Esperance, Western Australia

Arriving at Esperance we headed off to the Visitors Information Centre bought the Annual National Parks Pass for $80, collected some more brochures on the area and headed towards the Caravan Park. OK back in business and laundry to be done this time bed linen, towels (might as well) and anything else I could find, including asking Daniel to take off the top he was wearing.  Business done we headed off into town on the bikes. 

The pine trees in Esperance have to be the  the biggest I have ever seen anywhere so far.  They were absolutely beautiful and lined the foreshore and the City Centre.  Bunnings is always a must stop for every handyman and Daniel was one that day buying some screws and a drill to attach two more arms to the awning for better support.  our return trip took us back through town and purchase of marine shoes for me of course, they didn't have any in Daniel's size.  That evening we chatted with a couple who were on their way back to WA and had been travelling for about 2 months.  It was an evening well spent and information exchanged about WA and where to go and what to see. 

Next morning the itinerary had to be managed and time map planned as far north as Karratha.  Emails sent off, Daniel attached the arms to the awnings and he was ready to head to the jetty for some fishing.  I left him there and headed back to base but not before trying on 2 dresses, which I didn't buy! instead opted for postcards, made a few phone calls, sent a few emails to friends and family.  Daniel paid a visit to the local Music shop picked up a tuner for his guitar and serendaded most of the evening after a few glasses of pale ale.  Whatever it was that he played sounded pretty good to me.  A couple parked next to us that evening but we spoke briefly in the morning and they had taken about 2 motnhs off and travelling to WA from Victoria with their little kiddies about 5 and 7.  They'd told us that they'd done most of the trip so far at free camping sites and that Esperance was their first stay at a Caravan Park.  Now that's what you call 'doing it the right way!"

Nullabor 2, Western Australia(ie. Windy Always)

We went to bed in the outback of Western Australia with not a cloud to be seen, the moon full with a lush gold lustre and five caravans at the stop.  The morning for us broke when I woke at five, tossed and turned and couldn't wait for six am to come so I could wake Daniel.Coffee for us both and decided to head out early. With showers and breakfast over we set out at quarter to eight.  Wow! that was the earliest morning we've had since we left Melbourne in January.  The temperature dropped to 9 degrees celcius overnight and were expecting 31 for the day. 

The drive through the outback of WA was a change in scenery as we headed towards Norseman our first stop.  The gum trees were beautiful, Salmon Gums, their amber deep pink shiny trunks were unmistakably beautiful.  The drive along the coast line was magical in the views that we witnessed.  We were elevated from the sea on the coast at about 60 metres.  We stopped at Eucla, Mandurah for an icecream each, the girl must have thought we were crazy at 10.00am in the morning their time, our time was around 1.00pm in the afternoon so clocks and watches had to be put back so that we wouldn't torment ourselves with time again.  

We stopped again at Cocklebiddy for a 'wee' break and as we were contemplating dinner for that evening we headed to the bar and asked for the local beer 'Emu'.  So the lass behind the bar gave us 2 tinnies of Emu and then came the price...$16.00 Australian that is.  So we paid obligingly and then asked if the Chef would sell us five potatoes.  She came back with five potatoes and the price for that was $2.00. Dinner that night was potato pancakes with bean salad, sauerkraut salad and yoghurt. Yummy Yummy in my tummy! can always make a meal if you have to.  A toast with Champagne and Robin Hood was the movie for the evening.

check this out!

Where's coffee?

Time for a cuppa and biscuit!

Crossing the Nullabor

Nullabor, Chapter One, South Austalia.

On realising the magnitude of the journey still awaiting us there was nothing to do except move on into Western Australia. Besides the weather wasn't beach or fishing weather. Overcast clouds and the intermittent showers and drizzle shadowed the beauty of the remaining seaside towns we wanted to visit, but in reality, time at the essence we had to move and pretty fast.  Had the weather been good we would have pulled over into Ceduna and stayed a couple of nights, but again weather where you can't enjoy might as well push on. 

