Day 116 to Day 123

Day 116 November 23 Sunday
Yesterday when the wind was blowing so hard it lifted the roof of the van and broke one of the fasteners holding it down. Had to use a piece of rope to tie it in place. Will look for something to fix it when I get to a bigger city. Left Kingston SE and headed south on B1 to the road to Naracoorte. I then took A66 south to Naracoorte Cave NP. It is limestone cave system with bones of animals from animals from 350,000 years ago to the present. The scientists figure they fell down holes into the cave and could not get out. The museum there had life size critters that moved. Very well done. Took the Victoria Fossil cave tour to see where the fossils were found. Spent the night in the park campground. At dinner time, a male and female fairy wren hopped into the van for a look around. They are so cute.

Day 117 November 24 Monday
Left the caves campground and headed to Mt. Gambier. Found a caravan repair place and went to see if they could fix my roof. No but told me to look into the rubber things truckers use to hold their hoods down. Auto parts store did not have anything. Went to Bunnings, which is the equivalent of USA’s Home Depot. Found some brackets that I could put bungee cords over. I put two of the four in at Bunnings parking lot. Bought enough to do the other two. Seems to work ok. Went to Blue lake which is a lake in a crater made by a volcanic eruption 4500 years ago. Mt Gambier is built on the side of the crater. Very pretty, with walk ways all around. It is the cities water supply. Headed further south to Port MacDonell. There was suppose to be a pigmy penguin colony there but could not see any. This is the furthers point south in South Australia. The South Pole is suppose to be only 5700 km away. On the way back to Mt, Gambier stopped at Mt. Schank volcano and spent the night. Put in the other two brackets and bungees.Day 118 November 25 Tuesday
After breakfast hiked up to the top of the Schank crater and walked around the 1.5 km trail. Good views inside and outside the crater. Drove back to Mt. Gambier and took A1 out of town and just before crossing into Victoria took B160 to Hamilton then A200 north. Good news that petrol was only A$1.16 a liter. Whee. Spent the night at Gambier NP Buandik campground where some aboriginal rock art, Billimina shelter, is found. Think I am coming down with a cold.

Day 119 November 26 Wednesday
I did catch a cold. Rats. Left the campground and headed to the other nearby aboriginal site, Manja shelter, a 2.6 km round trip hike. On the way a huge emu jumped out in front of me and ran up the trail. It looked as tall as me. Ants on the trail about an inch long. Big suckers. Took some pics of the artwork. Headed back to A200 north towards Horsham. Turned right at Brimpean and then right on C222. Went down Roses Gap road a little further on to see Beehive falls. As I started up the trail, no water was coming down the creek so I quit. Had lunch a Zumstein picnic grounds. Went to Reed lookout and then hiked to the Balconies (looks like a dragon head). Fantastic views. Drove next to Boroka lookout for view to the East and South. I went to the park headquarters to get a camping permit and spent the night at Borough Huts campground. Opened up the back of the van and four crimson rosellas were there to see what they could get. Got rid of them but they kept coming back to make sure. Landed on my van, chair, and shoulder. Went to bed early.

Day 120 November 27 Thursday Happy Thanksgiving!
After breakfast drove up Mt. Williams road to the carpark. Hiked the 2.2 km of paved road to the top which is the highest peak in the Grampians at about 1180 meters. Nice views and the weather was good. Drove back towards Halls Gap and turned off at C218. Hiked the short distance to the Silverband waterfall. Very pretty. Then went to Mackinzie Falls. It was a long way down to see the falls which were very nice. Then drove to Lake Wartook which is a reservoir built in 1890. On the way back to Halls Gap took C122 to the Sundial picnic area. At Halls Gap spent the night at Takaru Caravan Park space 113. After dinner, a neighbor played the uke and sang US and Auzzie country western songs. Cold seems better but will get another good nights sleep.

Day 121 November 28 Friday
Had a hard time getting to sleep. Strange for me. Decided not to go to lookouts today because of low clouds and some rain forcast. Drove out of Halls gap to Mt/ Zero road but it was too washboardy. Went to Stawell and headed north to the Roses Gap road. Hiked up to Beehive falls but very little water was present. Went over the gap to hwy C222 and went to Stapylton campground. Took the short hike to Ngamadjdj art site. Only a few pics there. Spent the afternoon reading and relaxing.

