Taking it easy

Sunday 31st May

I have been told to expect many people from the UK in the West, particularly in Perth, but I am astounded how many people speak with a UK accent over here. Just about everyone we meet, and most of them campers here are from Perth, speaks like a Pom.
Ilse has spent time doing many loads of washing and our caravan looks like a Chinese Laundry. Once our warm clothes are clean, we will put them away and stick to shorts and T-shirts.
The rugged West Coast was our exploration target today and we were rewarded with some great beaches, rock pools and most interesting rock formations which make up this ancient landscape.
On one particular beach, just to the South of Kalbarri, we found the local surfies performing their highly skilled art. Around half a dozen dolphins could be seen hanging out just a few meters from the surfers and they also attempted to ride the wave with the surfers but didn't quite get there due to a lack of surfboard.
The beautiful temperature of 25°C was very enjoyable today and we even had our first go, with our fishing rods, at feeding the local fish population. One little Tailor got hooked up but was returned to water so we can catch him again when he grows up.
We had the second half of yesterday's pink snapper fillets for dinner and then sent the kids to bed as they were clearly over excited and in need of some rest.
We'll stay in put here in Kalbarri for another day, (Monday which is a public holiday in WA) but on Tuesday we'll make tracks and head to Denham.

First Day in Kalbarri

Saturday 30th May

Yesterday we discovered the jockey wheel on the caravan was about to pack it in. Although the local stores in Kalbarri have the standard 150m wheel in stock, the 200mm wheel that I need wasn't so easy to come by and we had to find a well stocked caravan dealer - the next large caravan dealer along our track will be in Darwin.
So today was a good opportunity for a quick 320km round trip to Geraldton where we got a new jockey wheel and some other supplies as well. We also checked out the wharf where a lot of grain and ore leave our shores.
Back in Kalbarri, we went to the Jetty to try our luck at fishing but found instead that a commercial fishing vessel was there unloading its cargo. A quick chat with the skipper and walked away with 3 fresh fish of the "Pink Snapper" variety for just $20. Back at the caravan park I filleted the fish and we cooked less than half for dinner - what a beautiful eating fish, the meat just melts in the mouth, and there's more left for tomorrow's dinner.
Tomorrow we'll have a real rest day. Alexander has come down with the flue last night and I have also got the flue (not the swine variety!) so I think a rest day and some fishing will do us good.

Meeting the Indian Ocean

Friday 29th MayToday we covered a few more km's through Road Train territory after we left Mt Magnet. We were even lucky enough to pull in behind a road train (photo above) on a road side stop and have a chat to the driver during his prescribed 20min break. The road train had 3 trailers, was 53.5mt long, and had a gross weight of 147,000kg. It normally travels at 100km/h and is fitted with a speed limiter for 102km/h. The truck has 3 large LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) tanks in addition to the normal Diesel tanks. Most of the trip is done purely on the 500lt LNG, and only the last 100km is done on Diesel. The Road Train was carrying about 90t of Iron Ore from a mine to the port of Geraldton, where the Ore is loaded onto a ship and exported. The company has over 40 such trucks which run 24/7 on this 900km round trip. The driver told us that one of the other transport companies has permit for a gross weight of 170,000kg, which allows for 4 trailers. We'd seen 3 road trains that were slowed down by tourists in a Motor Home going the other way. The Road Trains leave a save stopping distance of around 1km between each other, and when push comes to shove they'll need every meter of it. I was certainly fascinated by the Road Trains.
Around 150km out of Geraldton the first signs of civilisation appeared in form of large farms and as we got closer to Geraldton the landscape changed from flat to hilly and we could get our first glimpse of the Indian Ocean. We only stopped for fuel on our way through Geraldton which is quite a large city. We pulled into Northampton, stopped for lunch and rang ahead to book a caravan park in Kalbarri where we arrived at 14:30hrs and set up our caravan for a longer stay.
We have now been on the road for 11 days, 2 of which were rest days, the remaining 9 days were spent driving. In these 11 days We put nearly 5000km on the car.
However, now that we have arrived on the west coast and finally shaken the Victorian winter (27° today in Kalbarri), we will start the "real" holiday, spend a few days at every location, and keep travel distances to a minimum.

Mining Country and Road Trains

Thursday 28th May
As we are leaving Kalgoorlie I have to admit that it is a very neat and tidy town. One thing I found very different are Kalgoorlie's public toilets. We visited three in total - No.1 was in the center of town, run by the Council with a user pay system - $0.35 for adults, $0.25 for kids - and a check-out-chick complete with cash register. However, they do not accept credit cards!
No.2 toilet was a super modern stainless steel cubicle with no door handles and an electronic control system. Three light indicators for "vacant", "occupied" and "cleaning" and a "Open" button . After every use the toilet cleans (and probably blow dries) itself and then its ready for the next user. The street access to No.3 was blocked off by high cast iron bars and to get access one had to go into the shop next door and out their side door and then around the corner to the toilet. There appear be no freely accessible old style public toilets the way you find them in any other Australian town.

