I awoke this morning, stretched and yawned as I looked through bleary eyes at my watch. I focused on the luminous hands, seeing that it was only just past 8:00AM. Way too early to be rising, so I rolled over and blissfully went back to sleep. It was another hour later by the time I was roused again, this time deciding to get up. As quietly as I could, I ushered the dogs onto the bed to keep Bec company, and then shut them all into the bedroom while I had breakfast and read the final chapters of the book that has kept me enthralled for the last few weeks.

We had agreed last night that who ever was up first, would wake the other at 10:00AM. I failed in my quest to awaken Bec on time, disturbing her slumber at a few minutes past the allotted hour, only to be quizzically interrogated as to why I had let her sleep so late.

I guess the point of the story is, it mattered not how long we slept in today, as we have less than 2 hours of driving ahead of us, before we reach our next destination of Carnarvon. With that in mind, we took our time getting ready, and were again the last of the overnight campers left in the rest area by the time we were ready to depart. In fact, we had even outstayed some of the morning tea crowd today, several vans having dropped in for a pit stop before moving on again.

Despite our short stint on the road today, it was tiresome due to a blustery breeze ensuring I had to pay careful attention to the road, as we traversed some more of the same boring country side through which we have become accustomed to. As we cruised along, I was trying to think back to the landscape that surrounded us during our travels through outback Queensland, and I recall it being just as barren. We however found those scenes rather invigorating, because they were new to us. Having since driven through the Kimberley area, we have been spoilt for magnificent vistas that change with every bend in the road. This desolate countryside thus provides us lackluster viewing in comparison. It is, in its own right, a relatively pretty area however, with a multitude of tiny seasonal wildflowers lining the roadside verges.

Much like the last 1000KM, probable like the next 1000.

Not even two hours after having rolled out of our overnight camp ground, we were approaching the outskirts of Carnarvon, where todays journey would come to an abrupt end. Not because anything exciting or tragic occurred, but solely because our caravan park for the next 4 nights is located about 5Km from the centre of town.

The park we settled on was chosen for its liberal pet policy, which means the babies can stay in the comfort of the van while we go out, traipsing about the surrounding areas. As it turns out, on first impression, the dog policy might have been the only thing going for the park. We were helpfully shown to our site, way, way down the back of the park, in a newish looking section that is as bleak as last nights camp ground. Immature trees are too small to cast any substantial shade, while the sites appear to have been designed for caravans half the length of ours. With the draw bar creating a chicane in the path in front of us, the back end of the van still hangs ominously into the site to the rear of ours. Being that we are one of only two vans in this section, I can’t see it becoming an issue, and as a bonus, we are parked well enough away from anyone else to hear the dogs yapping when we leave them.

We’re obviously in the big USA pick up truck section of the park.

While the positioning of the van may well be a blessing in disguise, the attempt at gouging extra money from our pockets is a little more concerning. The park rules state that washing machines aren’t to be used, as there is a laundry on site, where the machines cost $4.00 a load, and then there is the $2.00 charge every time you want to empty the contents of the toilet cartridge, unless you cart it into town to take advantage of the public dump point. That’s akin to staying at a five star hotel, and being told you can either use a communal bathroom, or pay a fee to use the commode in your own suite. Needless to say, I will be carting our dunny can into town. I wouldn’t mind so much if we were paying a bargain basement price, but at $40.00 a night, it’s in the upper reaches of what we are willing to pay to park the van.

In the afternoon heat of the day, it was a slow process to get the van set up just the way we like it. Actually, by the time we had parked it, unhitched it, unrolled the awning and attached a couple of shade giving annex walls, then hooked up the TV while adjusting the antenna and tuning it all in, we had spent longer in the park than we had on the road. I can see why people like the idea of staying put in the one place for extended periods. I would hate to add up the amount of time we have spent either setting up or packing up the van during our time on the road.

With the air conditioner pumping a nice stream of cooling air through the van, I was tempted to jump on the bed, but knowing that if I did so, any further activity today would be out of the question. Thus, we decided to make the remaining few kilometres into town for a quick look around.

As a town, I found Carnarvon a little disappointing. I had been led to believe that while it might not be a sprawling metropolis, it could be considered the retail and industrial capital of the central west coast of Western Australia. This was not to be the case, although the supermarket was by far the grandest we have seen in a while, there is little more here than the basics. We did get a few things though. Me a can of Western Australian Emu Export beer to taste, which made me query: What is sadder, walking into a bottle shop and buying a couple of slabs of beer, or just buying a single can? Bec on the other hand found a bargain and bought a pair of pants that cost less than my can of beer. With more time over the next few days, we shall explore further to ensure that we haven’t missed anything.

It’s called ‘Export’ for a reason. It should have been exported!

For dinner, we had planned a roasted leg of lamb, which seemed fanciful while the sun was beating hotly down, but the moment it slipped out of sight, the cool night air made our roast dinner seem all the more appropriate, accompanied by a deliciously warming goblet of Shiraz. As the night wore on, and the wine wore off, even the heater was called into play. We are now luxuriating in a climate controlled tropical 24^oC caravan, while outside it is a positively temperate 17^oC.

The easy way to cook dinner.

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.