Shorty's RV Adventures

Newman to Auski Roadhouse [Tourist Village]

Posted on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 by shorty

As predicted, it rained last night, but although it was constant it wasn’t too heavy. We would have liked to have explored more of Newman but that’s not much fun in the rain so we decided that we might as well have a driving day in the rain.

We left the caravan park and took the “scenic” route around Newman to the Great Northern Highway. There’s not that much to see in Newman. It’s essentially a mining town created in 1966 and now “run” by BHP Billiton. All the accommodation and town facilities are there for the miners and associated workers – it is not a tourist destination by any stretch of the imagination.

Our next main point of call is Port Hedland, but we decided that it was too far away for one day so we planned to aim for a roadhouse about 200 km from Newman.

The country side and scenery today were completely different to what we had become accustomed to – instead of flat dry country we were in mountain range country, and the scenery with hills and rock cliffs was rather distracting to the driver. Cathedral Gorge and the Opthalmia Mountain Range are breathtaking.

At least one wide load every day

No longer flat

Beautiful scenery

Our first stop for coffee was the Mt Robinson Rest Area and it was magnificent. Basically it’s a council designated Free Camp nearly a kilometer off the highway up a bitumen road catering for maybe 10 caravans. There are several undercover seating areas, a stainless steel long drop toilet [BYOTP] and even a dump point. What more could a free camper want? Best of all the views were fantastic and there were even walking trails leading off the open area. We enjoyed our stay here so much that coffee break turned into lunch time. We were seriously contemplating staying for the night instead of moving on to the roadhouse when the inevitable happened – it started raining again.

Mt Robinson Rest Area

Free camping in the rain isn’t much fun, especially without mobile reception, so it was back to Plan A and onto the highway for the remaining 85 kms to Auski Roadhouse and “Tourist Village” which is in the Karijini National Park. Let’s just say that we were expecting something a little different but we really didn’t have too many options so here we are for the night. The Camps 7 book indicated it had mobile access but we don’t have any on Optus or Telstra, and no internet or TV either – just shiploads of red dust and mud!

Auski Tourist Village

After a bit of a walk around to investigate this place we retired to the caravan and books, computers, and other pursuits. At east we are now in striking distance of Port Hedland and surrounding areas.

One by-product of today’s adventure is that we no longer have a white Ute and caravan – they are now a glorious rusty red. Hopefully we will be able to give them a both a bath once we are closer to a more plentiful water supply.

Still living the (red dusty) dream!

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: auski roadhouse, newman

Meekathara [Karalundi] to Newman

Posted on Monday, June 24, 2013 by shorty

It was cold again this morning; very cold. After hot showers we headed off to the Karalundi café for breakfast with David, CEO of the Karalundi complex, and his wife. Karalundi started life in 1954 as an aboriginal mission, but its function and ownership has changed several times since then. Currently it is an independent church boarding school for aboriginal children, and operates as a joint venture between the education department and the Seventh Day Adventist church, with additional support and funding from aboriginal affairs and health departments. It is a huge place and looks after several hundred students – who were all away on a special end of term excursion to Perth this weekend. Most of the buildings are made from rammed earth and there are plenty of solar panels and satellite dishes. There is a huge vegetable garden and about 100 chooks free-ranging in a very productive orchard. There are several hundred sheep and a number of llamas. The kids receive a decent academic education plus many practical skills including cooking, growing vegies and fruit, mechanical skills, and more. The very impressive café and caravan park are basically add-ons to the main education business at Karalundi. Two of David’s young children had actually formed a welcome party when we arrived yesterday and had offered us a treat of raw and cooked witchetty grubs. We politely declined.

From Karalundi we continued along the Great Northern Highway to a rest area where we stopped for morning coffee. It was a great spot along the Gascoyne River (South Branch) and this was definitely a potential overnight free camping spot. There was a beautiful lagoon and an abandoned mine (not totally safe I might add) and clear signs that there had been campers there overnight. Unfortunately this great spot was spoilt by so much rubbish, bottles, and even disposable babies’ nappies.

