In the bush again....

Well I'd expected to camp at a roadhouse tonight, having been told it was a major overnight stop but when I arrived there was no camping and ' No camping for the next 165 kms ' according to the woman taking fuel money.

So I rode on and looked for a rest area but there were only roadside lay-bys, right on the highway. They're no good for me as I'm likely to get run over and they're far too noisy anyway. So it's another bush camp tonight, set up just before sundown , no moon and a fabulous ceiling of stars. 

And while sitting here typing this, I've seen four satellites whip across the sky from side to side, much quicker than a plane of course and perhaps having spotted me down here, despite my efforts to hide away.

It's very balmy out here too, and the mozzies are out on the town, buzzing and chomping away. Plus some goats are nearby and I can hear them snorting. They're feral and a bit of a pest but harmless, although they are a law into themselves. I just hope they don't find me and eat my tent. The wild pigs are the things to avoid though. Mad things with tusks that charge anything.

I've got more used to the sounds of the bush now , what with crickets and frogs, snorting goats and a few birds which scream. They're a bit scary at first because birds usually sleep at night but not these. Curlers or something. 

The run up from Coral Bay was a bit tedious, flat scrub land for miles and miles but on days like that I sing to myself or try and memorise all 50 states that make up the US or the names of all the girls who were in my class at school. I fail miserably on both counts always but it keeps me amused. And I do have my iPod of course.

The every now and then, amusing bits of roadside art appear. This bloke was made of all sorts - an old mower fuel tank, a lampshade hat, fishing buoy head, sprocket fishing reel, and a bit of old pole. Plus a bona fide boat and an office chair in it. 

And there were these giant and hill

things, dotted all over the place. And they're big too, each kms standing about 2 m high.

Coral Bay is a beautiful place and sheltered by the Ningaloo Reef, but well on its way to becoming a commercialised and crowded  resort. I had planned to stay overnight at the backpackers but was put off by the backpacker party gang outside so left. And that was a shame because apparently a dead whale was trapped on the reef  and tiger and bull sharks had been feeding on it all week. That would have been worth an hour trip for $40.00 in the glass bottom boat,  but  Pauline in the booking office was in such a bad mood that I walked away from that too, as did the four other people asking about the same thing. But I did go down to the boat ramp to see the fish and also had a swim while I was there.

Gerty posed on  the jetty with Ningaloo Reef in the background; fortunately Sandy tightened her brakes up yesterday too.

The landscape has changed a bit too... It's like Monument Valley in the US with wind eroded buttes towering above the road. 

And Gerty hit 47000 kms today so that means we have ridden 18500 together, and I love her. A cracking little bike.

I'm lying  here in my tent now and it's pitch black outside. The goats have stopped snorting but the crickets are still chattering. There is very little traffic travelling along the highway except for road trains, but the road is so straight and flat that I can hear everyone of them approaching from either direction, long before they pass. me. I must be able to hear them for a good four minutes, firstly as  a distant yet indeterminate rumble which gets louder and morphs into the distinct sound of an engine, before receeding back into a rumble as it moves away from where I am in the bush, gradually fading into the distance.

Round these parts....

Having given Gerty the day off yesterday, I took her out for a local explore today, down to Roebourne and the old gaol. And what a good call that was - thanks to Joan and Jim whom I originally met on the Eyre Peninsula, then on the Nullabor. They recommended it, and it was every bit as good as they said it was. Superfriendly staff and a really excellent display of artefacts and history in the place which only officially closed in 1984.



Reading the stuff, it seems that conditions in which aboriginal prisoners were kept were particularly harsh here, with them being shackled in neck chains to the wall at night and also chained when they worked outside the prison. Prisoners of other races were not chained. No particular reason for it is given; perhaps it was just the particular mix of settlers here who dictated the conditions. new cells were also designed to keep races and skin colour separate - asiatics, europeans and aboriginals.


But unlike other areas, the isolation on the northwest and the decision that convicts could not be used for labour above the 26th parallel - just below the Tropic of Capricorn - actually saved the local indigenous people and stopped them being wiped out as they were in other states. They were a valuable source of labour, even if they were treated barbarically. And they became very good horsemen, so useful as stockmen, despite coming from a land with no native hoofed animals.

