Nullabor and Beyond!

The owners of the campsite at Coolgardie appear to be kleptomaniacs!   The wife goes off to the tip to collect whatever she can to decorate their home and the campsite - but it really is amazing what they’ve done with bits of junk!  Anyway, as well as collecting bits and bobs - they also take in orphaned joeys whose mum’s have been killed on the roads.  Truck drivers drop them off at the site and she looks after them - even having them in their bed at night to keep them warm!  I was able to nurse one baby joey - called Elsie - it was fantastic!  They also had about 22 other kangaroos - many of which they had nursed through to adulthood  - one such kangaroo, Biscuit, would come up to the owner and give her a hug every time she went into the field!

 

One night at Coolgardie and we were off again - this time we travelled 166kms to Norseman for our final fuel and shop before travelling another 50km where we stayed overnight on the Fraser Range working sheep station. 

We now know we have a problem with the car - exhaust blowing and a stiff head wind equals 3kms per litre - ouch!  And petrol was now costing $1.75 per litre as opposed to the $1.09 it was in the larger towns!  We were stopping regularly to fill up - but we had to carry on.  So across the Nullabor we went.  Part of the Nullabor includes the longest stretch of completely straight road in Australia at 146km - we actually got excited when we saw a bend!   Passing through Cocklebiddy and finally making it to Madura Gap where we camped in the woods for the night.

 

 

Next day we made it into South Australia where we were warned about the stiff penalties of taking fruit and veg through the border.  Some spectacular views along this road where the highway meets the coast - and we stayed at a little village called Penong - Geoff was shattered after several full days driving and the car playing up.  We drove a short journey to Ceduna the next morning where we had a new exhaust fitted - car (and Geoff) sounded much happier after that!  We’re through the border, driven over the Nullabor - big sigh - a long journey - but really glad we’ve done it! 

Decided that we would travel a little further to a seaside town called Streaky Bay.  A lovely site where we overlooked the sea and had a lazy day - I even managed to persuade Geoff to go for a walk! 

 

The following day was another long one travelling - from Streaky Bay to Woomera - which is the area used for the Cold War rocket testing  but now RAAF base - rockets everywhere!  (the rockets are dummy ones but the mozzies are real!!)  Weather fantastic - getting warmer.

We now know we can comfortably travel 500kms a day - so today we have travelled up to Coober Pedy - the home of opal mining and underground houses, and also famous for the film set of Mad Max (Mel Gibson) - much of the area looks like you’ve just landed on the moon .  We went to look around one of the homes built in the rock - totally amazing!  Faye, a young lady of just 21, came to Coober Pedy in 1961 when opal mining was just beginning in the area.  She worked in the kitchens at a café for a while until a cyclone blew it away!  One of the miners showed Faye how to mine for opals and she was able to buy a small hole in the hillside which had been used as a garage in the 20’s.  She continued to dig out using a small pick to make her home (photos) in her spare time as she was working fulltime mining for opals.
   

 

 

 

So now you’re up to date with our Ozzy Travels - sorry this has been such a long one but we've not had much internet connection while we've been travelling.

….  To be continued ….