The rest of the Nullarbor and into WA

 Leaving Nullarbor Roadhouse to continue the westward journey. We both forgot about the time differences between SA, SA/WA border (has its own time) and WA. We had a vague idea of where we wanted to get to in terms of a minimum number of kilometres covered but we had nothing booked. This was pretty novel for the kids, and possibly a little unsettling but their trust in us won out and we just drove on.

 

 Classic Nullarbor signs - we saw no living creatures and very few dead ones.

 Our view for many hours included rain showers here and there with accompanying rainbows. The Eastern end of the Nullarbor is shrubby with almost no large trees, hence the name. The kids hunkered down in the back and we got through many hours of Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials -Book 1'.

 After a quick quarantine check of our car at the border we were into WA and stopped in quickly at Eucla for cuppa, play and loo stop. And selfie of course. Eucla runs 45 mins behind WA time, which is 1.5 hours behind SA time, and 2 hours behind NSW time. Our phones kept changing their minds between border and Perth times which made for a bit of confusion and me thinking my watch battery was finished. I rest it twice to the time my phone was showing before Andy helped me out.

 

Night 2 on the Nullarbor was at Moodini Bluff roadside rest area. It had a loo and is free to camp and you can stay for 24 hours. It was away from the road and we were tucked in amongst some trees. We pulled in fairly early for us, about 12:30pm, but with all the time changes and the very early morning we had already done our daily km quota and we were done. We set up under some trees and had an afternoon of 'free time' - some reading, a few beers, and played some cricket with the kids. As the afternoon rolled on lots of vans pulled in for the night. I think we were all in bed before 7pm!!!! That's easy even of us. Let's call it interstate-lag.

 Dinner at the roadside rest area was suitably basic - sausage in bread made beautiful by Jemma.

 Breakfast in the trees before setting out for day 3 of the Nullarbor.

 Samantha and Bruce are rescue wedgies at Cocklebiddy Roadhouse. They were both picked up on the side of the highway after being hit by vehicles and treated and rehabilitated in various facilities over months before being sent back to Cocklebiddy to be cared for by some locals, which in turn is overseen by wildlife specialists . Their injuries were severe and neither can be released back into the wild. Their enclosure is huge but here they're looking pretty grumpy as it was cold and wet.

 Balladonia Roadhouse. No idea why they have minions but got a photo of course. Balladonia also has a small museum which covers all manner of things; geology, white settlement, extreme car trials of the 1950s and the Skylab space station crash components which landed in the area making it world famous for a few minutes. We topped up with fuel here too, just to be sure. See - we have learned from our previous near-misses! ( We have only ever run out of diesel once - that's a story for another time. When in doubt, any doubt at all, TOP UP, even when it's $2.21/L!)

 Last night on the Nullarbor was at Fraser Range Station, a couple of kms off the road. They have loads of space for kids to roam. Hot showers, a great camp kitchen and they even lit an enormous communal fire to share with other travellers. This was a really lovely stop. We set up on some grass - softest ground for ages, under some trees. There was an option to dine in their Nullabar dining room but I had mad a big batch of burrito mix before leaving Streaky which needed to be eaten, so we self catered. 

This was another recommendation by an Andy colleague but he cannot remember who it was, luckily I remembered that he had told me. If you're reading this, and you recommended it - thank you.

 Little helper.

 Enjoying some marshmallows at long last.

 Morning scenes at Fraser Range. It got pretty cold overnight and as the sun came up a fog rolled in. It made for a soggy and shambolic pack up but we got there in the end.

The grounds at Fraser Range are lovely with ancient pepper trees, Boganvillea and rusty cars everywhere. Fraser Range was the first station (sheep?) to be established on the Nullarbor. 

Fraser Range to Esperance is only 307km but jeepers the last 200km from Norseman felt hard. 4 days in the car and we pulled into Esperance in the rain (bit of a theme) in time for lunch. We headed to the bakery on the Main Street and thoroughly enjoyed our selections. Yum! As it was still a tad early to check in at the caravan park we took the opportunity to vote as we will be out of town (any town) on Saturday. It was a pretty simple process and didn't take very long at all.

 Esperance afternoon selfie. We made it!

 That water in the sunshine!

We are having 2 nights in an Esperance caravan park - have done the washing, the shopping, and topped up with water. We did some site seeing today and visited some of Esperance's beautiful beaches.

