Beach Camping - DX grunt style

[DX grunt]

I went back to my favourite spot - again. Boat Harbour. It's in between Jerramungup and Albany.

As much as I love this spot, but it's time to look around. There's lots of WA coast to be seen.

Trip Report – Boat Harbour – Christmas 2011

Day 1 almost went to plan – had the truck pre-loaded the day before with all the essentials

First major catastrophe…….I was travelling along a gravel section, minding my own business and, whammo – thong blow out!!! You know, the things you wear on your feet. I managed to keep my feet on course, but the expletives are too graphic to repeat on this Forum.

I stopped in at the local tank stand and filled up my water supply.

I got to my destination and set up by myself. It didn’t help by being 35 degs either. By then it was dinner time, so a quick bite to eat then bed.
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af279/DXgrunt/DSCF2952-2.jpg
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af279/DXgrunt/DSCF2951-1-1.jpg

The double bed mattress is about 20cm short, so I put some ‘packing; at the end and put my pillow on top of that, which gave me just that bit extra room for my long legs
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af279/DXgrunt/DSCF2959-1-1.jpg

The view looking out from the annex/bedroom. lol. We got that flywire stuff that you can see out but can’t see in. Night time is a different story. Lol
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af279/DXgrunt/DSCF2964-1-1.jpg

The missus and dog arrived for the last week. I was bored so we went for a drive to Cape Riche. Spectacular colours of water.
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af279/DXgrunt/DSCF2960-1-1.jpg

Washing day………I did a bit of hand washing
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af279/DXgrunt/DSCF2948-1-1.jpg
Socks, jocks and thong. LOLOLOL

Sorry people, I had to bring the genny for this creature comfort item.
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af279/DXgrunt/DSCF2944-1-1.jpg

The wife’s dog. Note to self….Remove dog from rear recovery point before driving off.
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af279/DXgrunt/DSCF2943-1-1.jpg

I nearly jagged a Tojo without even trying. Saw them bogged on the beach for ages, so I decided I’d teach them a lesson. Didn’t unhook the troll, but trudged down the beach with my Maxtrax. Lucky for them, they got it out. Damn. The driver wasn’t keen on a pic of a troll snatching a Tojo, either. lol

After nearly a week of wet weather, the sun decided to turn up – but the fish didn’t. The beach was full of seaweed. I caught a couple of fish, but nothing to brag or tell about.

Home time……. I’m never gunna sneak home to get more stuff. Man, it was as full as, but my truck held really well on the road home. Lol
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af279/DXgrunt/DSCF2975-1.jpg

It’s amazing how you improvise to get results. It was about a 50k round trip to refill with water, but during the rain, I dipped the annex and caught the water. Saved me an extra day’s worth of water.

I learnt from my last experience to dig your drains – before it rains! Lol.

I saw some beach driving that would be excellent training vids – not (???).
1. Nissan Patrol 4.2 TDi ute towing a camper got 50m onto a beach and let his tyres down. Travelled a bit further and got bogged again, then again. The sad part about it was that it was ‘snatched by another Nissan – from the tow ball.
2. Mazda Bravo ute, snatched by a Toyota Ute – from the tow ball.
3. 2 x Toyotas preparing for the next ‘Oh what a feeling’, Yota add. Man, they were cowboys!!
4. Two campers decided to set up camp in the dry part of the estuary – where it meets the ocean. After my quick chat to advise them that it’d seen that part underwater twice in the past 2 weeks, they moved. I’m still shaking my head. One was a local… Shame, shame shame!!!!
Unbelievable!

From what I’ve seen, it’s Forums like this one that promote responsibility and safety. I can’t believe that with all the fatalities and injuries involving tow balls, people are still using them to tow/snatch off.


Anyway, it was short and sweet. I was going to keep a diary, but I do enough paperwork in my job, so I just sat back and embraced the environment and let the fish grow a bit bigger. Lol.

And here I am…….in the flesh. I’ve been working on my tan, slowly, since about September.
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af279/DXgrunt/DSCF2978-1.jpg

Take care out there.

