Day 24 - Friday 27 July - Sitting Pretty in Roebuck Bay

Day 24

Friday

27 July

Barn Hill Station

I was happy to stay in bed and rest. Paul was reading for a fair while, but I was keen for the extra couple of hours of shut eye, eventually rolling over just after 8am. I didn’t continue the lay in, crawling out not long after and getting into breakfast. 

We did a net check, wished Damon and Michael a happy birthday, messaged Dad, he has two more lambs, and then readied ourselves to start the day. Paul had his fishing gear all organised and was keen to get to the shore just before high tide kicked in at 10ish. 

I grabbed the camera and the esky and we made our way down the stairs and onto the sand, walking, as instructed by a friend, to the right of the rocks and set up amongst the other fishers. I perched on the esky surveying the landscape and the people out enjoying a beach walk. It was warm today and not as windy, perfect conditions for fishing, but someone forgot to give them the message. 

Paul tried all the different baits he had, but they weren’t even touched, which was rather disheartening. I got more enjoyment out of watching the breaching whales dancing above the water and then fin slapping the surface, sending great geysers into the air around them. 

We gave up on the fishing and returned to the van for 1030am. I was happy to go off and have a shower in the roofless amenities, while Paul got busy swapping over the trailer tyres and then the tyre pressure sensors. I returned to the computer, looking through the photos and just catching up on stuff. 

We had lunch and then opted to head to the beach for a wander of the southern end. The beach was absolutely deserted by the time we got there, all the oldies off having their afternoon naps. We walked the length of the beach admiring the rock formations, colours and textures. 

Paul found a half dozen crazy crabs, that he collected and then let go, so that I could take photos of them as they scurried away. They were funny to watch, pulling down the hatches of their shells the minute trouble was smelt. 

We made our way back towards the van, people now out scouring the beach. We had spotted a turtle on our way down the beach, but saw no signs of life on our return, not even the 4.5m croc that was about yesterday. 

Once we were back at the van, I went off to the shop and bought a couple of icecreams to enjoy quickly before they melted. We hung out in the van for the next hour, the fan on, as it was quite warm. By 4pm I was thinking about being on the move again, wanting to catch the golden light of sunset. 

I left Paul and made my way down to the beach, heading for the pinnacles. There were plenty of people on the beach now, enjoying the glorious afternoon. I took photos of the various rock structures that took my eye, some even forming interesting shapes that I was giving nicknames too. 

Paul eventually found me on the beach, he had his bucket and was out looking for crabs to use as bait. 5pm came and the sun was well and truly on its way out. I was happy to hang in the one spot waiting for the dusky light, so Paul went back to the flat rocks to scour for more crabs. 

I was rewarded for my patience, with the colour changing and the full moon appearing between the pinnacles. Yippee. I snapped away, hoping to take a winner. Once the sun had disappeared it began to get dark quick and I was conscious I was on the beach alone. I packed up my gear and made for home. Paul was still on the rocks, so I met up with him at the bend and we walked back to the van together, just beating the dark.

Once in, I put dinner together and loaded the photos at the same time. We ate and then I set about going through the photos, there were a handful of good ones to work with. The night began to slip away and before too long, my eyes were beginning to fade and I knew it was time to give up the computer work and retire to read until sleep arrived.