Today started out with a starfish hunt, I realise that they are not aggressive or dangerous, but they are difficult to find. It was low tide so I walked all the way out on the tidal flats in a great big circular patern, about a 3 km walk. Guess what I found, 1 small starfish, 1 large shell and a few smaller shells. There were lots of shell to pick up but the whole area seemed almost devoid of life. Probably I am not a good looker, maybe I walk too fast and am just attuned to seeing what is there. Oh well I will just have to keep practising. We had breakfast, tidied up, did our jobs and took off at about 11am intending to stop about 100km down the road. 
On the way out we saw some people topping up their water tanks, do we stopped to do the same. The water tap was outside the Apache Gas plant and is provided by Apache. The deal is don't wash your car or van, just fill your tanks and put a donation in the Flying Doctor box next to the tap. Apache promise to match the donations dollar for dollar and there is a note next to the tap saying that $4670 has been donated so far and that the Flying Docter will be getting a cheque for $9340. Well done Apache and campers! 
Off we went, at the first spot on our list Elaine couldn't find a suitable site, so off we went again. The next 2 spots had no shade and no other vans, the 3rd spot had no shade and 1 van, so we kept going. We have finished up alongside the Ashburton River, strangely enough because this is a nice spot, near Onslow. The river is quite wide here, lots of trees on the banks and we have seen a couple ducks swimming along, but the water is muddy in colour. 

It would seem that beaches and their accompanying reefs are all different, somewhat like people. We have landed today at 40 Mile Beach Nature Based Camping Area in the Karratha shire south of Karratha. You may recall that a fees days ago we spent some time at Cleaverville which is the other side of Karratha. The caretaker there told us that we would not be able to drive in here, he said that the road required 4wd. It just shows that you have to check for yourself and not listen to the naysayers. We were driving along heading south when we saw the sign and decided to have a look, the road was unsealed but great, much better than the road to Cleaverville. So we are camped at the end of the track, all by ourselves about 29-30 metres from the beach, lovely spot, there are lots of other vans here parked at intervals along the track. Back to the shore and reef, at Cleaverville was high out of the water and rather speccie to look at, here it is flat and completely characterless. The tide still goes out a long way and this afternoon we walked about a km offshore at low tide without reaching the water. The beach itself is sort of light brown sand, much like the beaches on the other side of Australia. It is still nice to be camped by the beach. 
Just to complete the days happenings we spent most of the morning washing our van with water from the Maitland River where we were camped. In fact we actually had morning tea at the traditional 'smoko' time before leaving, I even had a swim. 

Monday 25/8

Another interesting day in fantasy land, at least that is one way of putting it, but in fact it is very very real. Everything one sees here is real but it is very difficult understand the sheer scale of this part of the world.
We left the caravan park at our usual leisurely time and travelled out the Burrup
Peninsula to the visitor centre. On its own this is a very impressive place tracing the development of the offshore gas fields, the onshore processing and the export processes. The investment involved is around $27billion. This visitor centre does not deal with iron ore from Rio Tinto and others or salt. It also doesn't deal with all the offshore development in oil and gas in the region. You certainly can't visualise all this from afar, at least I can't, and even close at hand it is almost like fantasy land. This commentary is totally inadequate but it the best that I can do!
After that we went looking for the Aboriginal Petrographs that have been featured so  strongly in anti-development protests here. We found them, it involved a very strenuous 1km walk over very rough ground, Elaine managed the first section but I completed the the walk. The most exciting thing about the walk was a kangaroo that watched me for a while towards the end of the walk. As you can see I was disappointed in the Petrographs that appeared to be little more than scratchings on the rocks. Admittedly there were a lot of them so one must concede that they are deliberate and meaningful to the aboriginal people.
Tonight we are at a very small campsite on the southern side of the Maitland River, and a very pretty spot it is.

How do I describe today? Interesting to say the least, we have actually fitted quite a bit into the day. This part of the world is really the powerhouse of the Australian economy. Their are a number of ports here, I am not confident of the total but I think 3 - port Hedland, Cape lambert and Dampier plus a host of minor ports operational and being developed. Dampier and Hedland are probably the busiest in Australia and are amongst the busiest in the world. It is really a mind blower just to see it all, in fact every where you look there are things that are difficult to comprehend. Such ad today we went looking for the Cape lambert wharf, supposedly one of the longest, and on the way we passed the parking area for staff on the way to work. The numbers of cats was huge, the number of work vehicles also huge and I lost count of the number of buses to take said workers to work. We then had a look at point Samson and Cossack which were very early ports for the settlement of the north west.  Then drove down here to Dampier where we are on sconces in the caravan park. 

