Across the Nullarbor

Earlier this month I was in touch with Brian through a Solo website. We arranged to meet in Ceduna and spent the next four days travelling in tandem. It was an easy trip and allowed us to park safely in free camping each night. We started to meet the same people every couple of days. We'll meet them again at either Wagin or Albany.

I have decided that it is nice to travel with someone for a few days. Four days was enough with someone I'd just met, maybe longer with friends. We got into a rhythm, leaving about 9am, stopping for a cuppa at about 10.30, lunch at midday or thereabouts, an occasional stretch break , then looking for an overnight park from about 3pm. Brian kept a flask of hot water and I joined him for a coffee at morning tea time. In the afternoon, I put together a snack plate and we had a drink. By dark, we were locked up in our respective vans, usually with a dozen or more other vans.

Along the Nullarbor coast

Watch out for low flying aircraft

I wondered why there were pedestrian crossings in the middle of nowhere.
I discovered that the lines marked the beginning and end of the landing area

South Australian Coast

Happy Birthday! I decided not to spend my birthday in free camping. Actually, I had intended to but the spot I had selected was tiny and untidy and seemed to have semi-permanent campers. When the flies almost carried me away, I headed to a caravan park. Smoky Bay park was lovely, right on the water and quite shady.

Interesting enough, I was shunted into an awful spot.The receptionist said she'd put me close to the camp kitchen and the amenities. She didn't say I was away from everyone else, that clothes on the rotary hoist would slap against my van in the wind and that people had to walk between the clothes line and the van to get to the dump point. I had visions of people in the middle of the night, sloshing by with their toilet waste. And there wasn't a skerrick of shade. Maybe she thought that was all I could expect when I'd had the cheek to ask for a solo's rate ($28 instead of $30). To her credit, she didn't object when I asked to move to the other side of the camp kitchen

Maggie and Paul leaving Smoky Bay.
She said: We thought it would be nice to cycle
out of our driveway in Perth
and into our daughter's driveway in Melbourne.
They left at the beginning July and will arrive
in Melbourne at the end of October.

Half Way Across Australia

I am a bit of a wimp! There were a few days of cold wind so I found myself a little corner and holed up for two nights. The little town of Kimba (population 1000) is an RV friendly town with a choice of three free camping areas. I stayed at the Recreation Grounds, with about 20 other vans and caravans. It was lovely - clean toilets, coin-in-the-slot hot showers - and the town couldn't have been more welcoming.

A Modern Monument
An Australian Acropolis of the future 

The Snail Trail

I was so keen to get moving but I haven’t achieved much. Because the fitting of the insect screens took far longer than I expected, I didn't pick up the van until after 2pm. I didn’t want to have another round of saying goodbye and setting out again so I went all the way to Ipswich (45 minutes) and stayed with cousin Carmel over night.

The next day I drove to Toowoomba (about an hour) and visited former colleagues – Nan Kucks for morning tea and lunch, then Margaret Kreis in the afternoon. Another hour on the road and I reached Goombungee and had two nights with Cecily and Murray, arriving just in time for dinner with their neighbours. Cec and I had a couple of short chats over the two days and I ended up leaving well into the afternoon.

As it happens my niece Rachael lives a couple of hours down the road at Stanthorpe. Her parents, my brother Terry and sister-in-law Karen happened to be visiting so we had another short chat. Rachael and Dallas live on the outskirts of town in a quiet street, so I parked there and stayed overnight.  

That was night four and I was still in Queensland. I made a quick trip the next day over the border into New South Wales.

The wattle is in bloom everywhere

Catching up with Nan

The Big Chook

The Big Golden Guitar

Fancy Toilets at Tamworth

The inside of the toilet doors have verses

Holy Catfish

Holy Catfish!

I think this sounds like some Superhero – perhaps Batman or Robin. I wonder if he had the skeleton of a catfish in mind.