Tomorrow we head for Cape Le Grande National Park for 5 nights - one of WAs most popular national parks. No-one else I have spoken to here at the park have been able to book sites so we are feeling very lucky indeed. 

The forecast for the next few days is looking bright and beautiful and we are so excited to be heading back into some national park camping.

Week 3 - Gawler Ranges & Streaky Bay - still in SA

 

It turned out we got away from Port Augusta just in the nick of time - it started raining as we left and just kept on and off for the first few hours. We took a westward heading on Easter Saturday, for the Gawler Ranges NP at the top of the Eyre Peninsula. This NP had been mentioned to Andy ages ago by a bowls (or maybe work) friend so we put it on our list. Our itinerary had us passing by so we figured we'd give it a look. So we did.

First break stop was at Kimba to check out the Big Galah. We were also hopeful of a bakery lunch but Kimba was all shut down for the long weekend. Despite being closed when we blew through it looked like a neat little town, and a natural stop across the Eyre.

It was still raining on and off and super gusty with the Patrol getting blown around by road trains as well as cross winds. Big dust clouds blowing off the bare paddocks reduced the visibility in parts making for some yucky driving conditions.

Kimba's big galah is one of Australia's official big things. An 8m tall galah - fitting as lots of them wheeling and squawking in the air. 

With nothing doing in Kimba we pushed on for Wudinna, another service town at the top of the Eyre Peninsula. It had a great feel, but unfortunately we pulled in at 11:59am and the IGA closed at 12:00...and the rest of the town was closed for the long weekend. The pub would be opening at 3pm but we still had  60km of unknown access road into the NP - both our phones were saying it was going to take 2hrs for the 60km so we were pretty keen to get that done...how bad could the road be? The NP website said that the roads become impassable after rain, and it had been raining, we just didn't know if, and how wet it would be. It was still raining in Wudinna.....

 Wudinna's free jumping pillow - which the kids just adored despite being wet and slippery. James and Jemma have adjusted to this travel life very well - we try very hard not to have too many big driving days, and to limit the time in the car but it's not always possible with the vast distances we need to cover. They don't mind 'driving days' when its rainy and cold but always love getting out for a leg stretch, or a jump.

Waganny campground in Gawler Ranges NP was surprisingly lovely. 11 spacious, spread out, shady spots. When we got there only 3 other spots were occupied. This is a pretty out of the way NP. We still had a few showers the first afternoon and evening, but it was lifting. And the road? The first section through farmland from Wudinna was pretty good (for a gravel road) and got a bit rough in patches with some corrugated sections and a little bit of bull dust. The roads inside the national park were variable but nothing too crazy. And it certainly didn't take 2 hours to cover the 60km.

Walking in the Gawler Ranges - the Waganny Rock walk. A short and easy walk to a large ancient granite outcrop. A sign up at the park entrance warned of animal carcasses in the park due to the dry condition and the nature of the boom-or-bust ecology - we saw our first one on this walk. 

 Playing in the dirt. Jemma thrives in the dirt. Still building fairy gardens wherever we go.

 Playing in the trees. The trees at the campground were amazing with many kid-accessible almost-horizontal branches for climbing, swinging and just hanging about on. Our campsite neighbours had 3 kiddos in a caravan and Jemma spent hours and hours in the trees with them playing the most incredible, detailed imaginary games. She stopped occasionally for a drink but she didn't stop for lunch - far too busy.

 Best trees for climbing and playing in. The kids slept like logs after hours of climbing and running and playing. The campground was so quiet at night - it was blissful.

 The Easter bunny found them - this had been a pretty big concern of Jemma's in the lead up to departing home and Easter. I promised the kids that I would buy some Easter eggs just in case, as we really weren't sure how it was going to play out. Turns out we were worried about nothing and the kids happily ate chocolate for breakfast!

 The Organ Pipes - Gawler Ranges. 1500 million year old exposed volcanic rock. This is what Gawler Ranges NP is famous for. Ancient exposed granites from volcanic activity.

 

 We took a drive around the national park to visit some of the points of interest. Couldn't pass up a selfie with this sign - I know it isn't the exact same spelling, but we'll take it. Old Paney station was another failed sheep station from the 1800s. Like a lot of the attempts to farm SA lands in this period the invaders initially visited and saw it in 'BOOM' years , and assumed  (incorrectly) that it was always like this and would support European farm practices. It didn't take too long before the reality was clear and farms like this were destocked and eventually abandoned. 