Day 123 November 29 Saturday
In the evening a whole bunch of kids arrived at the park. It turned out they were going climbing at Hollow Mountain. I left the camp and drive to Hollow Mountain where there was another aboriginal art site. Then decided to hike up Hollow Mt. but near the top the trail was along steep edges so I decided to go no further. The young kids were getting ready to climb in the area. I drove back to hwy A8 and headed south. Then took A180 and C148 to Mortlake where I spent the night at the city camp ground. Thought of staying at Lake Bolac but this huge lake was completely dry. There is a serious water shortage in this part of the state of Victoria. I have to be out of the camp early tomorrow as 3200 bike riders and 1900 support staff will be staying at the camp ground and will be heading to the Grampians. Glad to be out of there.

Saturday bowling

Day 108 to Day 115

Day 108 November 15 Saturday
No word from the opal man. Left town after updating my blog and sending out a few emails. Headed south to Pimba again and stayed in the same place. Started raining lightly after noon and continued until about 7. Nice sunset.






Wedge tail eagle



Day 109 November 16 Sunday
Headed to Woomera, a once secret military town. It is in a 60 million acre protected area. It is the site where moon landings ,Mars probes, space station and space shuttle signals were and are captured and sent to the states, and where Iraq war missals were guided. Today it is still a place where secret Australian, British and American stuff occurs. I continued on to Roxy Downs which is a town associated with a big mine getting copper, gold, silver and uranium. It is a shaft mine and they want to make it into a pit mine. It will take 4 years at a million tons of overburden a year to get down to the ore. Whew. Could not get close to see the mine. Went 30 km further to Andamooka, an opal mining town. Being Sunday, most stuff was closed. All the mines were strictly off limits. Did find a few pieces of opal at a place where tailing are dumped. Place looked as bad as Coober Pedy. They were having a Christmas party for the kids because in a few weeks most of the people will be leaving for the summer. It gets hot here then. Saw lots of emus today. Spent the night in Pimba wayside park.
Day 110 November 17 Monday
Left Pimba and headed south to Port Augusta. There I got some food and petrol Cheapest so far here in OZ, at only A$1.29 per liter. Stopped at Hungry Bear fast food for a burger and fries. Headed north on B83 to Wilpena Pound in Flinders NP. The area is a valley surrounded on all sides by mountains. Like a crater. A powered site at the camp ground is only $15. Cloudy and possible thunderstorms tonight. Suppose to have gotten to 26 C today but sure did not feel like it.
Day 111 November 18 Tuesday
Rained some during the night. Hiked up Mt. Ohlssen Bagge, about a 7 km round trip. Windy and cool and a few rain drops on the way up, Very pretty views of the Pound. Made the 4 hour trip in 2.5 hours and glad I did because as soon as I got down it started raining fairly hard. After shower and shave took a 20 km dirt road to Sacred Canyon where aborigines made rock engravings. Started raining again and the road started to get muddy on the way out. Then I tried to drive to Bunyuroo Canyon but the road was already way too slippery. Headed on the paved road to Stokes Hil
Lookout. Who should I meet there in the middle of no where but “Billy Bob” whom I camped next to at Pimba, the first time. He had come the back way on dirt roads. He made some tea and we chatted for an hour. As we were about to leave, a kangaroo jumped up on the brass relief map of the Pound and began drinking water which had collected there. Funny. I decided to try to go to another canyon which was 35 km on a dirt road. The road was dry enough but when I got to the end to camp I decided that the 60% chance of rain may mean that I would be stuck for a day as the road was mostly clay and not very even. Headed back to Wilpena Pound to spend the night, stopping at Hucks Lookout on the way. Pretty much cleared up by dark.
Day 112 November 19 Wednesday
Woke up to heavy rain and water flowing down the camp roads and paths. Rats. Decided to head south again. Drove about 17 km from the campground and then one km off the pavement to go to an aboriginal art site. It was a three km hike and worth it. Two other cars came up the road making it muddy on the way out. Not slippery. Drove all the way back to highway A-1 an went easterly to the turnoff to Mount Remarkable National Park. Took space 14 in the Mambray Creek campground. No rain but flies. Went for a 6 km return hike up the river bed. Lots of birds I have seen before, kangaroos, wallabies and emus.






Day 113 November 20 Thursday
Hiked up to Black Range Lookout, 3.6 km return, but the views were very limited. Headed out of the park north and turned right off A1 onto B56 to Wilington when I headed south on B82. I took the Alligator Creek entrance into Mt. Remarkable NP. The road was steep and windy meaning first and second gear for a good part of the trip. But it was worth it. The Mambray Creek gorge was great. Red rock slot canyon just like Utah or Arizona. The round trip was only 2 km. Left the park and headed south again on B56 to B52 to Melrose. I spent the night at the Melrose Fairgrounds.

