We spent most of Thursday checking out the sights of Kalgoorlie. The nice lass at the Info centre gave us the good oil on things to get up, including the best spot in town to get coffee. Whooooot! The AM saw us looking through the Hannan North Tourist Mine. It had heap of historical machinery and info, including a gold pouring display (awesome!) and some more recent trucks that the kids (yes, and me) could climb through. After a quick bite for lunch, a stop at the Super Pit lookout and a trip to Bunnings and Supercheap Auto for supplies and repairs, it was off for the Super Pit tour. What a great ride that was! I always used to think that bus tours were for old farts, but now I'm either converted or I'm an ... read more

A quick exit from Eucla saw us on the road around 8.30 am on Tuesday. We were aiming for a 400 km drive around halfway to Norseman but we decided to keep the loud pedal down to get to Perth by Saturday to watch AFL Grand Final so a 600 km drive saw us to the Fraser Range Sheep Station. This place is great and we will likely stay here on our way back through. Communal fire pit, awesome camp kitchen and people. And a working washing machine which was a blessing. Also, I can not stress enough how good a warm shower can be! Been six days without one so was pretty much due. Not much else to report as we spent most of the day driving. Some good scenery but that was about it. ... read more

Been a few days since i fired up the old laptop (or is it 'notebook' – I'll ask one of the young 'uns). Well. Emus. Bugger me there are a stack of these buggers at Coffin Bay, in fact, you heard it here first, Emu capital of the world. Dad and Pia opted to have a 'lazy day' and stay in Coffin Bay township, which actually ended up being a big walk around the bay and some other messing about. This meant that my little family decided to explore the penninsula by way of the old Mav. We saw so many Emus that the kids didn't bother mentioning it by halfway through the day. And good timing for us too as their were heaps of little chicks running about. Very cute little things being looked after ... read more

Day Five – Mt Remarkable Would you believe it – another morning of wind and rain! But this time it was pretty brief and after our sleep in (sort of) we packed up camp, had a basic breakfast and proceeded to leave the city of churches in our wake. A fairly short drive today (270 km) but we had a few stops for fuel and booze, plus a bit of a brake issue for Grandad and Pia that was spotted by a good Samaritan and fixed in a few minutes. It was good to see the Spencer Gulf in the distance as we drove along the highway as the water is one thing we miss now living in Canberra. Lake B-G in no way compares to a beach and the seas, unfortunately. Tonight we are camping ... read more

Day Two – Pink Lakes – Near Underpool, NSW Rain. You bastard! Not too hard, but consistent from around 3 am until 10 am, from Hay until near Swan Hill. Packing up was in the rain, which is always a turd, but thank God for my new Akubra (ay, Aaron!!!), I was dry as a bone (hahaha). Getting out of the camp site was a little ordinary due to the slippery mud/clay. The poor old Maverick doesn't 'creep' as well with the one tonne trailer, but we made it in the end. After seeing our ordinary effort, the Rav 4 flew up – at a rate of knots! A pretty slow trip due to the rain but we eventually got to the banks of the Murray River for a quick stop and then on to the ... read more