At the end of the last post we were in Snowtown in South Australia. This post covers the trip from South Australia over the Nullabor to Albany in WA
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We left the campsite at Snowtown on Thursday morning – 21st March and as we needed some supplies went into the town. Not sure what it was like before the murders but the infamy doesn’t seem to have done much for it. Went to the local supermarket and got into a conversation with the really nice checkout lady. She wanted to travel and visit Bulgaria where her family was originally from. However her parents had been recently for a visit and decided that it was much too violent so returned to Snowtown. I sort of found this ironic.
While in Snowtown we couldn’t resist having a look at the bank where the bodies were found, normally neither of us is ghoulish but we just had to go and have a look. Thanks to Google it’s easy to find, right on the Main Street not far from the supermarket. We’ve attached the picture, obviously the locals are sick of people looking so if you look very carefully there’s a head with a pair of binocular staring back over the fence. I’m really surprised that the building has been pulled down. It’s not exactly of any architectural importance.
From Snowtown we headed north again for the Flinders Ranges, not much to see on the way. We stopped for a coffee in Melrose, the oldest town in the Flinders Ranges and at the base of Mount Remarkable. It happens to be another mountain bike centre. On the trip so far we have come across three mountain bike towns and all have been rather smart and much more go ahead than the normal country town.
Talking of bikes, Willy’s battery still has not been sent back to Adelaide so we still have to go back to Adelaide to collect it. That evening we end up at Warrens Gorge just on the perimeter of the Flinders Ranges.. Everywhere is incredibly dry really dusty and scrubby. We are the only people around so have our pick of sites – lots of kangaroos, a couple of really big grey ones, feral goats and a small herd of sheep wandering around.
On the Friday I do the Warren Gorge walk which is 5kms in a loop. Not particularly spectacular but easy walking mainly along dry creek beds.
William gets the hammocks out so we have a lazy couple of days under the stars in the hammocks.
On Saturday head further into the mountains. We start to panic a bit when we go through what looks like the last serious town before we hit the “outback” and there’s no fuel station. – We estimate that we have about 100Km worth of diesel on board.. We had booked a campsite in the national park so the choice was to go to the campsite hoping that when we leave we can find fuel, or go past the campsite to the next “town” and try and get fuel.
The only difference between the two option was that with the former I spend the next 2 days worrying about the fuel situation.
The next “town”, Parachilna is 20Km further on – there’s no 3G signal so we can’t look it up. Arrive in Parachilna, population of between 4 and 7, and home to the legendary Prairie Hotel. The Hotel is famous for it’s FMG (Feral Mixed Grill) This is supposed to be one of the top 100 gourmet experiences of Australia. I am assured it’s not roadkill!
To get fuel we get directed to a village 17kms off the main road. It’s on an unsealed road but we make it, and gorge ourself on slightly more expensive than normal diesel vowing never run low again.
As luck has it our fuel detour takes us quite close to our camping site, and we arrive about 5 in the evening. There’s one other van there so again nice and quiet right by the side of a dry river bed..
The campsite is about 30kms from the Wilpena Pound, a very strange geological structure. We spend most of Sunday climbing to the top of Olhseen Bagge peak which is about a 8 km round trip and gives a great view of the area. While up there relaxing I saw a beautiful wedge tailed eagle, unfortunately I was too slow with the phone to capture it.
On Monday 26th we head back to Adelaide, the battery was expected mid-week. We stop one night at Peterborough, a small railway town of no particular interest unless you’re are a steam buff. They have some old engines and carriages but that’s about it. The weather was starting to get really cold and had the van heating on for the first time.
Arrived back in Adelaide Tuesday 27th March (Easter Week) mid-afternoon. The countryside on the way down is very flat and dry dry until you reach the outskirts of Adelaide.
The bike battery has left Sydney but not yet arrived in Adelaide. Being a battery it has to come by road so who knows. We settle into the campsite, catch up with friends of Willy for dinner and spend the next 2 days mooching around and getting Marge done – there had been a Fiat recall.
Thursday and hallelujah the battery arrives so we can move on. This is great news as the campsite is totally full and we need to get away from the crowd.
Friday March 30th (Good Friday) we pack up and are on our way by 10:00 which is really early for us.
Our next known destination is Esperence WA so we have to go to Port Augusta which is really the central point for routes between WA and all other states. Both the Ghan and the Indian Pacific Railway routes go through Port Augusta and it is the major road route between East and West. Port Augusta is at the top of the Eyre Peninsula which is in itself a massive region for wheat and other crops. It’s low lying with very low rainfall so there is not a lot to see.
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Wilpena Pound – Mount Ohlssen Bagge
(this is the ridge we climbed)
We decide to take the Eyre Highway and set the Google Maps for Iron Knob and off we go stopping at Port Augusta (smelters and steel works) for some last minute provisions before hitting the outback.
