Kalgoorlie and west

17th March Saturday

Chilly start, but warmed up quickly, sort of noyhing day, in the afternoon walked up to Victoria Rock again.

We have 2 other campers arrive this afternoon, a Swiss couple who are over here till June, they have been up north to the Kimberley's and Darwin then back down via Alice Springs, they encountered floods in the Flinders Range so came west, but are now going back to S.A. The other couple are Bernd and Marion in their own Toyota shipped over from Germany, we first met them in Lane Cove, Sydney, at the very start of our journey, what a coincidence, it seems they have had problems with their vehicle as well, they are at the end of their journey and go home in a few weeks time so they can sort the vehicle problems out then. We keep saying to people "we might see you on the road " and now we have. Have fly sprayed the tent and LRover.as Rose is covered in bites again. Time for bed.

18th March Sunday

Weather forecast is correct, it started raining just before 6am and a bit chilly. It seems this is the tail end of a cyclone in the north west of the state. Left site at 9.30am and still raining, looks like settled in for the day. Drove along Great Eastern Hway

to Kalgoorlie-Boulder . It is shut except for the visitor centre, museum and cafes. Went to W.A.museum and spent 2 hours seeing the history of the city and surrounding goldfields(free) really interesting and time went very quickly. Still raining and probably will be tomorrow. Found the library and brought blog up to date, it was 4pm when we finished so drove back down Hway to free camp site at Lake Douglas Reserve. Sleeping in LRover tonight so just putting awning up. The weather is worse than this morning , it is horrible, it was difficult finding somewhere to park up that wont be too boggy in the morning, we just feel damp all the time.

19th March Monday

Finally stoped raining in the night, just fine drizzle now. Bedding is damp on Rose's side so wont be able to put anything away properly. Left site 9am, back to Kalgoorlie, did food shopping, then fuel. Colin realised too late that after one tank that he'd put petrol in instead of deisel($71), he filled the other tank from a Jerry can, then started to syphon the petrol back into the Jerry can. The girls in the servo were very helpful and told us where a nearby mechanic's workshop was and then a customer took us to it and we told them the problem, (he didn't laugh too much). The owner gave us a couple of cans and Colin emptied the petrol into them and then we filled up with diesel at the owners pumps leaving the petrol,(they didn't charge for the use of the workshop, again nice people). We now have a Jerry can full of petrol to try and sell cheaply. Still raining. We drove up to the Super Pit Lookout, it is very impressive and large, but hardly anything moving

due to the rain. we left there and drove to Coolgardie where we had lunch and swapped books before getting back onto Eastern Hway following the Golden Pipeline to our camp for the night at Karalee Rock (named after Natalie and Ricky?). It has finally stopped raining, put tent up and will stay for a couple of days to dry out. Lit a campfire and cooked garlic bread on it then heated water and kept us warm till bed.

20th March Tuesday

Lovely warm sleep, bit windy night and not very warm this morning. Left packet of noodles out on the table and had we've had a mouse visitor nibbling a packet. will stay vigilant and not leave anything out. Where we are camped at Karalee Rocks is part of the Golden Pipeline. A dam was built here to supply water to the steam trains in the 1800s, using the water run off from the local rocks. The Golden Pipeline was built to supply water to the Goldfields starting at Mundering Weir and pumped to Kalgoorlie. It was the brainchid of a British engineer CY O'Connor who died before the pipeline was finished, almost half the pipeline is original and still there and in service. Met our neighbour and he gave us some caravan pks and free sites on our journey, he also showed Rose how to access the internet without charge via the phone. Sent Emails to Round The World Flights to change home flight dates. Collected some wood and Colin lit campfire in pit behind tent and we cooked jacket spuds and sausages for dinner, it was lovely to have change of diet.

21st March Wednesday

Woken by phone call from Nats, catching up with Colin. Sunny morning but wind is chilly, staying here another night. Colin has relit fire and using it to heat water and will cook dinner later on it. Rose sorted out her clothes and needs to buy some shorts as hers are too big. Stuart came over and he's written down some places to visit in the north, again so helpful. Made a savoury damper today and cooked it on fireplate with chicken casserole. Heard back about flights and we have to pay extra to fly from Brisbane, sent Email saying Brisbane it is then, we will be leaving Brisbane on the 3rd September 2012.

