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January 2016
09 January 2016
Well January has well and truly begun and being in Perth for the start of the new year saw us back with good friends Kim, Carolyn, Julie and Rob at our usual spot next to the water in Mandurah to enjoy a meal together and then the 9pm fireworks.
A couple of days later we headed back to Bruce Rock to finish off the clean up from the grain harvest. Stopping at Pink Lake between Quairading and Shackelton for some photo's.
Salt piling up at the base of the fence caught our eye and made for this shot.
Salt piles around the base of the trees that once grew there reminded me of small buoys.
Arriving at site we worked through the week, starting early to beat the heat of the day and then spending the afternoon sitting around on the verandah enjoying the odd refreshing beer until he heat drove us inside to cool down in the air conditioning. The clean up was quite relaxed after the intensity of the harvest and it was nice to be able to get stuck into a job and not have to interrupt it to unload a truck. And we even managed to have visitors.
Nicknamed 20 cents (Bob and Bob) came to spend the night with us on their short motorcycle tour of the wheatbelt. With the two bedrooms in the main building empty they were able to spend the night and so after a short site tour and explanation of what we did there we sat around enjoying each other's company, a BBQ meal and of course just a few beverages, topped off with some nice Port before bedtime was declared.
The next morning (Friday) the two Bob's left and we completed the site clean and then a tidy up inside AJ and spending our last night in Bruce Rock. One of the small things we enjoyed (and will miss) were the tree's that we were camping under and it was interesting to see the bark colour and then be blown off the tree as it peeled like sunburn to reveal a new skin and more colour underneath.
Waking this morning to another hot day we completed our preparations, pack up, fueled up ($1.10 per litre) we made our way to Merredin for some shopping (and to stock up on the best bacon we have ever tasted) before heading through the harvest stubble fields and on to the town of York.
Arriving in a stifling hot York we took up one of the free powered sites in town and put the air conditioning on until the temperature changed thanks to strong wind and cool refreshing rain.
17 January 2016
Last night however was a good opportunity to dust off the camera and get some shots of the weather as it came in and the sun went down over Warnbro Sound.
Stormy skies passing overhead as we watched the sunset.
The stormy skies departed as the sun dipped below the horizon.
With our yearly work done, the festive season over and family visited we are back on the road again. Leaving our eldest daughters place we stopped for a visit with Rosemary and family to catch up with them after their trip to Singapore and then onto Mandurah for a brew with Kim and Carolyn before heading back out onto the road. Such a busy day with driving and social activities meant we were tired and so after topping up the tank at $1.09.9c/litre in Pinjarra we drove through the town with the intention of stopping at the RV Free Camp for lunch. Well, needless to say, we stopped alright, and will be overnight.
18 January 2016
Well, we have often said that we should call our motorhome "Subject 2 Change" rather than AJ, and that proved to be the case twice today. We awoke this morning after a somewhat disturbed sleep thanks to the trains that run past the campsite throughout the night, and over breakfast decided that because of the rain and the weather forecast we wouldn't head to Lake Cowan near Norseman via the dirt Hyden to Norseman road for photography but would head North to Wannamel to see if we could record or even spot the "cup of tea" bird we have been trying to identify properly, and then as the weather clears, maybe back to the coast for some time at Green and Cliff Head relaxing by the beach. But of course, subject to change stepped in and those ideas did change.
There we were pulling into Bullsbrook for morning tea and the phone rings, it was the employment agency that handles the grain harvest in the East. We had been specifically asked for by the boss at GrainFlow in Queensland to assist the permanent staff with the upcoming Sorghum Harvest at Jondaryan. Mindful of an event in Perth in late February we reluctantly said that we were not available, and then a few seconds later we changed our minds. A quick call to the site manager and a discussion about the harvest etc saw us quickly put a plan into place and to decide to go - because we can!
So as I write this we are sitting in the free camp in Meriden heading towards the Nullarbor. Tomorrow morning we are booked into the tyre shop to have our wheels rotated which was one job we wanted to get done as we toured anyway, and then we will be heading off across the paddock yet again.