A comment in the visitors' book made me smile though. " The Europeans weren't very educated, were they?' No of course they bloody weren't, you dweeb, being mostly chancers, absconders, convicts, plus some decent settlers, all arriving in a land with harsh conditions, no laws and a people they had no idea about. Of course they made things up to suit themselves and lord it over the aboriginals. Really, I sometimes wonder if people actually stop to think about why modern Australia exists, and how everyday things came about, right down to language and expressions. I've given up counting how many times I hear people claiming that something is a proper Australian phrase, when its clearly not and was imported along with settlers from the old world. Except for 'selfie'; I'll give them that one, although I am beginning to wonder if they actually realise how it can be interpreted. Still, makes a change from merchant banker.....

Anyway, Roebourne was the original town in the area, with Cossack - originally known as Tein Tsin - being the port. It became a thriving place, particularly when the tramway linking the wharf to the town was built, and was all based on the pearl industry with people dry shelling then wading and when Asians arrived ( mostly Japanese and Malay) they started diving. But the so called native divers were restricted by the water temperature, and it was only at the turn of the 1800s to 1900s and the advent of diving clothing, that the season was extended. But by then, Cossack was already losing out to Broome as the pearling centre.

The town today is abandoned, with only five buildings left - the courthouse, schoolhouse, police barracks and an old store. An effort has been made to mark out sites of interest but its quite odd as the info boards are in the midst of heavily weeded areas with little more than a few stones left. Its funny how the fortunes of places rise and fall according to trade and industry. It is really pronounced in Australia, perhaps because of the size or perhaps because it is so recent. There are similar patterns in Europe of course, particularly along the North Sea coasts, both in England and continental Europe, where the fortunes of a town rose and fell according to the wool industry - Boston,Kings Lynn, Norwich etc. Same I guess with the decline of the East Coast fishing fleets in places like Hull and Lowestoft.

Up early

I quite impressed myself this morning; I woke at 0530 then dozed until 0630 when I got up. The first light was just seeping through the darkness as I crawled out if the tent, checking for feral goats as I did so. But they were nowhere to be seen.

I got the tent down, packed everything up, did my daily stretches and ate breakfast, and was on the road by 0730. All against the backdrop of another beautiful sky. 

That is a record for me; usually the simpler the task, then longer it takes because I fanny about and don't get on with stuff.

 Actually. I didn't want to leave before the anyway as the ride out from where I'd camped was quite rocky and sandy and I needed to see where I was going. I nearly came a cropper on the way in last night when I slipped on some loose soil, and although I slid a few metres backwards, I stayed upright. Fortunately. 

I really need a proper site tonight though. I badly need a shower, I need to wash clothes, to charge my laptop and cameras, and to do some admin - pictures to editors, words to various places, and catch up on messages etc.

The ride northwards is a bit monotonous. It's pretty flat out here, with the odd huge hill dotted around. And some more anthills, particularly near to the Onslow turn. I had originally planned to ride there but that would mean a 120km detour and I wasnt sure whether I could get fuel. Diesel yes. But petrol? Not a risk I was going to take.

Onslow  is unusual in Australia as it as bombed in WW2. The old submarine base was the target but the place is now a quiet fishing location. It would have been interesting to see the base ruins and the old town, which is apparently being restored, but I've see so many  ww2 relic sites in my time, that the lure didnt overcome logistics. So I carried on, enjoying the cool of the morning.

I came across a caravan wreck at one point. It had happened fairly recently but not too recently. It was in a bend and looked like the van had missed the road curve and gone straight on. It's easy to do out here, get mesmerised by the stillness and emptiness and before to know it, you're off the road and in a ditch.

I played cat and mouse with a couple of pedal cyclists for a while too, tooting and waving to them  and them yelling out to me as they passed me when I stopped to take a photo or have a drink.  It must be quite an ordeal on a pushie; this place is so huge that you must feel you're on the road to nowhere at times, although I can see the attraction of the physical exertion and the mental obsession of conquering such massive mileage. Maybe I will give it ago one day.

