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David Cross

Joined April 2018
  • David CrossTanami Track & the West Coast
    Day55

    Denham

    Yesterday in Australia

    Had the tyre repaired this morning which only took a few minutes and then refitted it to the van.
    Drove down to Eagle Bluff to a fantastic lookout over the bay to Dirk Hartog Island and did a little bit of shell collecting on the beach below.
    Also visited the aquarium which was really quite good. Excellent tour leaders and great displays of local fish including stone fish, sea snakes, sharks, sting rays, a logger head turtle, coral trout, red empires, and many more.
    Visited the HMAS Sydney display and 3D movie at the information centre which was also excellent.
    Have enjoyed our time in Denham and found quite a lot to do in the area.    Read more

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  • David CrossTanami Track & the West Coast
    Day54

    Denham, Monkey Mia

    June 22 in Australia

    Decided to take a 3 hour cruise on the Shotover, a very large catamaran, sailing out of Monkey Mia in the hope of seeing some dugongs, turtles and dolphins.
    The breeze was up and it was quite cold on the front of the boat but we stuck it out but unfortunately it seems that the dugongs have moved to warmer water and other creatures were quite sparse.
    Lunch at the restaurant and then back to find that one of the caravan tyres was flat. While removing this one we rotated the other tyre and put the spare on. Found that the valve on the tyre was leaking which will be a simple fix in the morning.Read more

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  • David CrossTanami Track & the West Coast
    Day53

    Monkey Mia

    June 21, Indian Ocean

    The main attraction of this area are the dolphins at Monkey Mia.
    For over 25 years dolphins have been coming in to the beach at Monkey Mia to be fed each morning.
    We headed over to be there at 8.30am and stood ankle deep in the water in the cool morning air to see 4 dolphins arrive in the shallows to be fed.
    After the talk by the staff about the research work being done and about the dolphins themselves 4 people, including Maureen, were chosen to give the dolphins a fish.
    After this encounter it was lovely coffee in the sun then back over to Denham for a wander around the town and an easy afternoon.    Read more

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  • David CrossTanami Track & the West Coast
    Day52

    Shell Beach, Francois Peron NP

    June 20 in Australia

    Up to a cold start, 8 degrees, heading into Denham this morning.
    Stopped at Shell Beach on the way in which a 3 km stretch of beach made up of millions of tiny shells rather than sand. The beach is over 100 metres wide with the shells hardening the further away from the water you get. Quite amazing.
    From there it was into Denham to set up the van for the next 4 nights.
    In the afternoon we headed into the Francois Peron NP where we let the tyres down and took off for the 51 km trek to Cape Peron.
    The track was narrow and very sandy in parts but quite exciting if you were driving. I don’t think the passenger had quite as good a time being bounced and rocked, quite severely at times, along the way.
    The sand in the Park was so red that it made a real impact when we came to the Cape and had the contrast with the white sand on the beach.
    Dodged a couple of kangaroos on way out which we probably left a little late.    Read more

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  • David CrossTanami Track & the West Coast
    Day51

    Hamelin Outback Station

    June 19 in Australia

    Fortunately we woke this morning to a clear sky but with a cool breeze.
    Packed up in Carnarvon and had a coffee down the Main Street before heading south to the Shark Bay World Heritage area, staying the night at Hamelin Station
    This station is now a Bush Heritage station which is seeing it be returned to its natural state. They have rebuilt some of the original buildings and added toilets and showers and made it a great base to explore the area.
    After setting up we headed to the Hamelin Pools to see the stromatolites, the old telegraph station and the shell block quarry.
    The stromatolites are the reason for the World Heritage rating as this is one of only two sites in the world where they are know to still exist. They are microbes that grow and trap limestone molecules and turn this into stone therefore appearing to ‘grow’. They are believed to be 3 million years old.
    Adjacent to this is the old telegraph station which transmitted messages up the coast.
    The quarry is made up of millions of small shells that have solidified also with limestone and have been cut out in large blocks to build houses, etc in Denham and the surrounding area.
    The day was complete when we found that the fire had been lit inside the camp kitchen with many of the campers heading there after dinner to warm themselves and chat.    Read more

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  • David CrossTanami Track & the West Coast
    Day50

    Carnarvon

    June 18 in Australia

    Left Exmouth on an humid, overcast morning and drove into rain, heavy rain. This last the entire 350 km trip to Carnarvon and resulted in localised flooding in several areas with water running across the road.

    Stopped at Minilya Roadhouse which had the forecourt flooded, water covering the main driveway area, and pumps not working due to the flooding.

    Made it into Carnarvon and set up before being underwhelmed by the town. Maybe a wet dreary day wasn’t the best day to visit.

    One interesting find was at a cafe near the now closed 1 Mile Jetty was a display that included on of the life boats from the Komoran, the German Ship which the HMAS Sydney during WW2, which came ashore with German survivors near Quobba Station.    Read more

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  • David CrossTanami Track & the West Coast
    Day47

    Exmouth Revisited

    June 15 in Australia

    After reviewing our schedule and looking at the weather down south and at home we decided to head back up to Exmouth from Coral Bay in order to spend a few extra days at Exmouth and in the Turquoise Bay Area.

    After 2 superb days by the beach sunning and snorkeling we packed to van late on Sunday 17 June with a forecast for rain the next day to travel through.

    As we were packing we realised that the people beside us were Rob and Maureen who we had a drink with at Kulgera Roadhouse on our way to Alice Springs.Read more

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  • David CrossTanami Track & the West Coast
    Day46

    Coral Bay

    June 14 in Australia

    The snorkeling here at Coral Bay is something that you never get bored with. every time you go into the water there is something different to see and wonder at.
    There are so many varieties of fish within metres of the beach that captivates and surprises.
    Being under the water today and watching the sea weed from below also created a different feel.
    Here a few of today’s favourite pics.
    Because we have seen the weather forecast down south we have decided to chicken out and head back to Exmouth for a few days, putting off the trip south as long as we can,😉Read more

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  • David CrossTanami Track & the West Coast
    Day45

    Kicking back at Coral Bay

    June 13 in Australia

    When you are travelling constantly it is amazing how you get into a routine of enjoying where you are while constantly forward to the next destination. Having said this it has been nice to kick back for the last 2 days and enjoy being in the one lovely place.
    While the weather has been cloudy at times it has not spoilt any of our time here.
    The town, our site, the beach and reef have been terrific and we have had a ball.
    The snorkeling is amazing and having to just walk across the road to the beach has made it so simple.
    Went for a drive this morning to the south and ended up letting the tyres down as the track took us through the sand dunes towards the beach. The final loop of the track took you back along the sand dunes lining the beach but we thought this was not the best thing to do for the dunes so returned via the track.
    The fish so close to the shore when snorkeling are a constant amazement and the simple underwater camera we have doesn’t really do the scenes justice. The wide variety of sea creatures are amazing.    Read more

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  • David CrossTanami Track & the West Coast
    Day43

    Coral Bay

    June 11 in Australia

    Caught up with some chores in Exmouth after packing up before heading down to Coral Bay where we are booked in for 4 nights.
    This was one of our favourite places when we were here 19 years ago so we had pretty big expectations heading into town and we weren’t disappointed.
    The town appears to have changed little and the site we booked at the People’s Caravan Park back in February is fabulous.
    We set up the van on a paved site and headed across the road to the beach. While the tide was dropping we hopped into the water and within 2 metres of the sand the water dropped away quickly with dozens of different fish of all shapes and sizes. The water was warm and the sun was shining on a perfect day.    Read more

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