Tales of the travels, trials and triumphs as we explore Australia in a converted bus

Motorhome Travels - April 2007

07/04/2007

On the way north we called into one of our favourite camps - Bush Bay. It seems that CALM (Conservation Dpt) has taken over this lovely area. As a result the toilets are now all out of order and the road is in a serious state of disrepair. I guess this is their way for discouraging people from staying there. It is just so disappointing to see an area like this that was such a great place to stay looking like this - I imagine the Carnarvon shire will be very upset as it is the town that will suffer the loss.

The bus gets towed out of a sand
trap, WA.

The road was so badly maintained that as we were driving along the motorhome slipped into a huge hole on the edge of the road and sank up to the axles in sand. After an hour or so of digging we decided that it would be better for both us and the bus if we called for help. A tow truck from Carnarvon took just an hour to arrive and about 3 minutes to pull us from the sand trap. An expensive mistake, but better than wrecking the clutch trying to get out on our own.

We have been at Cheela Plains station for about a week now. Its hot out here away from the sea breezes. The work here has been delayed until the end of the month, so we have done all that we can and today we are heading back to the coast to relax, fish and dive for a couple of weeks before returning to complete the job.

We have decided to put another two solar panels on the bus - we really shouldn't need any more, but it will mean we will have to spend less time worrying about and being careful with our power use. After these two panels are attached we will definitely have no more room on the roof - for anything!

15/04/2007

We arrived at 14 mile camp just before Easter and as you would expect it was quite busy. Lots of tents filled with families camped along the beach. The famous West Coast wind stopped us all from going near the water - the rough conditions reducing visibility to less than a metre. On the Monday evening the camp cleared out and there was nobody here except the caretakers and us. The next few days were spectacular, with flat seas and no wind. The visibility quickly recovered to the normal 6 metres plus and we rapidly took advantage of it. The little dive-yack (canoe) has taken us out close to the reef quite a few times now - and each time we have returned with a good sized fish or two. Even fishing from the rocks with rods has been quite good - so now our freezer is well stocked, we will stop catching fish for a few days and perhaps take some underwater photos instead.

Some birthday fish for Grant, WA

We have had a few drinks with two couples from South Australia (Grant and Sue and Dorrie and John). John is the owner of the only Winnebago I have ever seen parked on a beach of reasonably soft sand - and it is not a little Winnebago either. When the time comes, I am sure we will get it off the beach one way or another!

Today is Grant's birthday (and a significant one at that!) so it is only fitting that he caught two fish while the rest of us caught nothing. Happy Birthday Grant!

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