Just the World as We See It
We left Ceduna and headed east toward Kimba. We had a morning of intermittent rain but it cleared after lunch (which we had at Wundilla). We reached Kimba at around two and set up camp at the showground. Unfortunately, the cool wind returned so after dinner it was a quick drink and back inside ion the warm. On to Georgetown tomorrow.
Well we’re well and truly back into South Australia, got blown most of the way to Ceduna although this time it wasn’t all in the right direction. Passed through the quarantine station and then the compulsory IGA shop to restock on fresh fruit and vegetables. We will stay in Ceduna tonight and continue east tomorrow.
We left accompanied by a tailwind that really improved our fuel economy (20% less fuel, I’m liking it). This section of the trip can be a bit monotonous, especially as we had overcast skies all the way. We called into Eucla to refuel (and so Bob could check on his missing caravan step – nothing to see here). We did a brief call in to have a look at the Great Australian Bight, but the wind won so there was only time for a quick photo shoot before back into the vehicles and moving on.
We reached our destination at 222k Peg Rest Stop and set up camp among the bush to try and escape the wind. It looks threatening , we may have rain tonight. Certainly no fire as the wind is to blustery especially in this bush setting. Hasn’t stopped the grey gonads next door from lighting their fire. Some people just don’t think.
Another group of morons on the road are those that stop at rest areas, urinate and then just leave their toilet paper strewn around the rest area. Put it in the bin you idiots! Today we came across one area where people have urinated into milk bottles and just dumped them on the side of the rest area. It’s just so moronic its unbelievable. Sadly they wont read this blog (they probably can’t read anyway).
We’re definitely on the homeward journey now. We left Newman Rocks and headed east to the longest stretch of straight road in Australia (so the sign says 146 kms). Travelling was pretty easy today with a nice tail wind for the majority 0f the trip. We rocked into our free camp at Moodini Bluff in 35 degree heat, certainly a turnaround from our trip over when we had skiffy rain all day and went to bed early as it was chilly. I’m guessing we might sit outside tonight once the flies go.
We left Coolgardie and headed off to Norseman to refuel and have lunch before setting out for Newman Rocks where we free camped on the way over. This time we made it into camp quite early so were able to explore the rock formation a bit more. Natural depressions provide waterholes after rain periods and some pastoralist had even built a concrete wall on the last soak to make it a semi-permanent water hole.
Apparently the area teems with wildlife but, as I was cooking dinner< I couldn’t go down to catch any wildlife at dusk . It will be a rather hot night indoors tonight as the temperature reached 33 degrees today with a blustery wind. The wind has gone now and its very pleasant sitting out under the stars
We left camp at nine and headed up to the local Foodworks to do some restocking before heading down to the town oval for the Yirgan Agricultural Show. The oval was immaculate and there was a steady stream of attendees although a lot more were waiting up the street for the 10.30 parade, obviously the highlight of the social calendar in Southern Cross. We checked out the arts, crafts and cookery exhibitions at which the local schools had made great entries. Lyn Price (whoever she may be) dominated the craft and floral sections and no doubt the conversation around the CWA meetings for the next few months.
We refuelled and headed just out of town for a cuppa and to peruse the memorial signs at the old cemetery (open from 1881 to 1898 before the town’s cemetery was relocated) which recorded the names of the dead and their cause of death. Sad to see so many infants dying of what we would consider easily treated illnesses today – diarrhoea, gastroenteritis and the like. Particularly poignant we’re to infant girls, twins, who died at 6 weeks due to marasmus. This is a protein form of malnutrition often caused when mothers themselves have insufficient food leading to reduced quantity and quality of breast milk.
We hit the road again this time with a tailwind and travelled as far as Coolgardie where we have stopped in the less than pretty RV Stop to freecamp overnight before heading back to the Nullarbor Plain. Telephone service will be pretty hit and miss for the next few days so don’t know when the next update will come. I have to say I’m impressed with Apple’s new SOS satellite service available on their iPhone 14 Pros that allows you to log your location via satellite when out of normal mobile phone coverage and in the event of an emergency allows you to text 000 with details of your emergency along with your location.
