Wednesday 20 November 2019

West Australia Trip 2019

WESTERN AUSTRALIA TRIP 30TH SEPTEMBER TO 20TH NOVEMBER 2019

30th September 2019
Our first overnight stop will be Lake Talbot, Narrandera NSW.  

We have stopped here before, there are very good drive through sites for an early start the next day.  
The park has a great outlook to the river and the drive through sites are flat, concrete base and beautiful grassy area either side of parking.

1st October 2019
Narrandera NSW to Robinvale Victoria.  We drove across the Hay Plain a very uninteresting area the road does wind but very flat, scrubby area.  We had a steady flow of traffic with road trains been a big presence on the road, always respect these vehicles.  On this particular day we came across quite a bit of road works which meant stopping and starting a few times.  

Arriving at Robinvale Caravan Park another park where we have stayed previously this is situated on the beautiful Murray River and very picturesque.  We also booked a drive through here as we were moving on again the next day.  It is an easy walk to the river and the sites are grassy and clean.  

There is a boat ramp, easy walk along the river to an oval and old homestead built in 1926 and is in excellent condition surrounded by beautiful gardens.  The amenities are clean and well kept.

2nd October 2019
Today we are headed to Crystal Brook in South Australia we have not been to this caravan park but very looking forward to been there.  Our drive to Manildra and then Renmark was interesting although the only green we saw were the grape vines and fruit trees everywhere is very dry with the drought taking hold of many areas.  There is water in the channels most farmers are not planting due to the cost of the water very sad.  Onto our first quarantine station, Yamba, a thorough check through the caravan and car for fresh fruit, vegetables and honey, given the all clear then on our way.  




Crystal Brook Caravan Park is small and very beautiful in amongst the trees, the amenities are new and clean a great little overnight stop, we stayed hooked up water and power available.

3rd October 2019

Crystal Brook to Poochera South Australia.  Drove to Port Augusta then through Iron Knob, Kimba, Wudinna finally stopping at Poochera.  

The towns hotel was the main building and this is where we stopped for the night in rear grounds.  
There were a few powered sites and water although the ground was uneven and not well kept a little disappointing this is a big wheat area where opposite the caravan park were many silos.  The amenities were not as clean and needed maintenance.   There was one little highlight the park across the road had beautiful flowering gum trees and some old farm machinery and the story about the “Dinosaur Ant” very interesting.



4th October 2019
Today we finally get onto the Nullarbor Plain.  It was quite exciting to finally be able to drive across this great country of ours, we arrived at the Nullarbor Road House with power and water very good amenities, separate bar and small area for meals in shop and it was quite busy we did make a booking, $30 per night, just in case we arrived late. 
Lots or road trains pull in for fuel and meals, caravans can have unpowered sites or powered with water this is well laid out. 

We topped up with fuel which we decided to do all along this long stretch, working out our kilometres making sure we had enough fuel to get us from each section of the Nullarbor.  
The price of fuel here $2.14/Lt, it is expensive, there are no choices.

5th October 2019

On leaving the Nullarbor Roadhouse we would eventually get closer to the coast and the Great Australian Bight. 

 We were looking for Peg 13, Bunda Cliffs, where we could drive off the road on dirt tracks to get closer to the shore line, we needed to be able to find a spot where we could take our caravan in as well. 
There were a lot of off road tracks all dirt and some were particularly marked for sight seers, would have to say we were not disappointed, this is an amazing coastline with rugged cliffs and a long way down to the sea, the colour of the ocean is magnificent.  This scenery went for kilometres. 
Our next stop was the Border Village which is the border of South Australia and Western Australia.
  
Another routine check of the vehicle and caravan, no fresh vegetables, fruit or honey.  Another clean slate then onto Eucla where we caught up with another two couples of fellow travellers.  We were staying at the Eucla Caravan Park which looked great from the front, the only complaint we had was the road into the caravan park which had bitumen laid a long time ago and now was full of pot holes, some quite deep.  Powered sites and water, amenities and laundry were very good.  After lunch we took a drive to the historic Telegraph Station where we caught sight of an emu, unawares, having a bath in a rather large water hole, photo opportunity missed he was very quick in getting on his feet and doing the runner, wonderful to see.

The old Telegraph Station or what remains, the building is deteriorating quickly, bricks falling down and mother nature moving the sand which is now half way up the walls.  The sand is quite soft to walk on so sturdy shoes are necessary.
  
Further on from the Telegraph Station was a walkway to Eucla Beach which takes around 20minutes, there is an old jetty where part of it has fallen into disrepair with the shoreline of beautiful low gradient fine white sand, with sea grass (seaweed) on the shoreline, very picturesque.

6th October 2019
Today our next stop over will be Caiguna Roadhouse

on the Nullarbor, there are quite a number of these places to pull for the night and nearly all of them have fuel and water. 
On the way to Caiguna we stopped at Cocklebiddy to see the wedgetail eagles, Bruce and Samantha, this is also a roadhouse, it depends on how far you want to drive personally in one day as to which roadhouse you want to stay the night.
  
Getting back to the “Wedges” as we call them these beautiful birds and magnificent, they are birds of prey and mostly live on road kill for example a dead kangaroo which for them is a very dangerous way to get their food.  Wedges are very slow to take off when danger is near for example road trains and cars unfortunately some of them get kill or injured.  
Bruce and Samantha were two wedges which were injured badly and the wildlife department were going to euthanise them, fortunately some local people decided they did not want this to happen and took these two birds and nursed them back to good health but they could not be put back in the wild as they would never be one hundred per cent fit and eventually the other wild eagles would kill them.
These beautiful birds have a massive cage to fly around in, a beautiful setting.  Bruce is a bit of a show off he has a damaged wing but still gets around quite well, Samantha injuries have affected her way of depth when landing but she manages quite well it was great to see them loved and cared, this is a beautiful story of survival.  All along the Nullarbor is very dry lack of rain is a big problem.
Caiguna has powered sites, water and showers which are limited to 3 mins but this is understandable due to the water shortages.  Before the day was over all of us decided to see the Caiguna Blowhole of which a lot is written but we were to be disappointed just a hole in the ground but nothing happening, there was no wind to make the noise of expectation.   On this particular night the Rugby League Grand Final was been played so back to the road house to have dinner in the Road House to watch the game.


7th October 2019


Today we were to drive the longest straightest part of the Nullarbor, 90 miles, as we were travelling in a group of three caravan’s we kept our distance from each other so other transport could pass comfortably if needed.  Caiguna to Norseman which is mining town, not a lot to see along this long stretch of road it was very good to pull into Balladonia and have a break, morning tea and fuel stop.  

Balladonia is a very clean Roadhouse cafe, has plenty for breakfast, lunch and dinner and there are very clean toilet facilities.
 