22nd march Thursday

Overcast chilly morning, leaving today moving west,where it's hopefully warmer. Really pleased over last few days as not needed the solar panel to top up the batteries for fridge, the weather has been like an English bad summer. Colin admitted he's had to tighten his belt on his shorts as well, no one will recognise us when we get home we'll have lost so much weight. Back onto Eastern Hway we stopped at no.1 Rabbit Proof Fence

(1837kms) which was commenced in 1901 and completed in 1907, it is now known as the State Barrier Fence. Stopped in Merredin for lunch and a walk around, Rose bought some shorts in a sale in Target, treated ourselves to chocolate and a bottle of wine before driving to Kellerberrin Caravan Park, not suitable for us so drove down to Kokerbin Rock

 free campsite, it is Australia's 3rd largest monolith. It has niw warmed up but the flies are a menace at the camp and it's very windy.

23rd March Friday

FRIDAY FACT:- THE PIPELINE FROM MUNDERING WEIR(PERTH) TO KALGOORLIE IS THE LONGEST FRESHWATER PIPELINE IN THE WORLD.

Overcast windy start to the day. Stopped at Kellerberin Resource Centre to check Emails, but unable to connect to Yahoo, seems they've had a problem all week so got our $10 back, did manage to do couple of other things first. as we got to Tammin saw the roadhouse had deisel for $1.49 per litre so pulled in and filled up, haven't seen fuel that cheap since Victoria, also treated ourselves to a nice coffee. Weather now sunny but still windy. Tammins concrete wheat silos were the first concrete silos built in Australia. Onto Meckering, where we had lunch. Saw The Big Camera there,



it is also a camera museum, it used to be a servobefore conversion. Visited the memorial park and farmhouse ruins, due to the earthquake on October 14th 1968, (6.9 on the Richter scale) due to the fact it was a public holiday and in the daytime nobody waas killed, the worst injury being a broken collar bone. All the buildings in the town were damaged,

railway lines buckled,

the pipeline had exploded

                                          this piece was found 2 miles to the west of the town
but within a couple of days the utility services were working again in the town, they still have tremors in the town to this day. we drove across country, through the wheatbelt

to Goomalling Caravan Pk for a few nights. It is only $10 per night, and is a nice clean modern Shire site. A woman came round selling eggs only $1.50 for 6. Cooked and ate in camp kitchen, nice to have somewhere to go of an evening.

Going Inland

10th March Saturday

18degs when we got up at approx 7am. Went fishing for just over an hour, no fish but did have some bites, we saw a large Ray and a shoal of small fish in the sea. It is getting very hot. Just got back to tent when Colin and Jan stopped by and invited us to dinner tonight. Rose will try making some Damper on camp BBQ today to take along. We went for a swim before lunch, the sea was brilliant, and Rose had a shower as we came off the beach, the water comes from a rain water tank so was warm. Colin went fishing again whilst Rose made the Damper(guessing the quantities again) it cooked very quickly on the BBQ. After a shower went along to Colin and Jans for dinner, he cooked a lovely spicey chicken curry, we had the Damper as a starter and it wasn't bad. Another lovely evening with Heather and Alan as well.

11th March Sunday

Bit cloudy at first but still 20degs, Rose has put her jumper on, we are getting acclimatised. Chatted with neighbours till about 9am when Heather came along and invited us to dinner again, such kind people here. Sort of feel guilty as we have nothing to contribute. Very slow day, went for a swim, bit cooler than yesterday but still lovely, showered eventually and then got a few bits together ready for leaving tomorrow. we had the Kangaroos behind the tent and Colin got a photo of one of the young suckling from mum,

we still get a thrill from the wildlife, even saw a Goana

 this afternoon. Had another lovely dinner and company, will miss this campsite. Saw the moon coming up and it was bright yellow.

12th March Monday

Moving off today already warm at 7am. Packed up and said our goodbyes to Heather Alan Colin and Joan, it has been a great few days with fantastic company. Filled up with water at Welstead and back onto South Coast Hway by 9.15am, only 99kms to Albany. Drive through Hassell Nat Pk lots of trees and very green, stopped about 15k before Albany for coffee, full phone signal so tried internet, no luck. Found library no problem and updated blog and uploaded photos, then off for shopping. Filled up up with diesel, only 1.52, cheapest we've seen for a long time. Decided to go to Torbay Inlet for one night. Weather has clouded over and when we got to campsite it is trying to rain. Only put out awning will sleep in LRover tonight, what a change from this morning. Site is shaded and empty, back to long drop toilets, but it's clean. Few other campers have arrived, mostly sleeping in vehicles.

