Ningaloo June 2012

The 5th of June already? We can't have been here five weeks already !! Where have the days gone?

Life here has been described in previous updates as being like Ground Hog Day, but that suits us fine. Our days consist of Kayaking, Fishing, Snorkeling, and also just sitting around either reading, doing all the small jobs that require doing and just plain chilling out.

Nothing exceptional comes to mind when it involves Fishing, in fact this would likely be the most unsuccessful fishing time at Ningaloo yet, not that bothers us as we don't come here to fill the freezers and the fish that we have caught have been fun and i enjoy just taking photo's of them regardless of what type or size they are.

 

Trev's Goat Fish

Grinner Fish

 Not sure what this is.

 A Charlie Court


A Red Throat

Small Shark, i believe a long nose Grey Shark

A larger version

I have finally used a fish smoker that Erin bought me 2 or 3 years ago, I'm kicking myself i didn't try it out then. Vickie and i have caught some Golden Trevally and a couple of Queen fish and they have been superb cooked in the smoker.

 

Smoked Queen Fish

Not catching many quality fish has not stopped us from having some superb Fish & Chip nights, our intermediate neighbour's Brett and Doreen have dropped over a couple of parcels of filleted fish to Dave and Jo for them to share with us. Jo cooks a delicious battered fish and it's one of my favourite Ningaloo meals.

Joanne's camp cooked 'Charlie Court' - Delicious

Our Neighbour's to the North, Murray & Debbie have also been generous and shared some freshly caught squid with us, we have tried 'squiding' ourselves but our luck is not with us this year, still it's early days and with still 5 or 6 weeks to go our luck may change and 2012 could be our best yet, time will tell.

2012 may also be the best year for the Richmond Tigers in a long time, i have enjoyed watching them finally become competitive and to see them beat our son in law's team Hawthorn was a great pay back to follow it up with another win over St Kilda was great fun watching it on the Satellite TV.

Picture tells the story

And down go St Kilda

We are expecting Trev to be back on Thursday, the poor bugger had to drive himself to work for his shift on the mines, Ashley has stayed in camp with Jo & Dave and the three girls are possessed with playing cards during the times they are not in or on the water. Vickie's lower back has played up again and she has had to rest a few days, a similar thing happened here last year and it was a trip into the Exmouth Hospital so we are hoping that it settles down with out treatment. We are planning on going into town tomorrow, the weather has turned unsettled with showers and dark sky's, a walk along the beach flicking lures produced nothing but it filled in an hour or two.

 

Dave and Golden Trevally

 

Vickie is on to another 

A family camped up the beach from us spotted our car and it's number plates and said to me "your the reason we are here at Ningaloo, I read your blog" well with over 56,000 hits i suppose i was bound to bump into someone who had visited. Nice people too and they enjoyed themselves which is always great to hear.

 Bernie and Family

 Followed on from last year we had another gourmet Pizza night, I love pizza and these are so much better than any shop bought, stick this in front of me and don't stand in my way.

In three weeks time we have our Son, Daniel and his Fiance Elle along with their new baby Evie joining us, we are looking forward to that, lets hope the weather turns it on along with the fishing.

NIKNOFF - NINGALOO 2012

We all know that time doesn't stop and sure enough with patience - yeah right .... the time came around for us to hook up the BushTracker and make our way North to spend 11 weeks along the coast at Ningaloo.

The hip replacement went well, chalk and cheese compared to my other hip that was replaced 7 years ago. Bending is an issue and one that frustrates the hell out of me, it's bad enough not being able to be flexible in the hips but my lower spine was fused many years ago and is increasingly becoming worse, but that is not enough to stop me heading to Paradise.

We left home after assuring our granddaughters Millana and Ruby that we would return sometime in July and would continue to send them post cards while away. Our 1st night on the road was heaven or as close as we could get, camping opposite the New Norcia Benedictine Monastery, we had a very peaceful night even the occasional trucks that went past didn't bother us. After living in the van at home for four months near a busy road with the usual idiots doing their burnouts, a night in the 'bush' was bliss.

We had intended visiting our Mates Geoff and Vickie in Geraldton on Saturday but a phone call changed that to "get here tomorrow" so that's what we did. As we drove into their road we got a call on the phone, it was from another mate Tony Harding who was driving past and saw our rig and recognized the number plates, a quick chat on the side of the road and he had to head off back to the farm. Now our last visit to Geoff and Vickie's ended in a bit of stress when i was left to get the van out of their driveway, a narrow drive and tight turn at the end was not a lot of fun. This time Geoff assured me he would be there for the departure, so in we went. No problems, Vickie entertained us for the few hours until Geoff arrived home from work and then we spent the night reliving our many tales of each other.

