By this Author: Bobmacc

Day 67. Today we travelled 747 kms.
We left Salmon Gums quite early and arrived at Norseman at about 7.45. We refuelled that drove on to Caiguna for lunch. This stretch of road is the longest straight stretch in Australia.

After morning tea we drove past Cocklebiddy to Madura Pass Lookout wher we mad a brief stop.

We continued on to Mundrabilla where we booked into their caravan park for the night.
tonights sunset was magic.

Day 68. We awoke early this morning and drove through Eucla and Border Village and then had a quick look at "The Great Australia Bight". Some of the lookouts have been closed - maybe a safety issue with the crumbling cliffs.

We stopped at Nullabor Roadhouse and had morning tea here. Diesel was 2.28/lt.

Continuing on we arrived near Nundroo for lunch then carried on to Ceduna passing through the agricultural checkpoint with no hasstles.
We booked into a caravan park then went shopping for some fruit and vegs.

Day 69. Up early again this morning and we departed Ceduna before 7.00 am. First stop was for morning tea at Kyancutta the on to Kimba for fuel and another look at the giant Gallah there. Kimba is supposed to be the halfway town but we can't wok out halfway from or to.

We drove on through Port Augusta thinking that we would go into a caravan park at Crystal Brook, however, it was full so we had to continue through Gulhare (it's caravan park is closed) then Spalding which doesn't have a caravan park the finally Burra Showground where we have camped for the night.

It ended up being another long day - 693 kms.

Day 70. We slept in a bit this morning and didn't get up till 6.50 so it was a later start on the road. We drove to Morgan, eating all our fruit as we knew we would go through another fruit fly check point.
We followed the Murray River to Renmark then crossed the border into Victoria and I took a photo of Hiroe.

We passed through Mildura into New South Wales and had lunch in the Rest Area about 40 kms east of there.
We continued on to Balranald where we had a brief stop and walk around then drove on to Hay where we have camped for the night in a caravan park.
The drive today was through some pretty boring country.

Day 71. Well, this turned out to be our last day on this trip. We awoke early (5.45) and after a quick breakfast we were off to Wagga Wagga which we passed through quite quickly which is a bit amazing. if there was one city in Australia which needs a bypass, then this is it. We continued on to Bookham which is a VERY small village where we had lunch and made the decision to make it home today.

We drove on to Goulburn then across to Nerriga and home.

We have had a wonderful trip made special because son Rodney spent so much of it with us.

Day 63. We left Perth this morning right on 8.00 am and fo;;owed the instructions of our GPS Navigator down the Roe Highway to the Kwinana Freway which took us all the way to just before Bunbury having morning tea on the way and then we turned off through Boyanup, Donnybrook, Balingup, to Bridgtown where we stopped for a walk around town and lunch. Took a photo of the main street and Hiroe with some blossom trees.
We continued on through Yornup, and Wilgarrup to Manjimup where we drove around the town. Continuing on we arrived at the turn off to the Shannon National Park Campground where we had intended staying for the night. It started to sprinkle rain and the road was dirt so we carried on to Wallpole through some very nice forrest areas abd we have booked into a caravan park for the night.

The van park is on the banks of Nornalup Inlet. and there are Kangaroos and Ringnecked parrots feeding.

Day 64. Slept in this morning till about 7.30 and after a slow breakfast we drove down to the town of Denmark. On the way we called in to hace a look at William Bay which has wonderful clear water and rocks in the sea.

After refuelling at Denmark we continued on to Youngs Siding and parked the caravan in cousin Glenda's yard then drove into Albany and had lunch and did some shopping before returning to the van.
There was a lovely sheep watching us through the fence.

Glenda cooked dinner tonight and so we had a rest from that chore. A wonderful sunset tonight which bodes well for tomorrow.

Day 65. This morning we went in Glenda's car to have a look over a local Military Museum run by John and Kathryn Shapland on their farm. It was absolutely amazing the things that they have accumulated over the past 9 years. Thousands of items from all sorts of wars and literally thousands of military books. John is quite a tall man as can be seen from the photo of him and Hiroe.
As well as running the Museum they breed cows.
After a couple of hours here we went into Denmark to have lunch. It was a lovely restaurant and the food was great.
Back into town and on the way we drove through an avenue of trees.

