We're heading home!

We left Mt Ives on a cold and frosty morning but warmed up beautifully in the car with the sunshine streaming in! As we drove through the stations along the road to Iron Knob, we saw this lovely old shearing shed - how many stories could it tell?

 

The sunshine created a reflection on Spencer Gulf and Port Augusta looked lovely too. 

 

After Port Augusta we marvelled at the might of the Flinders Ranges as we approached Horricks Pass. They are so majestic. We nearly turned north to Hawker!! 

 

Travelling through the little towns like Wilmington, Melrose, Laura and Murraytown, we realised we love these little communities and they all seem town proud. We ended up at Worlds End - a free camping spot out of Burra and possibly one of the best we've seen - so clean and tidy and spacious. It was rather cold this morning with a heavy frost - just as well we have heaters in our campers!

 

Today we had morning tea at Lock number 2 which was a lovely picnic spot and were very interested in the facts on display and enjoyed watching the pelicans. 

 

I wonder who can guess where we were for our lunch?

 

The answer is Lake Cullulleraine! We've never discovered this pretty picnic spot before - it was very pleasant in the sun. Then we headed to Hattah Kulkyne National Park where we are now camped at Lake Mournpall. We were here some years ago and since then, the saplings have grown around the lake, quite spoiling the vista:

 

But we have had a beautiful sunset and it's so peaceful - only one other camper here.

 

Tonight we are sitting around the campfire on our last night of this trip - we've travelled about 10,500 kilometres and have seen so many wonderful things in this amazing country! We've been fortunate to have no mishaps and the cars and campers have behaved beautifully. Mind you, there's a fair bit of cleaning ahead for us as that red dust seems to get in everywhere! I believe you never look back except to remember great times,  so looking forward, we'll catch up with all family and friends, get settled into our homes again and no doubt get very used to the comforts of home very quickly! So the happy travellers  look forward to catching up and hope we don't bore you with our travel stories. 

Till our next trip, we sign off ❌❌❌ from Darryl, Marg, Dennis and Tops 

Mt Ive Station

I think in my last blog I said we were headed to St Ives - well we didn't quite get to Cornwall and Doc Martin country, but we sure made it to Mt Ives Station!! It's about 900 square kilometre property run in conjunction with a property further south where they crop and make hay and support here.  

Once we left the bitumen, our hearts started to sing as we travelled along a dirt road, passing only one vehicle and loving the beauty of the outback scenery. We saw salt lakes both dry and full, plenty of emus, kangaroos, goats and birds and the vegetation kept changing as we travelled through the Gawler Ranges. They are beautiful! . When we came across a submarine, we knew we were at our destination:

 

It's been a real station stay with lots of interaction with the manager and employees, plenty of walks and drives to enjoy and we've loved every minute (well maybe not the minus morning temperature ❄️❄️) We had booked in ahead in case we wouldn't have a spot - well we didn't have to worry about that as there was only us and one other van has since come in! So we've virtually had the whole place to ourselves - we have a camp kitchen across the way with a couple of BBQs - one like a Webber so we've even made a made bread and butter pudding with our stale bread!!

Once we were set up Darryl let down his tyre pressure and tackled the 4WD trip up to the Mt Ive summit: and we made it!!

It was a very rocky track and I sort of captured it on video - though it doesn't really indicate the steepness or roughness of the track! We had a wonderful 360 view of the area and could glimpse Lake Gairdner in the distance.  We went to see the giant wombat holes and along the way saw these beautiful Major Mitchell cockatoos and a couple of wedge tailed eagles.

               

Darryl and I have always heard a lot about Lake Gairdner right back from our school days geography lessons, so to actually see it - with water in it, was very exciting! It's huge - 90 kilometres in length so we only saw a tiny bit of it, but you'd be sure you were looking out to sea.

 

  

This lake is known for its salt lake racing - we had thought it would be a fantastic spectacle - but when we found out it's held in February - and that over 500 people turn up, we thought it didn't sound as appealing!! The lake fills from local water and can dry out very quickly as it's very shallow. On our trip to the lake, we passed these magnificent rams - but the manager tells us they'd be feral and full of lice and worms so not as magnificent as we thought!    

