It took us three days to cross the Great Central Road, and what an adventure it was! We arrived at Yulara and spent two days exploring Uluru and the Olgas, both of which are magnificent.
Last night I attempted to post an update from Yulara but there were so many photos to organise that it just got to a point that I was too exhausted to continue.
This afternoon we arrived at Kings Canyon where I planned to finish my update only to find that there is no phone or internet connection here! We bought an hour of wifi access through the "resort" to at least get some of our updates posted but soon discovered that the connection is so incredibly slow that anything more than text just seems to hang forever. We will have to wait until we get back into an area with proper internet access.
Tomorrow morning we plan on visiting Kings Canyon bright and early before the heat of the day. From here we are heading south and homeward bound. We have no idea where we'll be stopping at this point, or when we'll have a workable internet connection again but will update you when we do. I really did try.
When you see the photos of Uluru I'm sure you'll agree that they were worth the wait!
p.s. The pitiful internet connection conked out before we got a chance to post this and we are now sitting in reception pumping coins into a computer to get this out!!! Ugh!!
Friday, 22 October 2010
Saturday, 16 October 2010
Laverton
We arrived at Laverton this afternoon and headed to the visitor's centre to organise our travel permits through Aboriginal land. We also visited the "Great Beyond Explorer's Hall of Fame" which was an excellent display and film about the explorers who first charted the areas we're going to be traveling through, sometimes with tragic results.
In the morning we head off along the outback way via the great central road. We're both slightly apprehensive and very excited about the journey we're about to embark on. We feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to explore a part of the country that most never see.
I don't imagine that we'll have phone or internet access across our route, but one never knows. We expect to be at Uluru in about three days, and will surely update from there.
Wish us luck as we explore the great beyond.
In the morning we head off along the outback way via the great central road. We're both slightly apprehensive and very excited about the journey we're about to embark on. We feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to explore a part of the country that most never see.
I don't imagine that we'll have phone or internet access across our route, but one never knows. We expect to be at Uluru in about three days, and will surely update from there.
Wish us luck as we explore the great beyond.
Friday, 15 October 2010
Leonora
We made the 5 hour trip from Mount Magnet to Leonora with a coffee stop at a lovely little town called Sandstone, and a fuel stop at Leinster. I'm happy to report that we didn't encounter any "killer roos" in spite of the warning sign as we entered Leonora, although there did seem to be more than the usual population of roadkill about, all in various stages of decay.
Today we visited the Gwalia Historic Site, which is made up of a Museum, Ghost Town, Open Cut Mine and the Hoover House.
The Hoover House was built and designed in 1898-99 by Herbert Hoover who later became the 31st President of the United States. The home was his personal residence while he was the Manager of the Sons of Gwalia goldmine at the tender age of 23. The house also served as the residence for subsequent mine managers after Hoover moved on to work in China.
There were a series of other tenants at Hoover House after the close of the mine in 1963, however in time it fell into disrepair. Being recognized as historically significant, the house was restored and in March 2004 it was officially reopened by the American Consul General, Mr. Oscar DeSoto. The house is the only President's home located outside of the United States of America. Not only is it not on American soil, it's out in the bush in the middle of nowhere (and part of a Ghost Town)!
A section of the house is currently being used as a bed and breakfast with the proceeds going toward the continued maintenance of the home.
The back garden overlooks the modern day open cut mine. Obviously a very different view than during Hoover's time.
The mine is 300 meters deep and nearly 1 kilometer across. It has produced over 5 million ounces of gold.
In stark contrast to the Hoover house, the mine workers lived in cottages made of bush timber, corrugated iron and hessian, often with dirt floors. The workers were mostly immigrants who came to Australia from Italy and Yugoslavia in search of a better life.
In 1963 the Gwalia mine closed and the townspeople literally walked away with what they could carry, often with only the clothes on their backs leaving behind their household and personal items. In a three week period the population went from 1500 to 40! Today Gwalia is a ghost town.
Below is a guest house built to accomodate the large number of single men who came to work in the mine. Even the lucky ones who had cottages of their own would often eat their meals here as many of their houses didn't have water or kitchen facilities. They paid approximately 30 shillings a week for their meals which was one third of the typical miner's wage.
Mazza's Store provided all of the town's supplies for over 50 years. It closed in 1964.
Gwalia was such an interesting place to explore. I found it eerie walking through the abandoned homes and thinking about the rough lives that it's inhabitants led. Actually, the night we arrived we had driven through the area but didn't realize it was the ghost town. Tired from the day's drive we decided to have dinner out and were looking for a good place to stop. When we came across this area we thought we had driven into a dodgy neighbourhood and turned back. No wonder it looked so run down, it's a ghost town!
The only bad part of touring the area is the fact that I can't get the song "We'd Like To Thank You, Herbert Hoover" (from the musical "Annie") out of my head! This hasn't just started since our visit either. It started a couple of days ago when I first read about Gwalia. It's driving me insane, and poor Mike even more so!
Now, about that decision we needed to make. As you may remember, in the early part of our trip we visited Alice Springs and had planned to go to Uluru and then across to Western Australia via the Great Central Road. Unfortunately we had massive rain storms while we were in the area making the unsealed road potentially impassable and leading us to change our plans.