Billabong at Gascoyne River Rest Area

Abandoned Mine at Gascoyne River Rest Area

After leaving the rest area we came across a wide load on the road – a very wide load that actually occupied the entire width of the road. It appeared to be the bucket from one of the huge mining dump trucks and despite the size and obvious weight the truck was travelling at a quite impressive rate. There were two advance pilot vehicles and another pilot vehicle behind, all with flashing lights and a very humorous dialogue that we overheard on the CB. We tucked in behind the wide load and were surprised that we passed two other wide load trucks which each carried half a house! Eventually the two half houses caught up to us so we pulled off the road to let them pass. They eventually passed the very wide load truck as well, and headed off at a very fast pace.

We stopped for fuel at Kumarina Roadhouse (diesel was 196.9 per litre) and caught up with the very wide load truck which had stopped there for lunch. As we couldn’t find a suitable parking spot for us to stop for lunch, we continued along the highway to the next rest stop where we planned to have a quick stop and then head off again in front of the very wide truck. Murphy’s Law would say that we couldn’t be that lucky and we weren’t; so we stopped for a much more comfortable lunch stop and let the truck head on up the highway.

Very Wide Truck

Very Wide Truck at Roadhouse

After lunch we continued up the Great Northern Highway past more dead cattle on the road, and then it started to rain. We drove the last 50 kms into the mining town of Newman in the rain, which fortunately eased off as we arrived at the Kalgan’s Rest caravan park. Other than caravans, this place has a huge number of other accommodation options, mainly for miners. Our neighbours from Karalundi soon pulled up beside us.

Welcome to Newman

At the shop to buy ice-creams as a treat after a reasonably long day, we were told that the weather forecast for tomorrow was for heavy rain, so we may be here for longer than we had planned.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: karalundi, meekathara, newman

Mount Magnet to Meekathara [Karalundi]

Posted on Monday, June 24, 2013 by shorty

Saturday was the first day for a while that we woke to a bright sunny day, although there was a very chilly wind which followed us all day. We made a slow start and after chatting with some fellow travellers, we left Mount Magnet at about 10.00 am.

We headed north along the Great Northern Highway, past an almost dry but apparently huge Lake Austin. The drive today featured heavy road train traffic and a lot of road-kill including an emu and several cattle.

A Very Low Lake Austin

Another Road Train

We stopped at the town of Cue for our morning break and had a walk around looking for coffee. Cue is an attractive town with some amazing stone buildings and iron sculptures. One really impressive building is the combined Post Office, Police Station and Courthouse – built in the late 1890s, this building is still used for its original purpose. Gold was officially found there in 1891, which was actually before Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie, when Tom Cue registered the area’s first gold claim. In its heyday it had a population of 10,000 people and 11 pubs. Very few people live there today. There was a very impressive general store/supermarket/newsagent/lotto agent/etc, but no coffee. We reverted to our standby thermos of boiling water and a coffee bag in the caravan.

Cue Club Hotel

Cue Post Office, Police Station & Courthouse

Iron Statue

From Cue we continued north and stopped at a rest area about 20 kms south of Meekathara for lunch.

We then continued on to Meekathara and although we cruised through town quite slowly to get a bit of a feel for the place, we didn’t feel comfortable about stopping. Further up the highway was a rest area that we thought could be a potential free camp for an overnight stay. Although there was lots of space and it was obvious that plenty of people had camped there in the past, we thought that there were a few too many empty Jim Beam cans and doughnuts in the dirt to feel really comfortable, so we continued further out of town along the highway.

Just a quick comment about free camping in this area. We had planned to be doing quite a lot of free camping on this adventure but we are simply not finding very many suitable spots. Much of the area we have been driving through in the past week or so consists of flood plains, and there has been some recent heavy rain. There is a fair bit of water along the road side and as a result many potential free camp sites, as listed in the Camps 7 book, are just too wet and too much of a risk for us in our big rig. Hopefully further on we will have more luck finding better free camping spots.

