The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
Which one is good, bad or ugly?!
A Von Blog.
Kiaora readers, I write to you from the "four star" 24 hour free stay at Minilya which is on the main highway about 250km south of Exmouth. It is variously described on Wikicamps as 'muddy', 'dusty', with toilets that are a 'bit on the nose', 'average', 'nice place to stay for a one nighter' but 'very BUSY' (their capitals not mine). For those of you who have never looked at Wikicamps it is an App which has a mapping facility as well as user provided reviews, photographs and star ratings for all things camping and travelling. I think we may have mentioned it in our blog but in recent days Wikicamps has provided us with the good, the bad and (very) ugly of life on the road.
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| Using Wikicamps |
I will start with the ugly. Now, most of you know us, you know we are fairly affable, well mannered and, generally, good eggs. Which was why the incident at the Geraldton 24 hour self-contained RV stop troubled us a great deal. During our travels we have been very fortunate to stay in many council provided free stays. Not only do they help with the budget but they also allow us to see a different perspective to a town and often result in interesting conversations with fellow travellers. All free stays work on a 'first in, best dressed' policy (that's 'first come, first served' if you are reading this in the UK!). So, we rocked up just after midday and the dedicated spaces were already filling up fast. Thankfully there was a space in the middle of the row and whilst not ideal to be so 'cheek by jowl' with our neighbours it was good nonetheless. After a spot of lunch we were heading out to wander around the town and I noticed the space at the end of the row, and nearest the sea and the view, had become vacant. Shazza went to move the van but as she did so a chap towing a caravan swooped into the space. Damn it! However, the length of his rig meant he was over hanging the white lines. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I asked him if he specifically wanted the end spot and, if not, did he want to swap. He did. Result!
So we swapped over and off we went for our wander around Geraldton. When we returned, the car park had become even busier with most RVs parked up in the 5hr parking area. We were just using a chock to get the van level when a very clean car with an even cleaner caravan pulled up in from of me. Are you staying there asks the lady in the passenger seat. Yes thanks, says I. The lady then goes on to explain that there is a free spot up the other end and that we should move to it. Thanks, says I, but I'm happy where I am. Remember the rule about first in, best dressed? This lady clearly did not as she then gave me both barrels about being typical NSW folk, always looking out for themselves. Err, excuse me?! The vitriolic tirade continued whilst I continued to go about my business and just kept smiling. I am sure the good people of NSW will be glad to know that this woman 'hopes they get everything that's coming to them with COVID' - all thanks to us, sorry NSW folks! And as they pulled away she gestured in a way probably not becoming for a woman of her advanced years. We laughed about it but were also quite shocked. In 19 months of travelling it was the first time someone had been nasty to us and especially given we had not really done anything wrong. Goodness, sorry, I went on a bit didn't I? Cathartic though...
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| We were parked at A and entitled lady wanted us to move to B... |
Of course, as is always the way, our refusal to shift did mean the lamp-post above the van shined bright throughout the night and also made a particularly irritating creaky noise in the high winds...(that would be the bad).
The good though? Using a combination of Wikicamps and google satellite imagery means we can recce an area before we arrive and (usually) get ourselves a top spot. Take, for instance, Whalebone Bay. We were camped with just 2 others vehicles and had a cracking view over the sea for sunset. Although there were no facilities it was yet another chance to commune with nature and truly appreciate the grand beauty of this country.
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| Whalebone Bay |
And talking of grand beauty. It is the start of wildflower season in Western Australia and we have been delighted to see such variation of colours and structure. Some may claim they are weeds (you know who you are!) but we just see all the joyous colour. We were particularly amazed to see wreath flowers. These peculiar flowers are endemic to only certain parts of WA but the good folk of Wikicamps had kindly marked the spot where we might find them. Or so we thought, as a discussion with the campground caretaker in Mullewa provided us with even better insider knowledge. 19km down the road, look for the orange rope and walk into the bush. Eeek. What could possibly go wrong? (And I have not even seen Wolf Creek...). However, the top tip came up trumps and we were rewarded with a most exquisite example of the wreath flower (or, to give it it's latin name, "lechenaultia macrantha").
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| Orange line around the road marker, nothing dodgy about that at all! |
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| But look what we found, and a beautiful hand to provide scale |
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| Whether a weed or wild flower, they are still lovely |
The town of Kalbarri has done it tough in recent months. In April of this year they were hit with Cyclone Seroja. Winds of up to 170km an hour (that's 106 mph for those still working in Imperial) ripped through the town and damaged nearly 70% of all homes and businesses. Roofs were torn off and then went on to cause even more damage. The town is trying to rebuild but a shortage of raw materials and trades people mean it is a slow process.
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| The toilet block has definitely seen better days... |
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| Part of a motel complex, just imagine the damage inside |
From a scientific perspective what makes Seroja interesting is that Kalbarri is 'too far south' to be in a cyclone danger area. If this change to weather patterns becomes the norm' then a whole raft of things start to be effected (building code, insurances, provision of cyclone shelters) all of which costs money. If people cannot get on board with regards climate change because they don't care about the plants and animals then, perhaps, when it starts hitting their wallets they might take notice and want to do something about it...
Something that (thankfully) did withstand the high winds was the Kalbarri Skywalk. It is actually about 40km from the town itself and within the National Park. (There is no truth in the rumour that Dennis was smuggled into the park under his pashmina...)(but he did stay in the van throughout the visit)(and looked quite content too)(well, as content as Dennis tends to look). Perched right on the cliff-top, the two 100m high lookouts project 25 and 17 metres beyond the rim of the Murchison Gorge and are truly breathtaking. The gridded walkway means you can see right through and so is not for the feint hearted or acrophobic! We thought it amazing.
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| Not only was the view awesome but the feat of engineering pretty incredible too |
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| We liked the use of local language and wished we saw more of it |
Comments
Well done. The smiling was what turned her. Grrrrr. Love it. Great blog