Ceduna - Melrose - Packsaddle - Tibooburra - Eulo

Leaving Kalgoorlie mid morning Wednesday the first leg of our trip to Norseman wasn’t without incident when a triple road train weighing in the order of one hundred fifty tonnes and some fifty metres in length decided to overtake a line of vehicles on a blind corner – not the smartest piece of driving and somewhat of a shock when you consider that as a general rule these guys are generally very professional in their behaviour.

Other than the preceding incident, the remainder of the leg to Norseman involved skirting numerous salt lakes including the enormous Lake Cowan prior to arriving at our way point where we refuelled and then set out to cross the Nullarbor Plains.   With Mita sitting comfortably in the drivers seat and quite prepared to do the bulk of the driving for the next days I subsequently played tourist and kept her supplied with coffee.

Four days later we arrive at Penong where after refuelling detoured down to the coast working our way around to Ceduna via a variety of coves and beaches in lieu of the Highway with our first destination being Cactus Beach, a much vaunted surfing venue.   After a pleasant drive between salt pans, around small lakes and between sand dunes we eventually arrived at Point Sinclair and nearby Cactus Beach only to discover that it was going to cost $20 a night for the privilege of camping in the bush with no facilities.

 

After viewing the Port Sinclair jetty that was suitably adorned with a multitude of signs stating “No Camping” we continued further east towards Point Peter located on the western foreshore of Tourville Bay, another location where we could supposedly camp next to the beach.   Eventually locating the only two camping spots available, one which was already occupied and the other a case of “mission impossible” we ended up staying overnight in the deserted car park which while providing magnificent views along the beach and out over the Southern Ocean was unfortunately exposed hence ended up being buffeted by gale force winds the entire night.

By now we started questioning the validity of the local tourism brochures and there purported camping venues however decided to give it “one more shot” as we needed to consume the last of our fruit and veggie’s prior to passing through the SA quarantine check point or we’d have to throw the lot into the bin.   Twenty kilometres later we arrived quite by accident at the picturesque Nadia’s Landing and albeit it was still mid morning decided this would do for the next twenty four hours.   Parked within metres of the shoreline we sat back, read books, enjoyed the vista, and watched the locals catch fish.

Following another windy night which was a surprise considering the day had been absolutely glorious we departed Nadia’s Landing making our way to Ceduna via Denial Bay, a town renown for its oysters.    After declaring that we had no fruit, vegetables, honey or any other prohibited produce, and following a brief inspection we sauntered into Ceduna, refuelled, purchased a few necessities, then continued east on our merry way whilst enjoying the scenery eventually staying overnight about one hundred fifty kilometres west of Port Augusta.

Although we’d left Kalgoorlie seven days prior we’d calculated there was still sufficient water remaining for Mita to Shampoo her hair before reaching “civilization”  – with that news Mita was in seventh heaven.

First stop the next morning was Port Augusta to refuel, and what a pleasant surprise with fuel prices being in the order of 40c per litre cheaper than those being charged on the Nullabor.   From there it was up and over the Flinders Ranges to nearby Wilmington stopping to replenish our all but depleted water supplies.

From Wilmington it was a short twenty five kilometre drive to nearby Melrose, a pretty little town nestled in the foothills of the Flinders Ranges where we’d decided to spend the night in the local van park located directly opposite the pub and “shout” ourselves to a pub meal hence eliminating the possibility of driving while intoxicated.

Departing Melrose the following morning and still feeling bloated from the previous evening’s meal our first stop of the day was Peterborough visiting the Steam Train Museum.   During the era of steam Peterborough was a major repair and support facility for trains including the Trans Continental and the iconic Ghan however progress has resulted in the towns decline with the towns population now being barely two thousand from its peak of nearly seven thousand not all that long ago.   The tour of the museum included access into numerous restored trains and carriages, and a guided walk through the various repair facilities some of which are now being reactivated.   It was well worth the effort.

Joining the Barrier Highway we eventually pulled off opposite the old Olary pub, about the only building of any significance is the now all but deserted town.   The pub sat deserted for quite a few years however it was recently purchased, renovated and is once again back in operation with the new owner targeting passing travellers and the trucking industry; from what we observed he is making a go of it.   That night it was once again a pub meal and it wasn’t too bad either.