Our eventual destination was Karalundi Caravan and Camping Park, which had been recommended to us by some fellow travellers at Mt Magnet. When we arrived it looked quite inviting but we couldn’t find anyone to actually book in with, so we temporarily set up camp in the carpark outside the café and got out our chairs and books. Eventually the manager turned up and showed us to a suitable spot and said that we could fill out the paperwork in the morning. We chose an unpowered site as we are fully self contained but wanted the reassurance of being in a safe place. Not long after us another caravan arrived with three young kids and a baby. Obviously they wanted to feel safe for the night also.

Welcome to Karalundi

Camping Area at Karalundi

School & Church Buildings at Karalundi

There was no mobile, internet or TV reception at Karalundi, so after a delicious tea cooked in the caravan, we watched a DVD and had an early night.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: karalundi, meekathara, mt magnet

Leinster to Mt Magnet, WA

Posted on Friday, June 21, 2013 by shorty

We awoke to a cold morning which turned into a beautiful day, as seems to be the case most days recently. After hot showers and breakfast, we hit the road at about 9.30 am (we weren’t in a real hurry to get anywhere). One thing we noticed in the first leg of our journey was a large flock of eagles, soaring above the highway. It was so sunny it was hard to capture them in a photo, although we did see more of these majestic creatures along the way.

Site at Leinster Caravan Park

First stop for morning coffee was the Peter Denny Lookout (Camps 7 #271) and what a surprise it turned out to be. The countryside looks deceptively flat here and it is the last place where you would expect to find a lookout. However upon closer inspection you find that the lookout is on the edge of a breakaway, where the land falls away and you can explore the cliff faces. This is a large space with plenty of evidence of free-campers. If it were not quite so early in the morning we might have been tempted to stay there tonight ourselves.

View from Peter Denny Lookout

Our next stop was for lunch in the delightful town of Sandstone. This is an old gold mining town which started its development in the 1890s. The town site was gazetted in 1906 and by 1913 it had reached a population of 6000. By the end of World War I it was virtually a ghost town and remains as such today. The locals however are making a huge effort to keep their town alive. There are a number of shops, a fuel station, a Post Office, a thriving caravan park, and plenty of trees and other street plantings.

Sandstone Post Office

Sandstone Streetscape

From Sandstone we stopped at the Windsor Rest Area for a break. Again, this was a potential over-nighter but we decided to keep going a bit further. At the rest area we discovered a pile of stones with visitors’ names, so we made our own contribution to the pile.

Our Contribution to the Rock Pile

Our resting place for today is the Mt Magnet Caravan Park. Mt Magnet is the biggest town we have passed through since leaving Kalgoorlie. It has lovely wide streets, three pubs, a supermarket, butcher, baker and a well planned caravan park.

Arriving at Mt Magnet

Mt Magnet Caravan Park

For Downunda, further to your previous comment, we refilled the Ute in Mt Magnet after travelling 708 kms with just over 100 litres of diesel. There was some left in the tank, possibly enough for a further 100 kms or so, but I won’t be stretching things that far in a hurry.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: leinster, mt magnet

Kalgoorlie to Leinster

Posted on Thursday, June 20, 2013 by shorty

Every morning in Kalgoorlie has been different – this morning we awoke to very thick cold fog. By 9.00 there were quite a few vans waiting for the fog to clear so that we could all get going, as no-one wanted to head off with poor visibility.

We headed north along the Goldfields Highway towards our first stop, Menzies. Just after we left Kalgoorlie we noticed a very tall chimney from the Gidji Roaster spewing a huge cloud like a stain across the sky. We could see it beside us for about 13 kms down the road and then it was still going as far as we could see. To be honest we don’t know what the smoke/cloud is, but it certainly seems to be a bit of a worry.

Cloud from Gidji Roaster

Paddington Mine Site – Along the Way

Menzies is an interesting town. It seemed to be a mining ghost town that was trying to come back as a destination town near Lake Ballard. Most shops had closed although several had been restored or were in the process of restoration. There was an Information Centre, an airfield, a number of new houses, a trendy pub, a café, a new Caravan Park, and a card only petrol station which was covered all over with number plates and other car signs, etc. There were a number of interpretive signs around the town telling the story of the town and its population, and a number of attractive iron sculptures along the street-scape.

