Chapter 51: Down the West Coast

Monday Week 24

It was hard to imagine that it was only a week ago we drove into Broome, Dave thought as he lay in bed waiting for Jill to wake up. So much has happened in that week, almost unbelievably good experiences.

He realised that today was going to be just a transit day, with not a lot of interesting things to see at the other end. He was hopeful that they would only be on the road for about five hours, as he planned his next stop to be at the Sandfire Roadhouse, which was only 323 kilometres to the south, but it was too far to travel to the next town in one day if it wasn't essential.

It was an uneventful day, much of which Dave spent silently reminiscing about the past few days and everything that had happened to him. Jill happily accepted his silence, as she realised he was reflecting on his trip to Brisbane and what he had done, but she was happy that bit by bit, Dave told her in detail what had happened there and why.

"Of course I'm not upset. I'm very glad you told me" Jill said when he had finished and asked her if she was upset or disappointed in him. She added "I think it's wonderful what the two girls decided and I'm proud that they wanted you to be the father. I just hope I get to meet them one day and hopefully also your child."

"I'm sure you will, because I would certainly like to see the child occasionally, assuming I was able to deliver on what they wanted and both Kellie and Wendy are keen for me to have contact with their child, even thought they don't want, or need for that matter, any financial assistance" Dave replied.

That night, after Dave and Jill had gone to bed, he took her in his arms and again asked with concern "are you sure you are not upset with what I did in Brisbane?"

"Let me show you how upset I am" she replied as she dove down between his legs, grasped his penis and took it lovingly into her mouth, not relinquishing it until Dave had made her a suitable offering. Then she told him how much she loved him, cuddled into him and went to sleep.

Tuesday Week 24

When Dave woke up he instantly remembered what Jill had done to him last night, before she fell asleep and figured that it would only be fair to return the favour. Consequently, Jill woke up with a very pleasant feeling from Dave's tongue and his fingers as he licked her clitoris and fingered her vagina.

Ten minutes of Dave's attention to her sex and she was moaning how good it felt and experiencing that glorious feeling of orgasm. But she wanted more, telling him not to stop, so naturally Dave continued and soon she was climaxing again, telling him how wonderful he was.

Seeing that there was no urgency about leaving this morning, Dave happily cuddled her in his arms and then ensured she was able to enjoy another orgasm, but this time from his penis before he exploded inside her. Afterwards, he just enjoyed the feeling of her naked body pressing against his while he lay there cuddling her.

Eventually, they got up, had breakfast and set off on the 282 kilometre drive to Port Hedland, arriving there in time for a late lunch just after 2 pm.

Once they had finished eating, Dave drove Jill around the township in the 4WD, ending up at the supermarket to stock up on supplies. When everything was packed away, she prepared their dinner and later, they just enjoyed a quiet, relaxing night, listening to music as they sat on the lounge relaxing.

Wednesday Week 24

First thing after breakfast, Jill and Dave set about all the domestic chores, changing the bed linen, doing the washing and cleaning the RV.

With all the chores done, Dave and Jill went down to the Visitor Information centre and found out about the town. Since the 1960s, Port Hedland had been the centre of a thriving iron-ore industry; its natural harbour handling the largest tonnage of any Port in Australia.

The town lay on an inlet fringed with mangroves that were teeming with life; with a number of hand-shaped tidal creeks coming off its shallow natural harbour.

Much of the population, they discovered, lived in the satellite town of South Hedland, some 18 kilometres inland, which was established due to the lack of suitable land above storm surge levels caused by cyclones. South Hedland was home to about 40,000 people and was quite modern. Apparently it used to have the largest shopping centre outside of Perth.

Port Hedland was basically an industrial centre focused on the extraction, processing and exporting of iron-ore from the massive deposits in surrounding ranges, while the hinterlands were dry areas with ranges, rock formations and grasslands.

On the way into town, they had seen the 426 kilometre long railway that had been purpose-built to carry iron-ore from Newman, one of the world's biggest mining operations. They were told that some of these massive trains can be up to 3 kilometres long.

