82 posts tagged “green nomad”
Ouch.
We came upon this scene early Tuesday morning just out of Norseman. As we were approaching it we were very worried for the owners. There were several trucks at the scene and it looked like one of them may have cleaned up the car and van.
As it was, no one was seriously hurt and the damage came
from losing control just after a bend in the road and the whole unit dropping
on its side. Obviously vans are not designed for this activity but the extent
of the destruction is still pretty devastating. Just to the right of the wreckage on the road is the towing vehicle. Now back on its wheels.
Full insurance covers your replacements of course, but I hate to think of the mucking around and the paperwork involved in getting back on the road. Not to mention a certain nervousness when you finally get mobile again.
This accident was only about 100 clicks out of Norseman so support services are reasonably close. If it had been further back on the Nullabor and someone requiring medical attention, it would have been a Flying Doctor landing on the highway. Some of the straight stretches we drove along are marked up to assist landing on the highway.
Photo 1 The wrecked van
Photo 2 The Nullabor plain. One straight stretch went for 132 kilometers
Photo 3 A boab tree. This is from Kununurra before we headed back
Photo 3 Sunset near Geraldton
One of the benefits of the unplanned return was a chance to pickup the bike the cops had recovered in Victor Harbour but it didn't go completely to plan.
Firstly, we were arriving on a Saturday and they only
operate Mon to Fri.Happily the case manager was prepared to send a patrol down
to hand over the bike when we came past so we told them we would be swinging by
on Saturday.
Once we arrived at Victor Harbour we gave them a call and were advised a patrol would be along shortly. After half an hour a squad car came along and disappeared inside the garage out the back of the cop shop. No acknowledgment from them as they flew past.
After
another half hour, and no sign of any activity, Liz gave them another call to
see if the message had been passed on. It had, so the controller wasn't sure
what was going on. More delay and I was quite happy to forget the whole
process.
Eventually even Liz had had enough so we decided to head off again. Nice try. The car battery had lost some charge through the van and we couldn't start the car. A challenging call to RACV eventually got the location sorted and then Mr Plod came out to cough up the bike so everything got sorted after wasting a couple of hours.
On recovering the bike we discovered the seat and post have been removed so it's not quite ready for riding just yet.
Currently in Eucla heading for somewhere around Kalgoorlie tonight.
The rush trip back home was an interesting exercise.
We decided to head back even though the kids had things under control. You wouldn't be much of a parent if you didn't return to back up the kids in stressful times. As it turned out the intervention order did the trick and it was encouraging to see the kids had done all the right things. Although they all live in different areas, they came together in a close knit group when it was required. Must have something to do with our Parenting. ;-)
We got the call when we were camped in Kununurra. Not as far from home as you can get on the mainland, but only about 1,000 kilometres shorter. I plugged the destination into the GPS and on the first attempt it said it was too hard. Gave it a second crack and it came up with a mere 3,900 clicks. We decided to still sleep at night but drive some of the night hours. In the end we generally drove till around 10 pm then woke around 5 am and hit the road again. With 2 drivers you can manage this but you still need some proper sleep. All up it took 3 days and 2 hours. Quite a difference from the 3 months it took to get there.
It was an interesting exercise. Temperatures were lower and it even tried to rain in Coober Pedy. Something that doesn't happen very often out there. I kept the camera handy but all we got was some Melbourne-like drizzle.
Once back in Vic the results of some light rain had made a nice impact on the paddocks. All nice and green looking. Sadly, the grass is still short and the dams are still empty. We are not quite half way through Winter so all is not lost yet but I would be seriously nervous if I lived round Horsham.
What a huge difference it was to our lifestyle to be back in Victoria. Instead of thongs T shirt and swimming togs, it's singlets under shirts, tracky dacks and socks. On top of having to wear more clothes, it takes forever to dry the washing. I never noticed it before now even after living here for decades.
It was excellent to catch up with the kiddlies. So much happens in their lives it's nice to get updates face to face. Only the week before Jim was carried from the field in a neck brace after being knocked out in a game of Aussie Rules. Yes, it is the world's greatest game but the injuries are generally more serious than he gets with indoor soccer. Seeing him up and about is more reassuring than a phone call.
One surprising outcome of our return visit was seeing the dogs again. We had considered bringing them along but it cuts out all the National Parks so they will have to wait for the next lap of Oz. They look well satisfied with the home arrangement anyway so I think they are pretty happy.
So we are back on the road again and the world knows McCarthy girls are not inclined to be treated as punching bags. The kids have shown themselves as very capable of dealing with a crisis and we still have funding for several more months travel before we need to top up the funds.
This first week will be pretty much straight through until we hit the coast and only updated when I have access to the Net.
The accommodation problem at home is resolved and we are almost back on the road. While we were dealing with the unhappiness, Liz's Mum was off to hospital so we have had a few days there while things settle down.
The plan is to head off Saturday and pick up the recovered stolen bike from Victor Harbour (Yes. I am shocked they found one) and keep heading West to Kalgoorlie. Then up the inland highway till we hit the North West.
We are sooooo ready to get going again.
Before we were called away from our travels we went through Litchfield National park on our way South from Darwin. Litchfield is smaller than Kakadu and about the same latitude but lies further West. It’s also quite different.
This is where you see the most impressive waterfalls but generally the hikes are fewer and smaller. It’s worth a visit though especially for the bird life. We ended up staying in a caravan park after I couldn’t manoeuvre into the last spot in the cheap park. This place had a board showing all the bird species sighted within the boundaries. It was pretty impressive and at Dawn and Sunset the birdsong was sensational.
