Circus tricks, pirates and an end to gender confusion

We arrived in Esperence, wet and weary. We were ready for some town living so we set up at a caravan park close to the centre of town. Within 5 minutes of arrival, one of our neighbours came and gave us a bag of fish that her husband and kids had caught that afternoon. An excellent beginning.  While we set up, the kids hit the play equipment and soon discovered Jeff and Debbie and their kids (golf-playing friends from Eucla and Cocklebiddy). We chatted to our fish-gifting neighbours who told us they were from Geralton, North of Perth, but had fled to Esperence 2 months ago after their 2yo daughter had only just recovered from Meningicocal. It was a big scare and they were clearly shaken. They had chosen to settle in Esperence and the older kids had found jobs in the local shops while the younger kids were attending the local school. However, being a large Aboriginal family, they were having a tough time securing rental accommodation and so were forced to live at the caravan park in a trailer. They were a lovely, quiet, friendly family and it seemed very unjust.

That night, we put on our glad-rags and headed for the circus! But first we had to get some dinner and our hankering for Asian food led us to the local Chinese restaurant. It was a good thing that the circus turned out to be great, because dinner was dreadful! We have now vowed to never eat Chinese food on the trip again (we also tried in Hobart and had some awful dumplings) - Australian Chinese food away from the big cities seems to have evolved to taste like cardboard. However dinner aside, we had a great night - the circus was a smaller, more intimate performance than the usual Circus Oz style thing we have seen in Melbourne. The highlight of the night was a group of Kenyan acrobats who performed mind-blowing acts. Zara was on the edge of her seat for the entire show - but most particularly when the star of the show - 12yo Americas (yep, that's her name - ah showbiz parents...) did some amazing hula hoop work. The girl's spangled costumes, perfect poise and amazing talent was enough to have any 6yo girl drooling with envy! During the intermission Sash chatted up the local girls on the tea-cup ride and Zara trotted around on the circus ponies (led by the one and only Americas - to z's delight!). After the circus, we went home happily in the rain but Bill still went off to catch us some squid for our next night's dinner...

Next morning, we discovered that many Esperence tourist attractions are closed for the off-season, but we still found a pretty cool park and were soon joined by Debbie and her kids. In the afternoon, we continued living it up by going to the movies and eating choc tops whilst enjoying The Pirates. Later that night, the kids and Kate played on the jetty while Bill pulled in squid. We have discovered that jetties are very social and pleasant places at around 5pm when all the locals and tourists come to fish. Granted, much of the conversation revolves around fishing (ie. have you had any luck, what colour jig did you use etc etc - enough to make Kate's eyes glaze over), but every now and again you get beyond fishing-talk and hear some interesting stories. On this particular jetty, we met a dapper old fellow who had migrated to Australia from Germany shortly after the war. He had lived all around the country and was pretty happy to share many intreresting stories with us as the sun set over the bay.

Next day, we turned our mind to more mundane tasks such as taking the car in to be serviced and stocking up on groceries. With no car, we utilised the excellent bike paths around the town - including right along the foreshore. We also decided to stop confusing and horrifying our fellow travellers with Sasha's unruly mop of hair which had been home-cut unto a very girly bob - none of us mind  that he gets called our daughter on a daily basis (although Zara is a bit keen on gender clarity), but it really embarrasses other people because they think they have upset us... Even the friendly hairdresser herself had to tentatively inquire whether Sash was a boy or a girl... And even Kate admits he looks good with his new snappy cut. So with the children tidied up, their genders clearly defined by their haircuts, Kate and the kids grabbed bikes and bathers and headed for the local pool. The kids were so beside themselves at the discovery that the pool has a whirlpool in it, we stayed for a couple of hours and then took Bill back the next day so he could experience the mega-fun that is the Esperence pool!

Another Esperence attraction that is worth a mention is the local museum. It is run by volunteers and only open for a couple of hours a day - but it has never ending rooms full of fascinating and random stuff. Kate and the kids spent an hour in there before one of the volunteers loudly rang an old cow bell to tell us in no uncertain terms that it was time to leave. Bill came in shortly before closing time and we all wished we had longer to wander amongst the old telephones, steam trains, ye olde toys, farming machinery, tales of shipwrecks, maps, coins, photograph, shells, shark teeth and so much more... 

Le grande beaches, sand cafes, motorised parachutes and rainy nights...

