Saturday, March 12 – Day 4 – Fowler’s Bay and Bush Camp

After a good night’s sleep we snuck silently out of Fowler’s Bay hidden by the dense fog. Coorabie is the last agricultural town and the end of the farming area until Western Australia. It is a bit of a shanty town now, but in its day had most things such as a school, a shop, both of which are now closed up tight as a drum. We are heading into the Nullarbor – the name is made up of two Latin words, nul meaning no and arbor meaning trees – in other words – there are no trees in the Nullarbor! And it is flat….flat……and flat…..there is nothing but the saltbush for as far as your eyes can stretch on the horizon.

Our first activity was to zoom down a straight, narrow, paved road to the Head of Bight with limestone cliffs 40 to 80 metres high stretching for 800 k to the west and sand dunes that have formed over thousands of years stretching into the distance on the east. According to the information board the dunes are moving inland at a rate of 11 metres per year.

As with the Prairies in Canada, anything that breaks the monotony out here is a feature, so of course we had to stop and have our pictures taken with an iconic warning sign on the highway to be aware of camels, wombats, and kangaroos for the”NEXT 96 km”. That was after stopping to take a picture of the sign informing us of the”NULLARBOR PLAIN EASTERN END OF TREELESS PLAIN!”

We stopped for lunch just before the border into Western Australia. You can’t take fresh produce across this border, so we had to eat, or giveaway, any fruit and vegetables we still had in our food baskets. Once across the border, we moved our watches back 2 ½ hours to Perth time. Apparently there are some other time differences in the areas we went through, but they are not “official” times!!

The next stop was at Telegraph Station and then through the dunes down to the beach. We stopped in Eucla where we saw “Rooey II” and the first hole of the world’s longest golf course which is spread out over the Nullarbor; and we stopped at the Madura lookout over the Nullarbor. En route we saw a beautiful bird called a “bustard” standing in the middle of the road.

This night we had a bush camp and set up tents well off the road in the middle of the saltbush. We sat around our little campfire, amazing at the glorious display of stars, and through the night enjoyed the peace and the silence which was interrupted only by the sound of the big trucks on the highway in the distance.

When you see all of this scenery that explodes your mind with the beauty of the natural world, it is hard to imagine how you can go back to normal life. For a few minutes, I think I understand what makes an “explorer” it seems to me that it would be an addiction to discovering new and remote places, and the experience of living with simplicity and truth.

Friday. March 11 – Day 3 – Coodlie Park Farm to Fowler’s Bay

We drove for about an hour from Coodlie Park with the last third being along a dead straight, unsealed, sand/rock road in the most isolated country we have seen yet - dead flat pasture or coastal heath on either side, to arrive in a sleepy, lonely, town on a bay called Baird Bay. The centre for the boat outing was a new and modern sandstone block building with a smoky glass front. Here we went to the loo, so modern compared to last night, and donned our wet suits. The only good thing I can say is that they were far more comfortable than the ones we wore in South America in 2007, but no one can say they are attractive, practical yes, and we looked we looked the part! 

Twelve of us climbed into a small aluminium boat with two guides and set off through the mist for 12/15 minutes to the centre of the bay at the edge of the open seas. We could see the ocean surf in the distance. Our first stop was at an island in the centre, a stony outcrop of tableland rock and disintegrating cliffs owned by the sea lions, sea eagle, ospreys, pied and black cormorants, and sea gulls.

We were soon “chucked” in the ocean – still a glassy bay at this point, with our snorkel mask on. Several sea lions were in the water and when our guide started swimming and diving the sea lions followed. Several swam in and out of us and passed by our side, underneath us, and on top of us. Their friendly eyes and sleek bodies are beautiful in the water. We moved spots a few times as there were not many seals in the water at any one time, but just to be within inches of these amazing animals, and to have them accept us in their environment, made us feel as if we were their trusted friend. 

