Day 11 Kalgoorlie to Lake King

Set off this morning and drove through Coolgardie.  It was much smaller than I thought it would be and the buldings were very old.  We continued on through Bulla Bullling and Yellowdine to Southern Cross.  We stopped here to post a letter, get a few things from the shop and refuel.  Diesel was 149.9 cents per litre.  It was a really neat and tidy town.

From Southern Cross we drove through Marvel Loch and onto Wave Rock.  The road from Marvel Lock to Wave Rock was gravel but in very good condition.  Wave Rock was very hot.  We had to pay $7 to see the rock.  The flies were really bad and Peter used his fly veil much to the amusement of the other tourists.  We were able to climb on top of Wave Rock and got magnificent views of the surrounding countryside.

Wave Rock

Wave Rock is 14 metres hight and 110 metres long and it looks like a big wave about to crash on the beach.  It is believed to have formed over 2700 million years ago and is part of the northern face of Hyden Rock. The shape of the wave is formed by gradual erosion of the softer rock beneath the upper edge over many centuries.  The colours are caused by the rain washing chemical deposits down the face, forming vertical stripes of greys, reds and yellows.  The changing sunlight at different times of the day alters its colours and appearance.  The rock has been converted into a catchment for the town's water supplies, with a foot high concrete wall around the upper edge of Hyden Rock which directs rainfall into a storage dam.

You can see the wall which directs rainfall into the dam

View from the top of Wave Rock & Peter with his fly veil on

It was so hot that the air con in the car didn't work all that well so we were very hot.  It was a bitumen road from Wave Rock and we drove through Varley to Lake King.  There were lots of wheat properties along the way and the paddocks were huge.  We decided to stay at Lake King as we were quite tired from the heat.  You had to pay for the caravan park at the Tavern so we walked over and I had two shandies which didn't even touch the sides.  When we walked back to the caravan park, Peter noticed that he had a flat tyre.  We had picked up a stick either when we pulled off the road for lunch or when we had to get off the road to let a wide load go through.  We were so pleased that it went flat after we stopped and not while we were towing the caravan.  Peter changed the tyre and put the spare on.  The amenities block was the best we have seen and was brand new.

Had to have the air conditioner on for a while that night as it was still quite hot.

Tomorrow we are off to Esperence.

cheers
Pete and Roz

Day 9 & 10 Norseman to Kalgoorlie

 We set off for Kalgoorlie today passing Lake Cowan and Lake Lefroy and passing through a little place called Widgiemooltha.  We turned off about 57 kms before Coolgardie and went through Kambalda which was founded in 1987 as a gold mining town during the gold rush frenzy but was deserted by 1908.  Now it is a nickel and gold mining town.

We continued on to Kalgoorlie and we were surprised at how neat and tidy it is.  It is called Kalgoorlie/Boulder or Boulder/Kalgoorlie depending which side of town you are on.  Population is around 30,000.  First thing we did was refuel with diesel at 152.9 cents per litre but we had a 4c voucher from a tourist book so got it a bit cheaper.  We booked into the caravan park for two nights and then set off to explore.  First stop was the Tourist Information Centre in Hannan Street where we got a list of things to do and see.  Peter was particularly interested in the mine so we booked a tour for the next morning.  We enjoyed seeing the very old buildings some of which (in Boulder town centre) had been damaged in an earthquake last  year.

One of the big dump trucks

Next morning we set off for our mine tour.  Thank goodness we were in an air conditioned bus as we had to wear long pants, long sleeves and closed in shoes.  We set off to the Super Pit which is the gold mine run by Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) and is one of the biggest working open cast mines in the southern hemisphere.  There used to be lots of individual mines and Alan Bond (yes THAT Alan Bond) bought them all up but then had some difficulties and they were taken over by KCGM.  The tour was absolutely amazing.  The mine goes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and has some amazing huge vechicles.  Some of dump trucks are huge and when they stop at a give way sign they have to swing right as they have a 50 metre blind spot.  There were a lot of young women working in the mine and driving the trucks.  We were told that all you need is a heavy rigid licence and then the mine trains you (with simulators) to drive all the vehicles that are used in the mine.  The workers in the mine rotate through all the different jobs which would be good as driving the trucks would get very monotonous.  You can earn $120,000 a year which is not bad for unskilled workers.

