2019 - 45 days - Melbourne to Port Hedland and back.

It was what I needed. 2019 did not start well for me. With the threat of legal action hanging over my head, and not knowing the implications, I was stressed to the hilt! Stressed out to the extend that every thing going around came my way. No sooner had I recovered from one bug, the next one came along. Until, more than half way through the year everything was settled with the help of some wonderful people.

Meanwhile I had seen a TV program which included news about an organisation of women who travel (by road) alone. The idea was to get a small group together whenever one wanted to travel to a location in this vast land. Some own full size motor homes, some have campervans or caravans and many carry tents. All camp and all do not have anyone with whom to share their adventures. Not all are single. Many have husbands/boyfriends/partners/etc. who do not like camping.

My first trip with them was to eastern Victoria to go see the silos. A little over 200 km from home and a campground which, although it is called a bush camp had more facilities than I have seen at many a campground. Between 12 and 20 attended over the five days, some coming or going at different times. It was a great trip and even though it is not all that far from where I grew up, there have been a lot of changes. As well, there was much I had never seen. A great success! highlighted by the fact that the campground charged just 7.50 per night. We were treated to scones with jam and cream on the first morning, and had pizza cooked for us in the onsite pizza oven - for $10 each.

On top of that we had wonderful weather with only an odd shower of rain..... which the farmers badly needed. Right on the banks of the Broken Creek, it is a place I am planning to go stay for a while when I just want to get away from it all.

My main reason for going on this short trip was to see how the idea of travelling with others worked. Wanted to see if it was for me. There was a bigger trip coming up and I planned to join some folk for that. I learned a lot, and made some adjustments to my van. Eliminating what did not work and adding what was lacking. Planned to make my 7 weeks or thereqabouts, as comfortable as possible.

And so it was just four days after getting home, that we - I had hooked up with three others - were ready to hit the road, planning on getting to Exmouth W.A. in 17 days, stopping at the main towns along the way, especially where our visit co-incided with a festival or other festivity.

Lifey

Hi Lifey.
Looking forward to the next chapter. hope you are well.

Keith

Sorry Keith, I was hoping 2020 would be a little better than 2019. But alas, it has not been. Still I refuse to give up. The weather and the smoke have not helped. Am only too conscious of not posting more.... hope to soon.; It is at the forefront of my mind. On top of that I had car problems in Bendigo and was stuck there for days. It seems to all come at once. But I will get back to it, once I clear my slate here.

Lifey

Deal with life first, Lifey. We'll be here when Australia gets back to 'normal'. Meanwhile, all the best to you and every Aussie.

AZBuck

So it was on the 1st October I set out to meet up with three other ladies in Beaufort, approx 150 kms west of Melbourne. None of us had met before. One other lady was retired and lives in her medium size motor home full time. She pulls a small trailer which was like a garage.... with tools and things not needed everyday, as well as exra fuel. If a fuse went, she had it. If something broke, she knew and had the tools to fix it. A real gem! The other two ladies were somewhat younger and both were in full time employment. One had a Hilux with a lift up roof and professionally fitted out. The other had a brand new medium sized motor home.

And then there was I...... in my VW transporter.

We discussed the route as laid out, and the stops along the way. It was clear right from the start the different modes of travel among this small group. There was the early bird, who was on the road soon after daylight, and drove straight to the next destination. There were two of us who were more focused on the actual trip, rather than the destination, and stopped at attractions along the way, even though we differed at which to stop. And then there was the one with two small dogs, whose schedule differed again.

We decided to meet up every evening at a mutually agreed campground, roadhouse or free camping spot. We shared contacts, though coverage could not be guaranteed along the way.

My planning for the trip was far less than ideal. By the time I had reached Beaufort, there were ten items on the list of forgotten things.... including my Epirb, which I perceived to be my most important item.

On 2nd October we travelled to Keith in South Australia. By now I was suspecting that my aircon was not working. I had before departing taken the vehicle in for the aircon to be fixed. I was not happy, considering we were heading into north western West Australia, where Marble Bar is. The hottest place on the continent.

The next two days were much cooler, as we drove first to Snowtown and then onto Kimba.

