Yep, the Rambling Retirees are off on the 'BIG Adventure' - travelling Toowoomba to Albany in W.A. And everywhere in between it seems. Of course the "everywhere-in-between" has no internet or mobile access or signal so any updates to our blog will be limited until we reach Albany where we will be based for four weeks with access to all the mod techs that supposedly make communication easier - at least for those with some techie skills!
So -- here we are in the South Australian town of Port Augusta. No, not in our "cosy" camper trailer tent, but in a very cosy and comfortable motel. Why you might ask? Well, I'll keep that story until later. First, we must back-track (no pun intended folks) to the beginning of our journey. To do that I will take a few excerpts from my daily written journal. So sit back and tag along with the intrepid travellers as we share some of the highlights so far.
FROM the BEGINNING---
We left the comforts of home in the early hours of Friday, 5th September and headed west on one of the shorter legs of our journey - Toowoomba to Bollon - where we camped on the banks of Wallum Creek. Took awhile to find the actual 'free' campsite as listed in WikiCamps but we got there. Somewhat drier than we expected but a lovely spot beside the creek, and it was only for one night. Took just 20 minutes to put up the camper as we didn't bother with all the extras this time. Of course, we had to eat, so the OGO (who by the way is now the OWO - Old WHITE One!) elected to walk to the pub for dinner, a few good pints, and to meet the locals. Great idea - and a great night being Friday chook raffle night.
Day Two -- woke to the sound of brolgas and Mulga parrots around 5am after a very cold night. -- lesson number one - pack more warmer bedding and less food. The sun was shining but there was a very cool breeze so jackets were required as we pulled down the camp ready to move on. Finally on the road again at 10.45am, somewhat later than planned as the OWO got chatting with some fellow travellers from Bundaberg. No time schedule for us today as we were only going an hour and a half down the road to Charlotte Plains Station. Fascinating landscape changes along the way with mulga opening out to salt plains and sandy areas. Espied lots of wild goats along the roadside and a few emus in the paddocks, otherwise very little wildlife to be seen.
The dirt road into the Station was in good condition and lined with lots of beautiful wildflowers. At the Homestead we were met by Michael, and we spent some time chatting before he gave us directions to the campsite --- "Just follow the white painted arrows to the bore head, about 8kms along the track, over the grid, and past the old shearing shed. You can't get lost on this 78,000 acre property, if you do, we'll find you eventually."
This is artesian bore country and the water coming out of the ground is full of minerals and hot, VERY hot, like 43degrees HOT. And our campsite was right on the bore head channel, what a great spot for three days. With plenty of wood supplied by Michael we could have a great campfire and use our camp oven for cooking whilst here. Forty-five minutes later our camp was fully set up and we sat back with a cool drink in hand and marvelled at the beauty of this land - our type of campsite where we had already begun to relax and enjoy the start of our BIG Adventure.