After this experience we moved for about 5 minutes towards a known dolphin spot. We were no sooner in the water than a group swam around and through us. You had to keep alert because you never knew from which side they were going to appear. They were very comfortable with us and we saw so many around us in the water that we lost count. The trick with both these animals is to float, be very calm, and move smoothly. They come so close you can touch them – but must not! The highlight of the day was when a mom with a few day old baby swam right towards and passed us – obviously delighted to show off her new born.

We moved our location in the water a few times and also went close in to the rocks so we could see the sea lions on the beach; we watched the juvenile males kibitzing with each other, mothers feeding their babies, pregnant mums, one brother separated from his family and crying his eyes out, the plaintiff sound could be heard from quite a distance! We watched them shuffling over the cliffs, through the coastal heath on the tableland and make their way slowly and ungainly down the rocks.

To be this close to and a part of the animal world in a completely natural setting while snorkeling in a friendly ocean set my soul on fire; the beauty, the innocence, the joy and trust they give you, and ask for nothing in return except respect. These are the “true” moments in an otherwise false world. It doesn’t get much more basic than this.

After about 4 hours, we sadly headed back to shore, warmed up with lunch, then took off for our next adventure. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of this. However, I hope I may get some from another traveller and if I do I will add them to this post.

Today is all about the natural world and we had a 15 minute drive to “Murphy’s Haystacks” a fine example of an inselberg formation. In the middle of a large field jutting out from the ground were a bunch of rocks and boulders, some almost phallic in shape, others like a human head, and others like a mushroom. They are formed from pink granite rock that rose above the ground level due to the erosion of the land around them and they themselves have been eroded by the rain and weather over 100,000 years to create these intriguing shapes we see today.

For the remainder of the day we followed the coastline to our camp at Fowler’s Bay – interrupted  for provisions by a 35 minute stop at a clean, tidy little town called Streaky Bay, then on through Ceduna with its grass airport, along a flat, straight and sandy prairie like countryside with sheep stations, and road trains.

And, as if we didn’t have enough fun during the day, when we arrived at the campsite four of us quickly set up our tents and swags, grabbed the sand boards and headed out over the dunes. The feeling of running up and down and across the dunes was like leaving your body behind to float through the air as a free spirit  while watching a kaleidoscope on the horizon. 

Added to this were the sand board runs down the dunes, so much fun!! We didn’t use them like snowboards but like little kids’ toboggans in the snow.

All to soon the sun went down, and darkness came, so we left the dunes and went to our camp site for dinner, and a beautiful night's sleep.

Thursday, March 10 – Day 2 – Warren Gorge to Coodlie Park Farm

It was pouring rain when we got up around 6:45 a.m. and things inside the tent were pretty wet, nonetheless we ate breakfast and wrapped up the soaking swags and tents and 9 soaked through souls set off in the bus to continue our journey.

We travelled through animal kingdom, ‘roos and euros hopping across the fields and it was fun to see them “leap” over the road-side fences as if they were on springs;  emus stretched out their long necks to see us and then took off after the kangaroos to escape from approaching vehicles. The landscape in the Eyre Peninsula is very special; miles of small round silver green bushes covering flat plains.

We stopped in Port Augusta at the tip of the Spencer Gulf to refuel and stock up. The town was first settled in 1852 and became a thriving commercial centre and port. For a while wool was the mainstay of the economy, then wheat took over and today it is an iron-ore mining town which provides 1/3 of the state’s energy. It is also one of 14 Royal Flying Doctor Service bases. The RFDS serves the healthcare needs of people living in the Australian Outback.  

We continued on roads that were long and straight and that travelled over flat lands surrounded by hills in the distance. There is something contemplative about this scenery. It invites you to gaze into the reaches of your own mind, stretching the boundaries to the limits of the vast expanse of open, deserted, land around us.

We passed through towns with names like Iron Knob, Kimba at the northern edge of a huge wheat growing area, and half way across Australia, and then Kyancutta, Wudinna and Venus Bay. Kimba is home to the Big Galah. The bird stands 8 metres tall. It is built from fibreglass over a steel frame and was opened in 1993. I likened it to the Wawa Goose in northern Ontario, just one of these big kitsch objets d’art, and like the Wawa Goose was first installed as a tourist attraction. Galahs are a type of cockatoo and are easily identified by their rose pink heads, neck and underparts, with paler pink crown and grey black wings.

