Ceduna, southern WA and home!

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19th September 2012

We left our Coffin Bay campsite just before 9am and headed north. The countryside was green and gold and rolling hills initially, very scenic. We had morning tea at Elliston, a pretty coastal spot. We stopped at Murphy's Haystacks, some unusual looking rock formations in a field, for lunch. Alex was bitten on the head by a bee while looking at a beehive. After lunch we noticed the country looked drier as we continued north. There were bobtail lizards all over the roads, we were constantly driving around them. Perhaps because it was quite a warm and sunny day, the warmest we've had in ages. We arrived in Ceduna at around 3:30pm and we are staying in the Big 4 caravan park. Mike tried squid fishing from the jetty after dinner but had no luck.



20th September 2012

We did a bit of shopping, then spent the morning in the Ceduna National Trust Museum, a large museum which uses a variety of interesting historical buildings (such as Ceduna's first school, gaol and post office) to house a mass of historical items. Kyle liked the tractors, the whale jaw and the basking shark cast best. Alex liked the basking shark cast the best. There are many items of old farm machinery, horse drawn vehicles and some old cars, household items, books, war related items and basically any other historical item that may have been used in this area. Very good value at $7 for the family.

We then drove to the port lookout before lunch.

After lunch we went to see the McKenzie Ruins on the outskirts of the town near Denial Bay. These are the stone remains of numerous large water tanks and a small house, once the property of the first local farmer in the area, William McKenzie (1844-1936). We went to the Denial Bay jetty for a walk.




21^st September 2012

We left Ceduna and headed west, past some fields, low scrub, and about half a dozen wombat roadkills. We entered the start of the treeless Nullabor plain. At lunchtime we went to the Head of Bight, where there is a whale watching centre. It was $26 for entry, which gives access to some long boardwalks overlooking the dramatic cliffs and the Southern Ocean. Right whales come up here from about May to October to have their calves and spend time in the warmer waters before going south in summer. Today there were many whales visible, a lot of them in mother-calf pairs. One had a white calf. We also saw a couple of them breach (raise their body out of the water), which was amazing. We could hear them singing their deep songs. The ocean was turquoise in close, and deep blue further out. We saw a seal surfing the waves, and a bobtail on the path. What an amazing sight and such lovely blue weather for it.

We camped 75 km east of the WA-SA border, among some shrubs which provided a bit of wind protection. We had a campfire and Mum made a caramel pudding on the fire. There were some strong winds and a couple of drops of rain overnight.




22^nd September 2012

It was a very windy day, mostly a headwind which doesn’t do much for our fuel consumption. We had to put the camper up at the border for a quarantine inspection (welcome home!) which was however a bit ad hoc as the car fridge was opened but not checked (not that it mattered as we had already eaten all the prohibited imports).

Then we drove, and we drove and we drove some more. More than usual because we gained an hour and a half today. We passed low scrub, medium scrub, and mallee (small tree) scrub, and lots of dead roos. The wind continued strongly. We camped 50km east of the metropolis of Balladonia, in a nice site with lots of trees, and a toilet (now we are back in WA, more of the rest areas have toilets). Quite a lot of rubbish around, so I put a large bagful of it into the bins, as I’ve done at a number of the free sites. Wouldn’t it be great if everyone binned a few bits of litter whenever they camped and left the site a bit cleaner, instead of a bit grubbier. We stopped at the old telegraph station at Eucla and Alex and Kyle enjoyed running around the sand dunes burying it.

This is probably our last night camping with Mum and Dad as they are heading straight back to Perth and we are going via Bridgetown to collect our cat. We played cards after dinner.



23rd September 2012

We woke to a very chilly morning and left camp at about 7:30am. We drove through lovely woodlands towards Balladonia and on to Norseman. We past a truckdriver who was collecting litter - just like I was posting about yesterday! We past about 6 cyclists coming the other way. We had morning tea at the Norseman park and Alex and Kyle had a play in the playground. We said goodbye to Mum and Dad who are heading home through the wheatbelt while we go through the south west to get our cat. We've been very lucky to have the opportunity to travel together like this over the last few months.

We continued south, stopping for lunch at Salmon Gums, and arriving in Esperance in the mid afternoon. Alex and Kyle played in the caravan park playground and we had Chinese takeaway for dinner.



24th September 2012

While we were packing up, we found that one of our chocks (to keep the camper in place while parked) had been stolen. Rather annoying as it is from an interlocking set of four. We left the caravan park at about 7:30am and headed towards Ravensthorpe, passing pretty yellow wattles and deep pink kunzias, and a purple flower I can't name (it is wildflower season in the south). We had morning tea in Ravensthorpe and went into the very large, new IGA to buy a couple of things.

We continued towards Ongerup. We accidently hit a racehorse goanna which was on the road; we had initially thought it was a bobtail and tried to straddle it with the car, realised too late it was a racehorse goanna that wouldn't sit to be straddled, and it didn't. The car has been vibrating a bit the last couple of days, which we think is poor wheel alignment. Ongerup had a wildflower show on at the museum, so we went in to see that. It was a very nice display of many local wildflowers, and we also saw part of the museum, about bush food and local wildlife. We had lunch and Alex and Kyle had a short play at the playground, and we continued on towards Kojonup. We could see the Stirling Ranges in the distance, and green and gold farmland along the road, dotted with tall trees. It was a nice blue day.

When we were 44km east of Boyup Brook the car started to shudder a bit and Mike pulled over. The front right tyre had a small puncture (and incidently quite a big wear patch from the poor wheel alignment). We changed the tyre and continued towards Bridgetown. Blue leschenaultia dotted the road verges. We arrived at Bridgetown at around 4:30pm and camped at Mike's mum's house.



25th September 2012

We left Bridgetown in the rain, picking up our cat and continuing to the big playground at Donnybrook for morning tea. Luckily there was a break in the rain so Alex and Kyle could have a play. Then onwards to Perth. The Forest Highway roadside plantings have grown, and are looking good. The rain continued as we drove.

24,737 km later, the Eagle has landed back home in Perth! What an amazing trip it has been. If you have been thinking about it, we would highly recommend an Australian road trip. Whether you use a camper, sleep-in vehicle, caravan, tent or whatever, it will be an adventure you won't forget!

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Photos

Murphy's Haystacks
Near Streaky Bay

Kyle with basking shark cast
Ceduna National Trust Museum

Right Whales
Head of Bight

Right Whales
Head of Bight

Seeya Nanna & Pop!
Campsite near Balladonia