19 January 2016
The RV Camp in Merredin was all ours last night, well, for most of the night. Sometime during the night one of the local hoons must have come in and done a doughnut in the dirt and we didn't even hear them, the tell tale sign of ripped up dirt and gravel the clue that we had had a visitor. So after packing up we went into town and managed to get our wheels rotated at the local tyre place before topping our tank up and heading out onto the highway.
The day went pretty easy and quietly as we made our way along the highway, stopping in Southern Cross for morning tea and then Coolgardie for lunch. Some roadwork's along the way to Norseman made for a short stop as did the impromptu stop to allow the road crews to clear a tree that decided to fall across the road rather than into the bush as they were clearing it.
Coming into Norseman we had planned on camping next to Lake Cowan but decided not to and eventually ended up in Norseman itself at the sports ground where there is a self contained only camp for motorhome's and the like. Selecting a spot we settled in as the sky darkened as the sun went down and the thunder and lightning show began.
Our front row view of the storm as it split and went around us.
We did consider for a moment taking the Norseman to Hyden road through the salt lake and camping on the other side as the photography would have been nice but didn't want to risk getting too much rain and ending up stuck, so that will have to remain on the list for things to do "next time".
20 January 2016
The wind and rain that resulted from the storm last night sure cooled the place down and by the time we went to bed we were reaching for the covers. Waking early to a clear sky this morning it didn't take long for the clouds to roll in and grey the day over as we packed up, topped up our water and left town turning East towards the great openness of Australia's interior.
The trucks and other travelers were out and with a wind on the Port Quarter we were sailing along nicely, not too hot, not too cold and keenly anticipating our 12th crossing of The Nullarbor. Having had some rain recently the bush through this part is looking quite fresh and vigorous which made for a pleasant scene as we drove.
Passing the roadhouse at Ballodonia we elected to stop at the Afghan Rocks Rest Area for morning tea and found the temperature beginning to rise as big fluffy clouds hung around the sky in front of us and the wind dropping to a mere breeze.
Out into the open country we came as the day got a bit hotter, the wind still more with us than against us as we passed more non descript countryside before stopping for lunch at the old water tank that is fed by an ageing corrugated iron roof about 40 km West of Caiguna. We have camped at this tank on both of our cycling trips across and so we were able to recall fond memories of our time there, even if it was 40 deg C and uncomfortable back then.
We have crossed this part of Australia over a dozen times, twice by pedal power, and we have never seen a camel as shown on the road signs, but today we did. Leaving our lunch spot and heading towards Caiguna this brown shape appeared just off the road and so we just had to stop for a photo.
We get to see a Nullarbor Camel - finally.
Passing the roadhouse at Caiguna and then Cocklebiddy we settled on a camp in a gravel pit some 5km's East of Cocklebiddy as the mercury hovered around 37 degrees and the clouds and blackness of a storm built up behind us. We have camped here before and as we knew it has gravel everywhere there is no chance of us getting stuck if that storm decides to visit throughout the night.
21 January 2016
Yesterday was a hot day but by the time we went to bed we were again looking for the covers. It was 37 degrees when we turned the ignition off and it was 23 degrees when our heads hit the pillow.
Leaving the other camper that came in last night to enjoy their morning we pulled out onto the road again around 6.30am (WA time) we were heading into a rising sun in a cloudy sky.
After dropping down the range at Madura we were on the Roe Plain, separated from the Hampton Tableland to our North by the escarpment we had just come down. Another dead car on the side of the road (number 5 so far this trip) we stopped for morning tea at Mundrabilla, topping up our fuel and enjoying a break as the heat of the day began to make itself felt. Nearing Eucla we could see the white sand of the dunes shimmering in the heat on the horizon, the distorted view making them seem like a mirage, and then,. after climbing back up the range at Eucla we slipped quietly over the border into South Australia some 12 kilometers later.
Traffic today was heavier than we have experienced in a while especially across here, and with the wind now blowing off the Southern Ocean we were being buffeted by the trucks as they passed in the opposite direction.
With views of the Southern Ocean we passed the official lookouts and the unofficial tracks out to the cliffs from the rest areas and began to notice more and more of the unofficial tracks had been bulldozed and bollards and chains placed across the entry points, and they have even removed the concrete water tanks in South Australia because of cost according to the road marking man we spoke to at a rest area. "Too costly for them to maintain and fill" was the reason given apparently, so we were sad to see the demise of the water tank that saved our lives on that 51 degree day when we were cycling across and figured that cycling across the Nullarbor will now be a lot harder than it was before.
