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Our last episode ended at Miraee Pool, just south of Karratha. There was a fair size mob there .. and we all seemed
to get on well together .. good "happy hours" with lots of jokes from John and Jean. We ended up staying 3 nights .. others
had been there longer. This meant we all had to go back to Karratha for more water, food etc. before heading south. While
shopping in Karratha we met up with Allan, VK4HBN, and Val who we had met initially in Kununurra.
A reasonable number of conveniently spaced rest areas ahead .. lots on rivers. Also, other rest areas at road houses
.. although, most of which have now established a caravan park .. which translates into NO CAMPING signs in those spots.
We were going to go into Onslow, but decided against it .. 80 odd kms in .. then have to come back the same way.
Went into Exmouth via the north road .. lots of big HF comms stations plus the navy VLF system (used to pass traffic to
subs) were all noted and photos taken. Went down the west coast where there is a series of camp spots established by CALM ..
which equals National Parks in these parts. So, have to pay an entry fee plus a daily camping fee. Only stayed one night as
nothing there really appealed. No view of the ocean from the camp spot, which was in common with others we saw further south
when we were taken for a drive down the coast to the end of the sealed road.
On the way back, we visited the light house .. a steep climb for the vehicle, but spectacular view. There are the
remains of the Australian built, so called in that era, "light weight early warning radar" (LWAR) from WWII days. Certainly
a great spot for it with the view to the north. Exmouth was "visited" by the Japanese!
Left Onslow .. parked 1 night with other friends at Learmonth pier .. then left the area by the southern road.
Called into Coral Bay .. very touristy .. dominated by two large caravan parks .. the whole (small) area is quite congested
and not suitable for parking/turning our vehicle .. so left! This, and other towns on this section of the coast are very
tourist orientated .. have signs indicating fines up to $1,500 for overnight parking unless in their designated areas ..
which translates into caravan parks. We, and quite a number of other travellers, feel we are losing our freedom in these
towns and, most times, just continue on, as we did at Coral Bay (plus other places).
Made our way to Carnarvon .. shopping .. fuel .. water .. found out why e-mail wasn't working .. they just wanted
more money to maintain hosting my site! No advice, just turned it off! Went out to a couple of beaches (New Beach and Bush
Bay) camp spots .. interesting on the coast, but very windy.
Continued south .. decided not to go into the Denham/Monkey Mia area. It, plus lots of other shires/municipalities
along this coast don't welcome travellers unless they stay in caravan parks .. back on my soap box again! Had one instance
of caravan parks being full (Kalbarri) and the girl at the tourist info then suggested we just "MOVE ON" .. rather negative,
we thought after the money they spend on advertising their area! We had noted an equestrian centre which advertised camping,
so went back there. We learnt that the owner was at the pub to view some important football match .. he had signs at his
entrance saying trespasses will be prosecuted etc., so we parked on the road outside his property. We expected him to return
in the evening, but nothing was heard of him .. maybe a good session in the pub for him, but we scored a "free" night!
Have been hanging around this area, Northhampton, about 30 - 40 km N of Geraldton, hoping the weather will warm up
somewhat. Went to visit Hutt River Province a day or so ago. That place is somewhat unique in that Prince Leonard declared
independence from Australia back in 1970 .. he has his own currency, stamps etc. We had our passports stamped to enter and
leave, he has diplomatic representation in quite a number of foreign countries and so on. He was saying he is setting up a
ham radio station .. I would have liked to talk with him more on the subject, but we got side tracked when I mentioned him
getting an international prefix organised. He went on about his Minister of Communications was getting that fixed up. He
said his Minister did something or another in Naru some time back. That is what sidetracked the issue as I said I had been
in/through Naru a number of times .. and we went on to talk about Naru. Anyway, he said the ham equipment had already been
donated and was in Perth. I asked if we could stay the night .. he said OK and pointed out a good spot. We were actually
left "in charge" of the "country" for an hour or so .. as he had to go and organise something about some sheep. I spent a
lot of this time reading a lot of information he had on display. All in all, an interesting fellow!
Now back at our spot just south of Northhampton .. will probably move down to Geraldton tomorrow .. do some shopping
etc.
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