Lifey

Whereas the others followed the suggested route to Snowtown along the highway and through Adelaide, I chose to take a route through the Adelaide Hills, and Murray Bridge. a lovely town. I just allowed myself to wander through the hills, through small settlements. It is such a lovely area of South Australia. The Adelaide Hills in this area are covered with lush vegetation. At times I felt like I was driving under a green canopy. Unfortunately, much of this area has since also fallen victim to the fire storms.

Snowtown was my contribution to places of choice to stay, not because the accommodation was superior.... it wasn't, but because I have always been intrigued by the bodies in the barrels, in the bank vault. I followed the case closely two decades ago, and wanted to see the bank vault. After a restless night right by a railway line, we chose to get out of the place early, and never got near the bank building in this tiny town. We followed the rolling hills, which on the western side are mainly grain crops and pastures. At Port Augusta we picked up the Eyre Highway - A1, which would take us all the way west. Before we arrived at Kimba, I heard on the radio that the road out of Snowtown was closed, due to a firey crash in which a truck driver died.

At Kimba we learned that we were now half way across Ausralia. If we had started on the east coast, rather than the south coast, this may have been true, but for us it was barely 25% of the way. None-the-less, we looked around at the BIG Galah, the local gemstone store and the painted silos. The best thing about this trip so far; and why I chose to go with this group, is that the distance travelled each day amounted to only a few hours (on the highway without sightseeing), so lots of time to detour to see a given attraction, or do some shopping in the towns where we stayed.

Next was the south/central South Australian town of Ceduna - the official start of the Nullabor Highway.

We arrived on Sat afernoon, and had planned to stay for two nights. It happened to be that this was a long weekend in Ceduna for their Oyster Festival. The town was full of tourists, and of course all businesses were closed all weekend, and Monday. Now normally that would not have worried me. There were places to eat, which are always open, and lots to do and see. But.....................

and it was a BIG BUT, it was in the 40s Celsius on that Saturday, and my aircon was definitely not working. It was in the 60s in my van. I had a wet towel around my neck. Despite all that I almost collapsed when I arrived. A few hours later I was well again, and started to see what I could do about the aircon. That is when I found out that it was a long holiday weekend, Nothing would be open till Tuesday morning. It was a delimna!

Fortunately it cooled down somewhat over the next few days.

Lifey

I like the concept of a solo traveller travelling with the security of a group, yet remaining independant on the days events. Not quite so keen on 'Bodies in a barrel' though !! I'm not surprised you almost collapsed, that was hot !!!

Dave.

Not long after leaving Ceduna and heading west, there was a sign signifying the start of the Nullarbor NP. It is only when I stopped to read the sign that it dawned on me..... Null = nill; arbor = trees. This is a huge plain devoid of trees. For as far as one could see there was not a tree in sight. Shrubbery dominated the landscape, with now and then just plain sand/dirt. I have to admit I was awe-struck. In places it was possible to see the ocean, and the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight.. To think from here to Antarctica there is nothing, other than the Southern Ocean. There was a turn-off to a whale watching area, but I chose not to go there. Thinking I could always stop there on the way back. Little was I to know that by then the whale watching season would be well and truly over.

Almost 300km from Ceduna is the Nullabor Roadhouse on the northern side of the road. Soon after that there was a parking area on the southern side. I was ready for a break, and pulled in. Right there where I turned was an Emu, not at all perturbed by my pressence. In this parking area there happened to be a large area covered by corrigated iron. I pulled into its shade, parked and dropped onto my bed. Two hours later I awoke, refreshed and continued on my way.

Our stop for that night was at Border Village, right on the West Australian border. There was a roadhouse with a caravan park behind it, with electricity, but no other hookups. Inside the roadhouse there was a truckers type restaurant, with a good selection of food - at a price we were going to have to get used to. There were requests to use water and electricity sparingly, as they desalinated their own water and generated their own electricity. We all fueled up, as we did most evenings - 2 of us using diesel and the other two unleaded There was a huge kangaroo in front of the roadhouse.

