May 10
Last day in Exmouth after 4 weeks and most of it was spent packing up. We did manage to get in one last snorkel in at Mandu South. Some of the best coral we've seen but quite shallow.
For our last night we returned to Pinocchios for another night with great food and our own esky of drinks.
May 11
Left a little later than we thought but were enjoying the drive from Exmouth to Karratha through the rain soaked Pilbara country side when we came across quite a nasty accident that caused a substantial delay.
The normally dry creek beds were full and one grey nomad who had been travelling this road for 30 years told us he had never seen water in the Yannarie River that was full when we stopped for lunch at the Barradale Rest Area.
As it turned out the 2 hour delay at the accident meant we arrived at our planned camp on the Maitland River after dark, which wasn't ideal since the camp was as dodgy as they come with a 30 foot van plonked smack bang in the middle of the camp. No car to be seen only a mangy dog and a host of odds and ends that looked like something out of a scene from Deliverance. Very little discussion resulted in us heading off north. First stop was a perfect camping spot, Miaree Pool, but with a prominent sign indicating a $1000 fine for camping and again we hit the road. Eventually Wikki Camps described a spot on the outskirts of Karratha that allowed free camping. The name Blue Lagoon is slightly deceiving given it is a huge Truck Stop at the back of a roadhouse. Although not particularly scenic it did provide a relatively quiet spot with toilets and free showers available from the roadhouse.
Mothers Day on the road probably hadn't been ideal but with phone conversations with each of our mums and all of the kids Carol was pretty chuffed as we set up camp.
Spanish Mackerel for tea with Eleni and Peter was a welcome relief before bed.