 There is a small museum which is a must to be seen, wonderful.
Norseman, an overnight stay as we have been here on a previous trip on the afternoon of arrival we went for a drive to the 
Norseman Beacon Lookout where there is a beautiful vista of the mine area, gold was discovered here in 1894 by Laurie Sinclair and his horse was named Norseman hence the name of the town.  The town is not as populated as previous the mine is the only employment outside a few shops and fuel stations, this is a shame last time we were here it was quite busy.
 

The centre piece of the town is the camels made from corrugated tin on the main roundabout, very clever.


8th October 2019
On our way to Esperance on the coast it will be nice to see the beach area again. Not far from Norseman it an area called Dundas Rocks,

 very interesting drive along a dirt road not far from the highway, the area had a number of clay pans along the side of the road very interesting area. 
This area used to be a small town the only indication left is a couple of street signs holding up to indicate this was the case. Unfortunately, no buildings survived, only a couple of dirt roads and the beautiful Dundas Rocks this is an easy climb over this large monolith with water in the eroded holes of the rocks, it is beautiful, watching this native bird’s flit in and out of the water after having a drink.
About half way to Esperance is a roadhouse at Salmon Ponds, fuel and food is available, we had a sandwich here which was quite good.  We arrived in Esperance in good time driving to the Esperance Bay Caravan Park, we spent 5 days here it was nice to stop and have a rest.
9th October 2019

Not far from Esperance, we drove to the Rotary lookout 

and walked to the top of a tower where we could see a view of Esperance and West Beach, our trip today was to follow the coast.

 We drove along the Coastal Tourist Road, the coast is so beautiful the water is clean and clear and the sand very white and pristine.  

Coastal wild flowers are tough and beautiful hanging on to the edge of cliffs and sand hills.  


There were lots of stops along this drive so much to see Salmon Beach, Forth Beach, Twilight Cove (very popular), Observatory Point and Eleven Mile Beach and many other beautiful stops many places had board walks and steps to be able to get down to the beach areas. 
We continued on to Pink Lake (not pink anymore)
 
then Monjingup Nature Reserve and Lake Monjinup

where there were a few Australian native plants laid out in various places unfortunately it looked a little neglected, the lake had a bird hide near the edge and this was quite interesting although there were not many water birds to be seen.


 10th October 2019   

Today was a walk around Esperance, a beautiful town, the park is well laid out with beautiful gardens and artefacts, lots of native plants and trees. 

There is an old wooden jetty which was built in 1934 finished in 1935 but has fallen in disrepair, the towns people have been wanting to repair and have this jetty in working order again but over the years there has been many objections to ideas, so it still remains in a sad state. 
The walkway around the water’s edge is beautiful and a wonderful walk.

11th October 2019

Esperance Island Cruise.
 A short cruise off shore to see some small islands and its inhabitants.We saw Seals, Sea Eagles,Dolphins, Cormorants and Canadian Geese
.
  Thomas Island rose up from the water like a big monolith with very little vegetation except on the very top, there were seals lazing on the rock edges near the water and some sea birds.
 After the cruise we decided to head to Cape Le Grand National Park, where Frenchman’s Peak

is easily observed on the way. Our first stop being Lucky Bay
 
with the pristine clear water, very white sand and the local kangaroos are always around, beautiful native plants in bloom.  

Whistling Rock 
our next stop is massive standing rock on its end, when the wind prevails it makes the noise of which it is named.  The view into the bay is stunning and the native plants are just a show.  Hellfire Bay and Cape Le Grand Beach pure white sand, beautiful water, stunning, there is a 3 hour walk trail in this area.  This area is so picturesque and beautiful.

12th October 2019
Our last day in Esperance today and a little wet weather but not bad that we could not walk around and see some more local areas. 
 In one of the parks, The Esperance Historical Village 

are a lot of old buildings, school house, headmasters house, police sergeant’s quarters, doctors house, the old court house and chemist very interesting, relocated in one spot and restored to how they used to look.
13th October 2019
We leave Esperance today and head to Jerramungup Caravan Park 
this is just for an overnight stay on our way to Albany to stay for the National Caravan Rally. 
 This little park had six drive through sites for caravans plus other sites, showers, toilets etc, camp kitchen.  Not much to look at but had all the facilities and in the morning before we departed the local kangaroos came for a visit, very interesting.

14th October 2019
On our way to Albany Caravan Rally to stay for 8 days, this is a National Rally where caravans come from all over Australia, this is our first rally and will be our last rally, we are not into crowds much.
Along the road we stopped at Wellstead to have a cuppa, a very small town but made us very welcome.
  
The sign out the front “Whisper Coffee Shop” this will do us and it was run by very friendly volunteers.
Albany Showground where we were to go for the rally, not being on one of these rally’s previously it was unknown territory for us.  To start we were sent to the carpark of a shopping centre, the directions were well marked and no hiccups.  We needed to register our names making sure everything was correct then given stickers and other instructions on how to get to the showground and the correct road into the ground.  On arriving at the Albany Showground drivers were sent to their destination for a week stay, by the time we arrived most of the park was full, there were three sections, persons with disability, normal caravaners and motor homes and others who had pets were the further away.  The power was put underground and came up intermittently down the lanes where we could hook into and water was also supplied again underground with a tap meters apart where a hose could be connected and then attached to the caravan to fill the tank then remove the hose when done, this set up was brilliant, it worked very well.
To stop the grounds getting flooded using our own showers, portable amenities were supplied this was a bit un-organised to start with but was sorted out, all in all everything in this area went well.  The caravans were parked well in a staggered way so we were not on top of each other and had enough space between and behind each caravan, another good layout.  We needed to collect our lanyards with our names wearing these all the time to allow us to move in and out of the grounds.  The weather was showery on and off the ground was very well prepared, beautiful grassy area.  Our first night in the shed was an introductory night for all clubs from all states it was very good.

15th October 2019
Our first tour out of the grounds we headed to Middleton Beach there was the Ellen Cove boardwalk 

well situated near the bay, the area is very clean, beautiful.  We walked up the hill on a well laid walkway with beautiful views of Middleton Beach then Port Albany, 

the wild flowers were just stunning. 

 After leaving this beautiful place we went for a coffee in the main street Albany then headed to Centennial Park to have a look at Dog Rock, we were not disappointed it is perfect just like a dog’s head even with a collar around its neck.  Our next excursion to visit was the fish traps at Lower King,
Oyster Harbour, these are aboriginal traps set up long ago, walking out along a board walk to see this  very natural set up.  Back to the rally at the Showground for the nights entertainment which we would have to say was very good, the Australian Beatles
they had the place singing and clapping well done.

16th October 2019
A very big windfarm
 
to visit today at Sandpatch, carpark very near and walking paths where it is possible to walk under the wind turbines to see and hear them moving, just amazing.  The vegetation in this area covered with wild flowers, very fortunate to be able to see this wonderful site. 

