Narembeen to Home

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Day 81 Narembeen 18/09/06

We awoke around 7.30am to find the boys still asleep. Leanne and I studied the weather information in the paper and watched the forecasts on TV, before deciding to stay an extra day in Narembeen, as it was raining in Kalgoorlie. Based on information from Des, we have decided to skip Esperance, if the weather there is windy and wet. Annette woke Ben up around 8.00am and our boys got up shortly after. Once breakfast was eaten, Daniel walked with Ben to school (for a look) and William got some diary work done, so he could go to the shop and help Des. On return from his walk to the school, Daniel also did some diary work, before heading across to the supermarket. William was straight into the checkout counter, even processing Eftpos! Daniel was busy loading shelves and Leanne was keeping an eye on William, as well as being a checkout chick when needed. After I had the 13th blog and photos ready to publish, I went to the Tele-centre in town to see if they had Internet access for laptops. I was informed they only had dial-up, which is way too slow for publishing a blog, so it will have to wait until Kalgoorlie. I too went to the supermarket and was able to help Des moving shelves and stock. Before we all knew it, it was 2.00pm, so we stopped for lunch. Annette, Des, Leanne, Daniel, William and I walked back over to the house and had our lunch there. We returned to the supermarket and all worked through until 5.30pm or closing time. Ben came from school and helped Daniel stock shelves.

We walked back to house and the boys played together, while the adults relaxed watching the TV news and weather forecast. Annette had organised teriyaki chicken for dinner, as well as cooking a roast lamb so we have meat for sandwiches while we are traveling. The girls prepared a salad and we all enjoyed another very tasty meal. After dinner, Annette re-colored Leanne’s hair and then we put the boys to bed. The adults sat round chatting for a while before retiring for the evening.

Day 82 Narembeen to Kalgoorlie 19/09/06

We awoke to realise we had all, including Des, slept in. As Des raced off to work, we got up and had breakfast. Annette woke Ben and our boys came out into the kitchen shortly after. Ben headed off to school and when Annette realised he had left a school note behind, William jumped on his bike and took it to him. Leanne and I packed the car fridge, the trailer and hooked it on the car. At around 9.40am we drove across to the supermarket. Once we had purchased a few last items, we said our goodbyes and drove out of Narembeen at around 10.00am. We drove through to Southern Cross, via Merriden, where we refueled. From here we drove through Yellowdine and about 20ks east, we turned off into Yellowdine National Park. We drove a further 5k’s along a dirt road to Karalee Rocks Dam, where we had lunch. After inspecting the dam, the rock and the steel aqueducts, we drove back to the highway. Heading east along the highway, we arrived in Kalgoorlie at around 3.45pm. After visiting the Information Centre, in Hannan St, gathering a town map and tourist brochures, we found a suitable site at the ‘Prospector Holiday Park’ and set up the trailer. Then we drove back into Kalgoorlie and bought some small grocery items for dinner. On return to the park, we had drinks and nibblies, before cooking and eating dinner in the camp kitchen. While eating dinner, we watched the ABC News and the ‘7.30 Report’ which both had specials on Peter Brock and his funeral. By the time we had done dishes etc. it was about 9.00pm. After the boys had done some reading, we retired to the trailer for the night.