The Super Pit

As we drove through the different parts of the mine the tour guide gave us a running commentary.  Then when we got to the super pit we got out of the bus at a viewing station.  The super pit was just amazing (I am using that word quite a bit but it is the only one that suits).  This big hole in the ground with roads leading up out of it and dump trunks going down empty and coming up full.  When they are empty they can do around 50kmh but can only do 12 kmh when they are full.  The trucks don't stop unless they need to go in for servicing or repair.  When the driver stops for a break another person takes over the truck.  One truck has been painted pink for breast cancer awareness and one blue for prostate cancer awareness.  The trucks are loaded by a loader which weighs 700 tonnes and it can pick up 60 tonnes in one scoopful.  The trucks can hold about 230 tonne.  The tour went for 2.5 hours and we got to drive through the processing area and saw the crushers and the steel balls that roll around inside the crushers breaking down the rocks.  They usually do blasting at 1pm but is was too windy on the day we were there so the blast was cancelled.  They try to minimise the dust that blows onto the town so they don't blast on days that are too windy.  We were also told that on days where there is lightning everyone has to leave the super pit in case the lightening sets off the explosives.  I would highly recommend this tour to anyone going to Kalgoorlie.

One of the dump trucks dropping off its load

In the afternoon we went to the Super Pit Lookout which overlooks the mine.  You can see all the old shafts and holes of the old mines and the pit has piles of wood and steel that they pull out from these old mines.  They can't be recycled at the old miners used arsenic to treat the wood so they are just buried on site.

We then went to the museum which was very new and very well set out.  You could take a lift to the top of the mine shaft rigging which was over the museum and the views across Kalgoorlie were amazing.

Tomorrow we are heading to Esperence.

cheers
Pete and Roz

Day 8 Border Village to Norseman

We were up very early today as we hadn't adjusted to WA time (I still haven't and am getting up at 4:30am).  The WA/SA border and Quarantine Station was right outside the caravan park so we had to open the van and the boxes on the back of the ute for inspection.  You cannot take any fruit and vegetables, honey or nuts in shells to WA.  We passed inspection and were finally in Western Australian.

The quarantine station at the WA border

SA/WA Border

Should have mentioned this in the previous post but we had expected the Nullarbor Plain to be barren, flat and boring but it was quite the opposite.  Initially it was undulating and we were anticipating what was going to be over the next hill.  Parts of it were the treeless plains and the straight roads that we expected but there was so much more.  Along the way you got teased with glimpes of the Southern Ocean in the Great Australian Bight until finally about 40kms from the WA border  you drive parallel to the ocean and all you can see is ocean as far as the eye can see.  No islands or anything, just ocean and sometimes amazing escarpments.  The vegetation also changes several times, from low shrubs and satlbush to taller shrubs and trees and back again.  We found that we mainly shared the road with road trains with up to 3 trailers and other caravans.  We saw very few cars.

First stop was Eucla where we refuelled.  We then took a short 4km detour to the old telegraph station which is slowly being buried by sand.  It is made out of sandstone and would have been a beautiful building in its time.  We also looked at the John Eyre Memorial Lookout, the Traveller's Cross and a memorial to two fishermen who were lost at sea.  There was also another hole of the Nullarbor Links Golf Course here.

The ruins of the old telegraph station at Eucla

We continued driving to Madura across the Roe Plains.  We were pleasantly surprised to find that someone had decorated various trees along the way.  Each one had a theme; one was full of bras, one with shoes, one with caps, one with bottles and lots more.  They were a long way apart so it really added some interest to the drive waiting for the next one and wondering what it would be.

