Day 55 (14 Jun) - Perth
We had a fun night last night with
Stephen and Debbie catching up on things. Steve and Debbie took us out to
dinner at a local brewery and restaurant that makes its own boutique beer. The meal of the day was Sunday Roast
Pork. Just like a home cooked meal and very
delicious.
Today Helen and I were dropped off
in the city by Stephen on his way to meet a client, so we had a couple of hours
to check out the town. We walked through
London Arcade which is very quaint with tiny shops each side of the arcade.
We then got on the free Central
Area Transit (CAT) bus and did the sights of the city from the bus window. It was raining so we were nice and
comfortable in the bus. We got off the
bus near the Town Hall and walked in for a look. It had been renovated in 2014 and took as
long to renovate as it did originally to build.
Stunning work. We were able to
walk into some areas but not the council chambers.
In the foyer there is a memorial
to HMAS Perth that was sunk in the battle of the Sunda Straits on 1 March 1941
along with the USS Houston. There is a
model of the ship and the ship’s bell which were given to the City of Perth on
long term loan.
This is where we are now. About a third of the way around the country
on our trip. From Perth it will be just
driving to get home. Not much
sightseeing as we’ve done this leg before.
Day 56 (15 Jun) – Perth
Today we went for a drive into the
Swan Valley which is just full of wineries.
The big thing now is distilleries popping up making boutique Vodka and
Gin. We dropped into Old Young’s
Distillery to try a brew that Steven and Debbie had, called Pavlova Vodka. They thought it was Gin but in fact it’s
Vodka. The guy behind the bar wouldn’t
let us taste it until we watched hisi show and sampled all the products. Bummer.
What a bugger! It was a
hoot. The guy was very funny telling his
stories and we (especially me) had a few samples.
Then it was on to the Mondo Nougat
and Morish Nuts place. Of course, we had
to have coffee, a snack (apple crumble and cheesecakes), and buy some products.
That night Steve and Debbie took
us to an Italian Restaurant on the Swan River tributary. What a stunning location. Steve’s son Max and his girlfriend came along
and we had a great night out.
Day 57 (16 Jun) – Perth to
Widgiemooltha
Today we got up early to get out
of the city before the traffic got too heavy.
We left just after 7.00am and had a decent run out of Perth. This was a long drive today as we are heading
to the Nullarbor, and I wanted to get some distance behind us so we can manage
our stopovers in the middle of the Nullarbor.
We made it to a place called Widgiemooltha which is between Kalgoorlie
and Norseman. Norseman is the start of the Nullarbor,
and we are about an hours drive from there.
This place is just a roadhouse on the edge of the highway and by chance
they are doing major roadworks on this stretch of road. And some of the workers are staying
here. To say it’s “rustic” is an
understatement. We’re just propped here
next to the highway, hooked up to water and power. We’re stuck in a position where we have to
reverse out because someone in the roadhouse gave the drive through site to a
camper trailer. Oh well. I can reverse this rig.
This is where we are tonight –
Widgiemooltha.
Helen’s
Highlights/Minnie’s Musings
As I type this there are many
trucks roaring past and the positive is that we are just far enough away from
the highway that we don’t feel the vibration from the trucks…...just the noise!! Ah the serenity.
When we were getting fuel at
Merredin there were about 40 black cockatoos flying over (noisily of course). I
have only previously seen 4 near home so it was a real treat. Also, there was a
very polite emu who stopped on the side of the road so we could continue along.
Very road savvy.
Day 58 (17 Jun) –
Widgiemooltha to Mundrabilla
It was a broken sleep last night
with the trucks barrelling past all night.
Got up about 6.45 when the workers started to make a noise and we were
on the road at dawn about 7.15am.
Fuelled up at Norseman which is the start of the Nullarbor Plains and
headed east. Weather was very chilly and
some sun shone through the clouds. And
we saw a rainbow. Neat.
Nothing exciting on this leg. We were planning on driving to Eucla which is
about 800km or so but that was dependant on the daylight as we go further east.
