heading home

view from behind our van in Port Augusta (high tide)

Tuesday morning arrived and it was time for us to leave Pt Augusta behind and start our journey home.  We had enjoyed our time with our ‘water’ views through the back fence and the Flinders Ranges in the distance.  The weather has stayed cooler and the wind has been blowing a gale for the last few days as we set off down the highway towards Port Pirie.  There is plenty of traffic on the roads, maybe they are returning from their Christmas break so we are back in the thick of what we had planned to avoid.  After looking at the map yesterday and thinking about which route to take we finally decided to take the shortest and leave the roads to the working holiday makers with children who have to take advantage of this opportunity they have.

Port Augusta, Gladstone, Jamestown and down to Burra is our trip for the day.  We had stayed at Burra showground on our way up north and hoped there would be room again now.  Well to our surprise we were the only ones there.  A caretaker comes around each afternoon, or did before, so when they hadn’t arrived by 5pm we rang the mobile number and left a message about spending the night.  No body turned up so we had another ‘freebie’ and headed off the next morning towards Renmark on the ‘mighty’ Murray River.  As this route would take us into the Fruit Fly Zone again we had cooked all our vegetable last night and finished off any fresh fruit we had before passing the quarantine bin where all we had to ‘dump’ was the cucumber.  There was no inspection station so travelling east it is all on an honesty system.  Travelling west there is an inspection station before Renmark, soon after crossing the border into South Australia from Victoria.

Crossing through Victoria the road is straight and flat again giving reminders of the Eyre Highway across the Nullarbor.  We see miles and miles of harvested wheat fields with the occasional sheep paddock as we head towards Mildura.  The weather has warmed up again but we still haven’t needed to use the air conditioner in the car.   We had been checking out the Rest Areas along the road and as this is Victoria they are fairly all small, not the spread out areas that we had been using for the last few weeks.  These are more a like a small pull off bay so certainly not suitable for an overnight stop.  Finally just about 35km from Mildura we come across a ‘gravel dump’ off the road and decide to check it out.  Shade is there and of course the ground is firm and no chance of being bogged if it were to rain so we set up for the evening and enjoy the cool breeze blowing in the windows.

paddle steamer cruising the Murray River

the 'floating' week-ender

Mildura is a large town on the Murray River and there are house boats everywhere.  Lots of folks are camped beside the river and there are water and jet skiers enjoying the river.  Crossing the river takes us into NSW so it was just over 100km to cross this section of Victoria.  We had lunch beside the river and enjoyed watching the passing river traffic.  Imagine what it must have been like all those years ago when the barges travelled the river carrying wheat, wool and many of the supplies necessary for these communities.  From Mildura we headed south to Euston where there were large areas of vineyards under cultivation.  We have seen many vineyards however it was different to see these covered for protection from something. 

covered grape vines near Euston NSW

 Leaving here we turn more east and head towards Balranald on the Murrumbidgee and then on to Hay across the Hay ‘plains’. 

Hay plains

We have driven this road quite a few times however only once have we driven it at night.  This area is some of the flattest on earth and when there is a car coming towards you their headlights are visible for ages before the vehicle actually arrives.  We did spot some emus on this part of the journey but that is the only wildlife we have seen for quite some time.   Another showground stop is available in Hay for $15 with power, so we check in and enjoy meeting some other travellers.  Tomorrow West Wyalong and onto the Newell Highway to take us north towards home.  We should arrive early next week and then spend some time attending to all those tasks that just have to be addressed like, tax returns, doctor’s visits and eye tests never mind a determined clean and polish for both Bruiser and Destiny.  

Then we take off again to ……..

Christmas in Port Augusta

our 'Christmassy' van

We enjoyed Christmas Eve (42 deg) just sitting around and trying to drink as many fluids as possible.  Didn’t feel like eating so a simple salad for lunch and a bowl of fresh fruit salad and ice-cream for dinner was the most we felt like.  We did make use of the pool late in the day just so that we could then sit around in our wet clothes and that helped the ‘hot’ feeling.  A southerly wind blew up as I was chopping fruit for dinner and dust started flying everywhere.  Fortunately the air then started to cool so the night was not too bad for sleeping.

