Well Fi may have seen the first kangaroo (which no one else saw so it couldn’t be confirmed) but I saw the first camel 🙂
Was late this afternoon after we had travelled through the Nullabour and well into the Fraser ranges that by chance I spotted a camel in the bush. No one else saw it, so after a couple of quick u-turns, we went back for a look. Was about 50m off the side of the road, and it was difficult to get a good picture, so I did my best Steve Erwin impersonation, and snuck through the bush for a closer shot. Wasn’t easy sneaking through the bush trying not to scare it off while looking for snakes, but I did manage to get about 15m away before it gave up posing and headed into the bush.
That was probably the most exciting thing of the day, which doesn’t say much!!
Beyond that there was kilometer after kilometer of straight road, including the longest straight road in Australia which claimed to be 146km with no bend!!
I also discovered today that when passing road trains it is better to announce yourself first on the CB. Most truckies are very friendly and can guide you around given they have a much clearer view of the road ahead from up high. I also got a few comments about how strange it was to be passed by a caravan instead of the other way around, but I soon let them know I am no slow grey nomad!!
It is also worthwhile leaving the CB on channel 40, as the wide loads will announce themselves first, letting you know how wide they are so you know how far to move over. There is some very big machinery crossing the Nullabour on the back of trucks!!
We also had a bit of a problem today. The toilet in the van is full as there was no dump point in Eucla. This meant no on the road wees, so I had to introduce the kids to the concept of a bush wee. Now Zac and I had no problem with this, but the girls seemed to struggle…. especially the oldest one!! For the two youngest, it was a bit of a novelty, but that very quickly wore thin.
Anyway, we made it to Norseman today and will head off to Hyden tomorrow to visit Wave rock and the cave of some Aboriginal that legend says used to eat kids… always helps to keep the kids on their toes when traveling long distances in the car!!! From there it is only 3 hours to Perth, so we will have crossed from one side of the country to the other is just 6 days 🙂
PS – Happy Birthday for today Mel… sorry I can’t share birthdays with you this year, but you are most welcome to join us in Hyden tomorrow for a party…. it is just a plane flight and short 3 hour drive from Perth 😉
