23/09/12

The next day was a good one too, and I'm thinking it was WA's way of rewarding me for the long and boring drives earlier in the week.
Today I left the National Park and Exmouth and drove further south to Coral Bay.
Whoah! Coral Bay! That's all I have to say....
I'm normally not one to recommend "must see" places as everyone should be free to find their cool places without being influenced by others but....Whoah!
If you are ever around this way, DEFINITELY go to Coral Bay. And if you're travelling up from Perth, I'd even go as far to say don't bother going further north to Exmouth as Coral Bay has everything it has and is a lot prettier.

Coral Bay...my fave place in the West thus far

It has the beautiful clear blue water where you can swim, snorkel, canoe and you can hire all this stuff from a place right on the beach (which is cheaper than Exmouth btw), there are food stores metres from the beach and a nice picnic area, caravan park and the Ningaloo Resort literally across the road.
So needless to say it was a good day at Coral Bay.

Coral Bay is where it's at.

21/09/12 - 22/09/12

So the next day I got up at the crack of sparrows and was shocked and awed to discover there were already people waiting in line for a camp spot?!?!

It's not a Prince concert, it's a freakin' national park people!!!

Fortunately I managed to secure one though so all was good.
As it was still early morning I decided to do the Mandu Mandu Gorge walk before it got too hot.

Gorge-eous

I don't want to sound unappreciative but you know how you experience something REALLY good then nothing else really stacks up? Well, after going to Kings Canyon a couple of months ago, this made this Gorge seem like "just another gorge". It was nice but I got the very distinct feeling of "Yeah it's nice, but I've had better".
So after the Gorge I drove a little further to Turquoise Bay and it didn't disappoint.
After waiting for what seemed like forever to experience clear blue ocean waters and white sand (something I was expecting of the beaches in north Qld) it was great to finally do it here.
Stepping out on to the beach was like being in my very own advertisement for Longbeach cigarettes - beautiful!
The water was so clear and blue that the photos really don't do it justice.

Turquoise Bay.....supreme

I think I've perfected the art of "headless wildlife photos" too...

Can't run without legs...can't talk without heads...

I spent two days here, swimming, checking out the wildlife and going on some really good beach walks. With the sun setting in the west, and time to think, it's only really sinking in that I'm in the West and it got me thinking about how far I have travelled considering my first destinations at the start of the year were on the NSW south coast where the sun rises over the ocean.

The coveted camp spot...beach was literally 10 metres behind..nice.

Stingray...the waters were so clear you could see stuff even from the waters edge...I stayed clear of this fella...Steves and stingrays don't mix do they (too soon?)

Evening colours were superb

One such walk was rudely interrupted when I was attacked and chased by a crab! I shit you not!
I was there walking along, minding my own business and out of nowhere this crab rushes towards me.
I panicked a little bit and in my attempt to get out of it's way I inadvertently managed to kick it up into the air "hacky sack" style where it brushed against my thigh upon it's descent, narrowly missing Stevie Jnr. Of course by this stage I was yelling obscenities that would make your hair curl (I think "Jesus Tapdancing Christ" got a mention) but the drama was all over before it began..or so I thought...
So I walked a few metres away from the angry crustacean and searched in my bag for my camera to get a photo of him when I looked up to find the little bastard rapidly advancing towards me, nippers raised, looking as though it wanted to punch on!! What the?!?!
So I thought, bugger you mate, if you're gonna have an attitude like that you're not gonna have the esteemed honour of appearing in my blog. I showed him. Huh.

Just another sunset...pfft

17/09/12 - 20/09/12

The next few days just involved a LOT of driving. I'm getting a sense now of how massive WA actually is.
On my way down the coast I stopped at the various places along the way (Port Hedland, Karratha, Dampier etc) but there was a whole load of bugger all in between.

Ah. The Road.

Port Hedland was a hot, dirty, smelly, unwelcoming sort of place.

Port Hedland

After days of driving I just couldn't wait to get to Exmouth and Ningaloo Reef which a mate of mine raved about so I was slightly unimpressed when I got to the National Park at Exmouth to discover that all the campsites were booked out and if I maybe wanted a shot at one I'd have to line up super early the next morning. Great.

