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  • Duncan Grant

Western Australia

A 54-day adventure by Duncan Read more
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  • Trip start
    May 8, 2017
    Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Mildura

    May 8, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    Angela , I and Mawson ,our Mascot , left Drysdale early today on our caravanning holiday. Looking forward to this trip to the West then to the Kimberly , The Northern Territory and South Australia.
    Arrived in Mildura at 4.45 pm. Good trip but rough roads north of St Arnaud. A few crops emerging in southern mallee but not much in yet further north. Haven't seen many mobs of sheep ! Off to Port Augusta tomorrow.
    A very cold morning after leaving Mildura next morning. We stopped for an early cuppa . Angela , like Mawson our little mascot , thought they were in Antartica as they sat down for a cuppa !!    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Port Augusta

    May 9, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    Past through pastoral country having freshly germinated trefoil clover and native herbage with abundant saltbush . On the way from Mildura to Morgan we passed well known sheep stations, The Gums , East Bungaree , Collinsville and John Parkers Old Canowie on the way to Jamestown . John Parker owned Avoca Para near Wentworth , and Mena Murtee at Wilcannia when I worked for him. Passed large wind farms across the ranges south of Peterborough.
    Near Wilmington on our way to Port Augusta we passed Mt Remarkable , where a fire had started on its northern side . We then wound our way through picturesque ranges and on to Port Augusta.    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Port Augusta

    May 10, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    Went to the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Gardens saw a lot herbage and shrubs that grazing has suppressed . Viewed the red cliffs and stood where Matthew Flinders once stood looking out to the Flinders Ranges.
    At the Wadlata Visitors Centre we saw the "Tunnel of Time" that traces the creation of the Flinders Ranges and what that land means to traditional owners and early explorers and owners . Ended the day on the old wharf where in early days camels where lifted off or on to boats.    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Ceduna

    May 11, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    Left Port Augusta early - a cold start but soon 20+.
    The country on to Kimba was mostly pastoral with dense stands of saltbush, bluebush and other herbage . Iron Knob with its shades of red and brown stood out with its open faced workings and excavations - won't be a knob one day , it will have vanished.
    Wonderful roads straight as your eyes could see past Kimba , leaving the grazing country behind as it changed to expansive cropping land . There were many fallowed paddocks , a few being sown and some with a tinge of green shoots. Looked quite dry.    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Eucla

    May 12, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Lunch on the Nullabor. No pics - had to surrender our lunch!! Sorry Border Control Quarantine took it all. They even opened tomato sauce bottle to see if it had honey in it . Luckily there was plenty of road kill but didn't have time to cook it. One was a prime steer !!!Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant
    11

    Madura Caravan Park

    May 12, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Big trip across the Nullabor from Ceduna today. Left Ceduna @ 7.30 am , another cold start !
    Stayed at Foreshore Caravan Park in Ceduna, Very nice park , immaculate facilities and only $12 for the night !
    Surprised at the immense cropping operations from there to Nundoo where pastoral country took over .
    Saltbush and herbage , mallee etc.
    West of Nullabor Road house are the flat open plains of the Nullabor with sparse low herbage and bushes and a rare small tree here and there.
    We viewed the immense cliffs of the Great Australian Bight on our way to Madura camping ground where we stayed the night for a well earned rest - the trip from Ceduna took 10 hrs :-)!!    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Kalgoolie

    May 14, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Arrived at 5 pm after 10 hrs on the road from Madura after leaving to a full moon and pink hue in the eastern sky. On roo alert , lots of eagles feasting on road kill - roos and a prime steer . Past three individual cyclists along the way. The Nullabor plain vegetation is mostly Acacia , Saltbush and Blue Bush. We started out on Australia's Longest Straight Road , 146 km. Angela at the wheel , immediately had 2 big red roo's jump across the road. Then encountered fog !
    At Baladonna Roadhouse saw a piece of Skylab found from space mission in 1979. Nearer Kalgoolie trees were bigger , some species with copper trunks showing beneath shedding bark.

