Days 21 to 23: Cyclone damage

Hi all …. We’re back!  Sorry that we have been a bit out of touch the last few days – we have been staying in Eighty Mile Beach – which is kinda in the middle of nowhere and has no connection with the outside world (except call boxes) – and we have been here for three nights – hence the blog silence.

So …. Eighty Mile Beach Caravan Park - a few things of interest.  Mark and Heather Finger were here this time last year and it was a very different place.  Palm trees, green grass, lovely surroundings ….. well that was all blown away in Cyclone Laurence that came through in December last year – directly over Eighty Mile Beach Caravan Park at category 5!  The place was literally obliterated!  The neighboring cattle station lost

1,500 cattle.  As Rich and I drove in, we looked at each other with some surprise – honestly, it looked like a bomb had gone off in the place!  The owners have done an extra-ordinary job in getting things back on track and the caravan park is still a nice place, but everywhere there are broken off trees, regrowth on tree stumps, bent and dead palm trees, bits of corrugated iron in incongruous place.

Eighty Mile Beach itself …. is …… eighty miles of beach – it is quite weird to see everyone driving on the beach – you are allowed to do that here, and of course lines of fishermen and fisherwomen up and down the beach.  We must admit, that even though the Fingers told us that this was the best fishing around, and Rich even bought ME a fishing rod so that I could join in the fun … we have not seen ONE FISH caught in the three days we have been here – the excuse is the water is cold!  (Seriously – that is what they are saying – fishermen are a sad puppy bunch!)  Rich has tried along with a couple hundred others …. He even spent a couple hours out there doing night fishing – there is no doubt that the best place to catch fish is in a fish sanctuary – a bit like he did on Rottnest Island! J (shh – don’t tell). But more on the 80 mile beach. The tidal change here is massive and the beach is probably the most gentle sloping beach that I have ever seen (you can wade at least 100 meters at any tide). This means that at low tide you can walk almost half a kilometre further out to sea. And then to look left and right and see beach all the way to the horizon.

So what was the second cyclone you ask – well ….. we arrived at Eighty Mile Beach Caravan Park in sad shape – we had been attacked by a huge bout of homesickness, overwhelmed by exam nerves, feeling a little stunned by the ugliness of the mining industry between Karratha and Port Hedland (I knew that the mining was big in the Pilbarra, but could not believe the 1.5km trains, running 24/7 out to 18 massive ore ships waiting on the horizon at any one time, then repeated again at Port Healand) and generally wondering what the heck we were doing living in a little box on wheels that is only twice the size of our bed at home, trying to study on the road, wondering how the world is coping without us?  It had to come I suppose – everyone knows that a different era of life brings a honeymoon period, then a bit of bump back to reality – what we are happy to say, is that we were out of range for that period of time so you didn’t have to put up with our whinging, and we are now recovered and back on the road (literally and figuratively!)  Two days of straight study has done lots in getting me back on track, and Eighty Mile Beach had a charm (something to do with long walks, talks with God, beautiful sunsets, hours of lone fishing and amazing night skies) that makes one feel better about everything.

So what were the highlights of these few days?

For Kim:          our last night we sat on the beach and watched the sun go down – see the photo – it was just wonderful – peaceful, beautiful, healing and humbling.

For Rich:         Seeing Brolga’s and a different kind of wallaby – which he doesn’t know about and can’t find out about until we get back into internet contact! (hey I loved the sunset too)

As you have probably worked out by now, one of our favourite occupations is people watching – and this caravan park has provided plenty of that.  It has a really interesting grey nomad vibe – we have concluded there are a number of transients (like us) and a number of ‘permanent residents’.  These are the vans that get to have the sites with grass, and then the grass grows under their vehicles.  These are the vans that have fairy lights and Aussie flags (or Geelong, British etc depending on their allegiance) decorating them (interesting semiotics here).  Out of these vans come the ladies who run a market …. Yes, you read it right.. a craft market is held in the centre of the park on Wednesday and Saturdays – jam, shell craft and soap are sold – a book swap.  Then there is ‘hamburger night’ where everyone gathers in the grassy centre to have a meal of hamburgers together … and did I mention the ‘sing-a-longs’?  I do have to say that these people have a marvellous time – they get together at every opportunity, they laugh, they smile, they party (okay everyone is in bed by 10 pm, but they have fun before then!)  It is quite delightful!!  You have gotta admire older people who get out there and have fun … the best part about being a grey nomad is that you don’t have to impress anyone anymore – as can be seen by the old leather-skinned guy who struts around the park in budgie smugglers and gum boots with a fishing rod over his shoulder …. And the ladies who wear tiny denim shorts and spaghetti strap tops with skin so wrinkled even an iron wouldn’t help – but heck, they are tanned and having fun – and probably too old to care about skin cancer!  Then there is the cleaner, again a grey haired lady who rides a quad bike around the park, complete with all her cleaning gear, again in shorts and skimpy t-shirt – she is having a blast even as she cleans the loos.  I have just been to the loos at 9.30 pm for my pre-bed ablutions, and there she was wiping the sinks – I asked her why she was cleaning at 9.30 pm at night and her response … ‘well dear, I like everything to be nice for the early birds tomorrow morning.’ 

So …. Where to from here … we are in Broome for the next week.  The plan is to settle into the caravan park, and I will study and Rich will play … fishing, exploring, bird watching, possible another dive and definitely a barramundi!!  We shall be in touch again every day!  And in a week – it will all be over … the studying that is!  Yay!

Follow us on Google Maps to Broome