Sunday 28 August 2016

The Waiting Game.

Sunday 28/08/16, howling wind & lots of rain outside. 
By Will.

The Art of Doing Nothing, seems like Jen & I aren't very good at it. While Jenny recovers I've found myself not doing very much. Feeling quite restless at the moment, but stuck in a "holding pattern" for now. At least it's good for clearing the mind.

Lots of morning lay-ins & morning coffees, get them in now as in the future we'll be on the road & busy ? (Probably can only get Chai Tea in India).

I have tackled a few small projects, but really we are just sitting around & waiting:

- For the India motorbike adventure, 6 weeks to go !
- The Reno House to come together, at least another 4 months.. argh, probably longer.
- New patio at the investment house (where we are currently living) to commence so the front is improved for selling. Who knows, received the building permit last Friday.
- SMSF to be finalised & come under our control.
- Jenny to recover enough for long term travel, minimum of 3 more weeks before being ready to travel.

Behind the scenes we have been helping family with their own issues & problems.


Finally I get my act together & install an 80 watt solar panel on our Kombi Camper.

It took 1 & half hours to install & was quite straight forward.

The company I was going to purchase the hardware through on the Internet (based in Queensland) were going to add GST tax & freight onto the initial purchase price, so I decided to shop around locally & bought the above plus a portable 120w folding portable solar panel for about $820, from Battery Force on Pinjarra Rd. Approximately $400 less then the Queensland internet company.

A snug fit onto the Rhino Racks (as planned, ages ago).

"Yeah, it's alive", 20 amp solar power regulator. Connect the solar panel to the regulator, then connect to the Kombi auxiliary "house" 12v battery. Very basic regulator unit ($75) Red LED equals charging, Orange, nearly there, Green, fully charged & switched off. 

Oh did I mention I got a flat tyre during last weekends "Boys Trip", down south ! As it turns out I staked both the front & rear driver side tyres, likely at the same time....ouch, so Peel Tyre Serviced fixed them for me during the past week. Only about 15000kms of tread left on these Maxxis AT tyres, I've done about 50000kms on them so not to bad. Time to plan for the next ones.

It may not look it in this photo, but the weather has set the Reno House project back by at least one month. 

Quarter of the original roof tiles are off. Yesterday (Saturday) Gary our neighbour called and said the blue tarp had come adrift in the 40km/h winds & was flapping everywhere. Hayden my son was visiting at the time so we headed over & with the help from Chris & Reece the builders, secured it again. Some ceiling damage inside.

Jenny retrieved the fit ball out of the shed so she can do some gentle abdominal exercises, to aid her recovery.

We have selected all of the bathroom/kitchen fittings, taps, toilets, basins, etc. Now to figure out the tiles.

6 month Indian Visas have arrived, by the time we get over there we'll have 4.5 months remaining. You never know, if we are enjoying ourselves we may stay a bit longer, then the planned 2 months. We have paid extra for a flexible return airline ticket, with Singapore Airlines.

Team wiljen are really looking forward to our Indian Tour now. After that I guess we come back to Mandurah, Western Australia, tie up the loose ends, then get back with the program of seeing & experiencing this wonderful world of ours.

Take care you lot :-)











Monday 22 August 2016

Boys 4WD Trip Down South.

Blog 19th, 20th, 21st. August 2016

Secret Men's Business.
By Will

Jenny gives me a break for a few days, while Olivia our daughter keeps her company

To celebrate our nephew Nik becoming an adult, his Dad, John organised a 3 day weekend away, down to Western Australia's wonderful South West.

The 18 year olds, CJ, Brody & Nik. They love their Off Roading !

It was to be 3 days off roading, camp fires, beers, golf driving, marron fishing (on a private property with blessings from the owner as it's out of season), sleeping on the ground & lots of "male bonding" with heaps of laughs.

Saturday, We all rendezvous at Rob's place and depart at 9.30am.

I was fortunate to get an invite, all up there were 5 four wheel drives & 10 blokes ranging in age from 15 to 47 (uh that makes John & I the "elders", when did that happen ?).

3 and half hours later we arrive at the farm and move our gear into the shed.
The locals wonder what the heck is going on !?!?

Marron poaching is rife down south and Rob asked me not to give away the location of where we stayed. But it was somewhere on the edge of D'Entrecasteaux National Park about 3.5 hours from home.

We had a great few days, one of my mates Mark (who is Nik's Uncle from his Mum's side) rode shotgun with we for the weekend & the other vehicles were all 2 up as well. So there was heaps of room. Some of the off roading was quite hard core & there was a bit of snatch strap action in the swampy conditions. 

