Back to the Nullarbor and Australia’s longest straight road

  
We started from our bush camp amongst the salmon gums and drove to Newman Rock, which we had also visited coming across from the eastern states. There was more surface water this time.

We proceeded to Balladonia roadhouse where we had a hole of golf to play. The green and fairway were okay but the fairway was pure saltbush. Even though it was only par 3, the green was so difficult to locate that a red target was required to show us where to aim.

  
The roadhouse museum, included remains of Skylab, NASA’s space research laboratory, that re-entered the earth’s atmosphere and exploded around Balladonia.

  
Beneath the Nullarbor are many caves and near Caiguna is a ‘blowhole’. It seems that caves ‘breathe’, with air exiting through holes as temperatures increase. We visited it, but it was underwhelming. The blue bush plains after rain, however, provide attractive reflections, views of complex skies and clouds and are a pleasant place to spend an evening.

  
  

Get ready for the Super Pit!

Kalgoorlie is a gold mining city. It used to have a Golden Mile of individual small poppet heads over mine shafts. Then in the 1980s entrepreneur Alan Bond bought up and consolidated the small mines. Today it is a huge open cut mine owned and operated by Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mine, known as the Super Pit. We viewed the trucks removing overburden and a digger working from the lookout at the Boulder side of the city.

   
 

  
We also played two more holes of the Nullarbor Links Golf Course at the impressive Kalgoorlie Golf Course. It was quite a contrast to the saltbush fairways out on the Nullarbor.

  
Kalgoorlie has some magnificent buildings from the period of its earlier boom around 1900.

  

Having a whale of a time on the Nullarbor except for a klepto crow

Leaving Fowlers Bay, we travelled to Nundroo, where we completed another hole of the Nullarbor Links Golf Course.

  

We lunched among attractive saltbush and eucalyptus, before driving across the treeless Nullarbor Plain to the Head of Bight (The Great Australian Bight, that is) to see Southern Right whales who come into the Bight annually to calf.

  
  
Well….Then we came to the roadhouse at Nullarbor where we planned to play another hole of golf and camp for the night. A kleptomaniac crow (Australian Raven to be correct) other ideas -it picked up THREE balls and flew away with them! See the gleam in its eye! We abandoned the game and came back to the caravan park, which is right next to a famous road sign on the Nullarbor.   
  

Seduced by Ceduna and the longest golf course in the world

On Saturday night we watched the sun set as the galahs gathered in the treetops in the Ceduna shopping centre.

  

  

  

   
  This morning, after we checked out of the campground, we called into the visitor centre and registered for the World’s Longest Golf Course. this18-hole par 72 golf course spans 1,365 kilometres across the Nullabor Plain in the south of Australia. The first two holes were at the Ceduna Golf Course and the next at the town of Penong, seventy-odd kilometres away.
   
   We proceeded here to Fowlers Bay and clambered over vast sand dunes as the sun lowered and a fisherman with his son returned on his quad bike. Our footprints were shared with the wave-like patterns carved by the wind. The township clustered at the bottom of the dunes.

   
   The caravan park lit a campfire and a family toasted marshmallows.

  

Climbing at Mt Arapiles – for the brave, flexible and strong

“Awesome – that’s it,” encouraged the coach as the young woman squatted and hauled herself upwards, her weight taken by her arms and fingers clutching at tiny bumps in the apparently sheer rock face. Below another climber anchored her with a rope and pulley: “Keep your right arm down” reminded the trainer.

Mt Arapiles is a climber’s Mecca, with its steep piles of rock. We watched in silence, sipping our coffee but not wanting to distract the apprentice climber from her task. She looked confused when we clapped her abseiled descent – she had clearly forgotten that she had an audience.

   
         

The mountain rises abruptly from the Wimmera plain. Banksias, wattles and grass trees cluster at the base, while behind us cattle grazed, oblivious to the climber’s adrenaline rush.

Tree surfing – it’s amazing!

Today we went tree-surfing at The Enchanted Maze, Arthurs Seat, Australia.
The older children and my daughter did the adult course, while the younger ones and I did the Nippers version. First we were harnessed up, then started on the aerial obstacle course. It was an adrenalin rush for us all, with careful stepping at heights. Seven-year-old Lily completed the third, most difficult level alone, as it was children only.

As well as tree-surfing, there was a tyre slide, traditional mazes, a 3D maze and an intriguing mirror maze. We had a picnic lunch on the grass before exploring these other features. It was a great day and we were ready for a cooling swim afterwards.

Kings Canyon and a world trip all in two days

The 5.5km walk/clamber up and around the rim of Kings Canyon is like a mini world trip. There was a group of US uni students on an Australian Geographic tour, a bus load of Germans doing the walk barefoot to feel the warmth of the rock, a French couple, a family from Sydney. Yesterday’s walk included some of a family of five children including a three month baby from Dandenong taking a year off to do the “Big Loop” and a bus load of Chinese speakers.

The walk itself is well marked and includes staircases and footbridges and a sidewalk to the heavenly Garden of Eden permanent waterhole. Just the right degree of difficulty.

We didn’t make St Mary Peak, but we got to Tanderra Saddle

Starting at Wilpena Visitors Centre at 8.45am, well equipped with boots, water, sunscreen, walking poles, lunch and snacks, we registered our details in the trail book and headed out on the direct route to St Mary Peak (1171m). This walk is 14.6km in length and walkers are advised to allow six hours return and leave prior to 9am. Well. All started deceptively simply, just a walk in the park, watched by a ring neck parrot. Until we started our ascent, which proved to be up a steep rock face. By the time we got to Tanderra Saddle, about 1.8km from the top we were all in and the thought of making the steep descent, never mind continuing to the top, was totally daunting, given the state of our wobbly leg muscles.

After an early lunch admiring the view, we decided that it would be safer to return by the longer inner loop route. We knew we were supposed to allow
nine hours for the return version of this walk, but getting in late was preferable to the risk of falling off the cliff face. In actual fact, the return by this longer route proved quite doable and we completed it in good time.

Bay Walk – Martha Point to Rosebud

Another 25km walk but mostly at sea level on a balmy autumn day. After going through a surreal tunnel under the marina entrance, we passed the Safety Beach Sailing Club, where lessons were in progress in charming little boats called Opties.
We stopped by a cute coffee shop in Dromana called The Alley for a cappuccino and muffin, before hiking past the lighthouse at McCrae to lunch in a foreshore reserve near Rosebud. From there it was only a short walk past holiday campers to the Rosebud jetty, where children paddled in the shallows. We returned the same way, with increased activity from fishermen and dog walkers, and even a wedding car across the road. Distant ferry and container ship provided an opportunity to test the x20 optical zoom on my new compact camera.

Two Bays Walk Part Two

Starting with sulphur crested cockies outside the Dromana information centre, at sea level, we climbed steadily over the shoulder of Arthur’s Seat, pausing to take in the view across Port Phillip Bay towards McRae lighthouse . There were enough walkers on the track to make it sociable and some steep stretches to give us a heart workout. As we trekked inland, we were rewarded with grass trees, grazing Eastern Grey kangaroos and pastoral vistas. We didn’t quite make it to last weekend’s starting point before turning back. Even so, it took us 8.5 hours to do 26km.