0030 Gold Coast to Perth
1st - 13th June 2021
Being chased by Corona Virus !!!
We have been planning this trip for some months, and with shut downs for Corona having been minimal recently, we thought we would be good to go. We both had our first Astra Zenica jab a few weeks ago, with minimal side effects, and more recently had our annual flu shots. Our second AZ covid shot was booked for while we were in Perth. So our plan was to have a leisurely trip to Perth, taking about 10 days and travelling via Sydney, Yackandandah, the High Country and down to Melbourne, before driving the Great Ocean Road west, up through Adelaide, then across the Nullarbor (only one road !), and on to Perth.
So after all our planning to leave the Gold Coast on 1st June, at the end of May Victoria gets a rampant dose of covid, and every other State closes its borders to anyone who has been in Victoria !! Our first night was planned for Lake MacQuarrie, near Newcastle, which we continued to do even though it was close to the Victorian border, but the next 5 or 6 days of travelling through Victoria had to be cancelled and a new route chosen. In addition, if the virus got out of Victoria and travelled to NSW or SA, thus causing more border closures, we would be forced to travel via Darwin, which would more than double the distance, which was already long enough at some 4000 kms !! And while our dates were reasonably flexible, we were tied by two things - The dates that our son Damien would be in from the oil rig he works on (he is on a 28 on / 28 days off schedule), and the fact that my buddy Jamie had taken leave to travel back with me from Perth, and his flight into Perth and vacation start) was booked for the 20th June.
We set off as planned on the 1st June, and friends Dean and Judy, who needed a place to stay while they build up a new motorcycle and sidecar combination for their ongoing travels around Australia, moved in to look after our house. Our first night saw us heading to near Lake MacQuarrie with friend Tricia,
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| Tricia's bioethanol wall fire |
luck - this was becoming difficult. Unfortunately Dean and Judy weren't moving into our house until the next day, but finally Janet managed to get hold of neighbour Gordon who had a house key, and he found Janet's phone and also took it to mail it to Perth for her. Once he had the phone, he obtained Tricia's contact details and we finally made it to her house !!
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| Morning walk at Lake MacQuarrie |
Next morning we went for a gorgeous walk down beside the Lake - Janet & I have never been to this part of the world before, and it really is delightful. Walk done, Tricia served us a hearty breakfast, and we were off - We decided to head due west across NSW, via Dubbo. By this time there were reports that the virus had spread into SE NSW, so we decided to cut and run west as fast as possible before anyone else closed borders. Our next night was in Dubbo, and we stayed at our favourite Abel Tasman motel which is located right opposite the Dubbo Bowls Club, where we can walk across the road, have a few beers and a good feed, and then walk back to the motel. And it was a good job we did stay in the motel - When we woke up it was POURING with rain, and with rain forecast all day. Thank goodness we weren't camping !!
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| A long drive across NSW |
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| Broken Hill camp site |
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| Wilmington toy museum |
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| Emu's on the road ! |
We drove around the town, which seems to be largely a holiday town for people from Adelaide, and were surprised by the number of emu's wandering around town - We nearly ran over a couple of them when they suddenly dashed across the road ! We then ended u at the Coffin Bay Oyster Farm, where they do tours of the oyster farms in the bay. We didn't do the tour - It was quite wet and windy, but we found a table in the little restaurant, were served by a delightful young French girl who had got stranded in Australia by Covid - and was loving it ! Janet had her oysters, and said they were delicious - I took her word for it, and had
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| Janet & oysters ! |
some scrumptious whiting and chips instead !! No oyster has EVER passed my lips !!!!
