilt which you can also use as a pillow (quillow!). I learnt quite a bit making this quillow and I went to another sewing workshop, where I learnt a sewing technique called 'quilt as you go'. The quilt that I had made was only small, and became the centre panel for my next quilt. This last quilt never got finished before we left, but it was turning out to be a lovely quilt. We also got the material for 2 more quilts for the little girls. So I've got three quilts left at Nambucca Heads to finish!!

Skirt no.2, my starry one

At Darwin, I decided to get back into sewing again. All my sewing supplies and my machine were back in Nambucca, and I had no way of getting it back. So, I bit the bullet, and brought another basic sewing machine that was on sale at Target. I was then introduced to the world of dressmaking by mum, making 2 skirts and starting 2 dresses for Tahlia. I learnt that you can actually buy patterns, and how to find them (originally made quilts with someone else instructing me, no pattern in sight).

Making the skirts was fiddly, not as much as quilts though. The two were finally finished, and I was so happy. I was running on basic supplies, but still managed to make cuts rather straight. I started the first dress for Tahlia, but the pattern was not very good fitting and quite fiddly, so the dresses were abandoned and I went into hibernation for a while.

Then I started again this week, as we found a Spotlight!!

My full bag, all butterflies and birds

Mum had found a sewing pattern on Larger Family Life, and the bag looked quite nice. I had made a quilt in the raggy style before, and liked the style. We also wanted to make a crochet quilt, a skill I also learned from Mum.

We got the materials one day, and then went back for the wool as Spotlight was closing. When we were buying the wool, we heard a cashier lady say that Spotlight VIP club members were getting 40% off at the moment when they spent more than $100.

Closer view of the bag.

My three skirts all laid out.

After going outside, Mum considered the deal and thought it pretty good. We went back inside and after the wool being refunded, we went off to buy $100 worth of stuff for $60. We decided that I could make another denim skirt, and make mum a corduroy skirt, as well as another bag. Along with a patchwork ruler, all the stuff made $100, and we were given 40% off everything.

After finishing my first raggy bag, I made my denim skirt. After a bit of fiddling, we were finished and was the proud owner of my new handmade skirt. Now I plan to make another bag, and then finish mum's corduroy skirt.

My denim skirt all finished.....

The denim skirt is full, but not as full as the other two I have made. It will be a great winter skirt, and looks really good.

All the wool for our quilt. All 12 ply, but
some is thicker and we have had all sort
of trouble making the squares the right
size.

The raggy bag is also great, and the materials mum helped me pick match together perfectly. The bag is already being put in use, and holding all the wool I have. I just need to wash it to finish it.

We also have plenty of ideas for future skirts and bags...............

Karajini National Park

Dales Campground!

Now, pull your mind back to before all the dramas (and Exmouth) and we're in Karajini National Park.

If we thought we had left the beautiful scenery behind in the Kimberly, we were definitely mistaken. Karajini had some spectacular scenery, and the gorges were amazing. Even better, you could actually swim in the gorges due to the absence of crocs.

In my books, Karajini was definitely better than the Kimberly in terms of swimming!!

Fortescue Falls

We stayed at Dales campground, our first time in free camping for a while. We did have some trouble finding the toilets at first, but we found them pretty quickly when we needed them!

All the fish nibbling our feet!

Our first stop was at Fortescue falls, where we took the easy descent down (easy down, hard up) to the plunge pool. The water was a bit chilly, but it was refreshing. After swimming around for a bit, we got out and headed down to Fern Pool.

We decided not to go for a swim there, and us kids just sat on the edge of the pool dipping our feet in. We soon found an additional attraction, as the little fish lurking under the pier began nibbling our feet. We all had some fun sitting there, and our feet came out much cleaner. I'm glad the fishes managed to get a free meal off us!

We then drove out to Circular pool, and got a photo from the lookout. Making the decision to only stay one night and head off early, we then raced off to see the other gorges around, and to get some photos before dark.

The roads to the gorges were all pretty corrugated, and we had one person who had to keep an eye on the back door of the car so we could see when it rattled open! All of a sudden somebody would yell out stop, and then run around and close the boot before it flew wide open!! I just braced myself and hoped I didn't get my head too hard.

We would pull up at each gorge, the door would fly open and all the dust would slowly drift out. Meanwhile, us older kids and dad would walk to the lookout and snap a few photos. It would have been lovely to stay longer, but there wasn't time.

