Aus Day 76 - Time For A Change?

Saturday 4th December    Aus Day 76

Rose at 06.30 to a cloudy, windy day. Shower, breakfast, published yesterday’s Blog and then prepped the van for departure.

Left the caravan park at 08.10 local time and headed east towards the SA Border which I crossed some 12 kms later. It seems that the fruit-fly quarantine checks will not be carried out until just before Ceduna some 493 kms further east. However, having crossed the border, I am now in the South Australia time zone which means that I am now 10½ hours ahead of UK time and have gained another 1¾ hours on Western Central time so that I am 2½ hours ahead of WA Time. Confusing isn’t it?

Pushing on, I am now travelling very close to the south coast and I stopped off for a quick photo shoot from the Nullarbor Cliffs although the weather is very overcast and the visibility is not good.

View From The Nullarbor Cliffs Looking Back Towards Eucla

View From The Nullarbor Cliffs Looking Out Over The Great Australian Bight

Stopped to refuel at the Nullarbor Roadhouse, simply because it had to be done, then plodded on at a steady 90 kph, stopping every now and then to stretch my legs before arriving at the Ceduna Foreshore caravan park at about 4.30 pm local time. Having checked in and parked the van, I wandered up to the local supermarket to obtain a fresh supply of bananas, since I had to finish the last lot before getting to the fruit-fly quarantine check point.

Travelling The Nullarbor Road

Nullarbor Roadhouse Welcome Sign

The Nullarbor Roadhouse

As I got back, there seemed to be a storm gathering so grabbed my camera and headed for the beach for a few photos. The storm was still quite away out to sea but rolling in fast. I hadn’t long been back at the van when it hit. Not too much rain to start with but severe lightning and thunder with one lightning strike seeming to be just outside the caravan park.

Storm Gathering Over Ceduna Beach

Closer View of the Gathering Storm

Lightning Strike

 At about 6.00 pm I decided to get myself some tea so that I would be ready for the scheduled Skype contact with Eileen at 7.00 pm. As usual, this made my day but had to limit the duration to 45 minutes as I desperately need to get on with completing today’s Blog in readiness for getting it on-line first thing in the morning. The Thunder and rain are still at it intermitently through the rest of the evening and television reception is not good so once finished with the Blog I got myself ready for bed without waitin for Zebedee although I did read for a bit to the sound of the rain on the van roof. Good Night All.

Aus Day 75 - Another Time Zone Surprise

Friday 3rd December    Aus Day 75


Rose at 07.00, shower, breakfast and then spent a bit of time finalizing the Blog so that I can get it on-line as soon as I have Internet connection which may prove not to be possible until I get to Ceduna on Saturday. However, only time will tell.

Prior to leaving the site this morning I had a quick whiz round to take a couple of photos of the roadhouse.

The Camper Van Parked Up At Balladonia

The Balladonia Roadhouse

The "You Are Here" Map At Balladonia

I left the site at 08.30 and set off at a Sunday Driver pace. However, it wasn’t long before I came to the “90 Mile Straight”, the longest straight road in Australia, although it does have remarkable similarities to others I have travelled. I refuelled at Caiguna which is where I suddenly found myself loosing 45 minutes, as from here to the SA Border Western Central Time is in operation. I therefore had to abandon the Sunday Driving and put my foot down a bit in order to get to Eucla in reasonable time.

The Start Of "The 90 Mile Straight"

The Nullarbor Road

Refuelled again at Mundrabilla, as they seemed to be offering very competitive rates, then finally arrived at Eucla at 4.00 pm. This would have been 3.15 pm on WA time. There will be a further time change tomorrow as I cross into SA on m way to Ceduna.

Having checked into the caravan park I was delighted to find good Internet access available although there is no mobile phone signal. I had a bit of time to spare now so, took a wander around the site which is situated on the edge of the Eucla Pass on the Eyre Highway.

The View From The Eucla Caravan Park Towards The Coast

The Eucla Memorial Site

The Eucla Whale Outside The Hotel

Made myself some tea and continued drafting this Blog before eventually establishing Skype contact with Eileen which absolutely made my day for me.

Spent the rest of the evening with a few games of Majong and a bit of reading as well as dealing with a few emails. Amazing how you can continue to conduct business even when on the opposite side of the World. However, Zebedee final caught up with me and dispatched me to bed at 11.00 pm. So, Good Night All.