13th March Tuesday

Warm but rainy night. Colin did'nt sleep well, but there is a lovely smell of fern/eucalyptus at the camp this morning, nice and fresh. Away by 9.30am back toward Albany. By the time we had been to Supercheap for oil and piping for windscreen washers BCF for gas topup and stopped for coffee it's 11.30am before we leave Albany heading towards Dumbleyung via Mt Barker. The scenery is very like England. Started clouding over again. North of Mt Barker we turn off onto the Gt Southern Hway towards Wagin. As you drive north the landscape gets drier, passing dried up saltlakes and salt pastureland. Past Katanning we are back to wheatbelt coutryside. Decided to stop for night at Wagin Caravan Pk($16), nice site good showers and laundry only $2 with free drier. Once set up tent and paid caretaker walked to the Great Ram Pk to see the Great Ram sculpture,

it is 9 times the of a real ram also the largest Ram in the southern hemisphere, it is truly impressive. it/s early to bed as Colin is tired. Wagin is the home of the Woolerama show, the largest agricultural show in WA with 30000 visitors.

14th March Wednesday

12.30 woken again by sprinklers, should have known better with nice green grass, at 12.40 rang caretaker and left a message, sprinklers went on for 30mins. Talking to gardener in morning and they should have been switched off. Will go to Shire office to complain. Sunny this morning with a few clouds, cold in the night. Popped into shire office and they refunded camp fees due to disturbed night, they were very apologetic, so free camping again(result). On road to Kulin, it's only a small town but is known for it's bush races held in October each year, a few years ago Tin Horses started apearing along the highway made out of bits of scrap metal, it is now known unofficialy as The Tin Horse Hway, it then became a competition to make the biggest and best tin horses.

When we arrived at Kulin-Holt Rock Rd which is part of The Tin Horse Hway, we noticed that all of the horses were rether clever, the first horse made was of one doing a handstand.

Carried on to Hyden and Wave Rock for the night,

 stopping at Wave Rock Caravan Pk. Wave Rock is a granite cliff 15mtrs high and 110mtrs long, it's shape has been caused by weathering and water erosion. After pitching tent had a walk along the rock and up and over it.

It is an amazing sight and at the top you can see such a long way. You can see the town of Hyden 5km away, the empty salt water lakes as well as Lake Magic in the distance. Cooked in camp kitchen and sat in COMFY CHAIRS with other couples before bed.

15th March Thursday

Awake early, had cooked breakfast cooked on the BBQ, and sat at table again(very civilised). Into Hyden for fuel as had 4cents per ltr voucher from campsite, then back onto Hyden-Norseman Rd.

when cars pass us they throw up a big cloud dust cloud. In places you can see for miles ahead on the road.

Passed a Nickle mine just before the turn to Southern Cross, there are signs in road about Road Trains and to keep left.

 Passed a grader on the road, so Colin has been the first behind a grader:]

Stopped at crossroads for Emily Ann Mine and saw the big dump trucks passing

(even got a lovely wave from one of the women drivers). Drove on to Lake JohnsonCamp Area,

but decided against it as it was very open and no getting away from the wind. Had a look at map and continued on Victoria Rock Rd to Coolgardie and stopped at camp area at Victoria Rock, shady, toilets and looks they have spent time making it nice. At times the road to the camp site had seemed like driving on compacted sand and very corrugated. When we took tent out of it's bag a big spider came out, it got very aggresive so Colin killed it. Very quiet and peaceful.

16th March Friday

FRIDAY FACT: PER CAPITA OZZIES READ MORE NEWSPAPERS THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.

Woken by birds, bit chilly but weather should be in late 20s later. No phone signal but do have Radio West to listen to. sun has come out and is burning today, so lots of time in the shade. saw a group of Zebra Finches, came very close, landing on guy ropes and LRover, reminding Rose of times when she had an aviary of them, so it was good to see them in their wild natural habitat. Colin did some maitenance, checked oils, mended near side windscreen washer and bashed Roses door with a hammer(not closing properly). In afternoon walked up to Victoria Rock, views are amazing, 360 degrees and all you can see are trees. Bed early as it gets dark and the mozzies are out.