Having had our intended campsite closed off meant that the idea of photographs of the cliffs and Southern Ocean under cloud at sunset was off so having had enough driving for the day we passed the roadhouse at Nullarbor and made our way to the camp at the old buttressed stone water tank at the head of the bight entrance gate as the storms began to roll in and roll across the landscape, bringing with them not only good photographic opportunities but rain to help the parched earth.
One of a number of storms that rolled across the Nullarbor this afternoon.
It's an amazing sight watching the vast open space that is Nullarbor disappear under cloud and rain as the kilometers wide storm rolls across the landscape devouring the view as it goes and bringing welcome rain as it does.
This cloud rolled and broke like a wave on the shore as it moved across the sky.
In between storms and showers (left hand side) the sun managed to peak through for just a few seconds.
And as darkness finally fell our heads hit the pillow as the sky rumbled on off in the distance.
22 January 2016
Waking to a clearing sky this morning we eventually made our way back to the highway, turning East once more. The highway was fairly good this morning but we were again being buffeted by the passing trucks. Stopping at the old Yalata Roadhouse for a break was also a good excuse to empty our last jerry can (insurance) into the tank before heading on.
Passing through Nundroo without stopping for fuel was a little strange and so our next stop was the windmill town of Penong where we stopped for morning tea at the little rest area on the outskirts of town, and were entertained by two exceptionally large mining truck trays with their Police escorts turning into town to go around the block so as to be able to get near a fuel pump at the service station. Good job we didn't want to get fuel because they took the place and some of the road over to be able to get near the bowser. In fact, we were surprised the bowser hose reached that far!
Leaving Penong and heading for Ceduna we were back into the large open expanse of cropping country, that remote, "Nullarbor" feel leaving us, made more noticeable by the lack of a wave from drivers going in the opposite direction.
A cursory check by the man at the Quarantine Checkpoint and we were in town and civilisation proper. Parking on an old block at the rear of the visitor information center (near the water tap and drain) we topped up on some fresh food and then after filling the tank headed out of town to find somewhere to stop for the night. That somewhere, after almost stopping at the $10 a night park in Wirulla, ended up being the Apex Park in the little town of Minnipa.
23 January 2016
A small shower of rain overnight and a cloudy start to the day was enough to keep the dust down and the temperature just right. One of our neighbors (from Port Kennedy WA) packed up their kids and camper trailer before we had even stopped dreaming this morning, leaving the place to us and a backpacker couple in a whiz-bang.
Topping up with water from the tap on the side of the public toilet that is in an old concrete tank and labeled the "Concrete Crappa", we hit the highway and thinking the day was going to be another grey one. Our first stop was to top up our fuel in Kimba, the town that claims to be exactly halfway across Australia before leaving town and enjoying morning tea in a roadside gravel pit.
Approaching Iron Knob the ground changed from sandy soil to red dirt and then as we passed the tailings from the mine that has started up again, we noticed a train being filled with iron ore, then large dump trucks carting ore around and a huge bulldozer cultivating the dirt ready for bush regeneration on the side of a very large old tailings pile.
Approaching the intersection to the road to Port Lincoln we turned left towards Port Augusta and past the very familiar extremely large concrete water tanks that are bit of a landmark around here. Another first for this trip was not stopping in Port Augusta for food or fuel, choosing instead to get fuel in Wilmington which, courtesy of the Fuel Map App (made by wikicamps) we found to be 13c a litre cheaper than in Port Augusta.
Heading for the turn off to Horrocks Pass we noticed the extremely large greenhouses that are being built by Sundrop who intend to grow 15,000 tonnes of tomatoes and capsicum for Coles using reverse osmosis water from the Spencer Gulf next door. Heading up towards Horrocks Pass we noticed the Flinders Ranges were looking rather yellow and dry, completely different to the last time we had seen them, and despite the cloud over the top they still provided a great view.
Horrocks Pass was also covered in cloud and as we climbed we spotted a number of photo opportunities, but with nowhere to park off the side we could only look and wish. Perhaps one day we will have to park at one end and walk the pass to get the shots we want. So onto the nice little town of Wilmington which was so quiet you could have fired a shotgun down the road and hit nothing. Lunch in the Centenary Park and then fuel for $1.079 a litre at the hardware and we were off in search of today's campsite at the Orrorroo Rest Area just 8 km's out of town.
