The end is near

We’re both starting to feel a bit melancholy about the end of our adventure.  We only have a few days left before the loooong trip home.  The weather up til now has been wonderful but boy are we paying for it.  We’re being battered by a storm that’s come from the west and who knows when it’ll let up.  The news that we did catch showed roofs being torn off houses in Perth and we’re still 600 km east of there. Gail swears she saw white caps on the puddles along the road today. 

There's gold in there

We’ve spent the last 3 nights in Kalgoorlie in hopes of seeing the worlds largest “Open Pit Gold Mine”.  Due to the storms and rain the viewing platform into the pit has been closed.  We finally got to see it today on our way out of town and it is even more impressive than the big Iron Ore pit up in Newman!  The information says that they extract 800,000 oz of gold per year.  (We calculated it out to 25 Tons)  At the price of gold I guess they’re making enough money to keep drilling, blasting and moving rock with the Mega Machines they use.  

Kalgoorlie is quite an interesting place.  It is just what I would expect a turn of the century (20th century that is) boom town to look like.  Hollywood has the look down pat!  There are ornate hotels and buildings in the main downtown area and they have been kept up or refurbished to the original look.  We mostly just had an easy few days there except when we were being buffeted around by the winds.  Oh, well I shouldn’t complain cuz it’s all been good til now.

It’s Thursday and we’ve given ourselves 2 nights and 2 full days of driving to get back to Perth.  (We still have 3 bottles of wine to finish)  Once in Perth on Saturday we’ll spend the weekend with Bob and Heather, who we met and became friends with on the cruise.    They are a wonderful couple, our trivia partners, and have been MORE than good to us.  We’ll get the little motorhome cleaned up and ready to turn in on Monday.  As an aside, I would NOT recommend “Around Australia Motorhomes” to anyone.   More on that in a later blog.

This will stop wabbits!

The great eastern highway, the road to Perth, had all sort of interesting tidbits. We followed the great water pipeline. Back when gold was discovered, someone thought up building a pipeline from Perth to Kalgoorlie, 634 km, to supply water. They built it and it pretty much follows the highway, Pump stations are signposted, history plaques along the away and in Kalgoorlie. I think it still supplies water today. Then there is the rabbit proof fence, (on one map it’s called the vermin fence).  At the turn of the 20th century, this fence was built from the south coast of WA, to 1139 kilometers to the northwest of WA  at Port Hedland, to keep the rabbits from destroying the farmland. Some guy in Victoria brought 24 wabbits over for his own yard and so he and friends could hunt them, and guess what???   They acted like rabbits and also escaped, eating themselves westward. (Can’t ya just see Elmer Fudd with an Australian accent?)  The fence was completed in 1907 and there are actually 3 sections. Just when they thought the rabbits were under control, droughts forced the emus to seek nice agricultural areas. At one point there were more than 100,000 lined up along the fence. The grass is always greener on the other side. With the exception of the wheat belt, there really isn’t much for anything to eat out there!

We’re spending a couple of nights ins the town of Merridan which bills itself as the Central Wheatbelt.  It’s actually the boundary between the wheatbelt and the goldfields.  We’ll have a look around town today and maybe take a little hike through the bush.  Hopefully we’ll find wifi in town so we can publish this, which will probably be our final blog from Australia.  Our 2 1/2 months here have been a lot of fun and a great adventure!  We’ve been fortunate to meet many interesting and friendly people, and it’s always the people who make a trip truly memorable.  So at this point we wish you all a g’day and thanks for following our ramblings here about.

Well, Here we are just moving right along the south coast of WA.  We’re in the town of Hopetoun between Albany and Esperance.  This is a little tourist/vacation spot with nice beaches and a nearby National Park.  

Prior to this we were in Albany on the coast for a few days in Denmark.  We really liked it there.  We were in a campground that was right on the beach and we were luck enough to be able to back into a space and have a little view of the water.  Previously we spoke of the wineries and breweries but we finished up the Denmark area with a stop at a “Meadery.”  There were 4 different types of Mead to taste and quite frankly all were pretty nasty.  Mediciney and sweet.  yuck...  We won’t do that again!  On the bright side though we got that taste out of our mouth with a stop at a little Toffee Factory.  SWEET!!  There were lots of samples to try, and we did.  Actually ended up buying several flavors and even some “chili peanut brittle.”  We were expecting maybe some cayenne or chili powder but oh no, there were actual bits of chili peppers in the candy.  You couldn’t really taste it but the heat lingered in your throat after you swallowed.  