As Dave and Jill drove around the port, easily able to see why the port was credited with handling the largest tonnage of any port in Australia. They saw where the iron-ore was unloaded, screened, crushed, stockpiled and conveyed out onto the pier for export. There was one huge iron-ore carrier in the port, but Dave and Jill were told that these monster ships often frequented the port, exporting the iron-ore to Japan, Europe, China and South Korea.

As Dave drove around the BHP Iron Ore Mill at Nelson Point, they got a great view of the dusty, giant machinery from a number of vantage points around the harbour.

Next they saw huge pyramids of snow-white salt, stockpiled alongside the main road, which they had been told was solar-produced by the Leslie Salt Company in the local area.

Once back in the RV, Dave brought the washing in and folded and put it away, while Jill got their dinner ready. After eating, Dave produced another DVD, then it was off to bed for some much needed beauty sleep.

Thursday Week 24

It was only 189 kilometres to Karratha, about two and a half hour drive south and after checking into the caravan park, their first point of call was as usual the information centre. Here, they discovered that Karratha means 'good country' in the language of local Aborigines.

The hills around Karratha were carpeted in spinifex and the creeks lined with beautiful white-barked Coolabah trees. Close by there were tranquil rock pools and Dave found a beautiful picnic spot for lunch beside the twisted layers of rock caused by massive ancient geological forces.

They were told that the original project location could no longer house the workers, buildings and equipment needed for the massive Hamersley Iron mining project that extracted iron-ore from the nearby Hamersley Ranges. Consequently, in 1968 Karratha had been established on Nickel Bay.

The huge North West Shelf Project had also been vital to Karratha's livelihood, drilling into rich natural gas reserves off the coast behind the islands of the Dampier Archipelago. These and other local companies using Karratha's wealth of natural resources have invested in the town and it was now no longer merely a company town.

After exploring the town, it was back to the RV for dinner but no grog, and Dave was asleep in bed rather early.

Friday Week 24

Still feeling very tired and lethargic when he woke up, Dave suggested to Jill that they have a nothing day, telling her he was feeling a bit off colour. She was also happy to have a rest day. In the end, they did some fishing, unsuccessfully, but at least it was very relaxing.

It was an exceptionally early night again for Dave when he went to bed, leaving Jill sitting up reading. He hadn't eaten much dinner and kept off the grog. He just hoped that he was feeling a bit better in the morning. He'd been rather lucky so far on this trip, not having been sick at all before this.

Saturday Week 24

Fortunately, when Dave woke up, his temporary bug had gone and he was feeling quite refreshed. He didn't know what had been wrong, but told Jill, with a smile on his face, that it was all her fault because she kept abusing his body, making him have sex all the time.

"Just remember what you said the next time you want to use my body" she replied, laughing at him.

After a fairly late start, Dave drove the 339 kilometres to Onslow in about four and a half hours, getting there a bit before 4 pm.

This was just an overnight stop, so he didn't even bother getting the 4WD off. Instead, they set off on a walk, needing a bit of exercise.

After dinner Dave said "I hope the walk didn't wear you out, because you look particularly desirable tonight."

"I thought this morning that you were complaining about too much sex" she huffed at him.

"That was this morning. This is tonight, now" he replied, drawing her into his arms and winning her over especially when he ensured she enjoyed another glorious orgasm.

Sunday Week 24

It turned out just as well that Dave persuaded Jill to let him make love to her last night, because when she came out of the ensuite after getting up, she was wearing her panties, the signal that sex was off the agenda for at least the next four days.

Around 9 am, Dave started the 395 kilometre drive to Exmouth, which he figured would take about five and a quarter hours of driving. Sure enough, it was almost 4 pm when he was parking the RV in the caravan park.

About eleven kilometres before they got to Exmouth, they were able to see thirteen majestic towers dotting the North West skyline, seemingly almost incongruous in this country side.

They found out the next day that these towers were the worlds largest very low frequency transmitters and that tower zero, which was in the middle, was 387.6 metres high, making it the second tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere. It weighed 800 tonnes and could withstand winds of up to 500 kilometres per hour.