No need to jump, Freda, we'll get a camp spot tomorrow...

14/09/12 - 16/09/12

The scenery driving into Broome was not what I expected - it was really quite dirty and uninspiring and if you didn't know what awaited when you got there you wouldn't bother.
Fortunately I kept going and was greeted by palm trees, white sand and brilliantly blue ocean.

Boab trees and blue ocean.. must be Broome!

I spent the next three days just checking the place out in the mornings and afternoons then chilling out at the beach or the pool during the day.
It has really started to heat up over the past couple of days, and I didn't think I'd say it, but I'm actually looking forward to heading south and getting a bit or respite from it.
My guitar has not fared all that well in the heat either and needs some adjustements made before it is playable again so unfortunately that means no gigs for me again until I get it fixed in Perth. I took it to the music shop here in Broome and apparently there are no luthiers in town which is a complete bummer as I've got quite used to having my guitar help pay my way around so far - oh well, it is what is is.
So anyway, other things I saw when out and about included:

Down town Broome

Outdoor cinema

Markets.. these were actually well attended but my picture doesn't reflect this

Some spot starting with "G" which I can't be bothered trying to spell let alone pronounce...I guess that would make it the "G Spot"  (Mum, this joke was supplied my Amanda, not me)

But I guess one of the most famous aspects of Broome is Cable Beach. It was nice, with blue water and white sand, and maybe I'm becoming a bit complacent, but in the end, it's just another beach. Though the sunsets were nice.

Cable Beach....blue water..nice!

Nice place for a .....white weddingeh!

Just another sunset....

One day the beach was covered in all these jellyfish. Apparetnly they don't sting you but make you itchy if you touch them. Nice.

Jellyfish or rogue breast implant? Hrmmm

So that's Broome. Time to head south now with the main destination being Perth and Fremantle.

11/09/12 - 13/09/12

Not a lot to report over these days - just a lot of driving as I made my way West from Kununurra to Broome.
I took it pretty easy, only doing 300-400kms a day.
The scenery was pretty good and at times resembled something from a Road Runner cartoon.

View from das road

I passed through Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing for the necessary fuel ups...

Halls Creek.

...spotted a headless cow at one of the rest stops...

Q. What noise does a headless cow make? A. Nothing, cos it's got no head! Duh!

...osberved a cyclist almost get maimed by a road train...

WATCH! OUT! FOR! THE!...............road. train.

...but other than that it was a pretty uneventful few days of driving.
And then I was in Broome.

6/09/12 - 10/09/12

Today Gary and Leanne confirmed that I could do gigs again on Friday and Sunday nights and I was invited to go on one of the sunset tours of Lake Argyle on Saturday - sweet!
All the staff at the resort were really friendly and couldn't have done any more to make me feel welcome and comfortable.
Friday night's gig was another success and I got little Hannah up on stage to sing her "Lake Argyle song" which was a hit with the audience.. it kinda went like this: "Lake Aaaaaaaaaaaargle.....Laaaaaaake Aaaaaaargyle" and repeat. haha
On Saturday afternoon I got on the boat for the Lake Argyle tour with Graham who was an excellent guide and again, very welcoming.

All aboard

You don't get a sense of how big the lake is until you're actually out there and when you're right in the middle of it you can understand why it is classed as an inland sea.
Here are some of the pictures I took whilst on tour:

"Come a bit closer and I'll show you what you can do with your camera, buddy"

Lazy buggers....

Lake Argyle

The inland sea

At sunset we were treated to beers and nibblies..oh, and a sunset...