     Big sleep and a sleep in ! Went the Big Pit look out. Doing a 1.5 hr Big Pit Tour tomorrow. Went to Gold Museum which we enjoyed and checked out Kalgoolie/Boulder.
    At the museum we were lucky to see a silver exhibition on loan from the national gallery- one item on display was the Currie cup , awarded in 1862 to Scottish born John Lang Currie , awarded for the best sample of Australian grown wool . After leaving Scotland he purchased a property called Larra in the Western district -I wonder if there is a connection with our present day Lara , where he produced some of the finest merino wool in the country -Pic of the ornate silver cup complete with a sheep on the top. We also viewed one of the original Cobb and Co coaches from the area -pic attached .    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Kalgoolie

    May 16, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Day 2
    Visited the Town Hall which has pictures, displays and stories of Kalgoolie's early days. Also has a theatre with pressed metal ceilings and red velvet seats typical of the day.
    Went on a tour of the Big Pit , the huge opencut gold mine. It is owned by KCGM , a joint USA & Canadian venture.The super pit produces 22,000kg per year/60kgs a day ,of gold and works 24hours a day 365 days of the year. Some of the machinery used comes at great expense for example the haul trucks, trucks that look like Tonka toy trucks, 40 on site cost 4.4 million each . A face shovel , photo attached , 4 on site cost 18.5 million each ,and two wheel fixers on site cost 2.6 million each.
    We later took a look at St Mary's Catholic Church and Angela was very impressed to know that this Church was built using locally sourced stone. It was later discovered that this stone was laced with gold. The Church is under the protection of national trust listing and therefore protects it from demolition in order to retrieve the gold from its walls. It is said the early streets of Kalgoolie were paved in gold -in fact this is true as the initial rock used to build the streets of Kalgoolie also contained gold , unlike the St Mary's Church these streets didn't survive, as when this gold in the streets was discovered they were ripped up the gold removed and the roads rebuilt.

    As evening approached we drove a short distance to the look out on Mount Charlotte and watched the sunset over Kalgoolie .    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Northam

    May 16, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Left Kalgoolie @ 7.30am and 14 deg but sunny. Checked local weather forecast as we left -complements of Bryce at our caravan park -(see pic) On our way to Northam, the road runs close to the Golden Pipeline that supplies water to Kalgoolie from Perth. Scrubby country before Southern Cross soon opens up to flatter cropping land mingled with areas of scrub and small eucalypts.
    Getting a little tired of continual rises and long straight stretches ahead to greet us !!
    No livestock to be seen in surrounding paddocks.
    We passed the historic site of what was the rabbit proof fence- remnants of which remain on display. This fence stretched some 1837 km-from Esperance to Port Hedland.
    The last part of our days drive we entered the area known as the wheat belt-with evidence of stubble, some emerging crop and dry sowing. The road side eucalyptus are now taller and more substantial than we had seen for days . As we neared our overnight stay at the town of Northam , we saw some mobs of sheep in surrounding paddocks.
    On the way we were accompanied by the large pipeline from Perth to Kalgoolie
    We were met at our overnight caravan park by a beautiful chocolate Labrador obviously waiting to be helpful .    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Cervantes

