Apr 5, 2013 - Amazing sights along the Nullarbor

We are now in Esperance and have travelled over 4,080 kms and completed the stretch from Ceduna to Balladonia in three days, which includes the longest straight section in Australia of 145 kms between Caiguna and Balladonia. There has been very little traffic going either way which makes for much easier driving conditions, Col usually starts the day and Sue puts in approx. 200 km as the next stint. Highlights have been: • seeing the variety of trees and shrubs that live in these rather harsh conditions—we were surprised that the section...

Jan 19, 2013 - Esperance

Vandaag 380 km tussen Hyden en Esperance afgelegd. We zitten terug aan de kust. Dit deel van de kustlijn kan volgens de toeristische gids bogen op de mooiste stranden van Australie. We hebben vanmiddag wat rondgetoerd en er zijn inderdaad heel zat baaien met witte stranden en een turquoise (woelige) zee. We worden nog echte Aussies ... we zijn vandaag gaan eten in een resto ons aangeraden door een andere gast die we gistern in Hyden hebben ontmoet. Bij de reservatie laten ze ons weten dat ze geen licentie hebben voor bier/wijn en dat - als...

Nov 29, 2012 - Esperance - Latest update

Well here we are in Esperance like all you guys in Perth getting blown away, spoilt it a bit but we had a look around Esperance today doing what they call the Ocean Drive, interesting but we have been unable to do any fishing due to the weather (and also one of us ME getting very frustrated with a fishing reel that just wanted to keep getting tangled)The weather does appear to be calming down a bit at the moment so fingers crossed. We are still in the Cape Le Grand National Park camped at the free camp at the beach, would love to be here in...

Nov 7, 2012 - Around Esperance

Beautiful weather - sun out even though it did try to rain last night. We decided to go out to the Stonehenge replica but when we got there it was closed. So back into town to pick up some supplies (gas/fuel etc) for our trip across the Nullarbor. We also picked up some supplies for our picnic back at the beautiful Twilight Beach. The boys and Dad climbed all over the rocks exploring. The wind was cool but the sun was beautiful. Back into town we explored the main shopping area and The Esplanade which is lined with huge pine trees. We...

Nov 6, 2012 - Esperance...beautiful beaches everywhere

Attempted to rain off and on last night and overcast and cold (again!). Not looking good but we did some planning for the rest of our trip this morning and by lunch the weather had started to clear. We decided to take a drive along 'The Great Ocean Drive'. This took us out past the very large 'pink lake' which perhaps due to cloud cover/time of day was more blue/white than pink. Certainly nowhere near as pink (purple) as some lakes we have seen in other parts of the state. The drive then took us back towards the coast and the wind farm...

Nov 5, 2012 - Heading east to Esperance

Rain most of the night and more this morning as we packed up and headed East. IT would have been nice to spend more time in Albany - some of the national parks and beaches are very nice. However, the weather has not be cooperative. The road was fairly quiet as we travelled firstly along the many tree plantations and then back into sheep/wheat and cattle country. We stopped at Jerramungup, a small farming town for lunch. The boys were really happy as there was a very good playground as well. We then drove onto Ravensthorpe, another small...

Oct 11, 2012 - Thursday in Esperance

Well after a day of much vacillation we are leaving Esperance in the morning. The “hose Assy Oil Return” arrived around 11:00 today after more twists and turns than a John Le Carre Novel. Now they tell me that the fan belt is worn out and needs replacing, yes you may well ask why this was not discovered until now…… But we have picked up the Kia; will pick up the new belt on the way out because if we have a spare we will never need it….. Then we head off back across the Nullarbor so we will be incommunicado for 3-4 days just under a week...

Oct 9, 2012 - Wednesday in Esperance

To ease the boredom we visited the local patchwork shop, I looked for some more 3mm white glass beads Carol looked for some crochet cotton and found some. Then there are the road works in the van park, they are all being dug up and the gravel mixed with cement then re-laid, absolutely fascinating, the 2 guys doing it are very efficient.... BUT then we drove 200 M west along Pink Lake Rd to the Section Glass Gallery. The work is amazing, I appreciate it anyway as I used to do a bit of scientific glass blowing when I worked at CCAE and I made...

Oct 9, 2012 - Tuesday in Esperance

To kill some time today we drove to Condingup, quite a reasonable village; as a local explained the farming around here is very good and gets better until you get to Cape Arid. As it was too early for lunch on to Duke of Orleans Bay then Wharton’s Beach. Really lovely out there; the sand is whiter than a celebrities teeth. It’s about as far east on the south coast of WA you can take a normal van. There is a road thru to Balladonia which is half the distance of going via Norseman but the last 90km is dirt and a local says if I took it easy...

Oct 8, 2012 - Monday in Esperance

We are getting sorted; the parts are as we speak on a plane flying from “the East” (the cheque is in the mail) and hopefully will land at the local airport tomorrow. NRMA have given us a hire car and paid for the accommodation here for another 2 days. So I can’t complain, maybe the Premium Cover for roadside assistance is a bit expensive but when I needed it things have just happened with no fuss or trying to worm out of it. It’s a small town, everyone knows about our Kia, (everyone stood to attention in the park this morning and stared as...

Oct 7, 2012 - Sunday in Esperance

Not much to report today though from my perspective it was quite productive as I spent most of the afternoon making more trolley ears until Carol called a tea break….. The morning was spent trying to clean the oil from the front of the Van and I found the container of “ALDI Industrial wipes” worked very well. I’m going to get the Kia man to service the car as well as fix it and I want him to go over everything before we leave, may delay us a day but it’s better than coming to grief in the middle of nowhere. Then again we may have to wait...

Oct 6, 2012 - The Update we didn't want to have to post

We are back at Esperance. Left at around 8:30 this morning and got to Salmon Gums (about 100km form Esperance) where we decided to stop for a leg stretch and I discovered oil over the front of the Van. Closer inspection revealed that the oil return line from the Turbo to the sump had sprung a leak. Hallelujah we took out Premium Cover with NRMA before we left; actually we have always had it. So far this has cost me $1 for 2 phone calls. The RAC sent out a mechanic who called for a tow truck and we were towed back to the Pink Lake Van Park,...