April1985
The children haven’t mentioned games tonight. We have been playing Rummy and Scrabble etc since we started camping. Tonight, they are carried away by writing and drawing. Robert has virtually written a book. Makes my teacher/artist heart glow.
From Wilgia Mia to Mt Augustus, the world’s biggest rock (2 1/2 times bigger than Uluru). We had a couple of attempts of climbing it but it is almost 4000ft high, very rugged and no distinct tracks. We didn’t reach the top and were in danger of becoming lost.
Camped at Mt Augustus station – we were the only campers and were made very welcome. Cattle Pool on the station is a beautiful waterhole overhung by huge ghost gums, lots of water weed. It is very pretty. We took the canoe. We attempted fishing but only caught tiny fish. A huge bungarra came to take our bate and then stayed to pose for us for over an hour.
We dropped the caravan at Barradale and drove over to Ningaloo for the night. David caught 6 crayfish and some cuttlefish. We filled the water containers from the station tank where the emus, kangaroos and wild goats come to drink.
The weather glorious, no other people so once again we all forgot about clothes. The next day was raining so we spent the day in the car waiting for the tide to go down so that we could drive back to Barradale along the beach.
Off to Port Hedland to spend a week with my sister Lauraine and her partner Wayne. They have a Goldsworthy Mining Company apartment right on the beach at Finucane Island. we spend much of the week fishing and learning to windsurf and the rest of the time eating and drinking.
We went into town to see a musical version of ‘The sentimental Bloke’. We were met with sherries in the lobby, a bar was open during the play with people sitting watching, drinking jugs of beer and smoking all the way through. A chicken supper was served dring the interval. The play was dreadful but needless to say nobody noticed.
