Kalgoorlie - Day 12

Mackenzie -  We got ready then we went to the museum, its a museum about this area and mining.  It has got a elevator and you go up to the top and look at the whole town.  It has lots of old animals and lots of gold.  Then we drove down to the Broad Arrow Tavern, we had chips and played in the playground.  We wrote our names on the wall, you are allowed to write your names on the pub walls and roof.  We drove back into town and went to IGA to get dinner and every time we stop the car Bentley barks so we got him a thunder shirt.  We went back to the caravan park and went in the pool for a while.  We had faijitas for tea and a donut.

                                                 me with a dingo - the dingo is stuffed

                                                 I wrote my name on the wall at the pub

Fletcher:  We had a nice day today.  It started off when we went to the museum, we went on the big mining shaft right at the front of the museum, you can see all of Kalgoorlie from the top.  The 1st floor is about animals, there are a lot of extinct animals in the museum that are stuffed and a lot of information about them too.  The second floor is about how people used to live and the 3rd floor is the vault that keeps all the gold.  In the back yard of the museum there is a cottage.  There is a lot of old stuff in the cottage and that house is how people used to live.  There is also a police cart and there is a very posh office, one office represents the area Perth and the other represents Kalgoorlie.  We also saw Mulga Bills bike that he made.  The next thing we did was a little drive around.  For lunch we went to a pub called the Broad Arrow tavern, the chips were nice.  Then we had a little drive and took a photo of my Auntie Janes old house.  Then we came back to the caravan park and had a swim.

                                                      up the top of the mine museum

                                                          Kalgoorlie from up high

                                                          Mulga Bills Bike that he made

We had a great day today.  We went to the museum for what we thought would be a quick look but we spent hours there.  Such an interesting place.  We took it in turns of minding Bentley in the beautiful gardens of the museum, there were little tracks, manicured grass and lots of seats and picnic tables.  The kids explained the museum pretty well I think, it was 33 metres tall and the glass lift took you probably 3 quarters of the way up with an amazing view of Kalgoorlie.  I even went up, my fear of heights isn't getting any better but I hold on at all times and feel a little secure.  The cottages out the back are all donated to the museum and are filled with furniture from the appropriate time, the kids were shocked to see an outside laundry and horrified to see the outside toilet.  There was a camp style setup that reminded us all of the bases at Harkaway Primary so Fletcher was in his element and was studying it hard for ideas.  We drove out to the Broad Arrow Tavern which was a sight to see,  there were names on every inch of the walls, ceilings, chairs, tables, bar, well you name it if it stood still long enough it had graffiti on it.  We all had a turn of writing our names on it and watched people returning and searching for where they wrote their names last time.  We had brought bread & packed the car fridge with cold meat but by the time we got out to the tavern we had decided a big bowl of chips to share sounded more exciting.  The Broady Burger is what they are famous for and the group that came in while we were there all ordered a burger!  We had a drive around town and found one of the houses that Jane had lived in.  We have met a lot of really nice people so far and today was no different, a young couple at the pool who set off 3 weeks ago from Echuca, his work contract as an electrician had come to an end and she wasn't 100% happy in her role. So a month ago they made the decision to pack up and go, towing a trailer with his tools and they are sleeping in a tent!  They hope to get work along the way and intend to be away 12 months but think it may be indefinitely if they find work.  I'm thinking 12 months in a tent is waaaaaay to long.  We got our Bentley a thunder shirt today, something we had seen on Dr Harry some time ago and the pet shop suggested it today to help with his anxiety.  It is made from t-shirt material and fits snuggly to his body on his pressure points to help with a lot of things like, fear of thunder, separation anxiety, barking, car & travel anxiety, excitability- ok I wont go on but as you can see our boy ticks all the boxes.  So fingers crossed he will relax a bit, if not it has a 100% satisfaction guarantee.  Daniel took us on a drive around the industrial estate and he was so blown away with all the trucks and machinery, taking countless photos of their yards.  We also went to see Cameron's old work.  Dan is loving the road train  country but feels like he just isn't getting enough photo opportunities, the trucks are continually working so there are very few that are pulled up in stops or yards for him to get photos of. We pulled over on the highway and I tried to get a photo of one driving but it is near impossible to fit all the trailers in the photo, I got the trailers in just not the prime mover - fail ! But Dan likes it and wants it on the blog?!

