Bloody Kangaroos (16/4/14)

I awoke with a few errands to do this morning so after breakfast I got my motorbike gear on and went out to the bike. I was just getting on the bike when I noticed a small crack on the exhaust just in front of the muffler. Upon closer inspection I realised it went nearly all the way round the exhaust along a previous weld. I started the bike and it was definitely blowing. This became my priority as there was a chance it would get worse on my next leg of the journey. I rode around town to try and find someone who could take a look at it and after a couple of stops got directed to a welding company in an industrial estate. I went in to enquire about getting a quote but the man behind the desk said there was no chance he could fit it in for about a week or so. There was no chance I'd still be here then but asked for a rough price guide anyway. He reckoned it would take about an hour and quoted me $130. So it can take a guy in Vietnam 10 minutes to do the job but here an hour. I thanked him and left knowing I wasn't going to pay that price whether I was here or not. I decided to risk leaving the exhaust till I was in Port Hedland as there was a chance I'd be meeting up with a couple, that my family here know, and they might know someone who could do it cheaper. I continued with my other tasks that I previously had planned for this morning. My next stop was going to be the office for the tour company I was with yesterday as I wanted to pick up the DVD I'd ordered and pay for it. But on the way there I rode past a fenced off area, set back from the road a bit, in which were parked about 10 scooters side by side. I turned round hoping it might be a rental company who would rent out a helmet for the day separately. Turns out it was. I pulled in and asked the woman behind the desk in the office if she would rent just a helmet out for the day and she said no they don't do that. I asked her if she knew anyone in town that might and she then said they could probably do it at the price they normally rent out an extra one for. Yes I was confused too. But I ignored the fact she'd just said no and asked how much that was. It was $10. A bargain I thought. If Camille was still at the hotel when I got back I'd let her know and if she wanted to come with me to Cape Range National Park then she could. I stopped off to pick up my DVD and photo disc from kings tours and rode back to the hotel. Camille was still there so I let her know what I'd found out and she said she'd come to the National Park with me as the beaches there and the snorkelling were much better and she wouldn't get to see it otherwise. Plus we'd keep each other company and each have someone to chat to during the day. She gave me the money and I rode back to pick up the helmet while she got ready. They said I could keep the helmet till tomorrow morning if that was easier and just drop it over the fence if they weren't open when I came by. I thanked them and left. I went back to the hotel to pick up Camille and, after checking she knew what to do as a pillion, we rode the 40 minute journey round the headland to the park entrance. The National Park pass I'd previously bought got us both in for nothing and we went straight to the information Centre to find out the best places to snorkel. We were made to watch the safety video which warns about the currents that exist around the reef amongst other precautions. It was really cheesily made and even finished with the two demonstrators high-fiving after having a successful snorkel. It was very American. Whilst watching it though another two people joined us and it turned out to be a couple that had been on my boat yesterday. His name was Jamie and I think her name was Cecile. We said hello and did the usual joke about following each other and wished each other a good day. With Camille and I fully qualified snorkelers now that we'd watched the video we made our way to a beach called oyster stacks which, due to the tide times, could only be swam for about another hour. We saw Jamie and Cecile again and said hello. It was very rocky and there were only a couple of places that had sand leading into the sea so it was hard not to get in without swearing from standing on a sharp rock. Once in though there were quite a few fish to see. However visibility wasn't great and after about half an hour we both got out to have some lunch and dry off in the scorching sun. After lunch we got back on the bike and rode back along the way we had come for a short distance to get to a second snorkelling spot. This was called turquoise bay and it was no lie. The waters here were really shallow with no seaweed and this highlighted how turquoise the water was. This area was where we had been warned about with regards to currents in our superb video. The current apparently runs parallel to the shore from left to right and in the bay next door it runs right to left so where they meet the tide can pull you straight out to sea. We walked down the beach to find a gap to put our stuff as there were a lot of people here and got straight in the water. It was lovely and warm and the visibility was much better here. Still not as good as yesterday's though. We swam out quite far and had a swim around for a bit and I didn't notice much of a current so swam a little further down the beach. I noticed the current pick up a bit but not to a dangerous level. The fish here were amazing to watch and the coral was just as varied as yesterday's. After about 20 minutes of floating around I swam a bit further down the beach and then noticed the current pick up. I actually stopped paddling and it carried me slowly over the reef. I turned around at one point and started paddling against the flow but just stayed in one spot. I let myself get carried further on and then started to swim back towards the shore. The closer I got to shore the stronger the current got. The water wasn't that deep so I was never actually in trouble but I really had to swim hard to fight the pull. About 5 metres from shore the water was only about thigh deep but without standing up I had to dig my hands into the sand to stop being dragged away. In the end I stood up to get out the water and could still feel the pull of the current. It was unbelievably strong, I'd never felt anything like it. I looked out to sea but couldn't see Camille so was a little worried. I walked up the beach to where our stuff was and dried off. After about 10 minutes I saw Camille walking up the beach and when she got to me her comment was "that currents strong". I laughed and said they should do a video warning people of that. We sunbathed for a bit and had another swim and