With that we called Szymon and were certain that the mail had been received at the local Post office.  With this collected and sorted matters that needed attention we polished off some watermelon and one last Lebanese cucumber before we hit WA and the quarantine post where we would be asked to surrender all fruits and vegetables( surrender or I'll shoot!... ha ha!!).  Being mindful of this situation we used up the last of the pumpkin that we had and made pumpkin soup, the tomatoes we diced up, onion sliced up, added garlic, some red capsicum and voila tomato concase, great for topping on toast, side dish to accompany fish or meat or as an extra for bolognese sauce...whatever....food was always another adventure that we enjoyed to see what could be done with what when we had to.

On passing through Ceduna the minds were made up to travel the hours. 
"With foot to the floor we crossed the Nullabor".

How's that for a bit of rhyme in my blime!!

 Travelling the first length, still in South Australia, we decided to call it a day after six hours driving.  We pulled into a free camp site for overnigt and met some other travellers on their way to WA, others travelling from WA to the east.  Nightfall came and movie of the night was "Ferris Bueller's Day Out"......well why would you want to go back to work, the mundane, the same routine?  I think you are the master of your own answer to that one.   Another wakening morning, coffee on, showers taken, breakfasts had, van hooked up, everything inside and outside checked to make sure was secure and turned off it was ready to hit the road again to transpass the second length of the Nullabor Plain. 

Streaky Bay, South Australia.

On our way to Streaky Bay we decided to take a detour to Pt Labbatt to see the Sealion colony, which was about a 41 kilometre diversion off the A1.  Once the sealed road ended we travelled along unsealed road however, as we drove further along the road just got rockier and the corrugation on the car, van and my boobs was dreadful!  In the end I'd had enough and was stressing about the van and 11 kilometres from our destination I told Daniel to forget the Seal colony, after all I'd just seen two at the Adelaide zoo! 

Any way U-turn around and back the same way all that jig jig really got to me.  I don't think I could face another 4 wheel drive soon.  By the time we arrived at Streaky Bay we both were worn out.  We should have got to Streaky Bay first and then taken the trip to Pt Labbatt. Remember this for the future if you travel. Reach your destination first and then sight see. 

After some refreshment, a West End each, we gathered ourselves together and headed out to the jetty where we dropped the jig to catch squid, the fishing rod to catch fish and the crab pot to catch Blue Swimmers.  After the sun sank behind us, the water being so clear and calm that allowed the fish to see us fishing for them it was time to call it a night.  With three fish that Daniel caught, as the Blue Swimmer Crab that I caught got away dinner was going to be a salad and a tin of tuna! 

We woke on Sunday and it was still overcast and raining.  My laundry was on the line and didn't look like it was going to dry before we headed off tomorrow.  We threw it all into the dryer and 45 minutes later all done and ready to take off into town for shopping and to wash the car after yesterday's mistaken adventure. 

We also consulted our original map of Australia and even though we'd gone clockwise instead of anticlockwise as first intended we realised that we had taken too much time in South Australia and we weren't close enough to Western Australia yet if we had to be in Darwin by June.  Our plan was that we wanted to be in Monkey Mia at some stage and the realization hit us that we had to reach that destination within the next 5 weeks before reaching Broome 5 weeks later! 

We sat down and made accommodation inquiries for Monkey Mia with the response coming back that they weren't able to offer the dates wanted as they were booked out.  Word of advice is if you are looking at travelling through WA you need to book in advance. 

I caught Daniel down at the jetty that afternoon and to my delight he caught two flathead, which meant that we would eat dinner tonight with his catch from last night.  I was on the bike so I rode around before returning to do the things I needed to do which was call Szymon, Mum and Monika.  In addition to that, I sat down and wrote a number of postcards to friends, read more of "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and jumped on the net to look at booking places further north of Monkey Mia, Ningaloo Reef, Eighty Mile Beach, Broome and so on. 

Daniel returned with his flathead and another squid which he cleaned while he fed the Pelicans that came in search of his scraps.  Barbecued fish for dinner and off to listen to some Country and Western music in the campground.  What a couple of days here...the lesson is twelve months is really not long enough!!

Venus Bay, South Australia.

The weather wasn't on our side when we arrived at Venus Bay.  It was drizzling all afternoon and a grey overcast over the bay.  Daniel inspected the jetty and said that he could see at least six metres into the water and could see the fish at that depth it was that clear.  However, aside of that it must be stated for the record that wherever and whenever we stayed at a caravan park they were always full or busy for putting it another way. 