I forgot to mention that there were at least a dozen kangaroos in Glenda's paddock this morning, some of them quite large.

Day 66. We left Youngs Siding at 7.45 this morning and drove for just over 550 km through Jerramungup, Ravensthorpe and numerous small villages to another small village of Salmon Gums where we have booked into a caravan park with power, water and all other facilities for $20 a night which is great. Tomorrow we will start the drive across The Nullabour.

Day 51. This morning we said goodbye to Glenn and Yvonne who will take a few weeks to reach Perth. We wont see them again until we reach home.
Rodney is driving and we travelled down the highway to the locality of Overlander then turned west towards Denham on the Shark Bay Road.

We called into Shell Beach and had a look around. The shells here are up to 10 metres deep and in the lower levels have been compacted at in the early 1900's were mined for building blocks.

Next stop was at Eagles Bluff where we thought we might camp for the night but there was nowhere flat.

We backtracked to Fowlers camp.

Day 52. After leaving Fowlers Camp this morning we called into Shell Beach again so that Rodney could do some early morning drone photography.
Our first stop after this was for morning tea and refuel at Overlander Roadhouse. We have come across fields of wheat which is the first cultivated land we have seen since leaving New South Wales early in out trip.

We continued on south to Northampton where we walked the town and bought sausage rolls for lunch.
Next stop was at Geraldton in the free RV camp at the southern end of town. This is a good spot as we walked into the city and did some shopping. Unfortunately my favourite shop for shoes in Australia (Rivers) has just ceased operation here.
We went out for pizza,s for dinner tonight.
Also unfortunately, the railway staff were shunting for quite a while during the night and added to that there were a lot of lights on all around us all night and consequently we were all up by 6.30 this morning.

Day 53. Leaving Geraldton just after 7.00 we headed for Mullewa which is 95 km east of Geraldton.
We refuelled then walked around town, visited the Info Centre who gave us some information regarding wildflowers so we headed out along the Old Pindar Road to have a look.

We backtracked to Mullewa then drove down the road towards Canna where we have been before so we took Rodney for a short walk through the scrub.

We carried on to Morawa were we intended having lunch however, an icecream and a piece of cake was it.
We cut across to the town of Three Springs and then Carnamah. Not much in either so now we turned east again to Bunjil then south to Latham for the night. The free camp here has water, toilets and hot/cold showers which is great.
The trip today (about 400km) was through wheat, canola and lupin fields all the way. It's quite amazing when you think about NSW and Qld being in severe drought and the land all brown.

Day 54. We left Latham just on 8.00 am and drove down the highway to Wubin. There were a lot of wildflowers beside the road, however, we didn't stop to have a better look. At Wubin we turned east then south to Kalannie where we stopped for morning tea and a bit of a walk around which included a visit to the Info Centre. From here we continued in a southerly direction through Kulja to brother Richard and Mui's home at Koorda. We went through more Canola and wheat fields all the way again today on mostly single lane bitumen roads
.

Day 55. I washed both the car and the caravan today, they were both rather filthy. Took a drone photo of Richard and Mui's home with our van parked out the front.

Not much else to report from today.

Day 56. We departed Koorda this morning and drove down to Perth into a caravan park we had booked at Forrestfield, not too far from the city centre. Rodney started packing up all his STUFF as he will be flying back to Sydney tomorrow evening having spent 8 weeks and one day with us. We went out to dinner at a bar & grill since this will be out last evening together for this trip.

Day 57. We took Rodney to visit my Mum and Dads last resting place in Guildford cemetery. The lovely gum tree is still there shading them and it has some gumnuts on it at them moment. They look lovely.

From here we went into Perth and down to the rivers edge to take a few photos.

Then up to Kings Park for a brief look of the city and some of the wildflowers up there.

We travelled through the city to Northbridge for lunch and I caught Hiroe waiting for whatever she was going to get.

It was a short drive from here to Morley shopping centre again for a brief walk around then back to the van so Rodney could finalise his packing. There will be a lot left in the van for us to take home.
At 9.30 pm we drive Rodney to the airport and said a sad goodbye; we wont see him again until late October.