So, here we are at Leonora which is at the crossroads of heading home via Kalgoorlie and the Nullarbor or continuing on to Laverton and the Great Central Road to Uluru. The temptation to go via the Nullarbor back into the part of Western Australia that we fell in love with on our last trip is strong, plus we are concerned that we may have left it too late and could arrive at Uluru to scorching temperatures (in our non-air conditioned camper - eek!).
On the other hand, as much as we adore it, we've already toured southern WA. And, we're talking about Uluru for goodness sake! If we don't go now, what if we never get back to this area? It would be horrible to miss it! The road itself is another concern, although we feel as though we've got the right equipment to make it through, and have heard that it's generally good with a few rough spots.
So, wish us luck on our 1147 kilometer adventure along the dusty "Outback Way". We will be stopping at Laverton tomorrow for permits and road information. If all sounds do-able and safe we'll head off the following day. We'll be out of touch for the 3 to 5 days it takes us to cross, but should be able to update before we head off in Laverton, and of course will give you the (red) dirt at the end of our journey.
We'd like to thank you Herbert Hoover!! - Oh crap!
Today we visited the Gwalia Historic Site, which is made up of a Museum, Ghost Town, Open Cut Mine and the Hoover House.
The Hoover House was built and designed in 1898-99 by Herbert Hoover who later became the 31st President of the United States. The home was his personal residence while he was the Manager of the Sons of Gwalia goldmine at the tender age of 23. The house also served as the residence for subsequent mine managers after Hoover moved on to work in China.
There were a series of other tenants at Hoover House after the close of the mine in 1963, however in time it fell into disrepair. Being recognized as historically significant, the house was restored and in March 2004 it was officially reopened by the American Consul General, Mr. Oscar DeSoto. The house is the only President's home located outside of the United States of America. Not only is it not on American soil, it's out in the bush in the middle of nowhere (and part of a Ghost Town)!
A section of the house is currently being used as a bed and breakfast with the proceeds going toward the continued maintenance of the home.
 |
| Hoover's Bedroom |
 |
| The fireplace and wardrobe are original |
The back garden overlooks the modern day open cut mine. Obviously a very different view than during Hoover's time.
 |
| I wonder what all those H's stand for? :) |
In stark contrast to the Hoover house, the mine workers lived in cottages made of bush timber, corrugated iron and hessian, often with dirt floors. The workers were mostly immigrants who came to Australia from Italy and Yugoslavia in search of a better life.
In 1963 the Gwalia mine closed and the townspeople literally walked away with what they could carry, often with only the clothes on their backs leaving behind their household and personal items. In a three week period the population went from 1500 to 40! Today Gwalia is a ghost town.
 |
| Mike checks out a "renovator's delight" |
Below is a guest house built to accomodate the large number of single men who came to work in the mine. Even the lucky ones who had cottages of their own would often eat their meals here as many of their houses didn't have water or kitchen facilities. They paid approximately 30 shillings a week for their meals which was one third of the typical miner's wage.
Mazza's Store provided all of the town's supplies for over 50 years. It closed in 1964.
Gwalia was such an interesting place to explore. I found it eerie walking through the abandoned homes and thinking about the rough lives that it's inhabitants led. Actually, the night we arrived we had driven through the area but didn't realize it was the ghost town. Tired from the day's drive we decided to have dinner out and were looking for a good place to stop. When we came across this area we thought we had driven into a dodgy neighbourhood and turned back. No wonder it looked so run down, it's a ghost town!
The only bad part of touring the area is the fact that I can't get the song "We'd Like To Thank You, Herbert Hoover" (from the musical "Annie") out of my head! This hasn't just started since our visit either. It started a couple of days ago when I first read about Gwalia. It's driving me insane, and poor Mike even more so!
Now, about that decision we needed to make. As you may remember, in the early part of our trip we visited Alice Springs and had planned to go to Uluru and then across to Western Australia via the Great Central Road. Unfortunately we had massive rain storms while we were in the area making the unsealed road potentially impassable and leading us to change our plans.
So, here we are at Leonora which is at the crossroads of heading home via Kalgoorlie and the Nullarbor or continuing on to Laverton and the Great Central Road to Uluru. The temptation to go via the Nullarbor back into the part of Western Australia that we fell in love with on our last trip is strong, plus we are concerned that we may have left it too late and could arrive at Uluru to scorching temperatures (in our non-air conditioned camper - eek!).
On the other hand, as much as we adore it, we've already toured southern WA. And, we're talking about Uluru for goodness sake! If we don't go now, what if we never get back to this area? It would be horrible to miss it! The road itself is another concern, although we feel as though we've got the right equipment to make it through, and have heard that it's generally good with a few rough spots.
So, wish us luck on our 1147 kilometer adventure along the dusty "Outback Way". We will be stopping at Laverton tomorrow for permits and road information. If all sounds do-able and safe we'll head off the following day. We'll be out of touch for the 3 to 5 days it takes us to cross, but should be able to update before we head off in Laverton, and of course will give you the (red) dirt at the end of our journey.
