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Retired farmers living in Narromine NSW Read more Narromine, Australia
  • TravelerNan and Pa's new adventure
    Day 78

    The run home

    October 1, 2023 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 34 °C

    After an enjoyable hour or more exploring Yanga Woolshed we headed off to Hatfield about 110ks north on the Ivanhoe road.. We camped here a couple of years ago outside of the pub. It was definitely abandoned then and in a bad way but it looks like something is happening now. There is a new sign on the roof and new guttering and down pipes. Also a sign saying no trespassing, keep out. We will have to come back again to check it out
    We camped this time at the Community Hall and old school site. I'm not sure when they closed but the school opened in 1989 and had a 10yr anniversary but that's all the info I can find. The Hall definitely hasn't been used since the last time we were here in Oct. 2020 and it hadn't been used a long time before that.
    We cooked a lamb roast in the camp oven that night and after a good feed and a good sleep we headed off the next morning and spent the day driving through Ivanhoe, Hillston, Lake Cargelligo to Euabalong, where we camped the night on the Lachlan River. This is an area we have travelled through many, many times so we didn't feel the need to stop and explore. Besides that we were soooo close to home. One thing I did notice was the lack of tourists in this area. We drove over 400ks from Hatfield to Euabalong and passed no more than 20 cars and 15 of those would have been local farmers. There were no caravans. Probably the time of the year but who knows.
    We woke up Sunday morning and after another 4 hour drive through very familiar country we parked the van in front of 102 Commodore Crescent
    Home after 2. 5 months of another very enjoyable and fun new adventure. Can't wait for the next one.    Read more

  • TravelerNan and Pa's new adventure
    Day 76

    Wentworth to Yanga Woolshed

    September 29, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We woke up on the river bed, still dry and not bogged, and after brekky we continued on through Wentworth towards Euston where we had morning tea on the Murry River. Next stop was Balranald and the Visitors Centre. Out the back they have a very interesting old school.
    Built in 1886 by John Wington Murphy as the original Wington Homestead it later became the schoolhouse for the children living on Wington. The governess lived in one half and the kids were taught in the other half. A hessian curtain divided the two halves. The walls were lined with hessian and daubed with mud to make it waterproof and dustproof. It was moved to its present site in 1995. We then headed off to Yanga Woolshed.
    Built on the Murrumbidgee River in the late 1800's it was once one of the biggest sheds in the district. It is over 100 mts long and could hold 3000 grown sheep and originally had 40 stands. The last shearing took place in 2005 before it was purchased by the NSW Government and gazetted as a National Park in 2007. After a good look around we were once again on the road heading to Hatfield where we planned to spend the night.    Read more

  • TravelerNan and Pa's new adventure
    2
    Day 75

    Crossing the Border

    September 28, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Left Gawler Gateway and headed for home. Hel and I are a bit like horses that you hire for riding. OK while they are leaving the stable but once you turn their heads for home, they just race back.
    Out on the highway driving through the Barossa Valley we drove past one of the well known wineries in Australia, Wolf Blass. Continuing on we pulled up and had morning tea in front of acres of grapes belonging to Banrock Station. Over the years we have enjoyed a few glasses of their whites.
    Next stop was Renmark via Monash where we noticed a sign to Monash Adventure Park. We didn't have a look but wondered what it looked like now. As our kids can testify and maybe the grandkids, it was pretty wild, back in the day.
    Arriving in Renmark, which looks to have grown since we were last here, we did some important shopping and then headed for the border. Over the years we have crossed over the border into Victoria in just about every place possible so we are always looking for something different. Well we found another way and you don't even go into Victoria. So off we went on the Wentworth-Remark Road into Wentworth NSW
    It's a road of about 150ks which goes north of Remark on bitumen to Cooltong and then it's a bit over 110ks of pretty good gravel before about 25ks of bitumen coming into Wentworth.
    There are a couple of Conservation Reserves along the route with a few lakes. Also they are putting a huge electricy line through here, 6 wires on massive towers. It looks like the SA side is done with all the towers and wires up right up to the border but on the NSW side it looks like only about 25% of the towers are up and definitely no wire. The other thing is SA seemed to have all the same towers but on the NSW side they have definitely 2 and maybe 3 different designs.
    After an interesting drive we arrived at the border, no quarantine checks out here. SA had a sign welcoming visitors but not NSW. There is a sign with a welcome to Wentworth Shire. There is also a concrete cairn on the border with some info on it. After some photos we headed off looking for some where to camp. After a few failures we finally found a spot on the river and I mean right on the river. I always say never camp on a river bed but the sky was clear and the black clay was hard so we took the chance.    Read more

  • TravelerNan and Pa's new adventure
    Day 74

    Port Pirie and visiting friends.