    May 17, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    Left Northham at 8.15 to what was a chilly but clear morning. We made our way to the historic town of Toodyay, pronounced (2J) with plenty of charming heritage buildings. After taking what we thought to be a short cut but in fact became a long cut, we made our way through the Avon Valley (WA road signage is woeful ). Unsure of what road we were actually on we ended up with a silver lining to our wrong road and ventured into the town of New Norcia. We could see some magnificent buildings and on driving closer found ourselves at this idyllic settlement complete with a Spanish-style monastery and buildings linked to an Aboriginal mission which was run by Spanish Benedictine monks. The monastery continues to be home to the Benedictine monks and it is possible to join them in the 1,500 year old tradition for prayers-6 times per day. The New Norcia hotel has a sweeping staircase, high ceilings and wide verandah-a very upmarket Best Marigold Hotel ! You can enjoy a delicious meal and have a glass of their own Abbey beer or a wine from the Abbey wine range. This is certainly a calm peaceful and still place.
    Attached are photos of some of the buildings.
    Eventually finding our way to the Indian Ocean coast line we booked into our fantastic overnight caravan park at Cervantes. We drove to Hanson's lookout then to Lake Thetis which contains stromatolites and strombalites, one of the earths oldest living forms of life. They appear as circular mounds on the waters edge (see photo)
    Sunset was spent at the painted sands of the Pinnacles desert , which is studded with thousands of limestone pillars. These are remnants of compacted seashells that over millennia subsequently eroded. We took Mawson our little penguin mascot to enjoy the Pinnacles with us -he enjoyed having his photo taken at this amazing
    place ! Our evening was complete watching a beautiful sunset over the Indian ocean.    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Dongara

    May 18, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    We were sorry to leave the caravan park at Cervantes, more like a little resort. It had fabulous facilities and a great pool complex. After a sleep in we left for Kalbarie at 10am , both in T Shirts .... and yes, we did cover our bottom halves !.
    Driving along the Indian ocean coastline we were only given sporadic glimpses of the water. On occasions we saw large white sand dunes or more like small hills of white sand.
    Stopped for morning tea at Dongara, south of Geraldton , sitting in the sun and enjoying our cuppa.
    We reached Geraldton for a late lunch. It is the largest coastal town between Perth and Darwin, a progressive looking place with lots of new homes and a relaxing waterfront environment.
    Had a look at the magnificent Cathedral of St Francis Xavier a truely impressive building, unable to look inside as all entrance points closed off for maintenance works.
    Photos include some of the caravan park at Cervantes.    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Kalbarri

    May 18, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    Arrived late , 7.15pm , due to a delay at Geraldton.
    Have had concerns about caravan tyres. Despite inflating at recommended cold pressure, and subsequently at higher cold pressure , the pressure when checked after driving for 20 minutes was increasing by more than 4 psi.
    Checked with Beaurepairs who said the tyres were
    not right for the caravan weight and so we put on new tyres. Jayco supplied these tyres when van was bought new. Very poor !!
    Pics below are of St Francis Xavier Cathedral in Geraldton.    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Kalbarri Cliffs

    May 19, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    Viewing coastal cliffs and gorges .
    We visited the incredible coastal cliffs at Kalbarri and were rewarded with some spectacular views. The afternoon brought with it cloud and showers so we replenished our supplies and took some time out to look around Kalbarri. The persistent showers and clouds prevented our planned viewing of the sun setting over the cliffs, fingers crossed all good for tomorrow's sunset. After dinner we planned out our morning visit Kalbarri National park.Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Kalbarri National Park

    May 19, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    Went to the National Park to view the gorges and cliffs of the Murchison River. Unfortunately some of the access roads were closed due to a Skywalk being constructed to open later this year. Went to Ross Graham Lookout , named after the conservationist who was active in exploration of the Murchison River and to Hawks Head , aptly named after the rock structure there . These areas offered breathtaking views of the gorges and river.Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Birds and Evening Ocean

    May 20, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Our first activity for the day was to watch the local pelicans being fed.
    Later in the afternoon we visited the Rainbow Jungle bird park -as well as birds on display, it aids in bird protection and breeding of some of Australia's endangered species. We had a laugh at one bird in particular who had us both tricked into thinking it was a softly spoken women talking to someone , when in fact it was this very cheeky bird. It started with this soft little hello when you weren't next to it but when you walked closer it made one hell of a racket. When you walked away it said "see ya ! "
    The evening closed with us looking out over the Indian Ocean in all its glory.    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant
    1

