Norseman to Moodini Bluff rest area

2nd October 2014

Free camping tonight and even though we are 26 kms from the Madura roadhouse we are getting internet reception.

Very long drive today, but it means about a 3rd of the crossing is done.  Tomorrow we will only drive to Eucla on the WA border so we have time to explore the old telegraph station.

Caiguna blowhole

The journey was tedious.  We stopped at the Caiguna blowhole to make lunch.  The Nullarbor plain is a limestone plateau honeycombed with caves beneath.  Where the cave system has sink holes to the surface the cave 'breathes'. Depending on the atmospheric pressure the air is sucked in or blown out through the sinkhole. Today the cave was blowing out. The air temperature was 28 degrees but the air blowing out was about 10 degrees cooler and surprisingly noisy.

The entire Nullarbor plain is reputed to have a population of 86, now we know where 8 of them live.  Cocklebiddy is a roadhouse smack in the middle of the WA side.

Esperance to Norseman

1st October 2014

Left Esperance for the homeward leg today.  Norseman is a good place to fill the water tanks, fuel the car, check the tyres etc before leaving on the long trek east across the Nullarbor.

Salmon Gum blossom

There are lots of little ghost towns on the route to Norseman, all of them were founded on gold prospecting. They came and went very quickly and now the only sign left is a few tracks through the bush.

Norseman statue

Norseman was reputedly founded when a prospectors horse, called Hardy Norseman, scratched the ground and found a huge gold nugget just under the surface.  There is a statue of Norseman on the corner of Ramsay and Roberts streets [significant names].

Camel art in Norseman

The town has wide streets, they had to be big enough to turn a camel train, common through here until the late 1920's.  Now the town really just survives because it is a convenient stop for travelers arriving or leaving the state from the east and also a handy north south stop off.  The caravan park is very busy tonight but fortunately John phoned ahead and booked a drive through site which means it wasn't necessary to unhitch. So a really quick start in the morning.

Around Esperance

30th September 2014

Today was preparation for departing Esperance tomorrow to start the big trek east.  Feels like the holiday is nearly over.

Esperance beach

Esperance is a really lovely little town with a great walk/cycle track along the expansive coastline.  We walked the track this morning even though it was a bit drizzly, it soon cleared up though.

There are a string of lakes behind the sand dunes, parallel to the sea shore.  A board walk has been constructed around some of these lakes with a couple of bird hides installed.  We walked this in the afternoon but there weren't many birds around, just ducks.

Model of skylab which crashed near Esperance

Outside the Esperance Museum is a model of the first American skylab, launched in 1973.  In 1979 the apparatus fell to earth at Balladonia which is an area on the Nullarbor about 140km from here.

Cape Le Grande NP - then Esperance

25th to 29th September

We arrived in Esperance today after 3 nights in the Cape Le Grande National Park. The beaches within the park are reputed to have the whitest sand in the world and they are stunningly beautiful.

Lucky Bay 

The blue of the ocean is also unbelievable.

Lucky Bay from the campsite

The most beautiful of all is Lucky Bay which is where we were lucky enough to camp. Wonderful views, great company, ablutions and water all for $13.20 per night!

Lucky Bay

The bay was named in 1802 by Matthew Flinders when he was circumnavigating Australia.  He experienced bad weather, found the bay which is sheltered from the elements and he considered this lucky.

Sand as white as snow

The cape and many of the features in the vicinity were named by the Frenchman DÉntrecasteaux who sailed past on a voyage of discovery in the late 18th century.  His ships were the Recherche and the Esperance, hence the name of the modern city.

Kangaroos visit the beach at dusk and feed on washed up seagrass

The sand is formed from very small grains so they stick together and crust on the surface of the beach so walking over the sand crunches like snow!

Ornate Dragon, well camouflaged on the granite

This area is known for it's sudden storms and strong winds and we got a taste of this on our second afternoon.  The weather changed from a beautiful still morning with temperatures in the mid 20's to wind gusts of 50km/h and a drop to 13 degrees.  Some rain too.

Frenchmans Peak

Halfway up Frenchmans Peak

Under the 'Peak'

We had a great time walking the headlands and the beaches and this morning we climbed Frenchman's Peak, which is mostly a scramble up the granite walls. We were on the top by 8:15am enjoying the outstanding views and exploring the arch.  We had the entire mountain to ourselves at that time of the morning!

Fitzgerald River National Park

25th September 2014

Fitzgerald NP is outstandingly beautiful and we had perfect weather to visit.  Parks and Wildlife have spent a lot of money this year upgrading the road into the eastern end of the park and upgrading facilities within the park.  They have done a great job.

Royal Hakea

Fitzgerald NP is another biodiversity hotspot and we were amazed at just how many different flowers and plants we came across at the very first place we stopped.  The Queen of them all is the Royal Hakea, which has leaves tinged from pale green through to orange and yellow. A most remarkable plant and it is totally unique to a small area of this coastline and nowhere else on earth.

East Mt Barren from Cave Beach

We did two walks, the first across sand dunes from a large inlet to the coast.  The inlet is currently blocked off with a sandbar, but this changes from time to time.

Hammersley Inlet

The second walk was more challenging, a 200 metre climb, more or less straight up East Mt Barren.  The mountain is quartz so a very interesting walk over the rocks.  The view from the top was astounding.

View west from East Mount Barren

Stirling Ranges to Ravensthorpe

24th September 2014

Our last glimpses of the Stirling mountains today were the peaks breaking through a wreath of clouds and brilliant blue sky above.

Ravensthorpe is a small town which services the surrounding farmers.  This is a wheatbelt area with crops as far as you can see.  To the south is a very large national park, Fitzgerald River.  Most of the NP is inaccessible as it is another biodiversity hotspot and in need of protection.  Matthew Flinders sailed past this coast in 1802 and named the peaks the 'Barren Mountains'.  He was very wrong!

Gold mining occurred around Ravenshtorpe in the early 20th century and a railway was built between Ravensthorpe and the coastal town of Hopetoun to ship the ore.

Hopetoun beaches

The mining was short lived and was abandoned by mid century. The track has been turned into a a heritage walk and we were keen to walk part of it.  However we were very disappointed as the signage was poor and the track completely overgrown in places.  Hopetoun quite a nice little town though.

 

Orchid tour

23rd September 2014

Today we went on an organised wildflower tour, mostly to find orchids.  Once you know where and how to look for them they are everywhere.  Sadly, the better known the area becomes, the more ignorant people arrive, trample on the young plants and also dig them up to take home [they never survive as their growing conditions are very specific]. We also saw plenty of other flowers unique to this area.  Here are some of the orchids we viewed.

King spider orchid

Zebra orchid

Pansy orchid

Dragon orchid

Silky Blue orchid

Cowslip orchid