Bananas, space stuff and dolphins

Carnarvon is billed as the “food bowl of the West” so I had high hopes that we’d roll into town to be surrounded by greenery – a colour we haven’t seen much of in a long time. There were certainly a lot of bananas, and other orchards (mangoes, leafy greens, pomegranates etc) so it did provide something different to the eye than red dirt, saltbush and dry river beds.

We decided to stay in town in a caravan park while we were here – just to be near stuff and to have a spot where we could catch up a bit on work and school. After all the busy spots we’ve been to lately, Carnarvon was pretty quiet. I get the feeling it is a one-night stay for most people, being between Exmouth and Monkey Mia but not really having a lot to offer itself.

We’d booked for four days however, so we had a bit of time to fill. We could have spent all those four days trying to hammer the annex pegs into the ground. For the first time ever, we couldn’t put the annex up as the ground we were on was so ridiculously hard. Of course (Murphy’s Law) it was the first time since early July that was saw a bit of rain – not much, but enough that we had to cover up our usually covered kitchen and fridge for a bit. It was also a bit windy and cold, other conditions that we happily hadn’t experienced for a bit.

I mentioned the bananas before. Carnarvon grows the little ones – a bit sweeter than the ones grown in Queensland. They also take twice as long to grow. There’s a food trail around the area called the “Fruit Loop” which takes you to various farm shops. We did that, and really enjoyed stocking up on reasonably priced and good quality fresh fruit and veg. Again, a novelty after all our travels through small, outback or remote towns. On the list were some bananas ($5 for 20) and an enormous organic cabbage ($3). We also bought some mango chutney, onion and balsamic chutney (we do eat a LOT of sandwiches after all), and a couple of pickles to go with our regular curries.

The biggest news however was that Hamish TRIED A BANANA. And he didn’t hate it. We did have to buy one that was frozen and covered in chocolate, but he then did go on to try a regular old banana too, and committed to trying a bite of one each day, for as long as we had them. Progress! Nearly nine years and we’ve managed to get a piece of fruit past his lips.  Later in the week we also hit the farmers markets – again it was nice to see fresh food that was also reasonably priced.

I think I’ve mentioned previously that getting stuff delivered to us on the road is next to impossible. With much planning, Jim had arranged to get some stuff he needed for an assignment delivered to a PO Box he’d set up at the Carnarvon Post Office. There was one parcel we were waiting on though – and in usual fashion, it needed to arrive by COB Friday otherwise it was going to live there forever (as we were leaving on the Sunday). I’m happy to report we had a win there – it arrived just after lunch on Friday! Of course, in our cynicism we’d actually re-purchased it and had another one sent on to Perth just in case (so now we’ve paid for two of the same thing).

Hamish also had to go to the doctor in Carnarvon. He’s had this persistent cough for months, and this was now the third time he’d been to a doctor for it. This guy proved to be particularly thorough, and sent Hamish off to the hospital for a chest x-ray (results still pending). Whenever we arrive in a town we “jokingly” take note of where the hospital is in case we need it (because we have actually needed a hospital three times previously on other trips), so Jim knew exactly where to take him.

The only other thing in town that we wanted to see was the Carnarvon Space Museum. It was actually right next to our campground so I walked over there with the kids and we had a good couple of hours pottering around in there. Hamish has a pretty good interest in all things space (as do I), and they had a lot of interactive stuff for the kids to play with.

So we filled our four nights in Carnarvon, then packed up and moved to our current spot – Denham. Again, we’re in town, mainly to cut down on the driving to and from points of interest. Whenever we look at where we’re going to stay we do take into account free camps outside town, but sometimes, when you factor in the extra fuel and time, it’s just as good to pay and stay in town. So here we are in Denham, a nice little beach side town. The only downside of being here is that it is very WINDY. Wind is the nemesis of any tent-dweller, so now, three nights in, we’re pretty tired after being battered around with wind gusts of up to 60km/hr for hours on end.

Luckily we knew the wind was forecast so we could set the tent up the right way around (with the back facing into the brunt of it). That means we don’t have to take the annex down, or hold on to it for dear life as the wind turns it into a sail. It has also meant no fishing or sitting around on the beach, unless you want to get blown away.

Denham is near a World Heritage area which includes Monkey Mia, a spot known for it’s very friendly dolphins. We’re in Shark Bay, named because of its 28 varieties of sharks (but swimming is safe apparently). There is also the world’s largest seagrass meadow here, home to the world’s largest dugong population (around 10,000, or 10% of the world’s total population). You’ll also find the wreck of the HMAS Sydney (II) here – sunk in 1941 in a battle with a German ship that was lurking around in disguise. It revealed itself, battle ensued, both ships sank, but sadly for the Sydney, not one of the 645 souls on board survived. It’s just one of those fascinating little bits of history we’ve discovered on our way around the country.

Anyway, back to the animals. Yesterday we went out to Monkey Mia to do the dolphin experience. It’s much-hyped, and to be honest, in my opinion doesn’t really live up to the hype. There’s really only a couple of dolphins who visit regularly, and while it was pretty cool to be that close to a wild dolphin, I’m not sure I’d go out of my way to visit again. We backed that up with a visit to the Ocean Park aquarium which is just a small aquarium, but because you go on a tour, you learn quite a lot about all the fish there which includes a few sharks too. These guys also get full marks because they are DOG-FRIENDLY. Jim had to keep a good hold on him though (the low down pool looked quite inviting to Jett, and he certainly wouldn’t have turned down a little snack from the guide’s box of fish treats).

So we’re nearing the end of our time here and are continuing our way south tomorrow. We’re heading for a spot called Lucky Bay, which is halfway between Kalbarri and Gregory, two places I’m keen to check out. It will also mark the ONE YEAR point of our trip! Quite amazing really.