Ceduna

Chris arrived yesterday afternoon after driving all the way from Townsville in five days.   It was great to catch up finally.

Today I cleaned and dusted inside the van and washed the floor.  (If only housework was so easy at home.)   I tried to clean the outside as well, but not being able to use the hose (water is scarce) made it difficult.  At least I managed to get rid of a lot of squashed insects.

Tomorrow morning we set off across the Nullarbor.  I'm feeling quite excited.  We both have CB radios so Chris and I will be able to communicate as we go.  We both have budgets we need to stick to, so the plan is to take it slowly, and do no more than 200 - 250km a day. 

It is very isolated across the Nullarbor with no phone signal most of the way, so it could be a while before I can add to my blog.    

Perlubie Beach to Ceduna - 90km

Arrived in Ceduna about midday and bought fuel and supplies before booking into caravan park.  When I got to the caravan park I filled up the water tank and my water containers and did my washing.  With rain and thunderstorms predicted for later on today and tomorrow I decided to do everything today before the rain arrives.  It is so hot here today - 40 degrees.

I've flaked out in the van now, with the air conditioner on and relaxing for the rest of the day.  Thankfully the forecast for tomorrow is a nice mild 24 degrees.

I'm expecting Chris to arrive this afternoon.  It will be good to catch up again.

Perlubie Beach

I'm leaving for Ceduna tomorrow after three nights here at Perlubie Beach.  This is such a lovely spot, I wish it was closer to home because I would definitely come here often.  Lots of people bring their tinnies and go out fishing.  One of my neighbours caught some whiting today and he was nice enough to give me enough for my dinner tonight as well as tomorrow.

I thought I would try my hand at cooking bread today, but it didn't turn out very well.  I had a few slices with butter and honey while it was warm, but I ended up giving the rest to the seagulls.  I think I will cook ordinary damper or scones next time.

I'm not looking forward to Ceduna tomorrow.  The forecast is 40 degrees with rain and possible thunderstorms.  Chris will be arriving in Ceduna tomorrow as well.  We will be staying in a caravan park for a couple of days to catch up with washing and stock up with water and supplies before heading across the Nullarbor.  

Port Lincoln to Streaky Bay

After spending most of the day at Coffin Bay on Thursday, I returned to the Port Lincoln RV park to stay the night, but when it seemed likely that I was going to be the only one there I drove to a caravan park.  The RV park was in an isolated area and I didn’t want to risk staying alone.  By the look of the tyre marks everywhere I think it could be a popular area for the yobbos to hang out at night.  I was so tired from lack of sleep the night before that I went to bed at 8.30pm and slept soundly for nearly 12 hours.

On Friday I had a leisurely drive along the highway occasionally diverting to some lovely little seaside towns.  I stopped at Elliston for lunch – an absolutely beautiful place on the cliff tops overlooking the ocean.  I drove up to the lookout on the cliffs to see the 'Salmon Pole' sculpture.  When I first drove through the town, I turned to drive towards the beach, and didn’t realize until I have driven about a kilometre that I was driving on the wrong side of the road.  I thought the road on the other side of the medium strip was a service road and I thought people were waving to me because they were being friendly.  How embarrassing!! I even drove past the police station.  Luckily they didn’t see me.

When I left about an hour later I was too scared to look sideways as I drove through the town.  I think my face is still red.  

I continued on my way and stopped 49km further along the highway at a place called Coodlie Park which offers very basic camp sites for $10 per night.   I have never seen so many burrs.  Poor Oscar was covered in them, particularly in between his toes and up the insides of his legs.  I had to cut a lot of them off they were so caught up in his coat. 

On Saturday morning I left Coodlie Park and headed for Streaky Bay.  There was lots to see on the way.  I drove to the little coastal town of Venus Bay and walked along the cliff top trail.  There is only one word to describe it.  Spectacular!!  The walk takes about an hour and winds along the cliff edge.  It would be very easy to trip and fall over the edge as it is very rocky and there is no protective railing.  Oscar wasn’t too sure, he spent the entire time walking so close to me that I could feel his nose on the back of my leg.  He must be scared of heights like me.