We departed Gawler Ranges a day earlier than planned, deciding to spend the extra night at Streaky Bay ( they were able to accommodate us). We exchanged contact details with our new caravan friends (Eliza, Damian, Oscar, Xavier & Indie) so if the opportunity arose we could hang out and let the kids play again.

 Venus Bay foreshore - a small fishing and holiday town on the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula before heading to Streaky Bay

 Sunset at Streaky Bay. We stayed at Islands caravan park,  about 15km out of Streaky Bay. This would be our first caravan park stop. It had all the things - washing machines, playground, hot showers and beach access.

 Streaky bay was tops. Our friendly park host supplied us with a map of all the things to do in and around streaky bay - including 3 scenic drives.We did all three but will definitely be back to spend more time at some of the best spots.

 Halley's Beach on the Cape Bauer loop drive

 The Granites Rockpool on the Westall Loop drive

 The Granites Rockpool

 5m female great white shark replica caught at Streaky Bay in the 1990s

Big shark

 Sand dunes on the Westall Loop drive.

 Sea based lunch - Streaky Bay

 More sea based lunch - Streaky Bay

 Sand dune on Westall loop road

 We absolutely loved Streaky Bay and have put this part of the Eyre on our list to explore more in future trips. The town has everything you need and despite being very busy with visitors there seems to be enough space, and enough to do, to not feel cramped. We were very pleased we had the extra night and day to explore. We also got to see our Gawler Ranges friends in a park as they were having their car serviced in town. The kids were delighted to see one another again. They have remembered and relearned that friendships on the road can be fleeting and fast and to play when they can.

 HOT MESS - this is what living out of our car looks like. I used to spend a lot of head space freaking out about the state of the car with all the double and triple handling that goes on. I am actually feeling better about this. The kids and Andy really don't care about what looks like chaos to me, and I would/could go mad trying to keep on top of it.

 Penong windmill museum. We left Streaky Bay on ANZAC Day - we discussed heading into town for the dawn service at 6:45 but the forecast and radar were urging us otherwise once more. I knew if we went we would just be worrying about our gear and packing wet gear in the rain, so we opted to stay and pack up. It started raining just as we finished packing up.

 Quick play at Smoky Bay where we also had a few minutes reflection at the ANZAC memorial.

From Streaky Bay we were set to head west and begin the Nullarbor crossing. We tried to prime the kids about the enormity of the drive, and Australia in general, and that it would take 4 driving days to get to Esperance (1510kms)...it's hard to really appreciate the bigness until you see it for yourself. We had rain and not-rain for most of the day and WIND.

Due to the wind and rain Andy booked us into the Nullarbor Roadhouse motel for the night. This turned out to be a great save. It was a horrible night on the Nullarbor for sure.

 Head of the Bight - stunning views east and west and a bit of whingeing from Jemma about having to get out of the car for 'all the lookouts'! Are we going to stop at every single one? Luckily for her there aren't that many spots where you can access the cliff tops, so there were just 3 ( I think).

 The old Nullarbor Roadhouse - a site for weary drivers

 Nullarbor Roadhouse - milo cups for dessert - in bed! We dined in the roadhouse as cooking for ourselves would have required getting all our gear out of, or off, the car, setting up and doing the cooking in the crazy wind and rain. 

The wind howled, the rain poured down and the road trains roared past all night. We were snug and safe in our little motel room, ready to face day 2 of the Nullarbor.

Next stop WA...

Touring the Flinders Ranges - Days 1 - 13 (and a bit more)

I can't believe we are almost 2 weeks into this epic 23 week adventure. We have had an incredible first 2 weeks ranging around the Flinders Ranges. We have experienced station stays, a wilderness sanctuary, an extraordinary wedding (we weren't invited) and national parks. It is currently Good Friday and we are at Catninga Station to the NE of Port Augusta.

We have settled into a routine of sorts. Our longest stay to date was 4 nights but most have been 2 night stays. It's been hot and dusty, and there have been many, many flies. The first few nights I found it hard to stay awake past about 7:30pm - I am always early to bed but that was ridiculous. I put it down to residual exhaustion in the weeks and days leading up to leaving, with an enormous, self-imposed to-do list. Many sleepless hours going over lists and lists and lists. 

