Fortescue River

We left Carnarvon in drizzly rain and even had our morning coffee while sitting in the car. It rained all day, on and off, creating amazing skies but crazy drivers who were not driving to the conditions.

We hoped to have lunch at a free rest area but it was so full of caravaners who had settled in to stay overnight. So we just ate our sandwiches and left. We arrived at the Fortescue River Roadhouse where we planned to spend the night at their caravan park. Unfortunately we couldn't stay there because the toilets were blocked (septic tank) so they had no toilets. They were waiting for a plumber to show up. So we were in the middle of nowhere. We travelled a bit further to the actual Fortescue River and ended up camping there for the night with no power, no lights, no facilities and no other people until another couple of grey nomads saw us from the main road and decided to join us. We were just hoping that no-one in authority would come along to tell us that we couldn't stay there because there really was nowhere else to go. We ate leftover soup instead of cooking the proper meal that we had planned. Then we discovered that we had a problem with the caravan battery supply. This was the first time it had really been put to the test. The fridge seemed to drain the battery very quickly, the lights were getting very dim. Manfred switched the fridge over to gas but even that wasn't straightforward because there wasn't even enough electricity for the automatic ignition to light the gas. Just as well Manfred and Dave knew what to do. They started up the car to get a boost to the power. It was such a difficult night, for me especially (not being a seasoned camper), no toilets, no trees to squat behind, intermittent traffic going past on the highway and who knew what creatures were lurking out there in the dark! We saw only one kangaroo but I was more concerned about spiders and snakes! It was a pitch black night. In the evening we were also thinking about Manfred's Mum and sister in Berlin, Germany, because at that time they were having the funeral for Manfred's Dad who had passed away on June 25th at the age of 91. So we were feeling sad. In the morning we were pleased the rain had eased but just as we were packing up to leave, it rained really heavily again and everything got wet, including Norma and Dave's tent which they had pitched beside their van.

I had slept very little and felt terrible. I was the only one out of the 4 of us that was not used to camping and I was not happy! In the morning we went back to the roadhouse to see if we could use the toilets but we were told they were still waiting for the plumber. As we left there we noticed the landscape, amazing, a pretty green and lots of wildflowers, especially Sturt's Desert Pea, the red so brilliant in the dull morning (no photo), and termite mounds. There were lots of cows roaming near the roadside. It was quite dangerous while we were driving at around 100kmh and then suddenly a cow might decide to cross the road. In these areas where there are large stations they have no fences to keep the stock in.

We had a coffee stop while it wasn't raining but it was very windy so Dave got out their wet tarpaulin and spread it on the ground. It dried in about 10 minutes! Just before we stopped for coffee Manfred and I had both noticed a strange noise towards the front of the car on the passenger side so this was investigated too. We discovered that when Manfred had organised to have the bullbar fitted and the normal bumper bar had been removed, they had left loose parts hanging over the wheel arch and this was flapping because of the very strong wind. Manfred fixed it with tape and cable ties. We were happy to see that the weather appeared to be improving, the sky was amazing with really unusual cloud formations. We also had to stop for the longest train I have ever seen. It was an iron ore train. We also saw 2 gas plants. We also had our windscreen chipped by flying stones, caused by a massive road train.

Then we had lunch at a lovely old pub, the Whim Creek Hotel which has been recently renovated. There were Corellas and Gallahs in aviaries. When I went to the loo I met some Aboriginal women and children and because I stopped to comment on their baby, Ethel, we had a short chat. This was very interesting for me because we don't come across Aboriginal people at home. They were very nice and friendly and wished me "Have a good day, Lovey!"