Sunset 1

Sunset 2

Sunset 3

Sunday's gig was another success with young Hannah joined by another little girl who created their own "jumpy ballerina" interpretive dance to Mustang Sally which was a crack-up. I sold some more cds and a retired gentleman with a $35,000 Rolex gave me a $50 tip - nice.
As I was about to head to bed, there was a bit of a commotion and it was soon "discovered" by two French dudes that there was a little fire brewing in the park.
The little fire soon grew into something a little more serious and hoses were abandonded and backburning intitiated to stop the spread.
I'm not 100% sure whether the French guys were responsible for it but after the dodgy things I've seen French people doing on my travels so far, it would not suprise me one little bit.
So that was a fiery little ending to my Lake Argyle experience but I had a great time and have been invited back next year so I must have left a good impression. Thanks to Leanne, Gary, Charlie and everyone there for a great week.

French guys and fire....

.....don't mix.

PS. I saw this sticker on a caravan in the park - haha!

5/09/12

Well as fate would have it, when I was in Darwin, doing my laundry and flicking through a magazine while I waited, I read an article about the "Lake Argyle Resort".
I had never heard of it but since it was on my way West and the picture of the pool looked stunning I chanced my luck and asked them if I could go there and sing for my supper.
Fortunately they said yes and I found myself there for the next week, playing music for the guests by night and chilling out by the pool by day - tough life huh?!

Freda at Lake Argyle Resort

It may sound weird to be drawn to the place by a pool but check this out...

The Infinity Pool

But it gets better....

..and in case you didn't quite get that...

After forcing myself from the pool it was time to set up for the gig.

Setting up for the gig

Showtime!

The gig went well and I got some generous donations and sold a few cds.
The most generous of the donations were from Steph and Shaun from Darwin who decided I would be the perfect Dad for their "Change Baby".
The Change Baby is a plastic bag full of coins that they have collected over the past few months on their travels but haven't been able to get rid of.
It's called the Change Baby because it's obviously made from spare change but when driving along, Shaun has had to cradle it like a baby so it doesn't rattle or spill and, erm, die?
So I know it's a big responsibility but I agreed to take custody of Change Baby and thanks to Shaun and Steph for trusting me with your child.

Shaun and Steph say their goodbyes to "Change Baby"

2/09/12 - 4/09/12

From Katherine Gorge I travelled West for the next few days.
On the way, about five minutes out of Katherine I stopped at the Katherine Hot Springs which were pretty good.
Even though the camera doesn't pick it up well, the water was really blue.

Katherine Hot Springs

The drive west was through some pretty spectacular country though again, the camera really doesn't capture it.

The road is loooooong....

The rest stops I stayed at too, despite being pretty hot and dusty, were also in some pretty spectacular locations.

Nothing quite like a rocky outcrop

On the fourth I made it to the quarantine checkpoint at the border and after somehow resisting the temptation to make a dad joke to the rather serious border official about my roasted nuts which I bought in Katherine, I was across the border to WA - my first time in the state. Yay!

It's a "great place"

Quarantine.....

1/09/12

Firrst day of September today and I honestly thought that when I hit the road in January that there was every chance that I wouldn't still be on the road by September but here I am!
After a quick stop in Katherine, where I found out what was making news in the NT...

Look! Freda has made the news! ;)

...it was about a 30km drive to Katherine Gorge or Nitmiluk Gorge which it is now known as.
I got there at about midday and it was too hot to do any walks to the gorge so I just hung out until later in the afternoon when the temperature had dropped a bit.
It was still pretty hot when I set out and the walk wasn't as easy as I had anticipated.
The river area wasn't all that impressive so I decided to walk further around to the first gorge which was a challenging 10km trek.
On the way I took a 1km detour over massive boulders and dodgy rocks to check out the southern rock hole which was a complete fizzer.

Piddly Pool.....Katherine Gorge

With the temperatures high and my mood getting darker as I trudged through the scrub I had thoughts of turning back but I pressed on to Ray's Lookout over the first gorge and I was glad I did as the views were magnificent.

Not bad....

I then began the long walk back to the camp spot, stopping on the way at a water tank and copping a mouth full of flies and an angry hornet - fun.
By the time I got back to camp I was hot, tired and completely fed up so I decided to go to the campground pool for a dip.
As soon as I hit the water I was completely revived and my bad mood over the last few hours completely disappeared.
There was a bloke playing music by the pool and there was a really good atmosphere with people eating and drinking and I was happy again.