Kalumburu and McGowan's Beach

Tuesday 16 July 2013

Kalumburu/McGowan’s Beach

Up at 5.45am at King Edward campsite – my memory of this time was using the very smelly ablutions which comprised of a long drop toilet. Unfortunately there was no water to assist in flushing away the waste and you would hear the occupants frantically pumping the system to remove their waste. Breakfast was eggs, beans and toast – we had no milk so again we used Paul’s decaffeinated cappuccinos. And we used the last of our bread. We packed up and were ready to move when a check of the Red Beast revealed one spotlight loosely hanging as well as the sump guard nearly dragging on the ground under the front of the vehicle. Two key bolts had fallen out. It took an hour to fix as protective plates had to be removed before we could tighten the bolt holding the spotlight in place. We were lucky it had not vibrated off completely. Paul also tightened the housing for the right hand indicator light which had also worked loose. He had to use cable ties as it was not possible to tighten the L shaped clamp. He also redistributed the remaining bolts and we were able to lift the sump plate back into its original position. We will need to have bolts fitted to the underside of the Nissan where they had dropped out. There is a Nissan dealer in Kununurra and a 1000 km service will be undertaken as the vehicle will have clocked 10000km by the time we arrive there.

The road to Kalumburu for the first 70km was like a highway as it had been graded and was essentially a hard base without rock. It will fill with corrugation as more traffic drives over it – one could see that the grader had filled in the corrugations with sand. I cannot believe how we went from good to bad in such a short time and the last 30 km was like a goat track. I am probably being generous in my description here. Overall it took us 2 and half hours to drive the 103km. The car and the trailer took a severe beating even with driving at 20 to 30 kph in 2^nd gear.

We finally arrived at Kalumburu at midday and drove into the town only to find it deserted. We were not sure what to expect but when we pulled into the Mission station house where the fuel pumps were located we noted that closing time was from midday to 2pm. We needed information so we drove to the police station only to find it empty and nobody answering the intercom even though we could see a female in civilian clothes inside. The court house was next door and two chaps were talking outside. They were up from Kununurra for court which was in session and they were able to clarify some of our issues. We then decided to go to the Mission House and locate the local catholic priest which we did. Whilst he was only relieving, he was able to give us information about the camp grounds and the town of Kalumburu. We did not show our permit as nothing was open so we decided to drive the additional 20 km out to McGowan’s Beach and set up camp. The first 10 km of dirt road was good as the grader had just graded it but the final 10km was a four wheel drive track with corrugation in parts and heavy sand in others. When we arrived at the campground we could not locate the caretaker to check in so the local indigenous chap told us to go and set up camp.

Campsite McGowan's Beach

Beach views from camper

The site itself while quite picturesque is very basic. We were charged $20pp per night for 3 nights for a total of $180. For that we got access to a donga with 3 toilets (flushing), shower and basin with mirror. Some of the sites had lawn; in most the lawn was dead. However we did get tap water. The toilet blocks unfortunately are not cleaned, the floors being dirty as well as the sinks and vanity access to a donga with 3 toilets (flushing), shower and basin with mirror. Some of the sites had lawn; in most the lawn was dead. However we did get tap water. The toilet blocks unfortunately are not cleaned, the floors being dirty as well as the sinks and vanity. When you flushed the toilet, water poured out onto the floor. I witnessed one camper going in with mop and bucket and cleaning out the ablutions. Oh you also needed to provide your own toilet paper. Not sure where the fees are going? It was pretty hot and humid when we set up and we were all sweating profusely. We were able to purchase a cold can of coke each for $3 and it hit the spot. Don’t normally drink soft drink as it is just too sweet for me but given that we have no alcohol, it is the only alternative. It has never tasted better, especially when chilled. We did get a sea breeze come in mid afternoon that cooled down the camp – a big relief!

Given that it took some time to set up camp we did not return to Kalumburu as the store closed at 4pm. We decided to try our hand at fishing so rushed down to the water, only a 150 metres from the trailer. Not sure why we were as keen as we did not catch a fish. However we did test our gear in preparation for the serious stuff tomorrow.

As you do in camps where people live in close proximity, we met a police officer from Derby. He had his trailer jacked up and was repairing the spring which had broken driving up the Kalumburu Road. And yes he also had a busted water tank although his tank was made from moulded plastic. It was a brand new MDG from Canning vale – he certainly was not happy with it. The tales of woe continue as most people we have met have similar stories – most trailers with stainless steel tanks crack at the seam unless they have baffles fitted.

That night Rob warmed up the cold mince from the fridge, cooked and mashed the last of the potatoes and opened some tinned corn. Most enjoyable – no scraps leftover as all of us were hungry. No movie tonight – the projectionist has gone out on strike.