Today is Saturday, see I am keeping up with the real world!
This morning I walked along the beach. Scattered along the beach and occupying about 50% of the shoreline are rocky outcrops. They would be quite nasty if one discovered them by mischance with a boat. In their own way are quite beautiful is not quite the word, characterful (now there is a word for you!) perhaps eye catching is a good description. They are, of course, sharp, random and unusually for reefs mainly black in colour, although there are some variations to that. The other noteworthy thing about this beach is the multitude of sea polished rocks on the shore, my Darwin grandchildren would describe the quantity as 'infinity'. These rocks are all sizes (not huge pickupable sizes), all shapes and an absolute multiplicity of colours. Not just plain colours stripes, circular patterns, random patterns, etc. I have rescued quite a lot of them and if our van was bigger I would have rescued lots more, everywhere you look there are lovely rocks. 
Then we spent the rest of the day working hard at doing very little, mind you we didi do a few jobs and Elaine did a bit of cooking using the BBQ as an oven to make a nice meat loaf. While we are on the subject of food Elaine has been able to serve great meals all the way along this trip. That is quote something as she only has 2 saucepans and a frypan but we have really eaten extremely well. It is always good to be amongst a group of caravaners as you get to meet people as everyone is friendly. 
Late this afternoon we had the first of our nightly drinks, went for another beach walk then had the second and last of our nightly drinks and watched a very nice sunset. 

One of the nice things about retirement is having to remember what day of the week it is today. Now having checked my phone, who says that I am not technologically switched on, it is Friday and probably has been all day! 
We are still at Cleaverville and enjoying the rest by the seaside. My morning walk took me along the camping strip away from the beach. It is a rather featureless landscape dotted with campsites, most occupied but still quite a few vacant. We have spent the day doing little jobs, and walking on the beach collecting shells (Elaine) and rocks (Graham).
Yesterday while we were looking for a suitable campsite we came across a couple well & truly bogged. As we approached the lady came out and waved us away, I was already telling Elaine not to go there and, to give her her due, she was not going there anyway. So we stopped the van, got out and asked if there was anything that we could do. It was really just a gesture as there was no way our van could unbog them, but they may have needed drinks or some such. Certainly they did need someone to give a little bit of moral support, so we did and after a little while Elaine and the lady had a hug and off we went, while they were waiting for a tow truck to come and get them out of the sand. To cut a long story short they phoned us this morning to da ta and we shared a sundowner this afternoon. 

We camped last night at Yule River and like most rivers in this part of the world the is not much water in it. This river is the same as most with some pools of water, but mostly dry river bed. This mornings walk was on the river bed and I had the absolute pleasure of coming across a lovely grotto formed by the river, surrounded by green trees and shrubs plus some large rocks. The rocks probably left over from the bridge construction. After that we packed up and got going on the road once more with plans to have a pie & sauce lunch at the old Whim Creek pub. So we get to pub, which was only 50 kms down the road and, lo & behold, it is closed. So we had a chat to the friendly cocky in the cage, took some photos and moved on. It really is a pity, the old pub was a piece of history and according to a couple of locals we met when we got the main road it has been closed for years, maybe someone will rescue it. 
Next planned stop was at Sherlock River which looked very nice but the parking area was very small and we decided that there was not enough room and moved on again. We then passed through Roebourne looking for a place called Cleaverville, which we had been told was very nice. Our plan was to stay there for a week using it as a base to visit all the sights in the Karratha area, these include Samson, Cossack both historical towns, Karratha itself, Dampier and the Burrup Peninsular. After a lot of searching we found Cleavervile which is a beach and has lots and lots of van parked here, it is also a really nice spot. However the road in is not the best, also not the worst, so we will stay for a couple of days then move on to do our sightseeing. 
Just one more aside. We were blown away by the road systems, existing and under construction at Port Hedland. They were huge and very modern, obviously to cope with the amazing amount of traffic, trucks and 'mine spec' vehicles. After leaving Roebourne we passed another bit of serious road work, a bridge over the rail line to Cape Lambert. While crossing the bridge we had the pleasure of seeing one the huge trains stretching far into the distance both sides of the bridge. 