To cross the border we had to give up all fresh fruit and vegies, (as well as any other plant material) and honey. (I had just bought a 1kg bucket of my favourite honey, and now I had to give it to the inspectors at the border.) This may not sound as such a big deal, after all many places have bio border checks. However, heading west on the Nullarbor we were now three days drive from the nearest supermarket, maybe two days drive if you planted the foot. I felt for the families with children, who now did not have the essentials to make a decent meal. After all most of the vehicles travelling this highway are caravans, campervans and motorhomes.

And roadtrains!

Not easy to plant the foot when stuck behind a roadtrain with a speed limiter, on a two lane highway.

None-the-less, I found the experience driving the Nullabor one I find difficult to describe. Maybe exhilarating! It is a busy road, but even the least travelled road in the U.S. would see more traffic. It was a busy road for what I expected and am used to. All along the highway there are pull-offs to park. These areas are not paved, do not have any facilities, other than space to park your vehicle. Typically they can accommodate two roadtrains and may be a car or two. Some were signposted that it was permissible to stay for 24 hours. They are called Truck Parking Areas or Truckstops. [ I was to find out later how misleading this can be when written by those who have never travelled there.]

Such a different world than the one I am used to on the road.

About 8km after crossing into Western Australia is the small town of Eucla. It looked like it maybe the place where the staff from the roadhouse live, This decades old town just off the highway replaces the old town which was on the coast. I did see the road to the old telegraph station in old Eucla, but, dared not drive down there. Without phone covcerage, this dirt road would see me stuck if I had car problems. No one would know where I was. It is not visible from the highway. I was accutely aware that I had forgotten my Epirb. Back in the 50s and 60s there would be news bulletins of people perishing in the outback. On the way to Eucla was one place where this would happen. Of course this was decades before the Nullarbor was paved.

I had taken the precaution to go into my service provider for my phone; told them where I was going and asked about coverage. I was told there should not be a problem, you'll be covered *just about the whole way*. In reality we were without coverage from Ceduna to Norseman - some four days.

Another interesting fact at the SA/WA border is that there is no concensus as to what the time is. This appears to be a historical relic from the days when it was extremely rare to travel through this area - maybe even to the days of the cameliers. On the SA side of the border they do not go by Adelaide time (as does the rest of SA), and on the WA side of the border they take Perth time plus an hour, an hour and a half, or whatever. Depends on with whom you speak. SA side, seems to pick up from WA whatever appeals to any individual. Makes watching TV difficult.

Our next evening we stopped at Calguna. Weather was warming up again, and I could not wait to get to Norseman - the first big town - to see what I could do about my aircon. We made good use of the roadhouses along the way, and at Calguna we once again stopped in their caravan park. Each of these evenings cost us around $20-$30 including electricity. They are however mostly geared towards the completely self contained vehicles.

Lifey

One of the highlights of the Nullabor Highway is the 90 mile stretch of STRAIGHT road. Not a kink, not a bend, just straight road. And yes, it remained as the 90 mile stretch even after the whole country changed to kilometres.

We left Calguna, knowing we would all be travelling on this one straight road. There is no other. Come to think of it, this section would be great for self drive cars - no turns, no intersections and everyone travels at the same speed. Destination was Belladonia, which a couple of the others had researched, but about which I did not know anything. Turned out to be a great choice, as this is the one spot on the planet, where a spacecraft landed after hurtling back to earth, back in the 70s. I had never heard of this, and absorbed all the information boards which are there at the Roadhouse. This place too, existed of a roadhouse, caravan park behind it and fuel out the front. There were some bungalows which I assumed were the living quarters of the staff. Nothing else! Most of these places had food which was quite OK, at prices to which we were becoming accustomed. I was going to have to find an ATM.

Next day we drove to Norseman. It was getting warmer. At last I would again have phone coverage. Having done my research, I wanted to call a place to look at my aircon. The bulk of information came from Kalgoorlie. so I by-passed Norseman and headed straight for Kalgoorlie, where we were due to stay for two nights. This was the biggest town we came through along the way.

As soon as I was able, I rang the aircon specialists in Kalgoorlie. Dennis told me to bring it in on my arrival in Kalgoorlie, and he would look into it. Wednesday afternoon. I arrived at Natrad, which is a national firm of aircon specialists. There and then he said he found a couple of small leaks, and fixed them, and gassed it up with dye. Asked me to stay in town the next day, and drive it as I normally would and come back Friday morning.

