This was just a quick stop over to break up the trip from Monkey Mia to Carnarvon.  It would have been a lovely spot to soak in the outback “Station” experience if it wasn’t for the insects . . .
Unfortunately those pesky flies were here too.  When will they leave us!!!! (turns out it will be Coral Bay – Spoiler!) The artesian spa under the stars was also spoilt by some pesky little biting underwater creatures.  It was almost comical – the four of us trooping down to enjoy some relaxing hot waters under the stars, after sundown of course once the flies had buggered off, sitting in the wonderfully warm water for about 30 seconds until all of us felt a few pinchy bites to let us know we were not alone in the water.  Out we jumped after shouts of ‘ouch, something BIT me’, and trudged home again.  At least we had artesian showers to wash off from the artesian spa.

Apart from the insects (which by the way seem to bother the stinky adults much more than the boys), Julian and the boys had a great time lighting camp fires (just one each).  Sam and James were very proud of their fires which they both lit using their own flint and steel fire starters and managed to keep going throughout the evening (James learned that whilst a lot of fun, it is hard work to sustain a fire using leaves alone). Jules got some lovely coals going over a fire pit (an old truck brake drum) and we cooked the snapper wings and mackerel fillet kindly given to us by a chatty fisherman at Monkey Mia.

James – clearly the least smelly of us – no flies on him!!

The next morning I was off to the shower to wash my hair and I can tell you, showering in the company of hundreds of flies is not a pleasant experience.  Having them under your clothes does not feel nice. I am trying to channel my inner Buddhist to deal with them and calmly accept their part in our traveling journey by imagining just how much I will appreciate it when they’re finally gone.  At least they don’t bite and I’ve only swallowed a few so far.

How many flies can you count?