We then left Denmark and headed north to Hyden and the home of the Wave Rock.  Yup, It’s a huge rock that has been eroded on the side into the shape of a wave, kind of like this (.   It’s 45’ high and over 300’ long.  It was quite cool and well worth the drive up to it.  We also toured a cave with old Aboriginal art on the walls.  Very cool too.  The only campground for the area was quite a surprise as it was well kept and very well appointed.  A little place in the middle of nowhere and it had free wifi.  I know that we take wifi for granted in most of our campgrounds back home but over here they are still few and far between. So, It was a nice surprise.  

Latest in fly wear

One thing we really hadn’t expected is the fly problem they have here.  We even broke down and bought a couple of nets to go over our heads to keep the little pests off our faces and out of our ears.  They have some bigger ones that are similar to our horse flies or deer flies that bite but mostly it’s just the little house flies that are just thick and annoying. It doesn’t matter if it;s warm or cool, if you’re outside, the flies are with you. Makes enjoying a walk or hike a little difficult.

Moving east along the coast, we stopped in Esperance. This small town, aren’t they all, is a holiday mecca during the summer. It’s also the gateway to one of the more popular national parks. All along the coast, it’s dotted with national parks. Quite a few of them only have dirt roads, or unsealed, and are for 4wd, some 2wd cars. The coastline in Esperance is quite stunning. We have had 2 days of stormy weather but took a drive along the coast and if the weather clears up, there are some nice beaches to walk to and tide pools to explore. Besides walking the piers and ports areas, we went to a fish leather factory. Pretty fascinating, making leather out of fish skin. It starts out as fish skin and through the process of tanning comes out just like leather. Then they make belts and wallets and some unusual stuff.

Soon, we start heading north up to the gold country, Kalgoorlie open pit gold mine, then turn towards Perth. Our time is almost over here and in a week or so we head back home.

Wineries and breweries

Margaret River

Our long days of driving are now over and we’re really starting to enjoy Western Australia.  We’re South of Perth in the Margaret River Wine Region.  We gave ourselves a treat yesterday and took a guided tour through the area, to wineries and tasting, cheese, chocolate, venison, a distillery, and topped off with a brewery. Plus a very nice lunch included at one of the wineries. And we didn’t have to drive, at all. It was a great time. Of course we made a few purchases, for down the road, to sit and enjoy when the day is done.  We’ve also discovered that we both like a little liqueur after dinner (strictly to aid in the digestive process).  I wish we could bring some home but they don’t sell anything in 4oz containers. The distillery we visited, The Grove, served us varying kinds of port with spirits and liqueurs. They make a macadamia nut, turkish delight which is milk chocolate and rose water, fruit flavored ones and they blend them too. For some reason, they can’t serve shooters so they make up their own. We were served, in one glass, a little macadamia nut, white chocolate and coconut liqueurs, topped with a splash of half and half. No sipping, down all at once. Umm, umm good

Next day, we did our own touring. We checked out the rocks at Yallingup (yes, it’s the town name), very impressive waves crashing on the rocks, toured some galleries, pottery, silver, saw lots of rolling hills with farm land and of course grapes. Tried to do a little shopping in some of the towns, but Yallingup only had a general store and Cowaramup had about 5 stores, but not stuff we wanted. We found an ice creamery, yum, and did a little shopping in Margaret River. Got some souvenirs. Did find a brewery and had a bite. We had planned dinner, pizza, at another brewery but it appears most wineries and breweries here really only do lunch and are closed at 5 or 6 pm.

 This is how a holiday is supposed to be!! Relaxing and laid back. There are a couple of beaches to check out with sea life and good surfing. We’ll take some of our wine, fresh venison salami, cheese and a baguette and sit on the beach for awhile. The weather has been beautiful.

In the campground

 Next stop  Denmark, WA.  We finished our tour of the Margaret River area and western coastline and moved here on the southern coast.   We’re in another wine region but not nearly as many wineries as Margaret River.  We toured, tasted and bought today.  We probably won’t have to buy any more beer while we’re here as we probably can now switch to wine and make it through the rest of the trip.  Too bad we can’t bring any home with us.  :(    The countryside is quite a bit like other parts of the USA.  Lots of rolling hills, pastures and trees. Some wineries had great cheeses to buy, yes we did, and chocolates to go well with wine too as a few had their own made ones.

We can tell we’re getting farther away from the equator as the temps are becoming quite cool and comfortable.  There does seem to be more humidity though.  In our park we have a space that backs right up to the Southern Ocean and there’s a flock of seagulls that are being totally obnoxious.  Now they’ve even gotten the magpies and gullahs involved.  Like a bunch of kids fighting and squawking.   