The end of the mouse?

3rd March Saturday

Mouse is winning. Had a walk with camera to the beach and around the bay, it is very rocky at one end and lots of different coloured rock formatoins.

Water is crystal clear again. Mouse has been at packets of pasta and the crisps, so now storing those in one of the side boxes, looks like we will have to get some poison if not caught before we leave here. warm sunny day with a nice cool breeze. We were invited to a poetry reading at 4.30pm given by a bush poet called John Hayes, he is in his 70s and started writing poems in his 40s. he read some of his own and those of others. it was surprisingly really good they were all about the struggles of early Australia and the people who lived there. he finished of with a poem he wrote about the bush fires in March 2009 in Victoria , it was very poignant to one of the listeners as he had known some friends who died in the fires, and he'd gone in to help clear up afterwards. On our journey we have come to understand the effects the drought, subsequent rains and the bush fires have on the lives of ordinary people.

4th March Sunday

Darned mouse. Hot start to the day. Went fishing at 8am, not as early as planned, using bacon as bait, met two men coming off the beach been out fishing since 6am and caught a few herring. There were other people fishing so we went further along the beach. the bacon worked Colin caught a whiting, too small to keep but at least caught something. Rose went back to tent to get bucket and camera and on way back to beach saw dolphins playing in the bay. kept missing them with the camera.

Did'nt catch anything else so headed back after a couple of hours. Got talking to some other campers on way back and they listed some good camp sites we might like to stay at along the coast. At least we have learnt today that wildlife in Oz whether on land or in sea like bacon. Went swimming in the afternoon, it was great, only thing you have to walk a long way out to get any depth. Had long chat with the young German couple and they read English books so might be able to swap a few books. Back on stirfrys as Colin was missing them(not Broccoli)

5th March Monday

ONE DEAD MOUSE, broken neck, yippee. Out fishing just after 8am but no luck today, sea a bit rougher. Later in morning went for a swim, what luck the dolphins came back, we went back in the water and were within 10mtrs of them, awsome. Quite a few campers leaving today and it is over 30degs. Spent afternoon with John and Anne(the poets), they went through the camps book and pointed out some cheap/free good sites , then Anne had made some scones, they were delicious. Good afternoon. Just before dinner the young German couple popped round with some books to swap, we then went to see them later showing them the camp sites that we had been told about, as they are going in same direction. Went to bed in the dark tonight, lots of mozzies around.

6th March Tuesday

Leaving Quagi Bay today, it is such a nice place. Up early but still did'nt leave till just after 9am, after saying goodbyes. Another place we could have stayed longer. On our way to Ravensthorpe. Rollercoaster roads again with some pretty big hills. Approx 38 kms to east of Ravensthorpe past a big opencast mine, you can see it from qite a distance. By time we reached Ravensthorpe LRover temp inside has reached 30degs. Found Community Centre and uploaded all of photos and blog for past week, which took an hour. walked to visitor centre and after talking to lady we decided to go to caravan park in town after we done our shopping. At site unpowered $18 powered $28, when we said we only had a fridge we got charged $19 all in, result. There is lots of shade and a camp kitchen which we'll use, laundry only $3. Colin has mended the awning with what he had to hand. Temp is now over 40degs, not good travelling weather for us. There are a few clouds of Grasshoppers in this town, the good thing is when you walk through them they hop/fly away from you, takes some getting used to. Making use of camp kitchen tonight. Whilst eating other campers are cooking and chatting. Colin rang Laurie for a quick chat, very poor internet access as at bottom of hill. Still hot when went to bed.

