Once again, we left The Cove @ Point Samson with some regret. Not that we ventured too far as we stopped in Roebourne for morning tea at the fabulous Ieramugadu Café and an extra potter through the Ganalili Centre. I couldn't help myself, purchasing another fascinating volume of Yindjibarndi history.
Also inside the centre was "Healthfull Eats" operated by sisters Sherrie and Penny, who provide delicious and nutritious takeaways. Their spiced pumpkin soup and savoury muffin was more than enough to be shared by Michael and me on the road and was amongst the best pumpkin soups I'd ever had!
And thus, we hit the road, bound for my date at the Hedland Health Campus to receive my second Pfizer vaccination. Fortunately, there was only a two hour drive to manage and we arrived with plenty of time at the Covid Vaccination Clinic at the hospital. Only Michael parked himself, the dogs and the caravan at one end of the campus and the clinic was right up the other end. At least I had my daily walk.
The clinic was brisk and efficient. The two nurses and the young lass on reception had perfected their routine and I was in and out in no time. In fact, they were so quick to call me in that I inadvertently exclaimed "F*#k a duck!" which caused all concerned to collapse into fits of laughter. My explanation that I was a Beverley Hillbilly produced further howls of mirth. I was most impressed by the clinic and the staff.
The Discovery Park at Cooke Point was reasonable, albeit expensive (by our standards). I noticed that there had been more landscaping carried out, which certainly softened the surroundings, but the sites were tight and difficult to access. All in all, the caravan park had a slightly tired appearance and at sixty dollars a night for a squeezy powered site, we may rethink staying in Port Hedland next year.
However, a late afternoon drive along the coast to the Port was just the ticket. The foreshore, with the sea, even a few waves and the mangrove nurseries were a calming combination after the previous busy few hours. We let the dogs out for exercise at the little beach opposite the Dome café with spectacular views of the juggernauts tied up at the massive wharf facilities.
Stella wisely left the remains of a deceased stingray well alone and delighted in scampering and sprinting in and out of the shallows. I gave a fleeting thought to the estuarine crocodiles that could have been lurking in the shadows, but hoped that if Stella encountered one, she would have just outmaneuvered the predator. As it turned out, she enjoyed a wonderful playtime and Pip trotted about in the style of a grand elderly chap.
We retired back to the caravan park and enjoyed a quiet and uneventful evening. We packed up swiftly enough in the morning to head to the Dome Café for breakfast. The building has been preserved as an authentic example of north west architecture. Michael is such a relic that, back in the day when known as the Green House for hospital employee accommodation, his twenty-one-year-old mechanical fitter self actually lived there for four or five months. Needless to say, Michael regards the former Green House with great affection, having thoroughly enjoyed his introduction to the north west as a young man.
Following sustenance, I spent a very happy twenty minutes in the Port Hedland visitors' centre. Some wildlife carers were also in the centre with a very cute wallaby joey named Atlas to pet in his hand made pouch.
A quick play in the park for the dogs and we were on our way. We were not due into Marble Bar until the following day, but a mix-up with the timing of the West Coast Eagles vs Collingwood footy game had Michael champing at the bit so he could watch the match at the pub. And so we rolled into Marble Bar in the mid afternoon.
To say the joint was jumping was to underestimate the tourism crush in the north west. We were given an unpowered site in the overflow area as we could not access our site until the following morning. The place was packed. New managers Mandi and Warren had just taken over less than a week beforehand and had been thoroughly thrown in the deep end. Having accepting their positions at the Marble Bar Tourist Park, they knew they would be busy, but they didn't quite anticipate being flat out from dawn until after dark.
And so, on Saturday morning, we moved officially onto site 20...
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