Now that we are heading South once again the weather is starting to get a lot cooler and the scenery is changing with each mile we cover. The dessert is fading away and tall trees are beginning to appear, also there is grass instead of shrub. I guess in some of the places it is starting to look a little like England, not unlike the north Yorkshire mores but with more trees and, the colours are fantastic. Varying from brown to yellow to all shades of green you can imagine but there are still great patches of dessert and plenty of hills a foot short of being mountains, as we continue our journey.
   
    Today I am heading for Port Headland which is situated right next to the sea and is a vast ship port. As the day went by the temperature began to drop and we are now in the high thirtys which feels a lot cooler than the mid fortys. We left the relative comfort of Broome at 7.00 in the morning and as the roads on the west side are almost void of traffic and towns and bends we made very good time, I was in fact well surprised to see that we had managed to arrive in Port Headland by 3.00 in the afternoon some 400 miles down the road and only one stop during the day at a petrol station as far away as you can imagine from civilisation at the Karratha Roadhouse. We took a look at some of the camp sites they had to offer and took the best which was a little off the highway and rested up for the night. The drive to and from Canarvan was pretty uneventful though we did manage to blag a free nights camping which is nice to get every once in a while and I did manage to get 307 miles out of the car before I was too shattered to continue.


   
    The car is starting to show signs of wear and so I gave it a little over haul and some oil which seems to be leaking out from the engine and, I am a little concerned about the noise which is coming from the drive shafts, though there was nothing I could do about either of the problems at this stage so the next day we headed out of Geralton and drove yet another 292 miles to the next port of call again situated on the coast and a perfect place for James to go out and catch our dinner. I had plenty to do that evening what with my washing and sorting out the car. I took James out to the local super market to pick up some bait and we left there with a packet of frozen Kangaroo meat which we were told would just about catch any fish off the bay. So off James went armed with his rod and the Kangaroo bait and I got on with my bits.
   
    Later James returned with an empty bag "that means no fish", he explained the meat he had been told was so good was in fact minced Kangaroo meat and would it stay on the hook "no way" I think he almost wanted to take it back to the shop and stick it somewhere where the sun dont shine ! Anyway that was another fantastic day on the road and we were looking forward to getting down to Perth.


   
    From Geralton it was supposed to be only half a days drive as it was a mere 292 miles away and by this time we were knocking out the miles like they are nothing. The only problem was, I woke up this morning with a bad back a problem I have had in the past and if I let it continue without any treatment I would have found myself flat on my back for at least three days going nowhere. So James packed all the camping gear away and we left the site taking it very easy indeed.
   
    The night before I had made a phone call to a new friend who lives in Perth and is a Mini lover and she invited us to come and visit, also to take a break from driving and get the car sorted out. The days drive went OK except for the fact that the last fifty kilometres were like bitumen corrugations all the way into Perth, that did not make me feel very good nor did it make me happy but, as we approached Perth we were met by Pieta who drove a Mini to come and meet us, it had on the roof a bright pink pigs house with three little pigs sticking out of the front door. We followed Pieta to her house and as soon as we got there I was told I have an appointment with a Physiotherapist at 6.15 that evening. As we went intro her house I felt like I was walking into an art gallery along Rodeo Drive USA, it was a wonderful sight and, to top it all the house was right next to the river with Perth city looming in the distance. I was in heaven and with the thought of having my back treated I was in seventh heaven!


   Whales schooling their young

    Later on I drove to the Physiotherapists just a short drive from South Perth and saw the Physiotherapists there Thea Woodford who began straight away to sort out the problem. In all I had two visits and though the problem had not gone completely I was at least armed with several exercises to help me each day to keep the spasms at bay. On the Monday I got in touch with some people who might be able to help me get the car sorted out and first I went to see John Hallam of Turbotech who allowed me to use his car hoist and then to MiniCraft which is a Mini specialist shop just a little way out of town. I was very happy to hear that Cono Onofaro who owns MiniCraft was prepared to not only help me sort out the car problems but he also gave his time and parts free of charge. Together we took the engine out and was later helped by another chap Lance who I also owe a lot of gratitude to for mucking in and putting in the two new front wheel bearings. In all we must have spent more than ten hours on the car and all the problems were sorted out including the oil leak. I got back to Pietas house just after eleven that evening and sat down to a lovely meal before going upstairs to sort out a minor computer problem and then hitting the sack. What a day that was!
   
    Thank you to everyone in Perth for all your kind help and, that includes Pieta, Linette, Jackie, John Hallam, Cono and Lance and of course to all the guys and gals of the verity club bash team.
   
    Very next morning after I had fixed the indicators, the rear break lights and the wiper motor we were on our way out of Perth and heading for Esperance which is now on the South coast and only a short drive from the finish.