2024 - West Australia

Tue 09 Jul 24 - Balranald to Home (628km) We’re home - safe and sound. It was another long day of driving, especially with rain falling almost all day and with terrible road conditions between Balranald and Darlington Point  (the Hay Plains are disgraceful).  Driving the long distance today reflects Noel’s eagerness to be home again. It’s always a tough call when getting within a few hundred kms of home - to have another night away or push on. We always seem to push on. Noel had a stint behind the wheel today too which makes a big difference. Once the van was parked in its place at home, it was locked up, and we reacquainted ourselves with our bricks and mortar home. First priority was to remember how to turn the heater on, then order takeaway dinner from our favourite local Italian restaurant.  I’ll update this blog in the coming days with  a summary and some stats from the trip.  Thanks for sharing another adventure with us. Beautiful green countryside bu...

Mon 08 Jul 24 - Clare to Balranald (540km) Not much to report today - the main aim was to drive as far as we could, so only essential stops like at the bakery in Burra for fresh bread and pastries on the way through from Clare, then a  coffee break  at the corner of the Goyder and Sturt Highways near Monash, and a fuel stop at Mildura on the way through. It was another long day in the car, cloudy to start with, then rain again for the last 100km to Balranald. Our overnight stay is at the same free camp we stayed at on Day 2 of this trip back on 20 Mar - the Balranald Swimming Pool & RV Camp. Unlike last time we stayed here, where we were the only caravan here, tonight there are seven vans here. It was getting late, and we lost another 30 minutes with the time zone change, otherwise we might have continued a bit further. At least we don't have to worry about getting bogged here in the carpark, the worst we can expect is getting wet feet with all the water laying around. Wit...

Sun 07 Jul 24 - Clare  The overnight temperature dropped to 6 Deg with 54km/h winds which eventually eased by the time we climbed out of bed. No surprise though when we woke, it was raining again, and it continued raining until mid afternoon, so it was a day of forced rest which we both enjoyed. The day comprised coffee in town this morning, then a visit to Hill River Wines to buy a few local wines. I chose this winery out of all others because t hey are a young cellar door and they are family owned. The wines also tasted nice. Back at the van, we had a quiet afternoon resting and watching a documentary series about one of Australia's biggest and strangest art heists on SBS.  It's about an investigation into the art heist from the New Norcia monastery where we recently visited - it's very interesting. Check it out.  The clouds cleared late afternoon, so I mustered the motivation to go out into the cold (6 Deg) for a late walk, before we drove back into town for an Indian ...

Sat 06 Jul 24 - Port Augusta to Clare (201km) Wow...what a wild night  with winds gusting up to 80km/h, at times we thought the van was going to flip over it was so strong. Thankfully we had no trees around us, but unfortunately for one van in the next row, a tree came down across the drawbar of their caravan.  Thankfully no one was injured - it could have been much worse. We woke to 6 Deg, feeling like 2 Deg and a clear sky, and while the strong overnight winds had eased a little, they were still strong. The winds eased enough that I was happy enough to set set off for Clare, but by the time we drove away at 09:30am after refueling, the wind picked up again and made for a very uncomfortable towing experience. Everyone on the road seemed to be experiencing the same discomfort as they were driving much slower than usual too. Once we turned off the Princes Highway and turned for Gladstone long the Wilkins Highway, the wind eased a bit more. The 20km drive to Gladstone then anoth...

Merghiny Gravel Pit (Ceduna) to Port Augusta (450km)  It was 8 Deg and feeling much less, raining on and off from 4:00am for the first 100km, then cloudy and very windy for the rest of the day. At Port Augusta it reached 18 Deg with strong winds gusting in excess of 60km/h. The past few days have been tiring driving in the wind and rain with lots of heavy transport travelling in both directions, so it was nice to have a quiet start to our 450km drive today. This post is a little light on photographic material, as we have now covered the stretch between Ceduna and Port Augusta three times in the past 18 months, so we kept driving with minimal stops.  Coffee was had at the Minnipa rest area, then lunch at the Kimba roadhouse, before arriving at 3:00pm at the Discovery Parks Caravan Park in Port Augusta for an overnight stay.  We have a drive through site for the night for a quick get away tomorrow. From here we have settled on a couple of nights at Clare for a bit of a brea...