Iron Knob is a truely unremarkable town which seems to be made up entirely of tin sheds and a campground which is not too bad. It has all the basic facilities and isn’t too busy. While we’re there someone with an identical van to our comes over for a chat. You end up hearing a few horror stories, and stuff you really don’t want to hear about but hopefully you’ll pick up some information that might be useful if something goes wrong.
The next day we move on to a Minnipa and camp at Pildappa Rock which is one of the many granite outcrops in this area. Pildappa is quite beautiful to look at with it’s magnificent wave forms – it’s easy to understand why these forms have such significance to the Aboriginals.
Pildappa is very climb-able and in fact we did a midnight trip up to the top to look at the stars – awesome!
There’s only one problem – FLIES. Fortunately we had bought nets before we arrived so after donning these, long trousers, long sleeved shirts and heaps of Deet we were relatively well protected, but even so they drive you crazy. Fortunately they go away once the sun goes down but during daylight especially when there’s no wind they unbearable.
We actually saw one couple walking around inside a large, double bed sized mosquito net.
We were intending to go further into the Gawler National Park but after the experience with the flies decide to move to the West coast of the Eyre Peninsula and head for Streaky Bay where there are a couple of good free campsites.
The site we choose is perched high on cliffs overlooking the eastern end of the Great Australian Bight. Apparently it’s a great whale watching location but unfortunately we are much too early in the year to catch any mammalian sea life.
After 2 days at the campsite on the cliffs, the wind, sand and dust gets just too much so we decide to move into a park in Streaky Bay where we stay for 2 nights. We take the opportunity to do the laundry and stock up on a few supplies. No point in getting too much fresh food as this has to be handed in to the Border Police when entering WA.
Streaky Bay itself is rather a nice little town the local hotel offers a regular bus service into town from the campsite and we go in on the first night for dinner. I have a very acceptable fish and chips whilst William goes for the rump steak.
Thursday 5th April – Time to start the great westward track across the Nullarbor. We leave the camp and set the satnav for Ceduna which is the last major town before heading down the Eyre Highway. Ceduna is approximately 500Kms from the WA border and 1,500kms from Norseman which is the first ‘major’ town on our way to Esperance(WA).
We’re in no particular hurry but aim for get to Esperance sometime on Monday which gives us 4 night stops on the way.
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Just before the Nullabor at Penong, Australia’s largest Windmill
The first day we travel to Yalata and stayed the night deep in the bush to get away from the road noise. Next day we move on to a rather nice free camp near Border Village (very original name) overlooking the Great Australian Bight and just 10kms from the WA Border,
We got very confused with time zones – mainly because 3G was very varied. I remained on SA time while Willy ended up 3 hours ahead on WA time.
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Willy trying to coax an emu on the Nullarbor
Before crossing the border into WA we dumped all the fresh fruit and vegetables before being inspected by quarantine people who gave the van the once over.
From the border we drove for several hours and camped again in the scrub just outside Caiguna. Sunday 8th April drove to Norseman which is really the end of the crossing. From here you can turn right to Kalgoorlie, straight on to Perth or turn left to Esperance.
Spent the night at Norseman and left about 10.00 for Esperance. Called in at the local IGA for some fresh fruit but absolutely nothing – no fruit no vegetables! There was one other customer who was dressed in a burka which I found quite strange – I suppose I just wasn’t expecting to see someone in a burka in a very small outback town – great multiculturalism but certainly took me by surprise.
Arrived in Esperance about mid day and caught up with Tony and David, two friends from NSW who were also on the grey nomad track. They have been travelling for years, and have no plans to give it up.
Wednesday 11th April – decide to go East towards Cape Le Grand National Park. There is a campsite down on the beach which is small and very popular so decide to take a chance on getting a spot, if that doesn’t work the plan is to move to the next site at Lucky Bay.
Some last minute shopping and off we go. Unfortunately WA school holidays start on Friday 13th for 2 weeks so things could be tight.
Luck is with us and we manage to get the last spot at Cape Le Grand, it’s a great site about 20 spaces with lots of privacy between sites and about 2 minutes from the beach. Spend the next 3 nights here, we both do the walk to Frenchman’s Peak – so named by the British when exploring the areas as the top looks like a hat worn by french soldiers.
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Kite Flying at Cape Le Grand
Willy does it the day we arrive I do it the next day. The views and landscapes are stunning. It’s coastal and very flat but with some very large granite outcrops which have been shaped by the sea which once covered the whole area.
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Walking from Lucky Bay to Hellfire Bay
The beaches are of very soft white sand, they stretch for miles, only interrupted by outcrops forming headland. We spend some time one afternoon flying the kite on the beach – see the video…
On Saturday 14th we go and have a look at Lucky Bay which was our fall back option if we couldn’t get in at Cape Le Grand. There are several spots here so we decide to stay for a couple of nights.
This site turns out to be even better than Cape Le Grand having recently been upgraded. The sites are large and the surroundings are absolutely stunning. More walking in the bush and also along the beach. We stay for 2 nights and have then literally run out of cash so need to go back to Esperance and find an ATM.
Stayed overnight in Esperance – long enough to do the washing and pick up some supplies.
