- Nullarbor to home via the Eyre Peninsula, western NSW and our last blog for this trip.
Tuesday the 14 th of January, we were 5 kms from Norseman the town where you enter the Nullarbor and a passing truck gets us on the radio and tells us smoke is coming from the van. We pulled over quickly to find a tyre had blown out, we hadn’t felt a thing. The was rim okay, the rubber coming off just as we pull over. However, when we tried to change the tyre we discovered the wires to the brakes were affected. So having taken out Prem plus insurance with Nrma we waited for a tow truck which managed to change the tyre and make it safe enough for us to get to Norseman where four new tyres were needed and a new magnetic thing for the brakes. Nrma accommodated us in a unit for the night and we spent the afternoon at the pub playing pool and had a pizza that night also at the pub.
Repairs on the van all fixed, we left Norseman the next day, with our first free camp stop at Mundrabilla bluff, a good stop and the second night at Nundroo roadhouse, a safe and convenient place to stop but very run down and not very clean but only $8 per night without power. The long drive across the Nullarbor was boring as always.
We only stopped for the odd photo and one last look at the great Australian bight, it will be some time, many years, before we do this journey again.
As we approached Ceduna a few rain clouds appeared, this is the first rain we have in 10 months while driving, all other rain where a few drops at night and only a few times on this ten month journey and today’s effort to rain also did not amount to much. The effect of drought on Australia has really changed our mind on the effects of not only drought but climate change. The Australian landscape is so desolate it has been a real eye opener just how much this is the norm and how large Australia is and the distances between places in the Nt and the North of WA.
We reached the end of the Nullarbor and stayed in Ceduna for two nights as the races and Ceduna cup were on the following day.
We stayed in the waterfront van park which had all new facilities and was really lovely, lots of washing was caught up on the first afternoon and the next morning. We had explored Ceduna on previous occasions.This time we just went for walk on the foreshore.
The race afternoon was okay , I got one winner which covered my previous bets and John’s only chance of a winner was foiled by him changing his mind at the last minute from the horse he had picked which had poor form and good odds to a favourite. Of course the horse he had chosen first won and not the one he bet on. Bugger!
Then it was off down the Eyre peninsula on the Flinders Highway stopping at Smokey Bay for morning tea, a pretty beach side village.
And then we stopped for two nights at Streaky Bay, another lovely coastal town with the caravan park on the beach front.
The first afternoon we spent the time driving around one of two tourist loop drives here. The first loop Cape Bauer loop drive.
The scenery was rugged coastline and dirt roads across the land on the peninsula.
The first stop Cape Bauer lookout, rugged yet gorgeous.
And second stop, the whistling rocks and the blowholes but the tide was too high for them to be working well.
It was pancakes for breakfast provided by the van park that got me moving the next morning and then we did the drive around the second scenic loop, Westall Way loop drive, past Sceale bay and down to the seal colony at Point Labbatt.
First was morning tea at Sceale bay
Next Point Labbatt and the seal colony and the scenery when going past Baird bay
Speed point from the beach
The sand dunes encroaching on the peninsula and scenery while driving
Smooth pools
The granites
Yanerbie beach
And back to Streaky Bay .
Back on the road again and down the flinders hwy and Eyre peninsula
First stop today is Venus Bay , an ideal day weather wise, enjoying morning tea outside the van
Here there is a lookout of the Great Australian bight on one side and just a few streets looking to the other side is Venus bay. We are certainly on the tip of a outcrop of the peninsula here.
Elliston
Another jetty and beachside cove while travelling south, however we didn’t do the cliff drive here as we were towing the van, a note to do this and talia.’s caves next time.
Next still going further south, again passing many lakes most of them salt and scrub some had water present.
Our stop for the night was at Coffin Bay , the home of the Pacific oyster.
We enjoyed a great afternoon with pacific oysters, a prawn noodle salad and too much wine while overlooking the oyster racks on the bay. We enjoyed the company of a couple from Adelaide and they had previously come from Sweden.
Then back to the van park and more chatter with some other people in a van here.
Then next morning we toured the local bay and scenery
and set off to Port Lincoln the home to tuna fishing.
Port Lincoln had a great lookout over the harbour which is said to be six times bigger than Sydney harbour.
At Port Lincoln we stayed at a farm house on the hill ,, the wind blowing a gale and the weather really cold. We had to get jumpers and the doona out which felt really odd for January and after so much hot weather.