It worked all day Thursday, and the weather was pretty hot by now. Friday morning I got the van back to Dennis. It was an hour or more when he came back to me with a section of the piping - which he replaced - through which the gas goes, and showed me where there were four more leaks, too tiny to be seen by the naked eye, but his equipment found them. Today, four and a half months later, the aircon is working like a charm, for the first time since I bought the VW.

Lifey

Pieces of aircraft in the 70s could possibly have been the US Skylab, an early space station. The computers failed and other things went wrong. With no one going up there to maintain it, it simply fell apart ... right over Australia. The town of Esperance fined NASA $400 for littering, which has yet to be paid.


Donna

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Originally Posted by DonnaR57

The town of Esperance fined NASA $400 for littering, which has yet to be paid.

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How typical!!!

Lifey

Enjoying your description of the roads and geography of this trip.

As a result of all of the above, I spent quite some time in the city itself. Although it is a city, it is not quite busy enough to have parking meters. And only a few traffic lights. The large supermarket has all its parking under shadecloth. Seemed like acres of it, and it was much appreciated. It was great to see some places which were familiar to me, and I had a chance to explore many new ones. Lots of great places to eat, as well as phone and internet (not wifi) coverage throughout. It is a place where I could spend more time.

So far this trip I had taken few photos, but the beautiful old historic buildings built in Kalgoorlie during and after the goldrush enticed me to get out the camera. There is one intersection - one of the few with traffic lights - where there is a magnificent hotel on each of the corners. The Market, another magnificent building, was unfortunately not open. The weather was such that I felt the need for a wide brimmed hat. There was no shortage of places which sold these, from the most elaborate to the Akubra and plain fabric ones.

When you are in Kalgoorlie you become acutely aware that this is in the desert, (a bit like Barstow) and that you are a long way from the nearest town - especially to the north. Some folk who live remotely drive a day or more to come do their shopping, others fly. After I got my van back, and all fixed, I stayed another night in Kalgoorlie, and left on Saturday morning along the Goldfields Highway to Leinster. Briefly stopping in the tiny settlement of Menzies - to have an ice-cream, at the pub!

The others had all headed for the coast, north of Perth, and one detoured quite a way to pick up a friend. My plan was to drive the coast road on the way home. And now that we had crossed the Nullarbor, and were back to always being a few hours drive from *somewhere*, we all felt the confidence to continue on our own. We still kept in contact and let each other know where we were, but we no longer bothered about the same accommodation each night.

Leinster is a small town in the middle of the goldfields. It appeared to be mostly owned by BHP. Very few private houses, all the others were free standing homes, but all the same, all prefab and all had a BHP vehicle parked in the drive. The caravan park, which is owned by the town had to be paid for in the supermarket. $20 with power and facilities. If you wanted to use the laundry you had to get the key from the supermarket, during busines hours. The facilities were clean and seemed to be meticulously maintained. From my observation the other residents that night were all BHP mine workers.

Lifey

p.s. I will post some photos later.

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p.s. I will post some photos later.

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I'm enjoying the report Lifey and look forward to the photos. I've been 'tagging along' using Google maps to track your progress and have a look around.

Dave.

When I left Leinster, my plan had been to go up to Wiluna and cut across to the Great Northern Highway at Meekatharra. But when I saw that the extension of the Goldfields Highway was only partially paved, and conscious of the fact that I did not have my Epirb, I took the road to Mount Magnet, which was fully paved.

Mount Magnet is a lovely old desert town with some great old traditional outback homes. I drove around the town for a bit, but there was nothing doing. Not even a place to get something to eat/drink, or any fuel. But then, this was a Sunday. Just north of the town, a couple of kms was the Swagman Roadhouse. The very best I came across. The gentlemem running it were wonderful. I parked my van under the shadecloth and went in to sit down for a nice meal, while they filled my van for me. On the Great Northern Highway, I once again had phone coverage, which made me feel a bit more secure.

