Shake Rattle and Roll

SUNDAY  14 JULY 2019

Owing to our somewhat unsatisfactory sleep we stayed in bed til about 9am and in fact, Jenny had coffee and toast from a reclined position and only could be enticed out by Larry expounding the virtues of the hot showers in the amenities block.

It was still breezy so we once again gave up the idea of going fishing and just went for a drive through the station and along the coast instead.  The tide was out at the nearest beaches and we couldn’t be bothered dropping tyre pressures to drive on the sand so continued north across the mudflats to the north.  You can only drive over the mudflats four days after a high tide and this was the fifth day so we were okay to do so but it still paid to stick to the path as it was clear a few people had tried to drive their own line and had started to sink into the mud before hastily cutting back to the main path.

We drove up to a rocky headland near Mount Blaze and got out of the car for a bit of rock hopping and exploring.  Very scenic with red rock which would once have been coral, the light azure water and mangroves on one side and the deep blue crashing ocean to the other.  After a reasonable effort of rock hopping we sat down on a cliff edge and watched a couple of guys fishing.  They had managed to catch a few fish in the wind and waves but had also lost a reasonable amount of tackle in the process.  Whilst we were sitting there we saw a turtle and also a shark (probably about 3 feet long) which was swimming alongside a big silver fish and seemed to be being harassed by it.

Back in the car and we drove over to the Banningarra creek where some people were fishing and Larry recognised it as somewhere he had previously successfully fished so we decided to go back later this afternoon when the tide is next coming in.  By this time we were getting hungry so headed back to the van for toasted ham and cheese sandwiches.  Just as Jenny was clearing up the dishes in the van, the entire van started rocking and shaking.  At first Jenny thought Larry was violently shoving something into the front boot of the van but the rocking continued and then was accompanied by a rumbling sound like a truck going past.   Larry and people in the nearby vans started calling out to each other as they watched their cars and vans bouncing all over the place and shouting ‘Earthquake’.  It went on for quite a while and was very exciting but at no point did we feel in any danger.   We were soon on phones and internet to find out where the epicentre had been and neighbours reported friends in Broome and Port Hedland who had also felt it.  When I heard the epicentre was just off the coast from us I was a bit worried about the possibility of a tsunami but the caravan park at Pardoo is actually quite a long way from the coast so was sure we would be okay but may have been a bit more stressed if we were staying up the road at 80 mile beach as you are much closer to the ocean there.

After sorting out some fishing gear and waiting for the tide to have turned, we headed back to the creek and threw in some lines.  Not much action and we decided we had got there a bit early as the water line was not rising at all even though the sun was starting to set.  Realising we were more likely to catch a cold than a fish as we had neglected to bring jumpers or lights with us, we cut our losses and made a quick dash to the van to better equip ourselves for night fishing.  Back to the creek and our neighbours were also there and had caught a fish which they were quite excited about until Larry had to tell them it was a catfish and hence inedible.

We then spent a couple of hours catching catfish of our own except for when Jenny thought she had managed to snag her line on a rock only to end up dragging a mud crab out of the water!  It was a good sized one too but Larry wouldn’t let us keep it as we had no way of killing or cooking it and we are on the move again first thing tomorrow.  Oh well, at least I got a photo!

We stayed until 8pm and then headed back to the van for the poor fisherman’s dinner of tinned soup and to begin a pack up ready for an early start tomorrow.