Melbourne

Here are some views of Melbourne which has been home for the last 2 weeks. They say time flies when you're having fun and the blog has been a little neglected as a result. Above is the CBD taken from the Mornington Peninsula.
The Royal Botannical gardens are a lush haven a short walk from the center of the city. They have an impressive variety of plants in tranquil settings.
Bridge over the Yarra River with St Pauls Cathedral in the distance. It supposedly has the tallest spire of any Anglical Cathedral in the world although it doesn't look all that high!

Boat / rowers on the Yarra River.
Federation Square in the heart of the city. Impressive variety of galleries, ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) and Information Office as well as some cafes and bars. There is free wireless internet to be enjoyed if you have your own computer. My favorite is the ACMI where you can choose from thousands of films in the library and watch them in booths with up to 5 people, for free! There is also a large variety of historic film from as far back as 1897 and documentaries on Australian and Victorian history/culture.

I am yet to photograph the trams but they are a good way to get around. They have evolved from cable-drawn to electric power although at one point their future was looking uncertain. I heard they were saved by one of the mayors who, being an avid supporter, managed to get the tracks layed in concrete so that they were there to stay.

Below is a bike shed at a community environment park called CERES (Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies). They take in abandoned bikes and strip them, restore and re use the parts to make new bikes. They also grow organic veg and rear chickens organically. They rely on renewable energy - mainly solar but some wind, use composting toilets and are generally earth friendly. They have a website :
http://www.ceres.org.au/whatisceres

Victoria

London Bridge, Great Ocean Road.
The Great Ocean Road. 12 Apostles - busy spot with tourists for good reason. Dramatic coastline.

A freak wave caused by the reflection of a previous wave back in to the sea from the base of the cliffs.
A Koala at sick animal sanctuary. (Basically an animal lovers garden)
Roos chilling in the midday heat.
My fellow travelers spotted this Galah on the side of the road. It had been hit by a car. After freeing it from the bushes it was trapped in we took it to an animal sanctuary. It has a strong set of jaws as I found out! It bit a hole right through my nail into the finger.
Travelers and Toyotas
I have been traveling with some fellow explorers since the Nullabor. This was a beautiful spot we found in Victoria where the Aire River meets the coast. It was a haven for birds. Swimming in the brackish water was refreshing and so were the beers on the bridge afterwards.
We made it all this way from West Australia! I hope the bridge holds...
View of the campsite and bridge from the top of the hill.
Another free campsite near Dartmoor. More koalas were heard in the trees above us.

Adelaide

Sculpture in Adelaide. Pigs!
Real animals this time - Pelicans and Swans as well as Moorhens were strutting around the parks.


Quite an attractive city - couch surfed for a night and took a walk around. The following day was the Big Day Out festival but tickets were sold out.

Into South Australia

Sunset on Perlubie Beach, North of Streaky Bay, South Australia
Cave on the coast approaching Port Lincoln
National Park at Port Lincoln. Much of this land has been left untouched since the early explorers mapped the area. I went for a swim in shark infested waters. Apparently there is a tuna fishing operation round the corner and it is a feeding ground for Great Whites. At least I know for next time.
Single Mangrove surviving in the salt water, North of Port Lincoln
Wheat belt of South Australia - gentle rolling hills. Time to swap my Western Australian Emu bitter for South Australia Coopers Pale Ale. Tasty!
Camping has been largely free or minimal fee for as long as I can remember. A few places have honesty boxes for a few dollars but much of the land in the National parks and road sides is only a few dollars a night or completely without charge!

Crossing the Nullabor

This sign greets you as you turn on to the Eyre highway.

"Where are you headed? " I was asked in the petrol station.
"Sydney" I said.
"Down the road, turn right and keep going for 4000 kilometres" was the reply. I laughed slightly nervously as I considered all the moving parts that could fail on my 1986 Toyota and the distance I was about to take it.


Much of the way there is vegetation - trees, shrubs, grass etc. However the road does pass through the South part of the Nullabor plain. This was one of the last trees before the plain starts and it is easy to see why not many survive after this point. This area experiences extremes of temperature, lack of water and strong winds (guess which way they blow!)
Nullabor roadhouse - on the outskirts of the plain. Mobil petrol station (I thought Mobil was no more)
A welcome sight on day 2. The Great Australian Bight.
An emergency air strip on the road. There were several of these during the journey for the Royal Flying Doctors Service.
90 Mile Straight. Australias longest straight road. Apparently there is an attractive nymph who frequents the desert near the road! So I was told - I looked but must have missed this time. I was tempted to turn round and look again but thought better of it.
The Nullabor. Tree-less but plenty of shrubs as far as the eye can see.
All things considered it wasn't lonely or boring or even that long a drive compared to what I was expecting. Sure it is a long way and if the car fails a big (and expensive) problem but it was just over 20 hours actual drive time between the towns of Norseman and Ceduna.

I passed one man on a push bike - that is a real challenge.

Two peoples Bay

I forgot to put these pictures in of my favourite camping spot so far - Two Peoples Bay , East of Albany. I camped metres from the beach.

Gold mining country - Kalgoorlie - Boulder

This is the Super Pit where the gold is no longer found in nuggets but needs to be extracted from the dust and rock. Each dump truck carries several hundred tonnes of rock but only around 1 gram of gold is extracted from each tonne.

This road up the side of the super pit is as wide as a 6 lane motorway. The dumper truck at the top of the picture is 166 tonnes and can take a payload of 225 tonnes. It dwarfs the regular lorry in the bottom of the picture.
This was once a very busy station.
Some old miners houses. I'll take my tent thanks.
Nice looking hotel. I would like to have stayed here but ended up free camping out of town in a picnic area. Parked my tent on an ants nest and spent the night squashing the suckers. Saw a great sunset and sunrise though!

Below is a 60's buffet car which was in regular use on the Perth - Kalgoorlie line.

In the late 19th Century Paddy Hannan and his friend Flannigan found gold here.As you would imagine this prompted a gold rush and Kalgoorlie was once one of the largest towns in Australia.
Today it is home to the "Super Pit" - many of the old shaft mines were bought up by one developer called Bond and he began a huge open cut mining operation.

They have been digging the same hole for over sixty years so as you can imagine it's not one you'd want to fall down. I'll let the pictures to the talking.

Apart from that there are a few interesting buildings, a brothel scene that is ignored by authorities as it is deemed a historic part of the town and an old steam railway. Unfortunately the steam engine was not running at the time of my arrival! I considered waiting but they said it will be at least 3 years before the engine and track have been restored.

Time to move on... to the Nullabor plain which will probably take me a few days so see you on the other side! It is around 2700kms from Perth to Adelaide. I am 550kms East of Perth. Its a long way so I've got some good tunes for the car.