January 2018 Posts – 16 to 18

Day 16 – 29th January 2018 – Ceduna

Watched ‘The Imitation Game’ last night and loved it. Thanks to Bec and Phil for the recommendation.  Good movie.

Today has been pouring with rain so we have been hanging out in the van.  At one stage Col had a jumper and a beanie on, even though it was still 27 degrees in the van ha ha. It does feel cold though after the scorching heat. Nice to have a break from it.

Col spent the day working on the video about his battery powered Makita Chainsaw.  The kids collectively gave him Bunnings vouchers as a Christmas/Birthday gift, so Col could buy this in preparation for the trip.  This pic shows how much Col loves his present, it was taken the night he purchased it.

Colin loves his Makita Chainsaw
Colin loves his Makita Chainsaw

Here is a link to the video too.

Day 17 – 30th January 2018 – Denial Bay and McKenzie Ruins

Cold, cold, cold!  19 degrees but feels like 12 degrees after the heat.  Funny.

Today we went for a bit of a drive and checked out Denial Bay, apparently it got it’s name from Matthew Flinder’s who hoped to find fresh inland water but that request was denied.  It was incredibly windy, the photo doesn’t show it, but you had to lean into the wind to stop yourself being blown off the jetty.  There were full white caps out there and I tried to get a photo but was having serious issues holding onto my phone.  A stormy sea is so beautiful and powerful though, I love it.

Denial Bay, SA
Denial Bay, SA

We also stopped off to look at William McKenzie’s ruins just outside of Denial Bay.  He was one of the first European settlers in the area and the ruins are of his property.  I always enjoy looking around at this kind of thing and imagining what life must have been like in those days.  Would have been incredibly tough living.  His favourite saying was ‘You can’t grow wheat with your hands in your pockets’.  I liked it and might keep using it, but it must be said in a Scottish accent.

McKenzie Ruins Chimney, SA
McKenzie Ruins Chimney, SA
McKenzie Ruins House, SA
McKenzie Ruins House, SA
McKenzie Ruins, SA
McKenzie Ruins, SA

We also did a reconnaissance drive to check out the various Wiki free camps in the area, but didn’t find anything amazing.  Found somewhere good for an overnight stay, but that’s about it.

Tomorrow we pack up and head for the Nullarbor!  We will be putting these to good use.  Anyone know what they are for?  (Trav, you can’t guess!)

Plastic bottles
Plastic bottles
Day 18 – 31st January 2018 – Ceduna to Nundroo East

Pack up went well in Ceduna and we started the Nullarbor trek.  We decided to do the Nullarbor Golf Links, but the weather has not been very conducive to this great plan.  The Nullabor Links is known as the longest Golf Course in the world.  The course spans 1,365 kilometres with one or more holes in each participating town or roadhouse along the Eyre Highway, from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia to Ceduna in South Australia.  We won’t do all of them this trip, as some of them are not on the way that we have planned to go, but apparently you can do the hole and get your card stamped at any time in the future.  Once complete you can pick up your certificate from either the Kalgoorlie or Ceduna Tourist Centre.  We thought it might be a bit of fun along the way and break up the driving too.   The first two holes were at the Ceduna Golf Club and Col has started taking footage of it on the GoPro.   We got to the green, but they were black sand, known as scrapes.  Neither Col nor I have had any experience with scrapes, so we are not sure of the etiquette.   We flattened out a path to the hole and had our putts.  Interesting experience.  This is not the typical manicured fairways and well dressed sport that we have come to know .  This is Golf, Australian Outback style.

Ceduna Golf Club Rules
Ceduna Golf Club Rules

http://www.nullarborlinks.com/course

Next hole on the Nullarbor Links course was at Penong and we also stopped to see the Windmills nearby.

Penong Windmills
Penong Windmills

These holes are challenging, let me tell you.   The hole was the other side of the trees in the photo below.  Luckily we are finding more balls than we are losing at this stage.

Nullarbor Links, Penong
Nullarbor Links, Penong

We then headed off to stay at Nundroo and stayed at a roadside free camp for one night, which is just east of Nundroo.  The camp wasn’t bad, although you can hear the trucks going past as it is close to the Eyre Highway.  The weather has also gone from one extreme to another – now raining and cold.

Kris rugged up at Nundroo
Kris rugged up at Nundroo
Free Camp East of Nundroo
Free Camp East of Nundroo
Nundroo Campfire
Nundroo Campfire

Col went all ‘Bear Grylls’ when we arrived at this camp and decided to collect rain water coming off of the annex.  He also insisted on making cups of coffee with it and boiling our potatoes in it.  I wasn’t too keen to have annex juice in our coffees and food, but it actually turned out fine.  Pleased to say he got a great fire going too and the rain stopped in the evening so we got to sit around it which is always awesome.

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