For some strange reason we have both always felt that as we passed the Wooramel Roadhouse we were nearly in Carnarvon, despite the fact that there is still over another 100 kms to run.
Today was no exception,
but on this occasion, as we drove further north we did notice something strikingly different.....Olwyn's rains had transformed the landscape. Thick grass covered the often red, barren plains of the Carnarvon area cattle stations. The local pastoralists would have been rubbing their hands and restocking.
And then, after six months in the south, we were back in very familiar territory.
And soon, another reminder of the passage of TC Olwyn some six weeks previously. The OTC dish, which normally sits at a 45 degree angle, was pointing directly skywards, its angle of least resistance to the wind. We almost didn't recognise it.
Our arrival at the Robinson Street intersection across the way from the entrance to The Big 4 Plantation felt similar to reaching the corner of Brighton Road and Anzac Highway, but this time the Port Hedland sign had more significance....we would soon be heading there.
I'll not bother with repeats of park photos etc, other than one. We set up on this occasion on a site at the opposite end of the park to that which we had occupied over winter. We knew that this was the quieter end of the park, and it was also some distance from a permanent park resident we were happy to avoid for a number of reasons.
But some things never change.....your scribe was soon back on the end of the park lawn mower. Our previous encounter with a local whip snake had prompted Liz to suggest a trim at the back of the van would be in order...only for Max's safety......of course!
In the weeks prior to our return to Carnarvon we had heard numerous news reports about the damage the town had suffered as TC Olwyn ripped through. The banana plantations had been flattened, the mangoes stripped and many houses and other buildings damaged. The town was indeed without proper power and water supplies for over three days, and we anticipated driving into a scene of devastation.
To our great surprise the bananas were all re-growing, and, as can be seen in the previous shot, the mango trees in the Calypso plantation next door to the park were showing little signs of wear and tear. Tree damage and leaf strip in the caravan park had been significant (Paul reported having taken many many loads of broken tree limbs and leaf matter to the dump), but apart from that there was no structural damage.
We did not make a point of going 'damage hunting', but as we drove along River Roads North and South, the aftermath of the cyclone was more than evident in many places such as these ripped and flattened shade nets.
We had not come here to inspect damage, but for another reason. We were about to see a very unusual sight......water actually flowing in the Gascoyne River at Carnarvon. This is a rare event indeed, as I have explained in some detail in previous missives.
And sure enough, the normally dry, sandy river bed, as we had only ever seen it before in all the months of our previous stay, was awash.
Mind you, had we arrived a week later, we may have missed this sight. The water was dropping daily, and it had been much higher at the peak of its post cyclone spate. This causeway had gone under for some days. When the water did recede, tonnes of silt had been left on the road surface. It had been removed when the river fell and was now piled up either side of the causeway.
We did see a number of damaged buildings as we drove around the town, and the shade cloth structures in the plantations had fared very badly, but by and large we were pleasantly surprised to see how quickly thing were returning to normal.
Our arrival back at the Big 4 had all the hallmarks of a genuine homecoming. We were greeted with real warmth by Suzanne and Paul, the park managers, and by many of the permanent residents.
Within a day of our arrival, Margaret and Andrew, the couple who had been running the park when we first set foot in Carnarvon in June last year, and who we had quite coincidentally met again in Bremer Bay in early February, pulled in opposite us. This was becoming a real 'old home week'. They were en route to a new park job in Broome and would be there when we planned to arrive. Andrew suggested we might go fishing together in his small topper.whilst there......oddly enough I was on the phone the next day to extend our planned stay by several days!
Within no time after our arrival, our social calender was full. We shared two evening meals with Suzanne and Paul, neither of which was my planned BBQ in the camp kitchen. You guessed it.....the flies were still with us, so it was indoor dining on both occasions.
Pre-dinner drinks in the Niesler's annex gave me the opportunity to have good game with 'Bill', Suzanne and Paul's very solid blue heeler, the greatest sook on four canine legs. He is an absolute champion dog, and it was very good to see him again
We reciprocated 'Chez Marshie' a few evenings later when I slaved over a hot stove for some hours and presented our (now) famous bocconcini/gnocchi bake. Despite the 'poh' faces of the assembled diners in this photo, we did have a particularly good night and Max was very happy I did not smell of dog!
Apart from all this socialising, we were busy during our short stay. After having the van serviced in Geraldton, it was now the Cruiser's turn. We were keen to be as shipshape as possible before taking on the vast expanses of north-eastern Western Australia and beyond.
This year's flu shots had been a matter of increasing concern to us both. We had been trying to arrange these for weeks, only to be continually told that the need to produce a new vaccine to counter an added strain of flu virus, had delayed its distribution. Fortunately stocks were available by the time we reached Carnarvon. We were duly jabbed and thankful for it.
Needless to say, the shelves of the local Woolies were the subject of a significant raid. We were unsure of what lay ahead logistically until Port Hedland at least. We left Carnarvon with food lockers bulging.
Notwithstanding all this resupply and servicing of both our tug and us, we had come back to Carnarvon to share Anzac Day 2015 with our good mates from the local RSL. Would it meet our expectations?
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