Soon after arriving we go in search of some 4WD adventure, it doesn't take long to find. Very wet around here with only 1 week of winter left.

It really is cold, but the boys decide to check the water depth.

Nik decides to tackle a creek crossing in the old Nissan Patrol, 2.8L, turbo.

And gets stuck, his Dad, John snatches him out in his work Ford Ranger.

On the first day after some swamp driving, the others decided on a bit of night time off road action, I wimped out and volunteered to head back to the farm & light the fires, Mark decided to come with me. By about 8pm we were a bit concerned about the blokes as they should've been back, but apart from having a general idea where they had headed there wasn't much we would be able to do until morning. 

While waiting at the farm, Mark thinks an extra comfy chair would be nice.

Happily they all turned up just after 8pm with huge grins on their faces, covered in mud & bits missing from their trucks. Good on them

John & Brad's trucks sustained some minimal damage, CJ in the old 70 series grey import shorty lost a rego plate. 
Nik & I came through the weekend unscathed, though as I look out my kitchen window this morning I notice my rear drivers side tyre isn't round on the bottom anymore...a flat tyre !

Getting ready to tackle the sand dunes in D'Entrecasteaux NP on our way to the Warren River mouth. Most of us have deflated our tyres down to 12psi.

John goes first in the Ford Ranger.

The Team wiljen non-turbo 4.2L Diesel 105 Series Landcruiser needs 3 attempts to conquer a big dune just before the beach. Only Brad in his powerful 4.5L petrol 80 Series Landcruiser made it over this dune on the first go....

This is as far as we can drive along the beach, the Warren River is flowing fast.

CJ's diesel 1988 70 Series struggles up the dune.

Selfie time.

Marron for supper.

But first let's have late night marron races !

The next morning (Sunday) my back tyre is nearly flat. I'm hoping it's just beach sand stuck in the valve, so clear that and pump it up with the farm compressor. (It was flat again at home on Monday morning).

A big thanks to John, Rob, Ivan, Brad, Mark, Brody, CJ, Scott and of course Nik for a great trip away !


We get ready to tackle the tracks around Windy Harbour.

Deflate our tyres to under 20psi.

A photo of the Crew (excluding Mark & I) at the Beacon Look Out above Windy Harbour

Great view along the rugged South Coast.

We check out the Gardener River, some great camping spots hidden in behind the dunes.

Looking up the Gardener River.

We go 4WDriving in what turns out to be the Gardener River delta, so soon give up and head back to Windy Harbour via the beach on an incoming tide with a storm front hitting us. It turned into a crazy exciting drive.








Monday 15 August 2016

More Surgery for Jenny & house situation update.

Blog Update Tuesday 9/08/16.
By Will

Kombi trip was fantastic folks, we did 2750kms over 11 days & used about 11 litres of petrol per 100kms. Also got through 500ml of engine oil per 1000kms and spent less then $100AUD per day... A very successful shake down mission for old DIXYBUS ! Oh the "engine stutter" problem we encountered on the Freeway, ended up being a combination of split fuel line & dirty fuel filter. 

New Spare Wheel Cover for DIXYBUS.

Tonight is Census night for Australia, every 5 years it's compulsory to fill out the "head count" form or cop massive fine, like $180AUD per day. 
Personally I don't have an issue with complying, it does help our country plan for a (better) future, or so I hope...

I've now been through 9 of these Census counts, and while some questions are fair and reasonable, like how many bedrooms in your house, what do you earn, are you married. I still can't fathom WHY the question of "What is Your Religion" & why it is in there ?

Most average real Aussies put "No Religion ", "Jedi Knight", Beer Economy" or some other non conformist idea that probably dates back to the convict times. 

What do our Aboriginal citizens put, "Dreamtime" ? That isn't even an option, though certainly sounds better then Catholic, Protestant or Islam .  At least Dreamtime means you have a connection with the land.

Anyway I just found out that the whole Census Computer System has crashed, so it will be interesting to see what happens next.

The Investment House we own & are presently living in needs some TLC before we sell it:

High Temp damage to bench at Rental House. Where we are currently staying.

Kitchen was only 2 years old & handed over to us damaged.

It cost $900 to repair. Insurance not an option.

At least it will look good now when we sell.

The dream/experiment sold to us by Government, Banks, Realestate, Mass Media & Big Business of being a property investor to make lots of money turned into a farce, I suggest you avoid it and find a better way to invest your hard earned savings. Lots of headaches & costs for a poor return. 
Buying your primary residence makes some sense but "investment properties"  not worth the effort, that's one reason why Jenny & I are getting out.

So tonight I'm just sitting here thinking about it all & my lot in life while my best friend is in Hospital recovering from some major surgery.

