Port Hedland – I was tempted to write here that the camp site at Port Hedland was so bad that I simply refused to take a photo of it, but the truth is I simply forgot. Mind you, the place we stayed wasn’t exactly the height of luxury. Our original choice of accommodation – Cooke Point Holiday Park – which looked quite nice from the little we saw of it at the front entrance – was actually booked out for powered sites (in Port Hedland??? Really???) and we had to settle for the only other accommodation available – a place called Blackrock Caravan Park. It too, was (nearly) full to overflowing… with permanent residents, all of whom work in the mines or refining plants in and around Port Hedland. All we could get was an unpowered site (but we used a spare power point connected to the swimming pool shed anyway). Needless to say, there was a constant noise associated with the comings and goings of the shift workers, and our site was right near the front entrance (not to mention the freight trains that rumbled passed with a blast of their air horns just across the road from us)! Thankfully, we only stayed for the one night and we were on the road and headed for Karijini the next morning.
Karijini National Park - about as "bushy" as our camping has been so far. No electricity or water and the sites were far enough apart that we felt a certain amount of seclusion & remoteness (the only luxury we were afforded was the 'long-drop' bush toilet - you can see it in the background of this picture).
Tom Price - electricity, water and grass... all were luxuries after the recent overdose of red 'pindan' dust. Unfortunately, this was also the only caravan park in town, and they charged accordingly!
House Creek Rest Area - just when we thought we were past the worst of the red dust, we stopped here, Red Dust Central (and it was still quite hot, too). Another crowded rest area (as were all the rest areas we have stayed at barring Lake Hart) so not much room to spread out. But in the end I guess you get what you pay for - in this case, nothin'...!
Coral Bay - this lovely part of the world has a VERY "Seaspray in the Summer" feel to it. And apart from the bore water and very salty sea water, you could easily spend lots of time here.
Nerren Nerren Rest Area - hot, dusty (albeit no longer red dust) and a really smelly bush toilet... not the nicest place to spend an evening. Add to this, it was the first time all trip that we were really infested with mozzies.
Cervantes - not the worst place we've stayed, not the best either. At least they had some decent music playing in the ablution block (just why they were playing piped music into the amenities block, I have no idea).
Perth (Karrinyup Holiday Park) - now we're talking! Back in the big smoke again (relatively speaking) and we're provided with some decent amenities, a decent site (although their "grassed site" did lack a lot of grass), and the toilets had WATER in the bottom of them and they FLUSHED!!!
Bunbury - home of the wild weather. Thankfully we were staying in relative comfort, despite the wind and rain (the little blue building on the right of this picture is our own private ensuite), which enabled us to stay an extra night and reassess our itinerary for the coming few days.
Albany - probably the best kept, in terms of presentation, campsite we've had on the trip so far. Note all the guy ropes... it's windy, and forecast to stay that way!
Hi John, Colleen, Rohan, Emma, Sarah and Matilda,
Thanks for all the updates, contributions, photos of veiws, camping sites, nature, statistical data and happy campers on the trip’s progress. Judy and I are following you each few days – I would love to see some of those towns/sites.
John/Rohan – did you ever catch a fish? Was it worth eating – on the BBQ?
John – golf was washed out again on Tuesday. My handicap is suffering with the generally damp conditions.
Who is going to cull all those photos? Wishing you all a safe and enjoyable return to the East!
Hi Peter and Judy, unfortunately no fish – I think I’m more attuned to river or estuary fishing than ocean fishing. Plus, John cut his foot on some coral, which probably scared away all the fish (that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!!!)
Cheers, Rohan