Ozmobile Odyssey

Heading from Geraldton down the coast towards Perth we're coming into the mid west wheat belt. The biggest acreage is inland apparently- here there was a crop on one side and scrub covered sand hills on the other side of the road.

Now we're talking geology over a billion years old. This natural opening known as Nature's Window in the Kalbarri National Park has been eroded by wind, providing an amazing view over layered limestone cliffs and gorge.

... no, not us! These stromatolites/rocky looking fossilised lumps at Shark Bay are the oldest and simplest forms of life on earth, dating back 4 million years. 

Unusual place with unusual name. Mia relates to an aboriginal term for place and monkey to pets kept by Malay divers in the bad old colonial days of pearl fishing. Nowadays dolphins come into this beautiful bay to socialise with people and take early morning fish snacks, as strictly controlled by rangers due to this being a World Heritage Area and the dolphins otherwise wild. It was lovely to have 4 or 5 dolphins just meters away when we took a dip to cool off in later in the day. 

As the much enjoyed Aussie film starring Sam Neil of a few years ago, the satellite earth station at Carnarvon in the outback north west was used by NASA to relay communications for Apollo 11. 'One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind' - 20 July 1969.

With the Gold Card in hand, maybe 'Seniors Parking  Only' could be added to Winston's shopping list?  Exmouth, North West Cape, WA.

Recaptured a bit of lost youth on a 2-hour quad bike trek through the dunes at beautiful Coral Bay, near Exmouth. White sands, turquoise water, turtles and manta rays plus a slight sea breeze - stunning!

More like a plain than a vale.  Hundreds of these cone-shaped termite mounds about a metre high are aligned in irregular rows (aligned to catch maximum sun) near the Ningaloo coast at Exmouth.

'At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.'  The sculpture is sited for the rays of the rising sun to shine directly through the arch on Anzac Day.

Generally, we've found Australian holiday parks to be better kept and more up to date than their Kiwi counterparts. Lots of interesting characters too - guests and hosts. Manager Rob at The Cove, Onslow, told us this place is so relaxing people come here for a holiday from their holiday.

Telling it like it is - in this part of the world.

Temperatures around 40 degrees give an optical illusion of distant islands floating above the floodplains near the mineral rich Pilbara coast. You can run a bulldozer through pretty much anywhere and export it to China!

Renowned for its camel which used to drink patrons beer, this northern WA pub also had a pet snake that lived in the rafters. As reported to Don years ago by Auckland lawyer mate Maurice Burney about a late 1960s round Aussie motorbike trip.

The mineral boom still echoes here in Port Hedland WA, the world's biggest bulk port - exporting 290 million tonnes of iron ore per annum, mainly to China. Some local mines yield ore with an iron content around 98% - apparently you can pretty much weld two rocks together!

$100,000 perfect Broome pearl (no, didn't buy it!) Broome's economy is now based on tourism and cultured pearls. But back in the day it developed as a wild, cruel outpost for the pearl shell industry that yielded 80% of the colonial world's mother of pearl buttons.

of the Indian Ocean... from 'my' Ozmobile window at Town Beach, Broome. The big trek on the Great Northern Highway has led us to this much cooler, temperature and ambiance- wise, tourist and pearling town (pop 15,000). Temperature 28 degrees at 8.30am and there's a cooling coastal breeze - about to have our muesli and fresh mango breakfast before heading off to explore.

Caused by massive tidal flows through a narrow passage in the cliffs, these marvellous waterfalls were described by David Attenborough as 'one of the great natural wonders of the world.' We took an early morning scenic flight over the isolated Buccaneer Archipelago and watched the tide surge through at 40 Km/h, then flew back over the Indian Ocean and spotted a humpback whale and calf on the way back.

The pause that refreshes, when it's 40 degrees. This superb pool overlooks Lake Argyle, Australia's biggest man made waterway above the Ord River irrigation dam. An engineering masterpiece from the Think Big era, the scheme has enabled huge agriculture development in this tropical part of WA.

(or even not so young.)   We're now heading from the Stuart Hwy (Adelaide to Darwin) on the Victoria Hwy towards Broome. Have seen some monster termite mounds, but this one was right by the road and quite sculptural - the height is two-thirds of what is below ground.

Yellow Waters wetlands were teeming with life- crocodiles, fish and particularly, birds-including Jabiru, the red-legged black cranes that the main settlement within the Kakadu national park is named after. Our afternoon cruise concluded with a spectacular sunset over the pandanus fringed billabong.