As we were driving across the Nullarbor, the only wildlife we saw was two emus.  There was also hardly any road kill considering that a lot of it was unfenced and there were road trains travelling day and night.

One of the signs, after a while the wombat changed to an emu on the signs

Next stop was Madura where we refuelled.  It was almost as expensive as Nullarbor at 192 cents per litre.  There was another Nullarbor Links Golf Course hole here.

We travelled on through Cocklebiddy and then to Caiguna with yet another Nullarbor Links Golf Course hole.  The “90 mile (146.6kms) straight” starts at Caiguna and goes to Balladonia.  It is the longest straight stretch of highway in Australia. 

We refuelled at Balladonia and diesel was a bit cheaper at 1889.1 cents per litre.  The name Balladonia comes from an aboriginal word meaning “big red rock”.  It made world headlines in 1979 when space debris from Skylab landed 40km east on Woorlba Sheep Station.  The hotel complex has a cultural Heritage Museum which has pieces of Skylab on display.  Balladonia has one of the world’s oldest and dense landscapes.

A piece of Skylab

We were considering staying the night at Fraser Range Station but there was no phone reception and we wanted to call Lauren so pressed on to Norseman.  It was a really big day as we did 713kms and I definitely had a numb bum by the time we got there.  The caravan park at Norseman was the most expensive yet at $33 for the night for a powered site.  I was up early the next morning so went for a walk around Norseman which is a historical gold mining town and Western Australia’s gateway to the Nullarbor.  Over 5 million ounces of gold have been taken out of Norseman making it the second richest goldfield in WA.   There are camels made out of corrugated iron and a sculpture of a horse “Norseman” that the town is named after.   The horse allegedly was tethered to a tree overnight and by morning the horse had unearthed a piece of gold bearing quartz by pawing the ground.   

The statue of Norseman

The tin camels at Norseman

Next stop Kalgoorlie.

Cheers

Pete and Roz

Day 7 Ceduna to Border Village

Had a great meal on our last night in Ceduna.  We went to a seafood outlet and brought some prawns and some whiting fillets.  They were so fresh the guy was still filleting the whiting when we arrived.  Just floured the fillets and cooked them in margarine - delicious!

Headed off in the morning on the Eyre Highway and stopped at Penong to have a look around.  Penong is named after a derivative of the Aboriginal word meaning "waterhole" and is known as the town of 100 windmills.  You can see the windmills from the highway.  This is where the Nullabor Links Golf Course starts.  This is a unique golf course as there is only one hole in Penong and as you go across the Nullabor you come to places that have another hole. There is a community run museum in the old woolshed that used to be an outstation of the vast Yatala sheep run.  It was really interesting to look through and even had an old cord and plug switchboard which I have used years ago when I was a telephonist in Roma.  It brought back lots of memories of party lines and trying to get all your cords up on calls.  It was very windy in Penong and the lady in the museum said that it is windy most of the time.  Most of the people work in the nearby gypsum mine.

This is the first hole of the Nullabor Links Golf Course at Penong.

The Woolshed Museum at Penong

Continuing on, we took a detour off the highway to go to Fowlers Bay.  This is a tiny little place right on the water.  There is a really long jetty (longer than the one in Ceduna) and you look out onto the Southern Ocean in the Great Australian Bight.  All you can see is ocean.  It is a popular fishing spot and has some amazing sand dunes.

The jetty at Fowlers Bay

A view of the sand dunes at Fowlers Bay

Went past Nundroo Roadhouse which has the next hole of the Nullabor Links golf course. 

Next stop was  Head of Bight which was 12 kms off the highway and is a premier whale watching  area of Australia.  There is an interpretive centre and lots of boardwalks have been built with viewing platforms which give you fantastic vistas of the Bunda Cliffs with sheer drops from the towering cliffs.  It cost $5 per adult to get in but was well worth it.  It was a little unnerving with all the signs telling you to watch out for snakes but we didn't see any.  The buildings are very new and very tastefully done.  I imagine it would be very busy in the whale season.