                              Looking up at Ivanhoe headframe, from the viewing platform

                                       British Arms Hotel - the most narrow pub in Australia

                                       The 2 Up shed north of Kalgoorlie - come in spinner

The kids new base

                                               My attempt at a "triple" on the move

The Broad Arrow Tavern

Kalgoorlie - Day 11

 This schooling thing has whiskers on it!  So probably alot of it has to do with me having no training what so ever.  The kids are really doing great with the school work but I have no idea, I give them 10 spelling words each week topical to what we are doing and when I get the "you can't be serious" look I realise the words are not ok- too hard or too easy.  I think I finally worked it out tonight what to do.  So although it is school holidays in Victoria the kids and I have decided that we will work through the holidays so we dont do as much each day.  Funny tonight when Dan was giving them some words, at 1st they ignored him and then they looked to me to whether to use the words.  Clearly I am their preferred teacher - he of course wasnt impressed.  We spent the day around town, it's funny to see how differently the kids are when they are in control of their own money.  They got treated with some money from a few very kind people and they are being very sensible (tight almost) with it.  And they are keeping track down to the cent what they have spent.  The kids had time in the pool this afternoon, although it was a hot day and its 9.50pm and we still have the air con running the pool was so cold.  They had some fun though.  We went to the blast at the superpit at 5pm tonight, you just can not explain how big this hole in the ground is.  Aparently it can be seen from space.

                                                                    the superpit

A blast at the superpit

  The dump trucks are almost insignificant in realation to the hole and are just a dot on the landscape, when in real life they are absolute monsters with a man Daniels height not even measuring close to the height of their wheels.  The blast itself was weird, not knowing what to expect, there was a crowd at the lookout and we all waited trying to guess where it would go off.  We watched as all the dump trucks left the mine and lined up on the out skirts of the massive hole and a speaker at the lookout started to sound a siren to inform us we had 5 minutes, we could hear the 2 ways talking back & forwards but they were very hard to understand.  The siren sounded the whole time before the blast & during.  We felt the ground tremble before we even heard the blast, so when we saw the dirt & dust rising up it was bizzare because it was like a delayed reaction because we had felt it already.  By now we knew exactly where to look and were lucky enough to see them blast again, this time we saw the full impact and saw the dirt go up & come back down to the ground followed by the dust cloud.  It was very movie like and over in a moment.  A photography course is on my list of things to do when I get back because these amazing moments really arent being done any justice on my little digital.  We drove out to the airport at sunset to see some planes come in, quite a big airport.  I look back on conversations with Cam & Jane over the years and I just had no idea how wrong my thoughts of a little mining town-very remote etc were.  In comparison this is probably bigger in size than Mildura or Traralgon.  Back to the van to cook some tea and some school work.  We changed caravan parks this morning and were lucky enough to get an ensuite site for $39 a night- last night we paid $58 for a powered site, its hard to work out how the fees work.  The kids were so tired tonight, the heat, swimming & all the outdoor play is tiring them out so they will be back on here tomorow for sure.

                       the van at kalgoorlie, most parks have been rock rather than grassed sites

                                                                       at the superpit

Kalgoorlie - Day 10

Mackenzie - Today we mostly were driving, we stopped at Norseman and I got a certificate for crossing the Nulabor and we set up at the caravan site and there is a pool and a playground.  We didn't have lunch oops, but for dinner we had Maccas dinner pack.  A little while later we drove to the super pit, it is 400 m deep, we watched the sun go down.

us at night in a scoop off a dozer at the superpit at night

 

Fletcher :  Today we left from Esperence to Kalgoorlie.  We stopped at Norseman and got a certificate for travelling on the nullabor.  Then we drove to Kalgoorlie, we went to the caravan park we are staying at and played in the playground.  For dinner we went to McDonalds, we got there too early so we had to wait for there dinner pack.  Then we rang my poppie because it was his birthday.  We had dinner then we drove around town, we went to the mine where my uncle & auntie used to work at called the superpit.  We went to the lookout and looked at all the machines working at night.  The superpit is 400metres deep.