When one van left another arrived and so it was all day everywhere.  It was fascinating to see how many people travel, the types of people travelling, lots of grey nomads that is one thing for sure, then there were the tourists from all over the world, UK, USA, France, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, Canada, just to list a few,  in their campervans, hire vans, mini buses, tents and families with kids of all ages ranging from babies to school aged children who had been taken out of school for the time travelled and were doing home schooling. 

The mix was very interesting.  When we were in Woomera there was a woman a Winnebago parked a couple of spots away from us (let's just say this park wasn't busy....perhaps because it's in the middle of nowhere!) but nevertheless after stopping to chat she was with her husband who ran a business that spread all over Australia and rather than stay at home she opted to travel with him taking their smaller two children with them, around nine and ten, leaving a daughter, about thirteen, at boarding school while they travelled around Australia and continued their home schooling.  This was their normality. 

Not only were the caravan parks ablaze with tourists but the roads we drove along were littered with caravans one after another.  The ritual on the road is to signal to the on coming van in friendly gesture.  I can honestly tell you by the time we reached a destination my hands were tired from lifting to give the friendly wave! but it was fun and so friendly and you could see the other travellers from all ages responding in the same way.

Did I mention too that we found very often that other vaners would stop on the side of the road or wherever and just approach to talk about their journey, travel where they'd travelled from and where they were travelling to and anecdotes about what to watch out for when travelling or what specifically to see.  Information was always graciously exchanged and shared over a cuppa or a larger by the waysides.  Sometimes you could spend up to forty minutes just chatting before making a move on your way again.

Coffin Bay, Day 2, South Australia.

The weather turned down a tad the next day so it really wasn't beach weather, we packed lunch, a huge bowl of fresh fruit, towels, reading material and headed to Gunyah Beach, 4 wheel drive track only.  All okay along the way, I mean bumpy and really bumpy with more rocks to avoid and sandy roads until we came upon this huge dune and I just looked at Daniel and thought "I don't really think so!" 

He got out checked the dune, went over the dune and disappeared.  Eventually he got back and declared that if Stew and Les were here we would have gone because we could have pulled each other out but on our own it was the park's warning that there was no retrieval service and it was our responsibility.  We reversed back to a car park where we could turn around before deciding to head back. 

On that we decided to head into Port Lincoln to do a few things before Daniel headed out to the pier for some squid fishing.  It was windy so I sat and read my novel until Daniel whistled for me to bring a plastic bag for his catch of the day.  I picked up the squid and watched as Daniel threw in his lure again.  He continued for at least another half hour before deciding to head back before dark and avoid kangas and emus on our return journey.  Dinner was steak and veges with a lovely red, movie for the night was "Killers".  What more could one ask for from another great day!

Coffin Bay, Day 1, South Australia.

Arriving at Coffin Bay Caravan Park only for the night to charge up the power, fill up with fresh water, launder before heading out on our bikes of the town alond the foreshore taking in the beautiful scenery along the Esplanade of the famous Coffin Bay Oyster Beds in the water.  The ride along the Esplanade took us in a loop around the town before Daniel suggested an icecream might be a good refreshment.  He had a Maxi something creamy! and I was happy with a lemonade icypole. Sitting outside the milkbar I noticed a two dollar gold coin.  A little bit of luck my way. 

On the way back to the park Daniel said that we should ring Szymon and find out how things were back home with my lucky gold coin of course.  As we had no mobile coverage we had to use a public phone.  All was well and back to the park to organise dinner.

Next day we headed off to Coffin Bay National Park, free camping again.  We set up at Little Yangie Bay and once in place, bikes off the rack and on our way to Point Avoid, as well as all the other beaches before the stop.  Again there weren't really any bike tracks so we headed on the main road. 

Some of the road was up hill, so the ones I didn't think I could bike, I walked!  Daniel assumed control and headed up them hills without giving up.  I at least knew we had to get back again!  We rode along the beach sands and saw beautiful high sand dunes that we'd never seen before any where, truly amazing.  We went from one side of the Bay to the other side of the Bay which again had massive sand dunes and a roaring beach with pounding waves and warnings of its danger.  Back to base, but this time on the back of a tail wind in no time. 

