Carnarvon and Quobba

Another week has passed, I cant believe how fast the time is going. We have been here 10 days and leave tomorrow for Monkey Mia. The wind is still driving us mad, it has been so bad we have only had the boat in the water once since we have been here.

We had a good day though caught a number of tailor, Charlie court cod and a golden trevally. There was too many for us for a feed and Tailor isnt good to freeze so we gave some to Hans next door. He is a lovable old fellow travelling on his own so loves to have a chat to everyone. The day we arrived here it poured with rain we couldnt believe it, neither could the locals, however it soon cleared and the wind was back.

Sightseeing can be done in a day here and it amazes us that so many things are in disrepair. The One Mile Jetty which costs $4 each to walk or $7 on the coffee pot train is so delapidated I cant believe they still allow people on it. The Satellite dish hasnt been used for many years and is covered in bird poo and mess.

If these things are going to be advertised in the tourist brochures they should be looked after better!!

We did a day trip out to the Blowholes and Quobba which is about 80klms North west of Carnarvon. We went out with Peter and Carol whom we have been meeting up with along the way since Barn Hill. Words cant describe the absolutely amazing views from the cliff tops, you have to stand well back from the edge, people have been swept off trying to get a better look. Further down there is a shanty town of weekenders, all shapes and sizes, camping is permitted but if its windy you cant fish.



We came back and got to work cooking Duck, we couldnt believe that we could buy it here, first time since Darwin. Tony did his special magic with it, I cooked garlic rosemary potatoes, Carol did broccoli and cauliflower in white sauce and a gorgeous pumpkin dish which starts with a tin of soup.

We then had local bananas caramelised with figs and dates, rolled in thin crepes and served with icecream (no not home made!!!!!!!!!) We washed it down with pink sparkling and a bottle of red. Boy I had forgotten how good roast duck was, thanks Peter and Carol for a great night. They have now moved further south as they have to be in Melbourne for Xmas, but hope to meet up again.

Saturday saw us up at the pub to watch the AFL grand final but we left at 3/4 time as it wasnt very exciting. In the morning we went to the markets at the Civic Centre , the local farmers sell their produce but it was very expensive and we were disappointed with the quality of some of the stuff. Carnarvon supplies 70% of the states vegetables which is hard to believe, there seems to be much more in the Ord area at Kununurra.

Yesterday we decided to take an overnight trip out to the Kennedy Ranges, the honeycomb rocks were unlike anything we have seen anywhere. The colours everchanging with the different light of day. We saw 2 huge wedge tailed eagles eating road kill and managed to get a shot of one in flight. They are a magnificient bird. We also saw a lot of goats with kids as well as the usual cattle wandering along the road. Emus are in abundance in the west also.



It only took 4 hours to do all the walks and we were going to stay out there for the night but the flies were atrocious so we decided to head back to Rocky Pool which was lovely. On the way we decided to call in at the Gascoyne Junction Pub for a drink, 2 cans of Bundy and Cola was , wait for it, $15 , Tony was too shocked to say he didnt want them. I must say they went down real well!!.

We have spent today packing up ready to leave in the morning, not sure how long we will stay in some of these places we play it by ear, we really want to get stuck into the fishing but the wind has beaten us so we hope to get to some estruarys further down. Will let you know how we go.

On a positive note our son in law Scott is recovering well from his skiing accident in NZ. Kerri has started a new job with Rio Tinto , and they have just moved into their new home, its all happening. Carla rang last week she is still busy, busy, busy , we miss the kids very much, its so great having modern communication.

Catch you all again soon

Rocky Pool

Isnt this root system amazing, there were dozens along the bank of the river

Quobba Photos