Surprisingly to us we get quite a few "hits" on our wiljen adventures blog, much more then we have in Face Book friends between us. So there are a lot of people out there who are quietly coming along for the ride and enjoying it I hope. Thanks for following friends...

Jenny will be ok & recover enough to be ready for India in 2 months. We had considered taking our bicycles but I fear the exertion may be too much for Jen at this early stage of recovery. So the motor bike option still makes good sense.

***Jenny trying to appear brave, while getting into the "Hospital Patient Uniform" for surgery.***


I went to visit a day after the surgery & Jen seemed pretty happy. Lots of visitors & phone calls. She comes home on Thursday to continue with the recuperating.

Just before I sign off I will give you a brief Mandurah Reno house update. This project has become huge for us and is sucking away at our precious finances. Yes we have doubt, but Jenny & I have never done things in half measures, it's all or nothing for us.

Mandurah Reno house, retaining for fence. (Thanks Rohan)

Walls for additions are up, once the weather improves the roof will go on.

Living area addition...outdoor/indoor area.

Once completed this place will be our home base. A mini refuge for us, our family and friends. Both of us hope our plan works out. 
Having a fixed address is a huge plus when you are travelling this big world of ours. You have a lot less hassles with obtaining extended visas, vehicle registration is simpler, also a nice place to rest when you are travel weary is a bonus.

This year is turning out to be a time of repairs, reconciliation, reconnection, downsizing & planning. We plan for next year to be a huge travelling one !

*** I need to be careful what I write about Jenny's surgery & health situation, it's early days and all indications are that everything has proceeded as planned. Of course I worry about the worst outcome, but so far it's going ok. I really hope I don't have to go into details, for the curious, it's "Woman's Business" let's leave it at that***




Monday 1 August 2016

Icy Mornings and Wild Flowers

Saturday 23rd July to Thursday 28th July 
By Jenny.

Norseman to Home 

So luckily, Nicole and Barry had their reverse cycle aircon on, as it was bloody freezing. After we had warmed up, and caught up on the goss, Nicole and I went to take care of the town Doctors ducks. He keeps them for food, but they are so cute, and grubby poop machines. Nicole sorted out their swimming hole, while I chatted to the student doctor staying in the doctors house.

The Docs Ducks.....Nicole has named them.....Kennard....All of them.


At least dinner will taste good after duck poop hey Nicole?


Nicole cooked us an amazing roast (pork, not duck) with desert, and we had a good catch up. Little dog, Bayley, was very cute, and we threatened to steal him. 

After a delicious breakfast, Barry went off to man the Museum, and we did some washing, before heading down to check it out. It is actually pretty cool, and definitely worth the gold coin donation. 


Norseman Museum.....lots of cool relics......and Barry.


I have actually used one of these machines, mum still has it.


Bicycles, bicycles everywhere. There is a long history of cycling in Norseman. What? True!


Down at the local IGA, we did a bit of food shopping, as Nicole's Grandad and Uncle were going to be dropping in. Nicole busied herself making Carrot cake for the family, and we just relaxed. Jim (Grandad), and Laurie (Uncle) arrived around 3pm, we had lunch and chatted, and checked out their travelling rig.....hooley Dooley, really?


Nicole.....the circus is in town.....oh, it's your Grandad!


Laurie and Jim.....these guys are old school Aussie hard core blokes. Lots of laughs.


Jim is 87, and drives his old Hyundai Sonata, while Laurie (in his 60's) drives the 4WD tip truck with Jim's little caravan on the back. At night, Laurie sleeps in the truck cab, and Jim climbs a rickety old ladder to the van and sleeps in there. He isn't allowed down until Laurie is awake and can make sure he finds his footing on the ladder. Amazing guys, and very interesting chats.


Check out that old rusty ladder.......it's safe to come out Jim, Laurie is ready.


Barry, Will and Bayley took a dive along the telegraph track to Lake Dundas.


Stopping by to say hi to some random giant goat.......Bayley didn't like him much.....scary!


Some old mine relics they found on their drive. Amazing what you can find out here.


On Monday morning, Nicole was the first poor sole to be forced out into the icy morning, having to start work before 7am. Then Barry, to take puppy Bayley for his frosty morning walk, then Jim and Laurie, who ate their Nuts and Berries, had a coffee then hit the long road to Central Queenslandish. We took our sweet time, hoping for it to warm up a bit. It didn't, so we chugged off at Morning tea time.


Nonuts, you crazy giraffe, what do you think you are doing?


The road to Kalgoorlie, was busier, with caravans, trucks and mine vehicles, but having had some good rainfall, it was quite scenic. Kalgoorlie, was just how we left it, in the late 80's, maybe a few less people, and a bit run down. Lots of shops closed down and for lease, and looking to need some love.


