Heading Home

6/12/2018 Thursday Despite the warm night R & R slept well. RA woke shortly after 5:00am and watched the umbrella tops of the mallee trees swaying through the fly screen window only disturbing RL about 5:30am. They got straight into gear, with breakfast, tidy up and pack down.  Taking advantage of the coolest part of the day, RL had a shave and changed the low beam bulb on the Ute.  Already it was 24*C with a strong warm breeze from the north east and a forecast of over 40*C. It was shortly after 7:00am when RL took to the Eyre Hwy heading east for Wirrulla about 80kms and RA put a country music CD in the player and made a coffee.  An hour later, they stopped at Wirrulla, the town with a secret, to take photos of its jetty.  R & R had seen it last time, when they drove through heading east, but had not taken any pics.  Shortly after 8:00am Wirrulla was 29*C, living up to its reputation of being a very dry and warm town.  R & R saw school children waiting for the bus and wondered why there was no school in town and where the nearest one was considering that Ceduna was 95kms away. Only a few kilometres out they saw the sign for Mittaburra Area School and shortly after a school bus heading in that direction. Question answered.  Another CD in the player and about an hour later R & R were topping up with fuel in Ceduna. Generally speaking. The countryside was undulating grain and sheep farming with mallee featuring as vegetation in the paddocks as wind breaks and on the road verge, looking much better in November than it had in March.  RL turned toward Penong (70km) just before 8:30am, agreeing that they would not stop for fuel or op shopping as they didn’t need either, nor the break that it would provide. R & R spent 15 minutes topping up with fuel and using the conveniences at Penong, famous for its many and largest windmills and headed west again for Nundroo about 10.30am. The farming of crops seemed to run out about half way, 40kms, before Nundroo, being littered with coastal shrubs and bushes, part of the Yalata Aboriginal Reserve, though a couple more crops were seen just west of Nundroo before the Yalata Reserve proper. The day was a scorcher, already 36*C with winds of 35hm/hr blasting hot from the north.  RL opened the windows, preferring the warm air to the risk of overheating the engine. White shorn sheep gathered at a water tank where there was no shade. At Nundroo, the Ute’s tank was topped up for the last time before the expensive fuel on the Nullarbor.  R & R set their sights on Nullarbor Roadhouse, about 145kms.  R & R had seen at least half a dozen big new yellow and orange mining trucks heading east and had wondered all the “W” questions. Just before the beginning of the reserve, RL saw a sign for Piacentini & Sons Mining and Earthmoving.  RA calculated fuel consumption for the morning, 14.2 lt/100km!  Just proved how strong the wind was.  The Yalata Reserve really was very pretty and unique with its unspoilt vegetation of green and grey shrubs and bushes of varying shapes, colours and sizes growing at ground level, with mallee and other gums growing above them. Forty kilometres before Nullarbor, RL noted the sand dune at the Head of the Bight with the coast about 15kms south. Shortly before noon, about 33kms from Nullarbor, RL stopped in a line of traffic for a vehicle to be moved from the middle of the road following a caravan rollover.  It was only about 10 minutes before everyone was instructed to pass through. RA looked back and seeing limited damage in the now empty seating area, hoped that there were no fatalities. A little after that there was an almost instant change in vegetation with a distinct lack of trees.  Then, RA saw the sign for the Beginning of the Treeless Plain about 20kms from Nullarbor. R & R spent half an hour taking a lunch break and comfort stop at Nullarbor before heading west again for the WA border nearly 200kms away. RL could not resist the opportunity to take a photo of a guy in one of those cycle contraptions that you sit in.  A picture of sheer foolishness, considering how vulnerable a cyclist would be on roads like the Eyre Hwy. It was 41*C there; the northerly wind, incessant.  As the Ute joined the coast about 40kms before the turnoff to Koonalda, R & R wanted to believe that the wind was cooler.  They passed the first lookout with the intention of stopping to break the journey at the one, half way to the border.  By the time they had arrived at the middle lookout just after 3:00pm, the sky was covered with cloud and it was definitely cooler, though they had no way of knowing as there was no reception on their phone.  R & R enjoyed a pleasant interlude walking along the carefully crafted, tasteful bollard and chain path to the lookout where a cool wind, was indeed, blowing from the south up and over the massive limestone Bunda cliffs. Back on the highway, R & R ate their last apple so that there would be no waste at the border check.  A few times they were able to see the sea where, rather than cliff, the land and rocks came down to sea level.  The border check took a little longer than expected as the officious inspector insisted the camper be wound up and pulled out.  