 Our next stop was Sharp Point

this was an indistinctive dirt road which lead to a small car park, this is part of the Torndirrup National Park which covers quite a big area, we walked up a narrow dirt path and were absolutely in awe of the beautiful wild flowers and wonderful views out to the ocean, just superb.  


Back to the car and a short drive to The Gap and Natural Bridge also in the Torndirrup National Park,
 
the wonders of this coast is just amazing.  Leaving here we went to lunch at the Historic Whaling Station, bought some items from the souvenir shop.  After lunch we went to Salmon Holes
showing a wonderful view over the ocean. Our last trip for today was the Blow Holes
 
also in the Torndirrup National Park a 400 metre path leads to this site it is a steep walk in parts and the need for the ocean swell to be high to see this happening, there are  views from Peak Head, due to the steepness of the walk we did not reach the bottom but the view from the top is magnificent.

17th October 2019
The ANZAC Centre our first stop today, Australian and New Zealand War Memorial our first part of this magnificent centre was to climb the path and steps to the centre piece Mt Clarence Parklands, not a very hard walk, very good path and surrounded by beautiful Australian native plants in bloom, grass trees, kangaroo paw then the view from to top just magnificent looking down on Port Albany in the harbour and the settlement of Albany in the distance

On our return we then visited the National Anzac Centre, really wonderful we were given individual information phones to listen to the stories of our brave soldiers, doctors and nurses in time of war and to see the photos on the walls.  There was a great representation of our ships leaving the Albany Harbour 1916 to 1918 and the information and photos of the two wars 1914 to 1918, 1939 to 1945 gallant men and such a waste of life.  After our visit of the National Anzac Centre we were very lucky to experience on the beautiful lawn soldiers dressed in relic British uniforms and using an old WW1 cannon preparing for a gun salute by lighting a wick, the weather was extremely windy and raining slightly, no one left, it was such a great occasion.  On the grounds were also old war machinery, cannons and other old tanks which could be sat on and some having movement backward, forward and side to side. 

18th October 2019
Kalgan Queen River Cruise Emu Point Boronia Reserve.  This cruise is run by a local skipper who has quite a few tales to tell of the bird life around the area and further out in Oyster Harbour.  There were plenty of pelicans around the boat when we arrived and very friendly, one in particular named Percy

is very much a family member, he was injured when young, nursed back to good health by this skipper and he follows him around.  We had photos taken with this pelican sitting very close almost cuddling us, just a little more info on Percy which the skipper actually found our later it is actually a female, what’s in a name!  The Kalgan River has lots of canoeing and water skiing in summer.
After pulling out of the harbour and moving into deeper water in the bay the skipper showed us an esky where he had a small number of fish, this is used to entice the Osprey to come down and catch the fish, very exciting to see these sea birds up close and display how they use their talons to pick up their food which they do when the fish come up to the surface of the water and take it back to their perch in the high tree tops. 
  The Osprey have to be quick as the Pelicans know the ropes and try to charge in and take over, very interesting to watch and learn about these beautiful birds.
We cruised out of the harbour up the Kalgan River where we were shown a rather big nest in the tree tops of a couple of Sea Eagles, these eagles come back to the same spot every year to nest they repair any damage done to the nest then start a family again, nature is wonderful.   Our skipper threw out some fish to show us how they come down to take their food, magnificent.
The river offers plenty of interest and lots to see, finally making a stop for morning tea, homemade damper, tea and coffee, very tasty.  On the return journey we stopped at the Kalgan Caravan Park to visit the local kangaroos,
mums with joeys and a rather large male kangaroo observing the whole situation.  A return back to Albany and a wonderful day.

19th October 2019
A visit to the Brig Amity in Albany.  This is a replica of the original Brig Amity built in New Brunswick in 1816 weighing 148 ton, originally came to Australia in 1824 but unfortunately met its demise near Vansittart Island near Tasmania in 1845.
  
The original Brig Amity made several trips around the coast of Albany hence it has a strong history to the area and the making of its replica to remember this beautiful vessel.  Once we were on the deck it was amazing to see all the riggings and placement of the wheel, ropes etc you really felt the size of it.  We were given individually iphone size hand held speakers where we could press buttons and here the true story of this vessel and crew above and below deck.  Living in today it is very hard to see how the crew coped with the confined spaces and sleeping quarters very brave.  This is certainly worth a visit very big part of Australian history.

Our next stop today was Walmsley Park where a chainsaw artist, Darrel Radcliffe, has opened up his front gate to allow visitors to see his wonderful work.
 
 At the start is a six-metre-long wooden carved chain saw, unbelievable it looks real. Visitors are not allowed out of vehicles to walk around, it is not necessary, all the sculptures can be seen easily from your vehicle and easy to take photos. There is a range of beautiful sculptures from small to large, owls to kangaroos, snakes, bear climbing a tree for the honey pot, big Indian chiefs, cockatoos, insects and more.  The wood used is jarrah and the size and shape of all these carvings takes seven various size chainsaws to shape these beautiful carvings this is a must see to anyone visiting Albany.

20th October 2019
A trip to Mount Barker which was recommended to us by another caravanner, it is 51kms north from Albany a very pleasant drive.  We drove to the lookout first where the telecom tower is also situated, the view is spectacular looking over farmland and the mountains beyond. 

Lots of grass trees growing close on the nearby hills they are so prolific here.
Porongurup National Park is situated about 24kms from Mt Barker it is 12kms long on which there are 4 different walks that can be taken in the park, the most popular is Castle Rock which has a Granite Skywalk at the top.  It is a 2.2 kilometre walk to the top of Castle Rock it is a steady incline for about 1 km then the path narrows and becomes rockier and steeper.  The path passes through jarrah and karri forests before reaching Balancing Rock.  Once at the top there is a skywalk where you can take in the view of the land below and see the Stirling Ranges in the distance.
The Showground was our next visit at Frost Park where we were told of a photo competition with the photos on display.  These photos were set up on divider boards with the subjects of wild flowers, local bird life, a combination of both subjects, insects and scenes, it was an amazing display of the most beautiful photos, we spent quite a considerable time here.  We were asked to nominate our favourite photo which of course was very difficult there were so many brilliant photos.
  
After more than an hour we filled in our paperwork and decided to visit the local bakery.
This bakery alone is worth the drive out to Mt Barker everything is baked on the premises very delicious and great coffee.

