DIARY OF AN AUSSIE WOMBAT: Mother's Day with Luke and driving the Gibb River Road!

GETTING CLOSER TO SEEING LUKE!

HERE WE ARE AT INDEE STATION

We turned off the highway and followed the signs to Indee Station... we were bumped and bounced again with lots or corrugations all along the dirt road. I saw that the colour of the road had turned from a yucky brown colour to a beautiful reddy brown. All along the highway we all noticed how the landscape changed from trees, to plains, to what seemed to be nothingness stretching all the way to the horizon. Dad said that wasn't nothing, it was the Little Sandy Desert, but even deserts up here have trees just small ones, more like bushes and different kinds of native grasses that survived six months of dry and came alive well and truly in the wet season.

The first person we saw was a lady from Melbourne, her name was Alison and she was friends with the owners who had bought the land in 1964.when Colin was 24, he has over 100,000 acres. Colin and I spoke about the times the really bad cyclones had almost taken everything from him in 2007. All the cyclones are bad, but this was the worst he could recall in the 50 years he had been there. He lost accommodation for the miners, a lot of cattle and practically all the fences, caravans, cars and tractors were totalled. Now he has different kind of accommodation, a camp kitchen and long term accommodation for friends and visitors who come and work on the land. All category 5, a few of them look like some house from science fiction movies. No eaves, they have been replaced by strong steel slats, triple thick windows that survive the baddest storm, each one of the 'pods' have six thick tie downs and have been placed up and over the roof, at each end, there was a 44 gallon drum filled with concret. All the others are all industrial strength shipping containers. These have been fixed with massive chains and thick doors. The chains have been concreted in and with big steel plates and huge screws to keep them from blowing away in a cyclone. I thought if i was ever stuck in a cyclone, this is where I would want to be.

Happy hour was from 6pm until 7pm when the miners (diggers) staying at the station would come into the the big dining room in the house where Colins wife would cook and serve them their dinner. Lashings of meat and lots of vegetables kept them well satisfied. Even we were asked to join them one night but decided to keep out privacy and let them keep theirs. Tomorrow is a big day, we are driving out to Red Rock, which is on Indee station and is covered in ancient Aboriginal Rock Carvings... very excited to see this.. It was fantastic and I have posted some pics but I think mum has already put some on FB. It was very hot up on the rock as it was granite so we made sure we took our hats and lots of water to drink. We got back and had dinner and I had my bath, and getting up early in the morning, as we are going to see Uncle Luke! whoohoo....

I was up first, mum wasn't far behing me, but dad had beaten us all and had his shower at 5am (it's a sticky hot here). We left about 11.30 to meet Luke at the miners motel where he lived when he was away. We arrived early, so we went into South Hedland for a look around. Dad went for some fuel and even at the bowser a couple of blokes were sussing out what we had in the back! then two people started arguing about who was at what bowser first... mum said it was just like where she used to work... if it was that bad, I am so glad she's out of there. Dad nodded and said he experienced similar suuroundings when he worked and said 'you can pick car thieves a mile off'.. Gotta tell ya, there's a lot to be said about early retirement! I stayed in the car and didn't move and was glad when we went into the cool air conditioning of the shopping centre. Dad bought mum a custard tart which looked yummy but since I don't eat custard, I left mum to enjoy it.

We drove back to the motel where Luke was and messaged him that we were there... then i heard "Hi! Glad you made it!" It was Uncle Luke! Dad had made room for Luke by putting one of the seats back up and leaving a lot of stuff in the van where it would be safe at Indee Station. Mum told Luke to take the front seat and she and I would sit in the back. He gave us a quick tour around his favourite spots, told us about all the tankers lined up at night that if you didn't know any better would think it's another town. Lights everywhere. He told us who owned what mine, what he did and when I saw how long the train was that Uncle Luke drove..Wow! he's very clever. We had two hours of catching up, mum bought Luke a coffee and then we had to say good bye. But, Luke gave us chilled mineral water which was really nice, as he heard the water we had been getting was a tad on the icky side. Mum said it was a wonderful way to celebrate mother's day... uh oh.. me and dad forgot! Tammy told Luke to ring her when we all got together.. Luke gave the phone to mum and I heard "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!" Mum smiled and said thank you.. then Tammy told her that there was a present on Face Book just for her.