According to the phone, it was 41*C, at 4:30pm at border, where time had to be switched back to 3:00pm, but it no longer felt that hot.  RA rang and they chatted with their daughter, H, as RL drove through Eucla and down the pass.  The road was in good condition and ran flat with the ridge of the plateau to the north always visible, sometimes closer, sometimes not, for about 100kms between Eucla Pass and Madura.  It was one of RA’s favourite parts of the drive across, with its lovely green vegetation.   RL drove through Mundrabilla at 3:30pm, stopped at Moodinni Bluff for a break and up through the Madura Pass about 5:00pm with the intention of getting just a little further with the extra time gained.  They passed two sets of extra wide loads travelling east; wide enough to require getting off the road and stopping but because RL had the CB on he was pre-warned.  As it had been cooler since the border, RL had been able to turn the air con. back on and they listened to the Playaway story One Step Behind that they had started months ago and not got back to.  Since the border R & R had seen road kill, mostly roo, which they had not seen for quite some time.  They saw three eagles on separate carcasses.  It was shortly before 6:00pm when R & R stopped at the rest area just before the Eyre Observatory turnoff, approximately 17kms to Cocklebiddy.  Dinner was only a little late as it was already half started and the weather was much more pleasant.  It was 19*C with a moderate breeze of 21km/hr from the south and a forecast low of 12*C.  RL had spent the best part of 12 hours driving, nearly 1000kms (924km to be precise), in the one day.  Both R & R were looking forward ... to seeing the children and grandchildren and going home. 

7/12/2018 Friday R & R slept well and woke at 5:00am (body clock still on EST) and the camper was dry even though there had been a light mist just after dark. The sky was grey but at 16*C is was not cold. R & R breakfasted pack down and hitched the camper before adding the 60lts diesel from the three jerry cans. RL pulled out of the rest area heading west for Cocklebiddy only 17kms. It was only a short distance of 70 kms to Caiguna listening to Johnny Mathias singing Christmas carols. Then it was Connie Francis turn. There was water in the ruts of the bitumen for a while which indicated it must have rained a little in some places. A sign at Caiguna indicated that time needed to be set back 45 minutes. RA set the Navigator for Baxter rest area about half way between Caiguna and Balladonia. That section of the Eyre Hwy is the longest straightest stretch of road in Australia being 146.6 kms or the “90 Mile Straight”.  It is also one of the longest straightest stretches of road in the world. At Baxter, RL checked the air cleaner and RA wondered about the name of the rest area.  Eventually it came to her that Baxter was one of the explorers (along with Wylie) who accompanied Eyre on his expedition in 1841. Caiguna marks the western end of the Nullarbor as stands of mallee could be seen and increasingly, there were sections where, they were more and larger with other trees as R & R proceeded. RL noted that the signs warning of wildlife (of which R & R had seen none, only a few carcasses) no longer included camels. RA was busy calculating the angle (262*, just a little lower than due west) and the number of degrees of latitude that the straightest stretch fell over the 146kms.  She figured it was not more than a few (maybe 5) degrees.  R & R commented on the amazing RFDS airstrip which they passed on the highway. They had a strip of vegetation clearance and flat smooth surface on the verge to allow for the wings of the craft.  Shortly after 9:00am, when RL had already driven 270kms in 3 1/2 hours, they arrived at Balladonia and took a break. RL chatted with an interstate truck driver who was moving a Bond style motor boat and a hybrid caravan/camper while RA engaged in conversation with a family, a boy in Y8 and daughter in Y10, who had taken to the road indefinitely after the husband was in remission from cancer.  Back on the highway at 9:40am, they were having coffee and a ginger nut biscuit with 190kms to Norseman when a sign warned of unfenced road with the possibility of livestock including camels, again.  It was not long before they saw cattle and calves feeding on the edge of the road.  To help pass the time they play more of One Step Behind.  A sign pointing north said Nova Mine heralding the fact that R & R were to see a couple of mining trucks.  The vegetation, of tall growing mallee, other gums and bushes in bloom of creams and yellows and the shiny brown of gimlet trunks, on orange soils was beautiful. About half way between Balladonia and Norseman, the road which had been mostly flat and straight became undulating and then hilly as R & R went through the Fraser Range, which ran virtually north - south, with Mt Pleasant at 579m. RL spotted a couple of emus and there were orange sand dunes before the Dundas Nature Reserve.  