Day 83 Kalgoorlie 20/09/06

We awoke around 7.45am and lazily got up. After showers, we had breakfast and got ready for our day touring Kalgoorlie. We drove straight to the ‘Miner’s Hall of Fame and arrived just in time to do the 10.00am underground mine tour. This tour, around level 1 in the mine, took around 45minutes and was very interesting. Once back on the surface (Leanne and William walked up the 157 steps of the emergency spiral staircase, while Daniel and I took the lift) we watched the pouring of a gold ingot. From here we visited the other displays and panned for some gold. We were lucky enough to find several small pieces, but unfortunately not nearly enough to retire on! After panning, we did a very quick tour of ‘The Hall of Fame’ and its lookout. This place is well worth a visit but I would allow at least 3 - 4 hours to tour the place properly. We then drove to the ‘Superpit’ lookout, where we were advised by a security guard, that due to blasting at 1.00pm, we weren’t allowed in. However, once the blast had taken place and the area cleared, the gates would reopen. So we drove into Boulder and got some lunch, as well as visiting the ‘Boulder Sweet Shop’. We returned to the entrance gates of the viewing area, parked and waited to hear the noise of the blast. At around 1.05pm we heard two loud blasts. Within about two or three minutes, the security guard had opened the gates and we were allowed entry. Once at the viewing platform, it became very obvious why it is called the ‘Superpit’, it’s huge! We read the information boards and took several photos before getting back in the car. After returning to Boulder and visiting the ‘Superpit Shop’, we drove back into Kalgoorlie. I published our thirteenth blog, while Leanne and the boys checked out the shops. We all met up at Woolworths, where we bought some food for dinner, before driving back to the park. The boys did some diary work before Leanne and I prepared William’s request for dinner being ‘home made takeaway chicken schnitzel burgers’. William was to help with this preparation and cooking but found a mate with a footy just as we were starting! We ate dinner in the camp kitchen and watched the News which showed Steve Irwin’s Memorial Service. A very sad event, but wasn’t his daughter just brilliant! After dinner, the boys did some more diary work before getting into bed. Leanne and I studied the weather reports again and after a phone call to Des and Annette, decided we will not be going to Esperance, due to the poor weather. We will head to Norseman and start our drive across the Nullabor tomorrow. After writing some more blog, both Leanne and I retired for the night.

Day 84 Kalgoorlie to Cocklebiddy 21/09/06

We awoke around 7.00am and got up straight away, as we had a big drive ahead of us. After breakfast and packing up, we drove out of the park at 9.15am. We refueled at the servo outside the park before heading to Woolba. From here we drove through to Norseman, arriving around 11.25am. Here we refueled and bought 10 litres of bottled water for the trip across the Nullabor. As we headed out of Norseman, we had a strong tailwind which helped with both fuel economy and cruise speed. On the way we caught up to and passed a huge ‘Cooks’ dump truck with escort vehicles front and rear. Arriving at Belladonia around 1.44pm (central western adjusted time = + 45mins) we refueled and had a late lunch. Just as we finished lunch, the huge dump truck stopped for a break to. After a 20mins stop, we departed and continued to Cocklebiddy, in windy conditions, arriving at 5.15pm. We booked into the Park, if you can call a gravel car park with power poles a Caravan Park? As I was refueling the car, I met a couple of families from Queensland that had also just booked in. They offered us the site next to them which gave us a little shelter from the gusty winds. We set up the trailer as the sun dropped providing a cloudy, pink sunset. As it was windy, dark and late, we bought take away dinner in the roadhouse and then returned to the trailer. As it had cooled down considerably and was still blowing a gale, we huddled in the trailer and watched a DVD on the laptop. After this had finished, we snuggled down for the night.

Day 85 Cocklebiddy to Ceduna 22/09/06

We were awoken by next doors alarm clock, as it went off at 6.00am! With all the noise going on as people packed up, it was useless trying to sleep, so we got up. After breakfast, we too began to pack up, but spotted Robert, Kaye and Jack, who must have arrived late last night. We had a good chat with them and in doing so found out that the road to the Bird Observatory were recommended as 4wd only. As we were beginning to drop the tent, the wind started blowing again, which made the pack up difficult. Even so, we hit the road at around 9.00am and with the help of a strong tailwind again, drove to Mundrabilla, where we topped up with fuel. Once back on the road, we stopped at several road side stops to view the ‘Great Australian Bight’. The views and scenery were just spectacular! Arriving at the 3rd lookout around 12.50pm, we had lunch in the car park at a picnic table. With lunch eaten, we hit the road again, driving through to the Nullabor, arriving at around 3.05pm. We refueled and gave consideration to staying overnight here. As it was still very windy and the park was gravel, just like Cocklebiddy, we decided to continue onto Ceduna, even though it was another 300k’s. Approximately 14ks East of Nullabor, we turned right off the highway and drove about 11ks to ‘Head of Bight’ to see some whales. We walked down onto the platforms and spent an hour or so watching 10 - 12 whales swimming around offshore. As it was a bit rough, they weren’t in too close, but with the aid of binoculars we got some great views.

