Caravan Capers

Into the department today to sort out some paperwork for the new job. Incredibly efficient- have my office all set up, business cards ready to go and sorted the parking application as well. Caught a lift over to PMH with Sharron to finalise some more paperwork and then done by lunchtime. Chris came by to pick me up and we wandered vaguely off into the city centre to look for lunch and Xmas shopping options. Had forgotten that car parking around there might be an issue with the windsurf boards still on the roof (most of the parking in town likely to be undercover) so eventually wended our way back to Kings Park for cold leftover curry and raita (still very good) in the Botanic Gardens section. Great park – a lot of it still natural bush (you wouldn’t know you were in  a big city), and loverly manicured green shady lawns overlooking the Swan River and the city.

After lunch, headed into Subiaco looking for shopping options. Found a small section of shops and stopped for coffee and a quick look around (clearly not getting a lot done here), then drove on further along Rokeby Rd and found a more major shopping area. Great little bookshop (can’t go past bookshops) and some success with a couple of pressies. In the meantime, Sharron had invited us for dinner Thursday evening and organised for the four of us to see the new Harry Potter movie in gold class on Sunday. The social calendar is filling up! Staring to feel as if normal life is catching up with us again. Bit sad really, as that laissez faire attitude to life that we’ve had for the last few months will disappear and the pace will inevitably pick up again. Could really just keep on going with Colin and not have to worry about life, the universe, or anything, but I guess this isn’t very practical at this stage in our lives.

BBQ steak and salad tonight. Bit more restrained, which will be good.

My birthday today! Something to forget really and spending the day trying to look at some of the rental properties we drove past yesterday could be just the thing to push it to the back of the mind. Started ringing round real estate agents with high expectations of having a list of places to look at – but no. The first one I rang was for a property in City Beach that we quite liked the look of (the agents were located some distance away) and the young thing on the end of the phone was quite uninterested. Apparently they had already had a “home open” on Saturday just gone, didn’t yet have a date for another one and didn’t do private viewings (and this wasn’t a particularly cheap property). Explaining that we were only here for a week cut no mustard and I was told we could be contacted when they had another home open date, whenever that might be. Have to say, if I was the owner of that property I wouldn’t be best pleased at the lack of interest in showing it to prospective tenants.

Did a bit better after that, so obviously not all real estate agents are tarred with the same brush. Went to view a property in Balcatta, about 30 min drive to work in good traffic conditions but a bit small and limited storage (although would probably have fitted Colin in under the carport). Another property in Floreat looked OK on the net (didn’t have this one for our drive by) and was open to view at 3 pm so went for a squiz. More expensive than Balcutta but would only be 5-10 min to work, was bigger and had much better storage. Pets OK. Storing Colin could be a bit more interesting as uphill driveway to small single garage with drive through section (also uphill) behind. Might require winches and tyre deflation to get him in but Chris seemed confident…… Also a lemon tree, a mandarine tree and a rosemary bush! After some further discussion over coffee and cookie in a local bakery cafe, decided to put in an application (despite the price). Apparently the owner had already rejected two applications, so maybe they won’t want us.

Out to a local Indian restaurant (Punjab) for birthday dinner with our bottle of fizz from Dog Ridge. Very good Indian and not too pricey. Plus doggy bag for lunch, as ordered way too much, as usual. Sorry, forgot to take photo of us in restaurant and none of house hunting.

Up relatively early to finalise plans for the day then paid up for another night and set off. jen programmed with details of various possible rental properties in the region north west of Perth CBD and some to the east. First one we looked at was in Hillary’s and looked like it ticked a few of our boxes, but would take 30 min to get to work on a Sunday so likely longer in rush hour. Probably too far out. Looked at various options in places like Karrinyup, Scarborough, Doubleview, Bayswater, Innaloo, Floreat and City Beach (latter two would be very convenient for work and the City Beach property looked quite reasonable from the outside and located in a nice quiet area (but quite expensive – may need to revise our rent estimates upwards??). The Floreat and Doubleview properties looked quite tired and rundown (probably why they accept pets!).

Got back to the van in time for some more searching and leftovers. Found another property in Floreat and several other possibilities, so will see how things pan out when the various real estate offices open tomorrow.