Tuesday morning saw us tidying up the van, having a last look at the delightful DeGrey River and heading off, next stop Port Hedland. We arrived just before midday, had a look at the harbour which is one of the busiest in Australia, and made some phone calls. Next came the visitor centre which like the rest of the town is showing the benefits of royalties for regions with assistance from BHP. It is 20 years or thereabouts since I was last here and the difference is remarkable, new buildings everywhere and tourist friendly stuff aplenty. So we shopped, watered and fuelled then went looking for a campsite. By then it was dark, we couldn't find the road despite the efforts of our gps and when we did find it couldn't find the campsite. So we headed for the golf club caravan park arriving at about 7.30 pm, which is very late for us to be setting up camp etc. Thus you now have my excuse for not doing a blog yesterday. 
Now today we headed back to town with just a few little things to attend to, but didn't leave until about 3pm. However we are now settled at the Charlie Parker Rest Area on the Yule River. The river is pretty well dry with just a few pools of water but it is still a nice spot. A few other vans are here including a couple that we have met along the way. 

Friday August 15

We have very poor coverage at the moment so these next few blogs will be published when we get proper coverage.
Got up this morning it was blowing its ....... off, we decided to stay at Cape Kerauden as it is a nice spot. We really enjoyed our walk yesterday at low tide, or partial low tide, in amongst the rocks that appeared as the water receded. There were rock pools, mini waterfalls and so on. This is something that sailors don't see very often and it quite a phenomenon, actually quite spectacular. There were no shells to be found as they were all firmly attached to rocks. Anyway after enduring the wind for a while and finding sand getting into the van from every closed window and door we decided that nature had won and we would depart.
Down the road we went, paid the ranger for our one night stand, turned right at the highway to head south once more. Next stop was the DeGrey River which we had been told was great, the comments on Wiki Camps were also very positive. Experience, we are learning slowly as we travel (by which I mean slow learners), to look around before selecting a site. For once we did just that moving along the river away from the highway and found a great spot next to the railway bridge. I will say old bridge because the rails have surface rust so the line probably hasn't been used for a while. On the other hand there are lots of concrete sleepers some dated 2012, so we will see what happens.

Saturday August 16

We are nicely settled here at the DeGrey River and will probably stay for a few days. The site that we have is grassed, flat, has nice shady trees but still has sunny spots for our solar panels. Yesterday Elaine made bread and today she is sorting out her shell collection, it will be interesting to see what she does with them. After sleeping in this morning we went for walk along the railway line over the bridge to the other side of the river. This is the dry season so the river is not in full flow. There is water in there but in pools, quite a number of pools of reasonable size. The view from the bridge is great and shows the rather large size of the river when it is flowing. I would like to revisit this part of the WA at the end of the wet season, the rivers, waterfalls and billabongs must be rather spectacular. There are a lot of rocks around the railway line, apparently quarried locally that are interesting - zebra stripes in various dark colours, although we did see some white stripes, and textures. Surprisingly we collected a few.
Last night we lit a fire and enjoyed a sundowner with our neighbours. One couple we have met and shared campsites with over the past week or so and will continue to as we head south as our itineries are similar.

Sunday August 17

Another day in paradise! We are still camped at the DeGrey River along with a large number of vans, I'm not good at counting them so I'm not sure how many, but I would think at least 50. Some are right on the river bank, some on the high ground well back from the river and some like us in between. All the sites, just space in amongst the trees, are very nice. Most with green grass and shade. In the top section near the road there are 2 sets of toilets, 2 dump points and signs telling everyone about the rest area. It is one of several that we have seen since Kununnurra and they seem to be a result of royalties for regions and in cooperation with the local shire, main roads and the indigenous land rights people. It is my suspicion based on what we have seen here and in the wheatbelt, that a lot of royalties for regions has gone to promote tourism. Tourism can't be our main industry but as mining slows down and our population gets more leisure. It must be an important part of our income mix.

Monday August 18

Still here and I could stay for a few more days, but we are heading off tomorrow, much to madams delight. This morning I walked firstly through the upper area then under the road bridge along the river bank then back through the lower area and along the river bank. At this time of year it is possible to cross the river bed on dry land but there is enough water to attract a few swans, white and black. On the way back I found a tree branch that had been cut and left on the ground, so I dragged it back for tonight's fire (I did the same yesterday). However we are low on BBQ meat so the cooking will be indoors tonight, although we will still have a fire.

