Jess, Sapphy, and I began our roadtrip with a few ideas in mind. A few towns to visit, goals of finding epic free camp sites, and safe travels to get her back to her hometown, Shepparton Victoria. Day 1 started 2 hours later than planned (not my fault for once!), so we didn't get quite as far along our planned route as possible. That was fine though, because our first campsite set the tone for the whole trip: deserted of other people, heaps of space for Sapphy to run around and sniff things, and beautiful sunsets.
Day 2 had an earlier start and we made it as far as Coolgardie in the southeastern corner of Western Australia. As we were picking up a 6 pack to go with our planned sausage dinner, we realized the displayed alcohol license was made out to someone with the last name Moran. Jess, detective that she is, reasoned that the Morans must be part of the city's forefathers and there's probably a street named after them; she was right!
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| Full moon from our campsite outside Coolgardie |
My last real "tourist destination" city to visit in Western Australia, Kalgoorlie, is at the heart of Australia's gold rush history. It has the most bars, per capita, of any city in Australia (or it did once upon a time), and it has a whole street of brothels, one of which is still operating! There's a 3pm tour, but because of our delayed departure the day before, we missed it. I'll just have to go back. Instead, we took ourselves up to Kalgoorlie's other major attraction: the Super Pit.
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| Questa Casa, Australia's Oldest Working Brothel |
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| Another Moran St in Kalgoorlie |
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| Jess & Sapphy inside the loader bucket they have on display |
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| Now just imagine how big the trucks must be to carry the bucket around... let alone the dirt filling the bucket! |
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| The Superpit |
As I mentioned, Kal has a rich (har har har) history dating from its gold mining days. The first land that was tracked for mining in 1893 is now located in the middle of a gigantic, actively mined pit. It used to be the largest gold mine in Australia but has apparently been surpassed in the last few years. That said, it's so big that it can be seen from outer space! Nothing to sniff at.
We had to leave the Superpit viewing area because of a thunderstorm that we could see rolling in. It was crazy to see these little tiny looking dump trucks lining up like toy soldiers until they could start working again after the storm had passed, only to realize those toy-sized trucks had tires about twice as tall as me. Wild. We headed out and made our way to the South Australian border. WA has really strict biosecurity rules so you're not allowed to bring most fruits and veggies across the border. We planned our meals to finish the last of it before crossing into SA via Australia's longest straight road: the 90 Mile Straight.
The next day was full of the Great Australian Bight, where the Southern Ocean meets Australia's South Coast, and the Nullarbor Plane, named for its "null-arbor" tree-lessness.
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| The Great Australian Bight |
After crossing into SA we were excited for two things: stretching our legs and eating oysters. SA is famous for their fresh oysters. So we called into Perlubie Beach for a quick roam - a quick one because the wind nearly blew us off the beach - and then into Streaky Bay for some seafood lunch!
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| King George Whiting, Tasmanian Salmon, Streaky Bay Oysters, & Exmouth Prawns |
Jess isn't as much a seafood fan as me, so I think she had a burger, but I had a feast of the best seafood you can get in Australia. It was glorious. After lunch we saw some of our first silo art of the trip in Kimba, SA. It's the halfway point across Australia, by coast, and is also home to the Big Galah.
In tiny towns across Australia, you can find these statues of giant things. We've got one in Exmouth, the Big Prawn. We passed another one a few days later, the Big Lobster. They aren't always critters - they're also fruits and veggies like pineapples and potatoes. Bananas. Anyway, it's kind of a wonder they haven't featured more in these blog posts to be honest. I'll rectify that with a Big Prawn photo soon.
That afternoon, after passing the town of Iron Knob, we made our way to another ringer of a free campsite, this one in a sheep paddock in the hills. Sapphy freaked out at the sheep, but the sunset was a thing of beauty.
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| Morning visitors in the paddock |
The next day's drive had my favorite mural art of the trip in a little town called Bute, South Australia. The colors were so vibrant, the little girl featured in the art looked practically like a photograph.
I think this is as close to ever seeing myself in art as I've come in life. Books, birds, flowers, and a blue dress. It's me!
It was a wild day of driving in that we left the morning campsite in blue skies and sunshine and by the time we made it to our evening site it was grey, overcast, and the temperature had dropped by about 20 degrees F. Kingston SE was a chilly, wet town. We decided to pay for a campsite - the first paid site of the trip - so that we could take proper, warm showers instead of just being dirtbags. Man, was it ever a good idea. The showers were hot, there was cool art painted on the walls, and the host was super gracious. It also POURED rain all night and we wondered a few times if the tent was going to take flight in the winds. Great night to have gotten a nice warm shower, doubled up on all the clothing possible, and snuggled in for a cozy night of reading in the roof top tent. Beautiful.
