Thursday 12th April 2018
Today was another tourist day, this time exploring Esperance.

After an early morning swim at Esperance Pool we headed to Le Grand National Park. First on our agenda was to climb Frenchman’s Peak. This was listed as a grade 5 hike, 3km in 3 hours. This seemed a little over the top time wise but only time will tell. It was a big rock scramble but we reached the top in a comfortable 30 minutes. The views from the top were amazing. The wind at the top was very strong and it was quite cool. It was strong enough that you had to hold on to your hat and keep surefooted as the gusts could over balance you a little. Climbing down was a little slower but the overall walk only took about 80mins.

Next stops were Lucky Bay where we drove on the beach and the colour of the ocean and white sand was spectacular. There were also some kangaroos on the beach. Then we headed to Thistle Cove and Hellfire Bay, unfortunately the wind had come up and the sky had clouded over so it wasn’t as pretty as it could have been.

Next a 22km drive along the beach from Cape Le Grand to Wylie Bay. The NP girl said it can get quite soft and difficult to drive on the sand at the half way mark but we will see how we go. As usual DB didn’t let the tyres down nor did he start off in 4WD (in his defence the first beach we were on the sand was very firm). It wasn’t until he had to rev as hard as the car could go and we almost hit our head as we went over a bump as he didn’t want to slow down that he decided it was time to drop the air and use low range. I asked him did he think maybe we should have brought Matts Maxx Tracks as suggested. One day he will learn to prepare for the situation rather than react to it. All in all it was a nice drive even though it was very windy and the surf was very choppy. Hopefully not a sign of things to expect in the Aussies. I really hate competing in the chop.

Once we were back on bitumen at Esperance we followed the Great Ocean Drive which was a loop along the beaches. It was very pretty. We then went to Australia’s first windmill farm.

At about 6pm we headed off to our next stop for the night, a 2 hour drive to Ravensthorpe. ETA 8pm. Another dark setup and cook. We have shown Graham and Nigel how to fill a day to the max. We finally found a spot in the dark and setup camp. We know we need to get in earlier but struggle every time. Something we are going to try to work on improving after Aussies.

Wednesday 11th April 2018
Eucla to Esperance we hope. 913km about 9hrs 22mins driving time. Eeeek!!! I might have to do a bit more than usual.

A big driving day. We set off early for a change, about 8.30am Eucla time which is an interesting time zone. See note below.

We managed to arrive at our proposed destination for last night at 11.30am this morning. Lucky we stopped when we did last night. Obviously it was a little ambitious with our current tour director. We travelled on Australia’s longest straight between Cocklebiddy and Balladonia (146km of straight road).

We had a few interesting points of interest today in the form of sideshow trees (Teddy, bra, cup and undie trees).

We also saw many different modes of transport to keep us entertained, which I will show in the photos.

Having lost more vegetables at the quarantine station last night and not being overly impressed with our last 2 nights roadhouse/pub meals, we are looking forward to a home cooked meal tonight.

Well we are almost to our destination for tonight, only 100km to go and it is only 6pm. Hopefully we will be set up by 7ish Broadbent time, which is give or take about 12-20mins.

Nighty Night.

Australia’s Weird Little Time Zone
Continental Australia is divided into three standard time zones, Western, Central and Eastern. Overall, Australian time is fairly straightforward and understandable.

However Australia also has an unofficial but de facto hybrid time zone called “Australian Central Western Standard Time” (ACWST), which is set halfway between the official Western and Central times. With Western Time at UTC+8:00 and Central Time at UTC+9:30, splitting the difference makes the so-called Central Western Time UTC+8:45. Yes, a time zone that’s based not on the hour or the half-hour, but on the quarter hour!

This is quite rare, something found nowhere else except Nepal and in a few small, isolated corners of the globe. Visitors entering or leaving ACWST have to remember to set their watches in the proper direction either forward or back by 45 minutes.

ACWST is observed only in a tiny sliver in the far southeastern corner of Western Australia along the Eyre Highway, extending from just outside of Caiguna to about 50 metres across the South Australia state line to encompass Border Village, for a total length of about 340 kilometres. The northern boundary is less precise but it doesn’t really matter. This is part of the Nullarbor Plain, a vast, dry, flat, expanse of scrubland and not much else besides nature. Time doesn’t really matter in that immense empty acreage north of the Eyre Highway.

Tuesday 10th April 2018
Happy birthday Andi.

Today is another big drive day. Streaky Bay to Eucla or Madura or Cocklebiddy. Destination will be determined by time of day, tiredness and what our tour director has in mind along the way.

