The Nullarbor and WA Goldfields

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@ Wiluna
Sunday 23rd March 2008: 90 overnight. Hard to beat yesterdays boating with the dolphins in the Great Australian Bight, but we tried. Drove into Streaky Bay and found some reasonable town water (as our supply was getting low), a Laundromat and the annual market day.
Monday: Northwest via Perlubie Beach, Haslam and then a nightmare corrugated dirt road into Acraman Creek (12km). Beautiful area if you don’t mind seaweed.
Tuesday: Gordon gave us a mud map showing a less corrugated road back to the Flinders Highway. However it rained overnight and the short-cut took us over a salt-pan, WOW! nearly got bogged.
On to Ceduna to top-up groceries and fuel ($1.58/l) as we were about to start the Nullarbor crossing. No fruit, vegies or honey to be taken into W.A. Squid jigs were on special so we had to have 3 of them. A couple of drops of rain allowed us to get rid of the salty mud from under the truck. Overnight at Fowlers Bay, expensive caravan park with bore water showers.
Wednesday: Into WA via the security guards on the border. Magnificent views over the Bight. Took too many photos of the huge seas and the blue-blue ocean. Found a camp spot where the Winnabagos could not reach. Fuel only $1.97 per litre on the Nullarbor.
Thursday: 8.20 overnight. More fantastic scenery and diverse vegetation types. Lunch at Cocklebiddy Caves, 10km north of the highway. A huge sink hole in the middle of the plain. Some idiots go down and into them, some even die in them. Overnight at Newman Rocks, a granite outcrop on top of a range at the western end of the 90mile straight section of the Nullarbor. Showers, haircut, beard trim, roast dinner in the camp oven and a drop or two of port to top off a magnificent day.
Friday: Into Norseman to top-up fuel again ($1.65/l). Purchased filtered water as the Streaky Bay water was starting to taste metallic. Northward to Kalgoorlie to top-up groceries and up into the WA Goldfields. Stayed a couple of nights at a freshwater lake named Rowles Lagoon. Found an old sheep station (Goongarie) that CALM have taken over, set-up camp and stayed a few nights. Met ‘Harry’ the dogger. His job is to travel the countryside and lay baits, traps and shoot any feral animals (or dingoes he sees).
Tuesday1st April: Via the track to Comet Vale. Looked down all the old mine shafts. Found nuttin. North via Niagara Dam and Kookynie township to Malcolm, Leonora and could not find a camp spot. With night rapidly approaching we found the deserted Leinster Racetrack on the Leinster Mining Lease, in through the back gate and set-up camp. This strong WA wind has not let up for days. Today it’s from the south, makes a nice change. Spent hours in the little mining town of Wiluna, talking to the local aboriginal artists and residents. Grocery prices are about double Sydney prices. Camped at a Rock Hole about 20km north of the town. Nice to find a waterhole in the middle of this arid area. Lotz of birds and roos. Yabbies by the bucketful, caught 112 kept 42.
Wednesday: West towards Meekatharra. Yuck rain and closed road to Mt Augusta. Looks like we retreat via Cue and then Geralton and on to Carnarvon.

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Photos

Shield Shrimp
never seen nuttin' like this one

Little lizard
no idea what to call this one

Everything is RED up here
This is a typical colour of the water and the country and Leonie and me

WA Goldfields
There is mile after mile of this country