WE GO 'OFF THE AIR' FOR A WHILE AND PLAN AHEAD (12 MARCH 2015)

We have just spent the past two weeks in Esperance where I have been valiantly trying to match the blog to real time.  As is clearly evident, I have failed miserably!

Tomorrow (Friday 13 March) we are off to The Duke of Orleans Bay, a tiny holiday and fishing hamlet on the coast some 80 kms east of Esperance.  Lying between Cape Le Grande and Cape Arid, ‘The Duke’ is the last outpost of civilisation right on the coast (apart from Israelite Bay) west of the Great Australian Bight.  By all accounts the coastal scenery and beaches are stunning and the fishing is excellent.  We shall see.

One of the prices to be paid for this isolated ‘commune with nature’ is a lack of wireless access to the outside world.  Apart from one small area in the park, mobile phone communication is all but impossible, and as for Internet access, there are two applicable words...”Forget it!”

So, dear readers, the pages of the MobileMarshies blogsite will be the subject of an enforced sabbatical for the next ten days or so at least, possibly longer.  I have just worked out how to transfer text from another off line programme to the site, so remain hopeful that I’ll be able to make some significant inroads into the backlog during our stay.

With the latest forecast predicting that we shall be tucked up for two or three days over the weekend as the remnants of Cyclone Olwyn drop a considerable spot of moisture even this far south, I may have some time on my hands. Apart from any other challenge, I have over 600 Esperance photos to sort and edit!

Whilst I’m at it, we have now consolidated our travel plans for the next six weeks or so for any who may be interested.

From The Duke we are retuning west to spend a few days either back in Esperance or in another tiny coastal gem, Munglinup, before turning out heads northwards to travel through Ravensthorpe, Lake King and Hyden, where we’ll take in the famed ‘Wave Rock, before returning to Perth for Easter.  

Liz has decided to complete her compulsory annual nursing competencies prior to our push up the coast and on through the NT to FNQ. This can only be achieved in Perth. Whilst there we are also hoping to catch up with very good Perth based friends for one last time before we leave WA for the foreseeable future.

On Tuesday 7 April we have booked another two nights at Moora (we loved it there last year).  From there it will be a return to Geraldton where we have arranged to have the van serviced.  Thence it will be another ‘return visit’, this time to Horrocks Beach where the new managers are old mates from our Cervantes stay almost a year ago.  Two nights with Barb and Bruce and we are off to Kalbarri to spend some time with our erstwhile Bremer Bay friends, the Blacks, before we make our way to Shark Bay (Hamelin Pool and Denham) for just under a week. A return to Carnarvon for Anzac Day (and to have the Cruiser serviced) is next on our agenda, with a planned three days at Coral Bay to see out the month of April.

And beyond that we have no firm plans or commitments as we make our way steadily north, other than that we have arranged to meet two of our very good friends from Adelaide (ex-neighbours from Oleander Street) in Broome on 20 May and have to be on the Qld coast at Kurrimine Beach on 13 July. 

So, until we meet again in 'blogsville' in a couple of weeks, it's not goodbye, but merely “adieu”.