Australia has the largest and heaviest road-legal vehicles in the world and we encountered these “road trains” throughout our journey in Western Australia and Southern Australia. They are used to transport all kinds of goods including livestock, cars, fuel, mineral ores, and general goods. The ones we encountered were triple trailers with 62 tyres on the road and up to 175 feet (53.5 metres) in length. Massive!!

We stopped for lunch in a beautiful little town called Venus Bay, population  in the 20s plus summer tourists. This is a fishing and tourist town. We walked to the end of the dock and saw some little penguins and masses of pelicans. A lot of these little ports were sighted but passed over by the early explorers such as Matthew Flinders and it was not until the 1850s that the town was established after a whaling station was built. After lunch we went for a 1 ½ hour walk around the towering cliff head.  Sea fog started to roll in while we were on the walk, and we started to get a bit concerned that it would totally envelop us, but it didn’t and we finished our walk without incident.

Next, we drove along deserted sandy roads on the top of the cliff to see the Talia Caves. First the Woolshed better described as a grotto or eroded cliff,  and next the Tub. Both really interesting formations of sandstone and limestone that continue to change regularly with the pounding of the waves. The landscape is simply beautiful, and isolated!

The last leg of our journey was to Coodlie Park Farm, the property owned by the owner of the Nullarbor Traveller that operates the tour we are on. Coodlie Farm is a huge property on the coast, 2 or 3 kilometers square at least, at which you can camp, or stay in a cottage, or dorm accommodation. Here you can fish, walk the coastlines or participate in adventure sports. Hassie and his crew put on a wonderful barbequeue for us, then lit a camp fire, and he stayed around and chatted to us about his life’s experiences before taking his dog and heading off to bed up at his house.

We set up our swags in “swag huts” which were scattered in the bushes, and slept under the stars with no tent; we enjoyed a unique “bucket shower” which was simply a bucket of hot water fitted with a tap and set in a pully system. When you are ready, you hoist the bucket up, tie it off, turn on the tap and soap up. One bucket of water goes a long way and is more than adequate. Hassie told us he used to go through 52,000 gallons of water but after he installed the bucket system he reduced this to 20,000 gallons.

The swag hut is a wooden platform with a roof and you place your swag on the platform. We appreciated the swags that night – it was misty, and quite cool, so we tucked our sleeping bags inside the shag, pulled up the zippers on either side and lay cosy and dry for the rest of the night. I have found the answer to not getting lost!! I leave Ray’s torch on and then just follow the light to find my way back to the swag.

Our stay at Coodlie Park coincided with the group making the journey from Perth to Adelaide so we made some new friends around the camp fire.

The Big Galah at Kimba

Pelicans at Venus Bay

Coastal Walk at Venus Bay

Coastal Walk at Venus Bay

The Woolshed

The Woolshed, Talia Caves

The Tub, Talia Caves

A swag hut (it was misty in the morning, so sorry for the bad picture)

Wednesday, March 9 – Day 1 – Western Wildlife Experience – Adelaide to Warren Gorge

We had our bags packed and waiting down stairs in the hostel for our pick up at 6:45 a.m. As we waited a woman aggressively rattled the door to get in. Ray went forward and indicated he would open it and when he did, she pushed past him muttering under her breath “this awful place; I never want to come back here” in a manner that indicated “keep away”!! She grabbed her back pack and left. The receptionist and Ray exchanged surprised looks at her attitude and Ray said “let’s hope she is not on our trip.” The receptionist agreed and I said “give her some space; maybe she’s had a lousy morning” and the receptionist added “well, it’s not going to get any better with that attitude.” She is on our bus.

The guy sitting in front of me suddenly peeled off his t-shirt to expose a large, hairy, fleshy, middle aged body. I don’t know what it is about this but it grosses me out when men think it’s OK to go topless in inappropriate situations.