Aus Dy 74 - Nullarbor Here I come

Thursday 2nd December    Aus Day 74


Rose at 07.30 this morning after reading for an hour. Shower, breakfast then accessed Internet to check emails and publish yesterday’s Blog.

Having wrapped up the van, making sure that I fully topped up with fresh water (I don’t know when I’ll be able to get any more) I left the caravan park at 09.30 and headed north on the Norseman road , stopping to refuel at the edge of town.

I was soon passing through the wheat growing belt again and about 70 kms north of Esperance came across a small place called “Grass Patch” which had an enormous wheat collecting and shipping facility complete with rail head and road trains servicing it. For a very small town, the name board is very impressive.

Grass Patch Town Name board

A Triple Headed Wheat Train Leaving Grass Patch

The road is once again becoming an endless series of up and downs, pretty much in a straight line to the horizon.

I arrived in Norseman at 12.20 and having refuelled and visited the supermarket, took a right turn on the Nullarbor road with my next stop being Balladonia where I will be spending the night.

The Nullarbor Road from Norseman

The Same Road A Bit Further On

Arrived at the roadhouse at 3.00 pm, refuelled ad then booked into the caravan park. Pretty basic facilities but it will do for the one night. Having found myself a convenient site, my first thought was to check out Internet availability but, as I had feared, there is absolutely no signal so, I will be unable to hold my treasured Skype contact this evening. Ho Hum! It looks like an early night for me then.

I spent a bit of time reading and drafting the Blog before getting changed into my jeans (well someone has to keep up the standards) and going off to the roadhouse bar, outside of which I met their tame kangaroo.

I treated myself to a beer and fish and chips (pink snapper) for my tea before wandering back to the van. More time spent drafting the Blog and sorting the few photos taken today, then indulged in a few games of Majong before finally beating Zebedee to the count and going to bed early at 9.30 pm, although I did then read for an hour while listening to the rain.

Aus Day 73 - A Pause In Esperance

Wednesday 1st December    Aus Day 73

Rose at 07.20 to another bright, sunny day although, I see from the weather reports that Eastern Australia is suffering flooding.

I published yesterday’s Blog and checked my emails. I have decided to stay local today and just walk into the shopping centre a bit later in the day. This gives me the opportunity to carry out some housekeeping on the laptop so I’m doing a full disk check which, of course, takes quite some time.

Eventually set off into town at about 11.40 pausing along the way to take a few photos of the area. The business area is quite spread out apart from the Boulevard Shopping Centre which, of course, is decked out for Christmas and feels quite incongruous considering the weather and the fact that today is officially the first day of summer.

Esperance Town Sign

The Esperance Period Village Site

Within The Period Village

The Esperance Museum

The Museum With Skylab In The Background

Unfortunately, wandering around the shops still failed to provide me with any inspiration and I left empty-handed apart from a few provisions. I returned to the van and retrieved the laundry I had left drying and got set up for a good Skype session with Eileen at 5.00 pm. I am still hoping to get a connection tomorrow but I am prepared for a lack of Internet access once I get to Balladonia, my first stop on the Nullarbor crossing.

After tea, I drafted today’s Blog and watched TV before reading until about 9.30 pm when I got a summons from daughter Samantha who was having trouble with Skype. Eventually got connected and sorted out a few things just before Zebedee arrived with his "and so to bed" at about 10.45. Good night all.

Aus Day 72 - It's Cold In The UK

Tuesday 30th November    Aus Day 72

Rose at 06.15 after a rather disturbed night. Shower and breakfast then checked my emails. The Internet seems to be back up to speed this morning so maybe last night was a one-off, I certainly hope so.

It is a bright sunny day today and it is starting to get warm already at 08.00. However, I have just seen the UK weather report on TV, very cold and snowy, so I am rather glad that I am here at the moment although I would much rather have company!!!

Left the caravan park at 08.40 and made my way to the nearest Post Office and conducted my business by 09.05 then headed out of town, calling for fuel on the way. I finally hit the South Coast Hwy at 09.20 with 471 kms to cover to Esperance. Nothing much to report along the way as I was passing through a large arable farming area. I made it to Jerramungup by 11.10 then Ravensthorpe, where I refuelled, by 12.20. Later, I stopped for a bit of a breather and a banana about 60 kms short of Esperance but was booked into the Sea Front Caravan Park, and set up by 3.40 pm. It is a nice park, across the road from the beach, with plenty of shady trees.