Christmas morning and the breeze is cooler and still from the south so maybe today will only be the high 20’s instead of ‘hot’.  We are planning a simple day, salad for lunch with pudding and custard for Lawrie (can’t go without Christmas pudding) and then lots of fruit for the rest of the day with ice-cream and custard of course.  It has even turned out to be cool enough for me to use the oven to cook the chicken legs I had bought.

Our next door neighbours, Carol and Carlos are joining us this afternoon for a drink and a chat so for our first Christmas day spent away from family it will be a pleasant one.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS GREETINGS TO YOU who is sharing our adventure 

and into Port Augusta

After getting through the quarantine check at Ceduna ok (well we had eaten well) we do the necessary fill ups and are on our way again.  The days are getting warmer but no need for the air conditioner as yet.  Coming into Wudinna we stop at the Tourist Info Centre to ask about gas and find a unique kangaroo. 

She is sculptured from trees and looks ‘different’.  Also near there is the beautiful marble monument to the Australian Farmer.  It was handcarved in 2009 by a man and his son from local stone found at the base of Mt Wudinna just north of the township. 

The detail is just great depicting the sheep and wheat that dominates the local area.  As we have passed through tiny dots on the map along the highway they are often just wheat silos standing guard beside the railway line.  There may be a small garage or shop but not much else.  Really makes you wonder at the resilience of these folk. 

Sturt's Desert Pea the floral emblem of South Australia

 Wudinna is a little bigger and there is a small town near the silo. 

We have had a total of 8 free nights along the way and on Thursday as it was rather ‘hot’ we decided to spend the night at the van park in Kimba.  Arriving mid-afternoon I was able to do the washing so all is fresh for the 160km trip into Port Augusta.

We took a small detour into Iron Knob, which looked deserted, however we enjoyed a cuppa under some trees and looked out over the ‘rubbish’ heaps from the mine.  Not sure if it is still working as there were no signs of life or action.  Whyalla is only another 52km away and the steel works there are still in production so maybe everything is centered around there now.

overburden from the mine at Iron Knob

once someone's pride and joy as 'home'

Another hot day as we arrived in Port Augusta, we found out later that it was 36 degrees, so with plenty of choice at the van park we chose a site down against the back fence, under the shade of some she oaks and looking out across the river towards the railway shunting yards on the other side.  My the comings and goings there are amazing and the length of the trains.  The ones with double decker containers have come or are going up north (we saw the same in Alice Springs) and the single decker ones are going west (must be some low bridges somewhere).  The tide rises and falls and the river bank behind us is lovely sand.  Folks come and drive down there with their cars etc to walk their dogs, go for a swim or just to sit and eat fish and chips.  Lots happening around us so the view is always changing.  Lawrie even saw 2 dolphins in the river the other day. 

on the Nullarbor

Wednesday morning found us moving on again as we head to Kambalda where Nickel is mined.   In Kalgoorlie we had read of a prospector who in 1947 had picked up a greenish rock that looked interesting (but wasn’t gold) so he put it away safely until many years later when it was found to be nickel and he remembered where he had found it.  This lead to the nickel boom in the Kambalda area.  The original area is now a little run down however Kambalda West has a thriving shopping centre and is much newer.  It wasn’t there in 1996.  We enjoyed our cuppa and then headed out for Norseman. 

This town is where you really turn ‘east’ to head off.  Norseman was named after a stockman’s horse who, when tethered for the night overnight exposed with his hoof, gold and another settlement was born. 