From Kal' we headed north to Menzies, Leonora and Leinster. This area is full of mines mainly Gold and the roads are wide and straight and populated by Road Trains and many other mining related vehicles. As remote as this area appears, the remnants of mankind are ever present with rubbish strewn all along the roadside. However, all of this changed when turned west at Leinster to head towards Sandstone. No more rubbish and very few vehicles. I think in an hours driving (at 100km/h) I counted 2 cars and 2 road trains coming the other way.
The Road Trains (see picture above) have between 2 and 4 trailers, are somewhere between 50mt and 70mt long, and transport Diesel to the mine sites and mined materials between mine and processing site. Each trailer has 6 axles with a total of 24wheels, plus another 4 on the truck. A four trailer road train has a total of 100 wheels - that's a lot of rubber and steel.
When the road train gets onto the road shoulder and then straightens up again, the last trailer swings about 1mt from side to side.

We pulled into a little place called Sandstone to fill up - the service station wasn't hard to find but there was no one there and it had no office building attached - just a couple of bowsers with a tin roof (see photo right hand side). The pumps had padlocks on them and I couldn't quite work out how to purchase fuel. Across the road there was the General Store which is also the Post Office, the only shop in town. After a little while the proprietor came over, took the padlocks of and filled up our car in good old fashioned "Service" station style. As the pumps were the old mechanical type, he then wrote the Dollar amount on a piece of paper which I took across the road to pay the lady in the General Store. I don't think I have seen a service station where someone actually serves customers for over 20 years!
We parked in the main street, had lunch and then proceeded another 150km further west to Mount Magnet where we arrived just on 5pm. Again, very few cars on a superb road which has 2 wide lanes and a two lane wide spoon drain either side. We saw Emu's, Goats, Sheep and plenty of Eagles where there was fresh road kill.
On the subject of road kill - the road from Kal' to Leinster (over 300km) had at least one dead animal (mainly Roo's) per km, some sections even more, ranging in condition from fresh to skeleton.
Today was our biggest travel day yet, with a total of 700km covered. We left Kal' at 9am and arrived at Mt Magnet at 5pm with only a 1/2hr lunch stop and 2 fuel stops along the way.

Gold Mining

Wednesday 27th May
The main attraction around Kalgoorli (commonly refered to as Kal') is the huge open cut mine site called "The Superpit". It's the second largest open cut mine in the world and produces a moderate amont of gold.
We took a 2.5 hour bus tour through the operating mine site, but before entering we had to undergo a site induction just like the contractors on site. After we were issued with safety vests and hard hats, the tour operator (a former mine employee) took as though the whole gold mining and refining process.
It's a really really really big hole in the ground - 3.8km long and 1.6km wide. The big dump trucks look like toys while they are down the bottom of the pit, but up close they are the size of a two or three storey house, the 2500HP catapillar engine burns 400lt of Diesel per hour. The machine has 6 wheels each weighing 6t and the tyres costing some $32,000 - which apparently is considered very cheape.
But the dump trucks are small compared to the "face shovel", which weighs some 700t and when it's on the move (at 2km/hr using it tracks), it has to be stopped every 100mt and a water truck has to cool it down as the friction of 700t moving over the ground generates so much heat that the whole thing would catch fire if left uncooled.
Seriously big toys for big boys.

As you can imagine Kal' is all about mining and it comes as no surprise that the Miners Hall of Fame and associated musem is located here. There we went into an old underground mine going down in one of those elevator cages you always see in the movies. We also saw a gold pour where a 30oz bar of gold was poured into one of those attractive looking gold bars.
As we got talking to the bloke doing the gold pour we found out that he knows our ex neighbour back home having worked with him in the mines some years ago - its a small world.
Kal' is a very nice and clean town, wide streets and very well maintained historic buildings - a bit like Beechworth, just 50 times larger.
We could probably spend another day or two here without getting bored, but the wamer temperatures further north a luring us back onto the road, so tomorrow we will travel to Sandstone and then onto Geraldton the day after.