We also saw this man made retaining dam wall which was actually built in 1892 - and it still is in operation today so quite a feat!! The rock formations here are just spectacular and we saw several worthy of mention - the "organ pipes" and these most amazing "pillars". They actually look like big spikes and it's hard to believe they are not man made!

 

 

Today was Dennis's turn to trial his 4WD experience and we saw more of this rugged country - and more rugged roads! Here Dennis is pondering the best way to navigate this decline!! Needless to say both driver and car survived! 

 

We enjoyed more wonderful scenic lookouts and on such a sunny day, we could see for miles!

 

We didn't see as much wild life here but we've since learned the animals prefer the grasses grown on sandier soils. 

Right now, Tops and I are enjoying the last bit of sunshine, and the boys are off gathering more wood - these chilly nights we've been piling the wood on and using more than usual. Tomorrow we will head off - we are 200km from Port Augusta so we may be as far as Burra tomorrow night. We plan to be home Monday. We've really loved this little taste of outback life - no phones, no iPads, no TV, no shops and hardly any people (although I must confess, we sneaked a listen to the radio and happily learned last nights footy results!) 

We trust we'll find everyone is well  - we are looking forward to being home and catching up. 

Love from Darryl Marg Dennis & Tops ❌❌❌❌❌

Farewell Nullarbor

This time crossing the Nullarbor we actually saw three camels, a dingo, a wedge tailed eagle ...... and hundreds of crows!! The crows are really a problem as they get into rubbish bins and create a terrible mess!!  After our lovely night at Baxter we left WA and entered SA:

 

We were lucky to witness this beautiful cloud rainbow - it did signify some inclement  weather but we only had a shower or two at Nullarbor.

 

Last night at Nullarbor, we met up with Egg and Judy Lake (yes Kristian there is another Egg!!)  and Geoff and Liz Storm from Barham - small world isn't it?

 

The bar at Nullarbor was very busy and the caravan park very full - a few weeks ago hardly anyone was here. We also met up with some well known entertainers:

 

We left there and stopped at the Head of The Bight and probably were lucky to see a couple of whales but they weren't in close like we saw last time. The whole set up with boards walks and lookouts are very well done and it's a pity we didn't see heaps - that is the way it goes with whale watching! 

 

We stopped in Ceduna and bought some lovely whiting and oysters at the Thevenard fish outlet so look forward to some yummy meals ahead. We are now camped in a little town called Wirrulla where we have had a drink at the local pub and are now sitting around our lovely campfire.

 

From here we are going to leave the bitumen and head to St Ives station near Lake Gardiner so we are looking forward to our last bit of sightseeing before heading home. We send special birthday wishes to Jess on Thursday -     if we can't ring you we are thinking of you ❤️❤️. 

So until our best blog, love from the happy travellers.

❌❌❌❌❌❌

Kalgoorlie

We only had a very quick glimpse of Kalgoorlie but it's a lovely place, very much in indebted to the mining industry which seems to be going very well. We undertook a tour of the Super Pit and wow, it's amazing!! 

 

We had to don these hi-viz vests and safety glasses so looked like real miners!! 😏

This tour was one of the best we've done as it told us so many interesting facts - most that I remember is: one huge truck of ore like this probably yields a golf ball size of gold:

 

40% of the employees are female and they have no special considerations - equal pay for equal work. 

When the mine ceases they have no obligation to fill the huge hole and would  probably leave it as is for tourism:

 

If you look closely, you can see one of the huge trucks down the bottom which looks like a toy - the  depth is 550+ metres so it's a fair hole! 

The costs to mine are huge, and the price of gold probably dictates whether it's viable to continue or not. The company KSGM are committed to supporting the community and are very generous supporting the local businesses, community and charities . This company was established by Alan Bond by consolidating several mining leases and it seems to have been a very good move.

Kalgoorlie has such beautiful buildings - I love this one:

 

and this interior of one of the many pubs:

 

Now we are sitting on the Nullarbor around our campfire - we are in a free campsite and are pretty happy to be away from the road and be nice and quiet.

