Monday 31 October 2011

31st Oct


Went to the underground hospital this morning, this was made during the war for somewhere to evacuate the patients, it was never needed & was only used by night nurses seeking cool & darkness to sleep. It was very interesting as it is still set up like it was originally. After this we went on an underground mine tour for 3 hrs, it was very interesting. leaving Mount Isa we drove into Mary Kathleen, you can still see the streets & concrete pads where the shopping area was but that is all.We have driven past lots of fires that have been started by lightening, we camped at Fountain Springs RA.

Sunday 30 October 2011

30th Oct

Sunrise over theCamooweal Billabong was beautiful, & we really didn't want to move. Anyway we headed of to Mt Isa, arriving about 12md, we visited the lookout, & booked our tour of the mine for tomorrow, after which we booked into a caravan park, then drove out to Lake Moondarra, which was really pretty, & down to Warrina Park where there were Peacocks showing off their tails. The evening has cooled a bit but still not wanting to go inside the van.

Saturday 29 October 2011

29thOct

Still very hot this morning, so drove off fairly early, lots of burnt areas along road. After lunch at Avon Downs we drove into a storm & saw a grass fire start from lightening strike. Crossing the border into Qld we arrived at Camooweal & headed out to our campsite on the Billabong, what a lovely spot, heaps of birdlife, & blessedly cooler after the storm.

28th Oct
After washing & late lunch, we left Tennant Creek & headed out to Lake Mary Anne, thinking we would have a swim but when we got there we decided it was not nice enough, so opted for a shower instead. We drove to The Pebbles, but did not get out & walk as so hot. We headed for the Threeways & turned East, to our campsite, Frewena RA, the insects were terrible, swarming into the vans as we tried to cook tea.

Thursday 27 October 2011

28th Oct


We saw the sunrise at the marbles then headed to Tennant Creek, seeing lots of anthills on the way, it is very hot here today, had a look at the Gold Battery, which does not work any more & the mine tour was not on today, so we headed up to the lookout & then into town where we had a drive around so Jeanie could see if she remembered anything from when she lived here.
27th Oct


Today we went on towards the Devils Marbles, passing Ryans Well, quite an acheivment as it was dug & built by hand. Passing Aileron where there are huge carved statues of aboriginal people, we then stopped at Barrow Creek to see the old Telegraph Station, & of course Wycliff Well the UFO Centre ha ha. We arrived at the Devils Marbles, it was very hot, so we only drove around them then set up camp until it cooled a bit & we woandered up to see the sun set on the rocks.
26th Oct


The next day we headed into Alice, stopping on the way to see Simpsons Gap, while there we heard this lady sing & the echo was wonderful.  We had a wander around Alice, not terribly impressed & looking forward to leaving. After doing a few necesary things & a trip up to the lookout we left, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn & staying the night there.
25th Oct
We headed towards NT crossing the border during the morning, stopping to have a look at the 1st & last pub in NT, then getting to Alice Springs, we decided to head out to the West MacDonald Ranges & stay the night at Ellery Creek, we dabbled our feet in the water but decided the water was too cold for a swim.

24th Oct

Next day we visited Faye's house, she & 2 other ladies dug it out by hand, then we visited Old Timers Mine, which was very interesting but a lot of ducking under low ceilings & scrambling along rough floors. We left Cooper Pedy, and went to The Breakaways which were really a wonderful sight, such gorgeous colours.

Sunday 23 October 2011

23rd Oct

Arriving in Cooper Pedy at about 12md, we booked into a caravan park then went for an explore of the towm. The churches were great & the lookout gave a great view of the town & surrounding areas, very interesting place.


22cd Oct

Leaving Iron Knob we said our goodbyes & Jeanie & I headed for the Stuart Highway. We really enjoyed the drive with lots of interesting countryside such as Salt lakes, red sandhills & breakaways. We stopped at Woomera for a looksee, very interesting place, after that we headed for our free camp at Mulga well.

Friday 21 October 2011

21st Oct
Travelling on towards Iron Knob where it will be our last night together before we have to go our separate ways, so sad. It has rained very heavy today, & the view into Iron Knob was very different from when we came over.
20th

Travelling from Kidnippy Rest area I went out to a little Oyster fishing village called Denial Bay before coming to Ceduna where we bought some oysters, we then headed for our campsite at Old Perlubie School Site to have a feast.

