Geographe Bay/ Margaret River Region.

We called in at Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, the most south westerly point of Australia where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. With nearby back burning the view was limited so we skipped the lighthouse tour and instead opted for a Caves Explorer Pass. This granted us access to Jewel Cave, Lake Cave and Mammoth Cave, all of which are found on the Leeuwin Naturaliste Ridge. These caves are just a few of over a hundred in the region, however are considered to be some of the most stunning and unique caves open to the public in Western Australia, even the world. A guided tour is a must with many sights being even more spectacular knowing their history and makings. About the caves:

Jewel Cave is W.A.’s largest show cave open to the public

–        Contains the third longest straw stalactite in the world at 4.43 metres long.

–        Is full of glistening stalactites and stalagmites that shine as bright as jewels

Lake Cave is an active cave, complete with a stunning lake and limestone formations

–         doline entrance (roof caved in) complete with Titanic replica (lump of rock resembling the ship)

–        “Suspended Table”, one of only two in the world, the only one accessible to public.

Mammoth Cave involves a self-guided tour complete with mp3 player

-          Named due to its mammoth size

-          Contains fossils of Mega fauna and Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger)

Well worth a visit.

Our accommodation for the region was a nifty stone cottage and surrounds. A colleague (thank you Susan Carlyle!!) from Alice Springs offered us her home located in the outskirts of Margaret River. This provided us with running hot water, a fire place and a great base camp to take the camper off and explore the area. We also got to know the neighbours and their dogs, Tessa and Mel, quite well (well enough to receive half a rabbit as a present from Tessa).

Whilst in the Margaret River region it seemed wrong not to play the part and taste/buy whatever took our fancy. We called upon:

·         The Berry Farm – avocados and plum port +tastings!

·         The Candy Cow – lollies! Plus tastings of fudge and honeycomb

·         Cape Mentelle Winery – too fancy for us, however we tried all their range anyway

·         Margaret River Fudge Factory – fudge +tastings!

·         Colonial Brewing Co. – lunch in the sun and a taster of beer

·         Margaret River Dairy Co. – cheese +tastings!

·         Olio Bello – olive oil tastings including passionfruit and mandarin infused oils

·         Cheeky Monkey Brewery and Cidery – taster of beer and cider

·         Killerby Wines – killer reds, killer specials. +tastings!

·         Juniper Estate Wines – cool rose garden and amusing French lady, white port. +tastings!

·         Margaret River Nougat Co. – supposedly tasty but egg = uncool, however we tasted their wines yum!

·         Margaret River Chocolate Company – return visits were a must. Great samples, some good buys.

·         Margaret River Providore – chocolate liqueur – must have!  +tastings!

·         Margaret River Silk Road – only Australian Silk Company awesome threads. +tastings – mulberry jams not silk!

·         House of Cards Winery – wicked Shiraz +tastings!

·         Gabriel Chocolate – great samples, awesome hot chocolate, woops we bought more chocolate.

·         Howling Wolves Wines – sweet tastes, awesome labels – camper filling with wine.

·         Adinfern Estate – well recommended, cherry on the top of our experience great reds and port. +tastings!

To mix it up a bit we also visited Prevelly Beach for a stunning sunset over the Indian Ocean, dined at the Settlers Tavern, explored Cowaramup (a town full of fibreglass cows) and also attended the local markets. I should mention that the markets were full of tastings from cheeses to breads to chocolates to wines and mead. Most notable was the tipsy owner of Blackwood Meadery with his various tastings and stories.

After all of our visits and adventures the camper was brimming, even with our best attempts come the evenings. 

After almost a week of settling down to get jobs down we’d managed to indulge, increase our to-do -list and have a successful holiday from our holiday - It was time to move on.

Next stop along the coast was Busselton, where we finally purchased our first fishing rod and subsequently made some alterations to our camper. A must do in Busselton is the historic jetty including its underwater observatory. However (I sound like a broken record) due to bad weather, poor visibility and rough seas this attraction was closed. We also made another very important purchase – a dust buster to vacuum up mozzies and bugs in the camper (great success)! That night we camped at Ironstone Gully Falls. A lovely free campsite in the middle of nowhere, next to some falls. We pulled up next to an older couple with some interesting stories who were hell bent on having a fire even when the rain started pouring down. We stayed warmly in the camper eating a casserole from a can to make up for our lavish week, whilst our neighbours stood next to their fire with an umbrella over the fireplace. And thus ends another week in paradise.

Lesson of the week: 

"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day.” Frank Sinatra

.