So after one night at the Eighty Mile Beach caravan park we have moved on. The park was fine, in fact well set up and despite the number of vans there it was not all squashed up like sardines, but the only thing that the beach has going for it is it's length. Don't get me wrong, it is a nice beach, not pristine white sand but ok, but there are no special features like say rocky outcrops to give it real character. I sound as though we didn't like it, we did it just that one day was enough. This morning I walked over the hill to the beach, got to the top of the hill and did a double take, the ocean was way in the distance, probably more than 1 km away! It was low tide but I have never seen such a large extra amount of beach disclosed. We have seen big beach exposure variations at Broome (I went back and got Elaine so that she could see it) but this was much more. Anyway we packed up again and hit the road, this time aiming for Cape Kerauden and after 100 or so kms and a snack at Pardoo we were right on target. After turning off the main road there was a short piece of sealed road then we were on unsealed road again. A little rougher than yesterday but my driver handled it ok. 
We arrived here at high tide, found a million dollar campsite just a few meters above high tide and set ourselves up. This site if run by the local, East Pilbara Shire and has two sets of ablutions and two dump spots and a nice gazebo and that's it, but it is a lovely spot with a great ocean view. We have spent the afternoon watching the tide recede and expose lots of rock and beach which is always interesting. 

Just found this hiding and gave it new life, sorry for the confusion but now you have it all, in fact some of it twice. 
Somehow the date of my last blog is wrong, it was for Sunday August 10. Be that as it may today is Tuesday, so once again I have missed a day. Sunday nights roast with entertainment was good, the food was a full 3 courses and was very nice. The entertainment was an aboriginal gentleman playing guitar and singing a mixture of songs, the best however were his own some of which were in 'language'. It was also of course a social gathering and we met and shared a table with a nice couple from the eastern hills. 
During the day we wandered down to the beach and it was really nice to swim in 'real' water, funny how the ocean feels different to all the lovely fresh water swimming holes that we have visited. It was also nice to be back on real beaches with white beach sand. Just as a note this station is 43000 hectares, has 8000 head of cattle (I think that I have those number correct) but here is the big one, it has 82km of beachfront! 
Monday morning I went for my usual walk to look around the station, but that didn't work out. What I did notice was the large number of vans in the park, I did not count them but I would say it was over 100. Which, over the 5-6 season adds up to a nice bit of extra income for the station. 
This morning I did my walk along the beach and came a cross some rock formations just begging to be photographed. So back to the van I went, got the camera and photographed these wonderful rocks, all sorts of shapes, red and white or just red or just white, good stuff. Then we packed our bags and got back on the road. Down the rough road to the highway, then about 80 kms down the highway, definitely down as we are heading south, to one of the great rest areas that main roads provides. They are basically level ground, some bitumen, some gravel, toilets, dump spot, gzebos

Somehow 2 posts are missing, the last post dated Sarurday was actually Sunday and Mondays & Tuesdays posts are missing. So I will try to incorporate them into this post. 
Monday morning started with a walk around the caravan park and I was quite intrigued by the number of vans that it accommodates, something over the 100 which, even after running costs would be a nice addition to the station income. The station is 43000 hectares and runs about 8000 head of cattle for the live export market and this caravan park has been in existence for about 27 years. The park is absolute beachfront, of which the station has 82 kms. Later in the day we went down for a swim to find that the tide was out and the beach had become a rocky reef. Tuesday morning I took my walk along the beach and came across some absolutely spectacular rock formations, good enough that I went back to the van, got the camera, then went back and took lots of photographs. Around 10am, the usual vacate you parking spot time we took off, braved the rough road and, once more, headed south. 
Our camp for Tuesday was the Stanley 24 hr Rest area. We were the 5th van in, but by nightfall that number had swelled to 25. These rest areas since Kununnurra are rather good, consisting of a flattened area part bitumen and part gravel, ablutions, dump point and gazebos provided by main roads and we presume maintained by the local shires. 
From the Stanley rest area we continued south, again turning of the main road onto an unsealed road. This one was reasonable and led us to the Eighty Mile Beach Caravan Park which, strangely enough is situated on the Eighty Mile Beach. We will probably stay here for a day or two, so more later my fingered are getting tired. 

