The Last Post

May 5th.

The weather was nice, so we stayed an extra day in Esperance. We did a bike ride to the Pink Lake and then back along the coast bike trail.

Pink Lake. It hasn't been Pink for decades.

May 6th.

Left Esperance today and are starting the long drive home. Stopped in at Norseman for fuel and extra supplies, then headed off down Eyre Highway to 10 Mile Rocks, which is in the Fraser Range.

We are camped among the Salmon Gums, which are magnificent to look at this time of year after they shed their bark.

10 Mile Rocks camp.

Salmon Gums.

Salmon Gums sunset.

Roast Beef.

May 7th.

The mist came in overnight, and everything is wet. We packed up and headed back onto the highway. It drizzled with rain for the first couple of hours, and then the sun came out. We are camped at Moondini Bluff. It is very green across the Nullarbor at the moment.

Bush sculpture.

The Plain from Moondini Bluff.

May 8th.

Showers on and off all day, we kept going to a free camp near Penong and had a fire. The evening wasn't too bad, and the sky cleared. We did a bit of stargazing, looking for satellites until the clouds rolled in again.

Another shower to drive through.

Bush TV.

May 9th.

It was a long travelling day today. We have come off the Nullarbor and picked up supplies in Ceduna. We stopped at Poochera for lunch and had a look around the little museum in town. More rusty old farm equipment. One of the interesting items was Peter's humpy made of recycled kerosene tins. Peter was a local hermit. We arrived in Kimba, our favourite free camping spot. The facilities here are magnificent, better than some of the caravan parks we have stayed in. There was a car club in town from Port Lincoln that we got chatting to in the pub. Comparing stories of what we had when we were young and what we should have kept.

Kimba.

Pete's Humpy.

May 10th.

We stayed in Kimba and extra day and did a couple of the local walks. One is a sculpture walk called the Roora Trail. The sculptures are made of off-cuts of round bar welded together. We went to the camp kitchen for tea and met a few people, had a good yarn swapping travel tips. We pointed the French couple to Koonalda Homestead when they crossed the Nullarbor.

Our favourite monotreme - Echidna

Mallee Fowl

You know what they are - Kangaroos

Eagle

Wombat

They called this one a Goanna, but it hasn't got any legs.

Kimba Painted Silo

May 11th

We are camped at Wilmington at a lovely little spot called Stoney Creek. Had a walk around town and sussed out the local rail trail. We then went back to camp, lit the fire and cooked a stir-fry tea over the open fire.

Heading towards Horrocks pass.

Stony creek camp.

Wilmington Memorial hall.

Stony creek camp.

Good coals.

May 12th

Today we drove into Melrose and got the bikes off the ute at the Showgrounds and rode to Willowie along the rail trail. Willowie is at the base of the Mt Remarkable National Park. We rode back towards Melrose and did a short ride the other way towards Booleroo. There are lots of big Old Redgums around the Wilmington and Melrose area. We finished the ride in Melrose with a drink at the local pub.

The Pub with no beer.

You don't expect this in the middle of the road.

Rail trail.

Rail ttrail.

Big Old Gum. Linda for scale.

Mucking around with the fire.

May 13th

We left Wilmington today and cruised towards Burra. On the way, we made a short stop in Peterborough to pick up some supplies, then travelled on to Terowie, a town that once had a population of 2,000. When the broad gauge railway arrived from Adelaide in 1880, Terowie boomed, and for almost 90 years, Terowie was the break of gauge going North and South. All freight and passengers changed trains at Terowie. In 1969, the broad gauge was extended to Peterborough, so Terowie began to rapidly decline. Now, only 150 people live there. Many of the stone buildings are now abandoned and falling down.

Terowie Station.

Terowie Main Street

Terowie

Terowie Main drag.

Terowie treasure.

May14th

We spent the day cycling around Burra, visiting all the old historical stone buildings and ruins of the copper mines. We initially wanted to do part of the Mawson Trail, but it started to take us onto roads, so we bailed and went back into Burra to explore the town. We stopped off at the Exchange Hotel for a refreshment, and we got chatting to the barman, who was surprised we knew so much about Iron Knob. He lived there for a few years. He was a good mate of Penny, who runs the museum.

Paxton Square Cottages Burra

Miners Cottages Burra

Red Ruth Reformatry/Prison Burra

Little Hampton ruins

Little Hamption ruins

Little Hampton Ruins

Burra Station

Train Carriage set up for Devonshire tea Burra Station

Old Bridge across Burra Creek

Steam Train Water Tank Burra Station

Secret treasure.

The Exchange Hotel Burra

Reflection Burra Creek

May 15th

We left Burra this morning, it's a bit windy and threatening rain. Our first stop of the day was the little town of Morgan, on the Murray, where they have nearly finished restoring PS Canally. Another town with nice stone buildings.

We stopped for lunch at the Overland Corner Hotel. Built in 1860, it was the post office, police station, and morgue over the years. The meals are huge. Then it was on to Renmark, where we are in a nice caravan park on the Murray. It's a short walk across the old cast-iron lift bridge to Paringa. In the evening, we were invited to join the neighbours and sit around their campfire and had a nice old chat.

PS Canally Morgan

Renmark Paringa Bridge across the Murray River

Silo Art Paringa

Art Trail Paringa

May 16th

We took our umbrellas for a walk around Renmark and along the Murray. It has rained all day. After lunch, we took a trip out to the Woolshed Brewery and watched the pelicans flying around and catching their dinner.

It's still raining.

View from the Woolshed Brewery beer garden.

May 17th

We were making a push for home, but it was going to be after dark by the time we got there, so we pulled up at the Apex park in Donald. Went for a walk around town and a last holiday drink, then Chinese for tea.

Mural Main St Donald

Donald Court House & Post Office

May 18th

Arrived Home, no need to mow the grass, the Kangaroos have done a good job keeping it low.

Distance Travelled by Car 10,199

Distance Cycled. 461.Km

Fuel used 1,634.22

Average fuel consumption 15.8 L/100km

Maximum fuel price $3.23

Minimum fuel price $1.60

Total Fuel Cost $4000.72

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