Around the West in 90-Odd Days: Days 62-63 (3-4 Sep) Of Pinnacles and Pointy Reminders About Updating the Blog

Sorry for the long silence, but we’ve been having far too much fun and relaxation to do things like write the blog, and you don’t want to just hear what a disgustingly good time we’ve been having. Don’t worry, we’re now two months in and on the quick slippery slope of the last month. A few days ago we still had “a whole month to go”, but in a few more days we’ll have to be home “in just 3 weeks”. Unless we decide to stay here and start again in the west (someone please keep feeding the ducks).

From Geraldton we headed south on a coastal route, realising slightly too late that we hadn’t planned well for the best wildflower trails – we should have travelled further inland. We did, however, stumble across the very picturesque remains of Greenough (restored historic village), a very worthwhile distraction. Then it was onto Cervantes, a tiny coastal town boasting rock lobster factory and restaurant The Lobster Shack, and gateway to The Pinnacles Desert.

We’d been hanging out for somewhere to try a lobster while in WA, and this was definitely the place. Lobster is pretty much the only thing on the menu; the only variant being which size you want. Quote from Dave: “I can see why people like lobster”. While tucking into our half-lobster meals, I began to notice that we were the only pale-faces in our section of the outdoor café; it seems to be a very popular place for Asian tourists. We did the factory tour after lunch (just in case it spoiled our appetite before lunch) and learnt that the biggest clients of this lobster facility are China, Japan and Saudi Arabia, in that order. Crates of semi-comatose lobsters are flying freight class international nearly every day, carefully packed in layers of pine shavings for their 30-hour journeys. But judging by the number of Asian tourist buses pulling up, it must be on their bucket list to fly here and visit the origins of their lobsters. Excellent notion. I think I shall have to visit Champagne in the north-east of France. Trivia for the day: Did you know lobsters can survive without food for months?

On Saturday night the Cervantes Caravan Park was serenaded late into the night by the not-so-elite Country Club-cum-nightclub down the road where some major celebration appeared to be underway. Children of the partying adults were enjoying their own noisy shindig up and down the road alongside the caravan park until I decided post-10pm that it was quite late enough for their antics and went out with one of Dave’s megawatt torches and my best school ma’am voice (first request level) to move them along. Apparently being on holiday has not rendered me less effective to school-aged children.

Speaking of the caravan park, it is interesting to see the efforts made by some couples for their homes-on-the-road. One couple in Cervantes set up a coffee table in front of their van, complete with lacy tablecloth, decorative basket of shells and an elaborate candle-holder. Clean floors are a constant battle in caravans, with many travellers carrying all manner of brooms, mops and even leaf-blowers to clean their site in an ongoing battle with the dirt. The other day we saw tourist bus passengers all in a line, lifting their feet for the bus driver to wash the base of their shoes with a bucket of water before they could re-board his bus. If you multiply 20 passengers by multiple stops over the day we’re not sure it’s time effective, but the floor of the bus is clean enough to eat off, and that is surely what’s important. Dave is now talking of implementing such a procedure before entering our car.