Friends, Family, Familiar Territory

The past two weeks have been very busy and lots of fun. At Streaky Bay we met up with our friends Carole and Ross McGregor  who had travelled across from Great Western and surprised us because they were in a new (to them) A-Van. Our dirty, damaged van looked a bit second rate next to their shiny one, but they didn't seem to mind travelling with us. We had a lovely week exploring the West and East coasts of the Eyre Peninsula - we have been there before and enjoyed sharing the many delights with similar minded friends. We walked, talked, rode bikes, rambled on beaches, laughed a lot, played cards, delighted in the bird and plant life, and generally had a good time.

 

 

 

 

Streaky Bay

 

Murphy's Haystacks

 

 

We parted company with the McGregors at Cowell and had a night at Spear Creek Station, a sheep station at the foot of the Flinders Ranges, not far from Port Augusta. It was a lovely place and we look forward to staying there again. From there it was into the much loved Flinders Ranges, staying at Rawnsley Park Station. The Huddart family arrived the next day, closely followed by Geoff and Tricia. It was so lovely catching up with everyone again. Our grand children are just delightful and bring us much joy. We hiked, climbed, rode bikes, played games, cooked marshmallows on the campfire, read books - all good fun. Geoff and Tricia returned to Adelaide after three days and the rest of us moved on to Trezona Campground, off Brachina Gorge Road for the children's first experience of bush camping. For two days  they revelled in the freedom and the wide open spaces, although some concerns were expressed about the drop(pit) toilets. We have decided that after nearly five months away it is time to head home. What a trip it has been!

 

Rawnsley Bluff

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Across the Nullabor

The further South we went the colder it got. Our drive to Kalgoorlie was accompanied by gale force winds and at times driving rain. Fortunately for us the wind was behind us most of the time. After setting up and a late lunch in Kalgoorle Merilyn went to bed to rest because her cold had got worse and I visited the Super Pit Gold mine and shopped. The Super Pit is another amazing hole in the ground with 4 million dollar trucks being loaded with 3 massive scoops of gold bearing dirt from 10 million dollar digging machines, and then  trundling up long drives to a plant where the gold is eventually extracted so that we can all wear gold rings and have gold caps on our teeth. Amazing!

While I was at the viewing area a squall came through with hail - it's so good to  be back in Winter !!


From Kalgoorlie it was South to Norseman for lunch and then on to the Eyre Highway and heading East, but not too far. We stopped for two nights on a sheep station called Fraser Range Station which had a lovely, well set up camping area and good facilities. A day of reading and sleeping gave Merilyn a chance to get over her cold and Bruce the opportunity to start one. Although the weather was cold and sometimes wet we enjoyed the open spaces of the station with emus wandering through. a campfire at night and the lovely silence of the bush. We would like to have done some of the bushwalks on the property and will definitely call in for a few days if we are over this way again.

 

Two days travelling East, Merilyn doing the majority of the driving, saw us at Eucla late on the first day and just getting in, and Ceduna late the next day in one of the nicest parks we had ever stayed in. Everything a Caravan Park should be and only $28 p/n. The distances travelled are long with not a lot too see, diesel is expensive ( over $2 per litre at Nullabor Roadhouse ), and the weather was only fair, but it is still a trip worth doing. We enjoyed the cliffs of the Bight, the Baxter Range which which parallels the road for over 100 km, the changes in vegetation, the Royal Flying Doctor landing strips on the highway and he vaste open spaces. We did not enjoy the huge number of dead animals - roos, wombats, wedge-tail eagles, and the amount of litter left by some of the travelling public. 

 

 

 

Sunny Sunday morning in Ceduna. Packed up, quick shop, Merilyn went to church whilst Bruce sat in the warm car and went through half a box of tissues - how can one nose run so much? Lunch and walk at Smoky Bay where we met a lovely couple who were also travelling and then on to Streaky Bay where Carole and Ross McGregor, friends from Great Western, warmly welcomed us. They surprised us. Instead of their camper trailer they had an Avan they had purchased just before they left on their trip. We are next to each other and their van is a lot cleaner than ours. The park is right on the Bay, we have lovely views, can easily ride to town and the pier on a bike track and for 2 days the weather has been perfect. Two coastal drives, a good bike ride alongside the bay, some walks to spectacular cliffs, rambles along beaches, coffee and Magnums, board and card games, lots of chatting and laughter - it's not a bad life. We will be travelling together down the Eyre Peninsula for the next few days.