When we saw it later, we all just laughed and laughed! Mum said it was awesome. We gave Luke another hug goodbye, and after some more photos he went to work and we drove back to Indee Station and got ready to move on to our next destination.

Enjoy the pics!

Dad at Indee Station Camp site Western Australia

That pod ain't going nowhere!

Hello Mrs Cow

The full moon over Indee Station.. .Awesome!

Sunset late in the Western Australian countryside

Dad waiting for Luke at his motel

We turned right!

Good to Know!

Yay! Uncle Luke!!!

Port Hedland foreshore and port.

This is a beautiful rocky beach where Luke likes to come to 'chill'

Mum said it was lovely to spend mother's day with family.

Tahune xx

DE GREY REST STOP

24 HOURS

　

Our next stop for 25 hours was at De Grey. This is not too far outside of Port Hedland, and even though it was only supposed to be a rest area overnight, there were a lot of vans and tents set up down by the water's edge that dad reckons had been there for longer. We set up not too far from the road so I could watch the big trucks with four trailers on the back zoom past. Once the van went up we all went for a walk down to the river's edge.. I looked around, 'this river looks a bit crocogator dad'.. "no, don't be silly, no crocs here".. I kept on asking- and mum didn't say anything, and that itself is very unnerving! We took our time and walked past cattle and chatted with a few of the campers there. Mum went to see what the ammenities were like and I went too... THAT'S WHEN I SAW THE SIGN! "Dad! You fibber! You told me there were no crocogators here!" Dad said 'one of the locals told me that they hadn't seen a croc for a couple of days now'... "A COUPLE OF DAYS!?" Mum told me to hush and that it was okay, but by this time I had climbed a tree (sort of) and told dad I wasn't coming down ever again!. Dad said he was sorry that I got so upset and mum got me down and carried me inside the van. I stayed on the bed looking out the window... No way one of those nasty crocogators is going to get this little wombat!

There was a lovely undercover lunch area that we were going to sit at.. but then two great big caravans pulled up at each side! Blocking everyone else who might like to enjoy that space... I got cranky and so did dad.. Mum did too, but she said to me not to worry... sometimes bad things happen to greedy people. Boy! Was she right.... The next day they packed up to leave and although he said they checked the height, I had to wonder... The drove out on an angle and crashed the top of their van into the roof! (and remember...this roof has to be a category 5 to stand up to the cyclones that roar through this area in the wet season, so it wasn't going anywhere).. oh dear! We heard more crashing, revving of engines and ripping of metal.. Dad went out and mum followed... I heard mum say "ouch!" the man driving the car revved the engine trying to drive out of the roof, but all he succeeded in doing was to dig the roof in deeper into the caravan. When they checked the inside it was split all the way down. A lady and man who had a big truck camper with an electronic winch stopped to help and had to pull it out sideways.. it was stuck good!

CROCOGATERS! DAD YOU FIBBED

NOT COMING DOWN OUT OF THIS TREE!

NEVER COMING OUT AGAIN!