From Venus Bay I continued on until I came to the sign pointing to Murphy’s Haystacks.  Gigantic boulders which have gradually been exposed over millions of years.  Quite amazing.  Some look as though they are about to topple over.  It was very interesting walking around them.

From there I continued on to Streaky Bay, had a look around, topped up with fuel and headed out of town about 22km to a camp right on the beach called Perlubie Beach.  It is a beautiful spot and costs $5 per night.  As there is no one to collect the money there is an honesty box to put money in.  There are a lot of camp sites that have honesty boxes.  I always do the right thing, but wonder how many people don’t. 

It is Sunday morning now and I have driven back into Streaky Bay to get a few supplies before heading off again.  Not sure where.  May head back to Perlubie Beach for another night.  I will make up my mind as I go.

Photos taken at Streaky Bay.

Port Lincoln to Coffin Bay - 50km

Had a scary night last night.  Parked on the foreshore at Port Lincoln with 90 to 100km gusts of wind is something I never want to experience again.  The weather bureau put out severe weather alerts warning of extreme conditions and they were not wrong.  The van was rocking so much I was worried it would blow over or I would lose some of the equipment on the roof.  Needless to say I had a sleepless night and played games on my phone until about 5am in the morning to keep myself occupied.

After surfacing at about 8.30am and checking the van to make sure everything was okay I made my way to the place where my stove was going to be repaired, only to be told that they had booked me in for the wrong day and wouldn't be able to fix it until next week.

Feeling decidedly p........d off I decided to make my way to Coffin Bay and find somewhere to take shelter from the wind.  Fortunately I have found a lovely little parking bay beside the water and I am now having my lunch and watching the oyster boats return to shore with their supply of oysters.  There is no camping allowed here, so I will catch up on some sleep before I take off again later this afternoon and look for a spot to stay the night.

I will will have to wait now until I get to WA before my stove can be fixed.  There is a service centre in Albany, so as I get closer I will ring ahead and arrange to have it seen to.

Good news from Chris today.  She is finally on the road, so all being well it shouldn't be too long before we meet up.

Tumby Bay to Port Lincoln - 80km

Driving into Port Lincoln today it soon became obvious that there was big money around.  Multi million dollar houses everywhere over looking the bay.  Gated communities and a large marina.

For the next couple of nights I will be staying a a beautiful spot called Billy Lights Point in an area specifically set aside by the council for self contained RV's.  It is about 10km out of town and only $10 per night for million dollar views overlooking the bay.

My stove has been playing up so I have arranged to have it repaired tomorrow.  When I am cooking the stove keeps going out.  The stove is still under warranty, so hopefully it won't cost anything to fix.

It is very hot here today, but with a mild sea breeze it's not too bad.  There were a few large drops of rain at one stage this afternoon, but predicted storms have not arrived as yet.  If the storms do eventuate it will be the first rain since leaving home.

Whyalla to Cleve to Tumby Bay - 200km

Drove to Horrocks Hill lookout before I left Whyalla yesterday morning and took several photos.

Filled up with petrol then headed for Cowell, a pretty coastal town which is well known for its oysters.  There were a couple of places selling fresh oysters, but I wasn’t tempted.  Unfortunately I hate oysters!  I had my lunch and spent a couple of hours looking around and walked along the jetty.  It’s a pretty spot and I intended to stop the night, but I decided to drive inland towards Cleve to try and escape from the wind.  I took a detour to the heritage listed Yeldulknie Weir which is about 5km from Cleve and came across a couple who had set up camp for the night, so I decided to stay as well.  It was still blowing, but not quite as bad as the coast.

Had a leisurely drive to Tumby Bay today.  A beautiful day for driving - I love driving with the window down and the breeze blowing through my hair. I am now parked in a special RV park on the outskirts of town.

