We left Norseman a little later than we intended after an unscheduled stop at the mechanic. As we drove out of the park that morning we could hear a dreadful noise coming from behind. Bill drove around the block a couple of times and we were sure it was the braking system on the van. He got out and got me to edge forward and we discovered it was one of our back wheels, not the van. With no idea of what it was we thought we'd better get it checked rather than breakdown in the middle of nowhere. The RAC agent was the nearest mechanic and he was able to look at it straight away and 5 mins later we had our problem sorted. A tiny little stone had wedged itself in the wheel and the noise was horrific. He said it would have worked its way out but I think it was definitely worth the $30 to know we were OK.
And so we eventually drove out of Norseman about 11.00am and started our long journey back across the Nullarbor. A quick rest stop at Balladoinia where we still have evidence in the Museum of Skylab falling to earth in the '70's. I'm sure this is not a piece of it. We stopped in a rest area a few hours later for lunch and then kept on driving.
We stopped a couple hours later at Baxter Rest Area where we found a great little spot and set up for the night. Well off the road and away from the other vans we had a nice quiet secluded spot and enjoyed the next few of hours of daylight and Bill finished the day with some amazing pictures of a Yellow Throated Minor feeding it's young charges.
The next morning we drove on continuing the long 'straight' !46.6 kms as we made our way ever Eastwards. A couple of stops for loos and lunch were the highlights of our day. It wasn't long until we were over driving again and so found our campsite for the night just short of Mundrabilla. Jilah Rockholes was another great freecamp site and once again we found a nice little spot way up the back and never heard or saw a thing all night.
Once we had set up and had a drink Bill took a wander with his camera and almost immediately found a flock of Major Mitchell Cockatoos. He was in seventh heaven as he has wanted these birds for ages but we have only seen far off glimpses of them in the past. Not tonight.
They stayed and played for a couple of hours and returned again the next morning to keep his trigger finger busy. They are beautiful birds, though just like their white cousins, very noisy.
The next morning we set off again stopping at Eucla for fuel and coffee. Love the signpost here. I think I want to go to Andy's place next!
We stopped for lunch a few hours later at one of the lookouts over the Great Australian Bight. A much nicer day today so we saw blue sky instead of grey. Still very windy though! A little further on we did stop for the obligatory sign photo!
We drove on only stopping for lunch at another rest stop before finding our next freecamp for the night. This time we stayed just west of Yalata and again drove well down the back to find a lovely quiet, secluded spot.
This time Bill was kept busy with some lovely little Singing Honeyeaters and lots of other little birds most of which were too far away for him to capture.
Driving on the next morning we stopped at Penong for coffee and then turned right and drove 21kms on a very rough road to Point Sinclair. We were going to have a look at Cactus Beach Camp site and stay if we liked it. We loved it, found a site and after lunch walked down to the beach for a look. We found a beautiful little bay and a pretty though rocky beach. The campground is part of a privately owned property and is mainly a camp for surfers, though others are welcome.
Later in the afternoon we took a walk over the sand dunes and found ourselves around the headland in another little bay. From here we found a track back across the headland and enjoyed the walk and the amazing views from here. (Except when the track went too close to the edge). Back on our own little beach we returned to our van for dinner and enjoyed the extra hours of daylight. Yes - we were back in daylight savings time! We returned to the beach after dinner to watch the sunset and while there was not a cloud in the sky it was still lovely.
It was difficult to pack up the next morning but we did that and were soon on our way to Ceduna where our first stop was the Quarantine Station. This time I was well prepared and we had eaten all our fruit and vegetables on the trip across. Just half a lettuce was handed over and we were soon on our way again.
The plan from here was to spend a couple of nights in a caravan park in Streaky Bay while we shopped, washed and filled up our water. On the way we stopped for lunch at Smoky Bay and found a lovely little seaside holiday town. We arrived a little later Streaky Bay but we'll leave that for another day.
until then.........
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