Day 60 Starvation Bay

When the winds began noisily flapping the canvas walls of the top half of the van at 2am, Jacqui and I lay awake wondering if it would get any worse. At 3am, with Thomas now also awake, we stood up and tried to hold the top half steady as the gale force winds threatened to carry us back to the east coast in the early hours. Zach and Jacob slept through the shaking and the noise of the night, although I can’t imagine how. By 4am, we were all asleep again, with the wind having calmed enough to convince us we wouldn’t suddenly take an unplanned flight. By 6:30, Zach and I were strolling amongst the beach-front campers with a coffee, (Milo for Zach), in hand listening as they spoke with their neighbours about the nights wind. In most cases the damage was limited to chairs and other loose items simply being blown around but in one case, the wind had bent a strut on a van that would require repair. While it was our 1st night in the wind of Masons Bay, it seems it was a repeat performance for many as they began packing up with a plan to find somewhere less exposed. It would appear that we had a relatively sheltered location although at 4am, who knew?
Frank and Helen, whom we met at Hyden drove by and said G’day just after breakfast. They’re camped in Starvation Bay, which they said is packed to the gills but beautifully calm and serene. Once they’d left, we decided to pack up and try our luck at Starvation Bay and if we can’t get in, we planned to keep driving in search of somewhere else. Having the flexibility to move as we wish adds to our relaxed state. By pure luck, when we arrived at Starvation Bay, we drove straight into an almost level spot giving us plenty of privacy, with an ocean view so we parked the van before heading into Hopetoun for supplies. On the drive, we saw a 1.5m snake crossing the road and we stopped to photograph a Stumpy-tailed Lizard, also on the road.
Back at the bay, we had lunch then headed to the beach. Being deep in a bay gives us plenty of shelter from the wind and the waters are crystal clear and calm. The wind has blown clumps of seaweed in to the shallows, which gives the air a certain aroma, but at least the whitecaps are in the distance rather on our step as was the case at Masons Bay.
After a swim, we headed back to the van and Frank came past to drop off some bait. He stayed for a chat and Zach and I joined him back on the sand to try our luck. No luck today but a few bites to get us back in the morning.
After fishing, we saw our second lot of rain on the trip. In Alice Springs, we had a three and a half minute shower and that was complimented today by a very light, almost un-noticed mist that lasted for 30 seconds. It didn’t go un-noticed by Jacqui however, so I spent 30 minutes preparing for the storm that must certainly be on its way. The fly-covers are down over the beds to protect us from the inevitable pouring rain and the outside chairs and boxes have all been elevated to keep them out of what must surely become fast moving waters.
To calm our nerves before the inevitable calamity, we played cards again before turning in for the night.
Cheers,
Jorg