Off this morning on our own towards Lancelin and possibly Perth. Sad to leave the Cheapa campers, as has been much fun over the last month, but will catch up again back home for Christmas, before they jet off to more cheapa camping in NZ. Initial hiccup with the electrics to the van – not all the indicators, etc working properly. Seemed to respond to WD40 to the connectors and tightening up the connections, with a bit of tape to keep it all secure.

Arrived Lancelin about midday. Lots of windsurfers waiting for the wind (very little wind on arrival) and Werner’s Hot Spot set up on the beach for rentals, just as we remembered it from 3 years ago. Wandered back to the van for lunch then the wind arrived. Amazing how quickly it goes from nothing to blowing quite hard, although possibly not as strong as the last few days. Dithered briefly but then rigged up and went out into a nice cross shore wind (bit light near the beach). Almost immediately hit a very broad shallow patch (mostly sand I think) and nose dived again. Yet another small crack in the front of the board! This is getting to be a habit. Managed to wade out further and get going again but the wind was still just a bit too strong for me, so after a few runs out and back (cautiously negotiating the shallow bits), I came in and watched the action. Chris had a great time and zipped out and back quite a few times, with some excellent jibes, particularly on the outside. Will definitely come back up to Lancelin again down the track – nice grassy rigging area and hose to wash off gear. Kites and windsurfers segregated with kite launching either 200 m south or 2 km north of the windsurf area.

Ready to move on again by just before 5 pm. had prebooked a spot in Karrinyup Waters Resort and just needed to confirm and pay before their office shut at 6 pm (mobile coverage of course dropped out once heading out of Lancelin so frustrating to try to confirm but made it). arrived Perth by 6.30 and found our site directions, etc ready for us. Quite a nice park but quite different being back in “civilization” – traffic everywhere, traffic lights (quite confronting to find traffic lights in Geraldton!), traffic noise from the nearby freeway. Not exactly a remote national park with the only sounds being the rustle of animals, bird song and breeze through the trees (or low bushes depending how far north you are).

Planned to have our chicken madras for dinner (as postponed due to going out for my birthday dinner last night) but discovered had actually finished the madras, so had green chicken curry instead. Latish night looking at rental websites for the impending move to Perth. Aiming to drive by some properties tomorrow and start to get a feel for the place. Somewhat depressed at the relatively limited options for renting with pets, but the cats must be accommodated!

After some discussion, decided to stay another night and attempt to sail relatively early, before the wind started really howling. All very well in theory but in fact the wind had howled most of the night and was still gusting occasionally (with quiet intervening lulls). Got down to the beach by about 10.30 and then proceeded to dither again, as what little wind was blowing was still quite offshore (more dangerous, even for experienced people). Launching would be better from further round the bay, but to get there would require either driving on the beach (not many people around and two very inexperienced 4WDers) or finding an alternate beach access from further along. Drove off to find another access point, leaving Ally and Jeff to set up (Ally was planning to go out and Jeff was considering). No luck though and wondered if heading down to Lancelin for the afternoon might work (thought the shoreline might allow a better wind angle but on studying the map further, discounted this). Reviewed the beach access options again and thought driving up a sandy track adjacent to the beach might be a better option…..

Unfortunately driving up the sandy track wasn’t a better option, as became pretty clear in a very short space of time when we came to an abrupt stop and the prado refused to budge. Looked initially like we’d dug a hole with the tyres (and we had), but became clear after unsuccessfully trying to clear the tyres and reverse out, that the prado had bottomed out on the central raised sandy ridge. The sand was loose and dry, with zero traction. Tried to dig out under the car but bit of a gargantuan task. Sliding the rubber mats from the campa and the van under the tyres didn’t help improve the traction either. Fortunately a couple of locals (typical “no worries” Aussie blokes) showed up with some serious snatch straps and a “she’ll be right, we’ve been stuck worse than this” attitude that was both reassuring and concerning at the same time. After a serious discussion about how to best attach the straps and whether tandem towing with their two vehicles, vs using one car only was better, the rescue began.  After an initial mis-start, the ute succeeded in pulling the prado out. The plan was for both vehicles to keep moving back up the track at that point but the ute came to a sudden stop after the prado lurched out, and it looked for a moment as if our car would slam into the back of it – not a good omen for a continuing pleasant relationship with our rescuers. Fortunately all OK and the prado stopped in time. $50 towards a slab or two of beer and our spare digital tyre gauge were a small price to pay to ensure we weren’t still there now!