 We are really hoping some whales will be visible at Head of the Bight as we've been telling Dennis the whole trip to look for whales - and he thinks they are mythical!!  We hope you are all well, till the next blog, love from Marg Darryl Dennis and Tops ❌❌❌❌

Goodbye Perth - hello Kalgoorlie.

We certainly made the most of our time in Perth and came away with a very good impression of everything. Our minds are still full of us on the bikes and driving today  I imagined whizzing down some of the hills!! You can see by our happy faces, how much we enjoyed the day.

 

On the way over in the ferry, it was interesting to see so many big ships waiting to come into Fremantle Port.

                       

With a little regret, we turned around this morning and started heading east on the journey home. We took the scenic route - much to the dismay of the GPS lady - through Brookton, Corrigin, Bruce Rock and hit the highway at Meriden. Along the way Dennis had a little play with Tops's birthday present and our stores of wood are healthy again.

 

Corrigin was a lovely place for lunch and they seem to love dogs, having a dog cemetery out of town and a huge statue by the park.        

We are camped tonight in a free spot in a little place called Burracoppin - right by the highway so no doubt we'll get used to traffic noise - well hopefully!! Kalgoorlie is our next stop with washing on the agenda (Tops and I are having withdrawals as we haven't washed for a while!!) 

Morning tea today was at Karalee Rocks and it's just as impressive as it was last trip. How clever the early pioneers were. Water is collected on this giant granite outcrop and runs through this aqueduct to the dam. We wished we camped there last night as it's so peaceful - whereas where we were the trucks sounded like they were in our bedroom!! 

 

Now we are in Kalgoorlie and wow - we're in shorts again 😊

 

Washing has been done, we're all set up in a nice quiet park and after our cuppa, we'll start our exploration of this place. Happy birthday to you Dusty - hope Beth spoils you 🎂!

So from warm sunny Kalgoorlie I'll sign off - love to everyone ❌❌❌❌❌

Rottnest Island

We decided to defer our planned trip to Rottnest Island yesterday as the forecast was not encouraging - and just as well we did as it was a drizzly, miserable day!! So Darryl cheered us up by taking us on a mystery tour. We went inland and into the hills and had morning tea at a dam and we learned a bit about their water system from a chap there. WA has desalination plants that provides a third of the supply - its mixed with the dam water and bore water provides the other third. We then went to a nearby Araluen botanical garden which was lovely.

 

We weren't seeing this at its best but there were still some roses, azaleas and camellias in bloom. They  are beginning to plant thousands of tulips and we'd love to see them when they are flowering!! 

 

Our mystery tour then headed to Scarborough beach where I imagined sitting in a cafe sipping a coffee or wine watching the scenery - Not!! It was raining and roadworks prevented us from seeing the beach - so we just drove along the coast, through Fremantle back here. 

Then today dawned with actual sunshine and off we set bright and early to catch the ferry across to Rottnest Island. We were cautious and took umbrellas and coats - but wish we had shorts and thongs as the weather was glorious and I can report that we had the best day!! We hired push bikes and Dennis felt like a teenager again once he got his bike - plus he loved ringing his bell!! Tops didn't think she'd be able to cope riding so far seeing she's not ridden for years, Darryl challenged himself on every hill but he wished  he had a fatter behind as he got saddle sore. And me? I absolutely loved riding around at a leisurely pace and wished I could have ridden much longer! I didn't want to hand my bike back!! 

 

It's an interesting place with lots of buildings(Dennis and I thought we were going to a deserted island)

 

and lots of history - some sad because the island was used as a jail for aboriginal males.

 

There's also some military history as it was a base during WW 2. and all the houses now belong to the WA Government and the Rottnest Island board. What a great place it would be to have a holiday there! 

 

The Island is famed for the little quokka which are plentiful and quite friendly:

 

We also enjoyed a beautiful refreshing wine and beer then a delicious sea food platter once we'd traversed the Island. We filled in the day quite easily and caught the 4.30 ferry back to Fremantle, thus ending a fantastic day!! I'd say to anyone contemplating a WA holiday, include this Island on your agenda!! And we weren't in the swimming snorkelling summer season either! 

