Hi all

Welcome back.  Where on earth have you been for the last 3 weeks?  Oh, thats right, I am the one who has been missing.  Due to the fact that I have had no electricity and poor internet serrvice for the past couple of weeks, I have been unable to update my blog.

Never mind, I am back to civilisation now.  Let's see where we were up to.  We left Tom Price after doing a tour of the Rio Tinto Mine.  WOW.  What an eye opener.  Mining is hughmongus up here.  A lot of machinery and functions are operated remotely from Perth.  Amaxing!!!  Well worth the very reasonably priced bus tour.

We free camped for a couple of nights and headed for Cape Range NP (near Exmouth) where we thought we would stay for a week.  Wrong.  No such luck.  All the camp grou ds were full and you had to wait for someone to leave before you could get in.  We booked into a caravan park near the entrance so we could line up first in the morning at the gates.  Col and Scott drove down to the entrance at 6 am but already three vehicles were lined up so they came home.  Just as well as only 1 camper left that day.  Note to self!  Don't go to those places in school holidays.  We drove into the park the next day and spent the day there visiting various beaches.  Turquoise Bay was the most popular spot to be.  A really beautiful area.

So onto plan B.  Stocked up on water and groceries at Exmouth a nd headed south to Warroora Station.   After travertsing the worst corragated road I have ever been on for 11 kms, we arrived at 14 mile camp area. Well, what a sight to behold!  There must have been 200 caravand and tents there.  A lot were literally camped on the beach (these are the prized sights).  We drew the short straw again and were put on the horrible long, hard, strawy grass.  A crappy sight but a million dollar view of the Ningaloo Reef.  And the wind!  Did I mention the wind.  It virtually never stops blowing.  Anyhow, for $75 a week you cant expect too much.  We met up with Dave and Meg Pamplin at the camp.  They come here every year for 3 to 4 months and this is their 10th year.  I could probably think of better places to stay.

Scott, Mel and the boys left us on the 6th to start their journey home.  It sure is quite without them.  We do miss them.  There was never a dull moment with the boys around.

We are having a week in Coral Bay at the caravan park.  It is a top spot and we hope to use the kayaks and snorkeling gear here.  Still in T shirts and shorts at the moment.  Cool nights but the days are still great.

Can't go too far down the coast yet as the weather is still cold down there.  From here we will travel to Carnarvon for a week or so and then free camp on the beach a little further down for a couple of weeks.

Thats about it for now.  Until next time.........