Our Holiday is Over!!!! Nyngan to Cessnock - 16 August 2012 - 499km

We awoke to a very cold morning,  but by the time we were on the road it was sunny and warming up nicely.  The drive home was uneventful and we stopped at Merriwa for lunch, arriving home about 3.30pm.  It was a good feeling to be home again and to find everything was just as we had left it.

We thoroughly enjoyed our road trip.  There is no doubt Australia has many unique and wonderful places, towns and tourist attractions to visit and enjoy.  Travelling to them in our caravan was a first for us and we enjoyed this lifestyle and the people we met on the road and in the parks we stayed in.  We did learn one lesson though.  That caravaning for us,  is more enjoyable in the warm weather than the cold!!!!

Kilometres Travelled While Pulling the Van:   15,120km

Caravan Parks Stayed In:                               38

Off Road Stays:                                                1



Signing off for now.   Until our next holiday.
Cheers

Rhonda (Sam) & Pete

Broken Hill to Nyngan - 15 August 2012 - 573km

We departed Broken Hill at 8.00am and stopped at Willcania for petrol.  It was a beautiful sunny day, probably the warmest we have had for some weeks.  Lots of wild goats and emus feeding by the side of the road.

It was a long boring drive and we arrived at Nyngan Riverside caravan park about 3.30pm ($28 power & water).  Before checking in we contemplated driving on to Dubbo,  but it would have meant it would be close to dusk when we arrived,  so decided to stay.  This was the same caravan park we stayed at on the the 6th May,  the first day of our holiday.  Seems such a long time ago now.

It was a very warm afternoon at Nyngan, so we sat outside the van for our last happy hour, until it started to get cool.

Home tomorrow.

Cheers
Rhonda (Sam) & Pete

Port Augusta to Broken Hill - 14 August 2012 - 405km

We woke up early for our drive to Broken Hill and kept stopping along the way to check how our sway bars were doing with one bracket missing.  No problem there.  We were driving on roads we travelled way back in May when we first left home.  The sky was full of dark clouds and we expected it to rain.  Once again very little traffic once we left Port Augusta.

After Peterborough the scenery changed to very flat desert type scrub and we got stuck behind a road train transporting a huge dump truck.  No chance to pass it as it took up all the road and traffic coming the other direction had to pull off the road.  We decided to pull over and stop for lunch and let the dump truck get ahead of us.

I had booked a drive through site at Broken Hill City caravan park ($38 power & water) which was the same one we stayed at when we first left home.  Just overnighting again.

Tomorrow we will travel to Nyngan to overnight and then will be home the next day.  It seems ages since we first left home on 6 May.

Cheers
Rhonda (sam) & Pete

Coffin Bay to Port Augusta - 13 August 2012 - 373km

Departed Coffin Bay for Port Augusta and drove for a short time on the Flinders Highway and then joined the Lincoln Highway at Port Lincoln,  where the highway followed the coast for some time.  We drove through sheep country and past fields of bright green grass and fields of yellow flowers.  It was very pretty.

When we stopped for petrol at Cowell,  Pete noticed that one of the brackets and chains for our sway bars on the van was missing.  He fixed it as best he could and we continued on,  checking into Big 4 Port August ($36 power & water) at lunch time.  Again we asked for a drive-through site and set up the van before setting out to try to find a new bracket and chain - with no success.  Looks like we will have to wait until we get home to replace it.

We should be arriving home this Thursday,  all being well,  as we plan on doing one night stays until we get there.  So......see you soon.

Cheers
Rhonda (Sam) & Pete

Streaky Bay to Coffin Bay - 12 August 2012 - 275km

The morning was sunny, but still cold when we left Streaky Bay caravan park for the drive to Coffin Bay. There was very little traffic and it felt like we were the only vehicle on the road.  For most of the drive on the Flinders Highway we passed huge sheep farms and roads turning off to lots of small towns on the coast.

Coffin Bay is a small fishing village with a thriving oyster industry and a population of 650, except in holiday season when it jumps to 2,500.  We checked into Coffin Bay caravan park ($30 power and water) about lunch time and asked for a drive-through site as we only intended to stay over night. The amenities block was new and the best we have seen so far.  Although the sun was shining there was a cold wind.

In the afternoon we did the Oyster Walk which took us along the foreshore with excellent water views,  and through areas of beautiful flowering bush. By the time we arrived back at the van it was too cold to sit outside so we spent the evening indoors enjoying our new heater!!!

Cheers
Rhonda (Sam) & Pete

Driving Across the Nullabor - 7 to 11 August 2012 - Cocklebiddy, Nullabor, Streaky Bay

KALGOOLIE TO COCKLEBIDDY - 7 AUGUST 2012 - 572KM

We left Kalgoolie for our trip across the Nullabor intending to spent the night at Balladonia Roadhouse caravan park, but made good time driving the Eyre Highway and arrived about 12.30pm, so decided to drive another 200km to Cocklebiddy.  Part of the drive was Australia's longest straight road - 145.6km of Eyre Highway.

