Burrup Rock Art & Hearson Cove

BEST DAY EVA!

Today was the most incredible day!  We had the most insightful experiences with Ken teaching us about, and showing us,  Aboriginal rock art on the Burrup dating up to 40 000 years ago!

After spending time learning all about the North West Gas Shelf at the Karratha Gas Plant Information Centre, we finished off the day with wine and cheese at Hearson Cove.  Hard to explain how incredibly beautiful and peaceful this place really is.  The photos just don't do it justice.

Thank you Ken for the most amazing Dampier experience!

Cossack-Wickham-Point Samson

A lazy day today with plenty of time for home work, bike riding and for Bruce to set up his new phone.  Yes folks, you might find this hard to believe, but Bruce has finally arrived in the 21st century and has his first Smart Phone!

We spent time exploring Cossack...

 

and Wickham.

And had THE BEST fish and chips for dinner at Point Samson.  We did see a glimpse of the Stairway to the Moon (worst NAVMAN eva!) and it was quite spectacular!

Barradale to Dampier

Leaving the flies behind at Barradale, we hit the road again, enjoying the sights of many, many eagles soaring above the highway.  The questions continued and Jack & Jarrah were impressive with their (new) knowledge of the Australian States & Territories and the Tropics of Capricorn & Cancer, and Fletch received a lolly for knowing the name of the North Dandalup Primary School Registrar (Mrs Bennett).  Bruce, however, failed his test as he could not recount the names of the four houses at the Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft!

To Jarrah's delight, we arrived at the Fiori's not long after Xavia had finished school for the day.  They were both excited to see each other again and enjoyed spending time together.

Then it was on to Ken's place for our first shower in four days (yay!) and a great evening of Dampier hospitality!  On a balmy Dampier evening, the kids loved the nachos and we enjoyed a great red (or two) with Ken.

Gladstone Camp Ground to Barradale

From Gladstone we travelled to Carnarvon where we stopped to let the kids play at an awesome playground while we stocked up on supplies and tried to get connected to the web.  (I now realise Optus has NO SIGNAL ANYWHERE!!)  So thanks to Jac and Ian we are now sorted out with a dongle (love that word) and we're back online!

 

The long hours in the car are being passed away with learning the 1, 2, 3 and 4 times tables, and Stage 1, 2 and 3 spelling lists.  Nobody gets lollies without first correctly answering questions.  We were very impressed when Fletch knew the name of Aunty Chrissy's dog!  (Jade)

We arrived this afternoon at Barradale Rest Stop which will be our over night stop tonight.  Just off the highway, it's not nearly as picturesque as the previous two nights but we did get a laugh after dark when the caravan became surrounded by a herd of wild cows!  (Well they could have been buffalo I suppose, but it was dark and they were making such a racquet I was a bit scared to venture too far to investigate!)

Cliff Head North to Gladstone

From Cliff Head North we followed the Brand Highway to Geraldton then continued north on the North West Coastal Highway.  A brief stop at the Overlander Road House was made even more brief by the 100 million flies that greeted us here.  I did stay long enough to buy this beautiful travel hat, though...



 



Not too far from the Overlander (about another 55kms) we arrived at our next stop over - Gladstone Camp Ground.  We once again camped on a beautiful beach, and the boys enjoyed a game of soccer.

It was a very moonlit night and Jack was fascinated by our 'moon shadows'.  For the second night we toasted marshmallows by the fire and Bruce & Jarrah provided the back ground guitar music.

We woke up the next morning to a glorious sunrise and as we rode our bikes to the toilet (yes that was kind of cool) we heard the most beautiful bird call - Jack described it as a 'flute'.

Here We Go!

We left on Saturday morning as planned, albeit a little later than expected.  That might have had something to do with the 5 goodbye stops we made...Thanks so much to all of our neighbours and friends for an UNFORGETTABLE send off!

We dropped in to see our great friend, Ian, at Lancelin, and managed to steer clear of the pub (only just) so that we could continue our journey north!

We made it to Cliff Head North (about 30 kms south of Dongara) where we were welcomed by the locals to enjoy 'happy hour' and a great sunset just 50 metres from the beach.

All in all a pretty successful first day.  We didn't hear any "are we there yet?" but Fletcher did maintain a chant of "Can we go home now?" for what seemed like several hours....

Last night at home!

Some of the family don't want us to go...