We'd like to thank you Herbert Hoover!! - Oh crap!
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Geraldton to Mount Magnet
On Sunday morning we left Kalbarri for Geraldton with a stop at Port Gregory to see the pink lake.
We spent three nights (2 days) in Geraldton which turned out to be more of a housekeeping stop than a sightseeing one.
Upon arrival we set up the camper and headed into town for lunch, a look around and a stop in at the visitor's centre.
The next morning Mike took the car in for a service that he had booked in. The service took all day due to having to replace a leaking water pump, which left us without transport. The day was spent catching up on emails, doing laundry and pretty much bumming around. Once we got the car back we went into town for dinner and called it a night.
The following day we were eager to see a bit of Geraldton. In particular, the war memorial in town and the winery in the Chapman Valley. We drove to the winery only to find that it was closed on Tuesdays - a situation even sadder than a pub with no beer.
The war memorial honored the fallen men of the HMAS Sydney. The memorial features a silver dome comprised of 645 seagulls representing each of the fallen sailors.
The names of the lost men are inscribed on two walls of Western Australian Granite.
We left Geraldton this morning for the 340km drive to Mount Magnet for a quick overnight stop. On the way we saw more wildflowers.
We also stopped for diesel (at an unattended pump) at Yalgoo, a tiny historic outback town, that we couldn't figure out how to work at first. How sad would it be to be stuck just outside a small town in the middle of nowhere with no diesel - right next to the pump!
I was famished so we drove into the town center in search of lunch. The only thing we could find was the pub which held an interesting bunch of characters. All friendly, some who clearly had nothing more pressing to do on a hot wednesday afternoon than spend the day drinking in the pub.
Speaking of characters, the rest of the day was spent setting up the camper here in Mount Magnet, chatting with a man who ran over to talk to us because he remembered our "weird camper" from Denham. (We still don't remember him!), and having a long conversation with an older Scottish gentleman who is camping on his own on a prospecting adventure. Talk about characters! He had some funny stories to share about his experience prospecting.
As I write this we're in the (only) caravan park in Mount Magnet listening to the road trains rattle by as they zoom past on the main road about 10 meters away. We are hoping they take a break as the evening wears on so we can all get some sleep (damn - there goes another one!)
When we arrived at the park we were given a pamphlet with things to do in the area. I think we'll just be continuing on toward Leonora, stopping for the night when the mood strikes.
We have a decision to make in Leonora. I'll tell you a more about it when I next post.
 |
| The pink colour is caused by beta carotene (the same stuff that makes carrots orange). |
We spent three nights (2 days) in Geraldton which turned out to be more of a housekeeping stop than a sightseeing one.
Upon arrival we set up the camper and headed into town for lunch, a look around and a stop in at the visitor's centre.
The next morning Mike took the car in for a service that he had booked in. The service took all day due to having to replace a leaking water pump, which left us without transport. The day was spent catching up on emails, doing laundry and pretty much bumming around. Once we got the car back we went into town for dinner and called it a night.
The following day we were eager to see a bit of Geraldton. In particular, the war memorial in town and the winery in the Chapman Valley. We drove to the winery only to find that it was closed on Tuesdays - a situation even sadder than a pub with no beer.
The war memorial honored the fallen men of the HMAS Sydney. The memorial features a silver dome comprised of 645 seagulls representing each of the fallen sailors.
The names of the lost men are inscribed on two walls of Western Australian Granite.
We left Geraldton this morning for the 340km drive to Mount Magnet for a quick overnight stop. On the way we saw more wildflowers.
We also stopped for diesel (at an unattended pump) at Yalgoo, a tiny historic outback town, that we couldn't figure out how to work at first. How sad would it be to be stuck just outside a small town in the middle of nowhere with no diesel - right next to the pump!
I was famished so we drove into the town center in search of lunch. The only thing we could find was the pub which held an interesting bunch of characters. All friendly, some who clearly had nothing more pressing to do on a hot wednesday afternoon than spend the day drinking in the pub.
Speaking of characters, the rest of the day was spent setting up the camper here in Mount Magnet, chatting with a man who ran over to talk to us because he remembered our "weird camper" from Denham. (We still don't remember him!), and having a long conversation with an older Scottish gentleman who is camping on his own on a prospecting adventure. Talk about characters! He had some funny stories to share about his experience prospecting.
As I write this we're in the (only) caravan park in Mount Magnet listening to the road trains rattle by as they zoom past on the main road about 10 meters away. We are hoping they take a break as the evening wears on so we can all get some sleep (damn - there goes another one!)
When we arrived at the park we were given a pamphlet with things to do in the area. I think we'll just be continuing on toward Leonora, stopping for the night when the mood strikes.
We have a decision to make in Leonora. I'll tell you a more about it when I next post.
Saturday, 9 October 2010
Kalbarri Wildflowers
This, believe it or not, is just a small selection of wildflower photos from the many we've taken. If you have no interest in flowers, you'll probably want to give this entry a miss. If you are a fan, and all goes to plan you should be able to click on the images to see the full sized version. Enjoy!
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