We departed ‘Head of Bight’ around 4.20pm and headed for Ceduna. About 15k’s before Panong, we caught up to the huge Cooks dump truck we had overtaken yesterday. I spoke to the pilot car on the UHF radio and as the roads were not as wide and they were stopping in Panong for the night, we followed them for about 13k’s before they turned off. I found out that this dump truck was going all the way back to Cooks Dandenong Depot to be overhauled. We continued on arriving in Ceduna at 7.15pm. As it was late and we had been on the road all day, we decided to grab a motel room rather than caravan park. It took us until 8.15pm to find a room and we booked into the Ceduna Motor Inn and had dinner in their restaurant. After dinner we returned to the room and watched the Swans - Fremantle Dockers game on TV before retiring for the night. (We ended up cheating and ringing Melbourne to get the final results so we could all go to bed)

Day 86 Ceduna to Port Augusta 23/09/06

Once again, we were awoken by people leaving early and so decided to get up. After showers, the boys watched some TV while Leanne and I reloaded the car and trailer. On the way into the town centre for breakfast, we refueled and I bought a new tube for William’s bikes front wheel. After having breakfast at the Bakery, we drove down onto the foreshore and walked out onto the jetty in the hope of spotting some whales. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to see any and so decided to hit the road. We drove around the coast highway to Streaky Bay arriving at 11.30am. We went to the Tourist Information Centre but it was closed! So we checked out the town centre, bought the boys some new thongs and the walked out on the jetty. While talking to a fisherman about his lifestyle of gold fossicking and living off the land, we saw a seal which had come to raid his crab nets. Apparently, this seal has been doing this for some years and patiently waits under the jetty, out of view, until the nets are dropped in. According to the fisherman, he is very proficient at retrieving the bait fish out of the nets and had been known to steal the nets if he can’t get the bait! As the seal didn’t return in the following 15mins, we decided to head back for lunch. We moved the car down into the foreshore park area and had lunch at the picnic tables. We departed Streaky Bay at around 1.30pm and headed back to Eyre Highway. We topped up with fuel at Wudinna at 2.52pm and drove on through to Port Augusta, arriving at around 5.40pm. We booked in at the Big 4 Holiday Park, for 2 nights and set up the trailer. We cooked up dinner and just after we had the dishes done, we were hit with gusty winds. We packed up the things that might blow away and retired to the trailer. Leanne read the boys some Harry Potter and as we were about to put the boys to bed, William said he felt ill. William was sick, but as usual, perked up again immediately! We all went to bed at around 9.30pm and Leanne read while I did blog until 11.00pm.

Day 87 Port Augusta 24/09/06

We awoke at around 7.00am, to the familiar sounds of people packing up. William arose full of beans, as if he hadn’t been the slightest bit ill last night! We got out of bed, had showers and breakfast. Leanne did some washing, while the boys did some diary and I caught up on blog. We had intended to do the Pichi Richi Railway ride this morning, but by the time we were ready, we realised we had missed it by 30 mins! All the same, we decided to drive out there and check out the museum and workshop, as well as see the train return. As we neared Woolshed Station we saw one of the steam engines turning around to return to Quorn. We stopped, took some photos and then drove into Quorn to the Pichi Richi Railway Museum and Workshop. We thought we would do the museum and workshop tour and then drive back down to the station and watch the train steam in. As we arrived we read the sign which stated tour tickets were to be purchased at the Quorn Railway Station. When we enquired about the tour at the station, we were informed that as the train was so busy today, there was no one to take the museum / workshop tours! From here we walked into the town to both fill in time and buy some lunch. Once again, we were amazed, when the café was unable to fill our lunch order for at least 20 minutes. We couldn’t believe that a town that survives on tourism was unable to cater for the visiting crowds on a Sunday! So we walked back to the station and awaited the arrival of the steam trains. About 15 mins later, the trains steamed into the station and were able to walk around it and take photos, which was great. At around 1.20pm we jumped back in the car and drove back to the caravan park and had lunch. After lunch, the boys played for a while before we decided to walk into Port Augusta and have a proper look around. We walked across the original road bridge over Spencer Gulf and down along the foreshore onto the wharf area. From here we walked into the main shopping area and around to the Wadlata Outback Centre, which was closed, and then to the library. Here we used the free internet to check our e-mails. Once this was done we walked back to the caravan park, via the Coles supermarket where we bought needed groceries. Before dinner, the boys played on the play ground and kicked the footy, while Leanne and I relaxed. After dinner, as it was another cold evening, once the dishes were done we retreated to the tent early. Leanne read the boys and I some more ‘Harry Potter’ before we turned out the lights.