From Coffin Bay it was a short 2 hour run up to Streaky Bay, and a camp site right beside the beach - I mean RIGHT beside it, where you step out of bed and onto the sandy beach !! There were pelicans playing in the water as we watched the sun go down - Once again a brilliant sun set. A very pleasant camp site with good showers and facilities before we headed off across the Nullarbor. Next morning we filled up the fuel tanks with cheap fuel before getting away from civilization, and after Ceduna (the kind of unofficial "start" of the Nullarbor), we paused briefly for a photo in Penong. This was important because this is where our French friends Joel and Brigitte were stranded for a week over Easter
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| Pelicans on the beach |
when Troopie blew her water pump during their trip round OZ in her in 2018 ! So a quick selfie and we sent it off to Joel and Brigitte, and then we set off across the long straight road west. First stop was at the Head of the Bight where we went for a walk down to the cliffs to spot whales, who pass through here each year on their annual migration. It is a lovely scenic spot, with walks down the cliffs, and there were a few whales visible in the water, although they weren't exactly "frolicking" !! Just looked like big logs floating in the water !! We then drove on until just before the WA border where we drove down to the edge of the cliffs and camped there with just one other van. They were ex poms who were on
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| Nullarbor cliffs |
their first camping trip ever, and first crossing of the Nullarbor ! Virgins !! I think this is about my 14th time crossing Australia !! The sunset was great, and the clear night sky was just FULL of stars - the Milky Way looked so close that you could almost touch it ! Chilly though !!
Set the alarm to be up for the dawn, and it was even colder ! Rugged up, we waited for the sunrise, and I was hoping the sun would light up the cliffs.........Unfortunately the sun came up just too far round, and although the very tops of the cliffs lit up, the main section didn't. Bugger - Had waited all that time in the freezing cold and dark, only to be foiled by the sun rising in the wrong place !! Ah well........ I have now driven across the Nullarbor some 14 times (not including 2 by
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| Dawn on Nullarbor |
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| Small bird by road |
nestled in her had - I think maybe it had flown into a glass window or something and was temporarily stunned. She took it to some bushes and left it sitting on a branch - Hopefully it was OK. Special moment though, to have a wild bird sitting in your hand.
At noon we stopped at Cocklebiddy road house, and to be honest it really was a disgrace. They have a captive audience, and yet the restaurant is really basic, the hot food looks 5 days old, and the toilets are really disgusting. It would take so little for them to clean it up a little and make it really attractive and a fun place to stop..........Why do people think they can get away with offering such poor facilities ? About the only plus was the funny signed about the local wildlife that was posted outside !! We then drove on to Norseman, where we turned left towards Esperance, and found a really nice roadside camp site set back off the road, and no
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| Road house details ! |
one else was there ! Signs advised us that we were in the Great Westen Woodlands which is the largest remaining area of intact Mediterranean climate woodland left on earth, covering some 16 million hectares - About the size of England !!
Next morning it was off to Esperance - A place many people seem to rave about, but now on my second visit, I still struggle to find anything attractive about it, as did Janet. Sure, it has clean streets and a supermarket which, after the dust and isolation of the Nullarbor, may be refreshing, but to me that isn't enough to make the place "attractive". Anyway, a quick visit to the supermarket to stock up, and a quick coffee, we went up to the local lookout for a view over the harbout, and then we were off west towards Albany.
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| GW Woodlands camp |
It was then on to Denmark, where we went to Boston Brewing, which couldn't have been more different
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| Wilson Brewing, Albany |
- A massive and well established winery that had diversified with a craft brewery. During covid, the brewery had thrived, while the winery had suffered somewhat. So now the brewery is the main attraction, while the brewery is kind of secondary. There was a big restaurant area, and this seems to actually be their main draw card, but as it is just in a large concrete floored area, he doesn't have a lot of character. The building and rural setting it idyllic, but to us the brewery had no soul at all. Additionally we didn't really enjoy their beers........
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| Large Boston Brewing, Denmark |
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| Amazing Karri forests |
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| Rocky Ridge Brewing |
and is a massive operation right on the water front - a bit remeniscent of Little Creatures in Fremantle. A big building, with the brewery and tanks being a main feature as you approached. Once inside, it was obvious that the main attraction was the restaurant - Lots of people in their having lunch, and of course they were often having a beer with their meal, but the main emphasis was on the food, and the beer seemed to be secondary. We tried a couple of their beers, and while they were perfectly drinkable, they didn't make us want to try more. Overall, not our kind of facility at all, although maybe as a restaurant it was good - But we were looking for a brewery, not a restaurant !
So it was off to Perth, and we arrived mid afternoon, in time to meet everyone at the ice skating rink
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| Summit Brewing |
where Poppie was playing Ice Hockey. We had arrived, and it was great to see everyone again after 2 years of Covid. 10 days of hard driving, 7 nights camping, and some 4000 kms - All went well, but we were looking forward to a rest in Perth for a week or so.
Rest of the pics can be seen here :-
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wVUwLrcyhkjZxiMx6
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