21ST October 2019
The Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk at Denmark through the beautiful Tingle Trees.  The tree top walk is wonderful these trees are some of the biggest on the planet, the metal walkways climb for 40 metres into the forest canopy and meander through the tree tops for 600 metres, the walk trail is designed to maximise views and minimise impact.  The Tree Top Walk is within the Walpole-Nornalup National Park and Walpole Wilderness. 
Descending to the boardwalks below to explore the Ancient Empire Walk, among the tingle trees.  These giant eucalyptus trees are found nowhere else in Australia or on earth some have been standing for more than 400 years.  Some have hollows at the bottom of the trunk of the tree where it is possible to walk inside, quite spectacular.
William Bay areas where we had lunch at the Denmark Good Food Factory 
in lovely grounds where you could eat indoors or outside, well laid out surrounded by a beautiful garden.  Indoors there was more seating and a collection of homemade goodies to purchase if you have a yen for chocolate and nougat, gluten free available.  We all had lunch mainly consisting of burgers and fresh salad, well presented and delicious, also gluten free available.   Out the back near where we parked was the cows grazing in the paddock great atmosphere. 
Our next stop was the William Bay National Park where we were advised to see Green Pool, Elephant Rocks and Elephant Cove. 

Mainly sealed road in until the car park which was dirt but in good condition and we were also advised to start our walk at Green Pool.  Would have to say this was good advice this place is just magic the water is so pristine and clear beautiful place to swim.  We walked around the rocks which is a reasonably easy walk, wheel chairs would be difficult in this area as initially we had to walk down a few wooden stairs.  Green pool is exactly as it says, the sand is very clean such a beautiful area.  In pockets in the vegetation around this area are stunning, wild flowers of many varieties and colour, just amazing.
The climb up a huge monolith with a smooth surface was not too difficult to get to Elephant Cove and Elephant Rocks, this area can be approached by another road entry.  Elephant Cove just wonderful the sea breaking over the rocks and most of the rocks with rounded surfaces then further around are the Elephant rocks, have to be seen to be believed, these rocks have the appearance of a heard of elephants, even to seeing some with elephant trunks, nature is wonderful.


22nd October 2019

On our way to Margaret River we stopped at Rock Gully, Lake Muir Nature Reserve.
 
 A wonderful walkway takes you to a lake, a bird sanctuary.  The lake is dry at present but when the wet weather comes in, the lake would fill with water and the bird life would be prolific.  Wild flowers were among the trees and surrounding bushland, there is a toilet facilities here.

Onto Margaret River we had a little trouble finding the entrance to this park, our Navman had its own rules in how to get into Margaret River but eventually after a phone call it was sorted.  Not a big park and steep to drive in our site was good, happy we had a small caravan not far from amenities.  Rainbow lorikeets in the morning and night came in for visits, wonderful to see them in the tree tops.



23rd October 2019

Mammoth Cave

nor far from Margaret River we found this to be a great experience and a self guide tour.  At the starting point we were given head phones and something like a mobile phone keypad in our hands, this was held by a strap around our necks, at various staging areas in the cave there were numbers, after pushing the particular number at these staging areas the lights shone on a particular spot and we pressed the number on our key pad with the explanation starting for this particular area, liked this idea as we could move as slow or as fast as we liked.  This is a very instructive way of getting through the caves and we learnt a lot about the stalactites and stalagmites.  This cave is superb we were very impressed.

On our return from Mammoth Cave we saw a sign for a café, to find the entrance we needed to go up a dirt road and would have to say this had a wonderful approach, it is called Café Boranup, the aspect of this place was beautiful.  A museum and souvenir shop which had interesting objects out the front and inside, a short distance from this was the café.  The café was well presented, the décor of old dining tables and chairs tastefully mixed around the area also outside seating with a mixture of old chairs and tables also created a great outdoor atmosphere, we loved this.  A chalk board had the menu as well as cakes and other eateries including gluten free.  Our morning tea arrived beautifully presented and delicious, don’t miss this café if in the area.

After our delicious morning-tea we headed further south to Gnarabup Beach  and White Elephant Café then drove Surfers Point near Prevelley Beach.
 
The beach area here is just stunning, very windy which is expected for this area.  The gardens and walkways are very well laid out which makes it an easier access to the beach.   Prevelley Beach has a top end surfing competition each year which is an important item for this area. The wildflowers are wonderful no matter where we go always a variety to see.



24th October 2019
Driving to Augusta we visited Hardy Inlet a very pretty bay where the locals launch their boats into the inlet then to motor outside the heads.   The toilet block is an interesting building in the shape of a ship, The Enterprise, very intuitive.  We travelled a little further along the shoreline to Georgiana Park, beautiful grassy area, the road meanders along the shoreline with interesting breaks of views to the open sea, very pretty along here.
Cape Leeuwin

is a very interesting part of our history, a place where two oceans meet, the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean, when watching the waves meet from north and south, it looks like a giant cauldron.  The Water Wheel beside the lighthouse is another wonderful piece of our history, built in 1895 out of timber by merchants Malcolm Davies and John Wishart, was set up so fresh water was available to the personnel who live at Cape Leeuwin manning the Light House.  We did not climb the Light House this time we thoroughly enjoyed the view from the ground which is always spectacular.
Hamelin Bay

is very picturesque, clean clear water just a picture.  A foot bridge has been erected around the shoreline making it easier to see this wonderful area and to prevent any damage by people to this wonderful bay.  There is also a camping ground in this area and amenities are provided.  The skeleton of a jetty which was used in the late 1800’s for loading up timber for export being a big karri forest area and with Hamelin Bay been accessible to the Southern Ocean it made this easier to load off shore into bigger ships.  The jetty is now in disrepair due to the demand for Jarrah timber becoming more popular and karri timber the jetty is no longer needed.

25th October 2019
On our way to Bunbury for 3 days, we decided not stay in Bunbury itself and found a great caravan park at Eaton just outside Bunbury.  The Bunbury Riverside Cabins, Caravan and Camping opposite the Collie River on the Eaton Foreshore is a beautifully clean, grassy area, the caravan spots are gravel and well maintained, powered sites, water and sullage, very clean amenities, boom gate admittance only.  Bunbury is only 8kms away and a big shopping centre 3 min drive this was ideal for us.

After setting up we drove into Bunbury just to drive around and get our bearings of this beautiful town, the beach was our first stop this is a very long beach and very petty, clean and tidy.  We stopped at the section of the beach called Wyalup-Rocky Point
we found this to be the only part that was not sand a small park and not too far away the light house painted black and white was a big eye-catching part of this area.  We drove around some of the streets near the harbour and the real estate is quite wealthy, large houses with spectacular views.  A drive up to Marlston Lookout
 
gave us a wonderful view of the harbour lots of boats in their moorings and being in a high spot of the city a view of the whole township.  There is also a spiral stair case where on the top is platform for a complete view of the area.


Leschenault Inlet we drove out to this particular spot as we wanted to see how and where, the water enters the harbour, works have altered the inlet, it is about 25 square km and further down at Bunbury The Cut has been created.  Before we left Leschenault area we made our way to Turkey Point

which is small park called Vittoria Inlet and this inlet goes out to the ocean, again very clean a little windy but we enjoy these places.