Welcome to Menzies

Menzies Pioneer Store

Menzies Petrol Station Covered in Number Plates

Menzies Sculptures

From Menzies we drove further north to Leonora for lunch. Leonora is a busy mining town. We stopped at a truck stop through town for lunch in the sun before proceeding further north.

Leonora for Lunch

We intended staying at a free-camp just south of the town of Leinster but it was very exposed and unappealing next to the railway line, so we drove into town to the Leinster Caravan Park. This can best be described as a bush camp with a mix of powered and unpowered sites, some with water, and a reasonable amenities block and laundry. It’s really good value at only $15 per night.

Site at Leinster Caravan Park

Leinster is a BHP Billiton mining town with a quite modern shopping centre comprising a number of shops, and a card only petrol station. There’s a police station and a drive-in theatre.

Tomorrow we will be heading westwards to Mt Magnet. We’re not sure if we will have mobile or internet access, although it does seem that miners need internet access so we may be lucky.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: kalgoorlie, leinster

Kalgoorlie – Day 3

Posted on Wednesday, June 19, 2013 by shorty

After a cold night, we were pleased to see that we had a heavy dew but no ice this morning. It was a fine sunny day so we headed off early along the highway to explore Coolgardie.

In 1892 rich specimens of gold were found in the Coolgardie area and by the turn of the century, Coolgardie was the third largest town in Western Australia, after Perth and Fremantle, with a population of 15,000 plus another 10,000 living in the surrounding area. It was known throughout the world for its sensational riches and splendour. Coolgardie is now known as the Ghost Mining Town and its magnificent buildings are used as museums for tourism.

Coolgardie Visitor Centre – Old Courthouse Building

Beautifully Restored Building

Old Marvel Bar Hotel

Not Exactly a Hive of Activity

Olde Worlde Shoppes

Coolgardie Post Office – Closes in July

Coolgardie Safe Story

The Coolgardie Museum was very interesting and we spent quite some time wandering and reading all about the history of this once booming town. There was a room dedicated to the Modesto Varischetti Story. On Tuesday, March 19, 1907, a sudden violent storm, accompanied by very heavy rain, broke over the Mount Burgess and Bonnievale area. The rain pelted down and in just a few minutes, heavy flows of water rushed into some of the mine openings carrying much mud, stones and other debris down into the underground workings. On March 28, 1907, a miner, Modesto Varischetti was brought to the surface after having been entombed for 10 days under water in a mine at Bonnievale near Coolgardie. Largely due to the prompt measures taken to give him food, warmth and comfort while he was entombed, Varischetti was able to return to his employment in the industry. This was the first time that divers in heavy, old fashioned gear were used in a mine rescue. The Coolgardie Museum also included a magnificent old bottle collection.

There was another Pharmacy Museum which was also very interesting. It displays one of the largest collections of objects relating to medicine, beauty, dentistry and health in Australia. A man called Eddy Grant amassed the collection over many decades, built the display cabinets and a pharmacy shop front and put all of the impressive displays together. Most of the collection is Australian with a few objects coming from England and Europe. All of the objects are in excellent condition, showing paper wrapping, glass, labels and all the original details of the product as it was once sold. We have never seen anything like it before!

We walked further to the end of town to a café at the Motel and had morning tea. It was cold outside but warm in the sun so we walked to Ben Prior’s Park to see an eclectic array of old mining and agricultural equipment before getting back into the ute and cranking up the heater while we drove back to Kalgoorlie. It was a very interesting morning.

After lunch I had a bit more of an explore around Kalgoorlie, including a visit to Bunnings to pick up some supplies for a couple of minor modifications to the caravan. I also had a quick look at Centennial Park which has a designated area set aside for free camping. The rule that only totally self contained vehicles can stay there, and there is a limit of 24 hours per stay. It’s walking distance to town, and the Park itself is quite interesting with memorials to the Kokoda Track and Vietnam veterans, plus a music bowl for concerts etc.