There are eight in our group plus Annelies our tour guide/driver/ and leader. Two girls are from Switzerland, one girl is from the Netherlands, one older guy is from Switzerland, the topless guy is from Australia, and the grouchy woman is from the United States, and Ray and I from Canada. Quite an eclectic group.

We are travelling in a 20 seater minicoach pulling a luggage trailer. It is not really set up for a long journey as there are no seat pockets, nor bins under the seats, nor overhead baskets to put your day stuff in any one of which we were used to on our “overlanding truck trips”. Also, there are no cup holders which would have been useful for holding our water bottles. So it is nice that there are only 8 of us. We can charge phones and iPods so long as we are travelling, which is great. All of the food supplies, tents, swags, pots and pans, and dishes and cutlery are in containers in the trailer.

It is exciting, we are on our way.

We passed through an agricultural area – grain growing mainly – on our way north to Clare. Annelies provided us with a map of the journey which is really thoughtful and great to have. We passed through the Clare Valley which is another wine growing area. We passed through several small towns such as Laura – a sweet town with old derelict buildings typical of the Aussie Colonial style; Warrabarra – a little agriculture service town that looked a little worn. We reached Mt Remarkable National Park and went for a “walk” to stretch our legs. Then we had lunch.

Our next stop was at a stunning gorge called Alligator Gorge. We did a lovely walk there down about 250 steps into a sandstone, waterless gorge. On the walk we passed a wallaroo, or euro to be more exact and then picked our way cautiously over the big boulders, rocks and stones of the dried up river bed. Someone in the group said “look up” and there on the ridge of the face of the rock was a mother euro feeding her baby. She knew we were there and kept her eye on us, but she didn’t feel threatened and continued to pose for photos staying calm until we moved on. She had gone when we came back. We saw emus – a male and a female. It is the male that sits on the eggs till they hatch and then raises the chicks. We also saw masses of galahs (pink breasted cockatoos), white cockatoos, and kangaroos. Nature put on a fabulous show for our first day.

We headed to our first overnight camp site 22 k outside of Quorn at Warren Gorge; on the way we stopped to gather firewood for a fire, and for a photo shoot of emus. We camped in amongst the trees and rocks and a wonderland of kangaroos, euros, wallabies and birds. We set up a tent due to the threat of rain, and set our swags in them. Swags are canvas bags in which you lay a mattress, then your sleeping bag, then when you climb into it you pull the zips up all around so you are tucked in like a bug in a rug!! But, it was so warm, we simply used our cotton sleep sheets and lay on top of the sleeping bags and didn’t zip up the swags. We ate delicious fajitas for dinner, and sat around the camp fire before sinking into our swags to sleep.  But…before I could relax in my swag I got lost in the darkness coming out of the toilets. I didn’t panic, I kept calm, but after 3 attempts at finding the tent realized I was lost so I started to call out “hello” ever so gently. It was really earie, but I knew I hadn’t gone too far off the track and that everyone was close. We were virtually in the middle of nowhere surrounded by rocky ridges and canyons and trees and wildlife. So beautiful!! Luckily for me our tour leader had gone to the loo and she heard my plaintiff cries. It was more scary when I realized I was nowhere near where I thought I was. I must have turned the wrong way out of the loo and was walking away from the tents as opposed to walking towards them. Anyway, all was well!!

We slept soundly till the rain started, and it really hammered down several times during the night. We were thankful we were sleeping in the tent.

There is a solitariness that I like about travelling be it flying or driving. You can be like a deserted island in the pacific looking over the land around you as you juggle the thoughts that tumble into your mind; or you can be like a tourist island where your thoughts are overrun with activity.

Tuesday, March 8 - Adelaide

We left Nicolle and Richard’s place this morning and drove the 45 minutes into the city of Adelaide. 

We managed to check into the Adelaide Central YHA early and dropped our bags, and then returned the rental car. We spent a couple of hours walking around the centre of Adelaide looking at some of the shopping centres (I had lost my lens cover and needed to buy a replacement) and the shops on Rundle including walking through the pedestrian mall. There was an arts festival this weekend but there is still a fringe so we saw a number of artists in the mall which was fun. We asked a couple of people and found our way to a big camera store, something like Henry’s in Toronto where I successfully bought the replacement for about $9/$10.

