20150616 WA 80 Mile Beach to De Gray

20150616  Stopping at Sandfire Roadhouse which was established 1970 due to a petrol tanker braking down in the area and a demand for fuel from passing motorist was so great that a roadhouse was established.

Sandfire apparently came from one of the last entries in Ludwig Lichardt’s diary about the sand being so hot it appeared on fire. At the side of the store are many old items and memorabilia of the past floods.

I have never seen an albino peacock and this fellow roams free on the grounds, I read it is nothing of the sort, it's technically a white peacock.

Most outback pubs have a gimmick to attract the travellers passing through, this one was street signs & caps but in 1981 when mates of trucker Tom Sheehan decided to forcible trim the sleeves off his ragged shirt which evolved into raising money for the R.F.D.S.  To become a member, cut off your sleeve & pin it to the roof.  For the privilege of destroying your clothing & paying $10 you could join the club, if you cut off the other sleeve you got a discount of $8.  By 1986 over $2000 was raised with over 800 sleeves.

Off to the beach I go to watch the sun set and I wasn’t the only one with the same idea.  Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the stair way to heaven in Broome but from what I heard the sun going down over the beach was a stair way.  

17-06-2015  We decided to stay one more day so I wasted no time and headed to the beach early for some exercise while collecting more shells. The beach was lined with 4 wheel drives hoping for a big catch and every time I asked, caught any mate, I got the same reply, no just nibbles. Some had their chairs set up reading a novel while others walked back and forth checking the lines, one guy asked me if they are catching any down that end, no mate probably the same as you, nothing.  Be back by 12.30 said Des so I would stop and ask the time which ended in a long chat before heading off again, it’s 4 ks back,oops.

This little guy is called the Pied Oystercatcher which is a misnomer as they seldom eat oysters which are found on rocky coastline where these guys live on the sandy coastline.

 80 Mile Beach has many variety's of shells.

All through the park travelers collected shells and made chimes and ornaments that were very creative, ya I bet they just sit at home and you will do nothing with them said Mr negativity, but he's probably right and I collected a wine box full.

I was laying on the beach when this fella walked past and I nearly crapped myself but he headed to the caravan park roaming from one van to the other looking for food.



19-06-2015  I was up early for one more walk before heading off to camp at the De Grey Rest Area for a few days. Another rest area where the cattle lazily roam through the camps taking their time.  Each day we would walk the grounds for a bit of exercise or just for a chat with the many campers.

We were sitting around our fire when we heard a noise so we grabbed our torch and here was this bull in a big ditch spraying himself with dirt.

Sunset on the De Grey River, what a fabulous reflection of the bridge on the water.

For doug and Karen, this fella is called a Blue-winged Kookaburra which I have never seen before, they make a sound like a bark.

There are many Black Swan swim elegantly up and down the De Grey river.

I found this great spot on some grass down further so I took Des for a walk and he asked do you want to stay for a few more days so we quickly walked back to the van and threw everything in the van and moved, at least we were on grass instead of dust.

We found this little fellow who has lost his mum and very much under nourished, Des would love to take him home but we have grave concerns he will not make it through the night and there’s not a thing we can do.

We head out for another walk this time over the bridge to another camp site on the other side of the river then back over the old railway lines which we were told are not used any more, at least we hope not.







The old train line over the De Grey River at sunset.










I was in search of this colored parrot that everyone else had spotted except me and when I looked up there was dribble dick spitting on me, the little prick.

As we travel along I kept on seeing this flock of green birds dart past, what are they I wondered, until now, “Horny Buggies” free, as they should be.  I would watch them in a tree near our van and all they did all day was make out, so I named them the horny little buggers.








It was funny watching them making a nest in the tree, they would disappear down the trunk then return with a mouth full of dirt and spit it onto the ground, this continue all day, so cute.

I had everyone in the camp looking out for this parrot for me then all of a sudden Debbie came running, she’s in the tree, so I grab my camera and managed a few photos, at long last, her name is “the Australian Ringneck”.

Walking back to the van and there was Des arse in the air, what is he doing?

Opp! caught out having a shave and wasn’t impressed with me snapping him, wait till he finds out I put him on the blog he!he.

22-06-2015  We had drinks with one of the campers who was telling us he only ever drives at a speed of 70 to 75 in a 110 klm zone, ge the trucker's would love you we said, no they prefer it that way, they can pass easier.  We kept quite until we got home and thought, what a load of crap, it's dick heads like that that cause accidents.

23-06-2015  Des, I'm off to dump the rubbish, then I could here him and this couple up from us laughing their heads off, next he returns with the rubbish, why did you bring the rubbish back I asked, I got distracted telling John and Sandy this Kiwi couple about our friend who drives at 70 ks and they cracked up laughing. 

John and Sandy invited us over for a drink on our last night, well! we laughed all night or until Des dragged me off to bed, spoil sport.

Sandy and I having a laugh and a few to many drinks but who’s counting.

24-06-2015  I loved this camp spot with the cattle and Bull roaming through the camp, the many species of birds life, great photos of the bridge and railway at sunset and a creek to top it off, what more could you ask for.