A Big Truck on a Big Truck

Another Big Truck – They’re Everywhere!

Caravan Park – Weather Forecasting Stone

Unique Cabins in the Caravan Park

Statue Honouring Miners in Kalgoorlie

Tomorrow we are heading North and may be out of range for mobiles and internet for a couple days, but we will continue the blog after that. Thank you for caring to those followers who expressed concern last time we failed to blog, but we are never sure when we will be in range in these remote areas.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: coolgardie, kalgoorlie

Kalgoorlie – Day 2

Posted on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 by shorty

When we woke this morning it was 4 degrees and the windows of the ute were completely iced over. After we had hot showers and breakfast, the sun was up and we had the perfect day to explore Kalgoorlie.

The first thing we did was to drive up to the lookout at “the Super Pit”. The Super Pit is one of the world’s largest open cut gold mines, being 3.5 km long, 1.5 km wide and 360 m deep. Haul trucks carry up to 225 tonnes of ore, burn 360 litres of diesel per hour, and travel at 15 kph. Face shovels load 60 tonnes per scoop. The annual production here is 85 million tonnes of ore producing 800,000 ounces of gold valued at $1.2 billion. The Super Pit is managed by Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) and operates 24 hours a day, 364 days per year.

Well known WA businessman Alan Bond is credited with getting the Super Pit project underway. He started by consolidating a large number of small mining leases which were in separate hands for nearly a century to the point where it was possible to operate a gigantic and ever-descending super pit, from which gold could be extracted at a much reduced cost. KCGM took over the project in 1989.

The views from the lookout were spectacular.

Tony standing in a face shovel which holds 60 tons per scoop

View of the Super Pit

View of the SuperPit

After that we drove back into the centre of town and visited the Information Centre to get more information about the area and to ask questions about the roads out of Kalgoorlie before we finalised our plans. We then found a rather nice place called Monty’s where we had coffee and cake while we mulled over our next move.

Kalgoorlie is a very interesting, generally well maintained town. There are areas with signs of affluence and some not so good areas and all have a healthy covering of red dust! We decided to go for a long walk around town as you see so much more on foot. There are several very impressive Bronze Statues around town – one being a statue of St Barbara, the Patron Saint of Miners. Another historic statue, now converted to a water fountain, is of Patrick Hannan who discovered gold in Kalgoorlie in 1893. The main street of Kalgoorlie is named after him.

Montys Cafe

Statue of St Barbara

Statue of Patrick Hannan

We visited the Western Australian Museum of the Goldfields which was housed behind a giant Mine Head Frame or Poppet Head and we actually caught a lift up to the viewing platform about 2/3 of the way up. It was a great view of Kalgoorlie. There was a light and temperature controlled room which housed the original banners for the Bakers Union, the Tailors and Tailoresses Union, the Carpenters Union and the Engineers Union. All were in very good condition given their age but impossible to photograph.

Entrance to WA Museum at Kalgoorlie-Boulder

Ann at The Vault Which Holds Plenty of Gold

View from the Platform at WA Museum

View from the platform at WA Museum

Old Lace Making Equipment at WA Museum

Old Sitting Room at WA Museum

Ann found a very unusual “art quilt” entitled Remnants of Fever and Fortune.

Remnants of Fever and Fortune

Rusted Remnants on a Damask Tablecloth

Explanation of “Remnants of Fever and Fortune”

After quite some time we decided to walk back into town to find somewhere for lunch. Along the way we met Margaret and Nev who we met at Fraser Range Station. They were also looking for lunch so we all walked back to Monty’s for a bowl of soup and bread in the rather comfortable dining room. While we were talking we realised that Ann and Margaret grew up very close to each other in the same suburb in Melbourne. It is a very small world. Margaret and Nev now live in Perth and are on their way home after 16 months on the road!

After lunch we drove around to see more of the town and then returned to the van because while the days are very nice, the nights are freezing.