Caught you didn't I? You thought that I would forget again, but here I am to do today's blog. 
Last night our solo campsite stayed solo, nobody else stopped to join us and nobody came to annoy us, so basically it was successful. Elaine lit one of her pyrotechnical fires using wood cut with our new chainsaw and we enjoyed a BBQ meal. This morning I took a walk up and down the road, but there was nothing special to see, just bushes and grass. Then at the early hour, for us, of 8.30am we were on the way with the spare driver, me, driving. 15km down the road we turned off onto an unsealed road and drove 9km to Barn Hill Station caravan park. The road was a bit rough but was manageable for the short distance involved through 2 station gates, which naturally had to be opened and closed after our transit. There were also quite a lot off vehicles going the other way, so it was fairly likely that we would be able to book in. Which we did choosing a site that had power, shade and limited ocean view. Not quite millionaires row but very nice, the best views are on a sand dune type cliff face with uninterrupted ocean views, but very little shade, no power and everyone had a generator ready to go!
We set up settled in, Elaine did a bit of her washing and we went down to the beach. The walk is only about 100mtrs to the staircase down, probably 100 steps, to a big, beautiful, white sand open ocean beach. The was our first salt water swim since leaving home, in fact my first beach swim in I don't know how many years, and it was very refreshing. The difference between fresh water and salt water for swimming is quite noticeable. The other thing about this beach is the beautiful rocks of many sizes, many shapes and colours, mainly the colours are red and white stripes. Tonight is roast night, bring your own plates, cutlery, chairs, table,etc but a 3 course roast for only $16!

Mr double slack here, missed another night but I have a slight excuse. The caravan park put on a sausage sizzle with music, bring your own chair and drink, which was very pleasant. We also caught up with a couple from an earlier campsite. 
We were up early, for us that is, leaving Thursdays camp at 7am to drive in to Broome. The van was booked in for a service, so we dropped it off and got a car from the service company and started to make the best of the day. First up we got a site at the Pistol Club Overflow park, they are only the allowed to operate when the major parks are full (so we were told) and they are full. The major parks also charge $15 to $20 per night more. Next to Bunnings where I got a cordless chain saw to enable me to cut wood for fires. Then to Chinatown to look around have a milkshake, pick up the water cap that I left in Fitzroy Crossing that had been posted down to us and to do a bit of shopping. The shopping part didn't happen because madam didn't need anything that could sit in the hot car. Cable Beach looked beautiful, although there was not many travelling boats in view, and we had a walk on Gantheume Point. At 2.30pm we called in to get my paddie and, surprise, the van was ready. Back to the shops to pick up a few bits and pieces then off to the caravan park. 
This morning, up at our usual hour, I had a walk up and down the road and around the park. We cleaned up and headed for the Broome markets. They have a good reputation and are much like any other markets, lots of very active and good food stalls, plus the usual hsndcrafts, clothing etc. After the markets we headed out of town looking for somewhere to park for the night. Another surprise madam stopped on a deserted rest area, maybe someone else will join us!

Mr Slack here missed last nights report!
Yesterday we packed up and left the station long after everybody else, in fact it was probably close to midday before we got on the road. In the morning I did my usual walk around the property, or part of it. There were water tanks and a pumping station run by solar power, there was a 22,400 watt solar array which I guess powered the whole place. There was also a big collection, a really big collection, of rusting farm equipment. The station had a lot of horses, in fact they offer horse riding tours etc, and I had the pleasure of watching one of the handlers working with one of their foals. After leaving there we headed back into Derby where Elaine send off a couple of parcels and I had a look at the old goal. The old goal told a very sorry story of the treatment meeted out to aborigines early this century, in fact up to relatively recent times. Then down the road we travelled to the Nillibubbica 24 hour rest area, like the others that we have seen since leaving Kununnurra it is basic but has ablutions, gazebos and a dump spot (for black water). It really is a small world, Elaine started talking to a couple in a motorhome parked near us and it transpired that he, the male part of the couple, had sailed with me on Ben Adam to the Abrolhos Islands some 30 years ago!
We have stayed put today as we have booked the van for a service in Broome tomorrow. This gave us a chance to partially repack the van. We have also met another Swiss couple travelling with their 2 children. That is also amazing as me met another Swiss couple back in Queensland. 
More tomorrow. 

