Broome or Bust

Today we are on the traditional lands of the Wangkatja group of peoples.    We hope you enjoyed Channel Chops. We're sure he'll back later in our journey. Yesterday as we continued our travels through the Great Western Woodlands we passed Lake Cowan, a huge lake which seems to be mostly dry at present.   We spent today at Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. Coolgardie advertises itself as a mining ghost town, but it was once the third largest town in Western Australia. It was founded in 1892 with the discovery of gold. The main street in Coolgardie - Looking East ...And West The discovery of rich veins of gold at Kalgoorlie in 1893 started the decline of Coolgardie. The mining of gold, along with other metals, has been a major industry in Kalgoorlie ever since. There certainly is no shortage of hotels. These four are more or less on four corners of the one intersection. Away from the town, we had a great walk through the Kalgoorlie Arboretum.  Off to Kellerberrin tomorrow (where?), befo

A real caravan at last, says Chops Today the humans and I travelled from Balledonia to Coolgardie, stopping for a few sniffs along the way and a much-needed snack at Norseman. I had asked them to take a few shots of my typical day.  First thing in the morning I move from my rather cramped bed to the much larger one the humans use.  Then a little walk before breakfast, mine and theirs.  I must say, I think they need to improve their stopover choices.  The humans tell me we travelled through the Great Western Woodlands, which is the largest remaining area of intact Mediterranean climate woodland on Earth. Covering almost 16 million hectares (about the size of England), this continuous band of native vegetation is a rich tapestry of woodlands, mallee and shrublands. It extends across an ancient landscape of broad, flat valleys and ridges that connect Australia's south-west corner to its inland deserts. However, it is a bit hard to see much from the back seat and I must admit I do doze

Today we are on the lands of the Ngadgu people.  Under the Eucla sky We travelled further than we planned today, from Eucla to the Balledonia Roadhouse, around 500 km, but the A1 is straight and empty, making driving easy. Roadhouses are a feature of the Eyre Highway  - fuel, shop, basic motel and caravan park. A necessary part of the journey across the Nullabor, but best done in moderation (and as quickly as possible.) Coolgardie tomorrow and a couple of days exploration of the goldfields. Caravan, car, Chops, Gayle, Jeffrey all travelling well so far.

Today we are at Eucla, Western Australia, on the lands of the Yinyila Nation of Mirning clans, which encompass the ancient coastal seabed of the Nullarbor Plain Ngargangooridri , the spectacular limestone Bunda Cliffs and the pristine waters of the Great Australian Bight.  Just in case you are wondering where Eucla is. And it has its own time zone. The Eucla Caravan Park has been a very pleasant stay for us, with views from the caravan to the Great Australian Bight. We took a walk to the Old Telegraph Station and the now derelict Eucla Jetty, becoming only slightly lost as it turned out. Old Telegraph Station Eucla Jetty Not quite Mentone Beach An Australian Ringneck Parrot (until someone advises otherwise)