Leaving Olary we stopped briefly in Broken Hill collecting some last minute supplies before turning north on the Silver City Highway which although designated a highway doesn’t quite meet our perception of a highway.   That aside, the scenery on the Silver City Highway was still to be appreciated.

One hundred eighty kilometres later we arrived at Packsaddle, a location that consists of a pub and, well that’s about it.   By now we were a little travel weary after having alternated between bitumen and gravel so once again opted to camp opposite the pub, only this time surrounded by “bull dust”.   And once again we decided “heck, why cook?  Let’s have a pub meal”.

The only problem we encountered with our stay at Packsaddle was that the pub had two visiting young geologists in residence and when you combine that with the young barmaids who were obviously deprived of male company, add karaoke music until 4 am, the end result is little sleep.

Up ‘til now the temperatures had been somewhat pleasant ranging from single digits at night to the high teens during the days however the day we left Packsaddle it all came to an abrupt halt with temperature that day reaching the mid 30’s, and didn’t we feel it.

We eventually arrived at Tibooburra in the far north western corner of New South Wales, a town touted as being the hottest in New South Wales and considering it was the first days of spring and it was already 35c.   Topping up with fuel it was now time to tackle the two hundred forty kilometre drive to Noccundra in far western Queensland and from all reports the road conditions were far from good.

It didn’t take long for the realization to dawn that the information provided about the road conditions were definitely not an exaggeration, conditions were atrocious with the road surface being nothing more than a “gibber stone surface”, heavily corrugated, potholed, and strewn with rocks.   After only travelling forty kilometres we’d had enough and after sighting a sign advertising the Olive Downs campground, that was all the encouragement we need to “call it quits” for the day.

Next morning after donning our summer cloths we tackled the road.   Crossing the border into Queensland the road conditions slowly improved - four hour later we arrived at Noccundra where we set up camp on the banks of the Wilson River opposite the historic pub built back in 1882 spending the remainder of the afternoon watching the spectacle of literally hundreds of Pelicans and Cormorants herding schools of fish into the shallow where they then gorged themselves.

With the knowledge there’d be no more dirt roads we set off for home a thousand kilometres away.   First stop was Thargomindah visiting a friend who is the Tourism Officer for the Bullo Shire.   After catching up on all the news and gossip next spot was Lake Bindigolly that was brimming with water and had become a mecca for a variety of water birds including Ibis’s, Swan’s, an array of other species, plus the inevitable Sea Gulls.   Sunset that evening was quite pretty especially as the skies were tinted by dust storms whipped up by strong winds that had been persisting for several days.

 

Leaving Lake Bindigolly the following morning, the only plan we had for the day was to detour into Yowah, a small opal mining community located some distance off the main road.   Other than that we had absolutely no idea where we were going to spend the next evening other than east of Cunnamulla.

Travelling twenty five kilometres we turned off the highway onto a dirt track cutting across country to Yowah, a detour that saved us over one hundred kilometres had followed the main road.   We knew we were getting close to our destination when we started winding our way through a myriad of mine shafts dotting the landscape however when we eventually arriving in “downtown” Yowah we couldn’t believe what confronted us.   Other than the local School (total attendance four students), a Community Service Centre and the Community Hall, the remainder of buildings in the community were a collection of shacks and shanties plus a few halfway reasonable buildings.   Oh, it does have two caravan parks, one a “freebie” compliment of the local community, the other is a privately owned park that provides power etc.

From a personal perspective Yowah doesn’t quite fit into the same category as Lightning Ridge or Coober Pedy however from all reports it is a mecca for the amateur opal prospecting enthusiasts.   Needless to say we didn’t stay long and following a quick drive around the community continued towards Eulo.

Eulo is one of those little villages in the middle of nowhere that for some unknown reason always seems attract visitors, including us.   Located midway between Cunnamulla and Thargomindah until recently the town consisted of a pub that provided camping facilities, a general store (that was recently destroyed by fire), an old church recently converted into a coffee shop, a leather goods manufacturer that sells a range of products to the general public, a few houses, plus an additional free camping area located beside the local creek.   Stopping in the main street next to the burnt out remains of the general store we visited the leather shop then wandered down to the old church –  an hour and a half hour later we eventually departed Eulo.

From Eulo we eventually arrived at Cunnamulla, refuelled, overnighted in a bush camp some forty kilometres east, and two days later arrived home.