GREEDY PEOPLE GET BAD KARMA

BROOME WESTERN AUSTRALIA

STAIRCASE TO THE MOON

Mum and dad drove to Broome the next day where dad told mum to book a powered site as dad wanted to Mr. Troll to get a service to make sure everything was fine and up to scratch before we head out on the Gibb River Road, dad said this road was one of the last great 4WD roads left in Australia and he had always wanted to do it. I looked at mum and whispered "not more dirt roads and corrugations!?" but mum roused on me and told me to hush as this was important to dad. Dad had called the Mr. Troll fixerupper man who said Roebuck Bay Caravan Park wasn't too far away and was quite nice. Dad told mum, mum rang the park, we made the booking she said not on the foreshore as that was too expensive, back a bit was fine. The lady she spoke too Samantha said you are booked in for three nights (as per dad's instructions) and it would be $36 per night. We arrived at the park and the greeting was less than friendly, very cold so that didn't go down well with mum at all, and things got worse when another lady said "you don't have a booking".. "Yes we do!... I rang yesterday and made the booking after speaking with Samantha. I told her we didn't want a foreshore space, down the back was fine and that it would be $36 per night". This lady didn't even flinch! and said 'there's nothing left down the back, but we do have one foreshore spot, at $40 per night.. neither mum or dad were impressed but as it turned out, it was pretty good! Not right on the foreshore, just one row back and it was the weekend of the full moon, meaning the markets were on and Staircase to the Moon was happening this weekend, "so long as it doesn't rain" dad just had to add that one didn't he?

The sites were small but the Penguin being so compact fit easily, our neighbours were lovely, and the beach was very inviting. Our neighbours told us, the time to swim was between 9.30 am and 3 pm. The tide comes in and goes out really fast, if you miss it, you'll have to wait until tomorrow... mum? wait for a swim? not likely! The van was up and out they went into the water. Now they have swum in the Southern Ocean where it was really cold... and here in the Indian Ocean, where mum reckoned it was like a lukewarm bath. Nice change! After a couple of hours we noticed the tide had turned and we had better get out of there quick as you could feel the water draining back over the reef and the mangroves were exposed. We showered and freshened up and mum took her tripod and her camera way out onto a landing that went further out past the beach. The markets were on so dad and I looked at those while mum positioned herself amongst all the other tourists from around the world wanting to get a photo of Staircase to the Moon. Apparently, when the tide is all the way out, the reefs jut out a bit and as the full moon rises, it almost looks like there are stairs that lead up to the moon. While mum got some good pics, she was sure there were better ones around or had been taken previously, mum said she wouldn't have a clue if her shots were good or not as she had never seen this before. Then, all of a sudden, a voice beside her said "Wow, that's a good photo"... she turned to stand face to face with Ray Martin (Aussie TV celebrity and journalist on 60 minutes when it first started in Australia). Mum said she got all discombobulated and said "hi Ray, always been a fan, nice to meet you, thanks... bye"... she later told dad this story and he just laughed at her but that was ok, she laughed too. It was lucky that she got some photos on this night because dad and his 'raining' jinxed us again and it did rain for the next two nights.

With the car serviced, the towels, sheets and a few other clothing items washed and dried, bed made and clothes folded we packed up the next day and headed off towards Derby to stock up on some supplies, find out the condition of the Gibb River Road at the information centre and then onto another working cattle farm with working horses at Birdwood Downs.

A couple of pics that I think you have already seen, but I have put them on here just in case.

Cheers and safe travels!

Tahune xx

BIRDWOOD DOWNS STATION

GIBB RIVER ROAD - THE TAR SEALED BIT

(for about 100 kms)

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

We turned onto the Gibb River Road and drove for about twenty kilometers until we saw the sign Birdwood Downs. There we met Hans, the manager who told us that this was a working cattle farm, so stay on the tracks and don't wander off. Mum said she understood, as there was nothing worse than having silly city folk who think they know it all wandering into the line of a muster, spooking the cattle and all hell breaking loose... Hans smiled and said in a relieved voice. "Ah, then you do understand". There were a lot of indications of permaculture on the station, but really onlyl around the main areas of the homestead, the office and gardens, but nothing really to indicate this on and in the paddocks. While the cattle and the working horses looked in good health as in kicking up their heels and the horses galloping full pelt across the tracks when they weren't working, mum told dad that they were really very thin. She said she would ask Hans what they ate when grazing. When she did he replied 'Birdwood'. Mum asked if they supplemented their feed in any way. He said they got hay... mum was not impressed as she could see their ribs and snuck them each a carrot sliced longways, but only one stick each... They followed mum around for the rest of the day when they weren't taking people out on a trail ride. She talked with Sarah, and a couple of other international people who came to work on the farm for free in exchange for food and accommodation.

