Reflections at Yarraloola

For  RV ‘s, rest areas are welcome breaks on a long journey, with minimal set-up and basic facilities.  We tend to regard them as just a waypoint on the road to a real destination.  Often, they have little more than that to offer.  However, Yarraloola Rest Area on Highway 1 was definitely an exception, and we were happy that we arrived with plenty of daylight in our pocket.

Fronting the Robe River, there are campsites on both sides of the highway.  The official site is sealed with all the facilities.  The other side is unsealed, no facilities but clearly you could stay here longer than the mandatory 24 hours. 

There is a lot of bird life here, but it’s the cow life we really noticed.  Apparently they consider the rest area as part of their paddock, so we were surprised to find one at our kitchen window when we were making our morning coffee.  They treat us with feigned indifference which we appreciated given how big they grow ’em out here. Taking photos and looking for the best angles can sometimes be a bit of treasure hunt. To get the best shot of the bridge across the Robe River, I walked back across it and down the embankment. I got the shot and I also discovered an elephant’s graveyard of firewood. Our stock was getting low and with three weeks on the beach at Ningaloo Reef coming up, this was a great find. Tamika and I went back the next morning with shopping bags and a splitting axe and now we’re chokkas.

This time of the year it was possible to walk a fair way down river bed. I used the other campsite as my starting point, and soon found myself in the middle of the river. What was really interesting was how the river bed moss survives the dry season. It turns into something like a white thick matted spider web -type fabric, almost a hessian covering of the river bed. I assume it’s a “just add water” situation during the wet season to bring it back to life. We have seen so many dry river beds in the last six months, we’re starting to think we might come back this way in a few years time, just to experience the flip side – Jurrassic Park landscapes and raging torrents.

The things that just jump into your mind…… When we set out on our sojourn, we were focused on the obvious destinations and the getting there. Sure, we enjoyed every stop along the way, but it was on the way to somewhere else. It wasn’t until a few days ago, that a Zen like state wrapped me like a warm blanket. I had become one with the journey (lol). Destinations are now somewhere off in the future with no particular timeline to guide us. It has slowed us down, but in a good way. We may get to Perth by December, we may not. A case of doing less, enjoying it more, I guess.

We arrived in Exmouth four days ago and staying at a caravan park. We’ve booked in the van for that overdue service on Thursday and then we’re off to Ningaloo Reef and the Coral Coast. This is going to be a highlight for sure. Now internet in this area is non-existent (apparently), so if we ‘go dark’ for a little while, I promise that it will be worth the wait.