26th October 2019
Today we were off to the Canal Rocks a spectacular site near the coast, on our way decided to take a longer tour through Yallingup, very interesting, this area appears very bushy and a lot of native vegetation.  There are many houses but not easily seen hidden on behind the natural bushland, some were beautiful using the natural landscape.  We let our Navman get us through this area as we were not sure ourselves where to go, it was a very interesting drive, we enjoyed this very much. 
Just before we made our way to the main-road we came across a restaurant which seemed to be out in the middle of nowhere, it was quirky so we decided to stop and have a cuppa.  
Out the front was a concrete camel with kelpie dogs around the side, it was called The Barnyard 1978 Food Wine Honey Store.  Inside was beautiful windows all around very open with inside and outside sitting, a vineyard on the side, chooks roaming around outside, the atmosphere was great.  Out the back was a play area for young children and also a winery, we had coffee and cake, beautiful would recommend a visit to this restaurant.
Cape Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park
,
 Canal Rocks stunning natural beauty.  The road to Canal Rocks is windy and steep in parts there is a couple of points along the road where it is possible to pull into a parking area and see the wonderful view from above, amazing.  We finally arrived at the end where a well laid out carpark makes it easy.  The water is clear and very clean washing over the rocks from the ocean, a boat ramp looks like it has seen better days, the timber sides mostly washed away.  A timber walkway has been erected around the area for the safety of visitors to walk over the canals with the waves coming in, to take photos safely, amazing.  Among the windswept rocks on the shoreline are wild flowers which survive in this windy, salty weather and terrain, beautiful colours, rocks have been eroded into querky shapes and the colours are fabulous.
 
We were also very lucky to see a pod of dolphins moving across the bay showing off their skills in the water, it made our day.  It was very hard to leave this area it was just so beautiful.
To finish this beautiful-day we drove to Busselton to walk one way on the 1.7km timber jetty.  Part of the way along the near the right-hand side of this jetty is a swimming pool and what remains of the old timber jetty. 

When we were closer to the pylons of the old jetty we noticed sea gulls had nested in amongst the old rotten timber, some had chicks at various ages and some adult gulls were sitting on nests, we found out this happens every year it seemed very precarious and was amazing as it is unusual to get this close to nesting sea birds.  We eventually made the end of our walk but returned on the little red train which goes to and fro on the hour back to the entrance, really worth taking this little trip.

27th October 2019
The Dolphin Discovery Centre is situated along the Bunbury shoreline.  Beautiful park and beach just in front of this Centre where dolphins come in to shore on a regular basis to be fed and visitors are able to see these beautiful animals and hear staff speak about their habits and what they eat etc. very educational.  Inside the centre is a very well laid out Café, amenities and the Discovery Centre
itself is amazing, areas of explanation on the sea creatures and animals, some allowed to be touched, worth a visit.

28th October 2019
Moving on to the small town of Wickepin, coming from reading an autobiography of a man called Albert Facey 1884-1982, who according to his ideals had a “Good Life”. He actually had a very hard life, the old house he lived in early 1900’s until after the Great Depression, at Wickepin hence the visit.  We drove through Collie

where we stopped at the outside mini railway museum right near the visitors centre, the trains were interesting.  On our way to Wickepin we drove past many wheat and hay farms, acres and acres, a big industry.  On arriving in Wickepin we had lunch at a small café come post office and visitor centre

and it was here we could obtain the key to Albert Facey’s homestead it felt like the house had been left just how it had been back in the 1930’s.

We walked through every room although there were not many with an outside toilet in the yard, no flushing water back then, it was wonderful to be able to walk through and try and imagine how these people lived in this time.

 29th October 2019
On the move again to Hazelmere Tourist CP.  The layout and gardens at this park were excellent, lots of Australian native plants and the caravan sites were well placed.  The amenities were clean and in good condition.
We set up quickly as we needed to go to the local shopping centre.  Unfortunately for us the tenant of the caravan near us was a chain smoker therefore we had to keep our windows closed to keep the constant flow of cigarette smoke from coming in the van a little disappointing.  We needed to get food shopping and found a huge centre 3kms from the caravan park this had everything we needed and more, Coles, Woolworths and many smaller retail and service shops, we both managed to have a haircut price very reasonable.
Gils nephew lived not too far away and we had arranged for a visit and have dinner.  Mount Richon is up in the hills and a superb view of Perth, a beautiful sunset and the lights at night a spectacular view. 

30th October 2019
From Hazelmere we went for a drive in the Gooseberry Hill

area the road was a zig zag to the peak and found a superb view looking towards Perth and the surrounding area, many native plants still in bloom and the gum trees were flowering and some had the beautiful gum nuts, the size of these gum nuts are amazing on this western side of Australia.  Our next stop  was Lesmurdie Falls

the water was not running a lot as lack of rain affected the flow we took the Lesmurdie Brook Loop the path was well marked and easy to walk it did have a small uphill climb but not to difficult, wild flowers again along the edge of the walkway and at the top another beautiful view to the west. We decided to have a look at Swan Valley which is not far from our caravan park. We stopped at Mondo Nougat and Morish Nuts
shops and picked up some nuts for Gil and nougat for Jules.

31st October 2019
Moving on today, we packed up the night before and hooked up our caravan the weather was on a complete change, very cold and really heavy rain, this was our first taste of a heavy downpour on this trip, so could not complain.  Off to the very old historic town of York, which is under the National Trust, York was first settled in 1831 and became a town in 1835, the weather was clearing which made our visit more comfortable to walk around.  A walk on the swing bridge over the Avon River which runs very close to the town gave us a wonderful view of beautiful parkland behind the main street.
The buildings have been very well cared for and is like a museum of the 1800’s, shop fronts displaying old novelties of yesteryear it was great to walk around and to absorb this wonderful history.
Leaving York we continued to Merriden, this drive was in the midst of the Western Australian wheat area
, a spectacular view of fields and fields as far as we could see, the areas of Malebelling, Quellington, Wilberforce, Muresk, Meckering where the earth quake fault line is shown, Waeel, Cunderdin,South Tamin, Tamin. North Tamin, Kellerberrin and Baandee.  We drove into Cunderdin

for a break and to have lunch and to our surprise there was an Ettamogah Pub Pizza Place.  On the opposite side of the road were a few red flowering gum trees, very beautiful branches hanging down like a veil.  On the road again to Merredin
this is a great town we found lots to do while here and the Merredin Tourist Park is a very good park, we had a good site, clean amenities and friendly staff.  Unfortunately for Gil he was starting to get a cold therefore our first stop was the chemist, staff were very helpful.

1st November 2019
Merredin Railway Station is old and has been turned into a museum we could relate to this as there were the stations we knew when we were young.  On walking into the front of the building a sign indicates to ring a bell and a volunteer comes to the counter to explain all the information we need to know to help us on our self-guided tour through the station, we were very well informed and welcomed.
  
