24/8/23 To Leonora

 

    From Coolgardie , we headed to Kalgoorlie and found it was flat out , no vacancies in any of the parks , so we went to the free camp , which was also almost full - we got a spot after someone had packed up and left . We stayed the night , then did some more shopping , cooking and organising , before heading north - we were happy to be getting out of there , it was crazy busy .

    Stopping at a railway siding for the night at Goongarrie , we had that to ourselves fortunately . Continuing on to Menzies the next day , we decided to stay for a few days and try our luck with some detecting . We found 3 small nuggets and were pretty happy with our efforts , being very much novices at gold detecting .

   Our friends had gone through to Leonora , not knowing that we'd stopped for a couple of days at Menzies , but we caught up with them again in Leonora . 

   Up to Leonora we found some wedgetail eagles just on the outskirts of town - there were 6 of them , all taking turns in feasting on a wallaby that had an argument with a car / truck and lost .  The crows very wisely stood back when the eagles were feasting .

    We organised our first fortnight of detecting on a bunch of leases - we did a course in February that gave us access to these leases . Finding a camp site was interesting when you've got 20,000 odd acres of ground to choose from . We picked a site on the top of a rise fortunately , as we got some storms come through and dump 20mm in a few hours . This was our view out of the dining room window as the storm built and came through .

   This was out the other side .

   Our personal water feature after the rain had stopped .

    In between times we did get a few nice sunsets - the gold didn't really come to us here , so this is as much as you'll see .

    Another sunset .

    We did find 3 small pieces of gold over the 12 days we were there , this is where we were camped .

   After our days here , we headed back into town ( we were only 14klms out ) for a couple of days to wash & shop and get sorted ready for our next location .

   Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1-3ehgnH89cX6KkUB4t36-76Jui37Buw&usp=sharing

23/8/23 Just when you thought we weren't coming back

 

       Here we are again , hadn't forgotten you , just got busy doing other things . We had an excellent Christmas with our family together again , the London contingent had a great holiday as well . 

  We bought ourselves a different present - a gold detector !!! , so that's where we've been for the last 4 months and probably another couple yet !

    First though , here's a recap of our movements , we had to get to the goldfields first . After Christmas we spent some time with Emma , then headed off again , visiting friends and enjoying our time out & about .

Lake Kepwari was a highlight , we stayed there with friends and had a great few days . It's an old coal mine that's been rehabilitated , and is now a water ski lake . The following photo shows the before & after 

    Around the shoreline there are covered picnic facilities , Bbq's etc , very well done !! The shoreline has a sandy beach all round the lake - definitely not there originally , it has all been imported .

    This is the boat ramp area , and a safe swimming area between the island and the beach .

    This is the view from above , there are 2 main camp areas , this is the newer one that we spent our time at .

   The lake is situated not far from the town of Collie , inland from Bunbury . 

We spent a few days at Donnybrook - we found there were old gold mines down there , and there was an area we could go detecting in - didn't find anything except some rubbish and a bent up old silver fork !

  We managed to fill in a couple of months , and before we knew it April had arrived and we were getting a bit excited about heading to the goldfields . All our preparation was complete , warmer clothing had come out of storage - this was going to be our first Winter for 8 years !!! and we weren't looking forward to that part . We left Perth near Easter and made it out to Coolgardie for Easter , spending 3 nights at the free camp , then another 3 out on a lease where we could go detecting . Well we found our first piece of gold !!! we were a little bit excited , the look on Lyn's face was priceless !

  Funny story - we moved out of Coolgardie to another old mine lease , while we were out detecting , the local policeman called in after seeing us on site . I went over to have a chat and next minute he's telling me that there's nothing but rubbish on this lease , but there's a better one not too far away - he gold detects in his spare time , so we chatted about where to go and what to check out - we packed up and moved to this other lease !! Didn't do any good there either , but it was a good camp site .

   This is the main street in Coolgardie 

   Here's some of the bush around Coolgardie 

   Here's some of our valuable finds .

     And here's our first piece of gold !! all 0.50 grams of it !!

   Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1hlwhqfOvf6TH6bcIQF6nW1R-7dxbKA8&usp=sharing

   Had to remember how to do all this again 🤣

11/12/22 Back in the city

 

 Hi there , yes been a bit slack and haven't been terribly active . Blogs will have a rest while we enjoy the company of our family over Christmas - our London based son & wife and granddaughter will be here with us for 3 weeks .

  Wishing you all a wonderful festive season , stay safe & well and enjoy yourselves . 

  Blogs will resume in the new year .