In hot pursuit of fruit and vegetables, we bumped down the rough old road and into Esperence where we guzzled pies and pasties in ‘le hot bread café’ before stocking up on everything at the local Woolies. Then we turned on our heal and drove for about an hour to Cape Le Grande National Park. It was a slightly drizzly Monday and nowhere near school holidays so we were confident of getting a good spot. We decided on Lucky Bay campground but were surprised to find it crowded with grey nomads. We did get a spot but it was pretty cosy. We set up in the dark, surrounded by kangaroos and offers of assistance from friendly neighbours (who seemed a bit taken aback that we would cook outside with headtorches - one guy even offered to shine his car headlights on our stove!). 

Next day we realised why the place is crowded. It's just a beautiful spot. A series of totally stunning beaches with white, white sand, rockpools, clear turquoise water... The sand was so sort of gluey that we could make the best sandcastles ever. We even saw a sandman (like a snowman but made of sand...). The kids had a glorious time making sand cakes, sand ice-creams and sand pancakes for a sand cafe they set up on the beach. Hours of entertainment. 

Sash and Kate headed for Frenchmans Peak for a mountain climb in the afternoon. It was a steep but fantastic climb, past caves and bee hives to spectacular 360 degree views at the top. There was a cave near the top which felt like a pretty special spot (and indeed we met an Aboriginal man later in Esperence who told us his grandfather was born in that very cave). Sash loved this mountain so much that we did the climb again the next afternoon with Bill and Zara, then he begged to do it again every day until we left...

Everything was perfect except that Bill wasn't having any luck fishing, despite numerous attempts in different conditions and in different spots. So we all knew we couldn't stay there forever. 

We got to know our neighbours, Kurt and Irene, who spend their lives working overseas then traveling around Australia in between contracts. They had a powered parachute on the back of their trailer - a hobby which takes them to airstrips and open paddocks all around Australia. It turned out that Kurt remembered Bill's dad from a long ago work connection. Kurt and Irene copied lots of episodes of the French series Miniscule for us to watch on the laptop. Thus we spent a few rainy evenings being enchanted by the antics of bugs.

Another neighbour was an 85 year old fellow from NSW who told us that he spends more time away from home touring Australia in his old caravan, than time at home sitting in flowery armchairs watching telly. He was a bit melancholy because he felt that it might be his last trip. However, when Kate and Sash were resting at Thistle Cove after a relatively strenuous hike, they were rather surprised to see their 85yo neighbour appearing down the walking track, slightly out of breath but otherwise intact. So we think he has probably a few trips left in him!

And then the rains came. Everything was wet and muddy, so we wrapped ourselves in blankets and snuggled down in the trailer to watch Red Dog. Zara has long been fascinated by this story and has been reading the book on this trip. Although he couldn't follow much of the movie, Sash was intrigued by Red Dog's death by poisoning, as well as the scene when Red Dog's farts cause the evacuation of the bus. Death and farts have now become two constant topics of questions and endless discussions for our nearly 4yo Sash...

Tea on the verandah and more retirement plans...

Next day, we backtracked a bit to drive 20kms off the Nullabor to the Eyre Bird Sanctuary. Although it was a bit of a trek down a rough 4WD track to get there, we were happy to lower our tyre pressure and have a look as it had been highly recommended by some folk we had met back in SA. It was totally worth it. What a magical spot. The sanctuary is at the site of an old telegraph station that was closed in 1930, fell into disrepair then was re-opened in 1977 as a bird sanctuary and weather station. It feels totally wild and isolated and is managed completely by volunteers, couples who come for three months to record bird activity, send off weather reports, look after visitors (day and overnight) and tend the veggie garden. They were so friendly and welcoming - giving us a tour, telling us all about the place and then chatting over tea and homemade biscuits on the veranda while we kept an eye out for birds. They gave the kids milo and colouring in sheets of rare bird species (Zara completed hers perfectly with all the correct colours and Sash decorated his with lots of 5s and Ws). We did a short walk around the area and out towards the dunes before fossicking around in the museum which was full of old whale bones and stories of the last manager of the telegraph station – a man recognised for his courage in the face of great white sharks, long-distance running and nasty habit of beating his 12 children until they bore life-long scars. As we left, a massive flock of Major Mitchel Cockatoos flew over our car, which was kind of a relief because we wanted to love the place but felt that the lack of birds was going to make it hard to rave about the bird sanctuary. Nonetheless, Kate and Bill added ‘volunteer at Eyre Bird Sanctuary’ to their list of retirement plans (Kate suggested doing it when the kids are teenagers until Bill pointed out that 3 months of isolation and counting birds would be most teenagers worst nightmare… fair point).

