The journal continues......

KALGOORLIE    -    MERREDIN     -    WYALKATCHEM

 
08-09-2007    -    DAY 15

A windy night as a SW change passed through town.  Had to go out and re-peg the sat dish because it started to lean over when a blow came through.  Mid- morning we went to the IGA in O'Connor and gave the car another hose-over as the wind had also brought a bit of dust and moisture with it.  Then spent an hour looking around Bunnings.  Great place Bunnings, you could rebuild a van if you come often enough. Returned to the van park and had coffee .   For lunch we went to Maccas.  In the afternoon we watched the  AFL game between Crows and Hawks.  In the evening we visited Karen and Tim and had dinner there.  We returned to the van late and watched the end of the NRL game between Manly and Souths.

09-09-2007    -    DAY 16

Sunday morning, my turn to cook breakfast.  Eggs, bacon, baked beans on toast, the breakfast of champions!   Geraldine did some laundry before we headed for town for a coffee at the Kaoss Cafe.  Today is Dannie's birthday, (8yrs old) so we will be visiting her in the afternoon. Took Dannie her birthday pressie in the late afternoon and then we all headed for Hannan's Park to kick a football just like the 'Life be in it' ads.  When the park closed we went home and had a special dinner for Dannie.  Watched  'Pirates of the Carribean II' on foxtel before heading back to the van park.  Weather has cooled right down tonight.  Will put the doona back on.  

10-09-2007    -    DAY 17

This morning we took a drive into town again as Geraldine has plans to do some more knitting on top of the project she is on at the moment.  After emptying K-mart out of all their knitting wool we had coffee at the Kaoss Cafe mid-morning.  Bought some Caravanning magazines at the local Newsagency to peruse in the evenings.  Came back to the van for lunch just in time to see the neighbour's van getting a once over with a steam cleaner on the soft furniture. Spring cleaning the van!   In the afternoon  we tidied up the van and sat around watching the world go by.

11-09-2007    -    DAY 18

Had breakfast with Karen at Maccas then went looking for batteries for camera.   Tried K-mart, Coles, Tandy's , Harvey Norman, Betta Electrical with no luck.  Then Woollies  and as luck would have it they had plenty.  We then returned to van park for lunch and rest.  Later in the afternoon  Karen brought Dannie around after school and we had a cool drink and talked for a while.   In the evening we went to the Cinema and watched, 'The Bourne Ultimatum' a fast paced movie that kept you on the edge of your seat until the last scene.  We then went back to the van park and had an early night.

12-09-2007    -    DAY 19

Cool change came through over-night and we had rain showers during the morning.  The wind came up from the west and was gusty.  We did some shopping at the IGA to top up supplies then headed back to the van and stayed indoors most of the afternoon watching tv because it was cool and windy outside.  Later in the afternoon we picked up Dannie from school and entertained her till Mum picked her up.  In the evening had pizza at Karen's place.

13-09-2007    -    DAY 20

Last day in Kalgoorlie.  Tomorrow we head off to the west and towards Jurion Bay  north of Perth with a deviation to Hyden and Wave Rock on the way.  Today  we tidied up and did last minute shopping.  We had morning coffee at Maccas and then checked out Bunnings again for bits and pieces.  Went to the Superpit lookout at 1pm expecting a blast but it had been re-scheduled for 5pm.  Went and had lunch in town.  Came back to the van and did some more fixings.  At 4:30pm headed back to the SuperPit lookout and waited till the blasting.  That was impressive and at the same time anti-climatic.  Lots of tourists were there to watch it happen.  Lots of dust and a bit of noise. Back to the van park and get ready for dinner tonight .  Tim has invited us to the'Saltimbocca' restaurant so looking forward to that.

14-09-2007    -    DAY 21

Today we left Kalgoorlie behind us and headed further west.  We will be playing this part of the trip by ear as we have no clear itinerary.  The main thing is to work our way to Jurion Bay and see some of the wild flowers in between.   We got away by 9am and just as we turned out of the van park, Karen drove past and honked her horn to farewell us on her way into town .  We drove out of Kalgoorlie on the Great Eastern Highway and passed through Coolgardie, Southern Cross to Merredin.  There was the usual heavy truck traffic both ways.  There were plenty of wild flowers blooming along the road including everlastings, blue lechenaultia and native banksias.   We had a morning coffee break at a rest area east of Southern Cross.  Stopped for fuel and lunch at Southern Cross before continuing to Merredin.  Stopped at the Rabbit Proof Fence for some photos. At Merredin we turned north and left the main highway behind to travers parts of the wheatbelt passing through Nungarin and Trayning till we reached Wyalkatchem where we managed to get the last site at the local Shire Caravan Park ($17). (Cmps3 #507)  We have decided against going to Hyden along the unsealed road  and will visit Wave Rock on the way back via Ravensthorpe.  It started raining as we set up  the van for the night.  The sites are quiet good having an ensuite shower and toilet for each van.  There are also good clean laundry and BBQ facilities.

 
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