Had noted that Ally and jeff were getting ready to launch their kites before our rescue started and there was no sign of the kites on the beach when I looked up at the end of the rescue. Also no sign of kites out in the bay, so either they had been blown away by the now cross-shore (but exceedingly strong all of a sudden) wind, or they had given up. found them in the Cheapa Campa putting the kettle on, as the wind was now way too strong to go out, even for them!

Split up this afternoon, with Ally & Jeff off to see the Pinnacles and us off to check out a place called Sandy Cape, which our rescuers had said was “the place to be” – cheap camping, great beach, protected bay, etc. Had passed a sign for Sandy Cape on the way into Jurien but hadn’t realised it was a camp spot. In fact looked very nice and lots of people camped there. Clean pit toilets available but no power or water. Lovely beach (still a bit windy though). A possible windsurfing place but might need the right wind conditions. Perhaps another trip?

Back into town to do some necessary chores (laundry, birthday present sendaway, etc). Our trip was coming to an end, as we needed to be in Perth by Sunday and had booked our flight back to Sydney for Tuesday 7/12. Sad but needed a minimum of a week in Perth to check out rental options (moving for work in January) and finalise some work-related business. Given the contrary wind, we thought moving on a day earlier and arriving in Perth Saturday might be worthwhile. Perhaps stop in Lancelin to see if the wind started behaving itself? Dinner out tonight at the Sandpiper Bar and Bistro. Surprisingly good meals (really tender squid) and enjoyable evening.

Left Dongara this morning with wind still blowing moderately hard. Aimed to meet up with the Cheapa Campers in Leeman, as said to be a good spot for windsurfing. Proved not to be too enticing, with the first spot we looked at being the jetty area and quite weedy, and the second a bit south around the point from the jetty, which was less weedy but possibly rockier. Wind probably not blowing from the best direction either. On to Green Head. Similar experience there as well, although wondered if I was developing a slightly negative attitude towards windsurfing in general (might be colouring my judgement?). No one else was prepared to commit to Green Head though, so onwards we went to Jurien Bay. Much more inviting here – white sand beaches, clear turquoise water with minimal or no weed, no major shore breaks and still some wind. After some dithering, checked in to the Jurien Bay Tourist Park, set ourselves up, had lunch, and went exploring.

First went to the local surf shop where local knowledge was apparently to be had in the form of the one male resident who kite surfs. Unfortunately not working today, but his substitute told us he kited from Shingle Point. Ally & Jeff were quite keen on the bay we had looked at earlier, past the boat harbour, which had some shelter at the southern end near a groyne for rigging, so we wandered back there. Wind was blowing quite hard (slight understatement) by that stage and was offshore. Chris declined to go out. Jeff was not keen on going out in an offshore wind and I had given up hours ago, which left Ally, who bravely rigged up and was launched (in somewhat haphazard fashion) by Jeff, who landed firmly on his bottom in the process. Ally looked like she was doing quite well, making several nice spins and jumps on her first few runs out and back. Chris and I left the action at this point, to check out the action down at Cervantes, where the kite surfer substitute had told us was “where all the kiters go”.

Roughly 20 min drive to Cervantes then no real idea where to start looking. Headed out through town (basically a caravan park, cafe and few small shops) to the harbour. Thought the beach there looked a possibility as was relatively flat water, despite the strong winds. As we were leaving to look at other options, a car with a couple of windsurf boards on top pulled up. This older couple maintained that the only place to go was Thirsty Point and no one would windsurf in this strength of wind!