Kalgoorlie Gold

Tuesday 26th May:
Waking up to a cold and cloudy morning in Balladonia we used the electric heater to warm up the caravan but once we were driving west the sun showed itself and it turned into a pleasant day.
We stopped at the Afghan Water Holes (see picture), just 30km east of Norseman. By 10:30 we had reached Norseman which marks the end of the Nullarbor and the end of remoteness with no phone or radio signal. After filling the car we proceeded along the way to Kalgoorlie where we arrived at the Caravan Park just in time for lunch around 1:30pm.
We spent the afternoon checking out the township of Kalgoorlie and stocking up with fresh fruit and vegetables at the local Woolworths store. After a couple of days, since we crossed into WA and had to dispose of all fresh food, we are all hanging out for something fresh.
It's quite amazing how many of the Caravans in this park have VIC and NSW number plates. The Global Financial Crisis hasn't stopped the Victorian retirees from heading West.
Finally, we are back in the civilized world where the phone works and we can get online.

The long straight road

Monday, 25th of May - no phone signal, so this post is late again.

During the nights stay at Bunda Cliffs we have had Dingoes visit our camp area and howling next to the caravan like I never heard it before. We suspect they were looking for edibles in the rubbish bins or they could smell the dogs in the caravan next door. However, the rubbish bins are "Dingo proof", so the Dingoes didn't hang around for long and we quickly got back to sleep.
Having travelled some 10°west since leaving Balhannah, the later sunrise/set has become noticable. Waiting for the sun to rise, we didn't get out of bed until 7:30. Again, we were grazed with a little morning shower before we got going and we enjoyed a few more drizzles along the way, but there was nice sunshine in between the showers.
It was only 75km to Border Village at the WA border where quarantine do a very thorough inspection of both vehicle and caravan, checking every nook and cranny for things such as honey, soil, pine cones, cardboard fruit boxes and many other things. We handed in our remaining vegetables, unhooked the van so the inspector could get access to the back of the vehicle, hitched up, and were on our way after a half hour stop at Quarantine.
We told quarantine that our kids are a pest - but they didn't want to keep them!
For lunch we pulled up at Madura Pass lookout where we enjoyed another great view over the Nullarbor while enjoying out packets of soup as we no longer have any fresh fruit or vegetables and we want be able to restock with fresh stuff until we get to the other end of the great plain.
One of the days highlights was a bend in the road after the longest straight sealed road section in the Oz. It starts at Caiguna Road House and runs straight for 146km, that's an hour and a half of travel at 100km/h without a bend - Very little wear an tear on the car's stearing system!
The fuel out here is a little bit more expensive - the most we paid for Diesel was $1.60 / lt.
After a record 625kms for the day, we finally pulled in at Balladonia road house. The caravan facility provides power and toilets but no water - just as well we got some left in our tanks.
We are now some 23°west of our home and the time difference between nature and our body clock certainly makes itself known.
Once across the border into WA, every little roadhouse has tree clocks, one showing Adelaide time, another showing Perth time and yet another showing their local time which is related to their distance east or west from Perth.
When we arrived in Balladonia the sun was still fairly high in he sky and we adjusted the clock back by an hour and a half.
I suppose when one experiences time difference on air travel it's called "jetlag" - I wonder if what we are experiencing is be called "carlag" or maybe even "caravan-lag"?

First Day on the Nullarbor

Our travels on Sunday the 24th of May took us from Streaky Bay to Ceduna for a quick fuel stop and then onto the Nullarbor where we spotted Dingoes, Emus and Eagles along the way.
To get fuel at the Nullarbor road house, the driver has to hand in his license before he can fill the car. Once the money for the fuel is handed over the license is retuned. This little trick has put a stop to people driving off without paying. There are about half a dozen wild but semi-tame Dingoes hanging around Nullarbor Road House which come up to people looking for a feed.
During our trip so far we have spoken to many seasoned travellers and they all assured us that across the Nullarbor it's better stop at one of the scenic bush parking areas rather than a caravan park. On advice from one such traveller we stopped at a parking area called Bunda Cliffs, some 85km East of Eucla, after travelling a total of 520km for the day.
We parked about 100mt from the high cliffs that form the Great Australian Bight, with a grand view over the mighty Southern Ocean on one side and endless Nullarbor plain on the other.
As rare as these events are out here, we were lucky enough to experience heavy rain with hail while parked at Bunda Cliffs. As you would expect, out here in the middle of nowhere, on a moonless cloudy night, it was as dark as I have ever seen it.
There was no phone reception and hence no internet connection either, that why this post hasn't appeared on the blog until just now.

Resting at Streaky

Today was a rest day, that is, we didn’t move our caravan. After some domestic chores and more trip planning in the morning we went for a drive to see the local area attractions.

First was the “Westall Way Loop” which took us to many pretty (and empty) beaches and to the “Smooth Pool” – an area with lots of little rock pools where the kids had a ball.

Next attraction on the list was the only sea lion colony on mainland Australia at Point Labatt where over 60 beasts were lazing around
on the rocks below us but the stiff breeze meant we couldn’t stay for too long.