The gold did not last very long however the settlement has remained as a welcome destination after travelling west across the Nullarbor or as a last chance to top up supplies before heading east. 

tin camels in Norseman

the view from the car window

Our overnight stops are all planned to be at Rest Areas along the road and looking at the map there is no shortage of possibilities.  Those many names that appear on the map are mainly just roadhouses with a motel and maybe a caravan park attached.  Our first morning we were packed up and ready to move on when a flock of budgies flew in and decided to land on top of Destiny.  We were standing quite close but they seemed to have no fear of us.  Needless to say the camera came out and the photos tell the story.  They would fly off and circle then come back to land again so of course we wouldn’t drive off whilst they were still there.  Finally they decided to fly to some nearby trees so we took our chance.  What a lovely experience.

Driving down the highway later that morning we had seen flocks of budgies around the road and then we started coming across dead birds on the road.   Probably a flock that didn’t get ‘altitude’ soon enough and were hit by trucks or such.  So many of them in close proximity and then we saw no more.  The weather must have been just right for their breeding season this past year. 

We passed a caravan that looked as if it had lost a passenger side wheel (gouges in the dirt beside the bitumen) and the van had been left (presumably in order to seek assistance) just off the road.  We heard truckies talking about it on the CB and it seems it has been there for quite a few days so who knows…. 

We also came across a young couple with a family, heading west about 30km out of Eucla and we stopped to see if we could lend a hand.  They had two small children, 16mths and 3yrs, a trailer packed full of belongings and their vehicle packed to the boards.  Seems they had been in Alice Springs for 12mths but were now moving to WA.  The engine had just ‘stopped’ around 4.30am that morning and he thought he had picked up ‘dirty’ fuel in Eucla.  He had run Eucla and been told the tow truck couldn’t come out till Monday.  Today was Saturday!!  We chatted for a while, well Lawrie was making suggestions etc whilst I chatted to the young mum and the littlies.  They assured us they had plenty of water and we were thinking we would disconnect Destiny and Lawrie would tow them to a small cleared area a little further on as they were stopped right on the edge of the road.  Not safe at all at present.  We were discussing this when low and behold the cavalry arrived.  Speedster drives past, police car coming towards us turns and chases, gives ticket, turns again and comes back towards us and pulls up.  Now we will get results.  We were now able to drive off and wished them all the best.  Husband had spoken to the police, they were going to arrange something for them so we were able to leave in good faith.  We later were talking to a family at the cliffs and they had met up with this young family in Eucla so we knew they had been assisted and seemed the diagnosed problem was the water pump. 

Another sight travelling the Eyre Highway is coming across the 4 emergency landing strips marked on the highway.  These are for the Royal Flying Doctor Service which would be called for assistance out here along this remote highway.

The cliffs of the Great Australian Bight are quite awesome and something to see.  We were surprised to see that designated walkways have been built there now but understandable as the cliffs could be quite dangerous.  When we had called there in 1996, we were able to walk right near the edge (and did) to admire the plants growing right at the edge.  I even took photos of them but there was no way it was intended that you walk there now.  At least it wasn’t raining like it had been the day before when we were at Bunda Cliffs Lookout.  

how far to go??

just another sign on the Nullarbor

Our 6^th night is being spent again in a roadside stop where we have finally cooked the remaining vegetables before we arrive at the Ceduna quarantine check point tomorrow.  We have certainly been eating healthy for the past week as we worked our way through our salad vegies and lots of fruit.  We still have about 100km to go before arriving there so I have kept out a small amount of tomato and cucumber for a sandwich tomorrow before Ceduna.

We watched a storm build up today after a much hotter day however fortunately it has swung to the north and we have only had a few sprinkles of rain as we have enjoyed our dinner.  We have spent two nights here as we have a lovely view out over a valley with low growing grasses and what looks like a muddy waterhole out in the middle.

Ceduna will be a fill up for water and also the fridge (well all the fresh fruit and vegies are now gone) and then we will move on again slowly making our way to Port Augusta.  This will complete a circle on our map as it was there oh so long ago that we turned north to head up to NT.  That was early June and now we are nearly at Christmas.  My how time has flown but oh the memories we now have.

one of the holes on the world's longest golfcourse

St Barbara the Patron Saint of Miners

St Barbara is the patron saint of miners and there is a statue to her on show when walking down the main street. 