The rest area appeared to be okay and as we were the only ones there we were able to snag the best spot complete with a view back to the West and Wilmington.
This tree is right in front of where we are parked. Just love the colour and texture of the bark.
Great texture and opportunity for some close up photography with the 50mm lens.
24 January 2015
After a quiet and refreshing sleep last night we left our camp and after climbing the hill were presented at the top with a view of the open grasslands as they stretched off to cloud covered ranges off on the horizon. Dropping down into Orrorroo we inspected the large river gum that according to the sign is about 500 years old and over 10m in circumference at the base. Leaving the tree as we found it we were almost immediately in the town itself, quiet and deserted because it is a Sunday. Town is a traditional stone building, large verandah, many shop (no complexes here) shopping area where a walk up and down the street could see you gone for half an hour or more.
Passing through Peterborough we were out into open country that reminded us a fair bit of the Mojave Desert in the USA, large open areas of desert, salt bush and ranges off in the distance. It's pretty dry out here and there were a number of road kill Emu's along the way as well as a few flocks of them out and about.
Arriving in the locality of Ucolta where we took a small track off the highway to inspect the WWII Memorial, three old stone houses and an old steam train water tank that all sit abandoned next to what was the railway.
One of three ruins at Ucolta.
The old railway water tank with the remains its advertising for the passing passengers of a bygone era.
Back onto the main road we came to the Barrier Highway and passed through places such as Oodla wirra, Yunta ( pub, fuel, post office, coffee), Mannah Hill (museum, pub come store and museum and a few houses), Olary, Mingary and then just before crossing into New South Wales, Cockburn with the Cockburn Hotel, old uninviting caravan park, an old store and a few houses. The last building on the highway being the Border Gate Hotel.
After crossing the border into NSW we were headed for Broken Hill passing through more open countryside and small ranges before finding ourselves in town where, after we picked up some food and fuel we headed out of town, eventually stopping at the Springs Creek Rest Area where we have camped before.
25 January 2016
Despite yesterdays heat the night was a pleasant one for sleeping courtesy of the 12v fan we had going to waft over us as we slept. One of the other three campers was up and off early and the we didn't even hear the people in the tent leave, whenever that was.
Breaking camp around 8am we made our way into and Wilcannia and with no real reason to stop we slowed enough to see that the Darling River was more of a creek than a river before heading out of town as quick as we came in. With nothing overly interesting to see except the wild goats that are prolific throughout these parts we just drove towards Cobar, arriving around lunchtime and eventually stopping at the Newey Reservoir where we have camped before. A shorter day than that last seven and the downtime with a view over the water and pleasant breeze despite the hot 37 degree day.
26 January 2016 - Australia Day
Leaving our camp the three other campers had not stirred and so as we pulled out of town we enjoyed the quiet public holiday roads as we made our way. Not wanting to take the same roads we have, where possible, opted for fresh scenery and today it proved to be a bonus decision.
Heading out of town we our first stop was Nygan where the main street was very quiet and that allowed us plenty of time to avail ourselves of some fresh water at the free camp in town which was empty. Heading back out onto the highway we eventually arrived in the small town of Warren and then took the Warren-Carinda road North. This is a secondary road that sort of runs parallel to the highway but a reasonable distance inland from it. Passing through typical Australian bush we eventually came to the Macquarie Marshes where we had sort of hoped to get some photo's, but with nowhere but a caravan park to go into see them we drove on as the heat of the day began to bite.
Arriving in the small town of Carinda we stopped to see the memorial stone and graves of the early settlers before going into town to park up for lunch. Carinda has a number of shop buildings but all but the small service station come post office and the pub come general store are closed. We parked opposite the pub near the park and over lunch Joanne remembered hearing a woman on ABC Radio discussing outback pubs, in particular one that the singer David Bowie had filmed one of his songs in and more so she thought that this was the town and the pub.
