Well it’s 6 months to Christmas and 6 months since last Christmas. As we all sat down to Christmas dinner just 6 months ago, none of us could have guessed what we would be facing in a few short months. Christmas Day 2019, I was looking forward to our big lap around Australia which was 4 years in the planning and also just 4 days into my retirement. Without going over old news, both Susan and I are fit and well, enjoying our trip all be it very truncated on what we hoped but still we are healthy and safe.
The last 2 days we have been at Bullara Station, a farm stay at the bottom of Exmouth Gulf. It’s a cattle station that is 100 years old, whilst not the biggest, its still very sizeable at 250,000 acres. It’s not the first farm stay we’ve been too as last year at Easter we were at Alpana Station in the Flinders Ranges SA but Bullara is unique in its own way, from Emmet the Emu, Buckley the Goat and Maggie the Kangaroo, the wildlife has made it special. Although the tea and scones each morning and Happy Hour with damper at 5 pm each evening, adds to the ambience of the place.
We travelled the 100 km’s north today to visit the town of Exmouth. Basically Exmouth was founded as a result of Operation Potshot during WW2, where the Australian and US governments set up defence establishments for the US Submarines and the RAAF Airbase, which is now known as RAAF Learmonth. The US and Australian Communications Base Harold E Holt is still operational here in Exmouth. It’s here to provide communications worldwide to all US and Australian submarines. During the 1960’s thru to the early 90’s the base had a very strong US presence but now its basically an Australian run organisation. The base was built in the 1960’s to provide communications to US submarines and even today, nearly 60 years later there is no better facility to communicate with the subs than Exmouth. During my RAAF career we always heard about the US base in Exmouth and RAAF Learmonth, so it was good to finally see it on this trip. As I will with other RAAF establishments in the northern part of Australia.
It feels like we have been travelling for weeks up the coast but we are still only 50% up the west coast but from tomorrow we head further north. Red dust and sand has become the norm and hopefully the borders to NT and QLD will open and in about 2 months time we’ll hit the north east coast of Australia at Cairns but there’s still a lot of WA to go yet.
Stay safe everyone!
Be Brave on Tour 
Hi guys, still following your travel blogs with agreat deal of envy. Things here in Melbourne are pretty bleat, especially in particular municipalities, we are Carona Virus free. Big highlight of the week is going to supermarket or in Chris’ case Bunnings! We have booked Mildura August for a month, not what we whatend to do but better than staying at home any longer, getting abit depressing. Just had the New Age measured up for a canvas rear wall on the awning & draft skirt. She’s all packed & ready to go, just as soon as we can hit the bitumen. Keep yourselves safe, we love to read your blogs, feel as if we are along on your travels, love to you both, Lyn, Chris xx & darling Sophie 🐾
Sent from my iPad, Regards, Christopher Davies.
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Hi Guys, glad to know you’re enjoying my literary work. It’s been an interesting trip to say the least, we seem to be always guessing or hoping that borders will open and that places and attractions will open. Whilst I’ve enjoyed WA, I won’t be sorry to be out of here, probably the anti Victorian feeling getting to me. I think Mildura in August would be better then February, the heat then is brutal. Stay safe and well and enjoy your trip, who knows by then you might be able to go further, there are some lovely old towns not too far away in SA, Burma, Quorn to name two.
Cheers
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