During our trips into remote locations and National Parks we have come across many Camp Host’s, a camp host is always a couple who keep an eye on the place and collect the $7 a night from the campers as they arrive. Bob at Ningaloo Reef near Exmouth was a ripper, he and his were not about when we arrived and when he returned we were out on the beach fishing. Bob came stomping up the beach looking like Jane Saville with a beard in a race.

This turned out to be an excuse to come and check out the new people, Bob stopped to part with his knowledge on everything from the Boston bomb to the bait we used and they way I lay my fishing rod down in the sand. Bob and his wife would be the camp host for the month of April before moving on another National Park to host again.

We left Bob and Ningaloo for Karijini where we noticed a sign “Camp Hosts Wanted” I mentioned to Shell maybe we should hang around and be a camp host here. When we pulled into Dales Camp Ground next to Dales Gorge we were greeted by camp host Mike and his wife from Emerald. The sign behind Mick was the same sign we had seen at the visitors center but this one had “URGENT” written above it. I asked Mike how do we go about filling the role of camp host?

Mike explained it was 2 days on, 2 days off and we got to use the hut we now stood in whilst on duty, a hut or semi permanent tent came with a kitchen, toilet, shower and a generator for power. Mike said he would get the Ranger to drop in on us and have a chat about it.

We set up camp and had just sat down for lunch before we headed into Dales Gorge when a 4WD pulled up and a Ranger introduced himself as Ranger Dan. From under a hat like that worn by the Bush Tucker Man, Les Hiddins came a warm friendly smile. As it turns out Ranger Dan had just come out of a meeting and they had worked out they wouldn’t need any further camp hosts for now.

Shelly offered Ranger Dan lunch and cold water that he declined says he’d just had his lunch as he crouched down to get comfortable under our shade and settle in for a chat. Ranger Dan had a friendly exterior a day old growth and apart from the great hat work standard green shorts and shirt to suit the bush, a very positive person that talked with great passion.

“Thanks mate but this is not a job – it’s a lifestyle”

Dan grew up on a farm in Yarrawonga on the Murray River 270ks north of Melbourne, he looked to be around 35 years of age and had been a ranger at Karijini National Park for the past 12 months. Dans first job after the farm was as a fitter and turner before he joining the FIFO crowd to work in mining. This life didn’t suit Dan even if the money did.

FIFO Dan pulled the pin and went to uni to become Ranger Dan, he decided the money wasn’t everything and the fact that your like a sheep when your mining, fly in, get shunted around on buses to work for 12 hours before being pushed back onto a bus so you can sleep in a little hot donger to wake up and follow the others back onto that bus. Ranger Dan said the hardest part of leaving mining and going to uni was picking up a computer for the first time in his life, we didn’t use computers up on the farm he said.

Shelly and I both said WOW what a story and what a great job to which he replied, “Thanks mate but this is not a job – it’s a lifestyle”.

I told Ranger Dan the story of Shelly’s choice of work experience back in school when asked to write down 2 jobs in preference. No 1. Park Ranger, No 2. Chef, the school couldn’t find her a rangers position for the 2 weeks work experience so a chef she became and been trying to get out of since.

Ranger Dan lives in the rangers quarters in the park and has all of the things that the campers do not, hot water, power TV reception and internet but I have no doubt Dan would have no problem being Ranger Dan without all of these things. His work is maintaining the park to its clean and wild state, making sure the access to the gorges are safe and that everyone has a great venue to visit all year.

Working 3 weeks on and 1 week off gives Ranger Dan plenty of time to wander around in the wild, “I love finding remote gorges on Google Earth and hiking in for 2 days knowing I may be the only person to have seen this place in the last thousand years or more”. Ranger Dan was very appreciative of us enquiring about being camp hosts and said so 3 or 4 times during our hour chat.

Ranger Dan recently returned to Melbourne to see his Mum who had left the farm to live in the city, he told how much the place had changed in his eyes since last being there we are picturing Ranger Dan flying to Melbourne to see mum before flying back, not Ranger Dan he had never driven the Nullarbor Plain so he headed to Esperance where he picked a friends car who wanted it sent back to Melbourne not a new car either an old ute.