Later in the day we stopped at
Mandura for fuel but were greeted with no service as the roadhouse shut at
3.00pm. What is this!!! This is an
isolate road with about 200km between anything!!! Helen went to the motel reception and found a
guy who came out and started the pumps for us.
This is looking down the hill coming in to Mandura.
Onwards to Eucla but the light was
fast fading and kangaroos are out at this time of night. Stopped at Mundrabilla about 70km short of
Eucla just as it was getting dark. The
caravan park has no power, no water, but we are welcome to stay anywhere we
like. Not much choice so we took his
offer. Nice young guy so we had dinner
in the roadhouse. He and his wife are
running the place and have had a hard time with Covid and the lack of
traffic. So, we were only too happy to
support him by buying a meal and a Mundrabilla Roadhouse jacket for me.
Back to the caravan. When we set up, we had trouble getting the
LPG heater to stay lit. It kept going
out. But this time it started, and we
are now nice and toasty inside. Ceduna
tomorrow. We have a South Australia
Border Pass so hopefully all will go well.
Helen’s
Highlights/Minnie’s Musings
Although we have no power or
water, we were given the key to be able to use the truckie’s shower. Very
little pressure but at least we are now clean. Although this road is quite
iconic and in excellent condition it is very boring in an interesting sort of
way. The vegetation is low mainly but there are some beautiful gums that have
shiny red trunks. They are called salmon Gums. That makes it interesting but
boring as the stretches are so long between places to stop. Looking forward to
seeing the Great Australian Bight tomorrow. I heard there have been whales and
their calves so hopefully we might be lucky.
Complaint of the day
Michael – “A closed
roadhouse fuel station on the major east west highway in the country.
Ridiculous!”
Helen - There was no pot of
gold at the end of the rainbow.
Day 59 (18 Jun) –
Mundrabilla to Wirrulla
We awoke before daybreak. Last night the guy in the roadhouse said they
have the world’s best sunrise. We got to
see it and it was rather nice. This
place was relatively quiet last night even though a couple of road trains were
parked out front as we drove out. Bit
more rain over night so it was a bit muddy.
We are now closer to the Great
Australian Bight and there are a few lookouts with stunning views of the
Southern Ocean. We stopped at one for
breakfast.
Fuel gets dearer as you go across
the Nullarbor with Nullarbor Roadhouse being the most expensive. We have enough fuel having filled up at Eucla
($1.80 a litre) so luckily. We did stop
for a break and a cuppa though.
This is the Nullarbor Plains
proper and there is nothing of interest.
The most horrible thought would be to break down out here. There are no repair shops or tow truck
facilities, so any rescue would cost a fortune.
As we went further east the plains
disappeared and we got to see a few trees, but with big long straight stretches
of road.
The original plan was to stop at
Ceduna but we had a good 2 hours of daylight left so drove on and stopped at a
little town called Wirrulla. The
Wikicamps reviews on my phone app said this place was lovely with water, power
and showers for $15. Well, there’s no
water hook-up but there is power. And
the showers are clean and nice. But you
have to get the key from either the General Store or the pub across the road. So here we are for the night. This was the sight of an old basketball
court. Still, it’s very level and we’re
out of here at daybreak again.
Helen’s Highlights/Minnie’s
Musings
Along the way this morning as the
sun was rising higher in the sky the clouds were skipping across the sun and there
were ‘rainbows’ in the clouds. Nothing connecting the ground. The colours were
lovely with a sunset look about the sun although it was midmorning. I tried to
take some photos, but the colours did not turn out. Pity as it is the first
time I have seen that type of colour spectrum in the sky and clouds.
Complaint of the day
Michael – “Road work signs
left out directing cars to go 80 then 60 when there was no work being done for
40km either side of Ceduna!!!!”
Helen – Michael spent quite
a bit of time filling in the SA pass which we were told we had to have and there
were lots of questions. One for me and one for him. When we got to the SA
border where we had to have a fruit and vegetable quarantine inspection nothing
was asked of us re the pass, and we went quickly through. Why have it as a mandatory
thing and then not police it?????