The South West

In the morning we explored Betty’s Beach, however impending rain led us to pack up quickly and head into Albany.

Albany is a town drenched in history.  Within the calm waters of King Georges Sound thousands of soldiers touched Australian soil for the last time almost a hundred years ago as they left for World War One. We paid our respects at ANZAC Memorial, where the first dawn service in Australia was held. The memorial overlooked the town and surrounding waters and our time there was peaceful yet oddly chilling.

Although there is a vast array of activities to do in Albany most are in the great outdoors, Michael and I were ambitious about what we wanted to achieve, but in the end the torrential rain prevailed and we gave up. We camped nearby at Cosy Corner and returned to Albany in the morning. We ventured through the local markets and could not resist the temptation of cheap macadamias; however we later discovered that a regular nut cracker will not work on their wilful shells and have since perfected the art of nut cracking with a hammer. Rather proud. We stocked up the camper with all the necessities and left town.

We drove through Denmark (turns out it’s actually in Australia!) and popped into the Information Centre. Whilst browsing through the brochures one word caught our eye – Meadery. And with that our afternoon plans were made, next stop Bartholomews Meadery.

We tasted all sorts of honey, checked out a working beehive, complete with a rather large queen bee and sampled “the drink of the gods” - Mead.  Time and money well spent. Eventually we left and started down the road until we saw a sign entitled “toffee and cider store, tastings.” After this slight detour we wound up at Parry’s Beach for the night. A shady campsite just off the beach with potentially warm showers (solar showers, enter at your own risk!). Turns out they were borderline warm so we cleaned up and were soon tucked in for the night.

View from the tree tops.

The next morning we were up, on the road and marvelling at the surrounding scenery. The woodland is primarily karri, marri and jarrah forest, with small patches of tingle trees. An attraction taking advantage of the massive size of these trees (up to 90m), is the Valley of the Giants treetop adventure walk (similar to the tree top walk in the Otway’s, Victoria minus the flying foxes). We walked upon a bridge 40 metres high in the canopy of the giant trees, the bridge was designed to sway slightly so you feel as if you are in the trees. Michael decided to test the structural integrity of the bridge, his duty as an engineer apparently, and we were rocking (and potentially some other tourists too…). We gradually descended and then walked through a forest of Giant Tingle Trees. The trees are massive and are extremely wide at the bottom, once upon a time (50’s-80’s) people used to park their cars in the hollow of the giant tingle trees but because of their small root system too many trees had fallen over and thus the walkways have been provided. We did have the opportunity to walk through some of the hollows and even see the Giant Tingle tree (300 years old) with a girth of 24 metres!

Were in the hollow of a Tingle Tree!

 That afternoon we drove through picturesque forest and eventually through Nornalup and Warpole (great names to say aloud). Eventually it was time to retire for the evening, so we headed to Banksia Campsite via a sandy 4x4 track. The campsite had an awesome “lodge” with undercover benches and very open air bedrooms. We pulled up next to the lodge and spent the next couple of days in camping style. Whilst at Banksia campground we also met a lovely fellow by the name of Jason, who had come to fish and get away from the wife and kids for a few days. We ended up sharing a couple of camp fires with Jason and getting to know a lot about him – if you ever want to learn about someone sit around a fire for a few hours with them. We exchanged stories and ideas of places to go. We explained to Jason that one of the issues that we’d had in the past was when talking to travellers was that people often recommended places based on the fishing available, however we had no clue how to fish so would generally nod, smile and move on. Jason decided he had a solution to our conundrum, to teach us how to fish. So one slightly cold afternoon with the rain threatening we went down to the beach and finally got clued in about this whole fishing thing. Michael even caught a couple of fish! We left Banksia rested, rejuvenated and eager to get a rod and go fishing!

Banksia Lodge.

                                    

On the way north we decided to check out a secluded and recommended campsite, Centre Road Crossing. When we arrived we spotted a lovely river and an alluring 4x4 track awaiting on the other side. The “cross at own risk – severe damage to vehicles” sign was slightly off putting, but we decided to give it a go anyway.  In hindsight with some good placement a falcon could probably cross this (stupid anxiety provoking sign).  A fork in the road offered two options to our destination and like Les Murray’s poem we took the road less travelled by. Unfortunately our road was so less travelled by that eventually the trees encroached on the track to a point where the hulk was feeling uncomfortable. After some serious reversing and a gazillion point turn we were on our way to the road more travelled. Huzzah!