We had some lunch,read a little to recover and then headed out on a 4 wheel drive tour that took us to Coffin Bay Point.  The drive was a real test for the car along different terrains from little sand to sliding sands, rocks and lowering of tyres to match the conditions.  At one stage we got stuck in the sand on the way up a hill and Daniel had to get out, shovel it hand dig out some of the sand before reversing and trying the climb again with success.  Along the road we saw emus, kangaroos and always aware of what could jump out from scrub.  We finally made it to the tip but had to climb over the sand dune to get to the beach. No problem here and tracked a little along the way before we decided to turn back as the journey one way took us over an hour and half. 

This time I was to drive back and try my skill at 4 wheel driving but first we had to get back over that big sand dune so Daniel was to get over that before I took the wheel.  Well at this point we did get stuck, the sand was soft and deep at which point he had to get out of the car and check to what he could secure the winch to, which in this case was nothing as the scrub was too small.  Shovel on hand and he had to dig out from each of the tyres before reversing and trying the climbe again.  Done! and then I took over.  I avoided rocks where I saw them and accelerated as we approached up hill sand dunes, on the way down foot of the accelerator.  At one point we came down a sand dune and Daniel almost went through the roof with his head.  I think I shouldn't have accelerated that time!  Made it home and car in one piece although Daniel had to check all tyres after my driving and advise that I had hit the sides of the walls of the tyres.  Really??? 

That night dinner, a movie from Monika and Matt's download on our computer.  With no power, we were at least able to use the invertor to view the movie.  We watched the Devil's Advocate before turning in for the night.

Port Lincoln, South Australia.

We moved on from Port Lincoln Caravan Park where we all headed into town to do house work for the vans and some street shopping for Les and myself before heading back to arrange dinner and enjoy a game of Scrabble or two with Les and Stew.   Daniel  and I also checked out a couple of the advertised fish outlets.  They were fantastic and we bought a few supplies to fill our freezer with some of the local treats of Coffin Bay Oysters, Shark and Tuna fillets, Basa fillets, Calamari and Octopus that would all be consumed along the way in the event Daniel's fishing attempts weren't successful.

Daniel took time out to practice his guitar skills, with some help from Stew on reading chords and a few technique tips.  Very impressed I was with his hidden talents! 

No sooner than the van cleaned, prepared, stocked and laundry done, did I mention shopping completed with a new pair of bathers and a top.....all bargains... no more than twenty bucks!!  then it was time to move on  to free camping at Port Lincoln National Park where camp sites were pitched and beach weather ready. 

Daniel caught one that got away and Stew caught a huge Flathead.  Oysters were the meal of the day!  Picturesque views of the Park and the camp grounds were dotted with about three other vans.  Lots of kangaroos to be seen, not really bike terrain.  Time to pack up and keep moving west. 

Les and Stew had to stay behind for repairs to their fridge.  We promised to catch up along the way.  "Parting is such sweet sorrow" especially when you meet folk that are great company. 

Whyalla, Redbanks Beach, Tumble Bay, South Australia.

Our return trip from Woomera took us back through Port Augusta where we stopped off and bought some supplies.  Daniel headed off to the bottle shop for his supply and I having some time to myself went through the local shopping plaza and was lucky enough to buy a gorgeous pair of thongs to replace the ones I had previously bought in a $2 shop that gave me callouses! For $20 a pair that's a bargain what girl could walk past that?

Heading down the coast on the Eyre Peninsula the next stop would be Whyalla known for its steel works and shipbuilding.  I kept checking coverage on my mobile and thought that I would call Ania at work and surprise her.  We had a great chat a bit of a laugh and chuckle as we stopped at a rest place for a coffee break.  It was good to catch up. 

Arriving at Whyalla Foreshore Caravan Park we checked out where it would best be suited for us as it was pretty breezy Daniel decided on a site away from the shoreline. We got on our bikes and headed out for a look around town.  When we got back we walked along the foreshore and guess who had set up?  Our British couple, Stew and Les.  Well they came over to our site in the evening and we spent a couple of hours chatting before being joined by the managers of the park. Lets just say that Daniel's supply together with Stew's and even the manager's own supply of homemade port somehow dwindled to very low amounts.  I know there was one box of 30 units per carton which was found empty that morning.  A few nursing hangovers found everyone a little slow the next morning.  Daniel and I headed off to what was advertised as the largest regional shopping complex outside Adelaide, but it really wasn't and I still managed to purchase a new dress for the beach!! I don't know how I got that lucky....maybe to do with the hangover.