It was before 5pm when I arrived in Newman, and sought out the caravan park. Having booked in, I set off to have dinner. Did not spend much time in Newman, just a quick drive through next morning, and back on the Great Northern Highway to Port Hedland. I knew I was in for a full day's drive. It was going to be one of the longest stretches in one day, and I was also aware that this section of the Great Northern Highway was a particularly *busy* section, with all the roadtrains going from the mines to the port, and back.

Roadtrains have a speed limit of less than 100kmh in W.A. Either their drivers are extremely well disciplined, or all the trucks had speed limiters, as none drove any faster. Not that I minded, I was happy to just go along, now and then overtaking a roadtrain, on this narrow two lane highway. But it was around the middle of the day that I caught up with a convoy of Police car with flashing lights, pilot car, oversize load, pilot car, oversize load and another pilot car with flashing lights. Each truck had the same load, only different colour. I was never able to work out what it really was. All I see was that the loads were wider than the ashphalt on the road. The leading police car had told all the oncoming traffic to get off the road. So we passed all these vehicles, roadtrains, motorhomes, caravans and private vehicles, all parked off the road, waiting for the loads to pass.

When we got to a small section where the highway was twice as wide as the rest, the pilot car in front of me gave the signal to overtake. By that time there must have been a dozen or more vehicles behind me, as we had been following this slow moving load for well over an hour. Never did get a photo of it.

The sun was low over the Indian ocean as I arrived in Port Hedland. An interesting town (city?) built along an inlet, with the business part and shops at the port end of the inlet, and the residential (and caravan park) at the other end a few kms away. Booked myself in for two nights so that I could spend some time looking around the place. It's not as if you can go back next week to have another look. Great places to eat and shop, and some which were familiar to me, gives a bit of feeling of home.

Before leaving Port Hedland for Exmouth - I toyed with the idea of visiting Tom Price (the richest iron deposits on the continent); Marble Bar (the hottest place on the continent) and Paraburdoo (where it is always 42C.). But alas, all of them would have meant driving long distances on unpaved roads. [If there is a next time, they will definitely be on the agenda.]

Up until this time the only wildlife I had seen was the emu on the Nullarbor, and a few cows (hardly wildlife!)

Lifey

Heard on the radio yesterday, that only 20 fires are still burning. All are under control.

Lifey

Hi Lifey.

Im enjoying reading your adventures on this trip. Brings back memories of when i was still driving interstate. Used to do the odd trip across there. Used to leave Brisbane on Friday evening and unload in Perth on Monday morning early. Only stopped for fuel and food and grabbed an hour or two here or there. 52 hours driving time approx. Going across the Nullarbor was boring but interesting at times. Wild life, especially at night. Kangaroo's and Wombats at night. Wombats were in someways worse than roo's. Bull bars used to take care of the Roo's but Wombats could go under the bull bar and there solid round body could take the fuel lines out that went from the two tanks on one side to the other two. 2000 litres of fuel we carried when full. I was lucky enough not to have that happen. Do they still have lines painted across the road out on the plains every now and then. They were for the Police to get you for speeding with a plane. They would time the vehicle between the lines and radio ahead. No i didnt get caught but i learned to have mirrors on good angles so i could keep an eye on the sky behind me. As you said the heat out there can be unbearable. One trip coming back from the west it was so hot, birds were falling out of the sky. No lie. I had never seen it happen before. My air con packed up and i tried the windows down but it was better with them up. Only went from Roadhouse to Roadhouse at a reduced speed and then stopped to let the tyres cool down. Would get a milkshake container full of ice and get it filled with soft drink. Finally made it into Port Auguster at midnight and it was still 40c. Looking forward to the rest of your trip. Love reading your adventures Lifey.

Keithg

Leaving Pt Hedland there was a short track back over the Great Norhern Highway, before picking up the the North West Coastal Highway, which runs all he way to Perth, but rarely goes near the coast I did however make one detour to the coast - to Dampier. I wanted to see what this area was like. Back in the early 70s my husband was toying with the idea of getting a job and relocating there. Can't say I was impressed. Seems there was nothing there. But in the 70s the workers lived there, now it is all fly in, fly out work. Any infrastructure which may have been there then, has long since gone. My main concern, and the reason he did not apply for the job was the access to education for the children. Never stopped to think that the access to water and power were greater issues. It must be the dryest/hottest part of this continent. These days all power comes from solar and wind. That part of the continent is pretty much off the grid.