Day 58. A very busy day today. After breakfast we went to Midland to a hardware shop (yes Bunnings), to purchase quite a few things including a plate so that I can fit it to the Anderson plugs on the van and car with a pin through to stop them separating as we drive along. A new grey water hose for the van as the items I have already never seem to be long enough to reach the drain. etc.
We also called into a clothing shop to buy some winter pyjamas for Hiroe and have morning tea which ended up being lunch. We visited some Op Shops and bought some more books and glass bowl. We stopped to take a photo of Hiroe with a dinosaur on the side of the road.

Back to the van to carry our all the tasks we purchased bits for then had a late afternoon tea.

Day 59. Last night it started to rain and it was still coming down this morning so we went for a drive up into the hills outside Perth and had a look at the little falls at Lesmurdie. We have been here before a few years ago. Even on the short walk to the lookout there were a lot of wildflowers beside the track.

We drove to Kalamunda and had morning tea there then on to a wildflower nursery where we purchased some seed before returning to the van at 1.30 in the afternoon.
This evening we visited my cousin Toms son Graham with his wife Michelle and their children, Thomas and Liam. We had dinner there and a pleasant evening together.

Day 60. Hiroe did 3 huge loads of washing this morning then brother Graham rang and visited us. It was great to see him even though he is not particularly well. He went home just after 12 noon and we did some shopping. Not too much else happened except that Glenn and Yvonne arrived from Geraldton and have booked into the caravan park just near us.

Day 62. This morning after a bit of husbandry around the caravan prior to leaving Perth tomorrow morning we drove to Belmont hoping to get a couple of gas struts for the front boot of the van. No such luck. Hiroe wanted to visit Fremantle so off we went. There were a few ships at the wharves.

We had a good look in the E Shed markets and had lunch there as well.

Hiroe then decided that we should visit Bassendean and the house where I spent most of my youth. It is quite run down.
We then went to Success Hill to have a look at where I spent a lot of time swimming in the Swan River when I was young.

So that's it for this time More to come later.

Day 43. We departed Tom Price just after 8.00 am and drove through Parabadoo then through some more interesting hills. (I know, you are sick of all this red dirt and spinifex clothed hills).

We also drove past Mt DeCourcey which is only 485 metres high but quite impressive just the same.

We finally reached Nanutara where we refuelled and said a temporary goodbye to Glenn and Yvonne who are going north to Dampier and Karratha while we will go south to Carnarvon and one of the places on our bucket list; (Kennedy Ranges National Park). We were going to visit Mt Augustus (2.5 times the size of Ayres Rock), however there is a huge function happening there and we couldn't get accommodation so will will have to give it a miss. Hiroe and I went there in 1996 but Rodney never. Glenn and Yvonne will rejoin us in about a weeks time at Carnarvon.
We arrived at Barradale Rest Area (70 kms south of Nanutara) after a 400 km run today.
We found that one of the tyres on the car had quite a chunk taken out of it; (result of the rough dirt roads in Karijini), so we have booked the car in for a couple of tyres to be changed at Carnarvon tomorrow.

Day 44. We were up early this morning (6.10 am) and on the road by 7.00. We had a good run to Carnarvon (298 kms) and arrived there before 11.00.
Some very interesting red sand dunes on the way so I took a couple of photos (Rodney was driving).

Had 2 new tyres fitted to the car so I feel a lot happier. While that was happening, Rodney and Hiroe had a bit of a walk around town.

Day 45. This morning we all slept in till after 7.30 and after breakfast we went for a walk to the nearby IGA supermarket but didn't purchase anything. Rodney checked out the bakery which we will visit on the way out of town tomorrow morning.
We went for a drive into town and Hiroe had a good look at the only Op Shop in Carnarvon and I bought a couple of books there,
We looked everywhere for some warm pyjamas for Hiroe - hers seem to have gone missing - maybe still hanging on the washng line at Tom Price. (it's getting quite cool in the evenings).
We drove out to the old jetty which is over 1 mile long, but it is closed. it's in a bad state of repair and has been for a long time.
We continued back into town and I took a photo of the waterfront and yes, that's real grass.

Day 46. We departed Carnarvon after visiting a bakery then drove 180 kms to the small town of Gascoyne Junction where we had morning tea and a brief look around the place. There is a new War Memorial which was dedicated earlier this year.

We checked the road condition signs for our travel out to The Kennedy Ranges.