We eventually arrived at Fernhook Falls and Circular Pool, explored the area and wished that we had a canoe or summer with us. Continuing with the foresty feel of the region we drove on the Great Forest Trees Drive, complete with interpretive signs and its very own radio station. Fast fact – in the days of yore, before bulldozers and water bombers, firemen would rake a fire break by hand 300m wide along the fire front . Shannon campground proved to be a great campsite for the night with donkey showers and firewood provided (for cooking only…). One of the biggest campfires of our trip produced a splendid camp-oven casserole – yum!

The next day found us staring 70 metres into the sky to a platform built upon a majestic Karri tree towering over the surrounding woodland. Turns out again in the days of yore, fire fighting was epic. Firemen were required to climb steal rungs implanted into tall trees to look upon the surrounding forest and spot smoke/fires. There are a few of these tree towers still standing today, now as tourist attractions, including The Bicentennial Tree. I should mention that there are no safety ropes, no nets and absolutely no sane reason why you would think climbing the tree would be a great idea, but we thought we’d give it a go anyway.  The rungs were fairly spaced apart and the continual need to look down as you climbed up was slightly off putting. In the end I made it as far as the 25 metre platform midway up the tree and Michael made it to the top, 70 metres above the ground! 

After our climbing escapades we explored Pemberton and its surrounds and then somehow stumbled upon Beedelup Falls National Park. The falls were quite stunning but the main attraction for us was the Swing Bridge!!  Again Michael’s duty as an engineer was to test the structural integrity of the bridge. This involved us jumping individually, together, running up and down the bridge and side to side. We gave the bridge our seal of approval then moved on when some tourists spotted us making wallies of ourselves.

That night we picked the campsite with the funniest name to sleep at – thus we camped at Snottygobble Loop. In the morning we decided it was time for some more 4x4 action and headed into D’Entrecasteaux National Park and to Lake Jasper.  The lake was a picturesque mirror in the early morning sun. Turns out there was also a stunning campsite here not mentioned in our bible – the Camps Book. So with places to go and things to see we continued out of the park and headed onto the Margaret River Region.

Lesson of the week: One must realise that when dating an engineer boy structural integrity tests are common place.

The Golden Outback

We left Niagara dam a little later than usual (it was about time for a sleep in!) to head to Kookynie – a living ghost town. Kookynie was once a thriving gold mining town, however after several mines shutdown and people realised they could live closer to civilisation Kookynie was abandoned. Well almost - there are still 7 residents remaining who are riddled with gold fever. We drove around the ruins of the town and learnt about the history of the area. 

A magical thong tree we spotted!

We then headed to Lake Ballard – the world’s largest outdoor gallery, “ Inside Australia”. There are 51 sculptures of  local residents of Menzies displayed at random on the very large (and usually dry) salt lake. The artist (Antony Gormley) definitely took some liberations in his designs, however they were pretty nifty to explore. We did have one slight set back in exploring the “gallery” in that it had been pouring down with rain that morning so the dry lake was now wet and there was a wind blowing that would have put Dorothy somewhere very far from Kansas if you catch my drift. We could hardly make it 5 feet onto the lake before the wind would blow us back. Michael braved the weather to lay hands on the first couple of sculptures, however this involved slipping and sliding everywhere as the clay beneath the small layer of water did not provide an easy walking track. I’m sure that on a bright and sunny day this area would be majestic and inspiring, however mother nature had other plans for us so we found it wet and weird and headed onwards!

Eventually we were in Kalgoorlie – actual civilisation! We had reception, access to a coles/woollies and could buy fuel and grog freely.  As we pulled in pretty late we picked up some supplies and headed to our campsite only 15 minutes from town – Lake Douglas. Some nice fellow had laid a very flat and large bit of concrete underneath some shady trees, so we took advantage and pulled up there as the weather seemed to be heading south and we didn’t want to be bogged by mud. Soon after setting up the rain was pounding down and we were stuck inside for the evening.

The Superpit. note the mega trucks looking like ants.

 The next morning wasn’t much better with drizzles of rain and some fierce winds.  We rugged up and headed into town.  We explored the local shops then headed to the city’s main attraction – The Super Pit! A ridiculously large gold mine!  Later that day we heard that the S**t Box rally was about to hit the town. Michael was excited to perve on the cars, so we put on our best detective hats and followed random cars from the rally around town to find out where they were staying and what conditions the cars were in.  Although it sounds a tad creepy, this was actually a lot of fun. Also looked like we just missed some rain on the Great Central Road because most of these cars were covered in a thick red mud, would hate to see the car decorated in crochet...