So we set off from the lovely Karajini, unaware of all the dramas facing us.

See you next time!!

Pretty nice sunset!

Dramas, Dramas, Dramas, Dramas and more Dramas- Part 4

This is the main channel for the water.

We're in Geraldton now, and as we drove through the city centre (you should have seen the heads turn and the jaws drop) Joel was lecturing the girls on downsides of city life. Most of us are more country people.

So here comes Part 4 of the drama series, and sadly the last one.

SeePart 1 if you missed out

And part 2

and part 3

So we all slept. I slept from about 11-12, and then kept on waking up on the hour. I would look at my watch, see that an hour had passed and drop off too sleep. I was just watching the hours tick by.........

What used to be the day use parking

Finally we were able to see, and Frank, Merle, Josh and I trudged out to asses the damage. Poor Frank and Merle, ousted from their bed by two adorable little girls and a boy named Joel. I'm sure they will always remember that night.

The day parking area was completly gone (as well as our tables from happy hour). Most cars had to drive up to the toilets, or on the dunes, to escape the water, but they survived the downpour. The worst caravan hit was down the other end from us. The water had broken through the dunes from the road, and all the water rushed straight at the caravan, putting it at least a foot under water.

They had come up earlier boasting about the driest spot in the campground............

The hill where our stuff was, and where we sheltered
in the night.

Our caravan was fine, with only a tiny bit of water just lapping in at the door. We were lucky. The road in was extremely rutted, and there were ditches on the side of the road that were at least waist deep.

Now came the fun process of cleaning up. The boys clothes (all 9 drawers) were absolutely saturated, as well as all the towels under the bed. The day went like this:

Plunging the clothes up and down to wash them, then rinsing them and hanging them on lines that we managed to string up everywhere. Then we had to walk and collect more water from the bore and start the whole process again.

Ocean views??

Mum said it was just a good excuse to re-sort the caravan..................

One of the rangers said that somebody left the taps on.................

I reckoned Merle and Frank wanted better ocean views.....................

A happy camper reckoned it was all part of the camping experience.............

Another ranger reckoned that one of the rangers shouldn't have washed his floors yesterday............

Then we were in a predicament, with no drinking water. We had been drinking water from the bore, but the bore now had fragments of rock and shell in it and was considered to be unfit for drinking by us (the rangers say it is unfit for drinking anyway).

I sadly don't have a previous.

Luckily, Frank and Merle (lovely people, couldn't have survived without them) had filled up plenty of their water containers in the downpour and they lent us some.

So, could the driver come and get us to get us to Carnarvon?

NOO

Oh Greaaaaaaaaaat

The road into Exmouth was closed, due to flood damage to roads. All in all, Exmouth had received 250mm of rain in 24 hours, with the National Park receiving 400mm in about 15 hours. The rain varied so differently, that Bullara Station (80km S of Exmouth) only received about 80mm of rain.

The damage done was apparently worse than a cyclone, and nobody had ever seen worse.

We sunk in a bit!!

We were told that we could be stuck out there until Thursday (4 more days, it was now Sunday) so we got some more groceries delivered out to us by rangers who had been collecting food for anybody else that needed it.

Sunday night was a really early night. On Monday we all just lazed around not really bothering to do anything. Then we went to sleep nice and early again.

Our poor picnic tables that used to be for happy hour.

On Tuesday, the wind was really roaring. We had received news yeasterday that the Burkett road was open, so we could get out. The tow truck driver would pick us up at the entrance of the National Park. The rangers would get us out to the tow truck driver, as we had no car.

Tuesday morning was absolutely horrible. The wind had picked up during the night and it was blowing strongly. The sand whipping against your legs was painful!! We packed up, but there was layers of dust all over everything because of the wind.

Neds Camp saying goodbye.

We got out safe and sound and the tow truck driver picked up us fine. We were driving behind, and it was funny to see it. The window on the left (as you're looking at it) kept on blowing open. The caravan was being towed behind, and it swung everywhere. We also lost one of the vents on the top of the caravan, and had to rescue it.

So now I have to say goodbye to my drama series. I am actually quite sad. In case you haven't realized, I love drama!!

Anyway, come back tomorrow for more about the looooooooooooovely Karajini National Park.