The road was through this dry country which I had come to really enjoy. It's a beauty of its own. But rarely was there anywhere to stop. Only one roadhouse between Dampier and Nanutarra - where I stopped for the night. The Nanutarra Roadhouse was highup off the ground, with steep stairs and a very long ramp, which was not particularly mobility scooter friendly. Eventually, with the help of other guests, I made it to the shop. I had an icecream (which cost as much as a small meal) just to cool down. Then I had a milk shake, and finally I bought a snack. It was too hot to eat a full meal. As the sun was about to sink into the Indian Ocean, I settled down in a powered spot close to the toilet block. From memory it was $29, the most I'd paid to his point. Just like the shop, none of their facilities were 'accessible'.

By now I was beginning to appreciate the value of the small, cheap air cooler I had purchased in Kalgoorlie. It is a small cube, with a fan and a water well on a usb power connection, and whereas it does not cool the van, as such; with it blowing over me I slept soundly. I had seen it on the internet, and had received several emails featuring it. Wasn't looking for it, but found it in one of those junk shops, like the dollar shops.

Garmin and an unforgivable decision?

Each morning I would fuel up for the day. So this morning too, I pulled up to the bowser, but with the shop way way, up there, was not able to summon anyone to help fill my tank and take my cash. I waited for a long time, but did not see any other folk to help me, or get a message to the shop. Frustrated, and not a soul in sight, I picked up my Garmin to find how far the next fuel stop was. It showed five places between Nanutarra and Minilya Bridge Roadhouse, all of which were truckstops. I left without fuelling, knowing I did not have enough to get to Minilya Bridge. But comforted by the fact that it showed five truck stops between the two places. It was not untill I was past Burkett Road - almost to Winning - that it dawned on me that those who make these gadgets have not actually travelled to the places they program into them. Yanks think of a truck stop as something like Love's or FJ, when in fact the truck stops they had programmed into the fuel section of the Garmin were mere roadside clearings for trucks to stop.

Now what? I did not have enough to get back or get to Minilya Bridge.

At this point I turned around and decided to take Burkett Road to Exmouth Road. All along Burket Road I implored St Christopher to see me safely through this dilemna. It was less than 10 metres from the Exmouth Road, that I came to a sudden stop. I could not have stopped in a better place. [Thank You St Christopher!] A large intersection with traffic coming by. There was no need to panic, I knew I was safe. Less than 30 seconds and a car came from Exmouth into Burkett Road. It was a family from Paraburdoo who had been shopping in Exmouth. While they were explaining that they were unable to help me, another car pulling a Caravan pulled up behind me. There were two senior ladies in the car, and they were from Melbourne. I said to them, "I know where you are going, and that's where I want to go too." Hearing my needs, they said they would happily take me to Exmouth, and bring me back, if I could compensate them for the fuel. I was only too happy to do that.

I locked the van, and left it right where it was, just off the ashphalt of this two lane road. Half way to Exmouth my telephone rang. It was an unknown number. Now I don't normally answer unknown numbers, but something made me answer it. After establishing who it was and what they wanted, I told them my story. It happened that one of the members of the original group came up from Minilya Bridge on the Exmouth Road, and saw my van parked by the intersection. She went up and looked, saw my scooter in the van and knowing that I would not have walked far, went searching through the shrub for me. When she could not find me - and I had not left a note to say where I was - she called the Exmouth police. We continued to Exmouth, where my friends were going to drop the caravan before taking me back to my van. The owners of the caravan park told us that they keep large jerrycans full of unleaded and diesel, just for this sort of occasion. The only condition was that you had to return it full.

On arriving back at my van, I was staggered to see my friend from the original group still there. Driving a diesel vehicle herself, she wanted to make sure that I would be OK. You can't just fill it and start driving. It's a bit more complicaed than that, and she had all the tools and know how.

She must have waited there for more than an hour. It was hard to know how to thank her. It is in the spirit of Rolling Solo.

