3rd Sept., 2012 - Bea Bea to Port Hedland

We awoke to the very strange call of a bird that sounded like a dog &, when we looked out of the window, we could see a kookaburra on the branch of a nearby tree.  We knew that kookaburras 'laughed', but did they 'bark' as well?  Bob consulted his Book of Australian Birds &, sure enough, the blue-winged kookaburra of Western Australia does indeed make a noise similar to that of a dog.

A bush, next to our caravan, was full of the tiniest birds that delighted us as they darted from branch to branch.  Having studied his book again, Bob informed me that some were finches & others were honeyeaters.  A nest, in the bush, contained one tiny, white egg (Charlie was tall enough to take a peep).

We left Bea Bea at 8.40am & had to stop almost immediately due to road works that were making even more clouds of red dust (I've seen enough of it now & am really longing for some lush, green grass!) 

Flocks of budgerigars flew across our path - they seemed to be everywhere & we guessed that the area must be rich in the seeds on which they feed.  Bob was delighted, as he has wanted to see budgies in the wild ever since we first began coming to Australia.

Suddenly, we were warned of an over-sized vehicle approaching &, before we knew it, a police car was coming towards us on our side of the road!  This forced us on to the verge (lucky that it was sufficiently wide & level!) &, when the over-sized vehicle arrived, its load turned out to be the whole width of the road!  Shortly after that encounter, a bull appeared on the verge, so we had more than our fair share of shocks.  By about 9.30am., we'd already seen at least a dozen dead cows, so it was clear that they posed a very real hazard (if only someone would teach them the Highway Code, or fence the poor things in !)  This was a dangerous road, with a steady stream of roadtrains & we already have four chips in our windscreen.  Personally, I'll be happy to leave "the big stuff" behind.

Cooke's Point, our caravan site in Port Hedland, was very pleasant with hard standing for caravans & cars, plenty of space & laid out attractively with trees & bushes.  We settled in, I did the washing & made lunch, then we went for a drive to take a look at the port.  We saw the enormous ships that carry the iron ore & learned that it takes 36 hours to fill them! 

We met a couple from London who are travelling around Australia on a motor bike.  They're sleeping in a tent & relying on the parks for toilets, showers & cooking & laundry facilities.  They have sold their home & arranged rented accommodation for their three grown-up daughters - a big step to take, but they are enjoying themselves.

After dinner, we went to look at the "Stairway to the Moon", which occurs when the full moon rises over the mud flats & creates the illusion of steps.  We could see it clearly, but our cameras couldn't pick it up (we'll just have to buy postcards, of which there are plenty!)  Another experience that we can cross off our "bucket list".