Day 71 Willie Creek Pearl Farm

 This morning we headed off altogether in Trailways to the Willie Creek Pearl Farm. To get there, we had to traverse a very corrugated red dirt road, and Ian had to expertly navigate the Clipper on the road as crazy 4WD drivers overtook at great speed and on both sides of us  at various times. If you left a gap up one side , that’s good enough to pass on apparently. Ian was avoiding ruts and corrugations on the left of the road so was driving down the middle and a landcruiser decided to come past us on the left coming out of the dust 🤦🏻‍♂️ next part of the road was on the pearl farm property, with a sandy and salty plain, fortunately with red markers along the way to mark the route.

We were allowed to park in the coach parking at the farm, where there were beautifully manicured gardens, and sculptures made out of old tools and bits and pieces of steel. Old tools is dependant on your point of view,  some were still perfectly viable till welded to a turtle. 🐢 Some of the sculptures were of a turtle, (made of viable spanners)another was of a person, and these sculptures had also been alongside the road markers to mark the road in. There were areas of broken mother of pearl and oyster shell used as patches of ground cover, or in some of the pieces of artwork dotted around the farm.

We started our tour in the operations room, where they do the care and seeding and harvesting of the pearls. We had a class on the ‘how to’ create cultured pearls and about the different oysters and their anatomy, and how scientists are trying to find a way to use the oyster shells and mother of pearl which is waste, to create bone products for humans, to repair bones or fill holes in bones. The class was very interesting and very informative. From there we were taken outside for a generous morning tea of savoury scones, fresh fruit and chocolate brownies, tea, coffee, and juices.

The next part of the tour involved going on their brand new solar powered flat bottom boat, onto the very beautiful turquoise and azure waters of Willie Creek and surrounds. The boat was very quiet, with only the splashing of water against the sides as we moved along or turned. We were taken out to where they had a nursery and also a palliative care unit for the oysters. We had a lesson on the parasites and diseases that threaten the oysters and how they care for the oysters that are healthy, and try to repatriate the sick ones. From there we were shown around a side creek to look for wildlife and crocs, but no crocs were sighted, only a few Herons were spotted. Upon our return, despite only being gone half an hour, the tide had already gone down so much, that the boat had to be tethered at another location, for passengers to safely disembark. The tides can vary up to about 9m out here.

Same steps 2 hours later 

Upon our return to land, we were taken to another area for a demonstration of how they open up the oysters and harvest the pearls. They had an overhead camera filming the action so we could all see it. We looked at the anatomy of the oyster and why different shells produce different coloured pearls. They then harvested the pearl from an oyster chosen back at the beginning. Although this pearl was a good size, the flaws in it, meant it had no value. We were then taken to the gallery and shop and were told about how they value pearls and that is determined by the size, shape, lustre, colour, and complexion. Of course, then people were free to shop for pearl jewellery. Brenda has an upcoming birthday, so she chose a pearl pendant for a gift from family members. It really was a very interesting and worthwhile tour, which we all enjoyed.  As an aside, the most expensive single pearl there was $250,000.  Quarter of a million dollars, and it could still be swallowed by a small child,  not worth the risk.   

Yes the right one is $101,500.00 dollars 

We headed home back to ‘the ranch’, as Ian has nicknamed the caravan park. Matt and David took turns to drive Trailways home. We again cooked our own meals but ate together and chatted about our day and made plans for the next day. A Dad and his children came over to ask questions about the ‘coolest vehicles’ in the caravan park. He happened to be an automotive engineer, and was interested in hearing about them. The moon is just about full tonight, and we are looking forward to the special ‘staircase to the moon event tomorrow night. So stay tuned for hopefully some amazing photos tomorrow.