Saturday Geoff and Vick drove us around Geraldton and districts which was great and very appreciated, another beautiful meal of Baldchin Groper and wedges for tea Saturday night topped off a great day.

Sunday Morning, after a Delicious Bacon and Egg breakfast it was time for us to head off and with Geoff's help on the two way radio we soon had the rig backed out on to the road, waving our farewells.

We continued on and spent that night at Bush Bay south of Carnarvorn, we had stayed at New Beach in the same area when we came up last year and i was apprehensive about the weather as when it rains around here the ground quickly turns to slop as it did last year. But no need for concern as the night was clear and apart from a Dog or Dingo stealing one of Vickie's new leather sandals the night was peaceful.

Sunrise view from the Van's bed

Next day a quick shop in Carnarvorn and re-fill of the diesel tanks we continued on to Ningaloo arriving at the homestead around 3pm, another 45 minutes and we were driving into South Lefroy Bay our home for the next 11 weeks. We quickly set up the awning and unloaded some gear and just had enough time for a sunset drink toasting ourselves and just how lucky we are to be able to be in such a magnificent part of Australia.

Not much time for a rest the next day as i had to drive back out to the main road and pick up our Daughter Erin and Fiancee Scott who had flown into Exmouth from Adelaide for a 10 day stay. Flying in the could not bring much gear so our camp had to have double of most things except we got the VAN! they got the TENT ...

Erin Snorkeling

Scott Fishing at Sunset

 The weather was lovely for the 1st few days and then the wind started blowing, not enough to stop us doing anything but it did take the edge of the beauty of the Ocean, still they both swam & snorkeled, used the Kayaks and went fishing. The Billy's had arrived a few days into their stay and that was excellent, we had a few good nights, fishing and though Scotty didn't get his Big Hook Up that he was after he did get onto some large fish only to be busted off, a nice Spangled Emperor caught out of the Kayak and small shark off the beach were good catches though . Our last night fishing we all got onto big fish but it was only Dave that managed to get a good sized GT onto the beach after a 30 minute fight. After the usual photos it went back to live another day.

 Me with Dave's GT

Our stay coincides with my Birthday and what better place to celebrate, the girls spoilt me all day and we had my favourite Lasagna for tea followed by the largest Cup Cake i have seen. Thank you all.

Happy Birthday To Me

Well the 10 days have been and gone, with us only having the Ute, Dave and Jo kindly drove Erin and Scotty into Exmouth where we did some more shopping before taking them to the airport for their flight back. We loved having you, in the short time you were here we hope you saw what we see and look back on it with fond memories.

 Our Beautiful baby, We love you Infinity

Welcome to baby Eve

April -

Hip replacement - Check
Vickie's Dr's Appointments - Check
Birth of our 3rd Grandchild - You BEWDY - Check!!

We are proud and very pleased to announce the birth of our latest grandchild -

Eve Rae Barson

Born at St John Of God Subiaco yesterday afternoon. Weight 6lb 15oz and 49cm long.

Eve and her Mum, Elle and Dad, Daniel are all doing fine.

Welcome to the World baby Eve

Millana [granddaughter 1] holding her cousin

Ruby [granddaughter 2] holding her cousin as she sucks on her finger

Soon we hit the road for Ningaloo - Check !!

Update: 24th March 2012

 Sorry no exciting news or photos of us traveling around this time, simply an update on what's been happening in the past few Months.

We have been home based during that time except for one flight to Adelaide for 10 days to see our youngest Daughter Erin and Vickie's eye specialist. That appointment went well and she is still scheduled to have one more operation on her eye later in the year, hopefully that will be the end of that for her, Vickie has also been seeing a cardiac specialist to try and find out why she has been getting chest pains. All the tests have been done and nothing has been found to be of a concern though she is now on angina medication and that has seemed to have helped. A follow up appointment is in a fortnights time. What was exciting whilst we there was Erin & Scott announcing their engagement, it's been a while coming and we are thrilled for them and look forward to their planned wedding in Ko Samui Thailand next year.

My hip replacement has been done and now well on the road to recovery, things have changed in the seven years since i had my left hip replaced with the surgery being less invasive. I was only in hospital for two nights this time and the immediate difference is the ease in which i can get around compared to the 1st. I kid you not the pain has been intense at times and the deep ache inside the leg is literally a pain in the butt but each day it gets better and we are certain that i will be active enough to go to Ningaloo end of April.