 

Streaky Bay

Sea Lion colony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wildflower & Wheat Country Wandering

At Kalbarri we surprised ourselves with a 7.30am start which meant we were in Geraldton at 9.30am. Merilyn shopped whilst I went for a guided tour of the Memorial to the men lost on HMAS Sydney in WW2. I found the Memorial very moving. It was designed and built before the wreck of the ship was discovered. The dome, held up by 7 pillars (one for each State and Territory), consists of 644 metal seagulls, one for each sailor, spiralling towards heaven. The inspiration came to the artist during the playing of the Last Post when the land was being dedicated and a flock of seagulls spiralled around the bugle player. Another moving feature is the bronze statue of a woman (mother, wife, sister, girlfriend, daughter) gazing out to sea waiting the return of her loved one. When the ship was found it was discovered that the statue was gazing directly towards the wreck site.

 

Catching up with mail and some things which needed to be followed up meant that we did not have lunch until 3.00pm whilst on the way to Mullewa.

During our three days in Mullewa we visited the wildflower show, walked two wildflower trails, a town heritage trail and a trail commemorating the life and work of Monseignor Hawes - a remarkable Priest, Architect and Horseman who had lived in Mullewa for many years. Most of the Catholic churches in the district, including the Cathedral in Geraldton, were designed by him. Merilyn was particularly taken with the Priests House which was next to the Millewa Church.

 

 

Although the surrounding country looked quite lovely, a mosaic of green wheat and yellow canola, the crops are actually suffering through lack of water. The low rainfall also meant the wildflowers are not as spectacular as usual although we still found many and saw some lovely displays of everlastings.

 

  

On the way to Dalwallinu to catch up with Anne and Roger, we detoured to find the much sought after wreath leschenaulti. This is a 'must find' for many wildflower enthusiasts, some folk in the Mullewa  caravan park were very excited because they had found one after much searching. Roger had told us by phone where  to look and after travelling a fair distance we were thrilled to find the site right next to the road where there were dozens of wreaths of various sizes, and many other interesting plants as well.

 

 

It was great catching up with Anne and Roger again. Over a few days with them we wandered through the hills discovering some lovely wheatbelt towns, walked several wildflower trails finding 7 different orchids, did a guided tour of the monastic town New Norcia which was quite fascinating and will require a re-visit some time, attended an Anglican Church in  Wongan Hills where we met some lovely people and generally had a relaxing, chatting, sharing time. We have now parted company again, they are slowly heading towards Perth and we have turned east towards home. Unfortunately Merilyn has a nasty cold, the weather is freezing with gale force winds and rain - there was snow on Mt Stirling today which is a bit further south, but we are looking forward to catching up with family and friends.

 

Unfortunately the Internet connection is very shaky and will not download any more photos. You will just have to try and picture the orchids,  the large red flowers of the eucalyptus macrocarpa, and the blue leschenaulti yourselves. Sorry!

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Colourful Kalbarri

The trip from Denham to Kalbarri was an easy run with many beautiful wildflowers along the way.

Just before turning off the highway we encountered some fields of wheat - our first in almost 4 months. Farms instead of Stations, ordered fenced paddocks, tree lined drives which led to houses you could actually see - we had reached the settled lands and already were missing the wilderness and wide open spaces - perhaps not so much the dust and corrugations.

 We have been to Kalbarri before, when the kids were very little and we were tenting, and in some ways it feels as if we have completed our journey and it is time to head for home - if only we had a home. At least the house is up to floor level - the poor weather has caused many delays.

Kalbarri - beautiful expansive gorges, wonderful wildflowers, a wild coast with massive waves crashing on the reefs, sculptured cliffs, pelicans gliding on the estuary - quite a magic place. We walked, rode, explored, and relaxed.