Cocklebiddy Wedgetail Inn caravan park ($25 power) had no water connected to the sites.  We still had drinking water in our tank so this wasn't a problem.  We were given a token each which covered a 10 minute hot shower which incidentally worked very well.
 
We could get 3 channels on TV but no mobile or internet. All the caravan sites were drive through so we didnt have to unhook the car.

COCKLEBIDDY TO NULLABOR - 8 AUGUST 2012 - 465KM

Our drive to Nullabor took us through a change of scenery,  from green bush to very flat scrub where you can see for miles. The ocean was also in view at lots of places.  There was lots of roadkill, mainly kangaroos but we saw our first dead camel by the side of the road.  Several sections of the road are set out and marked for the Flying Doctor so that the aircraft can land there when there is no airstrip nearby.We stopped at Eucla for lunch. 

As we were to cross the WA/SA border at Border Village Quarantine Station,  we expected to be stopped and so ate all our leftover fruit so it wouldn't be confiscated. We needn't have bothered as this particular quarantine station only stopped vehicles going into WA - not coming out!!!  Apparently there is another  quarantine station just before Ceduna and we will be checked there.

We checked into Nullabor Hotel/Motel/Caravan Park ($27 power - no water again).  Luckily we still have drinking water in our van tank.  Showers here ar $1 for 5 minutes. As most  roadhouses, this.one has a restaurant, bar and petrol station.   Not impressed with this caravan park.  The showers and toilets are part of the roadhouse and right at the front of the building next to the bar on the main highway. The doors are never locked and anyone can use them. It is a popular stop for road trains. I felt a bit uncomfortable walking from the caravan park to them in my flannelette p.j.'s!!!  We can get TV reception, but no mobile or internet coverage We are just overnighting again and we dont  have to unhook the car.

NULLABOR TO STREAKY BAY - 9, 10, 11 AUGUST - 408KM

After leaving the Roadhouse our first stop was Head of Bight, a premier whale watching area on the Bunda Cliffs of the Nullabor.  It is very well set up with the boardwalks taking you right to the cliffs at the edge of the water.  There was at lease 20 Southern Right Whales swimming close to the cliffs, some with babies.  We were fortunate to see a small white baby whale swimming close to its mother who was the normal dark colour.  It was well worth the 12km detour to see them.

Driving from Head of Bight along the Eyre Highway the roadkill changed to a dead camel and several wambats.  After stopping at a roadside rest area for lunch we checked into Streaky Bay caravan park ($28 power & water).  Streaky Bay is a very attractive small coastal town and the caravan park is right on the beach.  The caravan sites are large and the amenities buildings excellent.
It also has a very good cafe.  Our site is only about 50 metres from the water so we had happy hour whilst enjoying the water views, and took advantage of the cafe to order a takeaway dinner.  We are having beautifull sunny days, but very cold nights.

The next day we walked to town for a few groceries and to purchase a small heater for the van.  In the afternoon we took a good hard walk along the beach to get some exercise.  We walked up to the local pub that night for a few drinks and an excellent meal. It is a lovely old pub built in the late 1800's  and has been modernised in keeping with its history.

On our last day we enjoyed a lazy day, walking out to the town jetty and ordering oysters kilpatrick from the caravann park cafe for dinner (yumm).

Tomorrow we drive to Coffin Bay.

Cheers
Rhonda (Sam) & Pete

Southern Cross to Kalgoolie - 5,6 August 2012 - 226km

We departed Southern Cross, (the state's first goldrush town and the last  wheatbelt town), in thick fog and drove for quite a long  way before it lifted.  We drove for most of the way alongside the Golden Pipeline, which brings water from Perth to Kalgoolie, a distance of approximately  600km.  It was built in 1903 and has just been given World Heritage status.

Checked into Prospect Holiday Park ($45 power & water), and after lunch had a walk around the town with its lovely wide streets and many old, well presereved buildings.

The next day we drove out to the gold producing Super Pit Lookout.  Its hard to describe the huge hole (500metres deep), which made massive trucks look tiny at the bottom.  Each load in the dump trucks is worth $10,000.  We then went to find the Mining Hall of Fame, only to find it had closed.

In the afternoon we took the Brothel Tour at Australia's oldest operating brothel, Questa Casa.  The madam was a very well spoken lady and not a working girl!!!!  The tour was very entertaining as she shared many amusing stories of her 20 years as owner and madam of the business.  Before returning to camp we went to one of the beautifully renovated pubs for a drink,  served by a "skimpie"  (very attractive bar staff wearing only underwear).

We liked Kalgoolie.  It is an interesting town with lots of history. Tomorrow we begin our drive across the Nullabor.

Cheers
Rhonda (Sam) & Pete