Rustic Barn Hill Station

Believe it or not but the drive out of Eighty Mile Beach seemed a lot better than the drive in and before we knew it we were back on the smooth highway.  Our first stop was the Sandfire Roadhouse which had its own little quirky display of signposts and other items.  They had peacocks roaming around and a pond full of fish.  It really was like a mini oasis in the harsh outback, which really isn’t the outback as the beach is only 30km or so away.  What they did have that I found the most interesting was pictures of when two cyclones had hit the area way back and the damage they had caused there and also at Eighty Mile Beach.  They had one photo of Eighty Mile Beach with a quarter of the caravan sites covered in thick sand. 

The kids checking out the fish.

Local resident.

Before long we were back on the road, but we stopped in at one of the free camps for morning tea and also to say hello to Mike and Wendy who we knew were pulled up there for the night.  We originally had met them at Osprey so enjoyed their company for a while before hitting the road again to Barn Hill Station.  Ian and Gwen who free camped the night before were ahead of us and text messaged us to say the road in was worse than Eighty Mile Beach.  Oh dear this can’t be good right, but when I asked if they thought it was worth it they said yes. 

So once we came across the turnoff we faced 10km of corrugated road and three gates needed to be opened and shut.  Off we headed and let’s just say Ian and Gwen had not lied, the road was quite bad, again it would have been fine if we hadn’t been towing our on-road van behind us but because we were Jason wanted and needed to take it easy.  We let two or three people overtake us, which was slightly embarrassing but at the same time they were either not towing or just had camper trailers so could go faster.  Each of them wound down their windows and told us it was worth it.  I am guessing our concerned faces must have painted pretty well how we were feeling.

Ready for the drive in.

Not bad at all - as long as someone doesn't come the other way.

I was giving Ian and Gwen a running commentary by text message and I think they were in shock at how long it was taking us to come in.  Never had I been so glad to see that third and final gate right near the camp.  We managed to score an unpowered spot right beside Ian and Gwen and were set up in no time.  Someone had warned us that there were prickles around but that did not stop Kayla from walking around barefoot.  She really is our barefoot bushman.  We didn’t really have a view out over the water as it was blocked by shrubby trees, but being such a hot day I didn’t care as any shade was a welcome surprise. 

Ian and Gwen showed us their neighbour’s caravan site which had lush grass and even a vegie garden going.  Apparently they were staying for 7 weeks doing some work in Barn Hill Station and had decided to throw some grass seeds on their site and water it every day.  It was like a little oasis where there was no other grass to be seen. 

Creating their own oasis.

 

After that we tried to sit down and relax but the kids wouldn’t have a bar of it.  Hamish claimed he was scared and wanted us to be inside the van with him.  Even with all the windows open and the fans on, I still found outside in the shade cooler as you got more of the nice breeze every now and then.  Eventually though it did cool down and we thought we had better actually walk down and see the beach and what all the fuss was about.  Now finding the path down to the beach was quite a lot harder than we had first thought but eventually Ian found a track down and we all followed him.  By now Hamish and Kayla were being carried as the track was quite thin and they were complaining of the spinifex spiking them. 

As soon as I saw the beach from up top I was in love.  It was helped along more by the purple bush flowers that we use to get out on my parents’ property, so it really had a homely feeling to it.  The red rock cliffs against the sand and then the blue ocean were beautiful and it was really a little oasis the owner had decided to share with everyone.  For that we are really grateful.  There were even some stacks of rocks off in the distance that were pretty spectacular to see, but instead we walked in the other direction around the rocky outcrop and to the other beach which was very sandy.  There was no way we were going to do any beach driving here.  Then it was up all the stairs and back to the caravan.  Honestly there is something to be said walking along a beach for sunset or sunrise.  It just seems so good for the soul. 

The kids having fun on the beach.

Sun starting to set.

Kayla pretending to be a dog.

Hamish making the most of the last light of the day.

Jason and Kayla had showers inside the van, however Hamish and I opted to go and use the provided showers.  It was cool as the shower and toilet block in the unpowered section did not have a roof so it was just you and the stars above at night, oh and the resident green frog of course.  I loved it and whilst there wasn’t any hot water left I didn’t feel it was cold.  Maybe after such a hot day it was what I needed.  Hamish loved the novelty of it and was asking a million questions.