                                                                   Me at Bromus dam

 

We had a few stops to do this morning before we left Esperance, one being for a new jockey wheel for the van.  It had become increasingly harder to wind up & down and this morning it gave up, luckily at the exact same moment we hitched it to the tow ball.  So although today was only about 400kms we didn't make it in to Kalgoorlie until quite late in the afternoon.  So late in fact a few caravan parks were booked out.  We stopped along the way for the kids to get their certificates for  crossing the nullabor. Some sight seeing at Bromus dam and way too many kms stuck behind a wide load vehicle, it was a harvester that took up both lanes, quite a sight to see.  Once we set up we had a drive around town, it was nice to see some familiar shops to home and Fletcher was really excited to see an EB Games.  The town is actually bigger than you would think and every 2nd person is in the fluro orange & blue work gear. There is so many pubs, most offering skimpies - scantily clad waitresses - sorry Dan no pub lunches for you in Kalgoorlie!  Daniel has been here before with his best mate Cameron but it was about 13 years ago and he has great memories of the place.  A quick trip out to the Superpit to see it at night but it didnt photogragh well at all, but it is amazing to see, we will go again in the morning to see it during the day.   As we drove through the day and snacked on musli bars and treats out of the basket, it wasn't until 4pm that we realised we hadnt had lunch - parents of the year!  So today we treated ourselves to McDonalds- my 1st ever Big Mac- well if you count it as a Big Mac without the meat in it !  So it was a lettuce, cheese & special sauce on a bun that I filled with fries.  Dan on the other hand had a big mac plus my 2 pieces of meat - 4 meat patties in his burger, it was as big as the superpit!  We are all tired today for some reason and can't believe we are at day 10 already.  A call to Poppie for his birthday, which was nice to touch base with home.  Only to learn it was a terrible day in Melbourne with rain, we on the other hand had 28 degrees and had the car air conditioner going a fair part of the day.  We gave Bentley a haircut tonight, we brang his clippers along to keep him from getting long & matted fur, so what started as a quick trim because he had grease on his tail- who knows where that came from??  ended up being an all over cut to a number 2, still fluffy but much tidier.  Although its been great to be remote, it is also great to have the luxury of technology as I get to recieve & send texts to my dear friends who I miss already. 

                                                                     Bromus Dam









Esperance - Day 9

Mackenzie - Today Fletcher and I went onto the jumping pillow, we went out to the shop and got bread for lunch.  We came back to our caravan park and had lunch, we went back on the jumping pillow and the whole family went to the stonehenge.  For dinner we had meatballs.

                                                                us at stonehenge
Fletcher:

me sneaking into Mackenzies photo

It was a nice day today at Esperence.  It is our last day here.  Today we went for a little drive, then we went to the car wash and it took forever to wait.  We came home for some lunch.  We also went to bunnigs and mum got a little easter egg from the man.  We went to the beach as well and the breeze was nice and cool there, we drove on the sand. For lunch we had sandwiches and dad brought spring rolls.  Mackenzie and I jumped on the jumping pillow while mum was busy in the van.  Then we got an icy pole, later on we went to stonehenge, its a exact replica not the real one.
 Then we had some dinner.

Today was a sleep in says Daniel - 7am I think not !  We had a lazy morning at the van, alot of people were leaving the park which was great because it was really busy and with only 5 toilets and 4 showers, the people to facilities ratio just didnt add up.  We took a drive back into town and more ships had come in overnight as there were 2 on the wharf loading grain and 1 loading iron ore and 3 anchored in the bay waiting to come in.  The police presence wasnt as full on today, they seemed to be everywhere yesterday.  We got stuck at the train line while a train carrying iron ore into the wharf went through, I have never seen a longer train & as we were the 1st car at the crossing we would have given the driver a laugh when he sounded his horn we all jumped  a mile.  I have to write about the bakery, what wasnt in there wasnt worth eating, it was amazing.  I called Dan into have a look and waited out the front with the kids, Fletcher did his best detective job but all he could report was he had something in a bag!  Well Dan shocked us all when he opened his paper bag - not a pie!  But it was his next best product in his job of being a qualified taste tester- spring rolls.  We went for a drive down to the boat ramp and drove a little bit on the beach,there wasnt much room to drive where we were and on the other side of the water there was heaps of room and a heap of cars but we just didnt know how to get across there.  Back to the van for lunch and a bit of lego time for the kids, they play so well together (when they are not driving each other crazy!)  They made a train set up, she made an amazing platform and he made a great train, both very like original ones.  We went to Esperence Stonehenge, this is a must for everyone and we promised the owner we would spread the word in Melbourne - pop on over everyone and see it!  It is an exact replica of the original Stonehenge in the UK, set on a hill on someones private property.  Someone had commisioned the quarry to do it and the quarry worked on it and then the people pulled out!   The current owner decided as he was so close to the quarry and had the land he would have them finish it and he would set it up.  Kim, the owner, was a very interesting man and we talked for ages.  He was even kind enough to let us tie Bentley to his pergola post so we could all go in together.  I can't explain the feeling being in it, it was an awesome sight to see but to walk around it and in it was a strange feeling.  The lady working there said people get pins & needles, their heart rate changes etc, I actually believe it could be true, it was a strange wonderful feeling. 137 stones of Esperance pink granite, the 10 Trilithon stones in a horseshoe pattern weigh between 38-50 tonnes each, standing with the 18tonne lintels to a height of 8 metres.  The structure is aligned with the summer solstice sunrise, the station stones are positioned on this line to allow the sun rays to pass through to the alter.  The photos and details of how it was physically set up is amazing, it took from jan to oct to install with no works for 11 weeks in the middle as it was too wet for machinery on the property.  The grass rivals that of any golf course green I have ever seen.  Anyway I could go on for ages about it, go and see it.  Back to cook tuscan spagetti meatballs for tea in the van and some blog time for the kids.  We are on the move again tomorrow and are 2 days ahead of schedule which gives us the 2 days up our sleeve to stay extra along the way. 

