Blogs from Norseman, Western Australia, Australia, Oceania

Desert Ship Territory Log Day 17 My spouse’s homing instinct is stronger than a prized pigeon. He thinks by sitting in the car 15 minutes before any one else is ready is going to get us to our destination much quicker. At 0600 we are on the road. I am sad about missing a photo opportunity of the Penola windmills which is a conglomeration of different sized windmills in a small area. It was pitch black and even if it wasn’t dark, it was totally overcast making for a very ‘flat’ picture anyway. As the sun rose I glanced quickly over my shoulder to see the pretty purple clouds and during this split second Brendan said he saw a wombat. Unbelievably this is the only wildlife I haven’t ticked off my list and I missed it ... read more

We have stoped a couple of times previously in Ceduna. This is a town where there is a real cultural mix and a happy hunting ground for lovers of Aboriginal Art. There are some very talented artists here, and every time we come, we just love viewing their latest works. The best of the best are outside our budget, but are wonderfully crafted, often blending aboriginal traditional techniques within modern art styles. Almost always these works tell a story. One we admired was a traditional styled 'Bush Fire'. The patterns and styling were fantastic. Ceduna is also a grain export port, and the dock was busy during our stay. The plains from the top of the Eyre Peninsular to Ceduna and west are very productive with a mix of grains, canola and sheep stations. The farmers ... read more

Une fois la traversée du désert finie, je me suis à nouveau retrouvé dans des zones très vertes et humides, où la forêt plonge presque dans la mer. J'ai encore fait pas mal de randos, exploré quelques parcs nationaux, refait un peu d'argent (parce que la traversée m'a coûté cher en essence et qu'il n'y a pas beaucoup de villes)... Puis j'ai eu quelques jours de très mauvais temps. Le mauvais temps, en général, ça ne me gêne pas; mais en Australie je n'ai pas vraiment pris de vêtements chauds, et on fait quand même assez vite le tour d'un van... Mais quand le beau temps est revenu, j'ai pu continuer ma route, et l'état de l'Australie de l'ouest, fidèle à sa réputation, est magnifique et inhabité. J'ai quand même passé plusieurs jours à Denmark, une ... read more

I woke up this morning and the first thing I did was make sure I was still alive. Sweet, no crazy axe-murderer had killed me during the night! I looked over and Cole was asleep still holding a hurley in one hand and his penknife in the other (he sleeps by the door). Great I thought he wasn’t dead either. Better get up and do something so then. We ate an uneasy breakfast as the other lad was up and about as well taking down his tent and stuff like that. As we were taking down our tent the man approached me and said something in English but with a thick accent. When he repeated himself at my request I learned that he was named Mikel and he was French. He asked where we were going ... read more

Crossing the Nullarbor Left Cape Bauer and found some cute fields of yellow flowers on the way to Streaky Bay. We had a look in town, then proceeded north west towards Ceduna, getting some more fuel – 80.98L @ 159.9c/L. There were many photo opportunities along the coast to admire our Great Australian Bight, with the Head of the Bight an absolute beauty! A pity it’s not the right season for whale sightings, but a temporary smidgen of blue sky all the same. Nullarbor roadhouse had not changed much in the 10 years since Sheree had previously visited, with expensive fuel prices as expected – but being aware of the vast distances between towns ahead (and unpredictable fuel), we added 39.07L of diesel @ 204.9c/L. After travelling 762km we arrived at our camp destination for the ... read more