Going into the pub on a reccy mission and then coming back out Joanne informed that this was the town, and the pub. So with lunch finished we went into the pub and over a beer and a lemon squash viewed the bar and photo's of David Bowie filming the clip for "Lets Dance". The pool table in the photos had gone and we were in fact sitting at a table where it once stood and on the floor was two rows of the original floor tiles that the publican, despite the renovations, replaced to keep it part of the scene.
The scene of David Bowie's film clip.
Leaving town after this chance encounter we passed the scene of a recent vehicle crash where the vehicle had had its roof removed to get the people out and we also noticed that it had Mandurah registration. The country we were traveling through was looking pretty green and the short, foot high salt bush that had a good cover over the ground made it look very green and lunch indeed.
Back in civilisation at Walgett we drove through and onto a free camp at Collarenebri. Arriving in this small town we passed through and crossed the Barwon River and located the campsite at an old sports oval. Gravel on the drive meant the black soil underneath would not be a problem if it rained and along with the kopper logs marked the individual camping bays. We selected one and inspected the toilet/shower block which, while slightly primitive is just fine and the hot showers a bonus.
Settling in for the rest of the day it was time to wander the couple of hundred metres down to the river to see what the camping spots and the river were like. On arrival it was clear that it would be a great spot to camp and enjoy, as others had, but not if it rains.
This would make a great view to enjoy while you camp here.
This view is at the end of the camp area and on a neighboring property.
27 January 2016
The dark skies that had threatened to bring some relief from the heat failed to come through and so it was a warm night, made bearable by our 12v fan which whirred away throughout the night while we slept. Awake before the sun had cleared the trees we went back into town to buy some fuel ($142.9 c/ltr) and then headed off across the Moree Plains and into a headwind.
We had wanted to take the road from Collarenebri to Mungindi but it was 90 odd km of a very bad dirt road and the lady at the shop recommended we not take it. But she did recommend our going about 60 km's on the Gwydir towards Moree and then turning off on the Moriaty Road which had a bout 12 km of gravel and the rest was sealed, and so we did.
Turning onto the Moriaty Road we found it to be gravel straight away but it soon turned to bitumen and we were passing through flat open ground where cattle, cotton and grain are grown, cattle grids marking the boundaries of the farms we were passing through. We eventually found the gravel and after about 12 km's of good made gravel road we were back on the hardtop again.
Arriving in the small town of Mungindi we stopped at the supermarket to get some things and then went down to the Barwon River which is actually the border between NSW and Qld. Crossing over into Qld we pulled up on the Northern bank next to some very nice trees and enjoyed a late morning tea and a photo opportunity along the riverbank.
One of many scenes along the river. This one of particular interest because of the tree roots dangling down to the water.
The thick covering of weed and this island tree made for a good subject just up stream from the weir.
The small weir at Mungindi
We could have stayed longer but with lots of rain forecast were headed to Talwood where we know there is a free camp with power, and people we know. So with lunch over we made our way through more cotton and grain country before heading the 5 km's out to the GrainFlow site to find it under fumigation and closed.
Back in town we took up residence in the free camp at the oval and after lunch and getting the washing done spent an enjoyable hour or so with Sonia the site GrainFlow Site Manager at her house just a few hundred metres down the road. Heading back to AJ as the sky darkened we had just settled in when wind, lightning and heavy rain came through. The campsite is flooded and it is going to be a very wet night.
31 January 2016
Having enjoyed a couple of days at Talwood we moved on to the small town of Clifton where, along with a few other campers we took up a spot on the bitumen and plugged into the power as a storm cell brewed behind us. With the weather so hot and muggy the wind and rain cooled the place down a little but not as much as it would have if it had actually come down on us.
The storm cell brewing but not delivering.
The next morning we made our way to Jondaryan and checked out a couple of free camps and then settled in a gravel pit not far from where we will be working.
The Thunderheads forming over the coal loading facility near our gravel pit camp.
Loved the wind swirl on the top of the thunderhead as it formed.
The weather didn't cause us any problems but the noise from coal loader across the road annoyed us so around 10pm we broke camp and headed up the road into Jondaryan and camped in the rest area next to the hall.
The last time we did the Sorghum harvest we stayed at the Jondaryan Woolshed, but this time we have decided to try something else and keep more of the $714 per month that it costs to stay there, in our pockets.
Mark Twain once said "...years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do that by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - and so we will.
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