CircumOz 11 - Sue & Doug: Days 61-63 Tuesday 14th June

Happy Birthday Geoff

We left Karijini this morning at 8.00. It was cold last night, down to about 4 degrees again. It was Geoff’s birthday today so there was much excitement. We drove out to Peawah River camp area and camped there the night with about 15 other vans and cars. Unfortunately there was no water in the river which seems to be the case for most of the rivers around here. The weather was windy but not as cold, even though I still wore long pants, socks and a jumper to bed.

That night we celebrated Geoff’s birthday with a carrot cake made by Lorelle in their oven.

Distance travelled today 349 kms

Total distance travelled 9618 kms

Day 62 Wednesday 15^th June

Go the maroons!!!

We left Peawah R. this morning at 8.00 and drove to Point Samson. It is a lovely little seaside village near Karratha.

There is a mine nearby with the miners living at Wickham, a town about 9 km away. You can see the ships waiting off shore for the ore off the point here.

We looked around Point Samson and had tea at the local Tavern. Unfortunately the football wasn’t on until 8.30 so we went back to our vans and watched it there. What a shame! The third game will be fantastic.

Distance travelled today 164 kms

Total distance travelled 9782 kms

Day 63 Thursday 16^th June

Happy Birthday Sue (me)

We had a wonderful day today. I was awoken at 6.00 this morning with a text from my son, Dan, but it was lovely. All of my children rang throughout the day so I was extremely happy. I do miss the family and it is always great to hear from them.

We went to a town called Cossack. It was a thriving town from1880 until about 1910 because of the pearling industry and gold mining, however it died out very quickly when other places were found. There are still relics from the early township there and it has been done up to showcase the early history of the area. It was fascinating. We spent about 2 hours wandering around. There was a school house, a courthouse and a jail as well as other ruins and lookouts.

Apparently the old school house was blown down by a cyclone and this new, sturdier school house was built out of blocks. A little girl, Laura Peirl, was playing and got a rusty nail stuck in her foot. She died of tetanus and was buried in the local cemetery. It was very sad.

Then we went to Roebourne where the Visitor’s Centre is built in the old gaol. It was interesting too.

We finally got into Karratha at about 1.30 when we had lunch and did some shopping. I got a few vouchers for my birthday and it was good to spend some of them. We got back to Point Samson at about 5.00 ready to watch the full moon rise over the water. It was a beautiful sight.

Doug cooked tea and cleaned up so it was a great day.