Date: June 4th 2010

Westprint Friday Five June 4, 2010  

Included this week:

·    Camping in Broome

·    Strzelecki Track

·    Cooper crosses the Birdsville Track

 

Next week. Permit information for Gove

 

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Friday Five 4.6.2010  

1. A Fortunate Life. A B Facey. This is an extraordinary life of an extraordinary man. It is the story of Albert Facey, who lived with simple honesty, compassion and courage. A parentless boy who started work when he was eight. He struggled as an itinerant rural worker, survived the gore of Gallipoli, the loss of his farm in the depression, the death of his son in World War II and that of his beloved wife after sixty devoted years – yet he felt his life was still fortunate. S/c 330p. $24.95 plus post. Add to Cart

2. Head over Heels. At the age of 19, a young farmer, Sam Bailey, miscalculated a bend in the road, overturned his ute and became a quadriplegic. After months of struggle, he learned how to resume his life as a farmer, running a sheep and cattle property in northwest New South Wales. Then he met and fell in love with Jenny Black, an ABC Rural journalist, proposed to her on air, and the rest is history. Jenny tells Sam’s story in his own laconic, wry style. By turns romantic, funny and moving, it affirms the strength of iron-willed determination and the power of love. $29.95 plus post. Add to Cart

New in stock.

3. Australian Bats. Sue Churchill. An identification guide to all 75 species of bats known from Australia. Illustrated with colour photographs, each species account includes a detailed description of the bat, measurements, a distribution map and notes on where they live, what they eat, and how they find food and reproduce. The book also provides general information on these fascinating animals: their evolution, why they hang upside down, roosting and reproduction, echolocation, and how to catch, survey and care for bats, including health hazards for carers. An identification key to the eight Australian bat families is provided, with important features illustrated by line drawings and photographs, as well as illustrated keys to all the species. Paperback. $45.00 plus post. 256 pages. Add to Cart

4. The Complete Book of Australian Weather. Richard Whitaker. Australia has some of the most extreme weather patterns of any country in the world. We discover the science behind the devastating bushfires and cyclones, the willy willies and the southerly buster, and the cyclical droughts caused by the El Nino phenomenon. We explore why Australia is particularly vulnerable to climate change, and how we can harness the forces of nature for green energy. Illustrated throughout with colour photographs and diagrams.  Richard Whitaker is one of Australia's leading meteorologists. A former senior forecaster for the Sydney region at the Bureau of Meteorology, he now runs a meteorological consultancy business and is senior meteorologist for The Weather Channel. $40.00 plus post. Add to Cart

5. The Pioneers. Katharine Susannah Prichard. This nineteenth-century family saga follows the lives, loves and losses of one pioneering family and two escaped convicts as they open up the land in Gippsland, Victoria. The Pioneers won the Hodder and Stoughton All Empire Literature Prize for Australasia in 1915, giving its author one thousand pounds and the opportunity to launch her career as a creative writer. The Pioneers has been filmed twice: in 1916 and in 1926. This classic Australian story not only commands a place in the cannon of Australian literature but it is also an important part of Australia's national cultural heritage for its fascinating record and reflection of early Australian life and perspectives. $22.95 plus post. Add to Cart

Books are allocated on a first-come first serve basis. To reserve your copy of any of the following books please email info@westprint.com.au with the title you are interested in. All emails will be answered during the following week, either with details of how to pay, or a ‘sorry, the item has already sold’ email. Where possible, postage on multiple items will be recalculated to offer you the best price.  

Postage Rates. These items will usually not be found on our website. Orders will be supplied on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis. Westprint normal postage rates are now $8.50 for one book, $11.00 for two books, $13.00 for 3 or more books. Free post applies to orders of more than $150.00. Postage rates apply to Australia only. Airmail postage rates apply to overseas orders.  

Friday Forum

Jo’s comments are in green.  

Disclaimer.

Please note that the opinions and articles included in the Friday Five are not necessarily those of the Westprint mob. Nor do we endorse any products (other than our own), or tours listed in contributed articles.  

Camping in Broome  

·    We too were in WA last year and were aware of the problems in Broome. We booked a site at the Broome Bird Observatory camp just south of Broome. No power but hot showers and flushing toilets for $25 per night. You also get walking tracks and your own beach! We took our 17 ft off-road van there easily, but most caravans didn’t like the 15 km of sand corrugations. Roy

·    As long-term Broome residents, who arrived as tourists, may I briefly respond to the comment that the town is not 'tourist friendly'.

There is some element of truth in this, in that it is a town that tourists like to visit (especially as the southern gateway to the Kimberley), but has long since ceased to have the ability to cope with the huge increase in population during only 3-4 months of the year (it more than quadruples).

As a result virtually all tourist needs can only be serviced by temporary back-packer staff. This has an equally adverse impact on the relatively small number of people like ourselves who actually live and work in Broome (about 6000 non-indigenous and about the same indigenous). The often-quoted higher number takes in a large number of outlying communities. Locals are sympathetic to the complaints. We suffer too!

This matter is now exacerbated by the pressure brought on by the mining and gas industries, who have now hired most of the local tradespeople. A further problem is that almost none of the many tourist hotels (nor of course either supermarket) are owned by locals - so very little of the tourist spending actually assists the town.