Peter on one of the viewing platforms at Head of Bight

One of the views

Some of the boardwalks at Head of Bight

We stopped at Nullabor and filled up at the roadhouse and paid a whopping 193.9 cents per litre.  You have to go in and show your driver's licence before they will start the pump as too many people have driven off without paying.  Nullabor was named by a surveyor (Delisser) and it was from "nulla" for no and "arbor" for tree as this is where the treeless plain starts.  This is also next hole of the Nullabor Links Golf Course.

We drove on to Border Village to stay the night.  We were going to go to Eucla, just over the WA border but we still had some fruit and veg that we wanted to use up (we previously had to give up some fruit and veg at the quarantine points in NSW and SA) so decided to stop in Border Village which is at the Quarantine Station but on the SA side.  This was the first caravan park that we had to put money in to get hot water for the shower.  It was only $2 and you got 10 minutes so that wasn't too bad.

Tomorrow - Western Australia!

cheers

Pete and Roz

Day 6 Ceduna

It was nice to be able to have a lie in this morning and not have to pack up and move on - even though it doesn't take too long to do that. 

We went for a drive around Ceduna today and went to Thevenard and the viewing platform at Pinky Point.  From there you can look at the islands in the bay and out to the Great Australian Bight as well as the big silos that are at the wharf and have a big conveyor belt that moves the grain around.  Also here is where they keep the gypsum and salt.  It is quite an arid looking area with lots of mallee scdrub and dry salt lakes and granite outcrops.  The sunsets are spectacular too.  We have been lucky and have been able to get TV reception everywhere so far although Peter is lamenting that he won't get to see any rugby league.......my heart bleeds! 

This is a boat at the Ceduna wharf.

The person in this house had made all these whirly gigs using household items such as ice cream containers, plastic drink bottles, etc.

These are the big grain silos at the wharf.

I am loving my ebook reader.  I purchased several ebooks before I left and have already read two of them and am half way through the third.  It is so easy to use, a flip of the finger turns the page and it always remembers where you are up to.  It also has a built in dictionary so if I come across a word I don't know, I just tap on it twice and it brings up the meaning. 

I forgot to include this picutre the other day.  They are a man and a women that have been put together using different items.  For example the man's privates is a tap.  We had a good giggle.  They are on the front of a house in Clare.

Tomorrow we cross the Nullabor.  We will be stopping to look at lots of things on the way so we aren't sure where we will be tomorrow night.

Hope everyone is well. 

cheers

Pete and Roz

Day 5 Ceduna

We haven't been able to get internet access for the last couple of nights so posts may be intermittent.  I forgot to mention in previous posts how green it was while travelling through NSW and Victoria.  This is a result of the floods as there are many areas where the paddocks are absolutley waterlogged and the water is lying in the paddocks.  In some places, the water was lapping the edge of the road.  All the green growth is also what has contributed to the insect plagues.

We were not able to get to Lake Eyre because of the roads so will save that for another trip.  We have been carefully watching the weather in the far north west of Western Australia and as a result have decided that we will change the way we are going and instead of going to Kununurra and working our way down, we will now go to Perth and work our way up.  My friend Nola had suggested this was the better way to go at this time of year so we are taking her advice.  Unfortunately I had booked flights from Perth to Melbourne and return in May (to a Stampin' Up! conference) expecting to be in Perth.  Of course to get cheaper flights I booked non-transferrable, non-refundable flights!  Now depending where we are, I will either fly back to Perth or direct to Melbourne - an unexpected expense. 

From Mildura we set off on the Sturt Highway going through Cullulleraine and Paringa to Renmark.  We continued on through Berri, Waikerie, Morgan and Burra to Clare in South Australia.  We came through a plague of grasshoppers between Morgan and Burra and it was like a torrential downpour with grasshoppers hitting the windscreen instead of raindrops.  We have been to this part of South Australia a couple of times before when we went to the Flinders Rangers and to the Northern Territory and had visited the wineries and done lots of sight seeing.  We stayed in Clare for the night.