Wednesday 19 October 2011

19th Oct

During the night we had a cool change & the wind dropped, so travelling was much more comfortable, but the views of the Bight were not as good as when we came over. Tonight camped at Kidnippy Rest area.

Tuesday 18 October 2011

17th Today was very hot & windy, gusting badly across the road making driving very tiring, so we headed for Eucla CP for power & washing, & cooking up food before the border.

On the 16th we headed of, going to see the super pit from the lookout, then going to the Boulder Markets & on to Ten Mile Rocks for the night. the sunset was wonderful behind us as we travelled East.
I was a miner in case you don't know, the theme being The Gold Rush.
We spent 6 days at the rally, enjoyed catching up with friends, & some of the entertainment. The ball was fun except that I had a bad attack of Fibromyalgia & had to go home at 9.30 pm.

Monday 10 October 2011

11th Oct
Leaving Boondi Rock, we headed for Coolgardie & then on to the rally Kalgoorlie. Coolgardie has a lot of history & old buildings.
10th Oct
From Burracopin we travelled to Boondi Rock for the night, it was a pretty place with a dam where we had a nice happy hour

Saturday 8 October 2011

8th Oct
Today we just drove to our campsite at Burracopin Centenary Park, after travelling throughKondinin, Narembeen, & Merriden.  We are on the home stretch for Kalgoorlie Rally which starts on Monday.

Friday 7 October 2011

7th Oct

We walked down to see the breakaways then headed for Hyden, Some clever tin & scap metal sculptures here as well, the we went to Wave Rock, Hippos Yawn & Mulkas Cave at The Humps. Spent the night at a caravan park at Kalgarin where they have a really nicely done museum, & for $2 he gives a good talk & demo.
6th Oct

Today we drove out to see the rock the town of Bruce Rock was named after, not as spectacular as Kokerbin. We then drove to Corrigin where they won "The Dog in the Ute" record. After lunch we drove to Kulin passing Gorge Rock on the way, there is a rock pool there. Going into & out of Kulin the road is called The Tin Horse Road as it is lined with these scuptures of horses made of tin in all sorts of poses. There were the bush races on so where we were going to stay was full so we drove on to Buckleys Breakaway, which was really nice.

Wednesday 5 October 2011

5th Oct

Today we climbed Kokerbin Rock, what a beautiful view, well worth the drive. leaving there after morning tea we travelled the great distance of 50klm to Bruce Rock & decided to stay the night in the recreation grounds.
4th Oct

This morning we headed of for Kokerbin Rock going through Trayning & down a back road to Kellerberrin, & Kokerbin Rock, on the way we saw Everlasting flowers like a carpet. The weather improved & we had a lovely night at the rock.
2cd Oct 
After leaving Nambung NP we had a lot of trouble finding a campsite as most of them had been changed to day use only, so we eventually drove up a dirt road and found a grassy spot.  


3rd Oct
This morning when we woke & saw where we were, we were surrounded by wildflowers. We then drove on to noble Falls & then to meet Denise just before Northam. After shopping & lunch we headed through Goomelling, Dowerin, & Wyalkatchem & stopped the night at Minivale rest area. This town is vertually deserted now but used to be a thriving town, where we stopped there were 4 tennis courts which used to have lights. It is a cold bleak day again.

Sunday 2 October 2011


Today we travelled from Lake Indoon along the Indian Ocean Drive, into Nambung NP, and on to Yanchep. We stopped off at the little towns such as Green Head , & Jurian bay & Lancelin, also we went in to see some stromatalites in a lake, I was surprised as I only thought they were further north at Hamlin Bay. We had great difficulty finding a camp spot, & eventually found a spot on a dirt track just as it was getting dark. I did not go into the pinnacles as I had been twice before, so I parked outside & enjoyed the wildflowers.





Yeasterday we travelled from Coorow up to Carnamah & across to Lake Indoon, the wild flowers were amazing, & it was a very easy day, stopping early & relaxing by the lake .