Sunrise at Rawnsley Park Station

No caption required

Family walk

Combined with the general tiredness was the new-again outside life. Being outside in the elements takes its toll - constantly looking for shade, a spot out of the wind, away from the flies. It's just an adjustment and after a couple of weeks I think we are almost there. This tent life is about compromises and problem solving. It is testing at times.

Getting out of a small hiking tent is pretty undignified - even for a nimble teenager

Checking the pics

The dam at Rawnsley Park Station is almost dry and was always busy with thirsty wildlife. 

Our first stop was at Rawnsley Park Station (2 nights) - a working sheep station just to the south of Ikara-Flinders Ranges NP. It is well established, and well appointed, with walking trails, bike trails, private airstrip, showers, shop & fuel - you get the picture. We opted for unpowered bush camping, choosing our own site along several kms of dry (always) creek bed. It was a super start. We did one of the loop walks on our first full day which resulted in some nasty blisters on Jemma's heels (wrong sock and boot combo). These blisters got her out of the next days walk which Andy and James did on their own. 

Willow Springs shower

Sunrise

Resting on a rock on the way back down from Arkaroo Rock walk in Ikara-Flinders Ranges NP

Picnic in Wilpena Pound 

Second stop was Skytrek, Willow Springs (2 nights) - another working sheep station just to the NE of Ikara-Flinders NP. We had a private bush camp called 'Valley View' up a dead-end 4WD track. Again on a dry creek. It was quite closed in with high hills surrounding us. Again we had access to hot showers at the caravan park end of things. It was quiet, out of the wind and the flies weren't too bad. We used Willow Springs a s base to explore some of the national park - visiting Wilpena Pound for cold drinks and some grocery top ups. We also did the Arkaroo Rock walk - one I had clocked last time we were in the Flinders in July 2024 - a moderate 3km loop walk to some rock paintings/drawings. The walk took us up through different habitats and gave some beautiful views. Skytrek is the name of a (notorious) 4WD track you can pay for the privilege to drive. It's about 80km and takes 6-7 hours - you work it out! We didn't think there was much in it for us, so happily parked that for another time. The friendly owners did highly recommend Huck's lookout for sunset which was phenomenal with 360 degree views.

Huck's lookout sunset

After our stay at Skytrek we headed north to Arkaroola. We took the Wirreapla Road out through the park. I have never see so many wedge tail eagles - at one point I counted 7 circling in the same small area. they were just everywhere. Andy and I visited Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary back in 2008, but didn't stay there. 

The pool at Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary - was freezing cold and just the thing for some hot dusty kids

The face you pull when you're trying to take a selfie and the flies are being flies

The meat extravaganza for the worlds biggest pre-wedding feast. So much meat.

Back to the pool

The road to Arkaroola

The drive north was open and big-sky  until we started winding our way between and around the Gammon Ranges and into Arkaroola itself. More dry riverbed bush camping - just drive along and find a suitable spot. Luckily our natural aversion to camping near others took us about 0.5km down the creek to a quiet little spot. I say lucky - the guy who checked us in neglected to mention that Arkaroola was about to host a 400 people wedding festival! Usually there's less than 50 people there. The influx started in earnest the day after we arrived. There was a flurry of festoon and fairy light hanging, meat-smoking frames being welded, booze and food being fork-lifted and all manner of other very serious wedding set-up activities. It was very hot and we watched a lot of this from the shade of the communal pool. The presence of so many wedding guests meant we were unable to to dine out, see the rock wallabies, or use the pool at times. The wedding took over the accommodation, caravan park and parts of the creek bed camping area. There was a 3 day itinerary with an Argentinian BBQ, DJ's, cabaret shows, pool parties, desert disco and of course a wedding. 

We did a couple of walks at Arkaroola and took a drive to Grindell's Hut in Gammon Ranges - where Andy and I stayed years ago. It was a rough old 4WD track in and out but a pretty spot for a picnic once we got there.

Grindell's Hut campground revisit - and a good time for a quick geometry lesson - working out how tall the trees are.

It's stark, remote and ancient country. There had been about 10cm of rain a few weeks go so everything was carpeted in green.

