Dampier Peninsula, WA.

We ventured north to the Dampier Peninsula, which is mostly Aboriginal communities and a few caravan parks. Unfortunately due to COVID the communities are closed to the public so we were not allowed to go in and see the pearl church. Thankfully though the Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm was still open and we did the tour around the farm which was amazing. We learnt a lot about the pearling industry as well as the farm it self. Our tour guide Min, was fantastic and was very passionate about the farm. She took us into the old school house which was used to school the kids from the farming families and the local aboriginal families, and we watched a video about the farm. Zara and Elsie were on their best behaviour because Min said everyone had to be ready to go to school. Bridie on the other hand was the class distraction.

The pearls grow in oyster shells, and these days majority of pearls are cultured pearls which means they implant a little piece of foreign muscle shell and then the shell creates more mother of pearl around it to protect itself from the foreign object. The whole process from oyster spawning to pearl harvest can take up to 6 years. During our tour, Min harvested a pearl from the farm's quality control tank and it was graded under the 5 virtues of pearls - but unfortunately due to having pimples it was rejected and sent back to be analysed by the farm's quality control team. Min told us the tour group the day before harvested a quality pearl and one of the group participants purchased it then and there. 

We met Bruce the aboriginal elder and traditional owner of the area and the farm, and he is also a talented artist. He paints and carves patterns from the pearl shells. He was too busy to carve for us today, but he gave Zara and Elsie their owner piece of pearl shell to try and carve by themselves. Zara says the pearl farm is her favourite thing so far on the Big Holiday.

After our tour we went for a drive to Koolijaman beach for lunch and a swim. It was a very pretty little beach.

We are staying at Banana Well Getaway which is a family owned campground, with a very relaxed atmosphere and very spacious. They have chooks, ducks, a pretty ponds, a pet pig, a flock of Guinea fowl, with their pretty black feathers with white polka dots! And the most exciting things are the herds of wild donkeys that live near the campground. You can hear them especially at night time, and they come in close to eat the grass at night. One night Saul and Kylie sat in the dark and watch 6 donkey's happily eating grass about 20m from the caravan. We thought about shining a light on them to take a photo but decided to let them eat in peace. They are large impressive creatures with huge ears and a very loud Hee-haw call. On our last night, one brave donkey came right into the campground and was munching on the green grass around the septic tanks. Kylie walked right past it 3 times and he still just kept eating. He wasn't overly impressed with the camera flash though.

We also saw a Scrub Bull with his big horns, wild horses, and a dingo. One day we went to the creek for a fish and saw our first crocodile in the wild. We didn't see much of him, but we saw enough to know not to go anywhere near the waters edge.

We went to Barred Creek beach one day for a fish. We had no luck fishing but did enjoy the gorgeous beach with pretty rock formations on the edge. The water was clear so we had a splash in the waves but didn't go in any further due to the fear of crocodiles, stingers and sharks.

Saul went fishing one day out to aboriginal community area. A nice aboriginal elder caught him some live bait with her casting net but nobody was catching anything big. Saul was wearing his Outcast fishing shirt with the skull and bones picture and the little boys asked him if he was a pirate.

We went for a drive one day to a nearby beach with our neighbours Steve and Rhonda. Rhonda loves collecting shells just like us and the kids loved showing Rhonda and the other ladies their collection so far. On our trip to the beach we were all looking for the pretty shells with the starfish pattern on them. We found heaps of them so everybody was very happy. We also found a big sand dune to run up and down. Steve climbed it with us and was nice enough to take a photo of Kylie and the kids. On our way out, Rhonda thought she saw a big shell so asked Steve to stop, but when she picked it up she realized it was a giant turtle shell. Amazing.

The frogs were very friendly at Banana Well and really loved living in the bathrooms. We saw multiple frogs in the toilet - which we thought was hilarious because one of our favourite books from Aunty Dianne and Noni is called "The Big Green Frog in the Toilet". Zara was a bit scared to go to the toilet after that, so lucky there were 3 toilets. One day the toilet wasn't working, and the staff discovered a family of frogs living in the cistern that needed to be evacuated. 

The kids loved the dip pool. It was freezing cold water but a great way to cool off on a hot day. Bridie was finally able to find her confidence in a small pool and now wants to swim all by herself (with her floaty)

Back home the lastest COVID outbreak is causing choas and school is back to remote learning. Zara was able to log on to her class Google meeting and say hello to her friends and her teacher. This was very exciting, even with the time difference meaning class started at 7.30am. The internet at Banana Well only worked outside the office in the playground/seating area affectionately know as "the internet cafe" because everyone carried their laptop or other devices there to log on to whatever they need to do.  Kylie also joined them there a few times to write the blog.

The manager came around on our last night and delivered some firewood and also gave Saul, Zara and Elsie a ride around the property on the little buggy. There were lots of excited squeals during the ride.