Blog of Beige...Werthers and Sand

Thank goodness for Werther's Original. No longer under the watchful eye of Auntie Heidi (invented purely for aspiration), we got into the habit of buying "driving sweets" quite early on and now we are hopelessly addicted to those creamy toffee delights which claim to be ancient but were only invented in about 1997. They've seen us through many episodes of getting lost and soothe the side of my brain which I'm not used to using - ie. the one which reads maps. Oh, it's so difficult and the map we have is most inadequate for our complex needs. As the passenger, I have a lot to be doing as it is. I have to decide where we're going/staying/wearing/eating/spending. I also have to check the Werther's level every morning while Andy checks the van's oil and water. It's not my fault though, as the other side of my brain is positively hypertrophied, so there has to be some sort of recompense. Would I rather be able to read maps or make Fimo models which vaguely resemble people I know and shove them on top of cakes? I certainly know which is more useful in everyday life.

Unfortunately, our saving money campaign is not going well. The further up the Western coast we trundle, the more frequently we encounter "no camping" signs. Our second departure from Perth found us in Lancelin, a place famous for its sand dunes and surf. You can either hire quad bikes or take a ride on "Big Foot," an old school bus adapted with massive wheels to spin you around all over the dunes. Being firmly in budget territory now, we just had a walk about and tried not to get too overheated. Being in the mood for a lot of sand, we then drove to Cervantes, the small town near to the Pinnacles Desert. A lol about for a couple of hours on Cervantes beach (the temperature's about 10 degrees hotter than when we arrived in Oz 2 weeks ago!)

The Pinnacles are formed as a result of glacial changes which began 3.5 million years ago, exposing a massive chunk of the sea bed which is rich in calcium carbonate (limestone). Rainwater dissolves the CaCO3 (see, "Chemistry Matters" - Mr. Mounter was right afterall) and distributes it throughout the surrounding sand dunes. The sand then smothers the vegetation which then rots and becomes petrified, thus forming The Pinnacles. These limestone points are then exposed as a result of weathering and wind, resulting in the formations visible today.

What all that means is that they look very cool, especially when you visit them at dusk, as we did. Present in their thousands, they cast ominous shadows across the desert, which looks kind of eerie and haunting. Some of them appear in the most unusual of shapes as Andy discovered. Well I thought it might be the perfect spot to do a music video. I was unable at this time, to get Andy to join in. The cool thing was you could drive your van around the main bits, to save you from the ravages of the desert.

We pushed onto Jurien Bay just after nightfall. We seem to be the only people who arrive at caravan parks after hours and have to get the owners to come out especailly to book us in. Don't get me wrong, the facilities are fantastic. The showers are very hot and powerful and the loos are spotlessly clean (I can't tell you what a vision that is after 7 long months of trepidation re: toileting), but I don't really want to spend all day in one. At least that's what I thought until we reached Jurien Bay Tourist Park. Apart from all the usual finds (communal BBQ area, kitchen, scary woman-behind-the-desk), they have a "Jumping Pillow!" Imagine a massive pillow (the biggest in WA, might I add), inflated with air to create something between a trampolene and a bouncy castle and you're only part-way there. What a creation! When I finally pulled Andy onto it, we had a magnificent half hour work-out, which had the children standing round staring at us. Before long Andy was doing sommersaults and double pikes and all kinds.

On account of my toilet key not working, I had cause to sneak into the Mens facilities a couple of times during the night. Next morning when I was checking out, the owner said to me sternly "Are you the one who's been sneaking into the Men's toilets?" How embarrassing! Mysteriously, when I tried my key that morning, it worked fine. "Oh, I just like to have a look!" were the words which came out of my mouth and he gave me a knowing nod. They're probably busy circulating my photograph to all caravan parks up and down the coast.

It's a bit of a bummer that the sea is still very cold. We're in places of wonderful marine life, but at the moment, there's no way you could spend too long in the water without a wetsuit. There are sea-lion colonies dotted around the coast and the opportunity to go on snorkelling trips with them. A quick browse through a conservation leaflet was a little discouraging however. It warned of the sometimes volatile nature of sea-lions and how they can inflict terrible injuries (I think the males weigh upto 200kg). And obviously, anywhere you find seals and the like, you will find a tapas-seeking shark. This is without the added danger of box-jellyfish, seasnakes, stonefish... Oh, the drama of it all. On the local news here, there was a report of stingrays being found with their tails cut off and were now investigationg the possiblity of revenge-attacks after the loss of Our Steve.

A drive through the tiny town of Greenhead brought us to Dongara - Port Denison. A gorgeous day for it, we bought a few snags and steaks and whacked them on the barbie! All the communal parks have gas BBQs thrown in for free to accommodate your beautiful view out to sea. Seemed rude to not mark our first barbie with a nice bottle of wine (Houghten 2005 White Burgundy from the Swan River and Nannup regions of WA -V.V. good for $10.99). Getting very into this wine lark but it was a pity Andy was driving, as I had to indulge alone. This afternoon tipple enboldened me somewhat and I decided it was time for a dip. At knee-level something with pincers had a go at my foot, so I was out of that sea sharpish.

Geraldton was to be our next port of call and overnight stop. The drive along the way shows the incredible Leaning Trees, deformed by the prevailing Southerly winds. Geraldton is the biggest place between Perth and Exmouth and it was here that I managed to get in to waist height before a massive wave came and scared me. Suffice to say Andy didn't even make it onto the sand - he was sat comfortably by the van on his little camping chair, keeping watch over our little abode. We're loving the van!! It's so nice to be able to load up the camper rather than lugging everything you own about on your back and the horrors of daily packing and unpacking. Our condiment collection is growing, we have learnt to wash up in three millimetres of water, and you can just whip out the chairs when you find somewhere nice to stop. It affords us a much better nights sleep than we're used to (no changing beds every 2 or 3 days and no cheap clippy-cloppy sandals reverberating through resonant corridors all night long). We have everything we need and despite the limited capacity, we could still swing a spider if it dared cross the step. Thanks to Mazza though, I now have the perfect spider-deterrent...Horse Chestnuts. Apparently they hate the smell. Mazza we miss you.

Kalbarri was our next destination (is anyone else tired?). We have clocked up some
3,000km already! Arriving just before sunset allowed us a taster of the fantastically rugged coastal scenery. The setting sun shone against the magnificent rock faces warming them to a gorgeous orange (or "Burnt Sienna" if you're Bruce). There we were looking at all the products of the forces of nature, when right next to us a family of roos decided to check us out. At last! We got our 'roo shots. How nice was it too see them full of life when all we'd seen for the last 300km roadkill versions. Apparently you're supposed to check the pouches of the dead ones in case there's a little joey in there...


Dance Hamble, Dance!





Listening to: Backini - Threads - Genius!







Currently Reading: The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks