We have come a long way since we last updated our trip. We have toured down through Coffin Bay to Port Lincoln at the bottom of the Eyre Peninsula, and then up through Whyalla to Port Augusta and down to Meadows passing through Adelaide and up the Lofty Ranges which was a challenge successfully tackled by the ute. We have now arrived in Kerang, Victoria, where Ray's father and brother live.

Port Lincoln is a much bigger place than I thought, with a marina with lots of large fishing boats and apartments fronting the canals. The wharf also has huge facilities. We watched semis coming in to the marina with loads of pilchards bagged up in 1 ton lots to load on to the tuna boats. The supervisor told us each boat takes out 22 tons a day (worth about $25,000.00) to feed the tuna. I don't know how many boats there were, but there are huge amount of money tied up in the industry. Whyalla was also a big industrial port, a very dry place which reminded me of Alice Springs with red dirt and no lawns around. It also had a nice beach and a good sheltered boat ramp for small boats.

Meadows is south of Adelaide, to the west of Mt. Barker in the Adelaide hills. It was very green there and cold. We have friends there who we stayed with for a couple of nights. They have a business down in Adelaide and live up in the hills on a small farm. They also have cows about to calve. We went for a drive down to Victor Harbour/Goolwa and Strathalbyn with them. The scenery in the Adelaide Hills is beautiful with very windy roads and steep hills.

We are now in Kerang washing the locusts off the ute and caravan (we came through a locust plague at Pinnaroo near the SA/VIC border). I think we are going to get roped into helping 'Pop' get the sheep in for shearing before we head off for the Holbrook farm in NSW. EF

From Meadows to Kerang

View Larger Map

Next stage from Streaky Bay to Meadows

View Larger Map

We are about to leave Streaky Bay and head further down the Peninsula. This is a great holiday place with the caravan park on the water. We have caught 4 flathead and 4 squid from the jetty. We went on a tour of the Streaky Bay Power Museum with 400 restored stationary engines crammed into a shed - the man came and opened up especially for us and Ray was in his element. We also drove around Point Bauer and saw some spectacular "whistling" rocks with rough seas really forcing the water through the blowholes. I got some sunrise photos over the water. There was an Anzac Dawn Service at the jetty. EF

Eucla to Streaky Bay SA

View Larger Map

This morning we left Eucla and turned south to Fowlers Bay. We had a look along the the way at the cliffs along the bite. No pics tonight. The internet is flaky here.
Had a fish off the jetty and a bloke got a decent yellow tail kingfish but I got nothing.
Tomorrow back up to the highway and through Ceduna and then South towards port Lincoln.
RF

Wednesday 21st April

We are now at Eucla after a couple of days of travelling. Last night we camped out 25kms west of Balladonia and enjoyed sitting out looking at the amazing night sky. We decided to try and get down to the beach here at Eucla and try some fishing tonight, but found ourselves backing out of sand at a fast rate of knots! We had fun driving down all the windy tracks anyway. We inspected the abandoned telegraph station instead. We'll be in South Australia tomorrow and will most likely head down the Eyre Peninsula towards Port Lincoln. EF

Leaving Esperance

Today we are leaving Esperance and heading up to Norseman and turning East towards Adelaide.
Had a good look around Esperance and did a bit of maintenance on the long range fuel tank in the ute. A dessicant filter decided to let diesel out and make a mess.Tossed to filter and blanked it off with a 1/2 inch bsp cap. Unloaded the back and and swilled it out with truckwash and hopefully now all is OK.
RF

Sunday, 18th April

Today we left Denmark and headed towards Esperance. We went to church and had lunch in Albany. Between Albany and Esperance we went past the Porongurups and Stirling Ranges which were quite spectacular.

Saturday, 17th April

Well, after a couple of very enjoyable days in Denmark, with good company, walks around the town and along the river, a visit to the ocean and Wilson Inlet, not to mention delicious meals, we are on our way towards Esperance tomorrow, stopping over in Albany to hear Melanie play trumpet at church. EF

Sunday's Trip

View Directions to esperance in a larger map

Friday, 16 April 2010

We finally left Perth yesterday after a rush to get things organised at home while we're gone for up to 4 1/2 months. We travelled 400 kms down to Denmark, for US friends, a picturesque town on the south coast of Western Australia. We're staying here for a couple of days, washing clothes, caravan and ute and enjoying spending time with Melanie. EF

Monday April 5th

Still getting jobs done around the house and on the ute. Today got wiring done for UHF and rear camera on the van. Also got rid of some fallen branches around the house. Still a heap to do!

The route after we leave Denmark WA





View Larger Map

Leaving Perth, but not with the grandkids

Our route for the first day.,Thursday 15 April.2010!
View Larger Map