Blog 25 - 3rd to 17th November 2013

Sunday 3rd November 2013 - on leaving the caravan park at Kalbarri, we follow the coast south, stopping in at all of the lookouts and viewpoints along the way, including Red Bluff point lookout,

Natural Bridge,

and Island Rock

to name a few. From here we stopped in at the pink lake just before Port Gregory, where the carotene in the water gives it a distrinct pink hue.

After stopping in at Port Gregory to overlook the view, we decide on a farm stay for the night at Linga Longer at Lynton. We set-up on the grass, and are soon joined by the owners dogs who are keen for a pat. A leisurely afternoon watching the resident guinea fowl wandering around, and chatting to the owners.

Monday 4th - after breakfast, we stroll around the property with Jenny, who takes us to the old sandstone mansion - Sanford House

- and then up to the lookout where they have installed a golf tee for smashing balls into the bush down below.

We then explored the original town of Lynton, which was a convict hiring post prior to them becoming free settlers after their sentence had been served. Left the farm and drove to Horrocks, a small beach community where we had lunch watching the ocean, and then to Northampton where we had a coffee and scones, before driving into Geraldton where we booked in at the caravan park before a quick explore around town and the info centre.

Tuesday 5th - did a re-stock of the pantry, and then quickly back to the camper to get changed as the Melb Cup was on and the Geraldton racecourse was having a race meeting. Spent the day, investing wisely (NOT) but only lost a few bucks. Fun to watch the girls wearing short dresses, high heels, and having too many drinks. Some of the guys were wearing interesting fashions too.

Wednesday 6th - some washing in the morning before getting some spares from town for the trailer and car, and then a drive around town and south to Greenough, before stopping at some of the beaches back to town. Some more window shopping in town, and then to the art gallery where there was an exhibition of works done by local school students - very impressive.

Thursday 7th - up early as the car is due at the dealer for a service at 8.00am. Spent the day walking around town, firstly the foreshore

and beaches, and then the shops, before walking up the hill to the HMAS Sydney II Memorial where 645 Aussie sailors were lost at sea in WWII.

The statue of the woman looking out to sea waiting for her man to come back home was very touching.

Some more walking and browsing, before being told the Triton would not be finished until tomorrow, so arranged a loan car to get back to our camper and headed to the caravan park.

Friday 8th - packed up the camper ready to hook up once we got the car back, and then into town to collect it by 9.30am - drove out of the dealers at about 11.45am and rushed back to hook-up and leave town. Drove south through Greenough again, and then went west via the Alinta wind farm which has 54 wind turbines spread across several farms. From here we went into Ellendale Pool for lunch, before continuing on to Coalseam Conservation park for the night. Stopped off at the lookout first,

and set-up camp at The Miners where we had the entire place to ourselves. Cooked a roast on the gas bbq, and fought off the flies and ants into the night.

Saturday 9th - left camp and drove north to the main highway, before turning east towards Mount Magnet. Stopped in for lunch at the pub and a re-fuel, before finally arriving at Sandstone for the night. Booked into the caravan park, and was told about the kids water park next to the pub, so we changed into swimmers and went for a stroll down.

Press the button, and for 15 minutes, the water streams out of tubes, buckets, and cannons, and was a great way to cool off before a quiet drink in the pub.

Sunday 10th - after leaving Sandstone, we did the heritage trail around town, stopping first at the cave where the old brewery was housed - water was pumped to the top of the hill, brewed, and then gravity fed down into barrels to be stored in the cave at a cool temperature - very primitive but it worked. Next stop was London Bridge, a natural rock arch which is big enough to drive under or across.

Continuing east, we finally arrive at the BHP Billiton mining town of Leinster, where we stop for a coffee and to pay our camping fees at the supermarket before setting up camp. Did some washing, and then decided to head to the miners dry mess for dinner where there is a buffet for $15p.p. Joined our neighbours from the camp for dinner, and then walked back in the early evening.