I'm well I nto mining country up here, and great swathes of soil have been laid bare by the companies. I'm not sure if they are actually building a road or whether these tippers were just using the dirt highway to get between locations,  but it was impressive. Megatrucks,  really big vehicles, a corridor of red soil and nothing else around,

But you don't get any sense if just how big the trucks really are until you get up close.

Gerty was dwarfed but only is actual size, not might!

As well as mines, there are a few gas plants too, dotted around up here.

By now, the cool early morning had become a hot mid morning but there was nowhere shady to  to stop for a drink, so I kept going. At least the moving air regulated my temperature.

I popped into Karatha intending to find the Honda dealer for my sprockets, but it was too hot and dusty so i rode onto Roebourne.

That was even hotter and dustier so I kept going to Point Samson on the coast. 

Camping is expensive here but I needed the amenities so it had to be done. 

I love signs like this; regional winner of what? Craphole of the year? Biggest camping rip off? Most seagulls? 

But somehow I've ended up on a secluded terrace on my own, on soft grass and with my own shower and toilet. A bit of a result, and all because the usual tent spaces are taken. Yay!

Jobs day

I stayed an extra night at Hamelin as i had some jobs that I really need to do. The tail light needs changing, the chain needs sorting and the panniers need clearing out  

That took me all morning. I chucked quite a bit of stuff that I hadnt used for a while and had just been carting around. 

After that, I went back to the stromatolites and the shell quarry. It's disused now apart from blocks cut out to repair existing buildings. 

They used a cross saw and just cut blocks out of the ground. It's shells which have piled up over thousands of years. They're very small too because they leave in such an extreme environment - hyper saline and very hot. As a result, not much else can survive here and so there are no predators and the shellfish - a type of cockle - thrive. The beach is piled high with their discarded tiny white shells.

It's a pretty deserted place now but it was once a port with lighter boats that went out to ships anchored offshore in deeper water. There is an old telegraph station there as well, but it's about dilapidated although they do operate tours.

There are a couple of graves too, one of a baby who died of typhoid aged 7 months, the other an old bloke who drowned alongside his mate when their boat capsized. His mate was never found.  

So tomorrow it's onwards, up to Carnarvon. I'll probably change Gerty's chain and sprockets if I can get the bits. Will probably have to wait for them to come up from Perth though. But for now, I'm looking at the stars. It's a dark

Moonless light but the while sky is deeply sprinkled with tiny bright dots, millions of then. There must be other life out there.

Dolphin day

What a bloody excellent day I had today! Shark Bay is. World Baritage Centre anyway so it's got some pretty interesting stuff that's worth stopping to look at. I'm a bit of a nerd anyway so geological, historical or just odd stuff is right up my alley . 

Monkey MIa is the place to go to see dolphins close up. It's a bit. commercialised and set up for it as they come into the bay daily to look at humans. And there is an attached resort now but it's supposed to be a good place to see them close up.

But it's on the end of a peninsula that's a bit like a little finger sticking off the left side of AustrIalia. Steep Point is it here too - the most westerly point of the Australian mainland but 4AD only. I have been very tempted to ride out there but checking around with locals and the concensus is that the sand at the most remote end - the further end - is too deep and boggy and I would not get up the sandhills. Disappointing but particulartly in the wake of my recent medical problems, I've listened and decided that a trying solo trip out to such a remote , place would be foolhardy. So I'm not going and will leave it for another time. 

Dirk Hartog Island is out that way too. A pristine island named after a Dutchman who was the first person to land on

mainand Australia back in 1616. They've been doing a feral clean up out there - culling  rats, feral cars and foxes, all introduced creatures which have decimated native wildlife. Then they will use the place as a breeding ground for local native stuff to introduce back to the mainland.

It always makes me smile though when they go on about introduced  European species and the need to get rid if it and re establish native things ....  the whole of Australia is built on introduced Europen stuff which is why it exists. Crops, domestic animals lifestyle, culture and of course people. The irony is palpable; Australia is a land of boat people - convicts , explorers, free settlers, developers  and it continues today. But they do like to pick and choose when it comes to what - or who - belongs and what or who does not. Amusing.

