Exploring Karratha….

Well, we’ve settled in Karratha for the next few days.  We had stopped in to a little place called Onslow, where fishing was the primary sport and the salt mine was the primary occupation.  So there wasn’t too much around to see, apart from those two things.  We were all eager to leave it behind.  Onslow’s boast, were the tall termite mounds, if that gives you any indication to the “wonders” of the area.

After that, we headed up to a little place by the beach called 40 Mile Beach, where we were told that the fish practically jump on the line.  Now THIS was a nice little spot as we parked the vans on the crest of the sand dune overlooking the sea.

We threw our lines in, only to have the fish grab the bait .. and then catch the hooks under the rocks!!  I lost 6 to 8 hooks fishing there.  But the seashells we collected more than made up for the lack of fish.

The following morning we decided to head out to the mangroves to catch some Mangrove Jack.  And while the sunrise was spectacular, and the light was just shining over the horizon, we headed over there to see if we would have any luck.

My knees and hip were playing up, so Chris threw his line in and I took photos from my comfy chair.  As we drove in, you could hear and see the fish coming up to the top of the water, but nothing took the bait.  And there was a few lines that got snagged in the reeds under the water.

We decided to drive further around the point and found these little Sturt Peas.  They’re a wonderful ground cover with very beautiful colouring.

 

We stopped here for morning tea to watch the tide go out.  And after our coffee and biscuits, we needed to make a move to get to Karratha, so we headed back to load the vans up.

I’m really surprised that the National Park group hasn’t claimed this land.  The seashells that are being washed out of the sand and the rocks, I’m sure,  are thousands of years old.  You can SEE where this was an old seabed.  But I’m sure the campers and the fishermen are glad they haven’t claimed it yet.

And on this wide spot in the road, the boys put air back into the tyres and I listened to Vivaldi and played Codewords.  Well, it only takes one person to put air in the tyres, so SOMEBODY (me) needs to keep occupied while they’re busy.

And now that we’ve landed at Karratha, I’ve washed five loads of clothes and took the doona and the flannel sheets off the bed.  We’re heading into tropical weather once again, so the summer wear will start coming out again.  And we’ve restocked the pantry for the van AND the car.

Tomorrow we explore this area and maybe even throw a fishing line here.  We’ve only got a few places left to fish before Broome and then we start heading inland…and home.  And if I can keep my computer working, I might even be able to post this blog!  Darn thing keeps playing up!