My time at Sandfire roadhouse with Marlieke was interesting. It was good to rest up and take a breather after my cycle trip in Japan but also being stuck in such a remote location of Western Australia under immensely hot conditions with not much to do was difficult.
Marlieke and I picked things up from when I last saw her in the Philippines and I was immediately introduced to the few people who worked at the gas refueling/food stop.
Most facilities were available to us and staff were allowed to eat what they wanted from the kitchen.
Firstly upon arriving and as I was staying for free I felt obligated to help out around the place to pay for the expenses of room and board and as such I helped out Grant, the soon to be son in law to the manager of the place (Ken). Sandfire was so isolated that it ran off the grid and multiple generators were run to power the site and as Grant was a mechanic he had me help out repair and maintain some of the noisy machines amongst cleaning other general maintenance jobs.
This I enjoyed very much because Grant had a vast knowledge of engines and mechanics and I learnt a hell of a lot from him. I now know how to repair a radiator and several other components of road going vehicles.
One of the other big jobs I helped out with was the harvesting of mangoes from the small orchard beside the roadhouse, at first I enjoyed picking the fruit one by one from each tree using elongated snips and with only a few mishaps of falling from the branches when pushing my reach to the less accessible ones. All was good and well, I felt like I was working enough to pay off Ken for the accommodation and food until I broke out in a rash 4 days from initially picking them; you see, when you cut the stem connecting the branch to the fruit a fine mist is released into the surroundings and as it is very acidic it can cause skin irritations. Despite being told to wear long sleeves and cover up as much of my body as possible it was 43 degrees plus. Also I thought that i was impervious to the rash at first until I spent several nights itching myself to sleep where the rash had spread covering my body from head to toe. It wasn't until my eyes became infected and inflamed when I was able to get a ride into Broome to see a doctor to get my dose of steroidal medication which including a topical cream and some pills. It took only a day for the medication to take affect and less than 3 for me to completely recover.
This is a warning for those who plan to pick mangoes, cover up your skin because itching yourself to near death and the extortionate cost of the prescription medication is not worth it by any means.
I took advantage of the opportunity of being out and away from the rest of world in regards to light pollution with my photography and managed to experiment with star trails as on a clear night (it often was) the Milky Way was visible.
Several hours of exposures I was able to get some very nice shots.
Sandfire being located where it was it was rare for rain to fall here and often the storm clouds would pass around the area where I could capture the Lightning illuminating the dark clouds. See pics below.
Sandfire, being nestled in the middle of nowhere, 300km from the closest shop actually became a likable place to be. The 6 weeks I spent here zoomed by and I can honestly say I will miss it, a comfortable place where Ken was kind enough to supply us with all we could possibly need.
Some of the animals around Sandfire
Lightning and Startrail shots
Watching the turtles lay their eggs on 90 mile beach
Why I came here!
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