 

 

 

 

 

World Heritage Drive

...Hamelin Telegraph Station is the first stop on the Shark Bay World Heritage Drive. Leaving Wooleen Station early in the morning we said farewell to Anne and Roger who were travelling South to look for wildflowers. We had thoroughly enjoyed our 6 days with them and hope to catch up with them again later in the trip. We took the road back to Murchison Settlement and several kms north of the Roadhouse turned West on to Butchers Track. The track was sandy in parts but generally in good condition. From Wooleen to the North Coast Highway was 190km and we did not see one vehicle! We did see some beautiful wildflowers including masses of yellow everlastings and pink daisies.

 

 We travelled north on the Coastal Highway, back over the 26th Parallel (we were back in the North West), and then west again on the Shark Bay Road which was the start of the World Heritage Drive. Over the next 3 days we thoroughly enjoyed exploring all of the significant sites on this drive.

 

Hamelin Pool Stromatolites

Shark Bay is one of only two places in the world where living marine stromatolites exist. The living fossils contain microbes similar to those found in 3,500million year old rocks - the earliest record of life on earth. We stayed next to the historic Telegraph Station which was a link in the line from Wyndham to Perth, and also linked with the overseas line at Broome. The walk to the stromatolites  took us past a quarry where large blocks of cemented shells were mined.

 

 

 

 

Next morning we made a return visit to the beach and stomatolites before breakfast and at 9,00am set off for Denham. along the way we called in to Shell Beach.  A beach made up entirely of tiny shells from animals known as Hamelin Cockles. The discarded shells have heaped into piles up to 10m thick and in some places the beach is 1km wide. The shells are mined for shell grit and paving material.

 

 

 

 

 

Eagle Bluff  was our next stop with a boardwalk around the top of a dune that overlooks shallow water and meadows of sea grass. We saw a couple of turtles swimming and many cormorants on the 2 rocky islands.

 

We arrived in Demham, a quite lovely holiday town, for lunch then caught up with domestic jobs. Later in the day we rode along the waterfront and spent an hour in World Heritage Discovery Centre. The Centre includes an excellent museum which covers all aspects of the Shark Bay District. Our entry entitled us to a revisit the following day.

Shark Bay World Heritage Discovery Centre

View from Denaham main street


We spent a very enjoyable morning at Monkey Mia despite the early start and the freezing wind. The Dolphins are fed at around 8.00am which meant leaving Denham soon after 7.00am. There was quite a lot of standing around waiting with a large crowd and the feeding itself was over pretty quickly. We did get a good look at them. After a coffee to warm up, we went on a sand dune walk which was lovely. Quite a few flowers, especially the big mauve daisies, six sightings of the Thick Billed Grass Wren which has come back from being extremely endangered in the National Park. Lovely views out to sea and a walk back along the low tide beach. In the afternoon we spent atwo more hours at the World Heritage Museum with a short break for a Magnum ice-cream.

 

 

 

Next morning was a 9.00am start at the Ocean Park Aquarium where our tour guide was a marine biologist. He was able to explain the habits and defence mechanisms of a variety of marine creatures. Highlights were the squid and seeing how they change colour as a defence mechanism and as a means of communication; the stone fish and the speed with which they take in any prey that swims past their noses; the lion fish with their poisonous feathery fins; and the cleaner fish who hold cleaner stations for large fish to come to - a bit like a car wash. After all this and also watching the sharks being fed, Merilyn says she is never going into the sea for a swim again - she'll stick to Huddart's pool.

First stop on our afternoon drive was at Little Lagoon and a walk along the bank of the clear water creek that connects the lagoon with the sea. Almost perfectly circular in shape Little Lagoon was once a land locked gypsum pan that was inundated by the sea several thousand years ago.The pristine waterway is a natural nursery for several fish species.

 

Then on to Peron Homestead Historic Precinct and a walk around the shearing sheds and associated yards and buildings.

 

 

After three days we are moving on but feel that we might come back one day. There is still much to discover and it is a very lovely place. A flight over Dirk Hartog Island and a catamaran trip from Monkey Mia are both appealing.