Headed out to Thirsty Point. Nary a windsurfer, or kite in evidence, although it was a tad difficult to see with the sand being blown viciously into our eyes by the cyclonic winds. Sadly went back to Jurien and checked out Shingle Point. Lovely and flat, probably due to the dead offshore wind blowing the waves flat. Would have a nice ride out to a little island a couple of kilometres off the coast but might never be seen again (if not flattened on the way). Ally and Jeff were already back at camp when we arrived back there. Finished the day with fish, chips and salad, unfortunately rather enormous serves. One serve could easily have catered for three people! Nice battered shark though.

Long trip today – all the way to Dongara-Denison (65 km south of Geraldton). Stopped in at Seven Mile Beach on the way (5 km or so north of Dongara), as said to have flat water sailing. Quite flat, but lots of weed, possible shallow rocks and lots of boats bobbing around, so good from the flat water perspective but not so good otherwise. Entertaining to watch the rangers (? fisheries and wildlife) arrive to inspect and possibly fine several people pulling lobsters out of the water. Very big sign there saying that these were closed waters as research into lobsters was being undertaken, so no excuse really!

Looked at several beaches in Dongara and Port Denison. The first had a sign up warning of a sharp drop off and strong rips (not ideal), the second (Granny’s Beach) had steps down to the beach that granny would have broken her neck negotiating and quite significant waves and the third (South Beach) looked vaguely hopeful, with a much calmer shore break, moderate wind and waves that didn’t look too bad (although I still wasn’t convinced). Went and checked in to the Top Tourist Park (Denison Tourist Park) next to the beach, had lunch and then drove back up the road for an afternoon’s sailing. Wind had picked up further and things (to me anyway) looked even less salubrious than they had a short time before. Helped Chris unpack his gear and then left them to it while I explored Dongara’s main street (fig trees, one open cafe for coffee and carrot cake, an IGA and a newsagent pretty much). Armed with magazine and paper, wandered back to see how they were getting on at about 4.50 (left them there at about 3.20) and found them all packing up. Apparently Jeff enjoyed himself once he got over the initial terror and Chris didn’t enjoy himself much at all. Wise decision to have coffee instead….

BBQ snags tonight… lucky the communal BBQ area is sheltered ’cause that wind is still blowing quite strongly (van hasn’t tipped over yet, but who knows?). No flies here or in Geraldton – bonus.

Bit of a slow start but eventually roused ourselves to go out to Point Moore for a look, especially as the wind was steadily strengthening. Didn’t look too bad, although there was a shore break and some swell, with waves breaking over the reefs further out. Interesting around the point itself, with waves breaking from two different directions over the sand spit that extended out from the beach at that point. Ally & Jeff were quickly out on the water (there is definitely something to be said for kite surfing in terms of ease of rigging and de-rigging) and blasting. We took 50 min to rig both boards on the beach(bad idea as it turned out) and then off we went in great anticipation. The shore break was interesting but eventually uphauled and got up on the board. Sailed out a ways but had lots of trouble managing the wind and the waves (used to sailing on flat water) and didn’t have much fun trying to get back up after falling in a few times. Headed back in to adjust the boom height but then got stuck in the shore break and had to be rescued by Chris. Gave up after that! Nearly an hour’s work for 10-15 min on the water! Chris had more luck and despite getting washed downwind onto a reef at one point, and getting dumped on by some waves further out when water starting, he had a generally enjoyable afternoon. I wandered off to get some fresh fish for dinner and back to the van for a quick lunch before going back out to try to improve the non-existent bikini tan but having sand blow all over you and your sudoku in the ever strengthening wind wasn’t much fun so retreated up to the grassy rigging area while Chris packed himself up. Then drove back down onto the beach to pack stuff into the car for transport to the beach shower to rinse off. Really bad idea to rig and de-rig on the beach as putting the boards up on the roof in that wind was madness and then having to take them off again to rinse them and put them in their bags and back up on the roof was a long and protracted event – one not to be repeated.

Dinner was good. Fresh crayfish for starter, followed by BBQ’d NW snapper and salad, then mango weis bars for dessert. Wind still blowing a gale but sheltered in the caravan park.