Over the next 3 days Ranger Dan had crossed the country doing near 5000ks in the old ute, well mostly in the ute, crossing the Nullarbor a tyre gave out so a quick change and he was on his way again before the old spare gave out leaving Ranger Dan stranded 30ks short of Ceduna at 4am. Everything I have read in the outback is, if you breakdown stay with your car until someone comes along. Not Ranger Dan, he set off on foot and walked all the way into Ceduna to get help.

I had to ask about some of the sights he must see with so many people and backpackers running around in these gorges on hot day with clear fresh water and water falls. A large grin came across Ranger Dans face, he didn’t answer immediately like normal he took a long breath his smile growing even winder “YEAH we see some sights”

Not going to detail he shared some stories of the sights at Karijini, part of his job is to walk into the gorges daily to make sure things are ok with the tracks and the visitors are behaving. The international backpackers he said they are not afraid of nudity Range Dan explained (again not detailed) of the many sights where he will drop in at Fern Pool or others and the backpacker will jump out of the water and come up to say hello or have him take a picture of them in the nude. Other times he has wandered in and a couple will be taking the opportunity of the remote location to get a little closer to each other.

Ranger Dan shared a story of a fellow male ranger who returned to the rangers station one day swearing to never go into the gorges again, the ranger had gone into do a routine check at one of the gorges to find 2 guys doing a spot of yoga in the nude, Ranger Dan said the ranger took some time to get over the sight.

Ranger Dan left us to finish our lunch of sandwiches that had by now toasted in the heat, but he left us like when we had met Mike we felt great, like we had met someone special.

Before he left we got a picture and I mentioned I would write about him on our blog, Ranger Dan told us he had just written a blog for ABC Open and they had come up and made a short video of him at work, that video is below and you can read his blog by clicking here

We were cooking a Sunday morning feast of bacon, eggs, hash browns and a real coffee thanks to the pod coffee machine donated by Ace & Anni in the BBQ area of the Karratha caravan park when Steve wandered in and started cooking his breakfast.

He was around 60 years of age with a sad look on his bald head, we got talking and it became clear he’d had more wine last night than he should have due his wife Jenny being away for a bit, Steve was feeling and looking a bit dusty.

Steve was from Southern South Australia and a fisherman who chased the sharks but tossed it in to become a gypsy as he put it, “they call us trailer trash” he added as the first sign of a smile broke on his face. He and his wife packed up and hit the road like most grey nomads before picking up work.

In Karratha after 5 months off Steve was due start work again in a couple of days locally driving a water truck to keep the red dust blowing from the road during works before he heads to Onlsow to do the same thing in a month or so. During Steve’s stay down in Onslow his wife Jenny is heading to The Daly River in NT where their friends have just started managing the local pub.

After trading a few stories on each other travels Steve talked gold, he was the owner of a fine ($6500) Minelab 5000 Gold Detector and he unlike us had found what he was looking for mixed up in all that dirt! “Jenny is into it more then me but its addictive” he said.

He had done his prospecting all over the place but had recently found 17 small pieces in Karratha in an area your car would cover but it was his wife who had found the larger nuggets. I asked him how much he had sold it for knowing what the answer would be “we haven’t sold the gold we wont sell gold” none do, well none of the people we have talked to have sold.

We parted company and were going about our business when Steve appeared out of nowhere with some treasure to feed our disappointment of not finding any gold when hunting for it back in Kalgoorlie.

The 17 small pieces were ok but 1 in particular was a small nugget and had soft but shinny edges, it had the weight of something 4 times it’s size. Then he produced a small clear container full with cotton wool but for the 2 pieces of gold 1 shaped similar to a piece of coral.

These pieces disappeared back into his pocked before Jennys gold appeared, these pieces larger and very impressive as they sparkled in the hot sun. Steve said he’d be in real trouble if Jenny knew he’d touched her gold, I guess that will only happen if she see’s this blog…

Or we tell her when we drop in at the Daly River Hotel on our way past in a few weeks.