Now we've  taken down our annexes as it's a dewy evening, ready for a quick departure in the morning, heading east towards home!! We're not sure where we will be tomorrow night but we're on the way to Kalgoorlie. 

So from the very happy cyclists, we send our love ❌❌❌❌❌🚴🚴🚴🚴

Fremantle and Perth

The perfect time to visit beautiful Fremantle would be on a lovely sunny day when you could stroll around and admire the fantastic architecture and enjoy the wharf area with maybe fish 'n' chips. Our visit unfortunately wasn't quite as idyllic as this - it was rather wet and if we were part of a movie, I think we'd have everyone either feeling sorry for us or in stitches laughing!! 

The trip started off well with a scenic tour along the coast to Fremantle. We were surprised at the industrial areas and then the new housing estates. Once in Freeo, guess who we met up with? No, not Nat Fyfe - but Pete McDonald.

 

As it turns out, when we were enjoying a coffee in Mandurah, we walked past a waterside restaurant which was all set up for a 50th party and we commented that Pete was over here for a 50th - and amazingly, that was the venue of Petes party! We could have gate crashed! Anyway, whilst standing out by the old jail and talking to Pete, it suddenly poured and Darryl - who was fixing up the parking ticket, got drenched when his old faithful London umbrella turned inside out and broke - and Pete tried to rescue him but failed! Then we missed the little hop on hop off bus and trying to read our wet directions, struggling along the crowded footpaths battling rain, umbrellas and people, we got all mixed up and only by coincidence, finally caught the bus and phew!! we could relax. From then on the day was much better. It was a good decision to use the bus as we saw the main points of interest and learned some history, plus we were comfortable and stress free!! 

 

Unfortunately, time didn't permit us to do a tour of the old jail - Darryl and I have done the tour some years ago - we'll pencil it in for another trip. We were able to pop in and see some exhibits in the front area and we even had a quick bite to eat there. 

 

I just love the old buildings and can't believe that these convict built walls and buildings have stood the test of time so well. Our little tour took us up to monument  hill which gave us lovely views of the area and was such a lovely spot. 

And guess what? We found the markets - though they were very crowded and as our only item on the shopping list was an umbrella, we were disappointed we couldn't find one anywhere!

 

 

There are many statues dotted around and this one depicts an immigrant from Europe after WW2.

 

So in retrospect, you could say we made the most of the conditions and got an overview of Fremantle - it's got a lovely feel to it and the history makes it it a special place. We'd love to go back again.

Today we were much smarter and chose to catch the nearby train to Perth. No worries about traffic, directions or parking and the station is only 5 mins away. We all just loved Perth ❤️. - it's so picturesque, clean and so much to do we couldn't possibly fit it all in!! Our first port of call - after a coffee of course - was Kings Domain and wow what a beautiful place!  We really only saw the botanic gardens and they were beautiful and with the scenery overlooking the river and city, it's sure a winner!! 

 

I could fill the whole blog with photos from here but of course I can't - if you haven't been here, put it on your to do list! We were so fortunate too that the weather stayed fine and sunny and it was perfect! We've all fallen in love with the WA bottle brushes, grevillias, banksias - how's this beauty?

 

Tops and I are going to start new gardens with WA natives - unfortunately we need lots of sand and good drainage so it probably won't happen 😳! 

We went from Kings Domain to the Elizabeth Quay where we had yummy lunch (no cruskits or thermos again!) and saw this beautiful old Merry Go Round:

 

Our train tickets entitled us to a trip on the ferry to Sth Perth so we enjoyed a relaxing trip to and fro - and were so relaxed the captain of the vessel had to ask us if we were getting off!!

 

There's so much about what we saw today that we were impressed with - I especially loved the beautiful London Court and all the malls were clean tidy and had a friendly feel. Tomorrow is another day - we have a multitude of choices so maybe we'll be riding bicycles over on Rottnest Island, or we'll go into the Swan Valley, or back to Perth or Fremantle ....... our options are endless!! 

We are learning to understand WA. weather - it changes so quickly and if there's a black cloud, rain is sure to come!! 

We trust everyone is happy and healthy and are enjoying life like us! ❌❌❌❌❌ from Marg Darryl Dennis and Tops