The railway station is very large and long due to this system been the main transport for goods and people back in time.  There were quite a few rooms and the first one we visited had old telephones, scales, tools, suitcases made of leather and some of kerosene tins these especially as money was tight in 1930,s, station masters desk, old typewriters, old sewing machines and many other tools.  Once out of the rooms we ventured down the platform to see the old train carriages and covered wagons in which one of them had musical instruments of The Merriden Brass Band.  On the platform a little further was the “Bar” these were like hotels where clients could buy a drink on their travels by train, this area was still in its original state, wonderful. Down the end of the platform were old steam engines of yesterday, beautifully maintained.  Above the platform and up a staircase is the signal box room, back in these times the shunting was all done by hand moving levers back and forth the employee had to be on top of his game, the operator had to walk up and down and manually move these levers, today computers have taken over and it is a press of a button , it was so good to have a look at this manual means of yesteryear.


After lunch we drove out to the Totadgin Conservation Reserve where we read there was a very big monolith.
  
This is 14km from Merriden and well signed also a very short drive into the area, plenty of parking room.  This is a giant of a monolith it is easy to climb for abled body people not good for people with wheel chairs, or walking frames.  There were dips in this big rock which created water catchment for birds and animals, with mosses and grasses growing on parts of the flatter areas.  This was very vast and the climb gets higher we did not get to the end it was so big but about half way along and walking to the east edge the view to the wheat fields was wonderful. This is certainly worth a visit to this area.



2nd November 2019

Travelling from Merriden to Kalgoorlie is good the roads are well maintained and the views along the way are great.  We stayed at the Prospector Caravan Park it is not the top of town park, the facilities are excellent, the park amenities very clean, we could park where we wanted.  The caravan spots are gravel but again clean there were some workers cabins here, these were away from the caravan sites, this park had quite a few caravaners staying here.  Gil was not to well with his cold so we stayed close to the caravan today.



3rd November 2019

Drove into Kalgoorlie today for a look around town not much activity most shops are closed and the main street also closed due to the council putting up Christmas lights in preparation for this event.
 
We tried looking for the visitors centre with no luck and the local aboriginals were having the usual yelling match in the park so we decided to move up the road a bit and noticed a coffee place open “The Dome” 

so we decided to have something to eat and a coffee.  In 2006 we did a bus tour in Western Australia before we ventured into caravanning and we remembered we had a meal at The Dome, so it was exciting to go in, it had not changed just beautiful, beautiful timber and old it is amazing.

After our morning tea we drove to Mt Charlotte Lookout
 
where we could see over the towns of Williamstown, Boulder and Kalgoorlie it was a wonderful view.  After leaving here we drove to South Boulder to the “Super Pit” this is something to be seen, we are very lucky, a lookout on the opposite side of the pit has been created for sight seers to have a wonderful view of this area, massive trucks driven up and down this massive hole in the ground, according to the information where we were viewing the super pit has another 10 years or so, then what, who knows?!

Leaving the Super Pit we decided to drive through Boulder we drove under the railway bridge at South Boulder to the main street of Boulder and noticed a large number of shops had closed, we had heard about this, now seeing it very sad, the work has dropped off and people have moved out, this is a real shame.  At the end of the day we were given a beautiful sunset.


4th November 2019
Did not venture out today as Gil was still not too well.

5th November 2019
Our destination
 
today Fraser Range Station, we headed to Norseman for lunch where we had a break and called into IGA for some supplies.  We were not to sure about Fraser Range Station as we had always been in caravan parks, we needed to have our own water supply but there were amenities on the property, so this was going to be different.  This station is one of the biggest cattle stations in Western Australia so it sounded a little daunting.  There is a big sign on the edge of the road where to drive into the station and it takes about 20mins the road is dirt and corrugated we soon come to an area where there are several buildings and well signed, we drive to the office where we have to ring a bell but very quickly someone appears.
We would have liked to go on a tour of the property which was noticed in the advertising but we found out some staff were on vacation and this may not happen, we were a little disappointed but took this on board and saw there was other things to do.  We booked for two nights and we could have dinner in the camp kitchen for a fee, this sounded good so we did. 

There was also a yard where animals are kept and they are fed at certain times for visitors to see.
The amenities were very good, showers, toilets and a laundry as we were only here for two day’s we did not use the laundry as these owners were trucking in water as it was very dry in this area.  The garden around the homestead was beautiful, bougainvilleas, tea trees, gum trees and many other flowering plants really made a welcome sight, the camp kitchen was next to the homestead with a room opposite for reading, watching TV etc.
Dinner was excellent as good as any restaurant and a variety of drinks, were available to purchase wines, soft drinks, beers.  We also got the opportunity to meet other caravanners staying in the park and swapped experiences about our travels it was excellent.

6th November 2019
Day two at Fraser Range Station after not been able to go on a tour we were given information on walks around the station, the first one we went to was up the hill behind the shower block, we had to go through a gate, then through part of a dry creek bed and uphill from here the Station had a huge water tank which was checked every day by one of the staff for levels, as big hoses were lying on the ground and some parts buried, therefore a big water drop could indicate a hose could be broken somewhere this is not good in times of drought.
 
We walked past the tank and climbed higher, the view was spectacular, a stumpy tails lizard inches away from out feet playing dead, they are so funny, spinifex pigeons were flying in and out of the shrubs, lizards running away, we could see goats in the distance and kangaroos.  Up the top of the hill was a beautiful view in the distance of more hills it was worth the climb up really beautiful and it gave us a better idea of how dry it was.
On our return to the bottom of the hill we walked beside the creek bed as we could see kangaroos in the distance we did not rush and we could see the kangaroos had a joey, all they did was stand up and just look at us they did not rush away which made us think they were used to people being around, it was beautiful.
We had another meal at the camp kitchen tonight and again it was beautifully cooked really delicious and met some more interesting people.

7th November 2019
Madura Pass our next stop overnight.  The approach to here was beautiful coming down a steep hill in between high hills either side great but the caravan park was not good.  We had to book in at the Motel and the caravan park is behind the service station. 
On booking we had to pay for a token for the ladies showers which I was told it had just happened this had not been arranged for the men yet.
We drove onto the dirt area of this caravan park and it was rough, rocky and very uneven, the power poles had a lean they were not even straight into the ground.  There was a large generator a distance from the park down a side street and this could be heard very loudly so our windows had to be kept closed.   As we were only staying for one night we could put up with the noise.  The amenities were the usual work men’s block did not mind this either, on going into the ladies the next morning for a shower the floor was flooded to half way along the floor right to the outside wall, there was only one shower dry, this was inspected the day before so something happened to the plumbing overnight.  On checking the box to put the coin in for showering I noticed it was very rusty I don’t know that this was a new idea for the ladies. Will never come back to this park again and would not recommend this park to anyone. 

8th November 2019
The Nullabor Road House today on our return journey we had stayed here overnight on our way over so this was well known to us. 
Amenities are excellent and clean we had a good night’s rest in fact we were the last out, we were so tired we did not hear anyone leave.

