Our last day in Denham was spent exploring the tourist areas. This World Heritage listed region had created some interesting tourist sites to visit. We started out at the Heritage Centre in town and gained lots of information about the area. They have a replica of the pewter plate left by Dirk Hartog in 1616. I’ve always wanted to see it and it was very interesting. Ray was able to translate it, because of course, it is in Dutch.
We then went to the local marine park where a marine biologist called Bec showed us turtles and a huge variety of local fish species before treating us to the feeding of the sharks. Scary!
We checked out Eagle Bluff after that. 20km from town there is a viewing platform that has been built into the edge of the cliff. The view is just amazing and we looked down to see turtles, sharks, manta rays and huge fish under the clear water.
We decided to head home, I needed to visit the toilet and there wasn’t one available at Eagle Bluff and the temperature was easily pushing about 43 degrees.An early, relaxing afternoon was called for and we knew that Ray had to change the caravan tyre which was wearing unevenly before we headed off tomorrow. We left the carpark, turned onto the main track and headed home. Then we saw it…

Now, Ray is well known for his adventurous spirit and we often have days when we pack a picnic lunch and leave to explore a local area for the day taking unfamiliar roads and making left turns only to see where we will end up. (See my Tips and Tricks – “What Do You Do For Fun”.)
Well, Ray had spotted a turn off without a sign and said, “I wonder where that goes to”.
We turned off and that’s when the trouble started.
A lovely flat lake beckoned but the only way to get across to the other side was through a shallow crossing. Ray decided not to attempt the crossing because of the harm salt water can do and the unpredictability of the wet sand. We reversed and went further around to a flat spot. Ray checked that the ground was hard enough to drive on, following someone else’s tracks that that had been previously made in the surface and doing a couple of circuits before venturing out further. It was then that the car slowly, slowly started to sink. Oops! We were well and truly bogged.
Luckily we had the expertise from many sources: Ray’s cadet experiences, Aaron and his Bear Grylls knowledge all thrown together with a bit of MacGyver TV series knowledge. It didn’t work. As much as we dug into the “quicksand” around the tyres and collected bracken from the scrub around to shove behind the tyres for traction, the car wouldn’t budge. It seemed to sink further.
With a little sweet convincing from me, Ray and Az set off to flag down a car for help. I knew that this would take some time because we had turned off the main road quite a way back and we weren’t exactly in the middle of a major city. Caleb and I escaped the sun by sitting in the car. I cleaned out the glove box, read the car manual and fielded 164 complaints from Caleb about “why Dad drove onto this sand and when were we getting out of here”. He stopped complaining and just looked horrified when I needed to relieve myself behind the car door within earshot of him. Ahhh…peace at last!
Eventually, (as I was getting worried about the tide coming in and claiming us) they came back, complete with another 4WD that they had flagged down. The kind couple, Aaron and Kendle, sacrificed their rope and on the third try, with us pushing in ankle deep quicksand and everyone getting sprayed all over, they pulled us out. The relief was immense.
All we had to thank them was a cold beer from the Waeco. They seemed happy to help (she was studying to be a teacher) and we chatted for a while.
The drive back was quiet in the car apart from Caleb’s constant chatter about the experience which just served to remind Ray about his mistake. I’m proud to say I didn’t complain, blame, groan or condemn anyone during the whole event. We all make mistakes, some of us make them when we should know better and some of us make them and they make us better for the lesson. I know Ray won’t make the same mistake again and he has 3 of us, and lots of photos, to help remind him!

PS – Yes, Aaron wished he had worn any other colour than a black t-shirt today. Walking 5km for assistance with the sun beating down in 43 degrees isn’t comfortable.