Adelaide to Newcastle

Well here we are in Newcastle NSW, staying with our friend Natalie, a welcome break near the end of our road adventure; we have only a few more hours of travelling in our little yellow car, before we return it to Kevin the owner, our next Helpx host.

Lunch on the beach

London Bridge?

The trip has been amazingly good, it is two weeks today that we set off from Perth not quiet knowing what to expect or if the car would make it.  Our time in Adelaide with Shirley and Tony was just the ticket but we had to leave and press on, the road was calling – the whole trip since leaving the UK is all about the calling of the road and seeing fresh places and meeting new people.  

The Twelve Apostles

So Adelaide to Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road.  We spent the first day just getting near to the beginning, staying overnight in a national Park complete with kangaroos and noisy birds and a river in a limestone gorge.  Then next day, the Great Ocean Road; looking at views of rock formations along the coast with names like, The Twelve Apostles and London Bridge, we stopped at nearly every opportunity, taking photographs looking and marvelling.

We arrived late in the evening at Michelle and Cam’s in Melbourne and spent 3 nights with them and then another night at Tess and Ben’s who we met whilst in India, we have met so many lovely, friendly people during the last nine months and expect to meet more.  Is it only 3 months left, what happened to that then?  A good evening catching up before hitting the road, away from the coast this time up through the Snowy Mountains on gravel roads, chipping the windscreen along the way.  

Morning teeth brushing

Wilderness

Snoozing

Breath taking Scenery, free camping and, oh the luxury, new camping mats that improved the temperature in the sleeping bags. Sleeping straight on the ground has taken me back too many years the think about.  The gravel road was reasonable and then a sign – ‘Road narrows with bends’ for the next 36km, it hugs the side of the mountain and drops away very steeply to the right side.  Suddenly a small kangaroo leaps out in front of us and bounds across the road and away into the bush, good job our driver, Megan, was alert and nobody got hurt.  We have seen lots of kangaroos ‘sleeping’ on the side of the road.  We snaked our way alongside the Snowy River through the national park, out of Victoria into New South Wales the scenery was very beautiful and not many people around, one of the reasons we love Australia.

Snowy River valley

Banksia

A View Back

So here we are about to start our next Helpx, where we expect to be for 2 weeks then some time in Sydney before flying to Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand on Valentines Day, which reminds me I need a card for … ?

Crossing the Nullabor

Setting Off

Well here we are in Adelaide, which means of course we made it across the Nullabor in one piece.  Our car is a 1990 Toyota Corolla, canary yellow with one white front wing.  It’s a little gem, rough and ready on the outside but smooth as smooth under the bonnet.

The Straight Lines

We eventually got our hands on the car on the Friday evening, checked it out and drove it around during Saturday to make sure it ran ok, picked up the tent and bought a stove and supplies and set off Sunday morning.

Kargoorlie

Campsite One - Norsema

 

The weather was forecast to be cool right through to Wednesday so we planned to do the trip in four bites, first we had to leave Perth, which was OK as it was Sunday, up over the Darling Range of hills and the adventure had begun.  The little yellow car purring along, and Megan and I not a care in the world, a bit like Toad in ‘The Wind in the Willows’ – the open road was all we craved.

Kalgoorlie came and we got to see this frontier town at last, didn’t make it last time.  A quick squint at the museum and saw some of the largest gold nuggets in the world, the rest of the town was shut, Sunday of course, so on we pressed for Norseman and a campsite for the night.  We thought about just pitching the tent in one of the picnic places along the way but got cold feet so ended up paying $30.00 for a square of dirt and the use of the toilets and vowed never to do that again.

Look at that!

A Bird in the Hand

Emus

Emergency Landing Strip

Camp Two

Lunch Break

Up and away the next morning, this is where the crossing really started, the trees became smaller and smaller till they were little more than bushes, then we came across this first of 4 or 5 emergency landing strips in the road for small aircraft and of course the longest straight road in Australia - ‘The 90 Mile Straight’ – no bends just up and down hills for 146km and all the while the scenery changing very little, arid grass lands with bushes dotted about and the odd dead kangaroo decorating the side of the road and as we passed scattering the crows and occasional Wedge Tailed Eagle laboriously taking flight off the carcass

Cliifs on the 'Bight

Happy Travellers

View from the window

Camp two was in a picnic spot and $30.00 cheaper than the night before, up went the tent and dinner was prepared and eaten, then we settled down to sleep. Just getting comfy when Meg sat up and I felt something run across my legs, a mouse was sharing our luxury accommodation, on went the torches and there ensued a frantic mouse ejection programme, that accomplished, we then dropped off to sleep.  

Early next morning we crossed the border from West Australia to South Australia, it only took two days driving!  Here the proper Nullabor (Treeless) Plain started virtually any tall vegetation disappeared and we passed mile after mile of grass and rocks.  The heat haze still shimmering on the road ahead even though it was ‘cool’ mid to high 20’s in fact and the ceaseless purr of the little yellow beauty under us, occupied another day, two hours driving, two hours rest, stopping for fuel, two hours on, two off, heading to Ceduna and another night under canvass.  Actually we eventually stayed in a small town called Poochera at a campsite attached to the only pub/hotel in the town, where we purchased, for us a rare, cold beer!

The Nullabor

Day four was a leisurely drift down to Adelaide and the welcome soft bed, after sleeping on the hard, cold ground, of our Couch Surfing hosts, Shirley and Tony; where we had another cold beer, some red wine, good company and conversation for the next 36 hours.  So that was that, we had completed the crossing and the yellow wonder car had done us proud without missing a beat, next – ‘The Great Ocean Road’.