That afternoon we returned to the lake and went on a whopping big walk, eventually the track ended and somehow I was goaded into walking through thickets of bushes and through very sticky mud. Eventually we made our way around the lake, with the view you can see below it was well worth the effort!

 The next day we headed south through Norseman and camped by Dundas Rocks. Of course we had to explore the rocks before we could make camp. We jumped from boulder to boulder to view the surrounding valleys. Michael was intent on seeing how far my legs would stretch jumping over some rather wide gaps! We also explored an old dam that was full of tadpoles. Seriously hundreds of tadpoles. We fed them some bread and felt like we were three again. Eventually we had the fire roaring and settled down for the evening.

The next morning we let the tyres down and headed east to Mount Ridley where there is a “little wave rock”. We couldn’t make it to the actual Wave Rock so we thought this was a good idea. The track was long full of puddles and slippery mud, but eventually we got there. The rock was pretty cool. We “surfed” for a while then somehow got in our heads to climb to the summit of the mountain?!? The journey proved to be exhausting but well worth it, the views were amazing, except for the clouds rolling in. We slowly climbed down, got back to the Hulkie and headed south, it was time to finally see the ocean again!

We pulled into Esperance mid afternoon, stocked up and then settled down in Esperance Seafront Caravan Park for the next two nights. We needed to buckle down as Michael has one last university report to complete before he can graduate. The weather was fairly average for these days, however we still managed to go to the markets, explore the beach and get some of Michael’s report done.

Lucky Bay.

Several people had recommended Cape Le Grand National Park, and although it was east and we wanted to head west, we decided we had to call in before we headed off. The ocean down here is spectacular, the colours range from clean blue to serene aqua, just a glimpse with have you awestruck. Lucky Bay is by far one of the loveliest beaches that we’ve happened upon and has some of the whitest sand in the Australia.   We  were even able to get to see it up close and personal – on our very first beach drive. Yup thats right, we braved the beach, put down our tyres and hoped to heck that we wouldn’t get bogged from having so much on board. Turns out Hulkie loves the beach and so do we! If you thought running after seagulls was fun try chasing them in a car!!! We decided to stay at the campground in the bay that night  because we just weren’t ready to say goodbye. Oh I should mention that we finally found skippies again and this time there were some on the beach!   

We left Cape Le Grande in the most fitting way – along the beach. We let our tyres down some more, did a double check over the car and were about to go down onto the beach when a two wheel drive van pulled in from the direction we were heading. Did we think we were now over preparing? Yes. Did we care? Nope, because who knows what’ll happen when you’re McBon.

Turns out everything went smoothly, the Hulk went for a small paddle but came out ok! Eventually we were back on the real road – boring – then back in Esperance, then heading further west. We ended up staying at Quagi Beach that night, a nice little campsite by the ocean however still surrounded by giant gums and all sorts of weird and wonderful birds. Quagi also gave us the opportunity to get the hammock out, sit back and relax.

The next day we followed the coast line.  We went to Starvation Bay and various other bays and picnic areas along the way. We traversed through Hopetoun and had planned to stay at Fitzgerald National Park, however rain and roadwork meant that this was no longer an option. Our fifteen minute drive to our would-be-campsite turned into a two hour trek that saw us land at a rest area just outside of Jerramungup. Slight side note- Western Australia have some seriously interesting names for their suburbs/townships, I have had immense fun trying to pronounce their names – Yundagga, Munglinup, Gnowangerup, need I say more?!

Waychinicup National Park.

We rose early the next morning and headed off. I had picked up a brochure for a nearby National Park and on a whim we decided to visit Waychinicup National Park. Most probably just so we could say we’d been to Waychinicup (awesome name).We’re both so glad we did this as this park was spectacular. We drove to one of the only inlets in the South West where a fresh water river is permanently open to the Southern Ocean. The result was stunning scenery, masses of trees, abundant wildlife, stunning water sections and some rather kooky looking rocks. We adventured up the fresh water river following an old track. We spotted some giant (40cm + sized) fish in the river, lizards, annoying biting ants and birds a plenty. We also did some ad hock rock climbing, totally worth it. Eventually we returned (back the same crazy way we had gone) and headed to the mouth of the river, where it met the ocean. We were blown away by the beauty of the place and despite the very cold (I mean seriously cold) temperature decided to go for a quick dip, because quite frankly it was too pretty not to.

Fish the size of a hat - Amazing!

Upstream Waychinicup Inlet.