First port of call is training. After missing out on a swimming session at Broken Hill in the 50m pool, we decided we really needed to do one today. Unfortunately the session was a little difficult as the pool was only 17m and didn’t have any lane ropes. We only managed 1600m as DB was dizzy from tumble turns and it was a little choppy. Anyway better than not swimming at all. Next was a quick track session, then breakfast.

We then went for a little walk along the foreshore which was beautiful followed by Streaky Bay headland drive. This was again spectacular. We finally left the Eyre Peninsula about 11am heading west to who knows where as yet. We stopped at the Oyster Bar for lunch where we had more oysters which put last nights to shame. At least two maybe three times bigger. Definitely worth the stop. Moving along we are heading  along the Nullabor Plain as I type. All of a sudden the trees stop and it is just flat, flat, flat plains along a long straight, straight road. Very cool. At this stage I don’t know where we will sleep tonight as it is now 5.40pm and we still have 2 hours to go to get to Eucla. We stopped to take a photo of the straight road so I thought and DB disappeared off the highway in search of a cave that was noted as a point of interest on WikiCamp App. He finally found it but unfortunately we need a ladder to get down there. Off we go again, 10 minutes later. Oh Oh, here we go again. He has just turned off the highway down a dirt track, no sign, nothing to tell me where we are going. But wow, I love this man, the views are amazing. We are at a free camp on the edge of a cliff of the Great Australian Bight. It is the most spectacular views and all hidden away with not a signpost to tell you it is here. What a find.

We then went along further to another lookout which was great too, but the first one was exceptional. A quick visit at this lookout as it had got quite cool, overcast and windy and we still had 2 hours left to drive to Eucla. Onward we head as the light starts to fade and yet again we are running late. Hopefully Graham and Nigel have decided to stop at Eucla for the night. After another visit to the Quarantine station where we lost some of the food we managed to keep at the SA entry check point we finally reached Eucla at 7pm WA time. Just in time to order some dinner before the kitchen closed.

Another great day,

Monday 9th April 2018
The Eyre Peninsula – From Elliston to Streaky Bay 143km
After our big drive and late arrival yesterday we are having a tourist day. We started with a walk to the jetty at Elliston, followed by a walk to the lookout. It is a very pretty bay. After packing up we headed on to the Elliston Clifftop drive , a very spectacular drive, with caves, sheer cliffs, sculptures and very beautiful lookouts. It was a great drive. We then headed a bit further towards Streaky bay and did the Talia Caves Drive, this also was very beautiful. Then on to Venus Bay lookout. We had to miss our next stop which was the Seal Colony at Baird Bay due to lack of light. A common theme in my tour director’s portfolio. We then headed to Murphy’s Haystacks which was very cool due to the sun setting. It made for beautiful colours on the rocks. Last stop was Streaky Bay Foreshore Caravan Park which we arrived at after dark. Always a challenge to find your new home in the dark. Another fantastic 30 second setup. We headed off to the pub for dinner, lured by the reputation of delicious King George whiting and oysters. We ran into a couple of Avoca friends, Ali, Johnny Mitch, Chris and Lesley Raley. We only travelled 2,150km to see them. That’s called being a good friend.

Very tired tonight even though we did touristy things today and didn’t drive as far as yesterday. Another big day tomorrow.

Sunday 8th April 2018
Well what an interesting character the host of Penrose Park Campground was last night. He was in his element as he was born in the western suburbs of Sydney and had lived parts of his life in Somersby, Wyong and Kincumber. So he was on for a chat. The park was another rustic setup and our first experience of red dirt and flies.

We had intended to go see the sunrise at the nearby Mundi Mundi lookout but didn’t wake in time. We went to the lookout after we packed up and as it turned out the sun would have been better in a sunset viewing so felt better about missing the sunrise.

We then headed into Silverton, a Silver mining town established in 1881. This is a one dirt road town with a pub, cafe , a couple of galleries and the Mad Max Museum. They also have a few resident donkeys who shelter under the awning of the pub. Being Sunday everything was closed till after 10, so we had to be happy being the lone visitors to the town.

Then off to the Broken Hill Sculpture Park. We enjoyed this as the view enhanced the experience of the artwork. We still aren’t really art connoisseurs but it was enjoyable all the same. We didn’t have time to do the other walks but will leave that for next time. We may go there for sunrise or sunset as it would be beautiful.