That night, after dinner, Peter rang. He told Jill again how much he was missing her and was looking forward to seeing them both in Fremantle in about four weeks.

Monday Week 25

The first stop in the morning was at the Jurabi Turtle Centre. Here, Dave and Jill gained information on turtles that inhabit the Ningaloo Reef through the interactive centre displays.

Next was something Dave decided to splurge on, as it wasn't cheap, but turned out to be worth the money. They joined a Ningaloo Blue Dive Whale Shark tour on the Ningaloo Reef.

On the tour, they discovered that the Whale Shark is the largest fish in the world, but a harmless plankton eater that can grow up to 18 metres in length. Again they were told that the fish was thought to mainly inhabit worldwide temperate and tropical seas, but although rarely seen in shallow coastal waters, it was a daily visitor to the Ningaloo Reef every year with around 12 seen during the season.

Dave and Jill found that it was not only a lot of fun but also very educational. Jill told Dave that it was a truly unique experience, one that she would never forget. She particularly liked the complimentary gift pack that included a Certificate stating the day and date she swam with her first Whale Shark as well as a lovely Whale Shark figurine.

They got to do two snorkel dives on Ningaloo Reef and enjoyed the delicious food that included morning tea, a buffet lunch and a fruit platter.

Jill was impressed with their rather generous policy that if you didn't see a Whale Shark then you could go again for free. Luckily that didn't apply, because they had, fortunately, seen and swam with several.

Tuesday Week 25

Once again, Dave opted for a leisurely start for their drive to Carnarvon, which took them almost five hour to drive the 361 kilometres.

They had time to learn a bit about the history of the town before dinner, ascertaining that the original settlers in Carnarvon had droved 4,000 sheep from York east of Perth, seeking warmer agricultural land, which they certainly found here.

By 1883, Carnarvon had enough settlers for it to be gazetted as a town. Some of Australia's largest sheep stations were set up and the jetty, 1,493 metres long, became the first port in Western Australia, and perhaps the world, to regularly export livestock. Ships and then camels were used to transport supplies and stock, Dave read. He was able to work out all by himself, he told Jill, that the ships were used for water transport while the camels were used on the land.

Dave and Jill were fascinated to learn that Carnarvon's wide roads, an impressive 40 metres, were made that wide to allow the long camel trains room to turn and change direction whilst carrying a full load. They liked the beautiful hibiscus, with tall palms and bright bougainvilleas that grew along these roads.

They would later see roads of a similar width in Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie that had been constructed that way for the same reason.

Carnarvon's hinterlands, they were told, produced superb fresh fruit and vegetables; avocadoes, mangoes, pineapples, paw paws, melons, beans, dates, jojoba, macadamia nuts, tomatoes and pecans. Apparently there was a constant supply of water from the Gascoyne River that helped grow these crops.

But what fascinated them most, was that while they were able to see the crops being irrigated from the river, there was no water in the Gascoyne River. They learned that the mighty Gascoyne River only runs underground for much of the year.

Wednesday Week 25

They spent the day sightseeing around Carnarvon township including the sheep station that became a NASA space-tracking station in the 1960s. Broadcasting Neil Armstrong's famous words upon landing on the moon in July of 1969 'one small step for man; one giant step for mankind' were apparently made possible by this outback installation. The Carnarvon space-tracking station played a vital role in the Apollo Space Missions and was the means through which the world first heard these historic words.

Looking out over the Gascoyne River, they saw one of the only areas in Western Australia where the desert meets the sea. It was stunning to think there was all that water right next to so much desert.

In the afternoon, Dave drove 70 kilometres north to the Blowholes. It was an awesome display, with powerful jets of water pushed as high as 20 metres into the air through holes in the costal rocks. Powerful ocean swells force water through sea caves and up out of narrow holes in the rocks, creating a spectacular sight.

Just one kilometre before the blowholes they enjoyed peaceful contemplation at a calm, coral-filled lagoon with shells in abundance and a pretty, white sandy beach.

