There isn’t
much to see north of Cervantes on the Indian Ocean Highway except the
Australian version of wheat farms and infrequent glimpses of the ocean. Connie’s constant vigil for birds
provided the only diversion; a black kite, a brown goshawk and a Nanking
kestrel.
We spent a
night in Geraldton, a natural stopping point on the long drive north, at a Big
4 campground, the ones we found so wonderful on our last camping outing in
Oz. Big Disappointment is more
like it. Internet access is
$10/hour so there is no knowing when this will get posted. But I did manage a swim in the Indian
Ocean.
Roadhouses
spaced every 100 or so kilometers make the drive, if not enjoyable, at least doable
towards the Coral Coast, four hundred seventy-five table-flat, ruler-straight
kilometers distant. Most people
associate Australia with kangaroos, or those cute koalas. But the most prolific animals here,
maybe 75% of the biomass, are flies.
Flies in your eyes, flies in your ears, flies in your nose. No wonder the “Australian salute”
consists of waving your hands quickly in front of your face. I wonder what they do while waiting for
someone to exit his car.
The
Wintersun Campground in Carnarvon is running a 3-nights-for-2 deal and we are
taking advantage of it. Nice
place, a Woolworths food store and an electronics store where we purchased an
internet thingy for our computer that lets us connect, like with a smart
phone. Expensive but necessary.
