As I mentioned there was no wifi across the Nullabor. Even when we were staying in a pricey motel in Merredin last night it was an extra charge which I refused to pay. So this is the highlights of the past days.
The ride to Eucla was probably most notable for the little birds I saw flitting around in the salt bush. There were also lots of crows and some wedgetails that were surviving very nicely off the roadkill. At Nullabor Roadhouse we were eating our lunch outside because it was sunny and along came a young magpie who sat near the table and warbled hopefully at us. When we didn't offer any food he hopped along to the men at the next table and sang again. It is the first time I have seen a maggie acting as a busker.
When we arrived at the motel units at Eucla the man in the units opposite was holding forth about the ludicrous speed limits on this road. The local SA policeman had clocked him at 145km/hr which cost him $980.00 and 7 demerits. The person defending the rules was a retired cop. Bob found the conversation amusing especiially since the offender had roared past us and admitted he was doing 160 kms at that stage. He was old enough to know better and seemed to have the resources not to be impoverished by the fine.
The next day the roads were the section which has the long straights including the 90 mile( 143.5 kms) straight. Bob spent most of the time riding just across the centreline so that the opposite camber wore the tread on the tyres evenly. The traffic was light and there was plenty of warning of oncoming vehicles. It was cool at first because we had started early but after lunch it was 39 C and we were very pleased to reach Fraser Range. We went straight to our cool stone walled room in the old shearers quarters but also turned on the airconditioning until we cooled down. Dinner is always just one choice and you have to book in at the time you check-in. It was roast chiicken and vegetables and the serve was huge. It was great to have veges for a change and they were generous portions. Just as we went into dinner it started to rain and it continued to rain all night. I am sure the station people were delighted and we were relieved because we knew it would be a cool ride. The only tricky part was navigating the unsealed access road. It was pretty slimey where some of the caravaners had left early but Bob did a great job of choosing the best track and we made the main road safely.
On the road this day we were travelling through the Great Western Woodland which extends from about 30 kms east of Balladonia to Coolgardie. The woodland became the Goldfields Woodland when it began again after the impact area of the mines around Kalgoorlie/ Coolgardie. From there it morphs into the Yellowdine Reserve. I hadn't noticed the specific reserves before but I guess they were developed as a reaction to the decimation of the vegetation by the mining industry.
We had left early again so we were in Southern Cross by lunch time. This was too early to stop and so we rode the extra 100 kms to Merredin. Dinner at the Commercial Hotel was a sociable event. While I was ordering our meals a guy standing next to me asked if we were "grey nomals". Fairly cheeky I thought so I suggested we join them at the large table he and his mate were sitting at. It emerged that they were two new employees at the Mukinbuden Bendigo Bank. They had driven the 80 kms in for dinner and some male bonding. Their manager is a woman.
The hotel was closed for a while and has recently reopened with new owners so it was good to see a reasonable crowd. Dinner took a while to arrive but was very good when it did. We were joined by a sparky couple of Melbournites of our era who introduced us to a new tag. "SHITs" which is Silver Haired Itinerate Travelers which we though decribed the four of us more accurately than grey nomads since we were short term expeditioners.
Today we were on the road by 8am and had just one stop at Meckering. For the first time we had a look at the display showing details of the 1968 earthquake. Most amazing was the section of the Mundaring to Kalgoorle pipeline which has been telescoped into itself and pushed up 15feet into the air.
We arrived at Ingrid's well before lunch while she was still at the markets buying fresh veges for us. It has been nice to relax this afternoon. This is the end apart from some photos.
No comments:
Post a Comment