Day 114 November 21 Friday
Left Melrose and headed to Boolaroo Centre and then to Jamestown and onto B80 then B64 to Morgan. At Morgan there was a free ferry over the Murray River. Most of this area was covered with wheat fields. Just after the ferry took the road south to Blanchetown following the Murray R.. Continued south to Swan Reach which is also on the river. The van has been pulling to the right so in town I spotted a front wheel alignment shop and had it fixed for $65. Spent the night at Swan Reach caravan park, space 9. As I was eating dinner the neighbors invited me to the hotel for a beer. We spent a few hours talking and drinking.


Day 115 November 22 Saturday
Left Swan Reach and headed south on a bunch of roads to Murray Bridge. Stopped in town and got a few groceries and some ATM money. I have pretty much followed the Murray river from Morgan down to the Southern Ocean. Took hwy B1, called Princess Highway, out of Murray Bridge. Stopped at several places along the water. Not many birds, only a few shore birds and seagulls. It is very windy and there were high wind warnings. The van tracks a lot better after the alignment. Spending the night in Kingston SE in the caravan park, space 50. Took and nice shower and did my laundry.

Day 101 to Day 107

Day 101 November 8 Saturday
After dinner and after I was finished writing my daily log, two Aussies came to the camp kitchen and started cooking on the BBQ. We chatted and teased and then they invited my to their cabin for beer and to meet their families. They were just as crazy as the ones who took me fishing in the middle of the night in Kalbari. The “party” broke up at 9 when the kids needed to go to bed. Great time. Left Ceduna and headed south on the Flinders Highway, B100, towards Port Lincoln at the bottom of the Eyre Peninsula. Did not get too far today. Stopped in Smoky Bay for lunch

then on to Streaky Bay. Drove to Cape Bauer (pronounced locally as “Boor”) and heard the whistling blowholes. Made a loop back to town and spent the night. A place right on the beach. Could not get any better.
Day 102 November 9 Sunday
Left the nice beach camp and headed south over 60 km of dirt roads to Cape LaBlatt to the only main land based sea lion colony . Saw about 30 or so of all ages. Most were sleeping in the sun. Nice day, very little wind in the morning. Stopped at Haystack Hills on the way back to Flinders Highway. Neat weathered granite formations. On the main road passed a road to Black Point. Got its name I am told by a local man whose grandmother, born and raised in the area, told him that the early settlers of the Eyre Peninsula had rounded up the aboriginal people and pushed them over the cliffs there. Sad history. Further south stopped by Talia caves. One is called Woolshed cave and the other The Tub. Drove down to near the southern tip of the Eyre Peninsula to Coffin Bay and spent the night at the National Park. Saw an osprey with a fish so big it had a hard time flying.

Woolshed cave

Day 103 November 10 Monday
After breakfast headed out to see the sights in the park. Went to Cape Avoid which is a good name because of all the islands and reefs around. Stopped in Port Lincoln to check to see why Bank of America did not send me email about October bill. Site would not let me log on. Something as to “can’t with that credit card number’? Will have to call them later. I have sent money anyway to cover especially since I am using the ATM now to get cash. Headed out to Lincoln NP. Dirt roads all in the park. Went to Taylors Beach, September Beach, Donington Lighthouse. Decided to spend the night at September Beach. Very nice place.

Day 104 November 11 Tuesday
Left September camp in the morn’, and headed back out of the park after stopping and hiking up Stamford Hill. This hill was used by Flinders when mapping the area. Nice views of the surrounding area. A 45 minute return trip. Drove to Cowley to Harbor View Caravan Park. Washed my sleeping bag. As it was drying, I went to squeeze water out and got stung by a honey bee. Took some anithistamines to counteract the effect. No problem with swelling. It was there getting water. Will have to be careful when putting it back into the van. It is definitely warmer again. Suppose to have gotten to 31 degrees C (around 88 F) in Adelaide today

Day 105 November 12 Wednesday
Left Cowley and headed north. At Port Augusta with cheap petrol of 1.36 $C, headed north on the Stuart highway. This would take me back to Ayres Rock if I continued on it. Very hot today ( heard it had been 36 C in Port Augusta) and very high winds. Weather forecast said wind warnings. I believe it. Spent the night a Pimba which is a day’s drive from Coober Pedy. Coober Pedy apparently had 43 degrees. Met an interesting Aussie man who has been traveling around for many years. Went to the nearby road house together for a few beers.

Day 106 November 13 Thursday
Strong winds overnight and a thunderstorm in the morning. But a lot cooler. Headed north to Coober Pedy, “Opal Capital of the World”. Checked to find a certain Greek opal dealer/miner for a rock club member. Got a hold of him and may go see his mine in the morning. Stayed at the Stuart Caravan park for the night. Nice pool. Cooler today but still warm.