Esperence - Day 8

Happy Easter everyone.  Who was up at 5.15am ?  The Power kids were!  I think the anticipation of whether the easter bunny would find us out on the sheep station just got too much for them.  And of course he found us, we had seen evidence of bunnies on the station so knew he had friends there, he was very generous to the kids and he also hid some little eggs around the van.  It was a fun morning but we decided to pack up and keep moving, there were so many walks, hikes & tours to do on the property but we wanted to make it through to Esperance to spend a few days.  Petrol at Norseman was back down to $1.66, making a huge difference to the bill today.  A pretty easy drive today - well easy on me being the passenger! - only 300kms.  The kids have settled into a good routine in the car and are barely asking" are we there yet" but the clock in the car set on melbourne time is causing no end of confusion for them so i think its time we changed it over.  We have started packing a little plastic basket each morning full of snacks for the drive, only stopping for toilet breaks and to make lunch, which is making a difference on our timing and cutting out the constant "I'm hungry mum"  With 4 caravan parks in Esperance we did a drive around only to find that most were bursting at the seams, we booked into Pink Lake caravan park, which has a jumping pillow so the kids are rapt.  It is $59 a night and busy so we are finding it hard to be camped so close to people after the last few nights of open spaces.  We went down to the esplanade which is really beautiful, lots of seaweed but such white sand and so many color blues out to the deep ocean.  The port is there too with 2 ships on its wharf & 3 more out at sea waiting.  Many waiting out there as they won't load the grain until it's paid for.  They load iron ore and grain out of Esperance, the grain being local and the iron ore most of which comes from mines further north.  We spoke to a local man who was fixing the miniture steam trains that run around the park on the esplanade.  All volunteers who work in the workshop & locals who donate their time & money to bulid on the already great family area there.  There is a stunning clock tower that chimes every quarter hour & on the hour it chimes and the bells play a tune- today was deck the halls, the kids were laughing because it wasnt christmas but it was so beautiful to listen to.  It starts at 7am and chimes through until 10 pm, no longer allowed to chime through the night as a local had complained of the noise :(  The iron work was done by 2 local men and was a work of art, the young guy was 76 years old and his mate is 83, what great craftsman.  We drove the great ocean drive and saw the most amazing beaches, once again our photos just dont do the rocks, the sand, the ocean or the size of the waves any justice.  The pink lake was a sight to be seen, it was a kind of light purple today but we are told it changes colors depending on the direction you look.  We did a shop for fruit & vegies today as we hadnt had anything fresh since our cleanout at the border.  So vegies in our beef goulash tonight and plenty of fruit for the next few days.  Majority of town was shut being easter sunday but IGA and bunnings were open.   Lots of photos to come, might try to use some of McDonalds wifi tomorrow to see if that works for me.