The following day we were booked on a seafood producers tour but this got cancelled due to lack of numbers so dined at the marina for lunch and then joined Fred on his electric boat tour of the harbours fishing fleet, he gave us lots of info on the fishing industry here at Port Lincoln and showed us some of the posh houses in the canals.
The next morning it was off to salt creek beach at Tumby Bay for morning tea and we ended up staying the night here and walking the foreshore into town for some much needed exercise. The foreshores had a very low tide with people pumping for pippies and shoes are necessary in the shallows as this area is known for razor fish which as the name suggests are razor sharp.
The town of Tumby Bay has many murals including their silos on the edge of town and a pretty foreshore and bay.
The next day we drove through Port Neill , our favourite spot on the Eyre peninsula, unfortunately we didn’t stay here, another time.
then into Arno Bay, not impressive, and onto Cowell , another free camp and painted silo
Here we spent the afternoon at the pub playing pool.. We had Australia Day morning here the next day with a drive to Lucky Bay where there is lots of fishing shacks along the foreshores and industry for grain transport. below mine on way to Whyalla.
The afternoon we drove to, Whyalla and stayed at the footy grounds campground for $10. Here we visited the maritime museum where they had the HMAS Whyalla stored , a mammoth task to have it stored there on dry land and spent the night chatting to a couple from Newcastle.
We also drove around foreshores taking photos of its steel works from Hummocks hill and strolled the foreshores again seeing the huge sand flats at low tide.
The next morning was a trip out to Point Lowry and its lighthouse
We then ventured on to Port Germein for two nights . We have now left the Eyre peninsula and are on the top end of the Yorke peninsula. This town is small with a 1.4 km wooden wharf mostly used by fisherman. We had a nice happy hour in the park with lots of caravaners from close by areas, one couple from Streaky bay very nice and chatty.
Our second day was a walk along the jetty and an afternoon doing paper work for our visas.
So the next day , now the 29 th of January, we leave early for Port Pirie to have the vans bearings replaced and then leave for home. BUT a change of plan we decide not to go home via Broken Hill but via the Stuart hwy Mildura and Hay where we have been before but then detour north via Forbes and Parkes to Dubbo, a route not travelled yet. More on this as it occurs.
We travelled through Spalding
and Burra
Our first stop was Lyrup, to ss Ellen Park , a free camp we had used previously. This time we got power for $5 which was great with the heat and being able to use the air conditioning. This time to reach Lyrup we crossed the Murray river at Cadel and took the road on the southern side of the Murray. The scenery was wineries and lots of fruit crops, and through a lovely town on a lake at Barmera, note a place to return too.
We continued east along the Stuart hwy, through Mildura towards Hay.
A day of much driving stopping at Euston for lunch by the Murray river
And onto HAY and sandy point reserve, a free camp by the river. It was 42-43 degrees, so shade and the generator were a must. We had a swim in the river and suffered the heat in the van with both the air conditioning and fridge struggling in the heat. The temperature climbed to 44 and over night the temperature never got under 34, the fan going all night and all windows opened after the genie was turned off at 9:30 pm
The next morning we visited Hay’s out door shearing centre but only inside was open, mostly a history of shearing and famous shearers .
Today is the 31 st of Jan and the country has produced a heatwave especially in mid NSW, travelling today to Forbes , mid afternoon our plans changed and we stopped at WEST WYLONG to use the pool, camp kitchen fridge and freezer as ours as gone on strike in the heat and we needed power to use the air conditioning. Means we will be back to Newcastle a few days late but just not worth travelling in these temperatures. 38 deg at 9:30 and mid arvo the temp reached 44.
We have used the camp kitchens freezer and fridge to try and save our food and spent a few hours in the parks pool. Whew that was a relief.
The decision not to travel in greater temperatures tomorrow is made and we will stay here in West Wyalong another day, nothing to do here except the pool and air con is in order and the food stays in the parks freezer.
on the way home we travelled through Forbes , our lunch stop,
then Parkes, home of Henry Parkes and the radio telescope which we didn’t have time to go to, a place to be explored another day
the overnight stop at Gulgong showground, home to Henry Lawson. Here where we experienced a wild dust stop and shower. the town was very quaint and again will explore another day
saw the painted silos at Merriwa
and HOME TO NEWCASTLE, its now six weeks of appts, friends and family.