Back on the highway, we headed for Balladonia then turned south on a 4WD track towards the Cape Arid NP. We pulled over and spent the night on the side of the road, in a spot that had a gazzilion ant holes but apparently no ants. We ate a veggie-less meal which was a bit weird but did the job. It was lovely to not have anyone else around – the kids could make plenty of noise, and we were accosted by no-one!

Mother's darlings, father's buggers

Later that day we pulled up at Cocklebiddy roadhouse. By this time we were heartily disoriented due to the time differences and lack of fresh fruit and veg. We decided to set up camp in the dusty paddock of a caravan park so we could have a hot shower and grab a meal at the roadhouse restaurant. It probably won the title of ‘least scenic campsite yet’ but the showers were sort of hot and the washing machines worked… We were warned to have dinner early because they had a busload of folk coming for dinner at 7pm. They arrived early, shortly after we ordered, and we were surprised when an elderly fellow suddenly launched himself at our table, pointed a gnarled finger at our children and announced, ‘mother’s darlings, father’s buggers’, before threatening to get rid of Bill’s beard in his shearing shed, then shuffling back to his table apparently pleased with his effort at social engagement. We quickly finished our unappetising meal then slipped back into our tent before we could be accosted again.

Next morning we awoke unreasonably early due to time differences and were nearly ready to hit the road by 9am (a miracle for us - the original slow starters...). Of course we were still the last ones to leave the caravan park. Just before we left we were pleased to see some old friends (i.e. we had chatted to them for 10 minutes in Eucla) pull up to play the Cocklebiddy golf hole (there is a golf course that runs the length of the Nullabor - quirky idea but a somewhat transparent ploy to give people something to do on the Nullabor crossing apart from complain about the lack of sites and long distances). They had been on the road since 7am so we stopped being smug about our 9am start and hit the road in silence.

Nullabor security patrol...

And then off we went across the Nullabor in earnest – to engage another mad fruit/vegetable eating frenzy before the WA border and to spend the equivalent of our combined annual income on fuel. We stopped at the whale-less Head of Bight to torture ourselves by reading accounts of the fabulous things we could have seen had we been there in July/August – but the cliffs were pretty spectacular so things weren't all that bad. On our first real Nullabor night we stopped at one of the numerous rest areas to camp. It seemed that we were alone there, but as we were putting out the campfire and starting to get ready for bed, a man suddenly leapt out of the trees yelling ‘nullabor security patrol’! We soon regained our composure when we realised he was a harmless odd person, travelling across the desert with his wife (although we never saw her...). They had set up camp on the other side of the rest stop and he was pretty desperate for some social interaction. He told us that the Nullabor was a happening and busy place compared to where they were from (WA wheat belt – near Hyden). He stood and told us funny stories of his life in a slightly manic manner before apologising for not asking us anything about our life then disappearing into the night again. We went to bed slightly bemused and just a tad apprehensive… 

At Border Town, we dutifully admired the big kangaroo and the sign that tells you the distances to various parts of the world, while we ate carrots, parsley, cucumbers and raw broccoli until we were green in the face. We crossed the border into WA and pulled up in Eucla where the kids played happily on a playground that had not been updated since the 1960s (hugest, most dangerous see-saw we have ever seen, a painted old metal tractor and a squeaky swing). Fortunately, they both survived. Bill purchased a lettuce and 2 tomatoes for an exhorbitant price – little did we know that they would be our last fresh veggies for a long time… The kids and Kate were keen to visit the nearby ruins of the old telegraph station (the kids keen because it’s where the Are we There Yet? family eat sandy sandwiches, and Kate because she visited the site with her family many moons ago and got in big trouble for dropping her new sneakers down a chimney of a sand-buried house). Ruins were kind of cool, no sign of Kate’s sneakers but we just stopped Sash from dropping his sandals down the same chimney as a mark of respect for his mother.

Rainbows and lollipops at Fowlers Bay

Bidding farewell to Ceduna, we pointed our noses towards the Nullabor. We stopped for lunch at a fabulous place called Pt Sinclaire (Cactus Beach) which has a picnic shelter decorated with sea-themed mosaics done by local school children and a rather sad memorial to a young local boy called Wade who was taken by a Great White Shark just near the jetty in 1975. There is now a shark-proof swimming area that would have been great if the weather had been a bit warmer.