Dave was able to buy some lovely fresh fish, which Jill happily cooked for their dinner, washed down with a bottle of nice cold white wine. Then it was time for another DVD before cuddling each other to sleep.

Thursday Week 25

Dave set off on the 315 kilometres to Denham just after 9 am. It was only just over four hours driving time, but there were things to see along the way.

"Unfortunately" Dave said as they turned west off the North West Coastal Highway "we have to come back along the next 128 kilometres we are going to drive today in a few days time as this is the only way in and out of the Peron Peninsular."

But after going just 29 kilometres, Dave turned into Hamelin, a few kilometres north, where they toured the old Hamelin Pool telegraph station, built in 1884, but now an historic museum. Nearby was the quarry where compacted shell blocks had been removed to use as building blocks, not only for the station homestead, but also for a number of buildings in Denham.

Dave and Jill walked along the well signposted viewing boardwalk over the stromatolites in Hamelin Pool. Apparently, their brochure read, these marine stromatolites helped scientists gain a better understanding of the evolution of life on earth over the millennia.

"That was fascinating" Jill exclaimed after reading about and seeing the stromatolites "it's hard to believe that we might have evolved from what we just saw."

They decided to have a sandwich and a cup of coffee while still enjoying the view. Then they set off on the rest of the day's journey, which Dave figured would take them another hour and a quarter.

When they eventually got to Denham it was just after 2:30 pm, and of course the first job was setting up the RV in the caravan park that was elevated, providing them with magnificent ocean views.

Dave unloaded the 4WD and then took Jill to the visitors centre to get maps and information as well as booking a 4WD tour of Francis Peron National Park. Although he could have driven himself, he preferred having a tour guide take them and explain everything to them.

Denham, they learned as they did the very informative tour of the information centre, was the main settlement of the Shark Bay area. Australia's most westerly town sits opposite Dirk Hartog Island and was the first place that Europeans visited on the mainland. Following the arrival of the Dutch in 1616, English explorer William Dampier sailed into Shark Bay in 1699 on his second voyage to Australia, naming the area after the abundance of sharks he saw.

The French came next but due to the lack of water, the area was not settled until English Captain H.M. Denham arrived in 1858. Sheep farming began during the 1860s and then a brief pearling industry sprung up until Broome in the north took over as the pearling capital of the world. But pearling has again returned to the Shark Bay World Heritage Region.

Denham town was compact with a population of around 1,500 people. It was the 'Gateway to the Dolphins' with a small and lovely beach that had gin-clear waters and snow-white sands.

Some of the lovely old buildings Dave and Jill saw as they drove around town included the Old Pearlers Restaurant on the waterfront and the unique St Andrews Church. Both were original buildings, constructed by early settlers using blocks made from compacted tiny coquina bivalve shells that had been quarried back at Hamelin, where they had been earlier in the day.

The Anglican Church of St Andrew's by-the-sea had only been built in 1954 and prided itself on being the western most church building on mainland Australia.

Jill decided to cook steaks on the outdoor barbeque, enjoying being able to look at the ocean as she cooked. Dave got out a good bottle of red wine, which he figured was appropriate for the meal Jill was cooking.

By the time he was ready for bed, Dave was in a good mood, having enjoyed the whole day and especially the meal and the after dinner coffee and cognac, but he was even happier when he saw Jill come out of the ensuite naked. It was time to resume their sexual relations and make up for the past few nights of abstinence.

Friday Week 25

The next morning, unfortunately, had to be an early start even though they only had to drive 25 kilometres across to Monkey Mia, which he had been told was pronounced 'My-ah', to see the dolphins. Dave had been advised to be at there by 7:30 am for the best view.

Although there was a resort there, the place was famed for the numerous bottlenose dolphins that decide to visit and interact with the humans at the beach. They were part of a pod of around 300 wild dolphins that lived and bred in the bay.

In 1964 a lady from one of the near-by fishing camps befriended a few of the dolphins, regularly feeding them. This led to generations of wild dolphins that have enjoyed the regular human contact which had now become a part of their daily lives.