We woke to another sunny day if a little windy. No frost this morning and we soon left this lovely little spot behind. We headed back to Korda then onto Mukinbuddin for morning tea before ambling through more wheat fields stopping for lunch just past Bullfinch (we were reluctant to stop in the “town”, I thought I could hear banjos and pigs squealing but I may well be wrong). From there through still more wheat fields and arriving in Southern Cross early which was fortunate as the Agricultural Show is on tomorrow and we wanted to stay in a caravan park to do our laundry and have a shower. We are on the last available sites so all is well.
Tonight we will have a quiet drink in camp before deciding how far we will go tomorrow but its looking like we will be heading back across the Nullarbor earlier than expected. We all decided that the attractions of southern W.A. didn’t outweigh the colder weather so we may as well look to head home, perhaps having a little side detour along the way.
We left Koojan and headed straight to New Norcia (with some trepidation among the group – see New Norcia Benedictine community among worst child sex abuse perpetrators ). My tolerance for their misdeeds evaporated when I saw the pamphlets in the Visitor Centre extolling safeguarding children within the church, yet not a mention of their history. We did a self guided tour around the only monastic town in Australia, viewing the extensive, expensive buildings of the community. The romantic notions of the monastic life disappear when faced with the reality of stolen children and the approximately 350 children who died there over the years and the fact that there approximately 250 unmarked/missing graves of those children.
We left the town with a distinct feeling of sadness and made our way toward Wongan Hills where we had lunch and refuelled. The town boasts an agricultural research property and appears to be a relatively well off community. It’s amazing the vastness of the wheatbelt in this area. For the last few days we have been driving through rolling fields of Canola with their vibrant yellow flowers, fields of Lucerne and fields of wheat on either side of the road. Today we were driving through undulating country that had cereal crops all the way to the horizon and when we reached that horizon it continued to the next. They have extensive large scale infrastructure to cope with all the grain – vast silos and a network of railway lines.
We decided to head back to the bush for tonight’s camp, it will probably be the last camp on the edge of the wheatbelt before we start thinking about heading east again. The weather had been balmy although this morning the temperature had dropped to 2 degrees but that meant we’ve had glorious sunshine all day. Tonight looks like it may be cold again so we will enjoy another night around the campfire while admiring the stars at Newcarlbeon Rocks Picnic Area.
We had a nice night around the fire and headed to bed a bit later than usual. The freecamp was excellent, with clean toilets and showers. Quite a few RVs spent the night, including a couple that we had “bumped into“ at Ceduna while waiting for Turtle’s new alternator. Fortunately they didn’t recognise us (what? Who can miss Turtle) so we didn’t have to entertain them again (a long story involving uninvited guests and campsite intrusions). This morning we headed south again.
We travelled at a leisurely pace, calling into the McPherson Homestead at Carnamah.
The homestead was the home of Duncan and Mary Macpherson who settled in Carnamah with their children in 1868. The Macpherson’s established a pastoral station named Carnamah, and during their 70-year residence their homestead was known as Carnamah House.
https://www.carnamah.com.au/homestead
From there we continued south until we reached the Jingemia Cave in the Watheroo National Park. We entered via the unsaved road from the Midlands Road and it was pretty obvious this isn’t a popular point of interest as the road was in excellent shape. The stone formations around the cave were very attractive, home to many varieties of wildflowers. We spent quite some time walking around the trails and enjoying the setting.
We moved on to the Koojan Salmon Gum Reserve to set up camp for tonight for a freecamp among the gum trees.
No big plans for today. We just decided to travel between towns enjoying the landscape, wildflowers and the few little towns we came across. We stopped at Mingenew for morning tea and a visit to the local bakery before moving on to Morawa for a lunch stop and a walk through the town. It’s much like the Mallee in Victoria, all these large cereal farms only have a bare minimum of workers and the surrounding towns just die. Still the towns here are very neat and tidy.
We moved onto Three Springs and discovered that there is a freecamp at the oval where you can have a 72 hour stopover and has toilets and showers available for a donation. We decided to join the myriad of other grey gonads to spend the night here (we can even have a fire!)