My last blog entry saw us at Onslow where I was having treatment on my leg for the infection I got from hitting it on a large rock in Hamersley Gorge swimming hole. I spent nearly three weeks going backwards and forwards to the hospital and with five lots of antibiotics later (two injections and three courses of tablets) I am relieved to say I was given the all clear. The staff at the hospital were all great but I'm sure they were as glad to see the back of me by then as I was the hospital. We stayed at the caravan park for another week to see out the school holidays.

While in Onslow, we caught up with Richard and Helen, friends we last saw in Darwin and will see again in Perth. We explored the area, driving out to Old Onslow town which is now really only piles of rubble with information plaques. The only buildings of recognition there were the old prison and police house. We drove past the Salt Mine and watched the salt moving slowly along the conveyor belt to be loaded onto a ship. We then drove out to Ashburton Port, seeing on the way, the new road that's being built to accommodate driverless road trains carrying Iron Ore from Red Hill 150 kms away to the port of Onslow. We walked the boardwalk and beach (Chris more than me as I was resting my leg a lot!) and collected lots of the pretty little shells on the beach. We visited the Op shop and the shell museum. The shells were a collection belonging to Neil and Judy Baker and donated to Onslow by the family after their parents passed. It was a very impressive collection! We wandered around the night market as we waited for the full moon to rise, with it's reflection on the ocean giving the look of the "Stairway to the Moon"

On leaving Onslow, we spent one night at a free camp at Minilya before reaching Carnarvon where we spent a week at the Oasis Caravan Park. We explored the town, checked out the Op shop, pre-voted in the Yes/No referendum and wandered the market. We drove out to the old jetty and wandered the museum. It was in the museum that we spotted the old "Coffeepot" train. We remembered we had ridden on this train along the rickety old wooden jetty ten years ago with a little Cornish lady as our driver. The jetty is now closed due to deterioration but there is a collection fund going to raise money for its restoration.

We visited the space museum and saw that it had been extended quite a bit since our last visit. It had a lot of interactive sections which we enjoyed but still my favourite section was the old TV broadcasting from the time of the Apollo Space Mission, where families from Australia and the Uk had 12 minutes as the satellites were aligned and they could see and talk to each other for the first time in years. Parents seeing children who had emigrated here years ago, grandparents seeing grandchildren for the first time. I still found it very emotional. I remember when my brother emigrated in 1974. It was a big deal, so far away and telephone calls were so expensive.

We did the Fruit Loop trail around the area, buying different fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors. We were a bit disappointed at the small amount of choices to be had as Carnarvon is known as the fruit bowl of Western Australia. It produces about 80 percent of the state's total fruit and veg crops but as it's all seasonal we were probably there at the wrong time for a greater choice. We enjoyed the baby tomatoes, zucchini, egg plant, cabbage and bananas that we did get, and especially the frozen mango which we are still eating. We also saw the many crab pots, reminding us that Carnarvon has a large seafood industry as well.

We left Carnarvon and headed towards Kalbarri with one night at Galena Bridge free camp. We had thought to stay a couple of nights here by the river but the high temperatures and persistent flies persuaded us otherwise.

We found Kalbarri had changed quite a bit since our last visit with lots of new homes being built and many walks in the area being upgraded with cemented paths and signage. The town itself is still the same though and the Scottish highlander still stands in the porch of the house where we saw him last time. We drove through the National Park to Nature's Window, the very impressive Sky Walk and walked into the gorge at the Z Bend. We also walked the many coastal tracks including the Red Bluff lookout where we watched the Whales out near the horizon and saw the large pile of dead flies collected on the steps that the wind had blown there. This had to be seen to be believed. These flies, along with the little native stinging wasps were a real nuisance to everyone. They seemed to thrive in the 40+ degree temperatures we were experiencing but not so much so as soon as the temperatures dropped. Thank goodness!

Another day we drove down to Port Gregory about 60kms down the coast and 10 degrees cooler, where we did the Pink Lake Buggy Tour. Along with three others plus Tim our driver, we drove along the beach, up and over sand dunes, through bush tracks and beside the Pink Lake. It was interesting to see the vibrant pink colour of the lake and know that the water itself was clear and colourless. The pink colour is caused by the algae that reflects light in the water. More pink stuff that we saw was the garnet that's mined in the area by the GMA Garnet mine. This is not the larger gem stone garnet but the finer substance that's used in abrasives such as sand blasting and water jet cutting. We enjoyed the tour and each other's company as we learnt the history of Port Gregory and that there are only 35 permanently residents living in Port Gregory, half of whom live in the caravan park. The numbers swell with holiday makers, travellers like ourselves, local farmers and fishermen. As we left Port Gregory, we detoured to see the old Linton Convict Hiring Depot. A collection of old buildings and information boards.

Chris managed to get in his game of golf before we left Kalbarri and headed to Coronation Beach which is about 30kms north of Geraldton. This is a beautiful camping spot right next to the beach, popular with locals and tourists alike. From there we drove into Geraldton for the day to do some shopping and visit a Bunnings store. It was quite a novelty to see the busy traffic and many businesses we haven't seen for so long such as Red Rooster, Aldi and BCF etc. Do we miss all this? Definitely not! Back at Coronation Beach we watched the wind surfers, walked the beach, climbed the many steps to the lookout, read our books and enjoyed the sunsets. We promised ourselves a return visit next time around as we left Coronation Beach to drive about 100kms inland to Mullewa where we are now.

Mullewa, is a part of the WA Wild Flower Trail heading down inland but disappointingly, we are too late in the season for the flowers this year. It's been a bad year due to lack of rain which also means the many farming crops the area is also known for are not getting a good harvest either. We drove around the very small and quiet town and out to the lookout. We walked around the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the Priest House, both designed and built by the Priest/Architect Monsignor John Hawes. Now we are enjoying the open space and peace of a very quiet caravan park while we catch up on washing and doing small repair jobs before moving on to our next stop.