9th November 2019
Fowlers Bay Caravan Park we are here for two days.  Part of the road is bitumen but not for long and is dirt all the way in a very pretty drive we could see some claypans on our drive in and the beautiful white sand hills in the distance it was very inviting. 

We went to the shop to get booked in and found out about a few places to visit while we were here, we were also invited to have a camp kitchen dinner for which we paid a nominal fee.
 We found our way into the caravan park and very pleased to have a drive through site.  The amenities are basic and very clean but need to have your own drinking water.  This is mainly a fishing spot lots of other people in the park had fishing gear and boats.  After setting up we went for a walk out to the jetty it is the most beautiful scenery we have ever seen pure white sand and crystal clean blue water. 
There were multiple placards around the shoreline explaining the history of the wonderful area. The dinner was very tasty barbeque with salads and dessert, we were given tickets on our arrival for a lucky prize at the end and we were the lucky winners chocolates, drink holder and magnets to remind us of Fowlers Bay, we were stoked.

10th November 2019
We went into the Fowlers Bay Conservation Park the owner gave us a rough map on how to get into this area once we left the main road, the secondary road was dirt and corrugated, we did start to have second thoughts but decided to plough on taking it slow we did come to a point where we  became a bit confused but finally worked this out, just needed to keep left, and the end result was magic, beautiful cliffs, clean crystal blue water, beautiful white sand, sea birds we thoroughly enjoyed this very special place, we consider ourselves very lucky to have this chance.
 Our destination Scotts Bay,
the view of steep cliffs into a perfect blue ocean.  The drive in was sandy and only one place was a little soft the car drove over this very well. 

11th November 2019
We got up early this morning to see the beautiful sunrise over the jetty at Fowlers Bay, quite spectacular, very happy we did not miss this.  On our way to Streaky Bay initially the road is dirt but not for too long we come onto a sealed surface.  With the wind being constant it has caused the dust to blow around and the sky is dull with the dust drifting and partially blocking out the sun, it was quite eerie.  We drove through Ceduna then onto Streaky Bay Foreshore Caravan Park.
 
This area was originally camping and fishing, with the roads up graded and access easier more of the holiday makers have made this a destination helping the area to grow.  Like Fowlers Bay this area has kilometres of white sand on the shore line and beautiful crystal-clear water. 

The caravan park has all the facilities, a boom gate and very new, camp kitchen, toilets, showers and laundry lots of clothes lines.  We were given a drive through site which is really good there are quite a lot of these sites or plenty more sites on the other side of the park for backing in only, there is also a café and souvenir shop.  After a week away from major facilities it was great to catch up with washing and food shopping, there is a Woolworths and IGA in town.
From our caravan site we could see the sea gulls and pelicans on the shoreline it was a beautiful outlook onto the bay.

12th November 2019
Today we taking the Cape Bauer Loop Drive where we hope to get a closer look at the ocean the road is dirt but in good condition.  Our first stop was the local boat ramp we just drove in for a quick look and down near the waters edge we noticed a few water birds, pelicans, sea gulls, ocean gulls and terns all battling for a feed of razor fish or fish scraps a fisherman has thrown in the water, a lot of squabbling for their share.
Driving on we eventually could see the ocean on our right and fields of hay on our left, the shoreline was quite rugged and there was fencing preventing any one from going to close.  While looking to find a gap in the fence where we may be able to drive near the ocean edge we noticed a lot of dust rising up ahead of us then realised it was coming our way and moving fast, the closer it became we realised it was a road train with not much room on the road we managed to pull in a spot and sit and wait for this monster to drive past, it was full of hay, just amazing.
Once the dust had drifted away we moved on and finally found a track that was well used and went to the edge of the cliff it was amazing, beautiful colours of the cliffs and the height looking down on the ocean was wonderful. 
Our next stop was Whistling Rocks
 
and Blow Holes this

had a proper parking area and boardwalk which made this easier to get to the beach.  Initially part of this board walk was covered in drifting sand, the wind over time covering this area, this made walking a little slow then the board walk became visible again.  We walked to a landing then from this level the board walk descended in stages to the edge of the cliff.  It was a spectacular view of the cliffs and the ocean hitting this area but unfortunately the Blow Hole was not working as this needed to have bigger seas, the whistling rocks we could hear the water coming in underneath but again not in full force we were too early for the full tide, we did enjoy the wonderful scenery and the walk really worth the effort.
Hally’s Beach
 
was our next stop there was a board walk down to the beach, we did not walk down this we were engrossed in all the native plants and how they survive in such inhospitable conditions some of them have the most beautiful flowers.  Hally’s Beach was beautiful but we felt we could not swim there.
On our way back to the caravan park at Streaky Bay we saw a stumpy tail lizard trying to cross the road, they are everywhere and unfortunately they pick precarious times to make their dash and quite a few don’t make it, this one did survive.

13th November 2019
Another wonderful day of exploring first off to Eba Anchorage, a small settlement in the Sceale Bay area, it was a quite area big homes very clean, rugged rocks in one area with the white sand packed hard which enabled vehicles to drive down to the waters edge to launch their boats into the bay.  Sea weed was washed up high on the shoreline this made it easier to drive on and also coverage for some of the smaller creatures to hide from the bigger birds.  On the shoreline we saw a pair of oyster catches and they had a young baby it was beautiful to see them running over the rock pools with other sea birds further around on the sand, sea gulls, ocean gulls and terns.  While we were enjoying this beautiful atmosphere and view a local walked down to the beach and spoke about the area informing us of the beautiful wild life and just how this area developed, we were also invited to walk through there garden and enjoy the setup they had made for visitors it was wonderful.  While talking we saw a little mouse come out of the sea weed to have something to eat and quickly move around, another little guy looked after by the sea weed, little things like this made us happy and the day enjoyable.
Our next stop was Perlubie Beach, 

beautiful white sand, there were beach shelters made from timber posts with leaves (palm) on top, sea gulls along the shoreline, they did not fly away when we came close to them, seemed to be used to people, very beautiful, mainly holiday homes in this area.
Back to Streaky Bay we took a walk on the Streaky Bay wooden Jetty, the day was windy but did not want to leave this area and not do this walk, the jetty is 300 metres in length.  About half way along is a swimming pool, fenced in below the water line and about 6 foot above it has a wooden walkway on top of the water line, this was a great perching place for the local cormorants, they looked like soldiers guarding the pool, sitting next to each other on the fence.  In the water their were jelly blubbers, not very enticing these usually only appear when the weather changes and brings them in to shore. 
 
The jetty does have a lot of bird droppings so thongs or shoes would be a good to wear.  On our return we had an ocean gull to keep us company, he flew right next to us then landed on a post of the jetty keeping us in sight, he was very friendly, maybe he was looking for a feed!

