26. AND SO COMES THE RAIN

As the weather was terrible and we had spent some time already in South Australia on the way North, we decided to take a quick trip across the state, but still enjoyed the very Australian crop colours.

We had the route all planned, but Mother Nature made a change to that and we had to detour around flooded areas.

But for all that, it did cause us to travel along some very scenic roads.

and as we neared the coast, the fog started rolling in.

Of course the rain didn't stop us exploring, and finding all sorts of interesting plants.

and yet more signs!  If you believed that all these things were possible if you ventured on, you would never do anything exciting!!

We did venture on to discover this beautiful sight.

and because of all the rain the rivers were flowing well.

and we were surrounded with nothing but green.

and came across the odd unusual tree.  It just needed two eyes and a mouth - voila Jimmy Durante!

We have driven the Great Ocean Road before but not in the rain.

We spent a few days in Airey's inlet having a wonderful break thanks to some friends and the sun came out.

We went exploring as usual and found these unusual carved trees.

and a nest complete with swan mother, father and babies.

But soon we have to go and see what adventures lie beyond.

25. ACROSS THE BOTTOM

The next leg of our journey saw us heading again for South Australia but from a different direction than a few months ago.

Looks like we are in for an interesting trip - NOT

Can't say it's the most interesting of roads. And even here we can't escape the dreaded roadworks.

But the signs are pretty cool.

Just hope they are not representative of size - would hate to run into a wombat as big as a camel!!

And it wasn't as boring as I thought it would be. There are lots of interesting things to stop and see along the trail....

Had never even heard of the Nullabor Blowholes.

There are several and we stopped at the Caiguna Blowhole to see what it was all about.  The holes are through to the ocean and you can really feel the breeze and smell the ocean when you are above them.

We stopped for lunch where there was a table to sit at and prepare some food and we were overlooking the saddest little playground I have ever seen.

All overgrown and falling to bits. Guess it was fun once!

Our last camp in WA was at a place called Jillah Rockhole.  Another of the free camps that is at the base of a monolith.  This one had a 'Heart of Stone'

Haha Guess someone was feeling creative and it made a nice statement on the top of the rock.

This one was another rock water catchment area.

And interestingly enough it had a museum of sorts......

At least someone thought so and labeled the loo!!

It was nearly time to say goodbye to WA, but not before a great last campfire...

Then it was goodbye WA and hello again to SA

  

Our first camp in SA was at a place called Penong.  Here they had a windmill museum with the Biggest Windmill.

There were heaps of different ones - even a portable windmill.

While we were here we took a run down to Sinclair Point.  A quiet little spot with an interesting history, and some amusing signs.

This was at the start of the causeway leading to the beach. With another Pink lake on the side.

 Again we found ourselves the only ones there and the information boards that told the history and showed old photos of the place were so interesting.

The only locals we saw were not very interested in our company.

Then we headed round to Cactus beach for a little beachcombing.

All along this part of the coast there were little side trips to check out 

And so worth the effort.

The coast is really spectacular.

but not peaceful

And looking to the East......where we are heading

Looks a long long way...........

24. TO PERTH AND BEYOND

We finally made it down to Perth where we had family to visit with.  It was nice to be in a house for a change!  Before we left we decided to go and be tourists for the day, so first stop was the water.

As you can see it was pretty chilly down at Freemantle Harbour.  It was very interesting though to read all about the history of the immigrants, see the walls with immigrants names, and to see some of the statues.

Really good statues but sad to think that children this young were sent out here alone. To god alone knows what fate.

There was a steam exhibition nearby to we had to go check that out as well

Saw lots of old engines and learned lots of history from a volunteer, but didnt expect to see what must be the world's biggest lathe!  Was used for machining submaring prop shafts - insane.

But we were more than happy to leave the city traffic and crowds behind and head back into the bush.

Now this is the type of road that we prefer.  Quiet, peaceful and a lot more interesting.  And you never know what you will find.  

This place ended up being one of our favourite places.  Just a very small town but with a big heart. The people were so friendly, the caravan park was cheap and wonderful, and they had the greatest little museum.  It was also an area with another drawcard......

Big Rocks!  Nearby there were quite a few of these rocks, some with very interesting structures and an interesting history.  And they were big......that little spec on top of this one is Dave!

Beringbooding Rock has the largest rock water catchment in Australia. Built in 1937 by Sustenance Labour its tank can hold over 2 million gallons of water and cost 10 thousand pounds.   A wall was built to divert all the rain that fell on the rock.

This is just one small segment,  It was really fascinating to read the story of the wall, built during the depression.

All the concrete was mixed by hand on site, and when you see the size of the rock and realise just how much work went into it....amazing!

and there were always interesting things to discover.

Not a bad sized cairn!

and the views from the top were pretty spectacular.

One thing that did puzzle me was the large rocks on the top??  Where did they come from????

any suggestions?

There was also a couple of Gnamma holes - this one called Kangaroo hole.

and even a wave rock.

There were even forests on the top of the rocks.

and even off the rocks - more cool stuff to discover.. this insect hole still had the remains of the morning mist on its surrounding cobwebs.

There were several rocks that we explored at different sites,  all with different features.

Dave was checking out the fat tadpoles in this waterhole.

and where do these trees get their nutrients to grow??

although looking around, its pretty healthy countryside around here.

And we even found this little beauty.

a spider orchid.  Just beautiful.

We are starting to see some animals again which is nice, but these shingle backs are a pest on the roads.

I guess they go out on the nice warm gravel or bitumen to warm up, but its a good way to get dead.

Dave decided to stop and give this guy a second chance and move him off the road.

Then it was off to Kalgoorlie to check out the 'superpit'

It was very overcast, but an impressive sight, and the machinery was massive.

You can't really tell by these pictures how big they are but those little white boxes on the sides are not much smaller than a man!!  Each one costs a few million dollars and we saw about 30 driving around when we were there.

But the weather was coming in and it was all bad!  Next morning we woke to clear skies but the the fog started rolling in so we decided it was time to make tracks so....

Going-----

Going-----

Gone-----

Whew!  Just in time........