Fraser Range Station - Day 7

We woke at 5am today, not a time on my dial since the kids were babies but with such early nights,  we've had our 8 hours and are ready to get up.  Another day of driving, we got petrol at Caiguna for $1.97 although we did see it for $1.99, whats 2cents among friends!  Dan also paid a whopping $6 for a coffee, I think even he was shocked.  It rained again on & off for the day, not unusual for us when we travel!  We saw our 1st emus today, we have come such a long way and each day noting we hadnt seen any and we saw heaps today.  We also saw so many wedgetail eagles, such big birds with strong legs, realy graceful in the air but nasty on the ground making a mess of the poor road kill.  Caiguna is where the time changes to West Aust time so a long 329kms of central time where we didnt really know what time we were on.  We travelled through Madura pass which was also a beautiful sight, no where safe to pull up for a photo but got a reasonable shot from the passenger seat while doing 90kms hour.  Today was one of our longer days at well over 600kms, our 1st day being our longest doing over 700kms.  We stopped at Balladonia to see the piece of skylab that fell there many years ago, they have it up on the corner of the roof at the roadhouse.  We made it to Fraser Range Station, what a credit to the owners this place is.  It is 437 thousand acres, the boundary from north to south is 160 kms long & 27 kms wide.  The property is classed as being on the western edge of the nullabor but is a huge contrast to the flat plains, being in a set of ranges.  The property is easy to access on a very well maintained gravel road, as you would expect there is plenty of red dirt but to our surprise there is gorgeous manicured grass, the most colorful flowers of all kinds and trees to provide shade and beautiful views.  All the sites are drive thru so we could stay hooked up as most people did, the sites are in a circular pattern with the toilets, playground and a camp fire area in the middle.  Campfire was at 5pm and we heard many still talking late into the night, what a great way to meet people.  They have all sorts of accomadation & offer alot of tours too, with building works going on at the moment to increase the size of the camp kitchen, but you wouldnt have known it as the noise was not even noticable.   The stars- I've used so many words like amazing & gorgeous & beautiful but i just cant explain the stars, there was so many, so bright, so beautiful, the kids were in a awe, so were we.  Another game before a very early bed, before 9pm in anticipation of the easter bunny coming in the morning. ( still no joy with photos will add them later xx)

Mundrabilla - Day 6

Hi there, we are back again after being out of contact for a few days, such a different kind of quiet without phones, internet etc. This was Good Friday and we were travelling from Ceduna to Mundrabilla.  We stopped at the head of the Great Australian bite at the limestones cliffs that were 90 meters tall, it was breath taking and felt amazing to be there.  Of course there was gooses on the wrong side of the railing, taking photos and risking their lives! We went through the Eucla Pass which was also fantastic, photos we take do not do these places justice.  Petrol crept up to $1.95 at Border Village so to fill up was $154.03 ! We got further than expected, Dan is doing the drives really easy & after gaining another 2.5 hours once we were in Western Australia we had time up our sleeve to keep going.  The time difference is quite bizzare, you have South Australia time, Central time & West Australia time, which are all different. South Aust time is half hour back of Melbourne time, West Aus is 3hrs back of Melb and central was 45mins ahead of Perth & 45mins back from SA - you know we are not sure if that is how it is,  the lady at the quarantine check point tried to explain it but boy it was hard to understand, imagine working in that zone and living in another.  Dan said "I'm confused", she said "Huh your confused, we are confused !!" We saw a white dingo in the wild today, quite a thrill- but over in a moment, no time for a photo which was a shame. The quarantine inspection itself wasn't as scary as thought, yes they do check your fridges, cupboards, boots & back seats, even asking if we had any rubbish that may have been in contact with banned items, but she was a lovely lady who spent more time talking to Bentley & worrying about the wild dog baits that are down at the moment.  The baits are meant to be  20kms north of the border but the crows have built an immunity to them and are carrying them & dropping them in all sorts of places.  We made it through to Mundrabilla, which is just a roadside truck stop really, Mackenzies shocked "is this it!" said it all.  A roadhouse and lots of gravel with a toilet block.  It looked a bit like an old drive inn with the power poles sticking out of the ground to hook up to.  It was so clean & well looked after, great showers & toilets, which were locked & only for "caravan park residents" and all for $20 a night.  We had gorgeous ranges as a back drop which ran for 200kms.  There is so many stops like this across the nullabor and i would recommend a stop at 1 of them, for the experience, to support the hard working people there, the quiet & relaxed atmosphere and the $ savings (tonight we are paying $59 a night in a busy over populated caravan park?!)  We baked cookies tonight - we dont really rough it that bad hey- we thought it would be nice for the trip the next day.  Those choc chip cookies didnt stand a chance, they weren't even cooled and they were all gone.  Dan was in & out most the night to see the road trains pull into the roadhouse.  We played a game of uno and were all in bed by 9.  Photos are not loading at the moment so will add some more in the next few days xx

A family selfie at the great australian bite

Some roadtrains at Mundrabilla