Sunday 8 August 2010

West to East– through the Centre

Finally, it was time to leave Perth!  We headed out early on Friday 16/07/2010 because our first stop was Kelmscott (not a really long travel!), so that Rob could re-install that **** diesel heater.  Fortunately, after a lot of swearing and getting wet (oh! it was raining quite well too!) he finally got it going properly.  Yet another $200 making $500 all up.  This covered parts and labour, but was way more than we expected to pay for a simple service.  Obviously, because of all the problems it was not just a simple service.  Oh well, you learn these things the hard way.

So, leaving Kelmscott like the devil was on our tail, our next stop was to El Caballo Golf Club in Wooroloo.  We called in there to see Rick’s cousin Nick and his partner Edna.  It was fantastic finally being able to meet them.  They are both lovely people and we hope now that we can stay in touch.  Stayed in Northam that night in the caravan park.  Nice little spot but very crowded.  We were lucky to get a spot at all.
17 – 18/07/2010 – Karalee Dam, Kookynie
Karalee DamKaralee DamKaralee Dam
19/07/2010 – Niagara Dam is a funny little spot, with quite a bit of history
Niagara DamNiagara Dam
20/07/2010 – Leonora Caravan Park
Leonora
21/07/2010 – Minnie Creek Rest Area
On the roadAbandoned carMinnie Creek Rest Area
22/07/2010 – Yarla Katjara Rest Area
Yarla Katjara Rest AreaYarla Katjara Rest Area
23/07/2010 – Docker River Rest Area
On the roadWild camelDocker River Campground
24/07/2010 – Yulara Campground
Lassiters CaveApproaching Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)Great view of the OlgasUluru (Ayers Rock)
25 – 30/07/2010 – MacDonnell Range Caravan Park
Alice Springs from Anzac HillMacdonnell Range Caravan ParkWar Memorial on Anzac HillDesert Park at Alice SpringsDesert Park at Alice Springs
31/07/2010 to 01/08/2010 – Harts Range Showgrounds
First prize winnerThird prize winnerGreat camp site at Harts RangeGreat camp site at Harts Range
02/08/2010 – Boulia Caravan Park – Back in QLD – Yay!!!
YUK!Results of the mudResults of the mudWe're still trying to get rid of the mudHuge Termite moundReally bigAt last - the border
03/08/2010 – Waltzing Matilda Caravan Park, Winton – No Photos – not worth it!
Dreadful place – all vans were so crammed in, we had to park on a road and had only about 2 feet on either side to move!!  Would never stay there again.
04/08/2010 – Charles Lloyd Jones Weir, Barcaldine
Met up with Toni & JB.  We meet them for the first time at Standown Park Veterans’ Retreat maybe 18 months ago, so it was a nice surprise to catch up with them again.
Nice campground - near BarcaldineIMGP2341IMGP2344
05/08/2010 – Bailey Bar Caravan Park, Charleville
Lovely spot for an overnight stay – they were serving a Lamb on the spit for dinner.  Yummy!
IMGP2346IMGP2347IMGP2348
06/08/2010 – Judds Lagoon, Yuleeba
Beautiful area.  Quite a large spot, well maintained but with no facilities.  There were only four campers there (including ourselves).
IMGP2353IMGP2361IMGP2360IMGP2359
07/08/2010 – Kingaroy Showgrounds
Good spot for a showgrounds, although the price has gone up to $20 for a powered site.  We are now catching up with all the washing.  And given all the dust and mud – there is a fair bit of washing and cleaning going on.  The view below is from the Kingaroy lookout, viewing the town.
IMGP2365

 The final picture
West to East

6 comments:

  1. That was faster than I thought you would take to travel from the west coast to the east coast. How were the roads? What a life!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The roads were pretty YUK. WA side (Central Road) was pretty much as expected - corrugations and red, red dust, but the road was pretty reasonably maintained. NT from Docker River to was dreadful. The corros were horrendous and in a lot of places the track was pretty narrow. Once we left that area, it took at least 30 minutes for my eyeballs to stop rattling. From Gemtree to the NT/QLD border was the cause of the mess you see on the car. It really shouldn't have been open at all because there was a 2" dump of rain on the upgrading roadworks which left the road in a dreadful state. Road Trains and local traffic turned it to mush, which then transferred to the car. Once we hit QLD, the border to Boulia was actually quite good except for a couple of stretches of corrugations. Sounds awful, but we really had fun. The landscape and wildlife after some rain is really breathtaking.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great write up and pics guy's.
    Don't ya just luv mud grin

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Lea and Rick,
    Very interesting that you took the trip West to East like that. What sort of vehicle are you driving?
    Great start to the blog and wonderful pictures.
    I can't wait to get on the road and become fair dincom about my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for your comments. We drive a Toyota Landcruiser 100 series with a Kedron ATV 20' van and just love the life. You mentioned Great start to the blog - have a look at the archives as well, we been running this for over 12 months, so there's quite a bit of history there.
    As far as the map is concerned, no it's not the Google map, I mocked it up in OziExplorer - however, if I can find the Google map I'll give it a go - sounds really interesting.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your feedback.