Windmill Water Pumps

Still Down Under

Farm Entrance

Christmas came late at 1 Hamilton Road, Troy was working and didn’t get home till late on the 29^th (we were in bed) so we finally met him on the Friday morning and Santa arrived early morning on the 31^st.  Christmas was swiftly followed by New Year – never known the post Christmas period go so fast.  Also, it must be the first time ever Megan and I did not see in the New Year and our anniversary, 32 years and some said ‘it will never last’.  In that pre Christmas period the sun came out and we hit the dizzy heights of 38°C, 'smokin’.  We also had another period of farm sitting, as Heidi and the kids took the opportunity to visit her Mum and Dad in Perth.

Cutting barbed wire from the fleece of a female Alpaca

Leveling for one of three water troughs we placed

Whilst we were in the South West there were huge rainfalls and floods further east from us, which resulted in the Blackwater River flooding downstream.  We took a walk down to have a look and where it usually should be nearly empty with loads of rocks showing, it was up over the banks and swirling through the trees.

Still have 'The Technique'

Christmas Spider

Kite Flying with Lucas and Kaylah

Keep it flying

Staying on the farm was magical, the clean air, beautiful countryside, looking after the animals, being with the Bibby family, it was all great and if we had won the $31million New Year Lotto we may well have bought the place; as it is going up for sale in the autumn.

The Farm

Blackwater Fisherman

Blackwater in Flood

So here we are back in Perth at Joe’s house, planning our next ‘Moving On’.  We were looking for a camper van return to go east and planning a couple of weeks at another Helpx before flying to Christchurch, on the 14^th February.  So when we had a reply from a helpx where they said they were looking for someone to relocate a car from Perth back east and asked if we would be interested we jumped at the chance.  It seems  destined, a chance to relocate, the car is 5 minutes walk from Joe’s place, we found a tent for sale just round the corner and finally the weather on the Nullabor Plain is cooling down over the next week so a crossing is possible.  Nullabor means treeless, the journey also includes Australia’s longest straight road at 145km, wow, temperatures can reach 50°C plus, so a ‘cold’ period this time of year is vital to a safe crossing.  You shouldn’t drive at night because 7ft kangaroos and wild camels roam the area and we don’t fancy half a ton of roo or camel in our laps! 

We have been back in Australia over a month now – where did that go?  As I said we are planning to fly to New Zealand on Valentines day to see Megan’s cousin, Graham, his wife Sarah and their two children, plus of course to look around a bit, do a helpx, you know the usual stuff we have been doing, anyway till next time G’day.

High up water tank for feeding drinking troughs

Down Under

Birds Eye View of the World Sailing Champioships

Here we are back in Australia, we’re on a small farm near Bridgetown in the SW at our latest ‘Helpx’, in fact our first since September and we have been looking forward to it. 

When we first arrived in Oz we did all the things you would expect, swimming in the sea and Mark’s pool, having a few beers and re-acquainting ourselves with the sights and sounds of Fremantle – though after India it all seemed very quiet!  We stayed a house belonging to a friend of Mark’s so many thanks to Joe for his kindness.

At the Party

We have also been out for a couple of walks in small national parks, one of them up along the Serpentine River to some small cascades where we had a picnic and at the bottom cascade, guess what?  Megan had a swim in the pool, there’s a surprise!

Wild Flowers

Feet Dangling

The night life has been great as well, some BBQ seafood with a few beers, a 50^th birthday of a friend of Mark and Raewyn’s at country and western bar, live band, dancing and for some reason English Premier League football, Arsenal vs Everton, what’s that all about?? Also, a magical free concert on the Esplanade in Perth by the West Australia Symphony Orchestra, the party piece - the 1812 overture with the Swan Bells and real artillery guns, it was amazing.

The World Sailing Championships have been taking place in Fremantle, just off Bathers Beach where, guess what, we like to swim, one day our swim was thwarted by a flotilla of sailboards just off the beach milling about waiting for the start of the race.  There were a few people around to watch, so we settled down to see the spectacle.  The signal for the start sounded and all the sailboarders set off in one direction (well most of them anyway) and kept going and going and going till they were just specs in the distance (don’t worry, they did come back!).

Our Home for 4 Weeks

Alpacas

Large Skies

 So back to the small farm, Heidi and Troy have 4 children, Lucas 6, Kaylah 5, Sharlene 14 months and Evelynne 8 weeks, so you can imagine the nice quiet time we had when we arrived.  Troy works away, one week on one week off, and he was away.  So we were picked up from the bus stop by Heidi and the kids then shopping, then to the farm 25 minutes away by car, this is when we learn that they are all going away to Geraldton (north of Perth) to see Troy’s parents for a week and could we house sit, (do bears s**t in the woods) of course we can.  So here we are, house sitting, dog feeding, sheep and alpaca watering and doing our jobs.  

Chicken Run Repairs

Pruning Roses

Meg has been mostly gardening and I have been securing the chicken run to stop them escaping, it’s a good job I found a fly net to go over my head as the little blighters kept getting up my nose and in my ears – the flies that is not the chickens.  It is very peaceful here and the weather has not been too hot yet, in fact we have had some rain almost unheard of in December, yet another indication in a long line of people we have met on this trip that the weather patterns are changing all over the world.  So, on that cheerful note we say goodbye and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you, we will be here with young children at Christmas… ahhh, I remember it well.

The Serpentine River Walk