Underground houses

Day 107 November 14 Friday
After breakfast tried to get a hold of the opal man but no one answered the phone. Went looking

around town at some of the stores, mostly underground, churches, etc. It is not a tidy town. Piles of dirt all over, junk, and most of the stores are dirty looking. If you are not an opal miner, opal dealer or buyer, or opal customer there is not much else. I found out they have Croatian, Greek, and Italian clubs which have very nice facilities. Went out of town a ways to see a section of the dingo fence. Desolate area east of town. Called the opal guy again and he may come and see me this evening. He has to open up the Greek club at 6:30. He sounded very busy. They did not work at the mine today. Cooler today. Very pleasant. Found out they can now make synthetic opals as well as chemically and heat treat them to make them look better. One of the most common things to do is to take a very thin piece of nice opal, put it on a dark substrate and cover it with quartz.

Day 96 to day 100

Day 96 November 3 Monday
Left Kimbalda and headed north on Alt 94 to Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Went to the Super Pit and looked around and took some pictures. The mine is over a mile long, half mile wide and 1000 feet deep. The biggest hole in the southern hemisphere. Walked around old town some. Went to the WA University Mining Mineral collection. Pretty good. Lots of local stuff and samples from all over the world. One of the better laid out displays. On problem, as I tried to leave the door had been lock electronically. Apparently a new system. Well the sign said “In emergency break glass.” So I did and an alarm went off, the door opened and I walked out, but no one came to see what was happening. I went to a main door intercom that said “Press” and when I did I got someone from Perth who did not have a clue about what was going on. Finally a lady came to the door and we both had a good laugh. Headed south on hwy 94 almost back to Norseman. Plan on going back to the rock hounding place tomorrow again.

Day 97 November 4 Election Day and Melbourne Cup (Horseracing)
Left the wayside park and drove the few kilometers south to the fossicking site. It is 11.2 km north of the Hwy 94 Hwy 1 intersection. (S 32 07.942 E121 42.171) Very few flies today. Hunted and dug for about 4 hours. Sound some gold lace agate, moss opal (agate?) and opalite. Now to figure out what to send to Shelton and what to keep for me to take home. Going to be tough. Filled up with water and some food in Norseman and started on the Nullarbor road to South Australia. Spent the night at a wayside park just 83 km from Norseman. Fun day. (PS: Melbourne cup is the biggest horse racing event in Australia. Everything stops and people watch and listen and of course bet. Exciting, as it was a photo finish and the closest race ever run in the cup. Winner won by less than a whisker according to the radio announcer)

Day 98 November 5 Wednesday
No radio so I did not hear how the election went as no radio since I left Norseman. Left the wayside park and headed for the straightest stretch of highway in Australia. It is 90 miles long, no hint of a curve. It is also interesting that the vegetation gets less as I am heading east. The whole Nullarbor road is about 950 km (570 miles) From Norseman to the SA boarder is 713 km and only one town 13 km from the border with 100 people. Four roadhouses in between. As I was driving I looked over at the passenger side and there at the inside of the window was a big spider about 4 inches. It was hairy like a tarantula but looked different. I stopped the van and went to the drivers side. It hid in the door jam. I threw a small hand full of sand at it to try and knock it to the ground. It jumped back in side so I ended up killing it with my hat. Poor thing. (As I was getting this ready for email a local said it was a Huntsman spider. Harmless) .I managed to get five minutes of radio and found Obama had won as I expected he would. The Democrats could have nominated a dog and it would have won. Well they almost nominated Hilary. Spent the night 29 km from the Madura at another roadside park.

Day 99 November 6 Thursday
While going to sleep I wondered if that creepy spider had any friends here in the van. Left the roadside park and continued east along the Nullarbor. Told some Auzzies that Nullarbor stood for “nul” meaning nothing and “bor” as being short for boring. In fact it comes from early explorers calling it “nullus arbor” . Left Western Australia and went into Southern Australia. The highway goes close to the ocean cliffs and the views are terrific. Only problem is you can’t get too close to the edge as the limestone may give way. A long way down. Flies were kind of bad again today. Spent the night at a wayside park about 170 km from the border. Have to eat up all fresh stuff today to get through the agricultural check point tomorrow.

Day 100 November 7 Friday
Left the wayside after a very windy night. Continued on the Nullarbor. Stopped at “The Bight of Australia” which is the northern most point of the Southern Ocean. Here from May though October whales come from Antartica to calf. I missed of course. Nice views of the cliffs again. Saw a dingo this morning at 9 am. He was ambling along with his head down like he had a hard unsuccessful night of hunting. Spent the night at Ceduna, the official end of the Nullabor highway.