Broome or Bust

The Anangu people of Western desert language groups (Pitjantjatjara / Yankunytjatjara) are the traditional owners of the coastal lands, undulating plains and the deserts regions surrounding the Nullarbor. Wirangu occupied the land east of the Head of Bight and the Mirning clans occupied the coast west to Eucla. Kokatha, Antakarinja and Ngalea occupied lands to the north and north-east. These groups are linked through cultural affiliations and traditional practices which they still embrace. Today is a day to let the pictures do the talking. We visited The Head of Bight Visitors Centre to look for whales, and we were so pleased with what we saw. These are Southern Right Whales. They travel from Antartica each year and remain in residence at the Head of Bight between June and October, mating and having their calves. Spot the first calf of the season with her Mum near the end of the shots. Southern Right Whales are 'baleen' whales which have horny plates of baleen hanging down from...

A travelling day, taking us further west than we had previously driven. The scenery changed from agricultural land, to mallee vegetation to then suddenly, a treeless plain.   We’re spending the night at the Nullarbor Roadhouse, which we’ve been told is typical of the roadhouses on the isolated sections of the highway - fuel, cafe, motel and caravan accommodation. This one is popular with travellers visiting the Head of Bight whale viewing centre a few kilometres away, and where we will go tomorrow.  What is striking to us are the huge distances. We have travelled about 2200 km and in some ways just started to leave familiar landscapes.  As if to emphasise that things are big here an enormous machine pulled by two trucks hitched together and escorted by two police cars pulled in for the evening, Perhaps we will spot whales and all manner of animals tomorrow.  Jenny 29 June 2024 at 21:37 It looks fantastic Gayle and Jeffrey, you are rugged up so still cold? Hope you se...

 (As Jeffrey’s mother used to say) The weather turned 180 degrees. Cold, windy and wet. But we still went for some walks along the beach paths.  Galahs living on the edge Spot the honeyeater After all that excitement, we returned to our cosy caravan, turned on the heater and ate delicious local pasties, followed by an afternoon nap and some art.  Tomorrow we’re having pancakes for breakfast courtesy of the caravan park before we travel 400km to Nullarbor Road House and the possibility of spotting whales! Jenny 28 June 2024 at 20:28 Honey eater spotted! Sounds like a great day, a walk, birds, tea, pasties, art and Chops on your lap - what more is there? REPLY Mary 28 June 2024 at 20:38 Edging closer to the big sandpit  REPLY Anonymous 28 June 2024 at 22:52 Love the cosiness and Chops looks very restful like the seals yesterday

Streaky Bay turned on its magic today - sunny, warm, no wind, still waters. An early morning beach comber Ducks take flight An afternoon nap And now the stars of the day, the sea-lions at Pt Labatt. Found in no oth­er coun­try in the world, the Aus­tralian sea-lion is one of Aus­trali­a’s most endan­gered marine mam­mals and rarest seals. Point Labatt is the only place on the main­land where Aus­tralian seal pups can be seen learn­ing to swim, play and rest on the beach. It is also one of the few places in and around Aus­tralia where they are pro­tect­ed from land preda­tors and which pro­vides a safe envi­ron­ment for the sea-lion pups to develop. This will be hard to top - except perhaps if we spot whales along the Nullarbor coast.  On our way back we walked around Murphy's Hay Stacks which are composed of pink granite rocks 1500 million years old, and were weathered and sculpted into their present form about 100,000 years ago and exposed on the surface of the land. It is amazing...

The weather being a bit problematic, we enjoyed taking our time around Streaky Bay today, chatting with locals and others travelling through, and looking at the wildlife and scenery.  The absolute highlight was spotting some dolphins in the late afternoon, captured with great skill by Gayle. We’ve got quite a few recommendations for travelling across the Nullarbor and places to watch for whales along the way. We’re hoping to visit the seals and sea-lions tomorrow. Jenny 26 June 2024 at 20:49 Streaky Bay looks wild and beautiful, I have good memories of exploring the many walks around the bay REPLY Anonymous 27 June 2024 at 07:40 WOW dolphins nice spot. Camp spot looks really nice! from will REPLY Jeffrey 27 June 2024 at 20:40 It’s a great spot. Long way from Mentone, unfortunately.  Anonymous 27 June 2024 at 07:42 i love dolphins from neve REPLY Anonymous 27 June 2024 at 13:21 Dear Neve . I like them as well.Dolphins are really great and smart. Hope you get to see some. Lyn

The Roora Reserve Nature Trail is a jewel of Kimba and we had a really peaceful couple of hours. Sculptures are hidden in the bush and birds, much too fast for us, flit amongst the trees.  We noticed that the Australian Radioactive Waste Agency was moving out of the building it occupied on the Main Street. In 2023 the Barngarla traditional owners for the Kimba region in South Australia were successful in their court case against the federal government regarding the proposed site of a national radioactive waste management facility. We came across a mural that may just help us in our Bird IDs, showcasing eleven native Australian species found in the Kimba region. L to R: red-capped robin, chalky wattle, crested dragon, sandhill dunnart, woolly-glandular daisy-bush, thorny devil, scarlet-chested parrot, galah, Major Mitchell's cockatoo, bottlebrush hakea, malleefowl. Late this morning we travelled to Streaky Bay, where we will be staying for four nights. It has been a rainy day here, ...