Wed 17th September – Day 130: Quobba - Monkey Mia (433km)

Despite a little chemical help which enabled me to drift off, I had little luck with the sleep thing, the ‘pat pat’ of rain on the roof got us both up to pack away chairs, towels and other gear outside, only to climb back into bed as it finished. Then the surf was just too loud (sad problem to have eh!).
The sky is blue, but the wind has picked up again, and the swell is larger still, which means too rough for swimming. So fortified with caffeine via liptons, we packed up the trailer and before departing watched the whales leaping and tail slapping off shore on their way down the coast.
I drove first leg in the hope of a sleep later on, plus the dirt road will keep me awake. We crossed the 764km long Gascoyne River on our way into Carnarvan for supplies and were dismayed to see the empty river bed below (how can Carnarvan supply 70% of WA’s winter vegies without water?). Later I read the river is unusual in that the water sits unseen below the riverbed in underground reserves, protected from evaporation by the sand. Periodically the river flows visibly after heavy rains, but this quickly subsides through the river sand to underwater aquifers, and from here is drawn for the town supply and the plantations.
A woollies stock-up, fuel (cheap at $1.81/L) and we are back on the straight flat bitumen ….a few wildflowers on the side of the road, the only interesting thing in a harsh landscape.
Storm clouds gather all afternoon – maybe the car and trailer will get a well deserved wash… as long at it stops for set-up! 3:45pm passing through rain squalls, some very heavy, although still not sure if the car is getting cleaner or just smeared with red dirt! 4pm still pelting down outside, temp has dropped to 18°C, something we haven’t seen since leaving Centre.
We arrived at Monkey Mia around 5pm to find our booking had been stuffed up and although we could indeed stay 3 nights, we would have to move for each one – not satisfactory and we ended up in the emergency flow-over spot just beside reception. Slight drizzle as we set up but everything cleared by sundown and we hurriedly made our way around the resort to see what’s doing. First stop the beach where the dolphins come in and to our delight a mother and calf (only 15days old) was swimming right next to the wharf.
Back in winter Jammies tonight and lamenting the loss of the hot weather!
Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort (Powered $44)