I will let the photos do the talking
We were relieved and delighted to see the Indian Ocean when we drove into Fremantle, after being on the road for 12 days. Louise and Jon flew in from East Timor to join us on Sarurday and on Sunday (Fathers Day) we all went up to Kings Park that over looks Perth to enjoy the wild flowers. Up there I met Maureen (Reilly) and her husband Terry Middleton, Maureen is from County Mayo and sang a wonderful song for me in Gaelic about Seaneen on his bike. Maureen, I still have a smile on my face, thank you for the wonderful memory. That evening I made a brief appearance on a stage which brought the curtains down on 4 years of study.
On this section of our trip we came across the first of our "Wild Flowers" that we will spend the return part of our journey searching for. In the town of Northam we were faced the decision of where to eat, The Shamrock Hotel or Fitzgeralds (my Mum was a Fitzgerald). We choose the latter and the owner PJ Gibbs turned out to be from Clonmel, County Tipperarry, a few miles from my village of Cappamore. PJ looked after us and insisted that we have his specially prepared desert, Apple and Rhubarb Pie with fresh cream. It was delicious and thanks PJ for your generosity.
We had planned to spend 3 night in Kalgoolie, the largest open cut gold mine in Australia, but we may only spend two nights here and move on to Perth a day early. The town itself has some very interesting spots and old buildings, but once you have covered the mine and the museums there is little else to do.
Boys and Girls, 1,300+ km in two days is a lot of driving, we were sure glad to see the "roadhouse" when we reached Norseman despite the restaurant "Closed" sign. The food we did consume was as big a challenge as the trip across the Nullarbor, only to be repeated if you really have to! At least the meal took our mind of the many long straight stretches of road we had just covered safely. The music my friend Dave had chosen for me to play helped shorten the trip, and everyone we met on the road was friendly, even the poor lady who was waiting for a tow-truck for 3 days and was so excited as it was going to be with her in 5 hours. Everyone seems to wave as they pass you, it would seem that the wave confirms that you are not the only mad man on the road but at least you are friendly.
On arriving at Streaky Bay, Don at the motel suggested we head out to Cape Bauer on the Gibson Peninsular to catch the sunset, it was well worth the effort. Again the fish & chips at the hotel were special but Ian's at Port Augusta are still at number one.
This 300 km trip was easy and we took our time and enjoyed the lush scenery and great coast line. Ian's Hotel at Port Augusta had the best Fish & Chips and I plan to call there on the way back, all going well. Once again we scored a great sunset on a walk just behind our hotel, thank God for phone cameras, as we didnt expect to walk so far or for so long.
We had a 5 hour drive from Menindee to Port Augusta in South Australia. We were knocked out by the ever changing landscapes and were delighted to see the green of the Flinders Ranges just before we dropped down into Port Augusta to catch the sunset over the Spencer Gulf. On our way we met with a 500+ year old red river gum, made me feel young again.
Our 110 km trip from Broken Hill to Menindee Lake was relaxing and spending the night there to catch the sunset and enjoy the food and and fun at the pub, was well worth the deviation from our route.
Spent a couple of hours last night out in the desert photographing "Star Trails". I had a wonderful clear, moonless sky and a few kangaroos for company.
|
|