    September 27, 2023 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 23 °C

    We left our camp about 8.30am for what we thought was just a long but reasonably quick drive into Adelaide. Google said 380kms, about 4hrs. After driving through Port Augusta we continued on to Port Pirie, where we were always going to stop and have a look around. Port Pirie has one of the largest lead smelters in the world and it also has some pretty large sharks, especially one called Shakka. He got tangled up in snapper lines in 1998 in Wallaroo and created quite a stir when brought to the jetty in Port Pirie. We called into the visitor centre to have a look at a replica model of this 5.5mt monster, where the girl at the desk suggested to us that we take the more scenic route to Adelaide via the Clare Valley.
    After morning tea, down on the water front, we decided to take her advice and headed off. It really was a very nice drive through green undulating country with some pretty impressive crops of wheat, barley, lentils, faber beans and grapes. Today was our last day together with Russell and the Family as they were heading to Adelaide and we were visiting friends not far from where we were. After a farewell lunch in Claire we went our separate ways. We arrived in Smithfield about 4.00pm.
    We spent two nights at the Gawler Gateway C.P. which allowed a full day with our friends Ken and Pat. We had a great time catching up over coffee and lunch, more coffee, more reminiscing and after vowing to do it again we went back to the caravan park and left the next morning and headed for home.    Read more

  • TravelerNan and Pa's new adventure
    Day 72

    Woolshed Cave to Roadside camp.

    September 25, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    After leaving our camp at Woolshed Cave we headed further down the western side of Eyre Peninsula towards Eliston where we were going to turn and head to Cowell on the eastern side. But, we reached a dirt road that looked like a shortcut, so off we went. It was a nice scenic drive through farmland and green hills.
    After hitting the bitumen again, we called in at Lock for morning tea. In Lock they have a monument to wheat lumpers. If you don't know what they are, back in the good old days these men carted, on their shoulders, hessian bags of wheat weighing 85 to 90kgs into stacks or onto rail trucks. I read that in 1943 four men at Pinaroo stacked 16001 bags in three 8hr days. Now that is hard work.
    Continuing through green pastures and crops we arrived in Cowell where we had lunch down by the water. This area has quite a lot of improvements going on. With a water park, a fairly new looking marina, a new skate park taking shape plus new buildings still up for lease. It should be a hive of activity when it's all finished. To bad I didn't take any photos 😅.
    We called in at Wyalla for Russ to pick up oil and filter for his ute then after taking a look around the waterfront we headed off and stopped for the night at a roadside camp where we changed the oil in the Ranger then settled down for the night. No, we didn't drop the oil on the ground, we had a container.    Read more

  • TravelerNan and Pa's new adventure
    Day 71

    Wittlebee to Woolshed Cave.

    September 24, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    After leaving Wittelbee Conservation Park we continued down the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula to Steaky Bay. We stayed here a few years back and it really is a nice little place but time only allowed for a short stop for morning tea and a walk down to the jetty. We then headed for the sea lions at Point Labatt. Being Australia's largest mainland colony and the only place on Australia's mainland where you can see Australian sea lion pups learn to swim and play, it is a not miss place. Take you binoculars for an even better view. Even though they are a long way down the clliff you can still hear them, especially when a pup decides to wander off alone.
    We left the sea lions and called in at Murphy's Haystacks. These weathered granite rocks are in a farmers paddock, just of the road and are amazing.
    Next stop and our camp for the night was Woolshed Cave. After setting up we ventured down the stairs to the waters edge and the Cave. With its sandstone rocks of various colours and wild seas (not while we were there, but they could be) and this fantastic, quite deep cave, with a honeycomb looking ceiling carved into the rock. This is a bucket list place.
    We had a fairly dark looking storm build up late but it went around with just a few drops of rain but a beautiful rainbow 🌈.
    We had dinner on our laps, around the campfire. A fine end to a great day.    Read more