We then headed to Normans Beach, East Bay and Betty’s Beach, where we pulled up for the night. Turns out Betty’s Beach is a small fishing lease for the salmon season and luckily the season had just ended so we were able to stay the night. Around the bay were various huts erected by fisher folk that were basic but would keep a man with a swag dry and warm. Some are even heritage listed as they were built by returned service men from World War II. All I can say about our campsite was that it had a room with a view and a very curious neighbour... who regaled us with tales about giving her 98 year old mother hash brownies and cookies without her knowledge so they’d both have a good day. Apparently the mother has never complained.

Lesson of the week: @parents - be good to your kids and potentially hire a taster in later life, because you never know what your kids will be feeding you. 

The Outback Way

It began on the 1^st of May 2013, a sunny Wednesday. We flew back to Alice very early in the morning, had a farewell lunch in town and threw everything into the camper- we were sick of packing and cleaning and were eager to get on the road. We headed west, this time actually making it all the way to Hermannsburg and then Palm Valley. We even passed some wild camels along the way.  Granted it was a little later than we had hoped (again pulling into camp on sunset), but at least we had made it and our journey had begun!

Palm Valley campsite was beautiful.  We could hear the dingo’s howling in the distance and managed to find one chilling out next to our camper. The next morning we headed out into the valley, actually using four wheel drive we went through dry creek beds and over rocky outcrops and ended up in a valley full of palms, funnily enough. The palms were prehistoric and were only able to survive due to a special underground water source. We walked around and through the valley and then headed out onto the Mereenie loop (dirt “shortcut” from Alice Springs to King Canyon), passing a feral cat on the way out.

We heard that the road may be rough and have some corrugations, but we did not expect to shake, rattle and rock as much as we did along the way (I was going 20-30 km/h at spots to smooth out the bumps!). Despite the poor condition of the road the scenery was nice, we saw some brumbies, trees and a lot of red dirt! Eventually we arrived at Kings Canyon Rest Area, a fairly basic stop which provided large views of the surrounding areas, a swarm of crazy bees and a spot to rest our weary heads!

The next morning we found tar. We had finished the rough road for now and drove to Kings Canyon. We walked into the Canyon and had our last chance to view the magnificent walls of rock before we departed.  We then took the very long road to Yulara, Uluru Resort. Our first stop along the way was going to be nearby Kathleen Springs, but it was closed! A fire swept through the area in summer, wiping out a large portion of Kings Creek Station, the surrounding area, including Kathleen Springs. Continuing on we stopped at Kings Creek Roadhouse,  a giant salt lake, checked out Mount Connor and stopped in at Curtin springs to admire their f**king good port (this is the actual name of the port!). We pulled into the campgrounds and were immediately drawn to the pool area, within five minutes of setting up we were swimming and washing away all the red dust from the drive.  When we returned to The Hulk we realised that we had an issue with the headlights – they were not lighting up. After much umming and arring and pretending like we were mechanics we gave in and decided that we would try again in the morning. We scrubbed up and headed out to dinner at my favourite restaurant - Ilkari. An all you can eat buffet, where the chef cooks all your food to order and there is a chocolate fountain for dessert! Yum. 

The next morning we were back to playing mechanics, just short of pulling the dash apart I decided it was time to call it in, we went to the real mechanics and had headlights once more soon after. As the day was fairly late we decided to stay at Yulara another night. Once again we ended up in the pool living it up. After that we headed to an Indigenous dance show. Michael even participated!

We decided it was probably time we pay homage to the rock and made our way west. There really is something strangely spiritual about that place. We parked at the sunset viewing station and eventually had dinner watching the sun go down at Uluru. Spectacular. We then headed back to the resort to grab a cold beer and listen to some live music.

The next morning we awoke very early to get to The Olgas for sunrise. Giving into the temptation for one last proper hot shower meant that we didn’t quite make it to the viewing platform, however we found our own spot and pulled up to watch the colours dance across the rocks. We then headed to the Olgas to walk Walpa Gorge.

After the walk it was time to get serious and start The Outback Way.  Known as Australia’s longest short-cut this route runs from Winton in Queensland to Laverton in southern Western Australia. We dropped the tyre pressures just after the Olgas ready for the red dust, knowing we needed an early start. We had a whopping 1100kms ahead of us and only 3 days in which to cross it (you have to apply for a permit to do this road and it stipulates that you are only allowed to do it in 3 days). The road is dirt and full of rocks, corrugation and sand. Going was pretty good at 80km/h and we managed to not lose or break anything, although the spotties and aerial came pretty close to rattling off. Michael seems to think I lost some screws along the way too...  

