Yesterday was welcome day off the bike. We enjoyed a lie in and walks along the coastal walkway. We spent quite a lot of time on booking accommodation through to Melbourne.  After breakfast we set off and stopped for gas and we noticed a lot of old cars being displayed along the promenade. There were some bikes also. We decided to take a look and I was particularly taken with a custom Harley Davidson Shovelhead. The 60 year old owner bought it when he was 16 and I reckon has spent every spare moment customising it. A really clever guy who has achieved a lot with very little. All of his modifications he has carried out by hand including some fairly intricate engraving. Some of his mods include an air filter cover from an old aluminium pan, a forward control pedal from a cut down bicycle pedal and the muffler is a big brass shell casing!  Amazing and thanks for sharing the stories.  We then took a wander around the cars, lots of Holdens of course but all sorts of old ...

 We packed up in light drizzle and only 17 degrees. There were patches of blue sky and we felt it could go either way. Reminded me of NZ really and as it happens we mostly had low cloud with snippets of sun and only 19 all day. The pesky wind didn’t let up either. However none of that detracted from an amazing coastline which we had to get off the main road to explore.  We spent a lot of time on dirt roads today but they were mostly in good nick. The wonderful coastline of the western side of the Eyre Peninsula is spectacular by any measure.  The first detour was called the Westall loop and we were just blown away by the rugged beauty of this landscape.  At the end of this loop was a natural tourist attraction called Murphys Haystacks. A series of weather worn rocks that are nothing like anything I’ve seen before and in the context of the barren landscape they sit in, is a truly unique sight.     We hit the main road again and arrived at a little seaside vi...

 The idea was a lie in this morning but mother nature had other ideas, we were woken about 6 by a lengthy period of massive thunder rolls. Blimey I thought we were being invaded. But apart from a few splotches it remained dry. We had a leisurely breakfast at a local cafe and then packed up and were on the road by 10. An easy day down a long straight road as we head down the Eyre Peninsula. I saw several Shingleback Lizards crossing the road and managed to avoid them all and also my 3rd snake of the trip, a little fella about 1 metre long slithering across in front of me, I also avoided hitting it.  The weather was fine and sunny with a temp of 30. Certainly the warmest it has been for us in a few days. We called in to a very pretty beach called Smokey Bay.   Absolutely beautiful turquoise coloured water and white sands. A popular thing here is to tow your caravan along the narrow sandy beach and camp in a designated spot with a shelter. Several rigs were doing this, you w...

 We have absolutely loved this ride over the Nullabor.  The landscape varied so much thoughout and the the different light patterns made it really interesting and beautiful.  There seems to be a bit of a twilight zone as far as time goes, we are supposed to have lost 3/4 hour but my phone says one time and Robyn’s another and nobody really seems to know.  We set off early and rode back just a little bit to a lookout we missed yesterday afternoon but unfortunately the mist was down so we didn’t see the view after all.  We then rode 180km to the Eucla roadhouse for a bit of brekkie and to catch up with news etc as we’ve been out of service. The temp was a chilly 12 so a warm cuppa was welcome.  The first 50 or so km were quite foggy so combined with the low temp I kept the speed down to the legal limit. Soon after Eucla we crossed the state border and lost 2 1/2 hours. We came to the first of 3 lookout points which show the incredible cliffs and sea views thi...

The day dawned fine and warm but the wind was cool, so we added a layer. After breakfast we headed south via a slight detour to the town of Coolgardie, this is a historic gold-mining town where gold was discovered before Kalgoorlie. A very nice place with old buildings and a museum but we were a bit early so didn’t stop. We then retraced our track from a couple of days ago to Norseman for gas and a bite to eat. I said gidday to a biker who said they were heading east also. We headed off on the Nullabor, it started off through bush land which slowly got smaller and smaller.  The Bikers passed us after about 50km so I said to Robyn shall we follow along. They were doing about 130 so it was pretty comfortable. There were 3 BMW’s similar to ours and a 1981 Yamaha XS 1100 which was easily keeping up.  We followed along at a respectful distance and then the guy at the back indicated for us to join them.  Stopped for gas at Balladonia which is where we thought we’d stay for the ...

 A very nice day today, off the bike and lovely warm weather.  We had a wander around the main st and visited the information centre. A cup of coffee and it was time to join our mine tour.  So interesting, this business is just HUGE and they are embarking on a massive expansion project. We were one of the last to visit the current lookout before it becomes a big hole in the ground. Apparently the mine was near the end of its life but technological advances have enabled it to carry on for many years yet. By using X-Ray technology they can pinpoint the gold, they still have to excavate the rock but now only 1 in 10 truck loads go through the gold extraction processing facility instead of all 10 trucks.  We watched as the workers prepared a site where they will be excavating tunnels of which there is an extensive network already.  After lunch we visited the gold museum and were greeted at the desk by a Kiwi woman from New Plymouth who has been working there for 14 ...

400km today in a northerly direction. The low cloud from yesterday has hung around and the temp is a cool 17. Forecast temp in Kalgoorlie is 35 so it’s hard to decide what to wear. Anyhow we set off through the seemingly endless wheatfields and at one point stopped to look at some huge silos which also had augurs feeding hoppers strategically sited over a railway line.  We had spotted a long train earlier and wondered if it contained grain and indeed it did. On its way to the port at Esperance, no doubt to earn Australia more foreign exchange. We passed through a couple of towns with interesting names. Grass Patch and Salmon Gum. We didn’t ask. After about 200km the temp hadn’t risen and by the time we rolled into Norseman we were decidedly chilled. We stopped for gas and a break and to say gidday to 10 million flies, plus a persistent black bird.  The sky ahead was blue and the temp climbed to 20 as we pulled out. We are now in the great western scrubland and it’s very nice....