Day 308 – 16 Oct 09

Home Again! 10 months on the road and to tell the truth it seems more like 10 days.

I was concerned when I started out that this may have been a bad idea because I may have got bored, but at this point there has been no sign of boredom. My added-up distance only shows about 22,000 km, but I have actually covered about 27,000, so I have obviously done a fair amount of side-trips and driving hither and yon. Time to do a fair bit of housework. Re-stock the freezer, re-register and service the van and vehicle, do my tax (for the last time) for 2008-2009 etc.

I’m going to stay in Perth for about two weeks and then head for the south coast of WA and over to the Eyre and Yorke peninsulas. From now on, I’m going to take things a lot slower. I intend to only do 60-70 km’s between stops, where there are things to see and stay at least three days at each spot instead of overnighting as I did at the start of the trip. In the first month I travelled nearly 6,000 km compared to only 1,500 in the tenth month. Much more relaxing. 35°C today, Winter’s Over.


Well, that;s the end of my first circumnavigation. I'll see you again when I take off for the next circuit.

Day 304 – 12 Oct 09

Down through Geraldton, where I fuelled up and on towards Mullewa. The campsite Don told me about was a little hard to find because Camps 5 doesn’t say which road to take to get to the camp. Eventually noticed a sign to “Pioneer Well” at the corner of the Yuna road and an indicator down a bush track. Track in is pretty rough and looks like it would flood badly after rain, but quite a pleasant site. Only one other vehicle in when I got there but tons of room. No real big trees but reasonable shade. Plenty of firewood around, but technically illegal in WA to light a campfire after 1st October. There are still lots of wildflowers around - these are some sort of Everlasting.
I went down and had a look at the well which gives the site its name. It's amazing to see the quality of the storework which they use to line the well. I wonder whether we even have the skills today to build something like this without mortar.

Day 305 – 13 Oct 09

Weather’s a bit better, although still a bit chilly at night. Got down to 8°C overnight. Bloody Flies! No blowflies, but lots and lots of little bushflies. I reckon I’m getting my daily exercise just waving my arms around. Went for a wander today up to the top of a nearby rocky outcrop. Great view across the salt lakes and over the wheatfields beyond. It’s fairly dry at the moment, but it would be glorious in winter with water in the lake and the fields green. Took a walk across the salt lake just to have a sticky beak. It appears that the land owners have planted an “orchard” of mallee gums on the edge of the lake. Probably as a means of salt control – why didn’t they just leave the original trees in the first place?

Day 306 – 14 Oct 09

Don and Xena pulled in this morning. Boy! That bloke could talk underwater with a mouthful of marbles (look who’s talking) must have something to do with travelling alone. He’s going on to Mt. Magnet and then south so I probably won’t see him again. Went for a walk today down to the abandoned school site and across the stone path across the salt lake to the old railway siding.

The station building appears to be a sort of historical display, but it was locked up so I could only get a glimpse of the inside. The building seems to be a long way from the rail line, but I think that the dirt road in front between the line and the building may have originally been a siding going by the shape and alignment of the road. The stone path is amazing.

I am guessing that it was built about 1920 or so and the amount of work to just go back and forth carrying rocks is astonishing. Today we would bulldoze or concrete the path in a couple of days, or spend 20 million dollars to build a boardwalk.

Day 302 – 10 Oct 09

I spent 2 weeks at back at Lyndon River and then headed down to Carnarvon again. I'll spend a couple of days here to replenish water and do some washing for the final legs to Perth.

Down through Overlander and Billabong. I must have done this stretch about 10 or 12 times, so not much along here that interests me. Did Denham, Monkey Mia and Steep Point with Hamish a couple of years ago. Pulled in to a Roadside Rest Area called Nerren Nerren. As are so many of the WA rest stops, it is huge - you could put 50 vans in here without trying. Toilets, bins and fireplaces, but as usual, no water.

Thursday went for a walk south along the fenceline for about 3-4 km. Fence parallels the highway. I saw a faint track leading into the scrub so went for a wander. Appears to have been a bush camp of some sort in the past - maybe a road construction gang or similar. Piles of broken beer bottles everywhere.

Friday went for a walk north along the fenceline for about 3-4 km. I could see a sand-ridge about 2 km off to the west so went for a wander. Fairly easy going through the mallee, but got very scrubby closer to the ridge and then Banksia scrub on the ridgeline. Couldn't see anything from the top of the ridge so back to the fence and back to camp. Still windy every day especially the sea-breeze in the evening. Met a bloke called Don who’s travelling solo with his dog Xena which is the biggest Golden Labrador I’ve ever seen. I think it may be crossed with something else. He says he’s been on the road for 7 years and I would say he’s about 70. Gave me a tip for a good campsite just out of Mullewa which suits my schedule.

Day 284 – 22 Sep 09

Left Lyndon River on Wednesday heading for Carnarvon. Had to wait until about midday to avoid the worst of the wind which is blowing from the south. It’s a very strong breeze so I can only imagine what it does to fuel consumption. Got to Carnarvon and found a top tourist CP for a change so booked in for a week to get the extra discount. When you add the normal 10% member discount to the “pay for 6 days stay 7” that works out to a 23% discount for the week which to my way of thinking is a good deal.