Mentioning April, we have a wonderful event happening with the birth of our 3rd grandchild and the 1st for our Son Daniel and his partner Elle. We are looking forward to this and also having them join us with baby for a fortnight at Ningaloo in June. Erin & Scott are also coming across for a fortnight to finally see what the attraction is. Like the last few years Dave & Joanne will also be there, hopefully Trev & Ash can join us as well. It's an understatement to say we are looking forward to hitting the road again and also to be heading to Ningaloo.

It's amazing to us that we have had over 50,000 views on our site, we hope you get some enjoyment out of my rambling posts. Thanks, and don't be shy, we love to read your comments.

New Year Update

Christmas and New Year has been and gone, quite a relief for me actually as the shopping razzamataz that occurs at this time is not appealing. Sure the young kids love it but they all get way to many presents and i don't think they really appreciate it all. Anyhow that's me being a Grinch ....what have we been up to since my last post.

Christmas this time was spent down South at Jo and Dave's property near Donnybrook, with around 25 people attending we choose to tow the Van down so we would have our own bed, some other family did the same with their Van and along with the house beds Jo & Dave's Camper trailer we all had somewhere to sleep. Jo and Dave put on an excellent venue, with 60 acres and no close neighbours it was a great place to chill out and enjoy the company. Our nephew Chris bought a heap of black plastic sheet and set up a slippery slide which got a lot of use from the younger crew, Christmas lunch was a feast to behold with enough food to feed us all for the following few days as well. One awesome surprise was our Daughter Erin and BF Scott surprising us with a visit from Adelaide, I had only just spoken to her that morning and she was sitting down to their Christmas lunch, 6 hours later here they were!!

With Christmas out of the way the next to get past was New Years Eve, we usually don't bother going out and celebrating the New Year, most years we would be in bed by the time clicked past midnight. This year though we had been invited down to South Yungerup to see in the New Year with Geoff & Vickie and their family Julie & Darryl. Julie & Fozzie as his mates call him have a lovely home on the Murray River with cleared park land between their home & the river, the ideal spot to park the Van and lovely views of the boats travelling up & down the river.

Ist job was to have a look at Fozzie's Van and find out why he had some gremlins in his electrical system, with much checking and undoing wires and connectors we soon all agreed that the problem was with the size of the wiring used on the two batteries and the way they had been connected together. With that diagnosed it was time for a beer. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent chatting and laughing at the many jokes Foz could roll off, Yes we saw the New Year in, all 6 of us were determined but none of us were really jumping out of our skin with excitement and we all headed off to our beds at 1am.

Next day Geoff and Foz kindly helped me adjust the caravan brakes and replace the handbrake cable, simple jobs but those that i am finding harder to do with my hips & back giving me grief. I really appreciated the help.

Since New Year we have just been parked up at home base, our eldest Daughter and her family have been living in our home for the past 3 years whilst we have been touring around and it's handy being able to come back and visit. Even at home though we still choose to live in our van, having our own space helps not just us but our Daughter and family stay sane. What else helps my sanity is i have a shed and am able to muck about fixing or fabricating all the jobs that have been adding up.

First off the rank was to modify a bike rack that i bought on our trip so that it could be attached to the rear of the Ute, this wasn't to difficult as i was able to utilize the spare wheel lifting brackets to fit the carrier to. I then had to alter the spare wheel carrier's themselves which was a job long overdue as i was never happy with the way they were attached in the 1st place. Unfortunately i cannot weld aluminum and was only able to do the steel fabricating leaving the actual welding of the brackets to my Aluminum fabricator Paul who has done jobs for me in the past.

Spare wheels yet to be added

Next job was to alter the stone guard on the front of the Van, Bushtracker use a double outrigger style for attaching the stone guard to the van but this is annoying as it requires stepping over each time you need to access the draw bar of the van. Some mates had changed theirs to get easier access and i copied their idea but didn't go to the same detail they did. Having weighed the Van recently i was concerned about adding more weight and decided to keep things simple by just doing what was required. I went and bought a 2.4mt length of 50x25 steel and welded that to the sides of the stone guard where it is the closest to the draw bar, then cutting off the unwanted sections of steel, It was a simple matter of drilling 2 holes either side and using galvanized bolts 200mm in length along with a section of 6mm plate being the bottom plate the bolts went through, tightened up it is solid and adjustable if required.