Monday 11th - went for a walk around town after our big meal last night, before a quick stop at the info centre where we were told there was nothing to see in town, so we moved on to Leonora. Not much there either, so we decided to visit Laverton, after dropping the camper at Malcolm Dam. 122km's later we arrive in Laverton, had some lunch, and then visited the Explorers Hall of Fame at the info centre - very good and informative. Last spot to visit was Billy Goat Hill lookout where you couldn't really see too much, so back the 122km's to Malcolm Dam for the night.

Tuesday 12th - headed back into Leonora, and then to the town of Gwalia, and the Sons of Gwalia mine and Hoover House. This was once a massive gold mine that was abandoned, but is now active again as an open-cut massive hole in the ground.

This is overlooked by the Gwalia museum, and Hoover House.

Herbert Hoover was just 24 when he was appointed GM of the mine, setting up the entire operations and designing the mine-head and various plant and equipment, and also starting to build the mine managers house, now known as Hoover House. He was moved to Asia to oversee other mines, before eventually becoming the 31st President of the US. A beautiful old house and restored lovingly - a great museum and well worth a wander around. Lunch in the park at Leonora, then we drive through the living ghost town of Kookynie (pronounced coo-KY-nie) and camp at Niagara Dam.

Di did a painting of desert peas, before we went for a walk around the dam prior to dinner.

Wednesday 13th - decided to spend a relaxing day at camp before going to explore the old mining towns around the area. First stop was Niagara, where all that was left was a few foundations and some old bottles - if not for the sign, you wouldn't even know it was there. Next stop was Kookynie where there were info boards all around town explaining what was left of the old buildings, and how life was like back when 6,500 people occupied the town, and there were 11 pubs (7 officially) in town. Now there are only a few houses, about 20 people, and just the 1 pub. Had lunch and a drink with the lady publican, before arriving back at camp just as our new neighbours decided to camp within 30 feet of us in a massive free camping area with only 1 other vehicle - some people have no f$%^&* idea about bush courtesy. Went for another walk around the breakaway and through the quartz fields - didn't find any gold though.

Thursday 14th - drove the short distance into Menzies, where we had a shower in the caravan park for $3.00 each, filled up with water, and then to the cafe for a coffee. Met the Australian winner (American guy) and the WA winner (English guy) who had the "Best Jobs in Australia" competition, where they got to travel for 6 months and get paid to do it - hated them both, but really nice guys having the times of their lives. Drove out to Lake Ballard, 51km's NW of town where a pommy bloke called Antony Gormley had created an art installation for the Perth Art Festival in 2003. He decided to create 51 steel structures of people, asking the townfolk of Menzies to pose, and be scanned to create their images. He then kept the height, but reduced the thickness by 2/3rds to show the "inner person" and then spaced these out around a massive salt lake - he also has a thing for making doodles and boobies much bigger than they should be - a little bit weird, but worth a wander around.

Stayed the night on the edge of the lake, and went for a walk around a few of the statues, and climbed the hill to overlook them. The wind picked up, and then the rain clouds started to close in, with lots of lightning and thunder, before the heavens opened for a deluge of 3 to 4 minutes - but the wind continued all night, shaking the camper around and meaning not too much sleep.

Friday 15th - windy again in the morning, but also lots of flies - not supposed to happen. Back to Menzies, where we walked around town viewing the steel cut-outs of images and stories from town back in the late 1890's and early 1900's.

Also took photos of the Menzies roadhouse, where hundres of number plates and old signs of vehicles and motoring paraphenalia are hanging on the walls,

Another coffee, some more info centre wandering, chatted to the Best Jobs winners again, and then further south to Goongarrie NP, 90km's before Kalgoorlie. Arrived at the old sheep station homestead to find no-one around, so we chose to camp under a real roof for the night instead of our camper (might be quieter in the wind) and set-up in the shearers cottage.

Late afternoon another couple turned up, but they chose to stay at the homestead, so we had the entire cottage to ourselves. Sat on the verandah, cooked inside out of the wind, and had an early night.