Next stop Streaky Bay, a small 800km drive today. I might have to do my share of the driving. Unfortunately Streaky Bay is not to be for tonight as they were booked out (it is peak fishing season}, so we are headed for Elliston, 130km SE of Streaky Bay. It is quite late and I am writing today’s blog as DB drives in the dark, concentrating hard to avoid the kangaroos on the side of the road. Only one so far, cross your fingers there are no more. We will put our quick setup to the test tonight as we won’t arrive until 8.30pm. DB loves SA as there are no diddoomps {cateyes} on the road.

Yay for the new tent. We were setup and eating dinner in the camp kitchen within about 20 minutes of our arrival. A very big day. 879km.

Tomorrow is a rest (tourist) day.

Saturday 7th April 2018
Well we had a great sleep for the first night in our new tent at Nyngan River Tourist Park. A very rustic, pretty campground. Plenty of sleeping room, well ventilated and quite comfortable. We will try a few tweaks to the internal setup tonight, but overall we are very happy with our purchase.

We woke early with the intention of having a paddle on the Bogan River. After a little deliberation and some coffee, with boards in hand we headed out on to the river. An unusual sight for the other campers I am sure. We did a great session through farmland, with lots of birds (hawks, sulphur crested cockatoos, and others I couldn’t determine without my eyes in) and dogs joining us for our training session at the start of another beautiful day. The temperature was comfortable and the water temperature was also pleasant. A great start to the continuation of our training program as we travel the 4000km to Scarborough Beach prior to competition next week.

After a quick shower, breakfast and packup (about 2 or 3 mins for the tent), we started on our way again. 600km down only 3400km to go. Today’s destination Broken Hill or Silverton. Well the driving is a bit the same. Long, straight roads through the plains of Central NSW. There was an incredible amount of road kill. Many, many kangaroos, some wild boars and a few emus. We have also seen many living, kangaroos, emus and goats along the road. I am managing to do a bit more driving than usual. Thanks Ali for the Coffee Coconut Water introduction in Tasmania. It sure has increased my capacity to drive further. I think that is definitely appreciated by David.

Out first stop was at Fort Bourke Hill Lookout the viewing platform for the historical site of Cobar’s first gold Mine.The pit started out as a small open cut mine in the late 1890’s. Peak Gold Mines now operates an underground mine at Fort Bourke.

After a quick lunch we continued along the straight roads with similar scenery, it is still pretty. It was enjoyable and easy driving.

As we got closer to Wilcannia the scenery became quite green. The drive through Wilcannia was as expected, like a ghost town, hardly a person to be seen. The dirt is getting a little bit more red and I am really looking forward to the contrast of colours as we head further west.

We continued to drive to Broken Hill along more straight roads through the plains of the outback. A lovely drive even though the scenery is very similar the whole way. Broken Hill is a large town, population 17,814. We then headed to Silverton for our campground for this evening. Once again we caught the sunset as we entered Silverton. The colours were very beautiful.

Friday 6th April 2018
Well we are off on another adventure, this time around our own beautiful country. First we are headed to Scarborough Beach Western Australia to compete in the Australian SLS Championships. Then onward who knows where for a couple of months.

As usual we were struggling to get organised as little things popped up to delay us (ie last minute purchase of a new rooftop tent). The new tent should have made packing easier as all bedding is in the rooftop tent, so theoretically more room. Don’t know what happened but we need some more work with our building blocks to find a more efficient packing system. Oh well we have about 90 days to perfect it.

As expected didn’t leave yesterday. After getting to bed at midnight we still had a few things to do in the morning to get going but all in all we were going well for us.

Getting an early start at 5.30am to try and see the kids at Belmont North on the way and before school started we finally got on the road at 7am. Twenty minutes in to the trip we had missed every traffic light on the way to Wamberal. “Broadbent luck” is DB’s description. I hope it improves. We managed to see the kids and Andi for her birthday for about 30mins. Well done. We hung around for a little while after school departure then set off about 11am. After a detour to BCF and Wallsend Swimming Pool to pick up parts for our new tent that weren’t available when we collected it and didn’t arrive in the post yesterday, we were on our way. It didn’t take long to get into the countryside. Yay! We love it and can’t wait for this adventure to unfold.

As we drove the road quickly change from dual lane highways to single lanes through little towns and country plains. It is very beautiful. There are so many long straight stretches. Quite amazing.

We had a quick lunch stop at Merriwa, a little country town and then kept driving towards Nyngan As we headed west the plains got a little drier but were still beautiful.  The sunset along the way was beautiful. As always we arrived at our stop for the night in the dark, Nigel and Graham had arrived at about 4pm and were setup ready for dinner. Now to put our new setup to the test. Well it surpassed all expectations. We had our tent setup in about 1 minute and we had eaten within about 40 minutes. Love it. After a lovely dinner, we hit the sack early for us at about 10pm.