CARNARVON - POPULATION: 9,046

SATURDAY 12 – TUESDAY 15.10.2013: Great features about our stay at Point Quobba were the beach walks for the humans and play for the dogs, campfires, picnicking on the beach and of course the view. By the Saturday we conceded defeat on the wind, but so did the Griswolds! Fortunately we made it  through most of the school holidays and for $38.50 for 7 nights with a dump point and garbage bins, one cannot complain. Unfortunately the wind was the deterrent. Not a slight breeze, but an ongoing wind force that continually rocked the motorhome. The day before leaving Shayden was unwell and we are convinced he had motion sickness! Next stop - Carnarvon, but first we saw two mature aged ladies 'puddling' their way round Western Australia on push bikes. Even in our heyday the Leylands could not have managed that one!

THE CARNARVON B-I-G BANANA

In 1839 Sir George Grey discovered the Gascoyne River. Frank Gregory crossed the Gascoyne River and reached Mt Augustus. In 1883 land sales were offered at Carnarvon and the Gascoyne River mouth. The town was named after Lord Carnarvon the British Secretary of State for the colonies. Despite the arid entry into town Carnarvon is the commercial centre for the rich Gascoyne district, with a town feature being the luxurious plantations of bananas and other tropical fruit and vegetables. Wool production, prawn and scallop processing and solar salt extraction are industries important to the district. The Gascoyne River is usually dry and hiding its ample supply of water for irrigation which is under its sandy bed.

MAIN STREET OF CARNARVON
NOW THIS IS WHAT YOU CALL A WIND!

We pulled into Carnarvon Caravan Park and prepared for a mini spring clean. Over the past month we have had a considerable build up of red dust, sea spray and salt so we spent m-a-n-y days washing anything that was not nailed down - inside and out. Had television reception for the first time in what seems like months - turn it on to view the fires on LTP road! Already one great feature of Carnarvon is their radio station - "Classic Hits Triple 6", "Always playing the best tunes E-V-E-R!" There are a continuous stream of songs that we have not heard since we were teenagers - strangely enough we remember all the words!