    Denham

    May 23, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    This is Australia's westernmost town close to Steep Point our most westerly point near the 26th Parallel .
    Near Denham we passed Shell Beach , which is made of densely compacted cockleshells giving it a unique white appearance near . Set up camp then went to Eagle Bluff - Cliff top views where we spotted Manta rays. Bluffed by the weather so no sunset but wind and rain !!
    Just off the coast is Dirk Hartog Island . On 25th October 1616, Dirk Hartog, the captain of a Dutch trading ship, set foot on Australian soil, and was the first recorded white man to do so.
    On the way to Monkey Mia (Mia is aboriginal for home) saw Peron Station woodshed , very old & not in use . Saw dolphin feeding then went on a catamaran cruise. Saw turtles , dugongs and sea snakes . Waters quite shallow with vast areas of sea grass , Dugongs eat about 70 kg a day.
    Finished day with biscuits , cheese and a bottle of wine as we watched the sunset.    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Carnarvon

    May 24, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Enjoyed our time in Carnarvon-we were spoilt by bananas and tropical fruits all grown with water from the Gascoyne River. We also enjoyed our dinners of scallops,crab and prawns all from a local fishery.
    Interesting attractions we visited were the One Mile Jetty-and the fantastic ice cream from a cafe there,The Shearing Hall of Fame ( see pic of how the shearers relax after a hard day !!!)and a visit to the Carnarvon Space and Technology museum. We learned how Carnarvon played an important role in support of NASA'S Gemini, Apollo and Skylab missions. It was the last station to communicate with the capsules leaving the earth orbit, and the last to make contact before splashing in the Pacific Ocean. We were able to enjoy the experience of sitting in a capsule simulator and listening to the actual countdown and blast off of Apollo 11 on its mission to land on the moon. We saw footage of what the astronauts on board saw and how they viewed our beautiful earth as they took off.
    Buzz Aldrin, from the Apollo 11 mission , followed Neil Armstrong was the second person to walk on the moon .He visited Carnarvon in 2012 and his hand prints are set in concrete for you to see and touch.
    Tomorrow we are off to the Coral coast and a much anticipated visit to Ningaloo reef - hoping the ocean temperature improves for a snorkel !    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Coral Bay

    May 29, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We spent Friday to Sunday at beautiful Coral Bay enjoying the beauty of the Southern portion of Ningaloo Marine Park. It was so good to spend a few days in one spot enjoying days of sunshine and cloudless skies. We took an organised snorkelling and coral viewing tour on a glass bottom boat on Saturday. The tour leaders we had were Liam from Warnambool, a marine biologist and Jess from near Hobart as the boat skipper. The coral was amazing- whilst not highly colourful, the reef was an superb exhibit of what a diverse coral garden looks like. There was an abundance of colourful fish and the odd turtle for us to enjoy. The water was a bit chilly and despite Angela wearing a full wetsuit it was too cold for her to spend a great deal of time in the water. Duncan managed a few swims in the clear shallows of the bay whilst Ange loved peaceful walks along the beach.
    We were once again spoilt with beautiful sunsets over the Indian Ocean and an extraordinary show by the many twinkling stars in the clear night sky.
    We had some great neighbours in the caravan park one of which was Ray Mole , who had worked as a wool classer at Mena Murtee station , where Duncan had also worked a few years later. Small world. !!
    Off to restock the cupboards etc in Karatha before venturing into Karijini National Park.    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Karratha

    May 29, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    Trip from Coral Bay was interesting due to the changes in the country as we travelled further north.
    The dry bush and herbage landscape gradually changed with more grasses evident and some green growth. As we came closer to Karratha there were many rocky outcrops and ranges and we began to see more of the rich red earth and rock , typical of the Pilbra.
    The white lines on the road and the sign indicate where the Royal Flying Doctor planes can land.    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Karajini National Park (Day 1)