Tuesday 17th April – Left Esperance with no particular destination in mind – just westwards somewhere. Took the coastal road and ended up at a campsite in the Stokes National Park. It was a good site but the area wasn’t terribly inspiring quite flat and a bit scrubby.
The site had a couple of volunteer host rangers who announced that there was a “meet and greet” at 5 o’clock. This struck panic into both of us – having to meet a bunch of strangers. Anyway, after much deliberation we forced ourselves to go and quite enjoyed it. Heard one story about a couple who had been travelling around Australia for 23 years!
I finished “Bring up the Bodies” and swapped it for a John le Carr
Wednesday 18th April – left Benwenerup camping ground heading west towards Hopetoun which is a rather nice old port town . Had a look at the campsite and decided to continue on to Fitzgerald River National Park where we stopped for two the nights at Hamersley Inlet which happens to be a world acknowledged Biosphere….
The local vegetation is great with Banksia everywhere plus some Royal Hakea
which are really strange and magnificent. Another good campsite, lots of room, lots of privacy and nice clean loos. I did a walk to the coast which is about 2kms through the bush and William went looking for photo opportunities down by the lagoon.
On the way back from the sea I stopped to read an article by Richard Flanagan – here’s a link to it. It’s a beautifully written piece that articulates not only what’s wrong with our politics but also suggests how we could start to put them right. It’s a very moving piece – take time to read it especially with Anzac day coming up.
On a lighter note – something quite strange happened. On Tuesday night I had a dream about living in a dystopian world after Trump had decided to drop a bomb on someone. We were OK ‘cos we had the van and were fairly self sufficient’. However we needed fuel and when we went to a garage there was no electricity for the pumps. I impressed everyone by rewiring the pumps to Marge and got the fuel. Today when we pulled into a garage for fuel we couldn’t get any as the garage had no electricity! What with the stigmata episode and now this I think i may be developing new super natural powers….
Several warnings about snakes particularly about big Brown snakes and Vipers! Basically said that Brown snakes will only attack if you piss them off. William made the obvious comment about how I should stay away from them due to my ability to piss everybody off.
Must stop now about to start a Scrabble game….(Victory is mine)
On Friday 20th April left the Biosphere heading further along the coast towards Albany. Unfortunately there are few sealed roads in and out of the Biosphere so we had to go inland and ended up at Moingup Springs which is in the Sterling Ranges National Park.
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Bluff Knoll – A view from the top
There’s a walk – Bluff Knoll – about 16Kms from the campsite. It’s only a short walk but very steep and warns that this is one of the few places in WA to get snow. Apparently once you get near the top if there is any doubt about the weather don’t go any further….. We shall see
Well that went well, quite a strenuous 3km each way walk rising to 1,100 metres so steep all the way but well worth the effort for the magnificent 360 degree views from the top. Got back to the camp ground late afternoon and had a good read – Le Carre
After supper sat outside and watched a big electrical storm in the late evening. This is probably only the second storm we have seen since we’ve been away. The rain should make the farmers happy.
Sunday 22nd April – moved about 50Km further on to the Porongurup National Park. The weather is very autumnal with sun one minute and rain and wind the next so not a lot got done today. I did some blogging and William visiting a Winery and bought an extremely expensive bottle of Pinot Noir. The man opened up especially for him so he really had no choice. We were going to stay just the Sunday night but decided to stay another night and do one of the walks in the National Park. The countryside is very similar to the area around Cape Le Grand and Lucky Bay with big rounded rocks formed from Plutons. Plutons is a new scrabble word for us – first one to lay it down gets 50 points.
The Granite Skywalk - Porongurup National Park |  |  |
Packed up from the Porongurup campsite and did the Granite Skywalk which is in the same National Park. It’s a 2.2Km steep walk to an enormous outcrop. The outcrop has been topped with a skywalk which was built by abseilers with parts dropped from helicopter, Clambering up to the first of the big boulders is quite tricky and well outside my comfort zone but managed it and pleased I did.
From the skywalk we headed into Albany on probably the worst day of the year for accomodation. Albany was a troop departure point during WW1 and, tomorrow being ANZAC day, it’s full of people in uniform with brass bands etc.
Apart from that it’s a really nice town with lots of old colonial buildings unfortunately none of them seem to be inhabited by barbers as I am in desperate need of a tidying up. Apparently I’m looking rather feral!
Do lots of shopping, including buying a Scrabble dictionary, and head out for the Cosy Corner free camping site about 25Km out of town, The place is really busy but they manage to squeeze us in which is no mean feat for a 8m van.
Managed to get a better site for Marge first thing in the morning, weather very mixed and rather cool.
We stayed at Cosy Corner for 2 nights. On Thursday 26th April we moved into Albany town for one night.
Friday 27th April we left Albany to continue our journey towards Perth. We have to be in Perth by May 10th (William’s Birthday) in time to meet Michael and get all the gifts and cards he will be bringing with him from our many friends in Sydney.
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