Saturday 16th - decided to get up early and stoke up the wood-fired water heater for a hot shower. Had breakfast, then a nice hot shower, before doing a walk around the station area for 3.5km's.

Back to the highway, and continued south. Turned off towards Ora Banda where there was an old historic pub, but arrived too early, so drove out to Rowles Lagoon. This is a renowned water ski area, but there was not one drop of water in the lagoon, so not sure how renowned it really is. Drove the back way to Coolgardie, and then on to Kalgoorlie, stopping at the info centre and then some lunch. Checked into the Boulder caravan park, had a swim, and then an early dinner before hitting the arts centre for a free screening of the movie "The Ride" about 4 disabled guys who set off on quad bikes to re-visit their crash sites between Perth and Birdsville - an amazing film, and if you get a chance, try to see it, but also try to get some teenagers to see it too, as it is also about taking risks and the consequences of these risks. Out for a few drinks at the Exchange Hotel in town (one of the magnificent old pubs) which also had skimpy's working the bar (ask your father!!!)

Sunday 17th - washing day, before hitting the Boulder markets, a look around town and the Boulder town hall,

and then a free mine tour of the KCGM super pit - 3.6km's long by 1.5km's wide and 600 metres deep - a bloody big hole in the ground.

If you look close in the middle of the above picture you can just see the massive mining trucks and bucket scoop working to bring the ore to the top (below picture).

We also viewed the mechanical workshop on site, where one of the dumpers was getting a routine service - notice the workers legs below the front axle.

Lunch at the Albion pub, before going on a tour of the Questa Casa brothel

- the only surviving brothel in town - very interesting and enlightening, especially the bondage room and starting stalls.

We will stay in Kalgoorlie for another couple of days, before exploring a bit further south.

More to come soon.

Di and Hammo

Blog 24 - 25th October to 2nd November 2013

Friday 25th October - after packing up our camper in Coral bay, we decided to walk up the beach to the shark breeding area and see how many we could find in the water - but something must have been wrong because there were none there - but the views from the shallows were nice anyway.

Continued down the coast to Carnarvon, arriving just in time for lunch. Stopped in at the info centre and got a fist-load of brochures of things to do in the next few days. Decided to head 75km's north to the Blowholes and Point Quobba where there were some great campsites right on the beach, and a small protected bay for snorkelling and some coral reefs. Stopped in at the Blowholes,

and these put Kiama to shame - lots of holes in the rocks where the water shoots out, and the water went up to 20 metres in the air.

Then drove 1km south to Point Quobba and found a spot just behind a small sand-dune where we set-up and could watch the sunset.And all this for only $5.50 per night.

Saturday 26th - after a windy and cool night with a bit of rain (yes James and Amy, we have had some bad weather too!!!!), we woke to more wind in the morning, so decided to drive up the coast to the HMAS Sydney II memorial where 645 sailors died when the boat was sunk trying to chase a German ship in WW2. Then back to the lighthouse on the point, and then back to camp where the wind was starting to die down a bit. Di did a drawing, while I pottered around a bit. Then I decided to go for a snorkel in the protected bay

while Di watched from the shore. Met up with Chris and Mandy (from Fitzroy Crossing) and had a chat. After dinner we noticed some crabs slinking around our campsite in the darkness, but no toes were lost.

Windy again tonight but not as bad as the previous night.

Sunday 27th - after packing, we chatted to Chris and Mandy before we both went in for another snorkel, chasing fish around the coral reef. A quick shower from the camper, and then drove back to Carnarvon where we booked into a caravan park. Then we went exploring around town, stopping at Chinaman's Pool, then out to the jetty and lighthouse where we went through the 2 museums, and then down to Pelican Point where people were kitesurfing. Got some afternoon tea from Woolies in town, and back to the camper for afternoon tea and dinner, before watching a Paul Kelly special on Ch2 in the park TV room.

Monday 28th - left Carnarvon and made our way to Denham. Stopped in at Hamelin Pool Telegraph Station where we saw the stromatolites (one of the earliest life-forms on earth).