Barbara was a Christian girl and her father had promised her hand in marriage to a non-Christian.  She ran away and hid in the mines for two years.  The miners protected her and in return she told them stories from the Bible.  One day some shepherds relayed to her father where she was and when she went to collect water she was captured and returned to her father…..who beheaded her.

Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie

The water pipeline to Kalgoorlie from Perth was conceived in the late 1890’s following the discovery of gold in Coolgardie in 1892 and the influx of people into the area all hoping to discover their fortune.  As the supply of water for the new goldfield was nearly as expensive as the gold they were searching for as it was carted by camels nearly 400km.  The first gold was discovered in Coolgardie by two gentlemen and just 4 years later one of them was to die aged just 31.  Patrick (Paddy) Hannan’s discovery in Kalgoorlie was not made till 1896 (after the decision to build the pipeline).  This pipeline would carry water over 600km from Mundaring Weir in Perth to a reservoir on Mt Charlotte (part of the Golden Mile) in Kalgoorlie.  This involved the use of 8 pumping stations, originally steam powered and now electronically controlled from Perth.  The engineering feat was completed in 1902 and the pipe was built of steel with the various pipes joined by lead.  The pipe was buried underground in order to help prevent heating of the water and possible evaporation.  During the Depression years the unemployed were used to dig up the pipeline, carry out repairs and place the pipeline above ground for the full distance.  It was found that the salinity of the ground had caused corrosion on the outside of the pipe so that led to the decision for the pipeline to be raised.  It is now painted with heat reflecting paint to help prevent the temperature rising to high.  The water takes from 2 to 3 weeks to complete its journey from Perth to Kalgoorlie.

the old gaol and Wardens Office at Coolgardie

We stopped and enjoyed a walk up and down the main street of Coolgardie, now often thought of as a ‘ghost’ town but with a determined Shire hoping to entice more tourists to call in.  The gold here was not as plentiful as Kalgoorlie and the population of nearly 25,000 over some decades dwindled to just 200.  There is approx. 1,200 in the shire now and there was a free sausage sizzle happening outside the supermarket on Saturday and members of the Shire were conducting a survey asking locals and visitors alike what was good and what could be improved in the area so in exchange for a sausage sanger we were pleased to give some feedback.  There are some lovely old buildings along the street however some of them do need some TLC and of course that is a question of money so we wish them well with their future endeavours.

any one for an 'operation'?

this is on display at the Medical and Pharmacy display in Coolgardie

Kalgoorlie is full of lovely old buildings.  We walked along the street today (Sunday) and soaked up some of the history just standing there in all its glory.  

  The original Post Office and Wardens Office is being restored and is fenced off but the beautiful stonework can be seen from the footpath.  The clock spire has a golden top and can be clearly seen when looking at a view of the city from any high point.  The land is mainly flat so the lookout at Mt Charlotte (at the end of town) helps give an overview. 

view from Mt Charlotte

We also visited the Super Pit Lookout (no blasting today) and stood amazed at the view of this ‘living’ gold mine. 

 I was amazed to learn that this venture came about through the intervention of Alan Bond back in the early 1980’s.  This area known as The Golden Mile, had various mining leases held by different people.  Alan Bond saw that if these leases could be combined the area could be mined more efficiently and more gold recovered.  He went about buying up these leases but when his financial crisis arose the development of this venture was taken over by others and thus the Super Pit was born.  The area to be mined in total is 3.6km long, 1.35km wide and to a depth of approx. 600 metres.  The Visitors Centre is informed each day if there is to be a ‘blast’ carried out so we will be checking again tomorrow in case there is. 

We were disappointed to see that the old railway ‘loop’ line we rode when we were here in 1996 is now no more, just a museum.  It is possible that the Super Pit has absorbed part of the area the historic railway line ran through.