Then onto our next camping spot at Fowlers Bay. Although a few people had recommended that we camp and fish here, the locals in the town of Fowlers Bay all seemed helpfully confused about the location of the camp site. So we followed our noses across the dunes and eventually found a good spot. There was only one other tent there (two friendly guys from Adelaide who were getting away from it all for a couple of weeks). A massive sand dune next to our tent guaranteed the kids (and ok Kate too) endless hours of amusement and was soon covered by trails of little footsteps up and down. Sash was upset to lose his much loved Yarra Water lanyard (donated by beloved Big Sash) somewhere on the sand dune. So many hours of frantic digging with plastic spades and hands followed – to no avail. The lanyard goes back to the earth…

Next morning was a bit overcast and drizzly but Kate set off for a morning walk along the beach. Not a soul around and the beach looked almost insanely lovely – the sunrise and a dramatic sky setting off aquamarine water and perfect white sand. Flocks of Major Mitchel cockatoos emerged out of the bushes flashing their pink wings, and tiny jumping birds with long skinny legs popped along the waves. The morning sun lit up the huge rock cliffs overlooking the water. Then (of course) a massive double rainbow appeared. It felt like elves and munchkins should pop out from behind the rocks and do a little dance and song about how wonderful life is…  But that’s what it’s all about isn’t it?!

We stayed at Fowlers Bay for a few nights – unable to tear ourselves away from the rainbows. We did the usual things –fishing, walking, riding, driving on the beach and running up and down dunes. Bill did some drinking with the fishing blokes from Adelaide, Zara read her books, and Sash practiced writing number 8 (the racing track) in the sand with a stick.

Weather balloons and wombats in sunny Ceduna

After nervously sticking our heads in the model of a great white shark at Streaky bay (biggest ever caught) and buying completely flavourless rainbow ice-creams (I’m not kidding it was really weird, they were brightly coloured but completely without any taste - serves us right I guess for choosing rainbow flavour), we drove onwards and upwards to sunny Ceduna. We stayed at Shelley Beach Caravan Park where we unpacked our 700 pet beetles (probably causing an infestation in Ceduna – sorry guys...) and enjoyed our first showers in a while. The place seemed to be teeming with children and soon the kids had happily joined a gang that ruled the caravan park on foot and bikes. We met some other families travelling with kids (hats off to the De Sliva family travelling with their 4 boys!) and it was great to compare notes as we ate our dinner in the faux Hawaiian grass hut camp kitchen.

Next day we drove into town and visited the information centre, which was manned by possibly the most unfriendly person we had ever met. When Kate asked whether there was any whales to be seen nearby he looked at her incredulously and asked scornfully where we were from. Whales are never seen, he informed us, before June (idiots). Kate pointed out that all the literature said the season started on May 1 (a few days away) but he was scornful of the literature too. So we just listened obediently while he gave us a fast-paced and snappy monologue on things to do around Ceduna (although we hadn’t asked him about this) while he kept a close eye on the children to make sure they didn’t breathe on any of the souvenir junk for sale.

Next day, we visited a wombat sanctuary where a woman and her daughter care for a menagerie of creatures that have been injured or orphaned. They do a great job and it was cool to see the wombats – including a pair of rare white-haired wombats and some tiny pink babies. Bit depressing to hear some of the stories of mistreatment and cruelty but heartening to witness the passion and commitment of these 2 women (who can never have a holiday, even for one night.. shudder…).  

Burramundi burgers at the cactus café for lunch before stocking up on books at the op shop where the kind ladies praised our two sweet little girls for their quiet attention to the books (Sash’s hair has grown so long now that he gets called a girl on a daily basis – worse since B cut his hair in order to get it out of his eyes but gave him a very pretty little bob!). Zara and Kate visited the indigenous art and culture centre where we watched some of the local artists at work and where the kind lady gave us a bunch of wrist bands and posters from Naidoc Week 2011 (posters are possibly the most useless item for us at the moment, but it was a nice thought). Next stop, the Bureau of Meteorology (as recommended by our buddy at the information centre) to watch the weather balloon being launched. It was somewhat off-putting that the young meteorologist seemed totally bewildered by the apparent interest of a crowd of tourists but we all ooohed and ahhhhed appreciatively as the large orange balloon floated away. Then we left...