The amenities block.

Shower under the stars.

I can’t say I slept well that night, as the wind picked up and of course we had left the awning out so it flapped around all night.  Nothing bad but I obviously just couldn’t get into a deep sleep to ignore it enough.  Eventually I just called it quits and got up and went for a nice long walk along the beach.  I felt so invigorated when I returned but soon the warm weather sucked that out of me.

There really isn’t a lot to do at Barn Hill other than walks along the beach and fishing, but that suited us fine.  No one else seemed to be catching fish so we didn’t even bother to try.  Instead we hung around the caravan and did some school.  Before long Peta, Darren and another couple we had met at Eighty Mile Beach also rolled in.  So there went Hamish and we saw him every now and then when he came back to the caravan.  By now it was getting hot again so we didn’t really do much at all, just chill which was really nice.

The sun hitting the rocks in the morning.

Looking up the beach.

Loved these flowers, reminded me of my parents place.

So relaxing having the beach all to myself.

Eventually in the afternoon we headed down for another walk on the beach.  This time with the intention of checking out the rock stacks.  Neither of our kids wanted to come with us (oh feel the love) so thankfully Peta and Darren were okay with them staying there.  So off we headed with Gwen and Ian and had a nice walk around the rocks.  I was just about to head up to get the kids when Jason pointed out that Kayla was already down on the beach.  Gee that would have looked bad if I had just left them again with my kids!  So of course we joined the bigger group and had a great chat.

The stacks of rock.

Ian making the most of a sunset.

It looks so calm.

The end of another day.

Kayla then managed to find a fish and oh wasn’t she proud.  This wasn’t just a little fish in a pond, it was some tommy that someone had obviously caught and cut the head off.  She carried it everywhere with her all over the beach.  It was cute, well until she tried to take it back to the caravan.  That is when I put my foot down and said it had to stay on the beach.  Yes I am that mean Mum, but I wasn’t having a dead fish stinking out our van. 

After dinner and the kids were showered I got to enjoy the rustic outdoor shower on my own and gosh it was refreshing.  That was the exact words I used to describe it to Jason when he headed off.  Unfortunately Jason did not share the same enthusiasm for it as me.  He thought it was freezing.  Darren and Peta then came around and we sat outside chatting until 10pm.  I think we were a little too loud and kept our neighbours up (whoops).  We should have played another game of cards but by the time we thought about it, it was getting very late. 

It was hard to pack up the next morning as we were only going about 80km or so.  We didn’t want to leave too early as we were only going to a free camp, but at the same time we had to be gone by 10am so others could have the sites.  So we packed up and hooked on and proceeded to go to the little markets run that day.  There weren’t many stalls but the coffee shop was opening that day so we got to enjoy a nice coffee and the bonus was a free piece of custard slice each.  I was impressed by the freshly baked bread for sale but it went like hotcakes.  I think the main organised things start in June at Barn Hill so it would probably be a different place from now on.

The different coloured rocks.

Making our way around to the other beach.

Finding the path down to the beach.

Eventually we had to leave and as I was doing all the normal pre checks we found out our left indicator wasn’t working.  So yep we had brake lights and our right indicator but no left.  Ian said he would follow us once out on the highway and act as our left indicator which was great.  In the meantime I wasn’t looking forward to the drive back out of Barn Hill.  I didn’t need to be worried as it was way better going out then coming in.   Even better was that Gwen was opening all the gates and I was meant to close them.  However someone caught up to us so I didn’t even have to get out and do that.  It was great being the caravan in the middle!

Once out on the highway we led the way and before we knew it we were pulling into the free camp.  It was literally just a pull in area off the main highway but there were already three other vans there so company and plenty of room.  I can’t say we did much there at all as it was way too hot so we just had the tv on for the kids, did a small amount of school but didn’t push it due to the heat and had all the fans blasting.  We were keen to sit outside and relax but the kids just weren’t in for it.  They wanted one of us to sit inside with them!  Hmm maybe they are starting to come a bit clingy and use to having us around.