Day 88 Port Augusta to Gawler 25/09/06

We awoke around 7.00am and had a leisurely morning. As a treat for our last morning in a caravan park, on this trip, I cooked eggs & bacon on the BBQ. After breakfast was finished, we commenced the pack up. We set aside the gear we would need in Adelaide tonight and had the trailer hooked up at 10.15am. On the way through Port Augusta, we stopped at Wadlata again as Leanne wanted to purchase a book of Aboriginal story times. Unfortunately, the story Leanne wanted has not been put into print due to their beliefs. We refueled and headed for Adelaide, stopping at Port Wakefield for lunch. We arrived in Gawler at around 3.20 and booked a room in the ‘Parasads’ Gawler Motel for the night. We had promised the boys a sleep in a motel on the last night of our holiday and as we will be getting away at around 5am, it makes it all easier. We drove to Pat’s house at 5.30pm, stopping on the way to purchase some items we needed as we were cooking them dinner.

We had a lovely evening with Pat, Leanne, Ashlee and Jaymee catching up, discussing our holiday and showing them some of the photos we have taken. We said our goodbyes and departed Pat and Leanne’s arriving back at our motel room around 10.15, set the alarm and went straight to bed.

Day 89 Gawler to Melbourne 26/09/06

We were woken by both the alarm radio and the mobile phone alarm at around 5.00am. I had a quick shower, while Leanne organised the boys dressed and into the car. We loaded the gear into the car and departed Gawler at about 5.20am, driving through to Coonalpyn, where we stopped for breakfast. At about 9.15am we arrived in Bordertown where we refueled and wound our watches back 30mins. From here we drove through to Ararat, arriving at 12.40pm, where we had lunch at McDonalds (we had promised the boys this treat on our way home). After lunch we refueled and hit the road for home! We made good time until we got caught in a traffic snarl on the Monash Freeway, due to a bad accident at Warrigal Road (4 cars and a truck). We took the High Street Rd exit and wound our way round back streets, through Murrumbeena to the Nepean Highway at Highett. We arrived home a 4.40pm, completing a fantastic, 3 month holiday through Central and Western Australia.
(PS Sorry it took so long to publish but we had trouble with our home Internet & computer)

We are all glad to be home again! All the unpacking and cleaning is done and we have settled back into our normal routines, going back to work and school this week. We are now starting to plan our next camping holiday!!

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Photos

Narembeen
Daniel Working the Checkout

Narembeen
Leanne Marking Specials

Narembeen
William Working the Checkout

Karalee
Steel Aqueducts at Karalee Rocks Dam

Kalgoorlie
Hall of Fame Mine Tour

Kalgoorlie 2
Panning for Gold

Kalgoorlie 3
Superpit

Kalgoorlie 4
Standing in Face Shovel Bucket

Kalgoorlie 5
Our Kalgoorlie Campsite - Camp Kitchen in Background

Cocklebiddy
A Very Windy Packup !

Albany
Albany Jetty

Steaky Bay
Jetty with Town in Background

Steaky Bay 2
Our Picnic Lunch

Pt Augusta
Iron Knob

Pt Augusta 2
The Old & New Road Bridges Side by Side

Quorn
The Pichi Richi Railway

Gawler
The Boys & Their Cousins

Aspendale
Home Again!!