Throughout the vast expanses of nothing, there are some attractions worth pulling over for, either for it or the simple fact of a break from the deafening rattles and engine noise. Our first stop along the way was Lasseter’s cave. A historical site where Lasseter had sheltered during the heat of summer when he was exploring the outback and his camels ran off. We took a few quick pics and then were back on the road. We passed by Docker River (a community that I had visited for work previously) then crossed the border into Western Australia. With the thought of filling up with diesel here being vetoed by Sunday trading hours (ie closed), we continued on, with the hope that the other side of Docker River will see a “smoother” road, as the way in started to get quite sandy, rutted and corrugated on the way in.

We continued on to Warakurna where we filled up with fuel – at a colossal $2.30 a litre, Yikes! In the outback the fuel tanks are locked up and we had to get the shop owner to come fill it up. We talked to the owner there and found out that the S**t Box Rally would be coming through in a couple of days. We had previously heard about the rally and were keen to get a look at the cars and one day even participate (see http://www.shitboxrally.com.au/). We knew at some stage we would have to meet up with the Rally to check it out.  We left Warakurna and again headed west along the lovely rutted red road. Eventually we stopped at Yarla Kutjarra Camp Ground.  It was a welcome reprieve and within minutes Michael had a fire going and it was happy hour. In total we drove 500 kms of dirt that day.

Everything gets locked up tight in the outback, including the very expensive fuel  pumps.

The next morning we were up early and were on our favourite longest shortcut once more. The sun was streaming down and the dust was streaming behind us. We were happy that we were slowly but surely getting somewhere. We saw several herds of wild camel and stopped to photograph a few.  We did not stop long though, today was a driving day and gosh did we drive! We stopped at several parking areas to stretch our legs, however were soon back on the road. We called in at Tjukayirla Road house when we desperately needed a break and had a bucket of chips whilst looking at some local art work. Then again we were on the road. We stopped off at some water holes, which turned out to just be some holes (surprise we’re in a desert). Nearby we also checked out some very cool rubbish – cars that hadn’t quite made the track. Then it was back on the road.

Darkness was slowly setting in and we hadn’t yet reached our destination. We had to keep going as there was nowhere to stop.  The road was rough at night, we had the spot lights on, but it was difficult to see the ruts, holes and different corrugations. At some stage we crossed paths with a fellow on a grader. We spoke to him through the radio to stop us going batty with all the driving we had been doing.  He invited us back to his camp in The Pines Rest Area, which was coincidentally where we were heading.  We got there first, however he wasn’t far behind. We followed the big truck down a long track to this little village of caravans, dongas and roadies in high vis shirts drinking bear near a fire. When they offered us dinner we couldn’t refuse, we were stuffed and this was a very welcome respite. That night we slept very well! Another day with 500 km of dirt.

The next morning we were up and once again on our favourite longest shortcut, the big red road. We stopped at Giles Breakaway and marvelled at the colour in the cliffs then continued driving along the way until we found a Gnamma hole (natural well in solid rock used by early explorers to survive) full of tadpoles. Again we were back in the car heading west, woohoo more driving!

Eventually we found tar and there was definite celebration. We had made it! We were soon in Laverton and in what could be vaguely classified as civilisation. Huzzah! Also filling up for $1.50/L was a welcome sight, this was less than the whole time in Alice! We didn’t stop long as we were intent on making it to Niagara Dam that night. We called in at Malcolm dam for lunch and drank in the site of water. Soon after we reached Leonora and then headed south. Eventually we meandered into Niagara Dam where we settled in for the evening.

We went for a walk exploring the area surrounding Niagara dam, touched the freezing cold water and then had the fire ablaze.  It didn’t take long for a prospector to come over and see if we had caught gold fever. You see this part of Australia is famous for GOLD and many people travel to the area every year in search of the next big nugget. We explained that the only gold we were interested in was the golden hue of a twisty right before happy hour and that made him quite happy as it meant less competition. 

For that night we were contented.  We made it through the long trek and were once again camped near beautiful water views under shady gums. Though I have to admit we did have several conversations about staking a claim or buying a metal detector that night!

More importantly, we now have two extra extravaganza explorers travelling with us! To the left is Russel, a rather willful wombat who has a keen eye for spotting pubs and grub and to the right is Hubert who loves to dance and watch the world go by.

Lesson of the week: The middle of nowhere is actually the middle of everywhere, so get out there!