After that we wandered down King William Road and saw the Oval, Parliament House, The Houses of Parliament for South Australia, and St. Peter’s. We saw the River Torrens and the beautiful parkland surrounding it. We passed the University of South Australia and in particular the law school, in fact it is not far from the YHA. We really like Adelaide. It is a much smaller town than Sydney or Melbourne with a population around 1.2 million, seems much cleaner, much more sane, much quieter, and quite cosmopolitan.

After our tripping we headed back to the hostel to do some “administrative” stuff: re-packing our backpacks for the camping trip, sorting out money, following up on over-payments, and paying our debts.

The temperature today was over 90F….hot!! But this evening was beautiful. We asked for some recommendations and went across a lovely square to eat at the Edinburgh Castle Hotel.….how could I pass that opportunity up? I had the best beer I have tasted in Australia and told the barmen that. As I left he snuck me a beer to take with me (still capped) and promised to pass my comments on to the microbrewery that made it!! So I walked home hiding it in my wrap and hoping no-one would see me walking through the lobby of the hostel with it!!

We set off on our 10 day camping trip to Perth at 6:45 a.m. tomorrow. I will not have my computer accessible, and I doubt we will have internet  since we will be camping “under the stars” and in some cases “bush camping” with no facilities! We will have our Aussie cell phones which will give us access to email, so please don’t stop writing. I love getting your emails.

So…we arrive in Perth on March 18 and I will do my best to get my blog updated as soon as possible after that. I am sorry about the lack of pictures for some of the earlier posts, but will work on those from Perth.

Hope you have a great time in the meantime, and I know we will!

Monday, March 7 – Wine and Kangaroos

We have heard a lot about the wine legend of the Barossa Valley and set off today to find out what it was all about and to buy a bottle for dinner. I should also add that the Barossa area is the third largest area in Australia for horses. 

We didn’t have far to go from Nicolle’s house – maybe 45 minutes to a town called Gawler where we stopped at the information kiosk to pick up a map. Once again we followed the Scenic Route…or it may have been called “The Tourist Route” as we hadn’t heard of more than two or three of the wineries. 

One of the first cellars on the route was Jacobs Creek and as we had heard of that we stopped in. The operation was huge…..either a separate town or part of the town of Tanunda seemed to be called “Jacobs Creek” and the vinyards and winery fields and premises were enormous.  We tasted some of the reds, but to our surprise, we didn’t particularly enjoy any of them. So moved on. We had lunch in a cute little café in Tanunda then headed to Langmeil which had been recommended to us.  The winery was much smaller, but once again, we were disappointed in the flavours of the reds. I did buy a reisling which I thought Nicolle might like. The drive through the countryside was very pretty with lots of hills and valleys and gum trees and palm trees. We stopped in at the Artisans of Barossa which serviced 6 separate boutique wineries, and tried a couple and moved on. By this stage we were quite disappointed in ourselves for not finding something we liked. After all, we drink Shiraz, and Cab Sauv and Merlot and Malbec and enjoy them, so why weren’t we finding the tastes enticing? Our last stop was a small and very charming winery called Rusden. We found the Cab Sauv more pleasing here and bought a bottle, but it didn’t really “wow” us.  Then it was time to head back for dinner. We are still perplexed about our reaction to the wines, but remember thinking the same about the wines we tasted in Mendoza. So we have decided we are no connoisseur of wines and will continue to drink the wines we enjoy. When I get back to Canada I will be more conscious of which area the wines come from. Maybe it is the very hot weather than influences the flavor.

Just before dinner, Richard announced that he had spotted some kangaroos down in the valley. So we all jumped into his 4 wheel drive vehicle and set off in hot pursuit. We did see quite a few as we very slowly maneuvered the steep, rocky slopes down into the valley and the equally steep slopes up the hill on the other side. Unfortunately, it was late in the evening and the light wasn’t very good so our pictures didn’t really come out. But it was quite a ride, and quite fun seeing all the ‘roos hopping through the trees and over the brush. Then Richard’s cell phone went and it was Nicolle wondering where we were as dinner was ready and the girls had to get to bed to be ready for school the next morning!!