On the way here I turned off the highway to visit Argo Bay.  It is one of the prettiest little towns I have come across since I began travelling.  Beautiful green lawns along the foreshore, a jetty, lovely white sand and a small caravan park on the beach.   There was a beautiful old hotel to complete the scene.  With a population of only 250 people, the place is incredibly well maintained.

       

I also visited Cowell on the way here but didn't take any photos.  It didn't really do much for me, but I did drive by a medical clinic and decided on the spur of the moment to go in and have my annual flu vaccination before I had too much time to think about it.  Unfortunately they had run out of the vaccine so I came away feeling a bit deflated.  

Went for a walk along the beach this morning, but so windy I didn't enjoy.  I started to walk back along the boardwalk, but it was too dangerous with the wind blowing.  For the entire length of at least a kilometre or more there is a sheer drop on one side and there are no guard rails to stop people falling off.  The photo makes the boardwalk look level with the sand, but there is a 4 to 5 metre drop - a bad accident waiting to happen!

  

Port Augusta to Whyalla - 76km

I have my van booked in for service at 8.30am tomorrow morning at the Toyota dealership in Whyalla, so I drove down from Port Augusta this morning and booked into a nearby caravan park that had a 4 nights for 3 deal.

Whyalla is the home of OneSteel steelworks as well as other major industries, and several smoke stacks are visible in the distance when approaching.  The Toyota dealership is close to the main shopping centre, so I will have a wander around tomorrow while I am waiting for my van.

Peterborough to Port Augusta - 136km

Arrived at Port Augusta at lunch time.  Once again an interesting drive.  Stopped to look at a huge gum tree when passing through Orroroo which is about 25km out of Peterborough.

Coming down into Port Augusta over the Horrock Pass was spectacular.  Once again photos don't do it justice.

It was also great to see the water after being inland for the past few weeks.  I thought it might be cooler closer to the water, but no such luck.  It is 39 degrees today and the same expected tomorrow.  When it cools down later today I will have a look around, but at the moment all I want to do is sit in the air conditioning.  Luckily I have lots of books on my Kindle.

Broken Hill to Peterborough - 280km

Left Broken Hill this morning and headed for Port Augusta.  Decided to stop at Peterborough tonight and head into Port Augusta tomorrow.  It has been very hot so I hope to find somewhere by the water and prop for a while.   It could still be up to 2 weeks before I meet up with Chris, so there is no hurry to move on.

I'm hoping to have my car serviced during the week, so hopefully when I ring Toyota tomorrow they will be able to fit me in through the week.

The drive between here and Broken Hill was magnificent.  The photos I took certainly don't do the scenery justice.  Beautiful outback countryside - no livestock or crops, just the occasional emu.  Endless dry grassy plains dotted with stumpy trees and in some areas surrounded by brown treeless hills in the distance.   Sometimes the colours and the scenery made my spine tingle.  I don't know how anyone could not want to explore this beautiful country.

At a place called Oodia Wirra, about 40km East of Peterborough there is a quarantine checkpoint on the highway for fruit and vegetables.  I had potatoes, onions and pumpkin which I had to surrender but interestingly I was allowed to keep a large sweet potato.  I also had a nice fresh mango which I had to hand over.  The inspectors search inside cars and caravans, and there are hefty fines if you try to take fruit and vegetables past the check point.

I left Cobar yesterday morning after the mail I was expecting from Melbourne arrived earlier than anticipated, and stopped overnight at the Emmdale Roadhouse which is 160 km from Cobar.

Along the way I stopped at a rest stop and was chatting to a road train driver who was cooking his lunch, and it seems like my timing was perfect, because he said that last week there was so much heavy rain in Cobar that the town was flooded, with water thigh deep in places and lapping the shop fronts along the main street.

My next stop after leaving the roadhouse was going to be Wilcannia, but the road train driver warned me against it saying it wasn't safe.  He said that travellers were being targeted and even road trains were now driving straight through instead of stopping overnight because of alleged stealing of loads, etc.

