Heading east - additional

I know Mark has already posted the main bits that have happened this week, so here is additional stuff he left out.

On our first night out of civilisation (aka Perth) we met another 5^th wheeler of the same make – what are the chances? I guess our van didn’t want to be alone J

A few days later, the weather started to change and we heard a few drops of rain on the roof during the night. At 6am the following morning, we were awoken abruptly by an almighty clap of thunder and flash of lightening right above us and the skies opened. It certainly made us jump and we had an early start as Mark was worried the rig might get bogged down where we were camped. Later that morning, I drove the rig 180km to the next service station, part of which was along the ’90 mile straightest stretch in the west’. The first time I was passed by a huge road train made my heart beat a little faster, but I got used to it after a while.

Bunda Cliffs was magnificent and the photos don’t do it justice. Watching the mist and spray rise and creep across the plain later in the day as the temperature started to drop was fantastic. The sunset was really spectacular too.

The following day we saw the whales at the head of the bight. Listening to them speak to each other and watching them frolic in the water was something to behold.

I also baked my first loaf of bread and it was really quite edible. It caught me by surprise as I’ve never used a gas oven before, had no idea when/if it was up to temperature or how long to cook the load for. Now to see if I can do it again!

Heading through Ceduna and into South Australia proper, they really take their quarantine seriously here. Someone actually comes on board and checks your fridge and cupboards for fresh fruit and veg!

Every town has got an attraction and Minnipa is famous for its ‘concrete crapper’. To be honest, it was far nicer than some of the roadhouses we’ve visited along the way.

We passed through a town called Kimba which is half way across Oz. It’s also famous for it giant galah, but Mark wasn’t about to stop and let me take a photo, so I’ll get it on the way back next year. . We stopped for lunch at Iron Knob (great name) which is the heart of Australia’s steel industry. I couldn’t really get a good photo from the car, but the landscape really was something to see.

tigger rig - inside tour

Inside view of the van. Bed is a queen size, but Maria still likes the middle.

Glass shower cubicle is quite spacious, even if most of the time to conserve tank water you hose down, turn the water off while you soap up, then hose off again. Its a luxury on site when you have mains water and power to let it run and enjoy it.

Slider is 11 1/2 feet across and the centre section of the sofa folds out to make another 5ft bed with an air mattress, although access from only 1 side.

1 1/2 sinks make it easy to leave washing up until the evening, and all the countertop stuff like kettle and water jugs sit in the sink while we're on the move.

cooker has 4 gas burners, grill and oven - maria has made her first loaf of bread and it was very good for both sandwiches and toast. Microwave/grill only works on mains power, and so far the only thing it has been used for is to melt some butter.

We got a 2 ring electric hob to use when on mains power instead of the gas

fridge and freezer currently hold lots of dead cow as we got a deal at the farmers market in Quinns Rock on a whole rib-eye fillet of beef, so I cut that up and should be good for red meat until the other side of the country.

32" TV comes up out of the desk by the door, but is mains power only, or we have a 26" 12v one that clips on the outside of the van

I picked up a yamaha generator that can power all the electrics including the air con for when we are free camping. We've used it to watch TV/movies a couple of times, but half the time we don't bother as yet. That will change when we head north to the humidity

I got hills, they're multiplying...

...and i'm losing control on the downhills

getting closed to the great dividing range and the hills have started with the Warrumbungles - they have some great names over here - and the Tigger Rig is really living up to its name. Its like the front seat on a roller coaster  - 3rd gear up some of the crawler lanes, a few seconds pause while the back of the train catches up then 3 1/2 tonnes pushing you back down the other side, and when the road surface is a bit rough it definitely gets bouncy. And these are just the baby foothills - should hit the real ones tomorrow and thursday then down to the Pacific around the Gold Coast

Its been interesting seeing some of the interior that we may have missed otherwise - they are very proud of what they have here, even if its just a rock it warrants a signpost. And they know full well its not even a big rock by Oz standards.

And as for the sculptures...




the Giant Gallah at Kimba (downloaded picture - wasn't worth stopping)

We've seen a bit of real wildlife, both alive (Lots of emus, goats and a big eagle on some roadkill on the verge as we drove past that just gave us that "what are you looking at?" stare) and dead ('roos, emus, goats and a cow - bet that made a dent in whatever hit it). We're now supposed to be in drop bear country so keeping one eye skywards for those

As you can see by the frequency of posts internet access on the road is variable - if we can find a McDonalds we get some, but this is from Gunnedah library and is the best we've had in a long time

One lap of the Broken Hill main drag...