But back to the dolphins. It's a long ride up there just to see some big fish.  I didn't bother with the early morning commercial business and just turned up early afternoon and went for a walk on the beach. I was on my own and immediately I saw a big shape just off the shore, about 200 m from where I'd left Gerty. A dolphin! I couldn't believe my luck. So I stood on the edge of the water and it came up to me and stuck it's head out of the water and looked at me, probably scoping what offerings I may have brought.  Then two more appeared and two more. they were just there looking at me, beautiful creatures all glistening and smooth. Fantastic. 

I expected them to disappear as soon as they realised I had nothing for them, but they staye. Then the fist one started chattng, that clicking noise that Flipper always made. Might have been swearing of shouting at me for all I knew but it was definitely aimed at me because I was the only one there . 

 But then the best bit was they started to play. The original one came right up to the shore and rolled on his back in the sand  and wriggled, rubbed his back and began chattng. Two stayed a bit further out just hovering in the water while two more swam in small circles, arching their backs and slipping in and out of the water. This went in for a few minutes before they all slipped off together out to deeper water.  

That really made my day. I've seen dolphins before but never so  close and never where they're clearly aware of me and are as interested in me as I am in them. 

Shark Bay

 I slept really well last night at Galena Bridge alongside the Murchison River. It's funny how sometimes it just works out that way. I wasnt even really tired but not even the noise of road trains thundering . along the highway kept me awake.

The moon was still around when I woke up -about 0630.

It's quite a full river and a bit muddy thanks to the recent rains and there are even patches if green green grass. Somebody told me yesterday that they've had more rain in the last month than they had on the while of last year. 

But the early morning  dew! Everything is drenched by morning no matter how well I cover it. So I now wipe stuff, shake it and hang it in the sun to dry while I potter about and pack up. But slow as I am, it's still often still wet when I pack it away.

I was on the road by 0900 this morning and it was already warm so I opened all my jacket vents. It's great to be back riding in warm weather though after the Freo wind and rain.  

Gerty started to cough and splutter as we headed towards Billabong roadhouse. It was the closest fuel stop but if I jump up and down on footrests as we  move, it generally swishes petrol from the other tank sidewell into the one with the carb tube, which coaxes another 20-30 kms out of her.  The under seat tank was still full but it saves me having to switch tanks as I can never remember the original settings. I try and keep the under seat tank as an emergency supply and work off the big one, because when that's empty, I'm usually ready for a leg stretch anyway and to take my jacket off.

So we filled up at Billabong, bought some lunch and water and then set off for Shark Bay, stopping at Hamelin Homestead.

 I meant to go to Hamelin Pool but it doesn't really matter, and it's nice here anyway; the warden supplied homemade scones and jam for high tea - for free!

There  more of those stromatolites here too - prehistoric oxygen generating lumps in the ocean. 

These survive because the water here is very salty and gets very hot, meaning that most other marine life can't survive. So these lump things get to live their lives ungrazed and untrampled and so thrive.the boardwalk stops people stomping on them too.

I walked through the bush to the place on the ocean where they are but it took ages. I had visions of getting lost in the dark on the return trip but made it back well before sundown - thankfully. But its amazing what you find out in the middle of nowhere - piles of tin cans, bottles, even furniture. 

The area is also special because it's made of billions of tiny shells, some of which have solidified into hard masses. 

Settlers discovered this and cut ready made blocks out of the ground, the size of cinder blocks. Various buildings here are built from them - even on the campsite. 

There is a quarry nearby which I might check out tomorrow.

But without a doubt, my top acheivement of today was to wash my riding pants. I wasn't able to do them in Freo because the facilities weren't that easy, but this afternoon was a milestone as they had become particularly filthy. So after much scrubbing and lathering, they are now far less filthy, although 'clean' would be pushing things a bit. Funny how such little comforts make such a difference!

No internet!!!

Yo people of the world and other places..... I'm now in north west WA where the internet is a thing of dreams (apart from occasionally in major towns but then only if you're lucky). So that means the blog will be shorter  and with fewer pics less because I have to do it on my phone as and if I can. So the Hutt River episode will have to wait a while but it will get posted. But don't go away - I'll try my best to keep this going! 

Off to shark bay today but definitely no swimming for me. 🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