Grapes covered near Clare

Next morning we set off again going through Rochester, Yacka, Gulnare, Gladstone, Laura, Stone Hut, Wirrabara, Melrose, Wilmington and through Horrocks Pass to Port Augusta.  We stopped and bought some groceries in Port Augusta which had changed a lot since we had last been there.  We continued on to Iron Knob and had a look around.  This is all new territory for us.  Iron Knob's claim to fame is being the birthplace of the Australian steel industry and BHP.  The first iron ore was discovered here in 1894 and was sent to the Whyalla Steelworks.  The mine ceased operations in 1998 but you can still do mine tours.  We found the town very depressing.  It looks like a ghost town and lots of the houses have 4 sale signs. 

Iron Knob

We continued on to Kimba which has the big galah and claims to be the halfway point across Australia.  This is an agricultural area and the town has a population of 650.  We stayed there last night.

The big galah at Kimba

This morning we drove through Koongawa, Kyancutta, Wudinna, Minnipa, Poochera and Wirrulla to Ceduna where we are staying for two nights.  Ceduna is located on the western Eyre Peninsula and has a population of 4000.  It is located on the scenic shores of Murat Bay in the Great Australian Bight and local industries include wheat farming, gypsum mining, salt mining and commercial fishing.  Peter couldn't get over the size of the paddocks as we drove along.  They were huge and the machinery to work the farms is huge as well.   

The jetty at Ceduna looking into the Great Australian Bight - Peter and I walked to the end of the jetty, it was really windy.

We have been very lucky with the weather.  Haven't had any rain since Bookham on the first day and except for the really hot day and night in Naranderra, the temperture has been really pleasant and great for travelling.  It is quite windy here in Ceduna but Peter is hoping that it will blow us across the Nullabor when we set off.

That's it for now. 

cheers

Peter and Roz  

Day 1 & 2

We got away at 12noon on Monday.  A few hours later that we had thought but as we are not on a strictly planned trip it didn't really matter.  We stopped at the rest area just past the Yass Service Centre for lunch.  It was raining off and on until we got to Bookham and has been fine since. We drove on through Gundagai, Wagga Wagga (where Lauren was born) and got to Narrandera at 4:30pm where we stayed the night at the Lake Talbot Caravan Park with lake views!  It was so hot.  Setting up the van we were both dripping with perspiration.  We had the air conditioning on all night. I couldn't get over the number of dragonflies that are around and I spent some time watching them.  They are simply amazing how they can instantly change their direction and zoom away.  When I see a dragonfly I think of my dear friend - hi Jenni!

Much cooler this morning and great for travelling. Got away at 9:45am and headed off to Hay where we stopped to refuel and get some fruit as we had only bought a small amount when we left home as you are not allowed to carry any into the fruit fly zone.  We have spent a bit of time in Hay in previous years and love Shear Outback which is all about the history of shearing.  We saw lots more dragonflies, emus and lots and lots of crickets.  They are everywhere.  We continued on to Balranald.  We stayed in Balranald a couple of years ago when we went to Mungo National Park.  There are these cute cartoon frogs made of metal everywhere doing different things.  At the Information Bureau there are two sawing a log, others are pushing a wheelbarrow, camping and lots of other things.  I took lots of photos last time we were there.

We continued on and when we got to Euston we noticed that all the grapes had these white plastic covers over them.  Haven't seen that before and there is so much of them.  We got to Mildura at 4:40pm and are staying in the same caravan park that we did last time. 

We are not sure if we will be able to get to Lake Eyre.  Most of the roads are either closed or difficult to traverse.  We will check with an info line tomorrow.  Might have to move to Plan B - we just don't have a Plan B at the moment. 

That's it for now.  We have just had tea and are watching My Kitchen Rules.  Not sure where we will be tomorrow night.  We might aim for Coober Pedy - time will tell.

cheers
Pete and Roz