Are We There Yet?

We left the Olgas and headed for Uluru where you could see from the distance and it is huge. There was a lovely culture centre there where the three tribes show their art work and you can learn all about them but you cannot take photos, and the gifts a very expensive so we drove around Uluru and then went up to the viewing part with about 100 other people and watched the sun set over the rock. They also have helicopter rides that fly around about the rock. We stayed that night at the resort and shared the grass area with the local fauna you could here them during the night. The next day off we set for Alice another 399k’s to go. We stopped at a road house called Curtin Springs where we had lunch. It was free camping and they were looking for people to work there, we neally took the job but while we were having lunch in the car an emu decided he liked our car and tried to eat our wipper blades then stuck his head in and tried to pinch our footy scarf, maybe he didn’t like st kilda haha, everyone was standing around laughing at Mark on one end of the scarf and the emu on the other, l was going snap happy with the camera but not sure whether they will turn out because of laughing to much. We finally left there and headed off, its so beautiful the country side that you don’t get tired of looking out the window, we also had a face off with a group of camels, by the look of their faces it was like we were in their road so a few blasts of the horn and they soon moved. We came to a beautiful roadhouse that was like a resort and that was bought us on to Sturt highway, 130k’s road speed boy did l have to keep Mark under control haha. Arrived at Alice on the saturday and started my job at the caravan park on the monday, cleaning but hey its all money, Mark started a week later. The first week here they had the Finke Dessert Races so the park was packed we motorbikes and everything else to ride across the dessert on, it was great. Here in the park there’s something on every night, mon: 4×4 drive show , tues: star talk and you can see the stars through a telescope Mark saw Saturn, wed: they had a country and western singer singing around a bonfire thurs: a viideo night about the central australia and on sunday morning’s the park puts on a pancake breakfast and you line up with a name tag (your name and where your from) and you see with everyone and meet people. Its a small world, l met a couple from vic that new my uncle and other people from where we come from its great. Well we are here for a few weeks to get our money up again because it quite dear here grocery wise and petrol so we need a bit of money to get us to Darwin which is about 1600 k’s away so we are still enjoying our travels and will fill you in again soon love the happy campers

Well we finally left W.A. and headed for Alice. It was not easy saying good bye to our work mates and the family we had made in the caravan park. We went up to greenough for the weekend and Ron came with us and Mike and Lee came down from Kalbarri and we spent 3 days of fun, group therapy and lots of drink with everyone before heading off on our next adventure. We left on the Monday and headed for mount martha and stayed there the night in an old pub, it was nice and the road trains would go pass about every hour going from Geralton to Meekathourra and back again. Left there and made our way to Leonora where we stayed at a lovely caravan park.The price of petrol was rising at each town we came to, not knowing of the price we had to pay when we went across the Great Central Highway. After Leonora we got to Linster where the start of our 1,500 k’s of unsealed road began. It was a scary feeling because we were going somewhere new, challerging and fantastic all at once. Our first stop was a lovely road house where we meet a german man about 65 who had chucked his buisness in and decided to ride a bike around australia, starting 8 yrs ago but now he has a small van with no engine, 2 dogs his tucker box and swag and it is pulled by 2 camels, he was fantastic to listen too. The next day we headed for the next roadhouse where the petrol was $2.15 a litre so we just filled up then went to the next one where we thought we were on the right time zone but it was about 100 k’s from the border so they go by N.T time so guess what we were later getting there so had to wait till morning for the store. If you get to these roadhouses after 6pm it cost you an extra $20 for fuel. We left there the next morning and headed to Docker River roadhouse where we filled up, it is an aborigine community and you had to climb over the dogs and locals to get to the store but the people who run it are lovely and l asked what it was like to live there and they love it. The next 100 k’s were 4×4 driving because the road was just sand and very soft ,there were parts where we were only doing 20k’s and other parts of the trip we could do 90, you just couldn’t go to fast. We were wondering we we came out at because we had never been there before but once we saw the most unusal rock formation we knew that it was the Olgas. It was just a fantastic sight, they are beautiful to look at and you can get mesmerised by the structure and the colours it turns by the sun, it was great the happpy campers

Well its time to move again,and at this moment l am unemployed and enjoying it. I have to tell you about our caravan park we have been living in the last 7 months. You could write a book, we have had stabbings, some-one with a gun, fights at one end of the park where the ferals and alco’s live every night, we keep the police in buisness haha, and we had a young girl with 3 children and her dad and 2 sisters all living in the one van, and did they cause trouble. So it has never been a dull moment, you just sit out side and watch or listen to whats going on. With our group when we got to gether for a drink we called it our therapy sessions, and were they a laugh. But Mike & Lee have moved on to Kalbarrie and Val, Val & Shirl have gone to Graniff just out of Geralton. So that leaves Ron and Mark & l still here. We are about to leave in the next week or so and catch up with the others for a weekend then head over to Alice Springs. Its hard to say goodbye to people we have grown to love and treat like family knowing we may never see them again, but will keep in touch. Our boss doesn’t want us to leave, he keeps saying just go for a couple of months then come back, but we will be around again and there is always work waiting for us there. Don’t let anyone tell you that if your in a tent, caravaners won’t talk to you and they don’t talk to people in buses or motor homes because its not true, we are in a tent, Mike & Lee are in a motor home, Rons in caravan and Val & Val are in a bus and we all got along, one big happy family. Well better have a nanny nap before Mark gets home and so will talk some more, from the happy campers.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