The Entrance to the Sea Front Caravan Park - Esperance

Esperance Bay Beach

Looking Across Esperance Bay

Esperance Bay Looking Towards The Tanker Jetty

I went for a short walk along the beach but soon got bored with this and returned to the van for a rest before making tea and drafting the Blog. No Skype contact today s, looking for a lazy evening and will probably read and/or watch TV.

Having got the Blog ready to go I entertained myself for some time playing Majong on the laptop and then read my book until Zebedee came calling at about 11.00 pm. So Good night all.

Aus Day 71 - Albany, A Nice Place But Not A Good Day

Monday 29th November    Aus Day 71

Rose at 06.45, showered, breakfast and then accessed the Internet and finally made my hotel reservation in Bangkok for my homeward bound journey.

I am heading for Albany today but taking the scenic route via Mount Barker. So, I set off at about 09.40 heading into Denmark to do a bit of shopping, then hit the road to Mt Barker at 10.30 am. Since it is only 50 kms up the road I arrived there at about 11.15 so pulled into a rest area for a while. There didn’t seem to be much to hang around for so after about 30 minutes, I continued onto the Albany Highway and headed south, getting to Albany and the caravan park just after 1.00 pm.

Denmark Main Street

Having checked into the caravan park and identified my site I drove into Albany and went to Emu Point where there is a lovely bay and beach so, spent a bit of time wandering along the beach.

Emu Point Beach

Emu Point Seagull

Emu Point

Emu Point Bay

Dunes Flora At Emu Point

I then headed back into the shopping area and managed to get parked up in the Woolworth's car park before having a stroll along the length of the main Albany shopping street. I was looking for inspiration for Christmas but without a great deal of success.

My day deteriorated rapidly once I got back to the van as I suffered a bit of an altercation with another vehicle in trying to get out of the car park. Fortunately there was little damage done. However, I was to suffer further frustration once I got back to the caravan park and tried to establish Skype contact with Eileen. The connection was so bad that we had to abort the session which left me feeling very frustrated indeed. My visit to Albany is one that will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Eventually got myself some tea and then started drafting this edition of the Blog. Coming to put it on the Internet, I found that the connection was so slow that it took me 3 times longer than usual to upload the photos. Consequently I didn't get finished until almost 10.00 pm when of course, Zebedee appeared and said, "Time for bed". Well I couldn't really argue as I must be up in good time in the morning ready to make the 470 km dash to Esperance. So, Good night all.

Aus Day 70 - Another Lazy Sunday

Sunday 28th November    Aus Day 70

Rose at 07.30 then had a leisurely shower and breakfast. I spent the morning going through my UK accounts and bringing everything up to date in anticipation of my return home in just a couple of weeks time.

By the time I was finished with this, it was time for a spot of lunch, after which I decided to go for a short walk. So, having put some laundry in to wash, I set off. It wasn’t long before I had gathered a veritable phalanx of flies, which stayed with me until I got back to the van about 2 hours later. However, on my way out of the caravan park I spotted a kangaroo and joey grazing amongst toe caravans.

Mum and Joey In The Caravan Park

Joey Posing For His Close-Up

I eventually found my way to the beach which seems to be an absolute surfer’s paradise so, I was somewhat surprised that there didn’t appear to be any there. Maybe they have a day off on Sunday’s.

The Sign Says It All

Ocean Beach From The Lookout

And Not A Surfer In Sight

Amongst the wildlife I spotted were a Pelican, a Heron and a number of Wedge-Tailed Eagles. However, have you ever tried to photograph a Wedge-Tailed Eagle with a digital camera? They just won’t stay in one place long enough, most frustrating.

Just A Lone Pelican

Heron In Flight

Wedge-Tailed Eagle - He Must Be Shy

When I got back to the van I remembered to hang out my washing to dry before getting set up for my Skype contact with Eileen at 5.00 pm.

Made myself some tea of beef pie, boiled potatoes and beans before getting settled down to draft today’s Blog.
After getting the Blog ready to go, I relaxed for a while by watching some TV before Zebedee caught up with me "and so to bed" he said, at just after 10.00pm. Good night all.