Lie in this morning as in no hurry due to knowing we will be travelling back in time, we get an extra hour and half today when we cross the state line back into Western Australia. So the 535kms journey sets off in its now normal pattern, get out of town, build up speed, put it in cruise and point it forward........ We are going over a road we have all ready travelled on but oh what a difference the rain/storm has made, firstly there are puddles alongside the road, then there are larger puddles that start to encroach on the road, there are creeks with running water in, there are rivers where before they were just a series of large puddles and then there is flooded land...... It all becomes obvious just how quickly this place could become problematical for those that do their own thing and don't take note of warnings etc.
Note to self: Don't be stupid........
Talking of which, we pull into a roadhouse for a coffee break, it's empty I can park anywhere, I see a nice shady spot, drive over, straighten up, drive forward, not so much crash but more bump, so busy looking at the shade on the ground never noticed the overhanging branch........
When we passed by two weeks ago huge areas were either burnt or looked dry, dusty and basically dead. Today you can see the start of new green shoots and leaves on all the trees, including those with the black charcoal trunks........ In places there are more signs of wildlife returning, which was unfortunate for some of the thousands of baby frogs/toads that were crossing the road at the same time as we were doing a 100k in cruise on the same piece.......
Another place must have had in excess of 50 Eagles/Kites flying together, circling around something below but they were feeding on something whilst a lot of the smaller birds were drinking/bathing in the excess water lying around. There was an increase in the number of insects that head butted the windscreen, as did one magpie type bird chasing the insects........
And then there was the 11 Black Cockatoo's, these elusive shy birds were all together in one tree, until our emergency stop.......... They then regrouped again in the same tree, whilst I tried to park up on the main road, which is a singular two way road with sloping sides that are too steep for a Motorhome to encounter....... Now bearing in mind we have just travelled over 100k to get to this point with 1 car overtaking us and 6 cars passing on the other side we feel confident enough to park up, jump out and snap a few frames so as to record the moment........ Yep you have guessed it already, along comes a road train on our side of the road with a car on the other side at the same time........... Fortunately the car driver thought better of trying to prove the point of right of way with the road train and whilst an accident was avoided, the noise from said confrontation frightened the Cockatoo's away........... It's not that I felt guilty but when we caught up with the road train, we decided rather than overtake him we would stop and have lunch........ Think it was chicken.........
We continue once I know we will never see the road train driver again and are driving through some amazing scenic countryside, when I hear, "Look, it's an upside down rainbow" and yes there in the sky was a rainbow, shaped like a U.......
Later as we approach WA, we get stopped and searched by the food quarantine police......... He is in the bathroom, the fridge and rubbish bag and confiscates our garlic, honey, broccoli stumps, cucumber and the remains of the pepper that I could not eat whilst watching him search the van......... Have a good day he says......
Check in at Kununurra on a beautiful camp site on the banks of Lake Kununurra for two days but I can feel an extra day coming on, depending on weather, the next drive is another long one and whilst I like this place I don't want to get locked in due to flooding....
Besides being back in the WA time zone and this far east, it means sunrise is at 4.45am, I feel some early morning exercise coming on followed by some serious earache being received......
Note to self: Don't be stupid........
Talking of which, we pull into a roadhouse for a coffee break, it's empty I can park anywhere, I see a nice shady spot, drive over, straighten up, drive forward, not so much crash but more bump, so busy looking at the shade on the ground never noticed the overhanging branch........
When we passed by two weeks ago huge areas were either burnt or looked dry, dusty and basically dead. Today you can see the start of new green shoots and leaves on all the trees, including those with the black charcoal trunks........ In places there are more signs of wildlife returning, which was unfortunate for some of the thousands of baby frogs/toads that were crossing the road at the same time as we were doing a 100k in cruise on the same piece.......
Another place must have had in excess of 50 Eagles/Kites flying together, circling around something below but they were feeding on something whilst a lot of the smaller birds were drinking/bathing in the excess water lying around. There was an increase in the number of insects that head butted the windscreen, as did one magpie type bird chasing the insects........
And then there was the 11 Black Cockatoo's, these elusive shy birds were all together in one tree, until our emergency stop.......... They then regrouped again in the same tree, whilst I tried to park up on the main road, which is a singular two way road with sloping sides that are too steep for a Motorhome to encounter....... Now bearing in mind we have just travelled over 100k to get to this point with 1 car overtaking us and 6 cars passing on the other side we feel confident enough to park up, jump out and snap a few frames so as to record the moment........ Yep you have guessed it already, along comes a road train on our side of the road with a car on the other side at the same time........... Fortunately the car driver thought better of trying to prove the point of right of way with the road train and whilst an accident was avoided, the noise from said confrontation frightened the Cockatoo's away........... It's not that I felt guilty but when we caught up with the road train, we decided rather than overtake him we would stop and have lunch........ Think it was chicken.........
We continue once I know we will never see the road train driver again and are driving through some amazing scenic countryside, when I hear, "Look, it's an upside down rainbow" and yes there in the sky was a rainbow, shaped like a U.......
Later as we approach WA, we get stopped and searched by the food quarantine police......... He is in the bathroom, the fridge and rubbish bag and confiscates our garlic, honey, broccoli stumps, cucumber and the remains of the pepper that I could not eat whilst watching him search the van......... Have a good day he says......
Check in at Kununurra on a beautiful camp site on the banks of Lake Kununurra for two days but I can feel an extra day coming on, depending on weather, the next drive is another long one and whilst I like this place I don't want to get locked in due to flooding....
Besides being back in the WA time zone and this far east, it means sunrise is at 4.45am, I feel some early morning exercise coming on followed by some serious earache being received......
Daddy
Mummy
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