14/08/2005It is sad but we have to leave the hotel (well we don't have to.....), compensating with a really good and "heart smart" breakfast in Subiaco, which we think is the "Italian" suburb of Perth. After having a quick look at King park we cruise down to Fremantle and check out the markets. We are amazed at the number of people in the streets and cafes but we soon realize that’s because it’s the 60th anniversary of WW2. After having spent the day in Fremantle we decide to have dinner at a pizza place and continue our journey towards Bunbury. The plan is to stop at a 24 hour stop area but we never find it and have to drive all the way to Bunbury and park on the street.
15/08/2005We wake up and the weather is still pretty shitty, windy and rainy. Time for some car maintenance, the steering have been behaving a bit funny since all the corrugation, so we book the car in for a checkup in the afternoon. While we are waiting D decides to do some stuff himself, air and fuel filter.
When we are leaving the car park where we are H is worried that we have forgotten something and D start to reverse to go back and check, shouldn't have done that........ Oops, didn't see those poles behind the car........ Luckily the poles are smaller then Brutus so Brutus wins the fight. The rear right hand side of the bumper obviously gets some bumps and scratches but nothing that will stop us from continue the journey. We make a claim on the insurance and it is ok to leave the repairs needed until we get back to Sydney. &%&$&#%$^&*(@@#& D not happy......Anyway, the checkup on the car showed no problems that D can't fix himself and it didn't cost anything, at least some good news.
We decide that we need to wind down a bit so we drive to Bussleton jetty for a hot cup of coffee in a cozy sofa. Now we feel a bit better and set out to drive down to Margaret River. On the way we jump in to a brewery called Bootleg for some beer tasting. Sadly it is late and they are about to close so we only have time to try two types but they are good so we buy a couple of bottles. We drive on and see a winery that is open a bit longer and of course we jump in for some tasting. When we get out from the winery it is getting dark so we check in to a Big 4 caravan park on the way and make a very nice spaghetti bolognaise for dinner.
16/08/2005We wake up in the morning and feel a bit cold, it has been raining and hailing all night and the breakfast coffee feels like sent from heaven.
Wine, chocolate, wine, fudge, wine, cheese and wine, the day is just full of gourmet, gourmet, and gourmet. The
Margaret River area is plentiful in its offerings of indulgence. The landscape is lush green and shifts between hills, valleys, fields and forests with magic trees. The wineries, chocolate factory, dairy factory and fudge factory is a reflection of the landscape and gives us day well worth remembering.At the end of the day H is a bit happier then D (well someone has to drive) but that soon changes when we are forced to park the car on the street in Augusta at night as the caravan park we try to get into for some reason doesn't have any people attending it.
17/08/2005Up with the birds after another night of rain and hail; breakfast and of to see one of the worlds three capes, Cape Leeuwin. Unfortunately we are a bit too early and the outer most tip of the cape is closed (you have to pay to get there), but we get a good view of the light house and the two raging oceans (Indian and Southern Oceans) anyway.
We travel through some beautiful Karri forest and in Pemberton D decides to climb the
Gloucester tree. The tree is 61 meter tall with metal spikes inserted in it. Because it has been raining it is a bit slippery to get up but when you finally get there the view is fantastic and it is a pretty cool the way the tree sways with the wind.Valley of the Giants is next on the agenda. This is where you can go on a board walk amongst the tree tops, which is quite pleasant amongst the massive trees. There are also trees you can walk straight through at the
base.After a day full of trees we travel through Denmark (we thought this was a country in Scandinavia but apparently not) and arrive at early evening in Albany. Dinner is served, steak and bottle of red.
18/08/2005We check out the surroundings of Albany - a really nice and old town with plenty of historic buildings. We drive out to Frenchman Bay, a stunning stretch of coastline. It's fairly windy so the sea is very rough around the Gap and the Natural Bridge. Several people have died around this area, or committed suicide here, as it's not uncommon for king waves to hit the shore.
Since our car has lost some of its power we
decide to have it checked out at an exhaust place. The exhaust guys don't find anything wrong with it so we continue our journey. We stop at a rest area west of Ravensthorpe.19/08/2005
When we get to Esperance, a little coastal town, we are a bit tired and not too keen to do too much touring but since we are in the area we go for a drive on the Great Ocean Drive. And what a coastline!!! It's really a nice surprise! Great cliffs and even though the sky is very grey the water is clear turqoise. The waves are pretty rough and we can't help thinking of the young man who lost his life in the sea here somewhere a couple of days ago (you probably heard about it on the news).