Packed up and ready to move on this time vanning together with Les and Stew who took prime road position and onto Redbank beach free camping area.  Again headwind on the road saw the fuel tank chip away but the site reached was sensational.  The two vans were the only ones at Redbanks beach.  We were perched up high and the beach below was crystal clear with shallow waters out to about a kilometre.  We all got into our bathers and headed for the water.  I got Daniel to blow up the lilo and we met Les and Stew in the water.  A little bit of surf in the waves kept pushing me back to shore, but it was fun.  In the evening we shared dinner, a few drinks and lots more conversation. 

The next day was bright until late afternoon when another chap pulled in off the highway set up camp and joined us in the water. However, you could see that the change was coming as the rain swept along the coast of the bay.  That evening Stew and Les joined us in the van and they introduced us to a game called Rummicub.  Night settled in and the rain came and rained and rained all night with the wind a gale.  Next morning it wasn't a place to be able to stay as it was still raining and the sand beneath us turned into a clay that we kept sinking into and just a mess!  It was decided to move on from Redbanks beach, clean up and head down to Tumble Bay.

Tumble Bay is a quiet seaside village only very small.  The only clothing store there was the local Op shop, but no bargains there that day although some really good books.  The four of us biked into town, did some grocery shopping before heading to the foreshore cafe where we enjoyed lattes and a cappucino.  Next day we all set off on our bikes through the back of the town where the new marina, landsales and homes were being built. We stopped a couple of times to check out the bay views from both sides of the road before venturing with our bikes on the beach and riding along the sand until we could go no further.  A few pics taken for memories we headed back along the beach to base.  Dinner over we settled in for an early night so that we could depart the next day to Port Lincoln.

Today we travelled into Mildura central and purchased another book with maps of Australia.  In this case it was a necessity as the one we had was already 5 years old.  Visited the Post Office to post something to Monika before heading off to Bunnings for a screwdriver to fix the aircon as the fuses keep shorting. 

On completion of tasks we made headway to Wentworth, where the Darling and Murray rivers meet at the junction.  We really wanted to see this area but knew that there would be a lot more water in the region due to the recent super cell storm in Mildura which brought over 130mm of rain in one day, which is more than they get in a year! 

 Last year we were in Goolwa, South Australia, where we went to the mouth of the Murray River, so to do this sighting was a further extension for us of the history of the Murray.

Wentworth is 50 years older than Mildura and actually was on the shortlist of cities chosen to be Australia's capital particurlarly because of its ports and the rivers.  Took some photos of the junction but as mentioned the area was flooded so we couldn't visit the viewing tower. 

Drove along a little further to Lock 10 and the weir where both the Darling and Murray rivers flow together over the weir.  This was amazing to see as the colour of the Murray river is dark and sand based, whereas the Darling River is a clay based soil and the colour here is light, so the contrast is visible to the naked eye.  Drove back into town and went to visit the Wentworth Wharf, again difficult to access as it too was underwater.  The lady at the Information Centre did say that they had not seen the levels so high in both of these rivers, but because of the floods coming down from Queensland and the flooding rain had in Mildura this has all compacted in this area.

Coober Pedy, South Australia

With the Flinders Ranges behind us we were looking forward to visiting Coober Pedy, Outback South Australia.  It seemed that everyone we met back home always dreamed of getting there and getting in with a pick and finding their share of a great Opal find.  We travelled up the Stuart Hwy and stopped the in the afternoon as an overnight stopover in Glendambo and we were lucky enough to have a swimming pool.  It was only a hotel-motel caravan complex with a bar and restuarant.  It boasted 200 people, 20, 000 thousand sheep and 2,000,000 flies and they weren't wrong.

Next morning we only had about 180 kilometers left before hitting Coober Pedy.  We set up at the Oasis Caravan park luckily enough it was a pretty mild afternoon with prospect of the weather changing.  Setting off from the Visitors Information centre with map of the city in hand we headed to see the Great winch but not before being pulled in by a little Chinese bloke wanting to show us his Opal wares, which we politely thanked him for.  A few pictures here and onto the underground Churches.  These were small but very interesting.  Everything underground almost smelled of sulphur yet it was still quite cool.