They were really nice and they liked me... They told me about how one morning they found Elsa with a really badly infected eye, so bad, it had swollen shut. Mum said she saw the Elsa had been isolated and wondered how they were treating it. Greg told mum and he and Sarah were putting anti biotic ointment and eye wash on Elsa twice a day. While it looked a lot better it was still clouded over so they think she might have been blinded by the branch or twig that hit her in the eye, probably at night about a week ago.

Mum went over to Elsa and talked to her softly, Elsa turned to mum with her good eye. Mum cried... (again, she does a lot of that on this trip), and told Elsa how sorry she was for her pain and hoped she got better soon. Elsa seemed to understand as she slowly walked over to mum and put her head over mum's shoulder as if to give mum a hug... mum stroked her neck and noticed her pretty mane was mangled with grass seeds and thinks that it could have been sticky grass seeds that had done the damage to her eye. Greg came over and gave Elsa a hug and rubbed her neck. "Poor little girl" mum could tell that Greg was horse focussed. Mum asked Greg if she could give Elsa a tiny bit of licorice. Greg smiled "So you know about that treat do you?" Mum said her sister had horses and if they were good when the vet came or the hoof trimmer, that was their treat. Greg said it was fine so mum broke a tiny bit off and held it out for Elsa to smell. In went the licorice, up and down went the head.. as if she was saying 'oh nommy nom nom!" Greg and mum laughed. They laughed even harder when they walked away to talk horsey stuff and Elsa whinnied loudly as if to say.. "Hey! where are you going..? any more licorice?" Greg showed mum the tack room, but only bitless bridles were to be found, and none of the horses were shod. This was a good thing! and mum was pleased. Greg said the only time they ever used a bit was for people who wanted to ride independently but had no experience at all with horses. Greg kicked the dust and sighed, as he shook his head... Mum said 'that's a pain in the... (leaving the word she said out) Greg lifted his head ever so slightly and nodded adding "for the horses and me".

At night time, the station became alive! Tawny Frog Mouth owls that you could walk up too and stroke, Wallabies, Kangaroos, Goannas, Snakes (yuck) lots and lots of frogs and Geckos in the shower... and Whistling Kite. (Mum loves these birds) and took lots of photos of them.

Dad and Hans discussed the benefits of permaculture in the paddocks and weed control. Hans told dad that trying to get rid of the wattle and turkey bush was the fight they were facing and in the of land/farm management they were lagging way behind. Dad said he would love to come back as a woofer for about six months and sit down with a plan to help them find a couple more types of fodder that could be grown in the paddocks, handle the wet and dry seasons they have here. Hans said he would love to talk more about it with dad. There were little cabin accommodation near the office and homestead where woofers and guests stayed.

We met two lovely people also camping at Birdwood Downs, Dianne and Dave. We spent a lot of time with them, and we were going in the same direction and staying at the same campsites for the next two stops so we decided we would travel together, as seeing as Dave had travelled this road before, he would take the lead and we would be 'tail end Charlie'... (Dad really has to stop listening to Slim Dusty! LOL) Just kidding dad... When we left and travelled to where the sealed road ended and the red dusty and rocky road started. Dave stopped and so did dad and they let some of the air out of the tyres so they would reduce the risk of 'popping' while we were driving. This is Australia folks... it's a big red granite land... and when the granite breaks and crumbles, they leave big sharp rocks that can put a hole in your differential. Rip your tyres to shreds, and do all sort of damage.. lucky dad and Dave were pretty knowledgeable in this area! It's really getting exciting now! We have 600 plus kilometers to go including two river crossings!

Enjoy the pics!

Tahune xx