We left Arkaroola and headed south, back to the Ikara-Flinders Ranges NP to camp at Brachina East Campground in Brachina Gorge. A gorgeous spot on another dry creek bed. There was so much wildlife and it was blissfuly quiet. We had beautiful stars until the big moon rose each night.

The reason we stayed back in the Flinders NP was to do the fossil tour at Nilpena Ediacara National Park https://www.parks.sa.gov.au/parks/nilpena-ediacara-national-park . It meant an early morning drive out through the gorge to be at Nilpena for 9:15am - early morning is a great time to see the stunning yellow footed rock wallabies. They are so sweet with beautiful markings, and long fluffy tails. It's a good day when you see Rock Wallabies.

 Yellow footed rock wallaby in Brachina Gorge

 Happy kids

Nilpena NP preserves fossils from the Ediacaran era, named after the hills they were found in. The fossils are all soft bodied organisms from the early evolutionary experiments in multicellular life approximately 550 million years old. The fossils represent a warm, shallow ocean habitat. Their lives came to abrupt ends after a storm dumped silica rich sands over them, smothering them and preserving them perfectly. A large fossil bed (ARB - Alice's Restaurant Bed) has been transported and turned into an informative audio-visual display, with lots of opportunity to interact with the fossil bed and ask questions of the National Park guides (ours were exceptional - Lillian and Kim). There is also a chat about the discovery of the fossils and subsequent steps to protection, and their ultimate application for World Heritage status (Like Naracoorte and Riversleigh) pending 2026. 

Nilpena selfie

Making silly putty casts of ancient animals

The drive up to the fossil beds is an adventure and we could now appreciate why this 2WD bus was unable to take us last year (after some winter rain) when we visited for the same tour. The fossil site is extensive and there is years of work there. The view of the Flinders Ranges is also impressive from this point. We spent another hour exploring the stabilised fossil beds with silly putty to create casts of the animals.

Dickensonia from the Ediacara biota

...and silly putty cast

To make a great day even greater we had booked in for a late lunch at the Prairie Hotel, Parachilna. What a treat. We treated everyone, and ourselves to a free shower at the public amenities prior to lunch so we all felt refreshed, fabulous and hungry.

Dessert at the Prairie Hotel

Ditto

The final stay of the Flinders was at Cantninga Station - just to the East of Port Augusta. It's funny when you plan and book things months out you miss important details...like Easter and Good Friday. Our main reason for stopping here was proximity to Port Augusta and its services - shops, access to drinking water, washing machines etc. Our one full day here turned out to be Good Friday - a very hot and windy Good Friday. With almost nothing open. 

Cantninga Station camping

'Shower tree'

Cards in the tent

Thankfully the BP truck stop had just about everything we needed including hot showers and a much needed washing machine and dryer. We spent several hours in the air-conditioned comfort of the cafe while we were all able to shower ($5 each), wash $6 and dry $4 a load of clothes, get water, diesel and lunch. We felt a little bit like we were at the airport with big glass windows and comfy chairs and all the comings and goings.

 With jobs done and a dicey pack up forecast ahead of us we were up early doors on Saturday morning to start our trek west for the Gawler Ranges.

 Now we go WEST

Blogging on the road has always been a bit tricky. I will do my best but am already a week behind. I am currently writing this in the bathroom of our Nullarbor Roadhouse motel room  (another dicey weather compromise - it has just started pouring again!) on Saturday 26th April. Blogging requires the alignment of several things - decent internets, time (more on this in a bit) and right state of mind. I am doing it so we have a (contemporary??) record of this trip, but also keep a journal for day to day stuff - although that's been tricky too.

The kids are a couple of years older and a little more independent but there always seems to be a lot to do - shopping, planning, water, washing, setting up/packing down, driving days.

I am trying really hard to be in the moment and it feels ridiculous to tell the kids I can't take them to the pool or for a walk so I can blog. I will do my best as I want this record for us, and I know that some family and friends will read of our adventures, so this is for you too.

All in all I think we have settled into the travel life pretty well. It's not always comfortable, and we are problem solving on the fly, making it up as we go. Our tents and sleeping gear are super comfy and snuggly and life is pretty good. The flies are super annoying but you take the bad with the overwhelming serving of good. It's busy without being crazy hectic. 

We are heading west.....