Out, Outback, headed south

Well, this writing finds us in the town of Meekatharra, somewhere in the Pilbara. (Translated =  In the middle of nowhere in the outback)  It’s Friday evening and we just pulled into the only RV park (if you want to call it that) in town.  We walked a couple of blocks into the downtown area and didn’t see a pub to get a cold beer, so we went to grocery/package store and discovered that the police chief has banned the sales of alcohol for the weekend because of “anti-social behavior”.  That’s no way to enhance the tourist industry.  Oh well it is what it is, Right?

We’ve had some excitement since we left Broome a few days ago.  We were intending to stay at a Roadhouse but due to the proximity of a bush fire and lots of smoke, we had to alter our plans and continue down the road.  The fire itself was quite something to see.  We were basically in it for about 50 kilometers.  The grass, small bushes, and other vegetation is so dry that the fire just runs through it.  We had several places where the fire was right up to the road and you could feel the heat through the window.  I’m not sure anyone was trying to suppress or fight the fire.  Then for the length of time we were driving through it, it appeared as though the wind would pick up embers and blow them to a whole new area that would start blazing.

We actually ended up driving all the way back to Port Hedland and spent one night there.  I spoke of Port Hedland in one of the cruise blogs.  It is strictly a “boom Town” as it is the major port for shipping out what is mined in this area.  Salt, Iron Ore, Copper, Natural Gas, and who knows what else.  I think China is trying to import the whole country of Australia, one boat load at a time. (lol)   Because it is a boom town prices are through the roof!  $44 for a dusty little camp site. 

Between Port Hedland and Newman, we stopped at a national park, Karijini and hiked to a waterfall pool. Very refreshing and beautiful.

Then we headed for Newman where they mine for the iron ore.  Newman is another boom town but it’s been around longer and is a little bit more reasonable.  We found a campground that actually had a TV in the “Camp Kitchen” ( yes a camp kitchen is just what it sounds like)  But we got to see a little of the news and caught up on the election.  We treated ourselves to a tour of the worlds largest “open cut  mine.”  That was quite fascinating and we got to see those huge Mega-Machine Dump Trucks in action.  Very Cool!!  The mine itself is 8km long by 3km wide and 630 meters deep.  They haul 12 - 14 train loads of ore out daily and each train hauls 42,000 tons.  They do move some rocks.

It’s now Sunday here and we’re officially out of the outback, YEA!.  We made it from Meekathara to Northam (just east of Perth) in a day and then today we went from Northam to Bunbury south of Perth and along the west coast.  We’ll be in this little town for a couple of days then will move south toward the Margaret River area.  Margaret River is a wine region with a few microbreweries scattered in.  Hope to do some, or a lot of touring and tasting. But finally, something to see besides scrub, red dirt or burnt area. We drove with more cars today than all of the 2 weeks in the north. And the temperature  is just wonderful. Didn’t need any aircon driving. The day after we left Broome, the temp was 102 with plenty of humidity. This morning 68 with highs in the mid 70s. Love it.

Driving, Driving, finally Broome

After leaving Coral bay, it’s been pretty much drive, drive, get gas, spend the night, drive. It’s a long way to Broome, about another 1000 kilometer past Coral Bay and pretty much nothing out there. The few towns we go through are mining towns and BIG operations. There are some very large iron ore mines farther inland but all the ore is trucked to the ports of Port Hedland and Karratha and loaded onto tankers and sent to China. Salt is also mined out here and now there are natural gas plants. It’s very industrial, dusty with red dirt and haze everywhere. Between towns there are roadhouses, just fuel stops, mini mart and usually a campground. There are about 200-300k apart but it’s best to top off at each one. And we will probably spend the night at one before we’re done as there are no towns for camping.

Friday, we moved away from the coast and started feeling the heat of the desert. We’re moving north toward the very hot area and cyclone season just started. The wind pick ed up and I would guess the temp was in the high 90s. We found a small camp in a coastal port of Dampier/Karratha and it was a little cooler. Massive road construction projects are going on everywhere so the highway is very congested at the ports too.

Today, Sat., more endless driving across endless plains of nothing. The road trains were quite frequent through all the mining towns but once clear of the last port area, we almost have the road to ourselves. Bordering on stinking hot today, dry and windy. Our choice for camping is a roadhouse, in the blast furnace desert or try a place called 80 mile beach park on the water. We opted for the water, were a bit hesitant at the 9k of dirt washboard road, but arrived to a pretty neat campground with over 130 spaces. Just over the sand dune is the Indian Ocean, 80 miles of beach, nesting turtles and nice and quiet.