Another day in the life and times of the gypsy Cohens. 
Left our camp, almost last out as usual, heading towards Derby. It was quite a good camp, labelled as Ellendale 24 Hour Rest Area, bitumen hard stand area with gravel edges on 2 levels and relatively flat, so that it was fairly easy to get the van level (although we did have to use our levelling ramps to be really level!). Probably about 30 vans in the area and room for more without being too overcrowded. The problem was, and is for a lot of similar sites, the rubbish bins were overflowing. The local shire does service them but if the site is busy they get overfull. As we left we saw on the other side of the road and about 3-4 kms further on a lovely spot next to a billabong, never mind maybe next time. 
Derby was  a bit over 200 km away and we got in shortly before midday. First port of call, as usual, the visitor centre, in this case a very nice building with lots of information and good helpful & knowledgeable staff. Then to look at a museum run by the local historical society. It is unmanned, one get the key from the visitor centre and returns it with a gold coin donation after the visit. I spent quite a bit of time there as there is a lot of information, too much to completely absorb, but I try to get as much as possible. Elaine took advantage of our phones being in range for the first time in days, phone coverage in WA is not good. Then off to the wharf to see it at low tide. The tide range here of 11 metres is one of the largest ranges in the world, we will endeavour to look tomorrow at high tide. After a bit of shopping, surprise surprise, we drove 15 km out of town to our nights stopping point at Birdwood Downs Station, more about it tomorrow. 

Well first of all a correction to last night, we were actually about 140kms from the precious nights camp. 
Now today was interesting, firstly a long chat with some people we met back in Queensland. Interesting people, he is growing trees specially bent and twisted to make very unique walking sticks and I am very keen to see the results, probably still a year or two away. Then we took our house back on the road and drove into Fitzroy Crossing, from there we took the ranger run cruise on Geike Gorge. This was very interesting and something that I have heard about for many, many years and really wanted to see. The gorge is about to be renamed by the local indigenous people, but silly me, I have forgotten the new name. Anyway, whatever the name it is a lovely and interesting place. We then moved on to tonight's camp about 80 kms west of Fitzroy Crossing, that involved driving into the sun at dusk, something we have not done previously on this trip and won't do again (it is the most dangerous time for animals crossing the road). So we are at a nice campsite, have caught up with friends from a previous camp and met some new people with a van like ours and a timetable like ours.

How to I put this, tonight we are camped, along with about 20 other RVs, on top of the world. We are at a place called Ngambun Cliff which as the name suggests stands well above the surrounding countryside and provides phenomenal view. It also provides, if you take the time & effort to walk down the steep hills dome very pretty multi-coloured rocks. We both did that walk this afternoon. We are only 40km from last nights camp and found this place by accident......it just looked like a photo opportunity. The area is level and bitumised with toilets, tables, gazebos and a gravel overflow area. 
Tomorrow onward towards Fitzroy Crossing. 

I have just discovered that yesterday's blog did not get published. So I will do a summary just for the record. 
We left the Muluk campsite, well after most of the others, and headed for the Bungle Bungles. The turnoff was just down the road from our campsite but the national park was a further 53 kms off bad road, they only allow 4wd vehicles and suggest 2-3 hours for the trip. After enquiring at the caravan park, just 1km of bad road in, about the tour which was all day, covering various things including the park and 2 meals and was very expensive I decided no go and we moved on. Halls Creek was next, we fuelled up, took a trip out to the so called China Wall and moved on. 
Our camp for the night was at the Mary River 24hour Rest Stop, which was nice, crowded and the usual basic.

Well I hope that all you good people realise just how hard it is sitting around out here and driving (or in my case being driven) around looking at Australia. Someone has to do the hard yards so we will join the thousands of others trying to take the pressure off all you people slaving away at home. 
Last night there were 76 vans in this camp, the night before 79 and this is just one of hundreds, or is it thousands, of free camps around Australia plus there are even more caravan parks. Apparently there are 500,000 registered RVs so the migratory population is huge and must account for a fair proportion of the income in a lot of small towns. Enough philosophising it is another lovely day and we have stayed put. This morning I walked along the almost dry river bed without seeing the resident freshwater crocs, although Elaine has seen them since and taken photographs. What we have had though is a small herd of cattle wandering around the camp checking us out. There has also been a bit of bird life to watch.