    May 30, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We arrived late to our digs at Karajini National Park-staying at the aboriginal owned and run eco-retreat. Set amongst trees,shrubs and yes red dirt-lots of red dirt. The camp had basic facilties -toilet and solar shower and a cooking station. As the camp was unpowered we had a chance to set up our solar panel to run our lights and little fridge-it worked a treat. Since we arrived late we decided to dine at the eco retreat restaurant -open air but thankfully with gas heating towers as the evenings were quite chilly. Our meals were magnificent , up there with any top restaurant and the staff so friendly and full of fun.
    Karajini is an absolutely awesome place. Spectacular gorges , rugged rocky cliffs and ranges with rich red and brown color contrasting with white trunked Snappy Gums , green and yellow of Acacia and colorful wildflowers.
    Our first walk took us to Joffre Gorge , taking our time and being careful we were rewarded by a spectacular sight of striking stark red cliff faces with a waterfall descending to a pool at the bottom. We also went to Oxers Lookout and Hancock Gorge again breathtaking rocky red ranges and deep dark chasms. We were drawn to the stark reminder of just how dangerous these places can be as we read the story about an SES rescuer who lost his life whilst attempting to rescue a stranded tourist and was swept away by flash flooding occurring in the month of April, 2004. There is a Celtic cross at the top of the gorge in his honor.
    Our evening was completed by a star studded clear night sky and the Milky Way - truely beautiful.    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    Karajini (Day 2)

    June 2, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    We once again were rewarded by narrow breathtaking gorges, hidden pools, waterfalls and red rocky ranges. We saw Dales Gorge, Circular pool , Fern pool and Fortesque falls. Circular pool is at the base of Dales Gorge and for those a lot fitter and younger than ourselves you could make your way down through the gorge to reach the circular pool which as it's name suggests is a round pool of no doubt very cold water. When we looked down from the lookout , we could see a girl swimming in the pool- it would have been very cold water to brave a swim. If you look at our photo of the circular shaped pool at the bottom of the gorge you can see the swimmer in a white bathing suit.
    We also visited the award winning Visitors Center with interactive displays that dealt with the cultural aspects of the aboriginal people, their connection to the land, country, family and their interaction with the pastoralists. All wonderfully presented.
    On entering the unique styled building we were greeted with a sign which initially written in aboriginal language then in English had these beautiful words -
    "Look after the country and the country will look after you "
    There were also geological, flora and fauna displays in relation to the area. In the evening we watched the sunset over our red rocky rangers we had come to love.    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    The Pilbara

    June 2, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Our penguin meets the The Pilbara ! Home to red dirt, extremely long ships, long long road trains and even longer trains. Many of the road trains pulled four long trailers behind. We saw a train in Port Hedland that had four engines at the front , four engines at the rear and two in the center, we estimated the trains length to be about three kilometers long -now that's a train ! a very long one in fact . You can see bulk ship carriers of massive proportions-some over 230 meters in length and carrying up to 260,000 tonnes glide through a narrow harbour entrance adjacent to the main street.
    We took a drive to the mining town of Tom Price set deep in the Hammersley Ranges, it is the highest town above sea level in WA. It is a modern fully serviced town, clean with green lawned areas, lovely gums and palms. Facilities we noted were a golf course, large swimming pool, basketball and tennis courts, rugby and AFL grounds together with an outdoor cinema, a refreshing change from the surrounding red dirt.    Read more

  • Duncan GrantWestern AustraliaDuncan Grant

    80 Mile Beach

    June 3, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    We ventured down the dirt road to our evening stop. Our caravan park was extremely busy as it was a long weekend in WA. We had a great site and even though the park was busy it held a friendly vibe, made you just want to talk to those around you, which of course we did. After setting up camp we made the short walk to the beach and what greeted us was this long stretch of sand and shells together with the all familiar turquoise water of the Indian Ocean . We sat and watched evening fall. The beach was covered in shells, at times made it too difficult to navigate without footwear. The shore line was dotted with people fishing together with some four wheel drives making their way up and down the beach . Such a lovely relaxing spot.Read more

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