Rossco

[DX grunt]

Thanks for the trip report rossco. Shame about the lack of fish mate but its still nice just to get away from it all eh? And please, next trip i dont really need to see your jocks!! Lol!

Cheers mate.

Do you get it or not??? It was a dig at AB to show him my 'thong' lol

[pearcey]

Great pic`s mate. Another spot for my diary for when I do the the coast of WA wich wont be to far away.
Is this spot a free bie or in a national park and what sort of fish are caught there

[DX grunt]

Great pic`s mate. Another spot for my diary for when I do the the coast of WA wich wont be to far away.
Is this spot a free bie or in a national park and what sort of fish are caught there

It's free camping. The nearest town is Wellstead. Their 'Progress Association' have done wonders. There are basically 2 camping areas. Both have drop dunnies and water tanks and bench chair/table.

The top camping area also has a free BBQ. There is minimul water supplies. I fill up at Wellstead with scheme water. I absolutely love that spot. I've seen people launch their boat off the beach, too.

There is a General Store at Wellstead which accommodates almost everything and you can 'buy' a shower and they have free, dual flush toilets. lol. I always fill up my truck with diesel there because it's currently 7c a litre cheaper than my local servo, and I've never had any dodgy fuel from there.

There's minimul if not any mobile phone range at the camp site. A quick 1km drive up a hill should solve that. External aerials on your vehicle may get you range around the campsite area, I'm told.

They catch salmon, flathead, herring, and the odd shark. The other day I saw a beautiful snapper that had been caught off shore from a boat.

Rossco

[Sir Roofy]

good report rossco that set up looks realy cool on the beach glad its worked well for you
love the thong

[pearcey]

Thanks Rossco. These are the sort of places I love. As I`m retired I`d try and stay at these type of places when the holidays are over and peace and quiet return. All ways buy my supplies and fuel from RV friendly towns and communities that support travelers.
I`m lucky as I can be self sufficient for up to two weeks or more this includes water.

[gerard2]

great nice pic,s love to see how you travel

[DX grunt]

great nice pic,s love to see how you travel

Thanks. I'm working on better storage. There is only a certain amount of equipment that the back of a ute will take. This was my first extended trip away. I spent 3 weeks down at the beach and made an unexpected trip home. I got some more 'stuff' and brought it back.

The problem is I had to accommodate for summer and winter conditions, so I bought way more 'stuff' than I should have. For future extended trips, I'm considering towing our trailer.

Let's see how my fine tuning goes first, because the whole idea was not to have to tow a trailer.

I'm going to have to be brutal with my decision making. Do I want it, or do I need it.

Take care out there.

Rossco

[patch697]

Brother, I'm jealous....... Your living my dream.

I take my hat off to you Sir.


P.s. Nice thong BTW..........................hahahahahahahahahahah ha

[AB]

Is that the famous thong we'll see at the meet up rossco...lmao

[patch697]

Is that the famous thong we'll see at the meet up rossco...lmao

I'd say so why..... What sorta thong where you thinking of?????.......................hahahahahahahahahaha hah

[oncedisturbed]

thought i recognised the rig, saw write up over at campingwa

[DX grunt]

thought i recognised the rig, saw write up over at campingwa

That would be me. lol

Got my HF radio, now just have to save up to get it installed. But I've got to pay for a bit of maintenance for my truck first.

[davejones]

What sort of HF? They aren't as hard to install yourself as you'd think.

Dave

[DX grunt]

What sort of HF? They aren't as hard to install yourself as you'd think.

Dave

Codan NGT AR. Apparently earthing is the big issue. I'd prefer to get it done professionally. If you know me, you'll know why. lol

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af279/DXgrunt/NGTAR-HFRadiohandset.jpg

[davejones]

Same as mine. Great radio, but even better if the software version is user friendly. Do you know what software yours is running? Or who programmed it?

As long as your auto tune antenna is well earthed (usually a braid strap) and the chassis of the main unit as well as running 8mm + & - all the way to the battery you won't have too many dramas. Also recommend some separation between the antenna control & coax cables where possible.

Do you know what options it has enabled? GPS etc?

Dave

Dave