We arrived at the caravan park around 6.30 and Val and Val and Ron were there to greet us and we also meet Mike and Lee who were from Melbourne so its been the 7 of us and Val,s sis Shirl since then. We are also back at our old job and they were glad to see us. Its like we never left or we just went on a holiday and now we are back. We all have tea on a sunday night together either some one cooks all we all cook something and then go to Val,s and all eat together or we put in and get take away. They don,t have new year here they celebrate Australia day so we hired a bus and picked Mark up from work then went to Val,s sister Bev,s place and Mark had a shower there and then we walked across the foot bridge and stopped in the middle set up our table and chairs and eskies, l had bought flags and funny hats for all of us and we stood and waved to the traffic going under us because we were on the main freeway to the city and we saw everything, we had the best time. On the monday Mark, Mike,Lee and I went on a jet boat ride at Freo, it went around 75ks and did dounuts and crashed waves and we got totally drenched. We had to walk around for 2 hours too dry off. We did nothing but laugh, thank goodness we weren’t the only ones. Mark and l also went on a camel ride at a wildlife sanctuary and that was wonderful. So at this stage we are getting the car ready for a next journey which hopefully will take us back to Kalgoolie and then up to Leonora then across 1600ks of dirt road to Alice. We have to get permission first because its Aboriginal ground and there are guide lines you must follow. Will let you know what happens from your Happy campers X

We arrive at Broome in a heap of sweat, temp around 38deg found a park and set the tent up. It was so hot there. We had a tour around Broome, went to cable beach and to Anistasia,s pool which was beautiful, its at a light house and the keepers wife had arthritist so he made these pools out of the rocks so she could sit in them and relax, there where also dinosaur tracks there as well but it was lovely. We also went to see the pearls, every second shop are pearl stores and if not them there are a lot of hippy things. Its a real tourist place though. We next went to one of Malcohm Douglas crocodile farms that was in town and there we got to hold a baby croc.They are just like rubber. We did our sight seeing in the mornings because by midday we were in the pool trying to cool down. We found Broome as dear as Karatha and just as unpleasant, so because of the heat and the wet season due the next week we were no safe enough in a tent and decided to come back to Perth for a couple of months again. We headed out of Broome around 8 in the morning and went to malcohm douglas other croc farm because you walk through a huge croc mouth to go in so l wanted a photo for Damian, so we pulled up and then another 4wd came up beside us and guess who, the man himself got out and started talking to us. We told him where we were from and what l wanted to do so he opened the gates for us to get a good picture and better still l had my photo taken with him in side the crocs mouth. My five seconds of fame haha. So that was our talking point for the next so many miles. We got more adventurous and turn before port headland and came down 400ks of dirt road through Marble Bar and down to Newman. It was 45deg, the dirt was the same colour as the trees and the birds, a crimson red it was amazing. We also passed great big road trains where the dust just flew up over us and some stages we had to pull over because the roads were not wide enough. Fantastic. It was a trip that you had to keep watching because you didn,t want to miss anything. We saw camels, bramar bulls, kangaroos, emus, so many car wrecks and dead cows it was non stop. We stayed at Newman and then continued back to Perth.

Well here l am again to let you know whats happenning on our travels. We left Karatha after a month there because its to expensive and to hot. I ended up working for the same company in reception taking the abusive calls from buisnesses looking for their deliveries and pick ups and because everyone up there is so short staffed it was unbearable. So we headed towards Broome. First stop was Port Headland where we stayed one night and caught up with Marks nephew and had a good time , before we left we stood on the over bridge that is over the train tracks and watched one of the mine trains go under. It was more than 3 ks long, they have some that are 5ks long so when you get stuck at the lights prepare for a wait. We then left and headed towards 80 mile beach but because of the wet season heading our way, people where heading back down south so the parks were getting full. We stopped at all the road houses along the way and then turned off the road and drove 20ks of dirt road to port smith. It was a great litttle caravan park right on the edge of the mangroves and the people their were lovely. We spent 3 days there and met a lovely couple so they took us out to the beach once the tide went out so we could go for a swim. We would have driven about 400 metres from the car park to the beach and the tide was still going out as we swam. Once it got to shallow we decided to go mud crabbing what a laugh. All l could hear was Mark screaming because the little one’s were running across his feet, he had no shoes on, we had a great time. Left there and proceded another 30ks to Broome.

Well we are still here in Karatha, Mark is working hard and l am not yet because there is so much work here like l have said but nowhere to live. So l have been going around trying to find somewhere to live other wise we will have to move on. The caravan parks are so expensive and you can only stay there a week in a tent and if they know you are working its three days. We went around the industrial area looking for somewhere but there are so many other people living behind work shops its not funny. We were lucky that where Mark works they offered us what they call a “donga” its a one room bungalo that you can’t swing a cat in once you get your bed and clothes in but its somewhere. The only trouble is that there are trucks and great big road trains coming in all the time so thats where it becomes a dust bucket and all you can taste and feel is red dust, and you have to keep everything closed so thank god for airconditioners that work. Well this is all part of our experience as we travel around but l don’t think the moneys that good when you can’t find accommodation and when you do its so dear. Any way its time to sign off for the moment will talk again later from the happy reddusty campers