Sometimes I Dream in English

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DAY 162


It was Saturday morning in Kalgoorlie, the sun was coming up the air was cool and a lovely refreshing morning to wake up in.

Andy was up and at it early, he wanted to type the blog for yesterday, I however chose to stay in bed until 7.00 when it was a little bit more of a reasonable time to get up.

I joined Andy in the camp kitchen, and made tea and toast, before long we were joined by Brian and Lorraine (they own the A40) and John and Judith (the Swiss couple, well John is English).

We are all moving on today, so it was to get on with breakfast pack up, shower and go. Once again we chatted, it was a lively breakfast, Judith says that John makes the best porridge, sadly we won’t get to find that out. As we were on the subject of snoring on campsites Judith mentioned that she talks in her sleep and sometimes she dreams in English (Judith is Swiss so English is her second language). We did not hear her talk last night.

John and Judith are heading up to Lake Ballard (there are some interesting statues on a salt lake up there, but sadly this is not on our plan of things to do), they will be back in Perth in a few days, they will be there for a few days and will then be flown out to a cattle station where they intend to WWOOF for a week or so. You may remember us mentioning WWOOF previously when we met Jade and Denise who were also WWOOFing around Australia - Willing Workers On Organic Farms.

Interestingly in order for them to do this, as the cattle station is so remote, the owners will fly them in using the same plane that the miners are flown in with.

As for Lorraine and Brian today they head down to Norseman and onto the Nullarbor, I have to say I am not sure that I would enjoy sitting on the Nullarbor in their little Austen A40, but credit to them for doing so, what a lovely little car, Andy was in love with it.

We bid goodbye to Lorraine and Brian they hit the road first, Andy and I went to pack up and before long Judith and John popped over to wish us well, however we got chatting again, of course delaying both of us, but we are not concerned about time, we have our next site planned and we do not have far to travel (about 200km). We get onto the subject of keeping fit while travelling and Judith reveals that they do exercises every other day, even if it means going out for a jog when it gets dark and in fact she has a skipping rope which is also excellent exercise. This gives me food for thought, we do get some exercise and we do walk where possible, but a skipping rope may add a bit of another dimension.

We bid each other farewell and hope to meet up in Perth for a drink, we then get on with our packing. We will be a little late leaving but such is life.

We packed and showered and left the site, however we wanted to do a few things before leaving town, one of them was to pop back up to the Super Pit and see if there was going to be a blasting today and of course check progress on the blast that they did a couple of days ago.

We find there is no blast today and they have started to dig out the rubble (gold containing rubble that is) that was blasted on Thursday.

We also popped into Bunnings again, we wanted to get a little bit of wood as Andy is making some modifications to the trailer to prevent the mattress from sliding around. Bunnings is busy, we think most of Kalgoorlie is in here this morning.

We cannot pop into the Super Pit shop, it is closed, so is the Museum and the Royal Flying Doctor Service Museum, all because it is Saturday and everything except the shops are shut. So we head out of town towards Coolgardie and Perth on the 94.

We enjoyed Kalgoorlie an interesting town and quite lively during the day. Shortly after leaving Andy said I fancy a coffee, if there is a Maccy D’s in Coolgardie we can stop for a coffee. I said it was unlikely but I agreed.

In Coolgardie we drive down the main street, it looks like a ghost town; there is a petrol station and a traditional Aussie style hotel. No coffee here then. I told Andy we may have to wait until we get to Perth as I did not think that there would be much until then.

We stop at Boondi Lookout (Camps 5 WA 319 - page 325), I drove down a small road for a while and then onto a track, some very sparse signage was pointing us in the direction of the lookout, I drive as far as I can when the track runs out and we are at the bottom of a rocky escarpment. We jump out, cameras in hand and walk up to the top of the rocks, the view is amazing, the rocks just go on and on into the tree line in the distance. There is also a salt lake far in the distance.