20/08/2005We get to Kalgoorlie in the late afternoon. After checking in to a caravan park (with a bitchy receptionist) we have a look at the great pit. It is a surreal sight. The pit has a futuristic kind of feel about it. As you watch the mine from a distance it feels like the trucks are going in slow motion and as it's getting darker the place has an eerie feel about it. Maybe this is what the world will look like in the future?!?
Even though we are far away from the great pit (at the caravan park) you can hear the humming from the machines all night long.
21/08/2005The day of tours. We start with going to the Mining Hall of Fame. We do gold panning and an underground mine tour. We get to see some impressive historical remains and learn what terrible conditions the miners used to work under. We also find out that women are better truck
drivers than men when it comes to caring for the mining equipment. Apparently there more than 50% of the truckrivers in the gold mines are women and they are supposed to save more than half a million bucks for the company in a five-year period just because they are more gentle drivers than men. So you girls out there if you want to earn some money come to Kalgoorlie!!!In the afternoon we go on a brothel tour. Yes that's right, a brothel tour. Kalgoorlie is famous
for its brothels. There used to be heaps of them around but today there are only three left. We go on a tour through Questa Casa, the oldest brothel in Australia. There are only three of us doing the tour so we get a really good look at the brothel and a really good insight into the past and present of prostitution in the gold fields. Brothels are illegal but prostitution is not and the "madam" that we talk to tell us that she is only fined $200 for running a brothel - and she says she's hardly fined at all. The police station is in fact just around the corner and they don't really care about the brothels unless there are drugs involved. According to the "madam" the town has got hardly any sexual assaults and that's thanks to the brothels (she says). Don't know who to believe but it's sure an interesting town!!!
22/08/2005We start heading south again, then east. We start our drive across the notorious Nullarbor. We drive past a mad cyclist with a Swedish flag. We stop and have a chat to hime. He has been cycling along the coast since April (when he started in Melbourne). We think we are mad for driving far?!?!?!?
We have never seen so much roadkill!!!! And never such straight roads. We spend the night at a rest area in the middle of the longest straight stretch of road in Australia (140 km).
23/08/2005
Drive. Drive. Drive. It's getting tiring driving but at least you can get some interesting scenery when you are driving close to the coast. We see a couple of dingoes wandering around at the Nullarbor Roadhouse. We want to check out some whales at Head Bight but as we get there the viewing area is closed so we soldier on in the dark and camp at a rest area west of Nundroo Roadhouse.
24/08/2005
In Ceduna we check out the tourist information centre (to get some maps etc) and fill up on fuel and food. We have found a great shortcut to Stuart Highway so instead of going through Port Augusta we take a gravel road through Kingoonya and save at least 300 km. The landscape is pretty interesting. Hills. Plenty of salt lakes. We have to step on the brakes for an emu and a couple of sheep. We reach the Stuart Hwy in the early evening and have a sleep at Bon Bon Rest Area.
25/08/2005Coober Pedy. What a town. There's nothing like it. Where else would you find people living underground (70% actually)? Where else would you find a man like Crocodile Harry, living in a "cave" collecting underwear and photos of breasts? It's an unreal place. Those of you who have seen
the Mad Max movies can probably visualise the landscape. Full of old, rusty car wrecks, full of sand hills, full of mad people. It's a bloody windy place and sand is blowing everywhere. No wonder people live underground.We stay at a great caravan park where they also have a great pizza joint!
26/08/2005
We had planned to go to Uluru and Kata Tjuta etc first but since there's a "motor show" on in Alice Springs we decide to go there first...so we start to drive towards the "big" town in the centre. We are a little tired (we have been driving pretty much in the last week) so we stop and snooze at a rest area on the highway.
27/08/2005
In Alice Springs we first go and have a look at the "Transport Hall of Fame" where the big motor show is on and where trucks of all colours and models are displayed. It's pretty fascinated to see how keen and devoted some men, and women, are to trucks. Later on we have a wander through the main part of town and have a look at countless Aboriginal art stores. As the caravan parks are all full we go to the "overflow" - a paddock at the turf club - and camp for free. Suits us prefectly. We decide to have a party and celebrate that we have been living in the car for three months now. Plenty of wine and beer is consumed!!!