What a strange place Carnarvon is. I have been here many times, but never stayed before. There is a Woolworths supermarket, and like all the others, they give you a fuel discount voucher on your docket – But there is no Woolies Caltex fuel depot. There is a Coles Express fuel stop – but no Coles supermarket. I spent about 30 minutes looking for a Westpac bank before discovering that there wasn’t one (or a NAB either). I always had a mental picture of Carnarvon as being a fairly large centre with all facilities, but it is actually quite basic. Hell of a lot of new building going on, however.

I’ve been here a week and I’m heading back north again for a while. It's just too flamin' cold this far south and it's still raining down in Perth so I have headed back north to Lyndon River for a few days. Spring seems to be a bit late coming in this year. From memory, it's usually warming up in Perth by now.

Day 277 – 15 Sep 09

Left Miarree Pool on Thursday morning and headed south again. Just south of Nanutarra Roadhouse I spotted something that would spoil anyone's holiday trip.
The accident had obviously just happened, because there was a copy of the previous days paper at the site (also, nobody had had time to steal the wheels). There were skid marks on the road, so I'm assuming that the driver swerved to avoid an animal on the road. The positions of the Land Rover Discovery and the caravan facing back in the direction they had come from would indicate that the accident happened at quite some speed.
I stopped for a few days at Lyndon River Rest Area just north of Minilya Roadhouse. Found a really nice spot with shade from some giant River Red Gums. Toilets but no other facilities except barbecues. No water in the river at this time of the year, and it is really hard walking through the river sand because it is so soft.

Thousands (and I’m not exaggerating) of Corellas in the trees and what a racket they make when they’re roosting at sundown. I’ve been set up here for a couple of days and there are a pair of magpies, I think a mother and a juvenile by the colours, although the juvenile is bigger than the adult. They come right up to the van to get the moths which were attracted by the light the night before and they have become so confident that they walk straight underneath my chair while I’m sitting there.

Just for a contrast, there are a pair of pigeons of some kind (the ones with the tuft of feathers sticking straight up on top of their heads – (I call them “punk pigeons”) and they come pecking around on the green mat near my feet each evening. It’s great to be in an area where the wildlife obviously don’t feel threatened by humans.

Day 271– 09 Sep 09

I left Yule River on Monday Morning heading for Karratha. Weather is warm, dry and clear. Went via Whim Creek and Roebourne, but as the T-shirt says, been there, done that. Stopped in Karratha and did some shopping. Had to buy a new power supply for the Laptop. Honda had a “Father’s Day special on Generators so I bought one Got about $250 off. I was hoping there was a book-exchange in town as I’m running out of reading materials but no luck. I intended to stay for a couple of days in CP, but no room at the inn. Karratha CP was full, as was the Transit Camp at Dampier. Big4 in Karratha had powered sites for $44 a night so I gave them a miss – That’s just highway robbery.

I continued on to Miarree Poole on Maitland River only 18 km’s from the Karratha Roadhouse. Great area, plenty of water in pool, ideal for swimming. Very uneven surface and limited campsites with shade. Lovely down on the river’s edge, but VERY steep, bumpy dirt tracks up and down. Would probably make it but would rather not embarrass myself.

It has been blowing a gale all day, every day. It keeps the flies away, but it is really annoying. Did some washing by hand, just shorts – what a pain in the bum! That is why I wanted to stop in a CP in Karratha – to do the washing. School holidays are coming up I believe, so it may pay to charge up the phone and book ahead if I want to stay in a CP, especially getting down into the Gascoyne. I went for a walk around the area and found several nice little spots which would be good for secluded hide-aways for future visits. Reinforces my previous observations about taking one's time looking around the area before setting up. Climbed to the top of a nearby hill and had a great view of the surrounding area. Desolate to some, I guess, but I love this sort of wide-open country.

Bloody Backpackers! French guy and two girls in a Falcon S/Wagon with a tent. Jabbering and yelling (Stoned?) after 11:00 pm. What’s with these French? I have run out of books. This is a serious problem, will have to find a book exchange or I’m gonna go nuts!. Bought a new radio in Karratha, but not a lot on ABC regional radio up this way.

Day 267 – 05 Sep 09

Today I drove from Pt. Hedland to Yule River. Good Campsite, lots of level shady areas. Very popular, lots of vans and M/Homes each night. Lots of 5^th Wheelers for some reason. Not much water in pools, plenty of firewood, but had to go 400 metres to collect.

Spent a little time walking up and down the river, but not a lot to see. Running the motor of the Kia to top up the batteries. Doesn’t seem to make much more noise than the generator did, but the ScanGuage says that it’s using 4-5 l/h which could work out a bit expensive in the long run.

I have observed that there seem to be a fair number of families with young (school-age) children on the road. Questioned one couple who said they were home-schooling. I wonder how prevalent this actually is.

Tonight two or three French guys in a Coaster pulled up next to my camp. They spent about two hours trying to get their generator started. All OK until about 11:00 pm when they decided to play Grand Theft Auto or something similar. Gave it until just past midnight and couldn’t take any more and went and banged on the bus and gave them an opinion.