Another job to do was get the Thetford Toilet Cassette flushing again, this problem 1st arose 3 years ago when in Alice, one of the micro switches that control the flush had packed it in and replacing that fixed the problem, so i was fairly sure it was the same thing again. Getting the mechanism out though is fiddly, with a small opening and the switch contained in a plastic cover on the ceiling of the cassette it requires a mirror, long arms and ability to operate in an uncomfortable position. Having done it previously i at least knew what to do and soon had it out and changed over the switch. Reassembling it all was harder as i had to locate the screw holes whilst looking in a mirror and trying to hold everything in place. Finally after some cursing it was done and time to test, Bugger ! more cursing as the unit didn't flush, with only two wires to connect surely i didn't connect them incorrectly? With only one thing to do and that was remove it all again and change over the wires, and go through the process of putting it back together, this time i had some luck as it worked.

Getting through the jobs on the van i turned my attention back to the Ute, now coming from an F250 to the Toyota Ute was a big change in internal dimensions, the F250 had enough space to fit a 40lt Engel between the front seats, not only were the drinks handy but it made a great arm rest. The Toyota Ute has the smallest excuse for a centre console so i set about making a larger one that could double as an arm rest. Geoff had already done this on his Ute and was happy with the result, mine was to be slightly different as i wanted to use a console lid off another vehicle to make it appear more genuine factory look. All this did was restrict me in the size i could make but the end result was a console 4 times larger and high enough to rest my arm on comfortably, I also did away with the small open storage console and made another to match in. With that done i then attempted to make an overhead console, The vehicle already has a centre roof mounted console and the new one was to fit in sideways across the screen, so out came the cardboard for templates and the jig saw, a few hours later i had it covered in auto carpet and fitted up. Both these modifications make the storing of maps and the usual bits and pieces we have in the cab easier and safer to access.

With me mucking about in the shed finished for a while it was time to take our Granddaughters away in the Van, being 7 & 5 and the 1st time they had been away we decided to not go to far and chose the Woodmans Point Caravan Park for 4 nights. Unfortunately we chose to go when the weather was at it's hottest, with temperatures hovering around 40 for the 1st 3 days, 2nd mistake was to go to the Zoo in those temps as the girls soon were tired of walking around looking at exhibits that were either empty or holding lifeless animals. So cutting that short it was off to the beach for a swim & play, within 5 minutes of being in the water the eldest had been stung by stingers ! Back to the Van park to treat her with fresh water, and burn cream we then went to the van park swimming pool only to be some of many doing the same. Sleeping arrangements required the centre lounge to be changed into a bed for the oldest Millana with Ruby sleeping up on the main bed with Vickie, i got to sleep outside in my swag.

Looking back they say they enjoyed it, we certainly loved having them but being Grandparents it is wonderful to be able to give them back.

So that just about takes care of what we have been up to, some things yet to happen are:

Vickie's next eye operation, we are unsure exactly when it will be as this time the op is being done under the public health system, she does have a specialist appointment in February and we may fly back to Adelaide to attend that. In the mean time she needs to undergo a stress test and see a cardiologist to find out why she gets unexplained chest pain.

With all that, i also have seen Dr's and a Specialist regarding my hip and have been scheduled for a urgent hip replacement, urgent meaning sometime March, we are hoping that none of these medical problems stuff up our plans to go to Ningaloo in May, fingers crossed.

Nullabour - Home - Dec 2011

With both rigs covered in mud in wasn't a difficult decision to get off the bitumen again and explore some more caves along highway. The 1st we checked out was Murra-El-Elevyn and like the other's it was a large sink hole in the ground, the next was well known being Cocklebiddy Cave though after driving 11klms in on muddy tracks we found it to be closed to the public due to the danger of rock falls. It didn't stop Geoff from getting close to the entrance and taking a few photo's, the cave has been explored to the length of 6.34klms and much of that requires the use of scuba tanks and Lot's of carting gear up and over ledges. I wasn't prepared so that was my excuse.






That night we stayed in the bush not far from Caiguna Blowhole, a last chance for a camp fire and a bike ride down a few tracks before settling down in front of the fire and enjoying the serenity of a clear night.



Like most .... we were no different, when the horse turns for home we were the same, clocking up more klms the next day than what we would normally do in 2-3 days found us in Norseman for lunch at the lookout and then stopping the night between Southern Cross and Coolgardie. Tonight was the solar eclipse so that was a good enough reason to sit up and view the night sky, the fact that we had our mates with us and it was to be our last night together for a while it made it even more special.






So our three year journey has come to an end with us now home for Christmas, but it isn't a total end to our travels, we have some medical appointments to keep and depending on the outcomes of those plus impending birth of another grandchild we intend to be back on the road again ....... heading to our much loved Ningaloo for two months next year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR, SAFE TRAVELS TO ALL