then decided to walk round the corner to the other beach. Walking back the other way were Jamie and Cecile looking for something on the beach. After stopping to chat we found out it was a snorkel that Jamie had dropped. We all walked back along the beach together looking for it and while we walked they told Camille and I about a place they'd found yesterday evening from where they watched the sunset over the ocean and then turned around to watch the moon rise behind them about 10 minutes later over the national park. They described where it was and said it may happen again tonight so to go there if we wanted. We thanked them, and after giving up on the snorkel search they went off. Camille and I had another swim for a while, spotting a sting ray this time, before spending the rest of the afternoon sunbathing. About half four we decided it might be a good idea to try and find the spot the others had told us about and so went back to the bike to get changed. We got on the road and kept an eye out for the gravel path they'd mentioned. After about 20 minutes we got to the entrance to their campsite so knew we'd gone too far. I turned round in the entrance and pulled over while Camille found her phone as she wanted to take a photo of our now elongated shadow while we rode. While we were sitting there who should drive out the campsite but Jamie and Cecile. They saw us and waved and stopped so we could follow them. It was only then that I actually asked them their names as we were about to spend the next hour together. We jumped back on the bike and followed them to the track that led to the sand dunes. When we arrived there were quite a few people there already. We parked up and walked up the dunes to find a spot to sit. Once on top of the dune we walked away from the others to give ourselves a bit of privacy, put down our towels to sit on and chilled out and chatted while we watched the sun set. The wind had created a wave pattern on the top of the dune which got highlighted by the low angle of the sun. We stayed there for ages taking photos periodically to try and capture that perfect image and finding out a little about each other while we chin wagged. The sun finally set and we turned round to face the other way expectantly, hoping the moon would repeat its performance from the night before. After about 20 minutes of waiting we decided it probably wasn't going to play ball and gave up. We packed up our gear a little disappointed and went back to our vehicles. At least we'd seen a good sunset in a slightly different place that wasn't crammed with people. Camille and I said goodbye to Jamie and Cecile, knowing we probably wouldn't see them again, and got on the bike to start our kamikaze kangaroo ride home. As it was now getting dark, and we were in a national park, they would be out in force trying to thwart our homeward journey. I started off going about 70 km/h as the light was still reasonable and  I saw a few kangaroos hopping near the road but none that were hedding for us. But as the light faded and the darkness set in I dropped the speed to 60 just to be on the safe side. By the time we were halfway on our journey I could see loads of kangaroos but only by the light of my headlight. Then it happened. One waist high kangaroo, sitting at the side of the road, decided in its infinite wisdom to wait till we were right next to it and then hop out straight towards us at the very last minute. I braked, I braced and I'm pretty sure I closed my eyes briefly. Thud. It lit up in my beam, but fortunately didn't shake the bike too much, and we got past it without too much of a wobble. I looked back to see if it was ok and just made out it's shape at the side of the road but couldn't tell if it was moving. I didn't hit it full on, so I probably only ran over its tail and it glanced off my fairing which probably wouldn't have killed it either. I did spend the next couple of minutes whilst riding wondering what to do though. If it was injured and couldn't move then leaving it was very cruel but I had no means of finishing it off and I certainly wasn't going to ride back over it to make sure it was dead so I carried on but this time dropping my speed to 40. What a stupid animal. Apparently they're attracted to the lights, like giant hopping moths. Bloody kangaroos. We finally reached the street lights just outside Exmouth town centre and were soon back at the hotel relieved we'd made it in one piece. It had taken much longer than the journey out this morning and we were now starving ready for a good feed. In the car park of the hotel was a burger van so, after dropping our stuff off at the room, we wandered over to see what was on offer. There was a huge range of choices so we placed our order and were told to come back in 20 minutes as there was quite a queue. We went back to the room and spent the time chatting about the day and I started to do a bit of packing. I'd decided that I'd definitely regret turning back here and not finishing my journey, and spending the time with Camille had cheered me up from when I'd arrived at Exmouth. So I would buy a jerry can in the morning and carry on with my planned route to Broome. I would ride to Karratha, a good 7 hours from here, and stay there a night before continuing to Port Hedland the following day. After about 20 minutes we went back to the burger van to get our burgers and sat and ate them in no time at all. They were pretty tasty but at least they filled a hole. After dinner I made a few phone calls to let others know my plans and to make sure that the couple in Port Hedland were definitely going to be there when I arrived and that it was still convenient to stay. With everything sorted and most of my packing done I found Camille and we both went to the bar to grab a pint and chill there for a while. We added each other on Facebook and arranged to meet up in Broome if we ended up being there at the same time. She had arranged a car share through Gumtree and was being picked up in Exmouth the following day but wasn't sure what the planned journey by the others in the car was going to be so had no idea when she'd get to Broome. After our beer we both went back to the room and after a shower I did a little more packing and was soon in bed. It had been an exhausting day but I was glad I'd had someone to share it with and it was great to meet Jamie and Cecile again. Exmouth is certainly a place I won't forget in a hurry. Swimming with the whale sharks had been immense and it had been the place where I'd questioned my character the most but I think both experiences had changed me slightly. I'm sure for the better. But who knows what tomorrow will bring.