  • TravelerNan and Pa's new adventure
    Day 70

    Nullarbor to Wittelbee Conservation Park

    September 23, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Woke up early to another cool but nice day on the top of the cliff. Following breakfast and one last look at the fabulous view we packed up and headed towards Nullabor Roadhouse where we were meeting up once again with Murry and Yvonne. All along this stretch of highway there are tracks where you can drive in to view the Bunda Cliffs Although a lot have been closed because of crumbling edges and the fear of more collapsing, we were still able to call into the one with the most iconic view. Because we were meeting the Hales we left a bit earlier than Russell allowing them to poke along at their own pace. We arrived at Nullabor and had just settled in when Murry arrived, It was so good to see them again. We spent 2 nights with them at the top of Australia and now we are meeting them at the bottom.
    It's interesting what you see in the outback. I walked up to reception, without my phone, to ask about washing machines when I noticed 3 gyrocopters filling up at the bowers. By the time I walked out of the office, they had finished and were being pushed back to the front of the motel units where their pilots were staying the night. So many missed photo opportunities. Talking to one of them later I asked if they were part of a group that I had seen posted on Facebook outside of the William Creek pub. She said, "Yes, originally there were 7 of us but some had to head back to Sydney and Newcastle where we had set off from." They were heading to Whyalla next, then various places before Temora then home.
    Our group all had afternoon nibbles and a drink together sharing travel stories and reminisces, which was nice.
    Mum and I had dinner with Murry and Yvonne and after sharing a few laughs and good conversation over a steak, red wine and coffee liqueur, compliments of Murry and Yvonne, we said our goodbyes as they were leaving early in the morning. We woke up at 7.00am and they were gone.
    After packing up we headed to the Head of the Bight for, hopefully, some whale watching.
    After paying a fairly expensive entrance fee, we headed down to the viewing platform where we saw a Southern right whale and her baby. They were pretty close and I thought I could get a fairly good photo. No. Check out Photo 1. There were others we could see through the binoculars but too far away for photos.
    We left there and headed east through the Nullabor to Ceduna.
    This was a nice drive with the bush giving way to pastures and crop beginning at Nundroo and continuing all the way to Ceduna and beyond. We filled up at Nundroo and had lunch. Then after getting water for the van and checking out the windmills at Penong, we continued onto Ceduna where we had a look around the foreshore before driving to Pinky Point lookout.
    We then drove off to Wittelbee Conservation Park where we camped on the 'cliff' top, overlooking the bay.    Read more

  • TravelerNan and Pa's new adventure
    Day 68

    Cockabiddy to 13k Peg.

    September 21, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    After a good nights sleep we left our campsite just east of Cockabiddy and continued east towards the W.A. Border. On the way we stopped at the Madura Pass Lookout. I have always been fascinated by this place. This is not a hill, it is a flat plain with another flat plain down the bottom of the pass. It is like the bottom half just dropped down. After driving down the pass you have a fairly high escarpment on your left which continues for 180ks till you climb up the Eucla pass where it finishes. Next we stopped at Mundrabilla Roadhouse where we once again topped up with fuel.
    Mundrabilla Station is 1.7million acres and was the first sheep station on the Nullabor. Next stop was Eucla about 12ks from the border. We spent a bit of time here exploring. After a look around the roadhouse, we had lunch and drove down to the dunes to view the old Telegraph Station and the old jetty. The telegraph station operated between 1877 - 1927 before a new station was built on the then new, Trans Australian Railway and I can only assume that's when the jetty ceased to be used as well. It is about a one kilometre walk from the telegraph station to the jetty through the dunes and it wouldn't be hard to get lost. We read a revue on Wikicamps where a woman's husband went for a walk, got lost and turned up much later after walking about 8ks.
    We left Eucla and after crossing the border had a little look around Border Village and then headed out to the 13k peg where we set up camp on the top of the cliff overlooking the Great Australian Bight and the vast Southern Ocean. This really was a great spot, windy, but we had a great view out of the caravan window.    Read more