The road to Temple Gorge Campground in the Kennedy Ranges National Park is 60 km of dirt. We met a grader on the road.


As we got nearer to the campground we had to cross the dry (now) river bed of the Lyons River. The trees here look very good.

We booked into the campground which, although red dirt and a bit dusty, is quite clean and tidy.

Late in the afternoon we undertook the Temple Gorge Trail which is a Class 3 and 4, 2 km return trip (Just to practice for tomorrow).
The trail leads past a prominent rock face referred to as The Temple. The right hand fork is rated at Class 4 and is longer, tougher, boulder strewn walk up to a small seasonal pool.

Day 47. This morning Rodney and I were up at 5.00 am to travel a short distance to "Sunrise View". The early morning shots were great.

After lunch we did the "Escarpment Trail" which is all Class 4, 3.4 km return. The trail leads to a narrow gorge that ascends to the top of the range with spectacular views. This trail is very steep with loose rocks and traverses near exposed cliff edges.

Later in the afternoon we went to have a walk in "Honeycomb Gorge" This was a much easier walk, all Class 3 and only 600 metres. It ends in an amphitheatre containing a seasonal water fall (no water today), and marvelous honeycomb cavities that have been eroded in the cliff face.

Day 48. Today we drove back to Gascoyne Junction, on the way we had a look at an old cobbled road built in the 1920-30's to service introduced mechanical trucks etc which were replacing camel and horse drawn carts.

Also took a photo of the Kennedy Ranges in the distance.

then on back to Carnarvon where we booked back into the same caravan park which we vacated only 3 days ago. Glenn and Yvonne booked into the same park just 15 minutes ahead of us - they had travelled down from Karratha.
Busy day washing bugs and grasshoppers off the front of the car and caravan etc.

Day 49. This morning we slept in till 7.45 then after breakfast went for a drive out the dirt track to Miaboolya Beach which is about 16 km north of Carnarvon. The beach is very wide.

On the way we had to stop while an emu crossed and recrossed the road in front of us. They make a lot of damage if the car should hit one.

Rodney did some drone flying so Hiroe and I had a bit of a walk amongst the wildflowers.

Day 50. Went out early this morning to check out a window replacement shop and found one that will replace the damaged side window on the caravan at 3.00 this afternoon. Have to pack up the van and take it there.
We did the local food loop trip and bought some vegetables and fruit. At one of the stops Hiroe saw some chocolate coated mango on a stick and JUST HAD to have some.

Later on in the afternoon we had the window glass removed. They did a good job, even replaced the rubbers.

Day 34. This morning we drove from Sandfire Roadhouse through Pardoo to Port Hedland. We stopped for morning tea at Pardoo and on arrival at Port Hedland we camped in the free camp at the local racetrack. We walked to the shopping centre and did a heap of grocery shopping since we will be out in the sticks for the next 7-8 days.
On the way into Port Hedland there were some interesting rocks.

Day 35. We just stopped overnight at Port Hedland then headed south meeting Glenn and Yvonne at the junction of the Geat Northern Highway and the West Coast Highway some 25 kms down the track. We continued on through Auski Roadhouse to Albert Tognalini Rest Area where we will stay for the night. We have been here before but never actually stopped for the night.

There area a lot of long road trains on this route as there are a lot of mines out here.

We saw some Sturt Dessert Peas on the side of the road.

Day 36. This morning we drove on until we reached Dales Campground which is in the eastern end of Karijini National Park. We will spend 2 nights here. We walked down the new steps to Fortesque Falls and Fern Pool.

Day 37. Much the same as yesterday looking at the gorges around Dales.

Day 38. We moved today to Karijini Eco Retreat where we will stay for 3 nights.

Day 39. Hiroe and I went for a drive this morning to look at Joffre Falls and Gorge as well as Knox Lookout.

After Knox we drove the rather rough road to Kalimina Gorge which was quite good. We even walked down into the gorge and along the bottom for quite a way.

Day 40. Rodney went out before sunrise this morning to do some photography so we had a rest day. This evening we all went out to dinner at the Resort.

Day 41. We drove 90 kms this morning into the town of Tom Price to a caravan park. Hiroe did 4 loads of washing then we did some shopping.
In case you thing that there is no greenery in The Northern Territory or Western Australia, here is a photo of our caravan site at Tom Price.