Jacobs Creek Vinyards

Palm trees in Seppeltsfield

Kangaroos at Nicolle's

Sunday, March 6 – Adelaide: Beach, Hills, and The Big Rocking Horse

In the morning we went for a walk on the beach. The beach was one of those beautiful beaches you will never forget. It was long, it felt as if you were walking through talcum powder, and the sand was pure white. The ocean was safe for swimming – well, except for the sharks, gentle waves, and clear blue warm water. There are regular flyovers to spot for sharks, but nothing was found during the time we were there. There is a big problem with erosion on the beach caused by a natural action called “longshore drift”. The sand is pushed north along the coast by the waves. If this continues, eventually there will only be rocks and clay remaining and the roads and houses will be damaged by severe storms. So, they have a complicated process of collecting the sand where it accumulates further north, mixing it with sea water to form a slurry, and pumping the slurry back on to the beaches. The sea water runs over the beach into the water and the sand piles up on the beach. This is about a 25 year project.

 Residents involve the beach in their daily routines and it is well used. There were coaches out with their young soccer teams training on the beach. There were people running. There were groups of kids with a coach running. There were so many dogs and little children. The dogs are allowed on the beach unleashed until 10:00 a.m. after which they must be on the leash. There were dogs who didn’t want to go in the water, but their owners feeling that it was good for them, would carry them in, or gently try and persuade the strongly protesting  dogs to venture into the waves. Then there were the dogs that “raced” from the beach into the ocean like a streak of lightening to “fetch” balls; and then there were the dogs who went swimming with their owners, who surfed the waves with their doggie paddle, and who loved the ocean as much as they do their marrow bones.

We met Nicolle and her friend at the Surf Club for breakfast, and sat on the deck in the blazing sun until one became free under the canopy, and enjoyed a coffee, and breakfast, and decided that you could stay there all day it was so pleasant. But we didn’t!! We went back to Nicolle’s Dad’s house and said our goodbyes and followed Nicolle to her house in the country north of Adelaide. What a beautiful sight awaited us. Their home is in the hills and from the house you look out over a steep valley to the hills on the other side. Really beautiful! Nicolle and her husband told us all about the fires they had in 2015 which narrowly, missed their house while 20 other houses in the area were burnt to the ground. You can see the blackened trunks in the forests marking the line of devastation.

In the afternoon we took Nicolle’s two young girls, Lilly (aged 7) and Emily (aged 6) to The Big Rocking Horse, the largest worldwide, and Toy Factory in Gumeracha. The horse is made of steel and we climbed to the top up some steps and then a series of ladders. Thrilling!! Then the rain started….for the first time!  So, we went inside and looked around at all the amazing and interesting toys in the Toy Shop – everything from wooden horses to furry koalas.  When all the rain was over, and the girls had bought up the store, we went outside to feed the animals:  wallabies, kangaroos, birds, goats, and alapacas. It was an amazing place. It rained again and this time the water poured out of the heavens like the rain storms you get in the tropics. So, we were all quite wet when we got back into the car.

We headed home via an Indian Restaurant where we picked up dinner. Once again during dinner the rains flooded the earth as if the dam walls had collapsed. Then we had a thunder and lightening storm and the lightening lit up the valley and the hills around us just like the festival of lights in Vancouver lights up English Bay. Very dramatic!! We chatted for the rest of the evening and then everyone headed off to bed.

It is exciting to reconnect with people you have known over the years, and the hospitality that Nicolle and her husband and her father and step mother have shown us has been gracious and welcoming. Thank you all!

The property - unfortunately the pictures don't do it the justice it deserves

Nicolle's girls playing sillies

The Big Rocking Horse

Nicolle and her children

Ray feeding a kangaroo or a wallby

Note sure - either a kangaroo or wallaby