The only downside, and it’s not a biggie, was the number of tourists in the billabongs. Because they are easier to get to from the car parks there are plenty of tour buses and most tourists seem to be hanging for a swim. No crocs sighted here but we did see a news item a month or two earlier where a bloke attacked a croc that had grabbed his missus in Litchfield. Luckily he was able to save her but what was really interesting was it was in an assumed croc free area.
Litchfield is well worth a look and marginally cooler than Darwin. An easy place to get some great photos.
Hi folks,
we have had to rush home to settle a problem with the housing arrangements. Normal service will resume over the next day or two. I have a few locations to blog to catch up with and then the 3900k trip home to relate.
Within a couple of weeks (probably after Liz's 49th birthday on the 21st) we will be heading up the East Coast.
The last of the springs in this part of the country is Douglas Hot Springs and these live up to the description “Hot”. Some of the others have been warm enough to get in easily but some of the springs here are too hot to stand in. A cold stream also feeds into this area so you just need to wander around till you find your preferred temperature then lay about for a couple of hours.
I’m not sure how long access is allowed during the year. During the Wet you can’t get in there (it’s 7 k of dirt) and later in the Dry the cold water ceases to flow and it’s too hot to lay in. I guess we are lucky yet again.
Most of the area is quite shallow so you can leave the noodles behind. The fish are less numerous and smaller than most the other springs so face masks aren’t really much value either. What they do have here though is a water monitor. We were laying in a hot pool and looked over to see this little bloke with his head out of water looking at us invaders. He was only a little chap of about a meter but impressive all the same. I’m pleased to say no-one went over to annoy him. We just appreciated the sight.
When we arrived here we set up, put our $9 (for the night) in the envelope then hit the pools. Lots of folk were in various areas but there was still plenty of room. You pretty much get a pool to yourself unless it’s really busy. There was a theory that at night someone was going to light a fire and we could all have a soak by fire light. This didn’t eventuate but when we went down for a look see there was a chick sitting in there in the dark. We were going to check the water temp but Liz’s flashlight picked out a small snake on the path and she was off. I had to find my own way back in the dark. The comment from the chick in the pool? “Don’t scare it down to me I don’t have a light.”
The next morning we went back early for a soak before leaving. No snakes or monitors this time but an overnight temp of 5 degrees made the water a beaut place to sit.
Photos 1 and 2 are early morning shots of the springs. Note the debris up the sides. After every Wet they have to clean everything out again.
Photo 3 is me posting in my copy from downtown Katherine. We had been out of cover for a few days and I needed to check email and post some blog items.
Now we are talking Highlight material when we mention the wildlife park. Run by the same folk who own the Desert Wildlife park as mentioned in the Alice Springs blog. This is better because the local flora is so much greener as you would expect. It also has an aquarium featuring salt water and fresh. In here you get to see a big salty just inches away. Among the fish is a beautiful collection of Aussie fresh water fish. If I ever own a tank again I’ll specialise in Australian Rainbow’s the colour is excellent. Much more subtle than African cichlids but beautiful all the same.
Another of the features here is meeting some animals. That’s how the snake photos came about. Liz and the snake is for Jenz who’s lizards have always had Liz on edge. The instruction was “Get that camera ready because this is going to be quick”.
If you are looking for some croc action of the fresh water variety, rock in here. There are several in the billabong area sharing their space with lots of other life both in and out of the water. There was even something that looked like a stingray swimming under the feeding platform.
Beaut aviaries here that are so big I wonder if the occupants know they are in captivity. And snakes. Wow. I saw my first King Brown and Taipan here. Both are huge beasts. The really scary part is we were looking in the King Brown’s glass enclosure and couldn’t see him under some dry grass until he moved. I’m told they are very aggressive and can throw themselves a couple of body lengths. I’ll be keeping well clear if I see one out bush.
This place was $20 a head and provides a full days entertainment. If you ever get a chance to see it snap it up.
Photo 1 A bird of prey trying to eat a fish and keep an eye on a couple of circling Kites.
Photo 2 An owl meeting the spectators
Photo 3 An attractive plant to test my "up close" skills.
Photo 4 Liz and the snake
Photo 5 Just before I took this shot some kid said "Has he got a poo hole?" They kids are checking out the croc for one.
After Howard Springs we were a bit more cautious about what to expect at Berry Springs. We need not have worried. Berry Springs doesn’t get much attention but it darn well should. The hot water comes over a waterfall of about a meter high, then flows down through a series of big ponds and out of the park. The connecting flows are quite shallow and fast flowing. You can swim upstream through these links with flippers but probably not with bare feet.
Lots of fish here so a snorkel, face mask and noodle are worth taking along. Several times we have loaned our gear to people so they can get full value from their visit. It’s always appreciated. A lady was feeding the archer fish here which is a bit of a no no but interesting to watch. She held out bits of bread and they would spit about 1 ½ meters to hit the target.
A note about accommodation here. We went to a place that was supposed to belong to one of the big chains. When we queried this he said they had dumped the chain. Later we discovered the hot water didn’t work in the Ladies so I suspect they were the ones dumped. For all its problems though, it was a great place with clean amenities and other infrastructure like a water slide. It seems they have the right idea but lack the repair skills. I think it makes a nice investment prospect for a “go getter”.
Not me though. I've got traveling to do.
Photo 1 Me trying to keep my swimmers on and enjoy the waterfall
The other 2 photos are a couple of the pools.