With that in mind, I didn't stop in Wilcannia and decided to drive straight through to Broken Hill.  I am now camped at the local racecourse overnight, but there is a big annual race meeting next weekend with lots of preparation going on, so I may have to move on tomorrow.

Cobar

I will be staying in Cobar for longer than anticipated.  Some paperwork has arrived in the post at home in Melbourne which I need to sign.  Unfortunately, one of the down sides of managing my own Super means I need to keep up with the paperwork even when I am travelling.  Fortunately, my daughter Belinda keeps an eye on things and she is sending it to me by Express Post this afternoon, but according to the locals it could be five days before it arrives. 

I went for a wander this morning before it became too hot.  Cobar has a good vibe about it.  I walked down the main street and took the obligatory photo of the big beer can on the verandah of the Grand Hotel.  Apparently it is one of Cobar's most photographed icons.

Griffith - Lake Cargelligo (139km) - Euabalong (27km) - Cobar (253km)

 Yesterday, after leaving Griffith I headed for Lake Cargelligo intending to stop for the night, but the gale force winds made it very unpleasant so I headed further North and stopped at Euabalong for the night – a real outback town with a few houses and a pub but not much else.  I walked into the pub and a few of the locals were sitting at the bar watching the horse racing.  They told me to park at the ‘caravan park’ which consisted of a very old wooden building and public toilets on about an acre of land covered in weeds and old concrete a few doors down from the pub.  

The drive from Griffith to Lake Cargelligo was interesting with the landscape changing constantly.  I passed a few olive groves and several vineyards then several different unknown crops before the landscape changed to very dry grassland surrounded by densely treed hills.  Every so often the paddocks had been freshly tilled to reveal a rich dark orange/red soil.

There had obviously been decent rainfall recently with flooding either side of the highway and the surrounding gum trees and bush looked very green and healthy. 

I was glad to leave Euabalong this morning.  I have never come across a place with so many sharp prickles everywhere on the ground - much worse than the usual burrs.  They were so bad Oscar wouldn't get out of the van unless I carried him.  He spent most of the night chewing his feet, and before I could leave I had to pull dozens out of the soles of my shoes.

Driving along the Kidman Highway, North towards Cobar, it is obvious that this part of the country is a huge flood basin.  There are yellow flood warning signs and depth indicators along the highway for about 300km or more. 

About 50km before coming into Cobar I came across lots of wild goats and pigs along the sides of the highway.  I usually sit on about 85 - 90km per hour, but I had to slow right down in case they darted out in front of me.

On the outskirts of Cobar I visited the Cobar open cut gold mine.  It is huge!  The photo doesn't do it justice.  The mine goes down a further 2km from the entrance which is shown at the bottom of the photo. 

  

There aren't any places to stop for the night around Cobar, so I have booked into the Cobar Caravan Park for the next couple of nights.  I will have a look around as well as catch up on my washing before I set off again in a couple of days.

Chris, who is going to join up with me has been having a few problems with her van, but hopefully she will soon be able to catch up with me along the highway somewhere.  

Hay to Griffith - 153km

After three nights at Hay showground I am now parked in a 24 hour stopover at a place called Willow Park in Griffith.

I found a BigW as I was driving through the main city area, so I stopped and bought three pairs of tracksuit pants.  Although the days are really warm, it won't be long before the nights start to cool down, so thought I had best be prepared.

At the start of this trip I set myself a weekly budget of $350 - $400 which covers fuel, food, clothing and incidentals.  I plan to spend no more that $350 each week and put the extra $50 aside for unexpected expenses.  Although I have only been on the road for two weeks, so far it is working well.  The first week I had $150 left over and this week I have $50 left over.  Fuel is obviously going to be the biggest expense, especially when travelling through the outback, but if I can resist buying chocolate and drive straight past the tempting little country bakeries that seem to jump out at me, I should manage to keep well under $350 each week.