Patrick (Paddy) Hannan

Kalgarin towards Coolgardie

farmers with a sense of humour involving hay bales

there were about 8 in total in the paddock

Well the water gods were smiling this morning and we were informed that the road through to Kondinin was open so off we go.  During our stay at Kalgarin we met up with another couple from Bridgetown (Stan and Miriam) who had been held up for four nights waiting for the water to subside.  They had been at Kalgarin the night of the storm and said it was fairly spectacular with thunder and lightning, never mind the rain.  They too are travelling to Kalgoorlie before turning south back towards their home.  So now we have us a ‘convoy’ (of two).  We drove through a few lots of water over the road on our way to Kondinin but nothing too deep.  When we arrived at Kondinin here is a road block set up stopping traffic from travelling the way we had just come.  We asked what was going on and was informed that the road (we had just travelled) was closed!!  Well seems as though there is a variance in information, just depends which Shire you talk to.  We let the nice people at the roadblock know that the road had been no problem however, guess they have to wait for someone higher up to let them know that as the roadblock continued. 

approaching Narembeen

Heading on then to Narembeen (about 50km), we arrive at the outskirts and well here is water over the road and this looks much more impressive, but no signs, no roadblocks, no anything! 

edge of Narembeen

Very cautiously we proceed through the water, probably up to the hubs of our wheels and safely out the other side where we could then pull off the road for a rather impressive sight of the water coming under the railway line and into the channel. 

We made our cuppa and one after the other of locals arrived to take photos, discuss the last time it had been like this, do you remember when etc.  Was very interesting for us to watch other vehicles come through the water and have a local give us a running commentary on who they were and what they might be doing.  A grader was despatched to travel 4km down the channel to then create more channels so that the water would not continue to spread as wide as it was.  It is hoped that this would prevent ‘widespread’ flooding.  Our guide informed us that he had property worked by his son 90km east of Narembeen and there had been 125mm (5 inches) of rain there on Monday night and that water still has to arrive in Narembeen so the flooding will continue for a while yet.  The culvert under the railway line was creating an impressive ‘weir’ look and the sand bank beside the line was starting to break away so who knows what will eventuate with the water pressure continuing for some time yet.

                  water under the railway line at Narembeen

We finally pulled ourselves away and headed for Merredin and the Great Eastern Highway, needless to say the road for all points East.  We enjoyed lunch in Merredin, afternoon tea in Southern Cross and then finally on to our free campsite about 120km from Coolgardie.  Our Kalgarin friends also pulled in for the night and we enjoyed a chat and walk back through the bush after dinner and photos of the beautiful sunset.  Tomorrow, on to Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie where we will stay for a few days.

sunset at our camp site

Pipe carrying water from Perth to Kalgoorlie

Hyden and Wave Rock

The turn off to Wave Rock came up before heading into town so we drove the 3km out to the parking area and caravan park situated at the rock.  Photos of the area we had previously seen only showed ‘the wave’ however this is actually only a small part of Hyden Rock which covers over 3.6 hectares. 

Wave Rock - just a part of Hyden Rock

The rock is granite and there are various walking trails well set out and marked to follow.  We paid our $7 day fee (to the local Shire) and set off to take a wander.   Wandering along the path to Hippo’s Yawn we could still see water trickling down the sides of the rock and also along the path there were areas that had obviously been washed away by the gushing water. 

Hippo's Yawn at Hyden Rock

water running down the rock

We were able to admire the bottlebrushes flowering amongst the She-oak trees around the bottom of the rock as we walked the trail.  After reaching Hippo’s Yawn we then retraced our steps to an area where it is possible to easily walk up onto the rock.  There were holes on top filled with water and also mosses and lichens growing thickly up there. 

water with lichen and moss on top of the rock

view from top of Hyden Rock - lake in distance

 The view across the nearby countryside showed lakes full with water, or maybe flooded land, who knows?  Was certainly a different experience to a couple of weeks ago when we had been in the area of bush-fires.  The diversity of our wonderful country never ceases to amaze.  