Lifey

Wow. You were so lucky Lifey. Very happy you were. We like reading your adventures. But they dont have to be so nerve wracking. Need to read more in the future. :)

Keithg

Whew! I agree with Keith, you were in a tough situation and you came through it! I guess I wasn't aware that your home travel vehicle is a diesel. You're right, you don't just turn over the engine and go with a diesel. There are things you have to do -- my husband knows, I don't, shame on me -- before taking off. Thank goodness you were with someone who knew what to do!

Looking forward to your next segment. With many of us in home isolation (or close to it), these trip reports keep us going!


Donna

[OMG. I can't believe it is almost 2 months since I looked at this thread. Too many other things going on in the current environment.]

The caravan park where we were staying was about a km from the actual town, and right across the road from the area's Visitor Information Centre and Museum.. For the week, the Rollers had exclusive use of the caravan park. The only males who were there were the maintenance men. The facilities were excellent. Great Camp Kitchen. All facilities fully accessible. And for the most part, great company.

Before I left home, someone had said to me "Why do you want to go there, there's nothing but a couple of cafes". When in actual fact there were a couple of hotels, a very nice restaurant, cafes, two (small) supermarkets and general shopping for anything you may want, mostly centred on tourism supplies - including several scuba diving and snorkling outfitters. Then of course there were the automotive repair shops, real estate agents, banks and ATMs. There was a large water park in town, which was very popular, but by far the greatest attraction were the dozen or so Emus which roamed the town. Locals tended to ignore them, but visitors could not resist taking photos. They walked right up to the shops, and the fully open shopfronts, they would walk straight in. Eating outside was hazardous, as they would peck the food from your plate.

I went into town almost every day. There was a great footpath from the caravan park to town, nice and smooth for my scooter. Some days I went with one of the other two ladies who used mobility scooters. Yeah, a great place.

There were many activiies planned, probably the highlight of them was the glass bottomed boat to Ningaloo Reef in the Ningaloo Marine Park. We stopped by the reef, and many ladies went for a snorkel to view the coral and the marine life. I was happy to view it all from the boat. Most of the time while in Exmouth it was up in the high 30sC. Each evening there were various activities - bingo, dancing, karaoke, etc. There were macrame and paper mache sessions as well as knitting during the day - one of which I ran. Basically something for everyone.

All too soon the week was over, and we had to prepare for the trip home. I had already laid out my route.

Lifey

Early on I made the decision that I would drive home alone. Now that I had crossed the Nullabor, I knew what to expect, where the services were, and what they were like. So felt quite confident. Hoped it would also allow me to meet some of the truckers along that road.

Before leaving Exmouth, I made a visit to the nearby Cape Range NP, on the west coast of the Exmouth Penninsula. As always, my first stop was at the visitor centre. Parked my van and went inside. Having gathered my information and bought some souvenirs, I headed out to go and see some of the shore and other attractions. The dirt tracks seemed smooth enough for my scooter to manage.

As I left the car park, I noticed a dog nearby. Stopped for a moment to check it out, thought it may belong to one of the owners of the many cars in the car park. But as it came towards me I noticed that it was a wild dog - a Dingo! Took a couple of photos, and a video. It was very, very scrawny (read HUNGRY!). As I moved off, I shooed it away, but that did not last long. As quickly as I turned my back it was coming my way again. After a few times of this, and fully aware I am not able to run away, or fight it, I decided to abort my sightseeing, and went back to my van.... warning parents with young children as I went.

Decided to do my sightseeing from the van, and drove over all the roads in the park - none of which are paved. and none of them went close to the shoreline. None-the-less it was a lovely drive. Headed back through town to the Minilya-Exmouth Highway, which would take me to Minilya Bridge Roadhouse for the night.

It was just before I got to the roadhouse that I saw a herd of wild goats. I did not know that they were such a big problem up there in the desert. The lady at the roadhouse told me that with the drought and no food around, they literally climb the trees and shrubs to eat the only bit of green there is - the crown, and thus destroying the plant. The desert landscape was endless with dead plants. I kept thinking how devastating a wildfire would be through there.

Food at this friendly roadhouse was great, and their caravan park comfortable. A really good night.

Lifey