Had lunch under a shelter, and then drove to the Denham info centre. Took advantage of the pay 2, stay 3 nights at the carvan park, and then went for a walk around town. Very few places open so back to camp for a coffee. Another windy night listening to the canvas flap around.

Tuesday 29th - up early to go out Monkey Mia for the dolphin interaction (feeding). Paid our reserve entry fee and waited on the boardwalk until 8.00am for the show to start. Lots of info about the dolphins, and finally the buckets of fish come down to the shore. The volunteers choose people to hold a fish out for the 4 selcted dolphins to chomp on.

Once finished, we went up to the resort for a massive buffet breakfast ($15 per head), and then went back to the beach for the 2nd interaction, where Di got selected to feed a dolphin.

Went for a swim in the super-salty water, and then relaxed under the shade of the palm trees before lunch, and another swim, this time in the resort pool. Watched as the emus walked around the resort.

Back to Denham for a coffee and chat to our neighbours Debra and Keith.

Wednesday 30th - clothes washing day, so once this chore was done, we drove about 8km's out of town to Ocean Park aquarium. Did a guided tour of the tanks, both inside and outside, and saw lots of different fish including a tusk-fish, shovel-nose sharks, lionfish,

stonefish, rock lobsters, and a loggerhead turtle that had lost a flipper. But the shark tank was the best, with several types of sharks, up to over 3 metres long

- they didn't bother chasing the other fish, as they were simply too slow to catch them. We had a drink in the cafe which overlooked the ocean - the amount of sharks and stingrays you could see out in the shallow water deterred us from an afternoon swim.

Thursday 31st - we left Denham and headed north to Francios Peron NP, where we planned to stay the night camped on the beach. Stopped in at Peron homestead and had a walk around the old sheep station, and through the shearing shed and workers quarters.

After letting tyres down, we drove along the sandy track towards the campsite, but the first really sandy section saw us sink down into the sand and we were bogged. More air out of the tyres, and a bit of shovelling under the rear diff, press the 2 magic buttons, and we were underway again. Finally got to Cape Peron, and the views were amazing, with rich red cliffs, white sand and the turquoise waters

- could see lots of sharks, stingrays and turtles out in the water too. Then around to Skipjack Point, where the views and sights were equally as good.

We thought about staying at Bottle Bay, but the wind was too strong, so we went into Gregories campsite which seemed a bit better. We had a swim, and then washed off, before walking around to the point, where armed with a screwdriver, we prised open several oysters for Di to have a feast. An early dinner and in bed by 7.15pm as the wind had picked up again.

Friday 1st - still windy, so we breakfasted, packed and were on our way early. Stopped in at Herald Bight on the way out, and nearly got bogged again in the very soft sand. This looked a nicer spot to stay, but the wind was equally as bad. Out through the NP, and then back out to the main highway, after stopping in at Eagle Bluff to walk along the boardwalk overlooking the small bay with more sea life swimming in the water below, and then to shell beach where the shells are up to 8 metres deep. Once on the North West Coastal highway, we continued south, stopping in at Overlander Roadhouse for lunch, and then arriving at the Murchison River rest area to camp for the night - a lovely spot beside the river and away from the highway.

Saturday 2nd - left early (in the car by 7am) and drove to Kalbarri NP, where we stopped in at Hawks Head lookout,

and then Ross Graham lookout and did the walk down to the river at the bottom of the gorge.

From here we drove further to the Natures Window

where we did a walk to see the view,

and then to Z Bend for another walk to the lookout again.

Then drove the short distance into Kalbarri to the info centre, and then lunch at a cafe. After lunch, we went to the bird sanctuary and walked amongst the parrots and other birds.

Then to the caravan park where we had a jump on the jumping pillow (the lady in the office said we could), before dinner in the camp kitchen.

Plan is to spend Melb Cup day at Geraldton racecourse, get the Triton serviced on the 7th, and then continue our journey south towards Perth, meeting up with Di's brother in mid-Dec for a few days.

More to come soon.

Di and Hammo