Lazy start to the morning, interspersed with phone calls about family stuff and doing the laundry. Wind still quite light so went off in search of a new battery (especially since car wouldn’t turn over at all this morning and needed an extra boost from the caravan battery with our Nanga Bay jumper leads!), and a fix for my glasses. Found a very helpful man at Battery Mart, who not only had what we needed (with its own handy little carry handle), but also installed it for us and took away the old one. Also successful in finding an optometrist to fix my glasses, had lunch and went shopping (got another 8c/L off fuel voucher from Coles). Stopped in at an auto shop for some other essential bits, then on to scope out Sunset Beach – looked a bit rough and the beach looked quite narrow for kite launching so didn’t feel inspired.

Ally & Jeff by this time were already at Point Moore about to go kiting so went out there to have a look. Too late to set up our gear and wind still looked quite light so watched the kiters for a while then I took the bike out for a spin. Geraldton is very well endowed with cycle paths and I was able to go out way past Separation Point in one direction from  the caravan park, get slightly lost looking for an alternate route into the city centre and then head the other way into town and the foreshore and marina section (very nice and reminded me a lot of Newcastle, with its size, mining and industry, foreshore, etc). 1 1/2 hours in all and arrived back to find all back in camp and ready for showers and dinner. Good chilli prepared by Jeff tonight.

Off towards Geraldton today. As usual the cheapa campers were ready to go before us (and then as we were eventually pulling out, Chris remembered we needed to adjust the tyre pressures after the gorge trip the day before). The plan was that we would meet at either Lucky Bay (a possible kite surf place) or perhaps further down in Port Gregory (Pete’s suggestion from back in Karajini). Stopped for a look at Red Bluff and a quick drive around the defunct eco estate (saw some more Nankeen kestrels hovering effortlessly over the cliffs) and discovered that this part of the coast has been the site of several shipwrecks, with one ship’s complement having to walk all the way to Perth (one died on the way).

Then on towards Lucky Bay, supposedly ~25k south of Geraldton. Coming up tot the 25 km mark and no obvious roads or signs to indicate where Lucky Bay might be located, so stopped and unearthed Jen from the glove box to see if she could do any better. Hopes were raised when she told us to take the next right….. until it became clear there was no actual road there. She kept directing us off to the right and eventually we took a dirt road off to the right towards the coast but no sign of the cheapa campa, or flying kites in the small turn around. Decided to continue on to Port Gregory to hopefully catch up with the rellies there. Port Gregory is a quaint little seaside village tucked in behind another Pink Lake (more algal blooms but actually harvested and exported from here). Lots of boats bobbing around in the bay but not convinced of its windsurfing cred and no other obvious beach access points. More importantly, no sign of the cheapa campa. Headed back out of Port Gregory and thought perhaps we might find them back along the road. Hadn’t got too far back up the highway when fortunately decided to phone Jeff, who not only had coverage, but answered. Apparently they were in Northampton, a further 47 km further south, as they had been running low on fuel (they couldn’t find Lucky Bay either). All of us had lunch in a car park in Northampton before heading towards Geraldton again.

Stopped at Coronation Beach (actually had a proper road in and a small sign!) to check out the options there. Wind was blowing from the NW and weed was rampant on the shoreline. Also a bit of swell. Apparently the wind normally blows from the SW and the water is flatter. Seems well set up for wind sports, with separate kite and windsurfer rigging areas and separate sailing areas if both are on the water. Ally & Jeff rigged up and had a go, although Ally ended up landing the kite downwind over the fence and into some bushes because the wind wasn’t that strong. It was getting late by the time we pulled our gear out of the car and we probably dithered too much (plus the lone windsurfer out sailing with a 4.7m sail told us the wind was pretty mild out on the water, which further dampened our enthusiasm) so didn’t windsurf there. Camping ground looked OK though, and even though you have to bring your own water and the site is unpowered (fine for us but not so good for the cheapa campa fridge), they not only had flush toilets, but also shower cubicles where you could hang your own water bag / bucket!! Luxury! Especially when considering putting the shower tent up in good windsurfing wind.

Headed on to Geraldton and arrived at the Belair Gardens Caravan Park about 5.30pm, after Jen decided to take us the scenic route (cheapa campers arrived well before us by following the main highway). Not a bad park and relatively close to one of the kite surfing hotspots (Point Moore) but having locked amenities that have to be accessed by key, especially when the toilets and showers are separate, was a bit of a pain.