Westonia, WA

Ratings: CP ** Surroundings ***

We spent a few nights in the quiet, rural and historical town of Westonia to rest and recover from days of travelling and visited the Edna May gold mine at the edge of the town.  It became operational in 1911 and has opened and closed three times due to problems relating to underground water, the exhaustion of high grade ore and labour supply during the war. It reopened for the fourth time in 2010 and is expected to have an effective mine life of approximately nine years.

Coolgardie, WA

Ratings: CP ** Surroundings **

The Coolgardie Courthouse was built from local stone during 1895 and operated as a courthouse for over a century. Today it houses the Information Centre and a museum with excellent displays including a huge bottle collection from the gold rush days.  The wide streets allowed the camel trains to turn.

Overnight stops along the Eyre Hwy (Nullarbor)

KIMBA, SA

Kimba Roadhouse with the best curry along the Eyre Highway!

POOCHERA, SA

We were given the key to explore the nearby museum, a treasure trove of memorabilia. Poochera is also home to a colony of the endangered Dinousaur Ants.

PENONG, SA

Our own little shade house! Windmills pump water from the Anjutabie water basin.

NULLARBOR ROADHOUSE, SA

Morning arrives after a night of road trains thundering by.

EUCLA, WA

A welcome peaceful overnight stay overlooking the ocean and Nullarbor Plain. We were one of the first to arrive after the previous night's travellers had left and by evening, the caravan park was almost full again.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) uses demarcated sections of the highway in emergencies as there are no medical facilities and services across the Nullarbor.

CAIGUNA, WA

Time to pack up and move westwards again on the longest straight stretch of road in Australia.

FRASER RANGE STATION, WA

A working station in the outback on the western edge of the Nullarbor where we met up with some emus during an afternoon walk and spent our final night under the clear starry skies of  the Nullarbor.

Port Germein, South Australia

Ratings:  CP ** Surroundings ***

Our final night on Yorke Peninsula was spent at a caravan park in Port Germein on Spencer Gulf.  This view is from the gate of the caravan park.  This recently restored lighthouse was erected in 1894 at the end of the longest wooden jetty in Australia. A vehicle races over the sand flats as the tide turns and the ocean waters begin to rise,

The wooden jetty, constructed in 1881 and extended two years later, appears to have a 'vanishing point' as it stretches 1.6 kilometres to intersect with the Spencer Gulf waters at low tide.  Extensively damaged in a storm surge in 2017 but was restored in the same year!

The return walk...

We woke to find the sand flats covered by a high tide on our final morning on the Spencer Gulf.

Wallaroo, South Australia

Ratings: CP *** (s'be **** too noisy) Surroundings *****

 White sands of North Beach where people drive vehicles of any type onto the beach and enjoy  stunning sunsets over the Spencer Gulf,

Blues and whites on the ocean: these boats are part of the Spencer Gulf prawn fleet based in Wallaroo, a deep sea port which is also the apex of the Copper Triangle.

Returning to port with a day's catch.

The sun sets as the tide rolls in...