14th November 2019
Yanerbie a small settlement near Sceale Bay Convservation Park.  Yanerbie Beach a very beautiful, pristine, white sand area, the water is so clean and clear on a beautiful sunny day the blue of the sky reflection on the water made this area so picturesque.  There was a solo pelican paddling in the water and it made its way over near us on the beach, this sea bird was moving so gracefully, we spent along time here taking in the serenity.
We finally moved on and came across Speed Point 

quite by accident, there was a track off the road which was a little up and down then we could not go any further we were nearly going to turn around as the sand was becoming soft and did not want to push our luck with the car.   We parked the car and decided to go up a small hill to have a look and would have to say we were absolutely gob smacked we came across the most beautiful view and expanse of ocean we had seen on this trip.  The water was so clear and the vision of the sea grasses and plants on the rocks in the water and the blue ocean was amazing, the rocky outcrop went to a point and on one side was a bay and on the other was a sandy beach, outstanding.  We took a 360 degree photo, amazing.
More to see we had to move on our next stop on the Westall Loop Drive, is Smooth Pool
this also was amazing on the edge of the ocean a large area of smooth rocks with washed out areas where the ocean comes in at high tide and forms shallow and deep rock pools, in parts of this area, some of the rocks have an orange colour covering the sides and top.  It is easy to walk over or around, spectacular views.
We stopped at another couple of places on the way but did not venture down as we were running out of time we did call into Point Westall

there is a steep board walk down to the bottom to the rocks and beach and from here on the other side we could see High Cliffs this was a bit more awkward to get to so decided to go to our final stop.
Tractor Beach
 
a normal beach for fishing, some seaweed on the beach but beautiful all the same a great fishing spot, we noticed toilet facilities here.


15th November 2019
Off to Sceale Bay Conservation Park,

our first stop is Sceale Bay on arriving we had a group of people involved in a surfing school, we managed to walk down the board walk to the beach it was very beautiful but not rough and in the distance was the settlement of Sceale Bay.  We drove into Sceale Bay not a great deal to see holiday homes and some permanents we did notice quite a few homes up for sale not sure what this meant, the area is quite pretty.
On our way to Point La Batt Conservation Park it was a long drive we were going to see the Sea Lion colony, as there are not many left in the world now this is the most protected colony left.
 
 The drive was a 17km dirt road along the edge of Baird Bay, this looks after the bird life and also caters for boating.   Point La Batt was certainly worth the drive it is well planned with parking areas and a platform built to enable tourists to see the sea lions,
awesome, below there are plenty of them, a good camera and binoculars would be good.  The view up and down the coast is wonderful it takes your breath away, spectacular.

Return journey did not take too long we turned off at Calca Road where we are heading for Murphy’s Haystacks

at Calpatanna Waterhole Conservation Park.  These amazing shapes are rocks and there are quite a few of them in this area a walk around to see them all is very worthwhile we spent quite a time taking photos and just looking around.  The hay fields surrounding this area were wonderful and very beautiful in one of the paddocks the farmer was slashing the hay for bailing.  A donation is all that is asked to see these wonders there are amenities near the entrance.
We left the Haystacks and turned onto the Flinders Highway to visit Eyre’s Waterhole
and interesting part of our Australian history of one of our famous explorers who did a lot of research in this area of Streaky Bay.
On our return to Streaky Bay the car got a wash as we were ready to move on to our next stop and this was the start of our final few days of our trip. Dinner at Streaky Bay Hotel.
16th November 2019
Leaving Streaky Bay firstly we needed to wash the caravan it was very dirty we took this around to the car wash where there was a special area for bigger vehicles gave the caravan a hose down and this made it a bit cleaner.
Our first stop over is Port Augusta, we stopped at Kimba for a break and petrol then onto Port Augusta, iron ore town in South Australia, to the Discovery Caravan Park this was very clean, gravel sites, clean amenities and we could stay hooked up which made it easier leaving early the next day
 
We had a beautiful sunset at the end of the day.

17th November 2019
Port Augusta to Morgan.  We travelled to Crystal Brook

having a morning tea break not much open being a weekend but we did find a great little coffee shop open on the main street called Vault 35, love this town very clean and tidy old town.  Leaving Crystal Brook driving through hilly areas such as Gulnane and Spalding with hay being the main crop, on our way to Burra we were lucky to see a hay harvester working in a field.  Fuel was getting low a decision to pull into Burra to fuel up and be on our way again.  The area outside Burra reminded us of the Nullarbor Plain short, dry and scrubby trees.
Morgan is on the Murray River and we noticed as we drove closer the vegetation was better.  We had booked a site but not paid the Riverside Discovery Caravan Park but what we did not know Morgan was having their local festival on the day we arrived, it made us think briefly we may not get a spot.  The booking was good and we paid on arrival, they sent us right around the back in amongst the permanent residents which was ok although we had trouble reversing into our spot as people in the holiday cottage which was supposed to have left, hadn’t, therefore we had an awkward time backing in, just as well we have a small caravan, this did not enthuse us very much, we were a fair distance from the amenities as well.  There was a bonus we were on a grassy area and it was quiet. The overstaying residents were soon told to move on and could not pack up quick enough to leave!
We drove around Morgan

it is a very old town the buildings have been here a long time since the paddle steaming days up and down the river.  The river festival had a paddle steamer taking visitors on rides up and down the river, wooden boats made like yesteryear, shade shelters with locals selling their wares and food, children singing and dancing it was very good.  We went up to the local park and watched the activity from above on the mighty Murray it was wonderful.

18th November 2019
Morgan to Robinvale.  Getting closer to New South Wales we were to go through the quarantine centre at Renmark and we thought we would be inspected again but to annoyance it was a drive straight through, only checked on the way from New South Wales.  We noticed a lot more trucks on the road today I guess we have been travelling off the main roads the last couple of days and it was a lot quieter.
The area is very dry red dirt no green to be seen, very sad, until we came into Cullulleraine where there were some vineyards and fruit trees then not again until outside Renmark and Mildura then back to red dirt, such hardship. 
Robinvale Caravan Park
 
is always beautiful on the banks of the Murray River which still has a decent amount of water, the caravan park is still watering their lawns and gardens one of the lucky parks.  We notice the little ducklings we saw on our way over had grown but also seemed to be down in numbers a little, it was lovely to see them again and thriving well.
                           
19th November 2019
Robinvale to Lake Talbot, Narrandera.  We had a good run to Lake Talbot this is a favourite of ours, the drive through sites for overnight stays are superb.  It is a little more expensive than normal sites but when on the go they are really worth it.  All sites are grassy, beautiful view over the river, swimming pool not far and walk to the river.  Narrandera is a beautiful country town.  We had a rest as we knew we had a long drive home the next day.


West Australia wild flowers from our trip


20th November 2019
Homeward bound we look forward to our next adventure.  A great holiday.



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