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Just before we head north, we stopped in Geraldton to restock. It's a town that is trying to make the transition from being a port/supply town, to being a tourist destination. Atop one of the hills is a very nice tribute to our boys who lost their lives at sea in the HMAS Sydney. We toured the largest live lobster facility in the world, who claim to sustainably harvest the western rock lobster.
We even managed to get onto the Geraldton Port tour, which only began operation the week before. This gave us to opportunity to watch some of that wheat we've been touring amongst for so long being loaded and transported from our shores. The views from the top of the CBH silos offer a unique perspective on the town. The local museum offers an insight into the many shipwrecks that litter the islands and reefs along this stretch of coast.
Of course, we try to keep up with our reading too.
The April 28 issue (more sea freight) of Chemical & Engineering News has and entertaining article on soap bubbles.
A little Glycerin in the mix will extend the life of the bubbles, but the latest idea is edible fruit flavoured bubbles engineered to last for days.
For pet lovers, there are also catnip flavoured bubbles for kitty, and BBQ Chicken for dogs.
Birthday season is upon the Bush PC family again. Bill enjoyed the 21st anniversary of his 21st birthday, and it will soon be time for Helen's third "birthday on the road".
The indulgent luxuries offered us by the boys in Perth are now just a memory, as are the solid walls of our little flat in Three Springs. The walls of the tent offer only limited shelter from the cold nights. We are at last now really on the road again.
Northward Bound
A brief stop at the ruins of the convict depot outside Port Gregory highlights the fact that those who claimed this country cared little for whites they brought with them, let alone the blacks they pushed aside.
At the same time, the nearby Stanford estate shows off the opulent luxury they reserved for themselves.
The unending greed of humanity never ceases to amaze.
Not only are we back on the road again, but we are also back in popular tourist territory.
That means we have the joys of crowded camping.
Our first night in Kalbarri was interrupted by drunken parties in the nearby campsites, and the rantings of inebriated Irish.
Then there are the campers in vans that have to constantly open and close noisy sliding doors.
Despite the potential for disruptions from large flocks of galahs, they at least were remarkably quite.
The hikes and lookouts along the coast show off amazing rock formations, including some that scientists blame on 400 million year old worms. The upper reaches of the Murchison River in the gorges of Kalbarri National Park haven't got much water, but the mouth provides an ideal opportunity for some brackish kayaking, among the pelicans, grebes, and huge flocks of cormorants. We explored the upper reaches on foot along the loop trail, where we got to see wedge tail eagles nesting in the escarpments above the river.
Kalbarri is home to Rainbow Jungle, a large parrot aviary and breeding facility. They have plenty of birds that are difficult to see in the wild, many in a walk through aviary. Naturally we had to take the opportunity to see them, and finish off the roll of (real) film in the big camera. It is also home to a solar power station.
Heading north from Kalbarri, the territory became progressively drier.
The red soil was bare, and the feral goats only had low shrubs to graze on.
It was somewhat reminiscent of drought ravaged western NSW we saw last year.
Eventually we reached Denham, gateway to the Shark Bay Marine Park world heritage area.
CALM have put considerable effort into reducing the number of feral animals in Francois Peron National Park, and as a consequence the vegetation is in much better condition than on the nearby stations. The reduced feral population also means that the ground in the park is covered in an enormous variety of native animal tracks. The red sands of the peninsula are a stark contrast to the white beach sands around its edge. Out on the peninsula we managed to spot a few white winged fairy wrens, and along the beach huge flocks of cormorants and a rather tired looking snake.
Our tour of the peninsula also gave us a taste of the variability of CDMA mobile signals. During the day at the very tip of the peninsula we had excellent signal, and were easily able to check email without the antenna on the truck. The following morning the phone was searching for a signal, even when connected to the big antenna.
Since we are so close, Monkey Mia is an essential stop, to see the dolphins.
The "resort" even offers grass for our tent, a rare luxury in this part of the country.
There is now much stricter control over the "interaction experience", but you still get to see them up close.
There is also a rather sad bird hide, but we still managed to spot a few thick billed grasswrens in the scrub.
Over the last few weeks senator Alston (a noted expert in honesty 
) has been trying to use his political power to prevent the journalists of our beloved ABC from pointing out the fact that all governments lie.
The very under publicised near miss last year at the Davis Besse nuclear plant in Ohio (another gem from C&EN) proves yet again how stupid and untenable his argument is.
(Where are those weapons of mass destruction we went to war over, senator?)
Denham qualifies as a remote town. Telstra's free deal on satellite dishes applies here. I don't even think they are on the power grid, but they do have three wind turbines. Unusually for a coastal community, there are no computer services available (other than the telecentre). We have been pleasantly surprised with how much work we have been able to pick up here, despite a comparatively short stay. Once again, working has allowed us to meet some wonderful people.
Recent rains have highlighted the fact that our little tent is no longer as waterproof as it once was. Since we are now on a schedule for our return to NSW, it is once again time to move on. Carnarvon provides the next opportunity to refuel, restock, develop film, and hide in an onsite van to avoid the rain. It is a particularly uninspiring town. The waterfront is drab, the landscape is dry, and the view of town from the nearby OTC dish is ordinary. Unlike so many other places in WA, it is not bike friendly. It does have the longest wooden jetty in the north west (half as long as the one in Bussleton, in much worse repair, and another fee to walk along it). The highlight of the town was the tour (well, it's more of a walk through the trees) of the Westoby Banana Plantation.