When this area was settled in the 1920’s Hyden Rock was considered a natural catchment for water and a dam was built at one end for storage.  A ‘fence’ was built around part of the top of the rock so as to help channel the water for collection.  This catchment area was expanded in 1951 and increased the storage 10 fold and today we could see that the dam was completely full. 

wall on top to channel water to the dam

Hyden dam full to capacity

The short drive into town again showed us water beside the road and when we turned into the service station to fill up with gas we could see that the water had been across the road there not so long ago.  Asking the local lass inside she informed us that the water had fallen in the last couple of hours and it had not been this wet for 8 yrs.  We also found out that our intended road was actually closed due to flooding so we could travel on another 16 km but that was the end of the line for the present.  We travelled again through 2 more lots of water and then set up in the van park to wait it out.  Hopefully overnight the water levels will fall and we will be able to travel on even if along a different road.

Pemberton to Hyden

Leaving Pemberton we backtracked through Manjimup to Bridgetown before then turning off towards Boyup Brook, Kojanup and our next over-night at Katanning.  We have certainly left the tall timbers behind and are now heading back into the wheat country.  Harvest is underway and the weather has taken a nasty turn for them.  There were heavy rain falls overnight through part of the wheat-belt and those still harvesting will not be too happy.  We also are not too happy as the left wheel on Destiny is again getting hot.  What could it possibly be now?  The biggest problem is that it runs fine for a 100km or so and then after having a coffee break (us that is) it wants to again get too hot to touch and start ‘squealing’.  Lawrie visited another ‘brake’ mechanic in Katanning and he did some more fiddling and again all seemed fine.  Next day we headed off to Lake Grace (151km), stopped for gas and the wheel was fine, travelled on towards Lake King and after 80km here was the squealing and heat again.  So frustrating.  We stopped off the road and ‘had a cuppa’, Lawrie then jacked it up to check everything again and a local farmer stopped to offer help.  Seemed the local ‘super’ mechanic at Lake King (another 30km and our destination for the day) is Tonk’s uncle so he rings and advises that we are on our way so that he would wait to see us.  Tonks advised us that he was farming 16,000 acres, has a mixture of wheat and wool and that there had been 100mm (4 inches) of rain the other night and he had been in the middle of harvest.  Seems now that the grain will only be suitable for stock feed (much lower value) instead of good quality grain at a much higher price however as he said, that’s the way it goes on the land.  We enjoyed the chat and learnt a lot about what is going on locally, how it is difficult to get workers as everyone heads for the mines with high wages on offer, and that once the children reach high school age they need to leave home to attend boarding school.  Chats like this help to put ‘living on the land’ into perspective.  Vic was waiting for us when we arrived and after checking though his thoughts of what might cause the problem they agreed it as a ‘mystery.’  They settled for repacking the bearings on the left wheel and ‘see how that goes mate’.   

the 'pink' of a salt lake

It was already dark once we left the workshop and checked into the local van park.  Fortunately dinner had been cooked the previous day so I only had to ‘reheat’ which was a blessing.  Driving into Lake King we had crossed a 10km causeway across salt lakes studded with natural scrub and still some wildflowers peeping out.  The area is a productive farming community that was once part of a land settlement scheme in the 1920’s involving 3,400 farms.  Unfortunately the Great Depression came along in the 1930’s which meant the promised railway line did not eventuate thus families found farming out here and fighting the salinity of the land too hard and there are now only a few of those original farming families still in the area.  Wheat silos can be found in the village along with a tavern and a service station, a couple of machinery connected businesses and a few houses. 

water on the way to Lake King

Following the storm of Monday night we had seen water lying in paddocks, beside the road and dams that were over-flowing and flooded roads as we had approached Lake King.  It was surprising how fast the water was running in sections and caution certainly was the name of the game.   Leaving Lake King next morning (Thurs) it wasn’t long before we again were driving through water across the road as we headed towards Hyden and the famous Wave Rock.  Nearly half wheel depth in places and still flowing quite fast. 

looking out my window as we drove through