Day 82 Barradale Rest Area, WA

There was no hurry to leave Onslow today as we are only travelling 180km to a free camp area named Barradale.  Our next booked caravan park is at Coral Bay and from Onslow it was almost 500km so we decided to break the journey in two.  As time was on our side this morning we decided to do the walk around Onslow that includes the scenic boardwalk along the oceans edge.  We stopped numerous times to read the interpretive signage along the way and also to photograph some of the lovely wildflowers that have started to make their appearance.  Onslow had more than 400mm of rain during the month of May so it is very green.

We stopped at the Community Garden where we were invited to take whatever we needed.  I picked some basil, rosemary, lemongrass and oregano.  It is a very large area that is well utilised by the local community.  There is even a pizza oven sitting beside a covered picnic area that I can imagine would be the perfect spot to be on a cooler night.

The walk is only three kilometres but it is the perfect length for us before we once again pack down the caravan and head further south.  The mountains are becoming rarer as the country flattens out and we are now officially in the Gascoyne area of Western Australia. Nanutarra Roadhouse on the Ashburton River was our fuel stop as there was no more fuel for 260km (or so the sign said).  We hit the jackpot for fuel prices at this roadhouse paying a whopping $2.70 per litre for diesel.  And we thought that $2.52 at Onslow was expensive......

We are still heading south along the North West Coastal Highway and it is just off this highway that we are camped for the night at the Barradale Rest Area.  Philip went for a walk and at 4.00pm there were 30 caravans pulled up for the night.  It is a large area with plenty of room to spread out.  Apart from making our journey shorter tomorrow, we also needed to let the batteries in our caravan run down and to make that solar panel do its thing.  This is the first time since Adels Grove that we have used battery power.  

Funny story.  Ever since we have started this journey Philip has continued to regret letting our solar blanket go with the sale of our slide-on camper.  He has been on the look out for a replacement at everyplace we have been to on this journey.  When we were in Onslow we walked into a shop that was almost from another era, like the old haberdashery store. It sold bits and bods of everything imaginable.  I was looking for an extra lead for my phone (that I found) but Philip made the biggest find of his life when he picked up the exact solar blanket that he wanted AANNNDDD, it was reduced to half price! It could only happen at Onslow.