This protected area is housed within the extraordinary Shark Bay World Heritage Area.But Monkey Mia gained its name from a pearling boat called Monkey that anchored here in the late 19th century during in the days when pearling was an industry in the region.

The population of Monkey Mia was never large; settlement was hindered by the lack of rain and water. Until recent times, water was obtained from nearby desalination plant at Denham, the main township located 26km southwest on the other side of the Peron Peninsula, where Dave and Jill were staying. The dolphins attracted enthusiasts each year; marine biologists visit Monkey Mia to study the friendly dolphins in their natural habitat and people come from around the world to experience nature in the raw. These beautiful 'bottlenose' dolphins come of their own free will to interact with humans on a daily basis; however, feeding is now strictly controlled so that only a select few are fed each time. This, they were told, was to encourage the dolphins not to become too reliant on humans for their food. They needed to maintain their natural ability to hunt.

While they were watching, one of the Department of Land Management officers, who were controlling the feeding, explained why the tourist should refrain from touching the dolphins

On their way back to Denham, just over half way, they pulled into the airport. Dave had booked a scenic flight over the area for 10 am. Their pilot was there and briefed them quickly before they all got aboard the small single engine aircraft. Dave sat next to the pilot with Jill behind, but they both had earphones on so that they could listen to the pilot and ask questions when he wasn't busy.

"It's going to be an exhilarating insight into why this amazing area was granted World Heritage Listing" he told them.

Their flight crossed over Freycinet Reach to the fascinating patchwork of salt ponds at Useless Loop, then over the sandy finger of Bellefin Prong and out over the awesome Zuytdorp Cliffs. The pilot followed the cliffs northward to Australia's most westerly landfall at Steep Point which is separated from historic Dirk Hartog Island by the waters of South Passage.

Next, he took them across part of the island and then continued over the shallow waters and bars which add to the astonishing range of blues and greens on their way back to Denham and Shark Bay airport. From the air as they came in to land, Dave was able to spot his RV, standing proudly in the caravan park.

They found that there were ample opportunities to see sharks, rays, turtles, and even dugongs during the flight. Whenever the pilot spotted one, he would point it out to them, circling when necessary.

In the afternoon, Dave drove the 18 kilometres from Denham back along the Hamelin Road to Eagle Bluff, an area for viewing marine life. From the top of the Bluff, on a clear day whales, they had been told, dolphins and other wildlife abundant in this area may be seen splashing on the surface.

Dave and Jill were particularly excited to see the illusive and shy dugongs in their natural habitat. They were fascinated to discover that the world's most stable and largest population of dugongs live here. They come in close to shore to feed on the massive sea grass meadows in the Shark Bay area.

Eagle's Bluff also marks the spot where Captain H.M. Denham carved the inscription on a rock in 1858 from which the town derives its name. The rock had been placed in Pioneer Park in the township of Denham because it was fragile and breaking away from the Bluff.

That night, after dinner, both agreed that an early night was in order, in view of the untimely hour that they had been forced to get up that morning. In fact, after cuddling for a few moments, both were soon fast asleep, having drunk just enough wine to relax them. Sex was definitely not on the agenda that night.

Saturday Week 25

But when Dave woke up in the morning, feeling quite refreshed and knowing that he wasn't required to drive today, he took advantage of Jill's naked body. And she enjoyed it, not feeling that she had been taken advantage of at all.

Right on the agreed hour of 9 am, Dave and Jill were standing at the office when a large 4WD vehicle drove in and a fit, slim and well tanned lady got out and introduced herself.

"Hi, I'm Kate" she told them "and I'm to be your driver and guide for the day."

As they were driving along the sandy 4WD tracks, Kate told them that the park was named after the French zoologist who had accompanied the Nicolas Baudin scientific expedition to the area in 1801. His name was Francois Peron.

The park, she told them, covered some 52,500 hectares at the extreme northern end of the Peron Peninsular. It was one of the most important natural areas of Australia, being home to many rare and endangered species.

It was once a pastoral station and the first stop was at the Peron Homestead where she told them about the days when the park was a sheep station. There was even a 'hot tub', drawn from the 580 metre deep artesian bore, which, when Jill put her hand into the water, exclaimed "wow, it is hot!"