Didn't manage to actually stay in Broken Hill as both caravan parks were full - I know its the start of school holidays here but I didn't think it was that popular. I did get to drive up and down it at 7 the next morning, as we parked up in a free roadside camp a couple of miles out so came back it to hit the supermarket and fuel up, and we watch Priscilla that evening to get the feel for the place

Bight me

6 days on the road and we have crossed the nullabor above the Great Australian Bight (the big bay at the bottom of oz). We stopped on the top of Bunda cliffs one night as a free camp with great views of the cliffs. fantastic stars at night as we sat out under the milky way with barbecued chocolate bananas for supper. Got the telescope out and Maria asked if the red star on the horizon was Mars? "no dear, that's a road train heading west".

and then stopped at the whale watching station at the head of the bight to watch the southern right whales that come in to the bight may-september to calve and raise the young. The last few mothers and calves were still hanging around but are expected to head out to sea in the next couple of weeks, so we were lucky to catch them.

the nullabor was a bit of a non-event - everyone talks about it being a moonscape, but in reality its just a load of flat, low scrub and that part doesn't even last that long. Nullabor comes from the latin "nulles arbor" meaning "no trees" - i never thought the romans had made it this far south, but as Maria pointed out there are some very straight roads round here...

we're now just over half-way across the country, so having a couple of days on a camp site in port pirie on the eastern side of the bight to catch up on laundry, fine tuning the van setup, internet access (Malteser McFlurry is the cheapest way we've found to get onto wifi), etc, before heading inland to Broken Hill and across to the east coast

tigger rig - outside tour

This is the outside of the van in more detail.

The slider comes out around 4ft and is all electric, but too slow for this video unless i can find a way to triple speed it (the video, not the slider.That would probably turn the whole thing into a giant accordion)

Harry made me up a great bracket to fit the bike carrier to the rear bumper, and the fishing rods can bungee onto the bumper as well.  Gas bbq is also chained to this for now, and i can hang a hurricane lamp off the bike carrier when i'm cooking in the dark. We got two fold-up camp chairs which my beautiful assistant is demonstrating so effectively, plus the fold-up table and 4 dining chairs can be used either outside or in the van

The awning is rolled up in this one as its been a bit breezy for it. 

the view from the kitchen window - Quinns Rocks

We have spent our first week in the caravan at Quinns Rocks, about 30km north of Perth on the Indian ocean coast. Its a paid site but pretty cheap, and its right next to the beach - from the back of out van there is a 6 ft public pathway and then the scrub down to the beach. And its mostly been sunny in the low-mid 20s and sunny, so its been gorgeous.

We've been doing jobs stocking up and sorting out the van - we know how just about everything works now, and have fixed one or two minor problems (like one of the electric brake connector wires had come adrift - didn't fancy 3 1/2 tonnes of beige behind me going down a hill without those working). Maria's cupboard stocking system seems to be based on where she can reach rather than any logic, even though I bought her a fold-up stool, so there may be some rearrangement in the coming days and weeks as and when I decide to throw my toys out of the pram when i can't find something.

We have also tried to enjoy it, so we've cycled around a bit to explore,  fed the local fish to no avail, and watched some beautiful sunsets - the Indian ocean has always been my favourite. Its still early spring and evenings have been a bit chilly with a strong onshore breeze, so we've only barbecued a couple of times, but we're getting used to sitting out overlooking the path and beach to have breakfast and lunch and chatting with passers by and other park residents, and generally chilling out after the running around of the last 2 months - see example below

Went to the 'local' market today to stock up for the run east - turns out it was halfway back to Perth, but it was cheaper and we did buy a 4 kilo slab or rib-eye steak so we should be good now until the other side.

Tomorrow we have to run back into Perth to go to a towing clinic so they can tell me all the things i've been doing wrong, then Harry, Jenny and Timothy are hopefully coming up from the city for the afternoon/evening, then Sunday is pack it all up and hit the road east...

Preparing to get back in the saddle

Duty done, we are flying back to Australia on Monday to reclaim the beige from the H&J's front lawn and move on. We've decided to modify our plans in the short term as we've not got time to go through the Northern Territories to get to Cairns for the eclipe and Kevin coming to visit, so we're going to leave that for now and cut straight across the Nullabor plain to Brisbane, and then work our way up the Queensland coast to Cairns

We still need a couple of weeks in Perth to get the caravan kitted out and to battle with some Australian bureaucracy, so have booked to tow onto a beachfront site at Quinns Rocks, 20km up the coast from Perth for a week from next Sunday, then we will set off and hope to make it to Brisbane by the end of September. Gives us more time to explore Queensland up to Cairns for November before heading down to Sydney for christmas. We should be away from civilization for less time this way, so can continue to work out the caravan and what we need to live in it once we get over to the east coast

I've had to get a new visa as my original was granted last August before we booked our inital flights and has now expired, so unless we have any other emergencies I should be able to stay until next September, so we will revisit north Western Australia and the Northern Territories next May - August

Bye bye Blackpool...

and the sadness and frenzy of the last 4 weeks. A big thank you to Uncle John for contacting everyone and helping with the arrangements and to Mo (of North-West Scrubbers fame) for helping us sort out the craft stuff (and never ending bags of dolls heads!) as well as other bits and pieces.

We head back to Perth on Monday where I'm hoping I will find my brain! I've had the mind of a goldfish this month, and I know if comes with age, but I didn't expect it to land on me quite this quickly.