We see something on the rocks move; Andy says it is a very well camouflaged Lizard. We look hard and find this tiny little lizard that moved with the speed of light, he was quite stripy, I have not looked at the photos yet, but I hope there is a good one for you to see.

This place would be a great campsite for a night or two, but it is too early for us to stop. We head back out to the 94. The scenery is amazing; it does not change much, trees, rocks and red soil.

We have not seen a kangaroo for days, we wonder where they all are. However we are driving past the longest pipeline I have ever seen, it is mostly above ground and seems to go all the way back to Perth. This is the water that feeds Kalgoorlie, there are signs up asking you to phone a number if you see the pipeline leaking. Water is so valuable here, there is not much so every drop counts.

It really has made me think about our basic necessity of water, we take for granted in England, we get a lot of rain so water seems not to be a problem, out here if there is no water you cannot sustain life.

We wave at other drivers again, some wave back, others don’t. Perhaps they don’t play the game or maybe they are just not looking.

Soon we find the turning for our campsite for the night, it is 5k’s down a dirt track, great corrugations again! We are driving down to Karalee Rocks (Camp 5 WA 323 - page 326), we see a small sign that points to the dam, so we turn and before long we find a large open area with a few trees, fire grates, a long drop toilet and not much else.

Andy asks if I am ok with camping here, it looks like we will be the only ones, I am amazed it is Saturday night and where is everybody when you want some camp buddys. I think logically, we are 5 kilometres of the main highway we are tucked away down here and I feel quite comfortable (but I said that last time!!)

We are pitched, kettle on and the remainder of the afternoon is ours to enjoy, but we must remember that it gets dark early now, so it will be dark by 6.00. I finish the blog, chat to a friend on Skype do some photo maintenance.

We decide to have a light tea tonight so out with the cheese and crackers, no wine I am afraid, but I cannot have that luxury all the time. It went down well, we are enjoying the peace of the evening, and there is no light pollution, no road noise and just the sound of the wildlife that surrounds us.

Now, when I mention wildlife I am still saying that we have not seen a kangaroo for days and there is not one around her either!!

We play cards and read for a bit, but we are both in bed for 8.30, what a rock and roll life this is. It really is a point to say that when it gets dark there is nothing to do, and when you have played so many hands at cards and have read yesterdays paper twice there is not option but to go to bed.

Andy seems to go to sleep fairly quickly I take a while as I am listening to the sounds, but for the first time I actually feel quite comfortable with this bush camping malarkey. I know it takes time to get used to it, the solitude is unnerving, and I do like people around me. Andy makes sure that I am comfortable with my surroundings and again we discuss a plan if we need to get out quickly for our own safety.

It is a subject we don’t like to talk about but we know how real these things can be and we feel that we should be prepared for any eventuality especially bush camping and the likelihood of bush fires.

The blinds are open and it is absolutely pitch black out there. The evening is warm and comfortable and we look forward to waking up in this amazing environment. I drift off, amazingly for so early in the evening for me,

P.S. apologies, I will publish images tomorrow when I am on a proper campsite with power as our batteries are just about to run out, I have enough to publish and that’s it!

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Photos

The Road Adhead
It did seem to go on forever

Badly Burn't
There has been fire, but new tree's emerge

Caroline
Looking like she is enjoying this Bush Camping Lark. camera in hand, bush hat, boots and gaters

Water Trough
Water is gathered from the flat plain and is directed to the Dam

The walled plain
This huge area had a wall around it and when it rained the natural slope directed the water in to the trough and to the dam

Huge plain
This plain hasn't seen water for a long time

The Dam
The water catchment dam

Bush Camping
This was a pitch, we were the only ones there and it was very dark, still we had great fun

The Patrol
Packed up and ready to roll

Camp Set Up
Karalee Rocks

Can You See it?
Well Camouflaged in this environment

Fast Mover
Great Markings on his back makes this little fella hard to spot.

Staying Still
He may not be spotted if he stays still.

Rubble Shift
This is after the blast, they are already moving the rubble.

Red and Vast
Amazing Landscape