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| take note of the giant spider friend I made in the top left of that shower photo |
We waved to the Big Lobster as we drove past on our way out of Kingston SE, and made our way to the town of Mount Gambier, SA. One of Mt. Gambier's most famous attractions is the iconic Sinkhole Garden there, lovingly built and maintained by a local fellow who then bequeathed it to the city upon his passing. It's a proper English garden; it just happens to be located in a giant hole in the ground.
We were getting close to our final stretch of driving and, as you can tell from the Eagles hat in good use, the weather was properly cold. We had planned to drive the Great Ocean Road down south of Melbourne when we crossed into Victoria, but a scenic drive when it's cold and murky isn't nearly as appealing as just... getting to a house with hot running water and not having a stressed-out Staffordshire Terrier in the cab of a pickup truck aka ute. So we decided to bail on that and just make our way into Melbourne to stay with Jess' Uncle Ken before heading north to Shep.
So here's the thing about Kenny: he is interested in SO MANY of the same things my brother is into. He worked for Holden (the car company) for years and years before they closed, and now, because he has all these years of highly technical skills making parts and designing systems for them, he machines after-market parts for the hoardes of people who need them. And also machines parts for Ford for their Mustangs. And for Ferrari. He has a great big Shed of Wonders filled with drill bits in every size and shape imaginable. He has machines for making machines, and 3D printers, and the wild kinda tech that you see in car commercials when they're trying to convince you that they've super engineered their products, except this is Ken's house. So when we rocked up there, Curious Creature that I am, I had approximately one million questions for him. Every answer led to more questions. And Ken lit up more and more with each one, explaining the work he's been doing for decades to someone who thought it sounded really cool, if unimaginably complex. I sent some videos to my brother who, unsurprisingly, geeked out: "Look at how his drill bits are organized! I love this guy!" Kenny and I are wandering around his shed and having a couple of beers and poor Jess has been completely ignored. When we finally stopped to breathe for a minute Kenny starts making jokes about how, when we leave the next day, he's going to curl up in the fetal position and rock himself to soothe all the stress of my barrage of questions. So, needless to say, we got along smashingly.
We left in the morning with an open invitation to return anytime and took the long way to get to Shepparton through what's called the Black Spur. It's an incredible scenic drive through old growth forest at the edge of the Victorian high country and it felt like we were driving through Jurassic Park. Giant ferns next to towering evergreens and eucalyptus. Honestly breathtaking views and a really fun road to drive on, to boot.
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| We didn't see any koalas though I did keep an eye out |
We made it safely to Shep and it was glorious to just go to sleep knowing we didn't have to pack down a campsite in the morning.
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| Jess' parents' wedding photos were epic. Look at those mullets! And the dress sleeves! That's Uncle Ken on the far right, rocking a mullet nearly as good as Dad Bollard's. |
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Sapphy was also thrilled to be in a house again
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We had such a fun trip getting to Shep, but then her family was so gracious with inviting me to do fun stuff with them, too. We did a day trip to the Victorian High Country, and I got to go to Dad's work's Christmas Party. Because, as Mom Bollard told all his 20-year-old plumbing apprentices, I'm his other daughter who grew up in America. Obviously, can't they see it in the nose? Amazing.
Plus, Shep has its own attraction in the Cow Parade!
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| The one isn't at the Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) like the other cows, but rather overlooking a major intersection in town. What a graceful bovine! |
We spent days wandering around Shep and the surrounds, and nights hanging with her family and neighbors. I entertained them by using Australian words like "prawn" and "g'day" while making friends with all the old men and laughing with the women. I got lost for a few hours in an arts and crafts store, touching all the brightly colored fabrics and yarns, and wishing I had a big house I could fill with this shit. And then being grateful that I don't have a big house that I can fill with this shit. But enjoying the stuff that comes with being in a real city, if a small one, instead of a small Outback town.
Jess and I spent one whole afternoon doing a Silo Art trail through local towns.
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| Goorombat |
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| Sophia of Goorambat in a local church |
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| Devenish |
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| St. James |
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| @ the Tungemah Pub |
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| Because shouldn't every pub have a cockatoo who's been going daily for 40 years? |
It was beautiful, and such a cool way for communities to inspire visitors.
Work Christmas party:
High Country:
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| Craig's Hut from the movie, The Man from Snowy River |
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| View from Craig's Hut |
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Bindaree Falls
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| Refuge Hut in the National Park - in case you get caught in a snow storm |