About 10kms east of Norseman the Navigator indicated the presence of mining in the area as R & R passed the Jimberlana Hill Nature Reserve. At Norseman, just before noon, RL put 30lt diesel in the tank to make sure there was enough to get to Coolgardie. Half an hour later, after a look around the BP shop and a drive down the Main Street, RL turned north toward Coolgardie 170kms. The road led past the huge salt lake, Lake Cowan and another Nature Reserve with the pipeline and rail not far off.  RA noticed the striking white trunked tree whose habit is to lose its thick tough black bark from the top down. There were signs and roads to mine sites (Sinclair, Higginsville, Mariners, Mitel, Bald Hill and Paris Gold) and mining trucks along the route.  There were several sections of road works and more nature reserve.  RA noted a section which had been burnt a few years earlier that had recovered well.  The dead burnt tops of old taller trees peered eerily over the green canopy below. Shortly after Widgiemooltha and noon, R & R stopped for half an hour for lunch before pulling out again for the last 60kms to Coolgardie where they intended to refuel. It was 27*C as they refuelled and the breeze was mild, so though warm, it was nothing like the scorcher of the previous day.  They also stopped at the Railway Museum on Woodward St briefly. By 3:00pm R & R were headed west on Great Eastern Highway bound for Perth. RL commented on a particular wildflower in bloom which had a distinctive posy shape while RA recognised nulla nulla in bloom with its cone shaped pink flowers heads and noted the spear grass growing on the road verge.  The highway ran though the Goldfields Woodlands National Park, of which Victoria Rock, where R & R camped nine months before, is a part.  Shortly after they were driving through the Boorabbin National Park where bush fires claimed the life of three truck drivers in 2007.  That section of the Park, even ten years on, has stunted regrow caused partially by the severity of the fire and partly by successive years of dry.  Realistically speaking R & R knew it was impractical for them to drive on through to Perth so they stopped at the Boorabbin rest area 114kms from Coolgardie. By 5:00pm they were having a drink and ringing their children to make arrangements for catching up on the weekend.  RL read while RA wrote the diary before cooking dinner.  RL rang his siblings, G, S and R, but one of them were home so he left messages.  R & R were tired having travelled 750kms in the day but it would shorten their travel time the next day.  They were really looking forward ... to seeing everyone again.

8/12/2018 Saturday R & R slept well and were awake before 5:00am. They got out straight away and breakfasted before packing up. It was 14*C and the canvas was dry so they were away just after 6:00am, with Perth about 420kms west. Shortly after pulling out they entered the Shire of Yilgarn and, again, they noticed water in the deepest puddles and drains on the road verge, which indicated that it must have rained heavily only a few days before.  The highway passed through Yellowdine Nature Reserve where sections of the reserve, before and after Yellowdine, were really pretty with the low light of the morning sun from the east highlighting the bronze, copper and metallic olive green of the trunks and stems of a particular gum tree. It was 17*C and still, when RL drove through Yellowdine at 6:30am. Other vegetation, some of it in blooms of creams, yellows and a little red, featured on lower growing shrubs and bushes including conifer, sheoak and grevillia.  For most of the journey, the water pipeline ran alongside the road.  The scheme to pipe water from Perth to Kalgoorlie was driven by C Y O’Connor in the late 1800s, took five years to build and was completed in 1903. Along the route many pumping stations feature in a trail.  R & R noticed, that while some sections have been patched and were due for renewal, most of it was in excellent condition.  The railway line from Perth to Kalgoorlie, for the most part ran near the road from Southern Cross to Perth.  Before that it had veered in northern arc while the road followed a southerly arc.  About 15km east of Southern Cross the country side opened up into cereal farming which, along with sheep, would be the primary agricultural endeavour most of the way to Northam, just short of Perth, with Southern Cross having a past and current history of gold mining. Along the way RA noticed many rocky outcrops and the sign Ribbons of Green which is a verge re-vegetation project.  G, RL’s brother rang and they chatted most of the way to Merredin. At Merredin they rang their daughter, H, to say they were on target for lunch at Henley Brook. R & R took a break there, admired the town’s Christmas Tree before driving past its massive grain handling facility and taking a photo of the silo art. It was 24*C by 9:00am when RL hit the road again playing AC/DC “Highway to Hell”. He drove past the Kelleberrin grain facility and stopped briefly for the east bound Prospector (passenger train from Perth to Kalgoorlie) to cross the highway.  Later they saw an east bound Pacific National carrying freight.  