On the way back to Streaky we called in at “Murphy’s Haystacks” an ancient granite rock formation. The 1500 million year rocks are a collection of “Inselbergs”.Now we are getting ready to cross the Nullarbor – four days of driving before we arrive at Kalgoorlie where we are going to have another rest day.

Eyre Highway

Left Port Augusta before 9am and went onto the Eyre Highway which will take us all the way through to Norseman on the other end of the Nullarbor, some 1700km from Port Augusta. The Highway took us past Iron Knob and through lots of open country with small townships spread out along the way. Most of the small townships can be recognized from miles away by their huge grain silos.
We stopped at Kimba to admire the "Big Galah" (see picture).
Lunch stop was at a small settlement named Poochera where we found "Peter's Humpy", a small hut built by Peter Sheridan in 1920 from flattened kerosene tins!
We took a detour from the Eyre Highway to head for Streaky Bay. Just as well, as the Eyre Highway was blocked all day due to a fatal accident where 5 youngsters stole a vehicle in Norseman and drove it all the way across the Nullarbor, committing a few robberies along the way, and finally crashed into a tree just outside Ceduna. The driver was the only survivor.
Here in Streaky Bay we are back to coldish, windy weather, long pants and jumpers.

Living in a Tree

We have departed from the warm comfort of Irene & Frank's place and our track took us north through the Barossa and Clare valleys where vineyards and wineries are abundant.

Along the way we stopped at the Herbig Tree (see photo) (hier auf Deutsch) which was home to the Herbig Family (parents + 2 kids) who lived inside the tree for a few years in the 1850's before they built their own house.

By 15:30 hrs we arrived safely at Port Augusta and with temperatures in the mid 20's it feels like we have finally left the Victorian winter behind.

A day in the hills

The weather wasn't what you'd call hot and the fog didn't lift until 10am but at least it wasn't raining and the sun kept peeking through from time to time. We took a trip around the local area today, first to Lobethal, a very old german settlement with the first Lutheran College in the Souther Hemisphere and an excellent bakery. The Lobethal historical museum (open only by appointment) was excellent and kept us occupied for nearly 2 hrs.
A short trip to Gumeracha was rewarded with the sight of the The Big Rocking Horse which is part of "The Toy Factory". We climbed the Rocking Horse via internal ladders and then checked out the excellent wooden toys at The Toy Factory. The same area also houses a small animal park and Irene thought that the animals could do with some food (the proper stuff sold by the shop). As soon as we entered the animals immedately recognized the food bucket and we were overrun by very hungry lot of Goats, Peacocks, Ducks, Roo's and various other creatures. I'm happy to say we got out alive.
The short drive to Williamstown brought us to the Whispering Wall where the dam wall provides a unique sound path which allows people to hear each other whispering over a distance of 140mt.
Back to base after a big day out and the kids are getting stuck into their schoolwork.

First Day out

We managed to get away almost on time and made good progress. The kids started fighting after half an hour on the road but we let them sort it out by themselves and they eventually settled down.
A couple of refueling stops and a brief lunchstop on the foreshore of Lake Boga (see picture) saw us arrive at Ouyen Caravan Park by 15:30 hrs.
In case you're wondering why there's no water in the photo - that's because there is NO water in Lake Boga.
Ouyen is famous for having the best Vanilla slice in Victoria, at least that's what Jeff Kennett said.
We have sampled the said Vanilla slice from the Mallee Bakery and we agree with - it's reputation is well deserved.
A few minor problems that revealed themselves during while driving were resolved at the caravan park and the onboard tools (battery drill, toolkit, ...) have already proven their worth.
For the technically minded: we're towing at 100km/hr and the car uses between 17 and 19 lt/hr (Diesel). Although we haven't been a weighbridge, I am fairly sure the allup weight (car + caravan) is around 4500kg.
Hopefully we'll have another early start tomorrow and we should get to Balhannah just after lunch.

The day before

Here we are, caravan packed, car filled up, kids very excited, one more sleep and we're on the road.
After many weeks of preparation that long list of jobs and things to pack has finally been completed.
We'll try to leave early tomorrow morning so we can cover a lot of distance to our first destination - Balhannah in SA. We should be there by Tuesday afternoon.

Eight more sleeps to go

We are counting down. 8 more sleeps, 5 more days of work and school.
The last two weekends were spent fitting out the back of the car with a shelf to hold the fridge, battery and our large foldout table. The center compartment is designed to hold our tackle and lure boxes.
A roof rack has also been fitted to the car and an 80W solar panel will keep the battery charged and the fridge running while we are on the road.
We'll spend the last week packing our gear and making sure we've got everything. Food will be prepared using the new Mothersday present - a Vacuum packer.
The excitement is growing day by day .......