  • TravelerNan and Pa's new adventure
    Day 66

    Esperance to Cockabiddy

    September 19, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    This is our second night since leavinged Esperance. Tuesday 19th was a fairly uneventful day, mostly driving, till we reached Norseman. We did stop for a lunch break at Gibson Soak. This is a very small town with a pub and combined post office. Also as we were driving through I noticed what looked like a bottled water operation. I guess Gibson Soak is a spring and they bottle spring water. After arriving in Norseman we took a little time having a look around. We took a look at the fairly new visitors centre and I made the comment that the town looks much fresher than when we were last here, 5years ago. The local girl on the counter said that the Council were really putting an effort into making the town better and I think it certainty is. We fueled up and headed out of town a few kms to Frasers Ridge and camped for the night. This was the first night in quite a while that we were able to sit around a fire together, we even had a game of yahtzee.
    The next morning we woke up to another fine windy morning and set off to our first planned stop, Balladonia Roadhouse for morning tea. After the usual refuelling, we headed inside to look through the museum. This was a small but interesting place with bits of space junk, Skylab, which fell to earth in 1979 in Balladonia, through to the early history. After leaving there and not far up the road you reach a special part of the Eyre Highway, the Ninety Mile Straight , Australia's longest stretch of straight road, 146.6kms. Some people call this road boring but this our 7th trip across here and we love it. Next stop was Caiguna but not before checking out two blowholes. These holes allow the caves below, some of them are huge, to 'breathe'. Although not over active today you could certainty feel the coolness coming out of them. We toyed with the idea of leaving the vans at Caiguna and driving down to Baxter Cliffs not a long way to the South but after talking to the guy in the Roadhouse, we quickly changed our minds. He reckoned nobody had been down that way for six months. He said try tackling it from Cockabiddy which was our next stop. We asked the bloke there for his thoughts and although it was only 32ks from there we were advised it was a two hour trip of serious 4wd driving. Again we gave it a miss. Topped up the tank and left. Not far up the road we stopped again in a free camp. No fires, too cold and windy.    Read more

  • TravelerNan and Pa's new adventure
    Day 65

    Lucky Bay

    September 18, 2023 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    We left Esperance this morning and headed out to Cape Le Grande National Park. We booked for 2 nights at Lucky Bay campground. This is a great site with individual numbered spaces but it was still, first in, best dressed. Luckily, we found two adjoining spots both with water views overlooking the bay. Lucky Bay was voted, by some poll, as the best beach in the world and with its white sand and beautiful turquoise water I can see why.
    After setting up we headed to the beach to see for ourselves. Although the wind was blowing and a bit cool, the water looked inviting and Kate couldn't resist it. I went for a bit of a paddle and the water wasn't bad. That afternoon we celebrated Nans birthday. We had cake and Kate and Brooke crocheted Nan a bunch of flowers.
    The next morning, we went for a walk to the Southern end of the beach and came across a memorial commemorating a French whaling Captain helping Edward John Eyre during his epic trek from Adelaide to Albany. Russ, Kate and myself took a walk out on the rocks to the end of the point, hoping to see some seals. No seals, but we did have an encounter with a pod of dolphins that came in quite close to the rocks. We then took a drive out to Rosetta Bay. Another spectacular bay in this amazing part of the world. After lunch, 4 of us walked a 2km track to Thistle Bay, Helen and Michelle drove to pick us up. It was supposed to be a flat walk and while not too strenuous, I wouldn't call it flat. Jumping into vehicles we continued our exploration of the bays. Next stop was Hellfire Bay, I thought this was a great beach, almost no sea grass. We continued onto Cape Le Grande. This campground was closed a couple of weeks ago because of the smell of rotting sea grass. It has reopened again but still a lot of it on the beach and a bit of a smell. There is a lot of sea grass on the Western side of Lucky Bay beach as well, but no smell. On the way back we stopped at Frenchmans Peak. This is big granite hill, (mountain) with a natural bridge on the top which looks like a French mans cap. You can climb to the top, but not this little black duck. The next day on the way back to Esperance we called into Esperance Stonehenge. This is a full size replica of the English Stonehenge, but how it would have looked in 1950BC. Back to Esperance for supplies before heading to Norseman and turning right, for the trek across the Nullabor.    Read more

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