7th March Wednesday

Windy warm night, up early for for early start. That did'nt happen, site owner stoppedfor a chat so nearly 9am before we left town. Roads are rollercoaster again and the land is used for Wheat, so now very barren looking. Stopped at Jerramunjup Lions Park and sat under shade catching Up with Emails. Looks like phone/internet access is best at small towns/roadhouses, away from them it is useless. Drove onto Welstead, driving through clouds of Grasshoppers,

when we stopped the switch for the fan decided to break, whilst Colin tried to fix it Rose went into Resourse Centre where the very helpful girl rang Cape Riche Campground to find the cost $5 pppn, when Rose left she ran after her with a goodybag including a china mug in a box(will now have to keep it from breaking), she also told her about a coffee morning the next morning at 10am. Colin couldn't switch so managed to buy one for $5 at the general store. Drove to the campground 18kms down dirt road,

decided to stop for 2 nights. They have flushing toilets, cold showers and drinking water, it is a big site and the caretaker said they have been busy since Christmas. There's also gas BBQs available. Had a walk to the beach, we have "squeeky" sand , white sand. Not as pretty as last place but still nice. Hopefully do some swimming and fishing.

8th March Thursday

Already sunny and warm, few people have left site this morning. Colin has made himself a list of jobs to do. Decided after the jobs done to stay another 3 nights till Monday as site is good and we can go fishing and swimming here, the weather forecast is well into the 30s so not good for travelling. Had a walk across the rocks after lunch and decided where to go fishing. Sat down before dinner when 4 Kangaroos came into campground,

they came so close you could have touched them,

looked like 2 separate families it was wonderful. Cooked dinner on camp BBQ. Clouding up before bed.

9th March Friday

AT TWICE THE LENGTH OF THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA, THE DINGO FENCE IS THE LONGEST FENCE IN THE WORLD


Cloudy this morning, would have been a good travelling day. The Kangaroos have been through the camp again this morning.

Chatting to other campers, after the grain harvest in S.A. it is common for the mice to invade the caravan parks and to get into caravans, motorhomes and LRovers, we were lucky to have had only one mouse. By lunchtime sun has come out. Caught up with journal and calculated distance from Albany to Ipswich by most direct route to try and work out roughly where we have to be and when. Drove up to Welstead to catch up on Emails etc. sounds like some of the girls have been having a rough time, phone signal not good so will wait till we get to Albany to make calls. Bought bottle of wine and filled up water before going back to site. Wind has got up a bit which is cooling it down nicely. We were invited for Happy Hour with Heather and Alen and expats Colin and Jan, Heather invited us to join them for dinner. They had an old gas bottle cut down used as a fire pit and cooked meat on hot plate over the fire, it was lovely and a great evening with good company. We learnt from Alan about how individual states came together and became the federation in the last century.

Across the Nullarbor

25th February Saturday

Road signs in South Australia

                                          this one is a knob, guess what the next one is?

Thought we had got the mouse in the night, but no such luck. Started a bit overcast but clouds now clearing. Packed up LRover and colin rang Dodzee for a chat, he will be in Perth again in a few weeks, also told us that we are lucky to be seeing the Nullabor green.

 Showers on site were great, we both ended up having cool showers. Stopped at quarantine on border

 and officer was telling us it was 43degs yesterday, but will a lot cooler for us going west as we will be dropping down onto the Tablelands. Stopped at the Old Telegraph Station ruins

at Euchla and the Eyre memorial, you can see right over to the coast

 and the Eyre Hway.

 At least the roads have bends in them today, saw a lot of trucks on the road this morning, stopped at Mundrabilla roadhouse to fill just one tank with fuel, ouch $1 88 per litre, better than Border Village at $1.93 or Madura $2.04. Stopped at Madura Pass to lookout back over Roe Plains, amazing flat lands of nothing

 to the sea. Road has staightened out a bit as we head towards Cockelbiddy for the night, no shade at the roadhouse so carried on a further 21kms to Jillbunya Rockhole rest area, still no shade but as clouds have come over it does'nt matter. Started raining and thunder and lightening, temp has dropped to 22Degs, we bought rain again. Night in LRover again. Rain did'nt last long. Had to put clocks back again another 45mins, now on Western time. Got dark early so went to bed not long after dinner, both very tired.

26th February Sunday

Disturbed night trying to catch the mouse. Wind changed direction, so bit cooler today. Land flat and featureless. At Caiguna we started the 90 mile straight,

 the longest straight road in Oz.

                                          
                                            taken every 20 minutes approx

 In the first 2hrs today we only had 26 vehicles and 2 cyclists(mad) pass us going the other way. Stopped at Balladina Roadhouse for lunch and had a look round museum, it told about the Indiginous peoples and the building of the Eyre Hway and Roadhouse, it also`houses part of the Sky Lab which crashed not far from here in 1979. Had to stop to let Emu's cross the road.


