Disappointed that I still cannot equalize my ear, and about 7 days into a nasty sinus, ear and upper respiratory infection, we made the decision not to make the additional two day drive up to Coral Bay and Exmouth, which are supposed to be phenomenal sites for diving. I was so looking forward to that part of the trip, but knowing I wouldn't be able to get into the water to take in the sights and experience, we opted to begin our journey down to the south coast. This pleased Darrin, as he wasn't so keen on the firey inferno of heat we'd been surviving in for the past few days, especially on a nasty sunburn. The big plus, gas prices in the town we were stopping off in were about 30 cents less a litre, and there would be a big grocery store to stock up on what's become a very important staple, turkish bread and flavored tuna-in-a-can. The Australian's do the tuna market exceptionally. They have these one-serving tuna cans with every imaginable flavoring - penang curry, indian curry, thai satay, chili, mustard, sundried tomato and basil, zesty lemon, and the list goes on. I could eat this tuna daily for lunch and dinner for months. Only the big grocery stores in real towns though, have the selection. That, along with reloading on Tim Tams. Tim Tams, while always available, are on the same pricing strategy as petrol... The further from a big town you are the more expensive they get. So, for a box of like 10 bickies that you can buy in Sydney for $1.50/box, up in Denham they were priced at $4.80... quite dear (expensive) as they'd say here.
We rocked up to a really quaint town that I could definitely see us having a retirement home in - the twin towns of Dongara and Port Denison. It was a sleepy little fishing and surfing community, with the landscape and walking paths along the sand dune cliffs meticulously manicured. The women at the information center were so friendly, and helpful, sharing with us a map of cool walks, with distances mapped out. It was the town shire's effort to encourage their residents to adopt a healthy lifestyle. We've seen this in several towns now, where they have walking tracks and signage about the length of walks, and challenges for local residents to log their kilometers. This is a best practice the US should adopt to encourage people to take the time to focus on healthy lifestyles. Of course I was keen to get out on a run, after having been cooped up sick and not exercising for over a week... And no better place than along the seaside, checking out the breaks as I went along.
There was an amazing break south of town, that we could see from our ocean front campsite - breaking just a bit off the far jetty, a perfect peak with lefts and rights. I saw just two guys out, and offshores holding up perfect peak after peak, spray simmering as the sun set behind each wave. Yep, this is a place on the retirement investment list!