Mine in Town

Mines Around Town

Interesting Way to Welcome Visitors to Kalgoorlie-Boulder

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: kalgoorlie

Fraser Range Station to Kalgoorlie

Posted on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 by shorty

After an early night (we really were tired after our mountaineering) we awoke uncharacteristically early this morning. It was a fantastic sunny day at Fraser Range Station as we left at 8.30 am.

Fraser Range Station before we Left

Ready to Leave Fraser Range Station

Along the way we noticed plenty of evidence of recent massive water movement ranging from huge culverts to divert water off the roads; many signs indicating that roads were subject to flooding; and lots of what appeared to be dry lake beds. There were also lots of dead tall trees surrounded by healthy and vigorous undergrowth.

Empty Lake Bed

View of Dead trees due to the drought with new growth due to recent rain

We drove the 108 kms to Norseman and refuelled and then into town to the Tourist Information Centre. There was a very nice friendly and very knowledgeable lady there and she gave us directions for walks around town. She also issued us with our official “We Crossed the Nullarbor” certificate.

We viewed the statue of the Norseman, the horse that is credited with first finding gold in the area, and walked on to see the corrugated camel sculptures, celebrating the role that camels played in opening up the outback so many years ago. Back in the day up to 70 camels were used in teams to pull heavily loaded wagons and the camels were controlled by 4 Afghans. The streets in Norseman are very wide and this is because they needed to be so that the camel drawn wagons could turn around.

Our impression of Norseman is that it is a remote country town that must have been busy in it’s day but now it is just a very sad town. Many of the shops and businesses are closed and windows are covered with iron sheeting. Even the Tourist Information Centre was so heavily shuttered that we didn’t initially think that it was open. This was not at all what we were expecting. Along the way we had picked up a Norseman Community Newsletter which gave a very different impression but I guess it showed that some enthusiastic people in the community are still trying to promote the area.

Norsemen the Gold Finding Horse

Corrugated Iron Camels in Norseman

When we returned to the van we headed north on the Coolgardie Esperance Highway. There were lots of large mining vehicles on the road including 2 B-doubles carrying explosives! Everyone gave those vehicles a wide berth. There were signs on the roads warning that road trains could be up to 53.5 metres long – and that’s big!

Road Sign

Large Truck on the Road

Road Train

As we passed Lake Cowan we noticed that it looked very low and very drought effected.

Approximately 55 kms south of Coolgardie, we turned off north-east and headed to Kalgoorlie- Boulder. We passed through Kambalda which is another dusty/muddy mining town with a busy BP Roadhouse. Further up the road, about 40 kms south of Kalgoorlie, we pulled over into a rest area and had lunch.

After lunch, we drove on to Kalgoorlie and had a look at the huge mining buckets at the entrance to the town. We then checked into the Kalgoorlie Discovery Caravan Park in Burt Street, Boulder. We managed to get the last big rig site and we were very happy to be able to unhitch and go to the local shops for supplies.

Mining Buckets at Entrance to Kalgoorlie

Inside one of the mining buckets

Since we left Melbourne on May 25, we have travelled 4,074 Kms. Crossing the Nullarbor has been a real highlight.

What an Adventure!!

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: fraser range station, kalgoorlie

Fraser Range Station

Posted on Monday, June 17, 2013 by shorty

Sunday is the traditional day of rest, so after travelling some 1,200 kms in the last 3 days we decided to stay another day at Fraser Range Station. It really is very nice and restful here.

After a bit of a lazy sleep-in, we had breakfast and then caught up with some of the housekeeping things that must get done on any trip. While I gave the Ute and caravan a going over, checking tyre pressures, water levels, tightness of various bolts, and all that sort of thing, Ann did a couple of loads of washing. At that stage there was only one other couple left in the caravan park so competition for the washing machines and clothes line was minimal. The girls spent more time talking that washing.

Way to Go at Fraser Range Station

Plenty of Space at Fraser Range Station

Fire Pit for Happy Hour

Unfortunately our black rain cloud found us again so there was a frantic rush outside to get the rest of the things off the clothes line and onto clothes horses under cover to finish drying. All dry and put away now.