But it's mostly a great place to live! Collyn & Maarit  

The comment below is in response to an email conversation between Graeme and Collyn.

·    People who stay in the major hotels are usually happy enough but the reality is that the town is now so overwhelmed by the nearby mining and gas activities that it can barely cope even outside the three month tourist season - and that this has for the past year begun to adversely affect tourists as well. Far from all locals (including ourselves) are happy about this as these industries could well end up destroying the Kimberley. Collyn  

·    Rhonda, Friday Five, May 21, failed to appreciate and grasp the full circumstances as to why caravan parks in the North West and Kimberley do not readily accept "bookings."

In the wild West distances are great and road hazards, delays etc. endemic. This often means arrival times are not met, bookings go awry. Travellers who have not booked are turned away, by parks keeping spaces for "bookings" that fail to arrive. As a former caravan park owner of many years in Kununurra I advise that, despite the best of intentions, we had to abandon bookings to avoid the situation of empty bays and turned away customers. The best and fairest position was achieved by "first past the post" each day. To say that this meant we did not value tourists is obviously not true. To avoid the clamour of the less adventurous and of booking agents we did accept "bookings" with tongue in cheek. People wish to experience adventure else they would not travel to the "West." Surely uncertainty over the next overnight stay is part of this adventure? Howard   

Trip Notes – Strzelecki  

·    Just to update Rob’s advice from last week.

For clarification, the road which Rob calls Bollard’s Lagoon Track is more correctly Merty Merty- Cameron Corner Rd crossing Lindon Station and Merty Merty Station and is a private road. This may cause confusion with the Bore Track which is on Bollards Lagoon. This track is still closed till further notice.

And yes, we did get our fuel.

The Cameron Corner – Tibooburra Rd has been graded this last week and is in great shape. Most roads around the Corner Country have been graded now and just waiting to dry a bit more for final repair. Fenn & Cheryl Miller. Cameron Corner Store

Where three states meet - QLD - NSW – SA  camcorner@activ8.net.au  

Trip Notes – Birdsville Track

·    Just finished a return trip up the Birdsville Track and back. The Cooper crossed the Track last Saturday (29th May). The water is rising very slowly but SA Roads have closed it. The ferry operation just upstream is problematic and not scheduled to go into service unless the SA govt gets a bit more pressure applied. Phil and Pam at Mungerannie Roadhouse face a gloomy outlook as most visitor traffic has dried up. The Track north of Mungerannie still has a good deal of water across it; we counted 50 water crossings on our southbound journey, some water was flowing. There are two grader teams on the Track but they have shifted to the section south of the Cooper. They could be better deployed north to repair water damage. Nobody should set out without checking the SA Road Condition website: http://www.transport.sa.gov.au/quicklinks/northern_roads/northern.asp  Roger

Kalbarri National Park and Adjacent Proposed Reserves Management Plan

·    HAVE YOUR SAY

The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) is preparing a Draft Management Plan for the Kalbarri National Park and adjacent proposed conservation reserves.

You are invited to provide DEC with any information or ideas you would like taken into consideration whilst the draft plan is being prepared. Details regarding the area to be covered and where to submit comments are available at:

www.dec.wa.gov.au/content/blogcategory/858/1755/

If you do not have access to the internet, this information can be obtained by contacting Burke Stephens on (08) 9334 0426. Comments are welcome until 16 July 2010.  

Pesky (and dangerous) mozzies  

·    Dear Jo, I forwarded your SA Health warning item on mosquitoes to friends in Sydney (soon to travel) and received this reply:

"Actually you don’t have to go that far. My friend has contracted Ross River, probably was bitten in her home at Loftus! (A southern suburb of Sydney NSW). She has been really sick, and is still nowhere near 100%."

Perhaps this is a wake-up call to be very aware of all mosquitoes, regardless of where you live. Barry and Helen  

Information wanted  

·    I am searching for info on the Oombulgurri - Kalumburu road.  I'm a Kununurra local and looking at doing the crossing in early July and was wondering if you had much information on the track. Garry  

·    I am wondering if you are able to answer my questions. If I vacuum seal my fruit & veg before I leave Victoria – will I be allowed to take it across borders of NSW & SA? Julie  

Friday Funnies  

Q: Why don't elephants go skinny dipping?  A: Because they can't get their trunks off!

Q: What lies on the ground one hundred feet in the air?   A: A sunbathing centipede.  

From Brian

·    During a visit to my doctor, I asked him, "How do you determine whether or not an older person should be put in an old age home?"

"Well," he said, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the person to empty the bathtub."

"Oh, I understand," I said. "A normal person would use the bucket because it is bigger than the spoon or the teacup."

"No" he said "A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?"  

·    Mildred, the church gossip, kept sticking her nose into other people's business. Several members did not approve of her extra curricular activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence. She made a mistake, however, when she accused Frank, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old ute parked in front of the town's only pub one afternoon. She emphatically told Frank (and several others) that every one seeing it there WOULD KNOW WHAT HE WAS DOING!

Frank, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just turned and walked away. He didn't explain, defend, or deny. He said nothing. Later that evening, Frank quietly parked his ute in front of Mildred's house, walked home ...and left it there all night !!!

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Cheers for now,

Jo

 

 

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