Then it was off on the four wheel drive along the track to Cape Peron. On the way, stops were made on some of the beaches and cliffs to view the colourful scenery of red sand, white beaches and turquoise sea. Both Dave and Jill were mesmerised by the variety of colours in the sand and the numbers of dolphins, dugongs, sharks and giant rays they saw in the pristine waters.

Kate provided them with morning tea at one stop and later, after Dave and Jill had done a lovely walk along the cliff top from where Kate had dropped them, before meeting them at a beautiful, scenic spot with lunch already prepared. She even provided them with a glass of wine to have with their very enjoyable chicken salad, before offering them some homemade cake and a cup of coffee.

They spotted a number of campers, but Kate pointed out that to camp here, one had to bring lots of provisions with them, as it was a four hour drive back to the closest shop, back in Denham. There wasn't even fresh water available, so showering after a swim was out of the question. Jill was adamant that she didn't want to camp here, but Kate pointed out that those who did were generally keen fisherpersons, as the fishing was supposed to be excellent.

Both Dave and Jill thought that the scenic coastline with its low shrub lands and spectacular flowering plants were alone worth the long drive.

Jill and Dave agreed that it had been a wonderful experience, but unfortunately, the drive back along the same route they came that morning was long and started to get a bit tedious. They had certainly had enough by the time they got back to their RV and Dave had been yawning so much that he was very glad he wasn't driving.

After a quick dinner, both Jill and Dave were soon sound asleep in their bed.

Sunday Week 25

Waking very refreshed after a good night's sleep, Dave took advantage of the fact that their departure today could be a relatively leisurely one, by kissing and fondling Jill until she was wide awake and just as eagerly responding to his advances.

Consequentially, it was 9:30 by the time Dave set off on the 349 kilometre drive to Kalbarri, arriving there at 3 pm.

After checking into the caravan park, setting up the RV and unloading the 4WD, Dave and Jill went to the information centre to learn about Kalbarri, a resort town, which was fast becoming a popular destination with overseas and Australian visitors.

The history of the area, they learned, extended back to 1629, when, before being wrecked on the nearby offshore Abrolhos Islands, the Dutch East India trading ship Batavia, put two mutinous crew members ashore at Wittecarra Creek near Bluff Point, south of Kalbarri. They are believed to be the first permanent European settlers in this country, although nothing was known about what happened to them.

In 1712 another Dutch East Indies trading vessel, Zuytdorp, became the first recorded of the many boats wrecked on the rugged cliffs of the Murchison area. The site of the 1712 calamity is commemorated by the naming of the Zuytdorp Cliffs. The Murchison River was named after Sir Frederick Murchison by Lt George Gray who was also shipwreck along the coast.

The name Kalbarri comes from the aboriginal word for 'edible seed'. The town is located at the mouth of the Murchison River, with the back drop of the Indian Ocean and the Zuytdorp cliffs. Kalbarri didn't actually become a town until the early 1950's, with it's population growing to around 2,000.

During holiday seasons, the population can reach 6,000, with 200,000 people visiting Kalbarri every year. Apparently, the place has been a popular relaxation destination for well over 150 years. The National Park abounds with potential and was one of the most exciting and spectacular in Western Australia.

The abundance of clean, pure fresh water made it an ideal respite for early Cornish miners. Their leases were right in the Murchison River bed, upstream of what is now the National Park. They were subject to periodic flooding from distant cyclonic rains. Once closed, the mines could take weeks to dry out, so it was off to the coast for R&R.

Dave and Jill were told that Kalbarri was blessed with a unique marine environment with clean, safe beaches side by side with penultimate surfing breaks. Towering sandstone cliffs bordered coastal reef fringes, and, thanks to a warm offshore current, both tropical and subtropical species of marine life were in abundance.

"Wouldn't Peter love to be surfing here" Jill commented, which drew an immediate agreement from Dave.

After driving around the rest of the township, it was back to the RV, where Dave enjoyed a beer watching the lovely naked Jill as she prepared their dinner.