After lunch the rain dried up and the sun came back out so we had a wander around the farm and decided that we would tackle the walk to the top of Mount Pleasant, which is part of the property. The winding and rocky track was sign-posted, sort of, and we actually didn’t do too badly for a couple of old grey nomads. We don’t know exactly how high the Mount is but it sure seemed pretty high to us. It took us 45 minutes of steady climbing to get to the top and then we had to come down again.

Along the way we met some kangaroos and at the top we shared the views with a flock of sheep. The top is marked by a rock cairn adorned with several old flags and signs. The main feature is an old microwave which keeps the visitors book dry! The 360 degree views from the top were absolutely spectacular.

We also found that Ann could get enough reception on her Telstra mobile to quickly phone our son in Melbourne. Apparently he was getting a bit worried because we hadn’t updated our blog for a few days.

Curious Bystander!

Next Week’s Lamb Dinner

ET Phone Home!

Visitor Book in an Old Microwave atop Mount Pleasant

View of the Camping Area

Wider View from Mount Pleasant

Back to the caravan for a light tea and an early night after trying to prove that we are younger than perhaps we really are!

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: fraser range station

Moodini Bluff to Fraser Range Station

Posted on Monday, June 17, 2013 by shorty

When we woke on Saturday morning, we were not sure what time it was – 7.30, 8.15 or 9.00 – depending on which clock we were looking at. We discovered that the Perth time difference actually happens in two 45 minute increments across the Nullarbor from SA, but not all our clocks and phones changed automatically. We had breakfast and hot but short showers in the caravan.

As we had no reception from Optus, Testra Next G or any TV channel, we were amazed when Ann’s mobile phone rang. It was one of Ann’s brothers just ringing to catch up with how we were going. There was only one place in the van where she got reception but was grateful for the phone call.

We knew from the outset that today was going to be a driving day – no more whales, spectacular cliffs, or scenic views, just road. It was really just a matter of how far we would get before settling down for the night.

First we drove 26 kms to Mandura Pass to refuel, then on a further 73 kms to Observatory Turnoff Rest area for our morning break.

The road seemed to be a lot busier on Saturday with a constant stream of road trains and oversized vehicles. About 17 kms west of Caiguna, we started on the longest straight stretch of road in Australia. It is 90 miles or 146.6 kms of perfectly straight road. Amazing!

Something Big is Coming Our Way

It’s REALLY Big!

Signs Along the Nullarbor

The Longest Straight Stretch of Road in Australia

While the drought has had a huge impact on the Nullarbor, at the moment with all of the recent rain, it is actually quite green most of the way but you can see the damage caused by the drought- so many dead trees.

We stopped at Domblegabby Rest Area 39 kms west of Caiguna for lunch. This rest area was interesting because it had a huge covered structure which collected water into a tank. The water was drinkable if boiled and the structure would be great shelter for campers. There was loads of room for quite a number of vans here, should they choose to stay overnight.

We have seen 6 people riding bicycles across the Nullarbor. It is a long trip by car; I don’t know why anyone would peddle across.

We passed through Balladonia where there was the typical roadhouse/motel/pub/caravan park/etc except that Balladonia’s claim to fame is that in 1979 parts of NASA’s Skylab fell to earth in the area, so there is a small museum to celebrate Balladonia’s 15 minutes of international fame.

Domblegabby Rest Area

Balladonia Roadhouse and Skylab Museum

It seemed to be getting quite dark by 4pm so we followed a track to Fraser Range Station for the night. This is a working Sheep Station which has diversified into Farm Stay Accommodation.

Approaching Fraser Range Station Late Afternoon

Booking in at Fraser Range Station

We met up with about 6 other couples who were staying there and joined the station hands for dinner. Lamb shanks on a plate of vegetables and mash and very delicious chocolate pudding and cream (BYO wine). We had a great night in the shearers mess kitchen talking with fellow travellers until late. A great night, and the reason why we enjoy staying in farm/station situation so much.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: fraser range station, moodini bluff