Weipa

freedom!

Another very long day along dirt roads to get here.  12 creek/ river crossings just getting out of the national park back to the development road!  I didn’t know that you could get jet lag from driving on corrugated dirt roads for 6 hours, but it seems you can. 

Weipa is a classic little red town – built around the bauxite mine.  The caravan park is situated right on the beach that you don’t swim in, of course.  It is picturesque – and the locals have lots of fun riding quads and bikes along the sand, which is perfect for it.  The boys particularly loved watching one bike rider show his talent of doing “wheelies” in front of them
 

So far we have worked out that the three most popular things to do here are to stock up supplies from Woolworths (which the park backs onto), have a hot shower and queue for a washing machine.  Oh, there is fishing, but the fish are just not biting at the moment.  Same story all around this side of the gulf really.  So we combined the first three attractions with a morning of school work, a drive around the area in the afternoon, learning about aluminium, and then starting to sort the car ready for leaving the camper at the next stop.  Nicholas is counting down sleeps till we get to put up the tent.  I am praying for dry weather – which is not on the forecast!

ps. we did get some time on the beach again this afternoon - and unfortunately Nick dropped the bolt from his "very important D shackle" in the sand.  (it was his second D shackle - the first one he lost the day before on the same beach - Ben had given him another one to relpace it)  Devestated, he spent a very long time looking for it, determined to find it before we left town.  Ben couldn't sit by and watch, so joined him in his hopeless search.  I had been wondering whether Ben was in fact looking for it, or utilising the time to convince Nick it wasn't worth the effort, and so joined them to plead they give up... just then, joy of all joys - Ben found it!   Nick's grin returned to his face.

search for the precious D shackle...