Heading off in sight of the Opal Shops and there were lots of them on this one main street, but nothing that grabbed our attention so we headed back to camp.  A few more caravans had arrived at the park and we got talking to a few of the people who had pulled up but in particular this British couple, Stewart and Lesley,  who had come back down from Uluru and Kings Canyon and were heading back in the direction we were headed after Coober Pedy. 

Daniel and I headed off to the Moon Plains, the Breakaway Ranges, where we ran into a couple from the Netherlands for third time we're we said goodbye before they went on to Alice Springs.  She at least managed to buy an Opal bracelet, lucky girl! On to the Dog Fence which is the longest fence in Australia, 5300kilometres stretching across from Surfers to the Western Australian border.  Built in the 1920's by farmers to keep the dogs out from the north of Australia to stop them attacking sheep and other livestock in the southern region before it was  consolidated into the one long structure it is today.

The landscape here at this time of the year was unusually green due to all the rain this region had experienced where normally it was typically an arid, dry landscape.  Packed and ready to go we decided on Woomera as the stopover for the night. This time I was allowed to pull the van but the headwind was pretty strong and Daniel blamed me for my driving and chewing up the fuel! This was an interesting town built in the early 50's to initially house a population of 16,000.  It's current live in population was only 200 the rest of the housing was owned by the Defence Department. The main Hotel was very nice we had a beer here before setting off on our bikes to the one and only supermarket for bread and milk and a bottle of white wine planned for dinner.

Word of advice for anyone contemplating Coober Pedy, you only need to see it once and it can be done in a day.  One main street, Opal shops but the surrounding landscapes are beautiful.  It was a town of about 7,000 in the 70's and current population was around 2,000.

Wilpena Pound, Flinders Ranges, South Australia.

We were glad to leave Mt Remarkable, only becuase it was so hot and there was not watering hole around so Wilpena Pound was the next stop becuase it had a swimming pool so once we'd set up we changed into our bathers and wrapped our towels around our necks and took off on the bikes in the direction of the pool.  It felt like being a ten year old again, we looked so funny! but the swim was appreciated. 

Night time came and dinner was accompanied with roasted veges and barbecued lamb chops complimented with a bottle of red.  The sky was lit up with all the stars out but that was not all that came out to join us.  We had a kangaroo who was quite tame and decided to inspect our offerings.  She loved the watermelon and was so keen about it that she literally helped herself.  In fact we'd spoken with a family in the pool and I believe it was the same kangaroo that helped herself to their bananas once they had the tent set up.

I got up the next morning and decided to go for a run.  As I was walking up to the bathroom that same kangaroo came jumping up towards me with her Joey.  I actually had to stop becuase I thought she was going to pounce on me. She didn't but by the time I got back from my run she was laying outside our site by the car and her Joey was with her too.  I cut up some more watermelon which she took but the Joey wasn't as sure.  I noticed that there was also movement in her pouch so she must have been carrying a smaller Joey.  It was pretty obvious that she made her way through the campsite to inspect other travellers.

After breakfast we got on our bikes headed towards Old Wilpena Homestead, but not before checking with the Visitors Information Centre for details on how to get there.  The track could be walked or biked.  We decided to bike because it was hot and we wanted to see more in the time that we had.  We passed lots of kangaroos, in fact, we had seen more kangaroos in the Flinders Ranges then we ever had in Victoria in 40 odd years.  After about an hour on the bikes we realised that we must have taken a wrong turn and weren't going to see the Homestead.  Heading back we had to climb the tracks with the bikes and sometimes had to get off to cross the rocky inclines and descents.  At one crossing there was a Blue Tongued Lizard and he didn't like the look of us crossing his path.  A herd of wild Buffalo heard us coming before they turned on their heels and disappeared over the mountain range.  Needless to say that when we got back it was time for the pool again! What a relief that was!

Daniel and I headed off for a couple of 4 wheel drives and headed out to an Aboriginal site, called the Sacred Lookout.  It was a beautiful area and there was a little water in the channel but not enough to soak your feet in.  A very peaceful and serene area that had a beautiful lookout over the Flinders Ranges. Finally we took a lnger drive that cut throught the interior and into a couple of the Gorges and another 4 wheel drive track and a river crossing.    Photos taken it was time to head back as the kangaroos were headed across the plains and even on to roadways!