Day 42 Exmouth

If I accidentally turn left after St Peter tells me to turn right, I’m sure the flies will be just as numerous and persistent in hell, as they are here in Dampier. Even the mighty Bushman’s is no match for this lot.
This morning was a good reminder that Dampier is the port through which Australia exports more product than any other, and that as a location chosen for its access to the sea, the commerce here works in response to the tides. At 4:30 this morning, the conveyor belts began moving and the cranes began loading, and I began stretching as the noise made further sleep an unattainable luxury.
By 8:30, we’d said our goodbye’s to our neighbours. One of the great things about this experience is seeing the camaraderie amongst fellow travellers. It’s something lost to the city and it’s very much something I’m happy our three boys have had the opportunity to experience. The couple two vans up, from Darwin, gave us a few tips on places they’d heard had some special appeal, and the Swiss girls shared their concerns about reaching Exmouth as only one of them drove. We wished them all a safe journey and headed off ourselves, stopping only for fuel and travel snacks before tackling the long drive ahead.
Only a little over 100km south, we stopped in at The Fortescue River Roadhouse to top up with fuel and there, sitting by the window, were the girls having a coffee. After a quick chat, it was back to the highway. At about 11, Jacqui jumped into the driver’s seat for a 100km stint, while I tried to shut my eyes. I woke up as we turned into The Nanutarra Roadhouse at midday and sure enough, there having a bite to eat were our new Swiss friends. Jacqui offered to let them tag along with us so that if we ran out of steam and had to sleep by the side of the road for the night, we’d all be together, and they might feel safer. They were pleased for the offer but had already scouted a few possible lay-over spots, so we headed off yet again.
As we drove along, we saw a sign that had us scouting the horizon for planes. We saw markings on the road and then the sign that read, R.F.D.S. Emergency Runway. It show how isolated this part of the country is.
Another two hours had us at the Exmouth turn off and the boredom of the drive had really set in at this stage, so Jacqui and I broke the monotony by developing our personal improvements on the holiday wave. Once you get out of the major towns, everyone waves as they pass each other on the road. Most simply raise one hand off the wheel but some have unique styles. There’s the one finger raise, the floppy hand, the quick snap and the nana, just to name a few. Jacqui and I began experimenting with more adventurous styles and even began working on variations on the team wave. As you can tell, we’d been driving for a while.
By about 3:30, we’d finally made it to Exmouth. We decided to drive through town to scout the different caravan parks and as we headed out the other side, we came to the Harold Holt Naval Base. Why would the Australian government name a Naval Base after a Prime Minister that drowned in office?
We settled on the Exmouth Cape Big 4 Caravan Park and were immediately pleased we had when the emus began snooping around. We have emus, wallabies and kangaroos just walking through the park and they come right up to the tents and vans. Thankfully, they’re not as aggressive as the emu Thomas taunted back at Curtin Springs, on the way to Uluru. They’re just curious, which is nice for us all.
Our pair of friendly Swiss back-packers finally made it and pulled into the same park. They are so excited to have made it here. The driver, Livia can’t believe she managed to drive over 500km in a day. She explained that at her home in Switzerland, a drive of 30-40km is an arduous journey requiring extensive planning.
We also are happy to have made it and we’re all excited about exploring the reef and the local coastline.
Cheers,
Jorg