 Stopped early today to let Colin could do a small service on LRover, we missed the Newman Rocks Rest Area so carried on to Mt Pleasant instead. Sleeping in LRover again tonight, getting used to it. On road today we had pass us 2 cyclists 2 motorcyclists and 58 other vehicles(not a lot for a days driving). Only ones on site tonight, it is a very big area. Bed early again as Mozzies are out.

27th February Monday

Up early 6.30, Colin did oil change after digging a big hole. Chilly start to the day, sun trying to come out. as we get closer to Norseman the trees are getting taller and some have a lovely red/orange bark. Seen very few vehicles today. Arrived at Norseman, did shopping in IGA and when we came out was approached by a German bloke who has a 1963 LRover at home, he is travelling round Oz for 6 months in a Toyota he bought for the trip, very chatty, then another LRover pulled up driven by an expat from Cheltenham, he had converted a 130 tray back into a county station wagon,

they could sleep in the back but also had OzTent to fit to the side, every thing was stored in a custom made bag on the roof rack, nice job. Finally got to info centre, had to wait for it to open then got leaflet about National Parks. Decided to camp at Dundas Rocks for a couple of nights. Dark just after 6.30pm so went to bed just after 7pm, after setting our new mouse traps(we will win). Getting very windy now.

28th February Tuesday

Mouse got the bait but did'nt get caught. Windy and cloudy this morning. We are camped in part of the Dundas Hills with rock formations scattered throughout,


 some dating back 2,892 million years. Colin doing some more mantenance today, fitted socket outside for Solar Panel to plug into then did some repairs to the side awning. Had a walk and some of the rocks are amazing,

 it seems in the 1800s they used to collect the run off rain water from the rocks into a small man made dam, where they used to sell it to the gold miners. Saw a lizard on the walk,

it ran away on tiptoes. Decided to stay tomorrow night as well. Put cheese out as bait tonight.

29th February Wednesday

The mouse likes cheese, took everything again, even found a store of crackers under the draw but no sign of where the mouse is or how it gets in, cleaned everthing inside yet again. Colin renewed the netting over the radiator today and checked a few things under the bonnet. Weather changable today with a few spots of rain. A few people came into area to sightsee, one chap wanted to stay but his wife wanted a caravan park so she could have a proper shower. Had a shower but the weather has turned cooler. Reset traps before bed. Sorted photos for blog, just hope we can get uploaded.

1st March Thursday

Cloudy and showery this morning as we break camp. Mouse not touched the bait, where is it? Away by 8.30 later than planned, on Esperance Hway to Esperance. Sun keeps trying to shine through. We are passing a few dried up lakes on this road. The further south we go the greener it gets even with few sheep and cows in the fields. By the time we get to Esperanceit's nicely warm, first did fuel $1.57 per ltr, luckily still had 4cents ltr off voucher, then went to library to upload photos, it took us the hour that we had to pay for $4 but what a relief. had to shop in Woolies as there is not a Coles here, after filling up with water we drove approx 80kms west off Esperance on The South Coast Hway to our camp site for the next few days at Quagi Beach. we eventually found a pitch, decided no room for the fly sheet on tent as trees are too close, then had to level the site to allow the LRover to back into tent. It seems it's Labour Day weekend in W.A. so we were lucky to get somewhere to pitch. After us a motorhome came in and they had to park right next to the toilets. YES we have flushing toilets and cold showers all for $2 each per night. We are in luxury.

2nd March Friday

FRIDAY FACT:- AT 250,000 SQ KMS THE NULLARBOR PLAIN SITS ON THE BIGGEST SINGLE LUMP OF LIMESTONE IN THE WORLD.

Cold night will have to get the big sleeping bag out again. The mouse ate the bait again, speaking to a young German couple last night and they used bacon rind, also mice don't like the smell of Eucaliptus Oil,it worked for them. Had a walk to the beach it is gorgeous and the sea is warm, people are swimming. After lunch we went for a swim it was lovely, did'nt stay in very long as tide is going out and it knocked us about a bit. Lovely relaxed day, might even try fishing tomorrow. Set the traps with bacon rind.