There were a couple of sections of road works that required waiting for a little before being directed through. RL drove through Tammin where, in between the fields of golden grain there were parcels of land that were either salty, swampy or had lakes. They went past the pub at Cunderdin which is a copy of the Ettamougah Pub in NSW and the town’s grain silos. Built in 1960, they were the first concrete silos in Australia. A few kilometres further, RL drove through Meckerring, Home of the Big Camera where all the film and camera equipment displayed is in working order. Shortly after, RA saw another Ribbons of Green sign immediately following the sign Meckerring Fault Line, as it was the site of an earthquake in 1968.  Though the buildings in town were completely demolished, no one died. S, RL’s brother rang as R & R were driving up and down the few steep hills on the bypass round Northam, so they chatted a while. About 11:30 am RA set the Navigator for Henley Brook (the Home of their elder daughter and her family) with about 60kms of busy forested hilly country, through the hills via Bakers Hill, Sawyer’s Valley and the city, to go. Jacaranda bloomed blue in some of the streets as they drove.  As RL drove down Greenmount Hill from the Darling Scarp, RA rang H to say they would be there soon.  R & R arrived at the home of their daughter, H, and her family shortly after 12:40pm for lunch and a catch up. It was lovely to see how the children had grown and how much they had learned during the year R & R were away.  After a couple of hours R & R headed for the home of their other daughter, S, at Langford where they intended to stay for a couple of nights. It took only 35 minutes to be at the other end of the city.  Everyone chatted for ages before, eventually, doing a shuffle of vehicles to get the camper backed onto the lawn.  S and S, her boyfriend, made dinner and helped with the tidy up after.  R & R had a shower before bed.  It had been a really long day but absolutely wonderful ... to catch up with their daughters.

9/12/2018. Sunday. R & R slept well but woke early. They made the best of the cool in the early morning and did some gardening and sorting out of the picnic area out the back in preparation for BBQ lunch with their boys J and S and S’s wife, F.  They had breakfast before heading to 7:30am Mass at St Jude’s. After Mass they finished off the BBQ area and went to Coles at Thornlie for a food shop. On return RL fired up the barbie while RA made some patties to cook in the oven and a coleslaw, since H and family were bringing another cut salad.  S and F arrived with their dog Effy and shortly after J arrived. It was not much longer before H and family arrived. S and F had to leave early as they were going to the basketball game but everyone else chatted for ages while trying to keep the children from getting bored. Eventually H and family left to visit the other grandparents who live only a couple of streets away.  About 4:00pm, J had a shower before heading off to another engagement leaving R & R and their daughter, S, free to go to Anaconda, BCF and Spotlight.  They day had really warmed up to over 30*C but when they got back R & R took the opportunity of the cooler end of the day to do some gardening out the front yard.  Again S & S cooked dinner and helped tidy up. Everyone sat to watch Absolutely Fabulous - The Movie but just couldn’t tolerate it so RA wrote diary while the others watched something else on TV.  Again, it had been another long warm day ... but they had caught up with everyone that mattered. 

10/12/2018 Monday R & R woke early again at 5:00am and had breakfast before making an assault on the garden out the front of the house, finishing off with the weeding down the side of the garage. RA shuffled a few plants to make it easier for S to water them. It was just after 9:00am when R & R drove to get a script filled at the chemist, went to Bunnings to see about ceiling fans for the bathroom and popped into Thornlie Square.  The day had really warmed up again, nearing 30*C, but R & R had no choice but to pack the camper down and hitch it up in the heat of the day.  They had to re-pack everything on to the roof rack.  S had helped to get it all down when R & R arrived because, while still on the Ute roof rack, it was too tall to be backed in under the roller door.  Finally, in the noon hour, R & R took leave of S & S and went to Yule Du at the top of Armadale Hill to refuel. It was about 1:30pm when R & R parked in the shade at North Bannister and ate late lunch. They stopped again at Kojonup, briefly, just to stretch the legs and get some fresh air.  It was precisely 5:32pm when R & R turned up their drive in Mt Barker after being away for nine months. They were pleasantly surprised at how neat the garden was thanks to S, RL’s brother who must have been taking it seriously. R & R set the camper up so that they could take the food out of the fridge.  They did not intend to do anything else for the day.  Dinner was easy, since it was leftovers, cold, from Sunday lunch. After dinner, R & R rang their sister-in-law, L to make an arrangements to catch up later in the week since she would be travelling to Canberra for Christmas.  It was strange to be back home ... but so comfortable.