Well this is the Tambourah Goldfields, scroll right for more.

Each of the ridges may have contained gold and the gold sheds down onto the flats and into the creek beds. It's hard to know where to start and what to look for but a few other detectorists have shown us spots they have found gold and they keep telling us "Gold is where you find it". Sandy's Uncle Ross and myself have walked and detected many of the creeks in the area with very few nuggets to show for it. So frustrating. It appears that a mono coil would be the way to go but I only have Double D's. Ross eventually found 7 nuggets, the first time ever for him, and I found 3 nuggets.

"J Grant 1959" A lonely grave marked out with scrap iron and stones, I'm sure there would be a story behind this gravesite out on the goldfields.

This is the largest nugget I have found to date, just under 20 grammes. The caretaker at Western Shaw Lease "Peter" told us of the nugget he recently found at just under 400 grammes, doesn't it make you drool !!!!

When I was changing the oil on my new Honda Alternator I noticed that the rubber coupling was breaking up and a couple of segments in the LCD ammeter display weren't working. Later on in Port Hedland I rang the company in Sydney and they are sending me replacements to Broome, no hassles. I pulled out my standby GMC $99 special generator and started it up. Put the bread machine on and started charging the batteries. The 2 stroke generator was smoking and running a bit rough so I revved it up to blow the smoke away. Immediately after doing this Sandy came out of the caravan in a great rate of knots saying she can smell something burning and I suddenly remembered that by revving the engine up I also increase the voltage coming out of the generator. I just destroyed the bread machine!!!!! Thankfully that was all the damage I did. It was time for a new machine anyway, way over 10 years old. (Thinking that way makes me feel better anyway)

Well we finally decided to move on and head back to the coast. First stop Port Hedland where I had to order in some new bushings for my rear springs as one had disintegrated. We also met up with an old workfriend of Sandys and we had a very enjoyable day at Leanne and Johnno's place.

Our Porta Potti was cracking up so we looked around Port Hedland for a new one. What a shock $239 so I have ordered one from Perth and it will be waiting for me in Broome and only $150 delivered! Thank goodness for mail order catalogues.

Cape Keraudren Coastal Reserve, a couple of hundred kms North of Port Hedland provided us with fish, camping and these wonderful sunrises. While we were in Port Hedland the full moon was giving a display called "The Stairway to Heaven". This was when the full moon rising coincides with low tide giving the impression of steps. We were going to drive to Cooke Point to see this phenomenon but some friends, Lynn and Trevor, turned up at the caravan park and we spent 2 days catching up with lots of chatting. But no matter, as it turned out Cape Keraudren gave us this display of a stairway, I'm not sure if it goes to heaven of hell, as it was the sunrise not moonrise.

Cape Keraudren Coastal Reserve is run by the Shire of East Pilbara, providing toilets and bins but no fresh water, which is available at Pardoo Roadhouse 13 kms away. It only costs $45 a week to camp here up to a maximum of 3 months. A concrete boat ramp is provided and Threadfin Salmon are caught along the beach.

Sandy woke me up for this one. She gets up early for her walks and every now and then she gets me up to see a spectacular sunrise.

Stopped in at 80 mile beach for a day but during the neap tides the salmon had gone off the bite. This is a 300 site Caravan Park and all the campers spend their day spread out along the beach fishing for Salmon. What a sight, we were told that when they were biting they were standing only 10 foot apart. We met Sandy's cousins from Kalamunda, what a small world it is.

Sandy went out for her walk along the beach early in the morning. She was about 5 kms down the beach all by herself and the sea mist was just rolling in. Over the music of her Walkman she thought she heard a cow moo. She quickly looked around the beach trying to see where it was when it mooed again and she found it standing amongst the rocks in the dunes at the edge of the beach staring intently at her. She smartly about-faced and walked back home with many looks over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't being chased.

Dropped in to look at Port Smith but the park is situated well away from the lagoon (700m) and the ocean so we carried on to camp at Barn Hill which has a park 200 metres from the ocean. No fish being caught and few boats being put in the water so we have been catching up on emails, learning how to play lawn bowls and just relaxing. Sandy's been on the beach and had a few swims.

Next stop Broome.

Till next month.

Peter and Sandy