Day 67 - Saturday 8 September - More of Onslow

Day 67

Saturday

8 September 

Completed reading book 11 The Silent Wife by A S A Harrison. This was a psychological thriller in the vain of Gone Girl. It was a good read, but didn't reach the lofty heights that it could have managed. 

Onslow

Paul seemed to be feeling brighter this morning, dragging be out of bed at 7am, to enjoy the sun coming up. He was keen to go fishing in Beadon Creek and he knew I would like to wander in the sunshine. 

We bundled ourselves into the car and drove around the perimeter of the caravan park, turning down the groyne road, before finding a place to park on the dirt. I left him to it and took off for the beach. There was no one else around and I happily walked along the sand towards town. 

I watched tiny terns scurry across the sand and picked up shells that interested me. It was worth being up and out. I made my way back to Paul, to be told he had caught a turtle. The fishing line had snagged across its shell, but it came loose when he lifted the line. Unfortunately, that was the sum total of his catch. 

We packed up and returned to the van. I made the bed and breakfast, while Paul went for a shower, keen to remove the stinking bait smell. We ate, checked the net and then made a plan for the morning, our first site; the termite viewing mounds.

Out of town, on the main road there is a place to pull in and check out the spinifex termite mounds. We pulled up in the carpark and began to wander amongst these giant clay structures. There were many, but I think there were even more in a concentrated spot further out of town. We took our time wandering amongst them before returning to town. 

We stopped in at the local fishing shop, asked about places to fish and the bait needed and then we drove on out to Four Mile Creek. We took the road as far as the sealed bit, not keen for the dirt. Paul set himself up once again, while I took off, keen to check out the creek. 

I wandered the creek edge, but it became too boggy and I had to move to the dunes. I decided to head to the beach instead and continued to walk towards the creek mouth. All the while the gas hub loomed ever closer. 

I picked up some more interesting shells along the way, before eventually making it to the creek mouth. I watched the water broiling, as it met the sea and then opted to walk back via the creek. It wasn’t too bad to traverse at this end. I even had a turtle pop up its head and then duck away again, too fast for me to take a photo. 

I made it back to Paul, who had had no luck with the fish, even though there were a few jumping about and some decent splashes were seen. He continued to cast his line, but with nothing interested in the bait, he soon packed it in and we returned to the van. 

Paul took advantage of the free car wash bay and returned with someone else’s car. He said a pile of red dirt was left behind. I am not surprised. We took some time out, before heading back into town for lunch. After eating out at the pub yesterday, we saw another patron enjoying garlic prawns and I had been dreaming about them, so it was only fair it be on the menu for lunch today.

We made ourselves at home in the beer garden. Paul ordered and then we waited for the meals to begin. There were still a few cowboys and girls around the place, but most would have now been out at the rodeo.

When our meals arrived, we dug in heartily. Thankfully the prawns were even better than they looked and I enjoyed every last morsel that I could shovel into my mouth. Paul’s seafood platter also looked the goods and by the end we were well satisfied. 

We did a quick shop at the small supermarket and then drove back to the van for a quiet afternoon. I did some looking into Coral Bay, our projected move for tomorrow. Sussing out the caravan parks and the drive. I went through and sorted out all of the tourist pamphlets and books we have picked up, throwing out some things and bundling others into piles to pass on or keep. 

By 4.30pm, I was getting restless, so we did a wander of the park. We walked up the staircase of the 3 storey unit complex and surveyed the view over the water and back to the town. It was quite blowy. 

We then checked out the dining room and the menu for tonight. It looked good, but after a bit of lunch, was not likely to get a look in. We made our way back to the rec room, settling in on the couch to watch the last 15min of the Swans v Giants final. It was good to see Sydney get a hiding. 

We played a game of table tennis. It was looking a little dire for me to start with, but I came good and picked up the win 21 – 18. We nosed around the other facilities of the room, before making our way outside. 

We walked a lap of the whole complex. It is very large, with lots of accommodation, but most of it appears empty. I wondered if most was used while the gas plant was being built? 

Once back at the van, we sat and surfed the net. I sent off an email to the tyre monitor company to check on warranty, as 7 of the 8 sensors are no longer working. Hopefully we get some joy with that. 

I returned to the 3 story building to take photos, as the sun beat a hasty retreat. I watched until the orb disappeared and the sky changed to all shades of pastel and then made my way back to Paul, where we had a quick dinner of soup, before heading to the rec room to watch the Eagles v Collingwood. 

We arrived at the start of the second quarter, happy to see the home side in front, but the remainder of the match was a topsy turvy affair, that had us and the other spectators on the edge of our seats. Thankfully, West Coast still had enough legs to run out the 4^th, put in the needed goals and eventually walked away 16pts clear. Your Beauty. 

We watched a little of the after-game chat, before wandering back to the van, ready for bed.