  Cheers Alan & Lyn

2/11/22 Port Gregory

 

    Although we have gone to Geraldton , we decided to head back out to Port Gregory and Pink Lake , as it is really pink at the moment . It was a better day for the drone as well , the wind has relented a bit , instead of the roaring gale it's been what feels like forever ! We drove down past the lookout and headed down the track to the lakes edge - it was a lot wetter than usual , so care had to be taken where we drove . Stopping short of where we'd been to before , it was far too wet and the prospect of being stuck here wasn't appealing . A track led us to the edge of the lake and some wildflowers lined the edge .

   While the wind was down , the drone went up to reveal the beauty from above , the blue ocean , white sand dunes , green foliage and the brilliant pink lake !

    This is looking back at Port Gregory , it's a small village nestled into the sand dunes .

    Photos done , we headed out to the natural lagoon & boat harbour . It's a very protected area for the cray boats that are based here - there's a reef about 600m from the beach that forms a great barrier to the ocean .

    The jetty is interesting , well built with lights so they can unload / load any time of day .

    Shame the sand has decided to reclaim the beach and leave the jetty high & dry , definitely no boats going to use it !!

   Too good an opportunity to miss , the drone went up again for a view of the lagoon and the entry / exit to the ocean .

   This is a different view of Port Gregory and Pink Lake .

   We had lunch beside the beach , before heading back toward Geraldton , with another view of Port Gregory Road and the lake .

    Stopping at a few different places on the way back in to Northampton , we found some everlasting daisies .

    Another stop was at a memorial stop , and a horse drawn plough .

    The highway didn't excite us much , so we headed out to Nolba in the Chapman Valley . It's a cropping area , with canola , wheat & lupins being the main crops . Canola has nearly finished being harvested , the attention will now turn to the wheat harvest . Road trains are busy carting the seed to the depot in Geraldton , so it's a bit busy vehicle wise .

  Coming into Nabawa , I spotted what's left of this old shed - remnants of cyclone Sera last year !

    Beside the road there were swathes of this purple flower , which is actually a white flower with purple foliage .

   And with that , we were back in town . Time has been spent doing some maintenance , an occasional bike ride - when the wind was down to a dull roar , and a few games of golf ( not great , but what can you expect when you play 2 games since February ! )  , and reading some books . Plans have been made for next year , so you'll have to wait for that to happen . 

  Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1lNzQZRSJ2sLpctmZMa4fp_ktAGbPfDI&usp=sharing

27/10/22 Kalbarri Cliffs

 

  

      Okay here's a review of our week in Kalbarri . Not much has happened due to the incessant wind , 30-40 kms/hr most times and gusting stronger . We have however , got some reading done , and managed a couple of bike rides - they were tough to start with , but excellent on the return with the wind behind us . This next photo is the Murchison River and the parkland beside it , there's a bike track that runs all the way around the river and up to Red Bluff - about 4klms away .

    Here's what was a fishing /viewing platform at the river mouth , it was destroyed in the cyclone last year and still hasn't been replaced .

    Speaking of the cyclone damage , there's still plenty of houses and units that still have damaged roofs and walls . There's plenty of new steel girders and roofing products lying in driveways , waiting for tradies to come & repair the damage , still it's been over a year and a half since the cyclone !!

   Another day we went up to the coastal cliffs NP and stopped in at Pot Alley , it was still windy , but the walk down to the beach was reasonably protected . Here's the view from the carpark .

  

   This is the start of the walk down .

    The track follows this creek bed down through the multiple layers of different coloured rocks .

    The wind and water have undercut a lot of the cliffs near the beach , forming beautiful patterns on the undersurface 

    The swell was certainly pumping in , this is not a place you'd want to end up in the water - you would be pulverised on the rocks .

    There's a life buoy here for the intrepid rock fishermen & women or unaware tourists that get swept off the rocks .

   The next 3 photos are the same wave crashing in 

    Some lucky people paid to go on an afternoon cruise in the wind and swell - we were quite happy sitting on the rocks watching all the action . You can see the white caps behind the boat .

    After heading back up to the ute , we drove around to Island Rock and stopped in the shelter and watched for a while , we felt it was a bit too windy and exposed to go for a walk along the boardwalk .

    Another day we had some offshore winds creating plumes of spray coming off the top of the waves at Back Beach .

     We managed to find some flowers we hadn't seen before .

    

    These ones were just on the edge of the road .

    And this is the closeup of them .

    That's our week , uneventful as it was , we head into Geraldton for a week or two or three . Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1q48sZsid_rEpI5YMI2wUw4YOxh7qC78&usp=sharing