From 80 mile beach, the last 350 miles to Broome. Only 1 roadhouse for gas, no towns, plenty of nothing. Most of the ground along the highway has been burned, just black dirt and trees. Finally, we made it into Broome, and it’s STINKING HOT, HOT, HOT here and the heat is just getting started. This is the land of the “wet” and there will be monsoonal rain towards December. It’s tropical and the ocean is an incredible turquoise and pretty warm. The town is small but has the necessities. Its was a pearling town but now is not more than just a small resort,beach town on the coast. It’s also the gateway to the Kimberly, a vast desert region of the north with great scenic national parks that come alive with the rains. But we’re not going there.

After we leave Broome, it will be just another 4 days of driving to get back down to Perth, not the same route we came up though, more inland through more outback. We will try a stop in Karijini park to see some of the falls and pools and do some roadhouse camping. Can’t wait. But, with power there is air conditioning!

2 sickies in a motorhome

Well, we’re off the ship and now onto our next adventure.  We picked up our little motorhome on Sunday Oct 28 right after we got off the ship, spent the rest of the day getting it stocked and ready to head north.  Bob and Heather, our ace trivia partners from the ship, live in Perth and let us wash clothes and sleep at their house before we left Monday Morning.  We can’t get over how blessed we are to become friends with such wonderful people all over the world.

Monday got off to a rather auspicious start as Gail got sick just before we left Bob and Heathers.  So after successfully navigating us through downtown Perth she crawled up into the bunk and slept for the rest of the day.  Actually neither of us is 100% as we’re both fighting colds and probably the norovirus from the ship.  We’ll get over it though then look out Australia!!.  

Our first day out we made it about 400Km to the little town of Northampton.  Nothing real eventful for the day except that I saw a lot of huge dunes of white sand.  

The next day Gail was feeling better so we both spent the day in the cab on our way to Monkey Mia and Shark Bay.  We passed through a large area of grain farming and it looks as though they’re going to be harvesting a LOT of wheat very soon.  Part of our trip took us through a World Heritage Area where we stopped at the Hamelin Pools and learned a lot about Stromatolites.  We wouldn’t be here if not for those little lumpy Stromatolites.  Photosynthesis, enough said.  We also stopped by Shell Beach which, as you may have guessed, is a beach made up of zillions of little shells.  The guidebook says up to 8 feet thick in places.

Shell beach

We made it to Denham, which is the nearest town to Monkey Mia, and strictly a tourist trap.  3 RV parks in town all charging $36.00/ night for an electrical sight.  We will probably ask for a tour of the park from here on out as we seemed to have picked the “Fish Camp” park.  Lots of old, possibly back to 1920, caravans (travel trailers for our American friends) permanently parked and added on to.  We literally only have electricity and there are signs all around the park advising us that we are not allowed to fill our water tank.  What a CROCK.  We did make it to Monkey Mia Wednesday afternoon only to find that just to get into the place there is a fee.  We thought there would be a fee to go into the water when they feed the wild dolphins, or to do some of the other activities like rent kayaks or swim.  Nope, gotta pay a fee to get in to pay more fees to do those things.  We decided to just turn around as we felt we’d been scalped enough here.  Oh well, live and learn.  On the bright side we did see some emus on the way back to Denham.  That was OK.

Ok, its now thursday and we’re in Coral Bay on a little peninsula at the start of the Ningaloo reef.  The main reason we’re here is that we wanted to go diving on the reef.  Although this is not the time of year to dive with the Whale Sharks we thought we could maybe see some big Manta Rays.  Alas, because of our colds and stuffy heads we’re not going to get to dive.  Hopefully we’ll recover sufficiently to take a dive down south.  

On our drive today we saw lots of emus.  The morning started with a mama and 7 babies crossing the road in front of us.  That was pretty cool.  We also have seen lots of feral goats on the drive.  Still the only roos we’ve seen have been on the side of the road after trying to cross in front of the wrong car.  Fuel is getting more and more expensive.  We paid $1.88 per liter the last roadhouse we stopped at.  Our little motorhome gets 7 Kilometers/litre (17 mpg)  Ok, could be worse.  We’re also starting to see more and longer “Road Trains”.  Semi tractors pulling up to 3 long trailers (120’ in length.)  As we get closer to the big mining areas we’ll see even longer ones pulling 5 or more trailers. Most of the road is through scrub brush, some short, bushy trees and pretty flat. It’s desert here, bordering on outback. The farther north we go the less vegetation we will see. And it’s getting warmer but now unbearable.

Even though we’re not going to be able to dive the Ningaloo, Coral Bay is a pretty little area.