Big city Kalgoorlie.......still looks the same as 1989.....mostly.


The major historical intersection of Hannan street and Maritana street. A pub on each corner.


The other side of that corner....


We didn't waist too much time in Kal, just long enough to do some shopping, be thankful we didn't still live there, and fuel up. Then we were on the road north towards Menzies. Oh, not before noticing a note left under our windscreen wiper......."Hi Will and Jen"......hhmmmm, who could that have been? 


Who could this be from.....


Heading to Goongarrie Station, about 40kms south of Menzies, we are travelling on a bit of the Goldfields Highway we have used many, many times before, while living and working around Kal. So there is no doubt, what so ever, that we NEED to stop and have "one", at The BroadArrow Pub. 


The old Broad Arrow! Beers, pool, bad behaviour........all in this pub......


It is not as nice as we remember it, as it is now decorated with graffiti, wall to wall. But we have a beer, share a burger, a few memories, and carry on our journey north. Thankfully, it is sunny, which warms us a little, through the windscreen, while the cold air gusts in through the pedal holes on the drivers side......It's ok Dixy, we know you are getting on, we don't really mind.

While driving along, passing more mines, great shrub lands, and lots of mine vehicles, we get a message from our friend Darren, who tells us the note in Kal was from Gayle and Martin, his sister and brother in-law. Huh, what a small world. Thanks guys, it was a fun puzzle to try and figure, we did not guess you.

Goongarrie Station was easy to get to, and is now owned by the Department of Conservation and Land Management, so is pretty much abandoned. Volunteers man it, and take your camping fees, which are $10 per person, per day. You can sleep in the homestead, or the shearers quarters, or camp around the station in a few designated spots. We were the only ones there, so we picked the homestead, and parked Dixy in the driveway, and had the use of the homestead facilities.


What's out here Jen? How the hell would I know Will? Let's go find out....


All this to ourselves. Looks like home.....


How bad is it Will? What, flushing, clean and toilet paper?


There was plenty of wood to light the chip heater for hot showers, and have a good fire to cook our dinner. There was flushing toilets, and a kitchen sink. It was a really great spot, with a few very friendly Pied Butcher birds, who really wanted to share our dinner with us. They were very cheeky, and sat and chatted with us until dark.

It was a cold night, with a clear sky, showing us the absolute stunning array of stars, planets and satellites in our system. We used an app on the iPad, called Star Walk, which uses the camera and GPS to show you different constellations, stars and planets. It was cool.  When we woke up, the sun was out, so we opened the door and let the warmth in. Next minute, two of the Butcher birds decided to say good morning, and proceeded to come right in and have a good sticky beak (pun intended) around.


Morning! Time to get up already? Ten more minutes?


What are you two chatting about? Watch out for Nonuts, he is not to be trusted...


Once fed and packed up, we had a great explore around the station, and did the easy 3km walk trail over the granite water catchment area and bush. I actually got warm enough to take off one layer.......lets keep heading north.

On towards Menzies, where we didn't stop, as there isn't a great deal there, and to Leonora. There is a ghost town there, called Gwalia, that we both wanted to check out. We did consider detouring from Menzies to Lake Ballard, to check out the sculptures, but it was over 50kms, so that will be for another trip. So we made it to Gwalia for lunch, and found ourselves a bench and table in the sun, made some Chorizo, cheese and tomato rolls, and relaxed. That is when I realised that there were many cool Pokemon to be caught here. Geodude, Machop, Sandshrew and Sandslah. And there were Pokestops and a gym. Even more reason to wander around and explore the ghost town. 



Welcome to Gwalia! A nice bench and table for lunch........


Old car, old garage....


The houses still have furniture.......really cool.


The old Gwalia pub. It's on the mining lease, so is just sitting there unused. Still in good nick.


There is also a new museum, up on the hill looking into the pit, which is still being mined today, with St Barbara operating a decline, underground operation. The museum is free, or you can make a donation, which was a surprise, and it was very interesting. Not too big, and with good information. We left a donation, and gave some positive feedback. Worth going to.


The new museum. Still lots of work to do, but still worth a look.


The old pit, still being worked. Can you see the tiny trucks!



The largest wooden head frame remaining in the world. Made from Oregon Pine.


Hard to imagine riding a bike out here in the old days........


One of two viewing platforms, still amazing to see what we do....


All Pokemon caught, we headed on north, after topping up our fuel. We weren't going to get to Leinster, and we didn't really want to stay there anyway, so we made use of Wikicamps, on Will's phone, and decided on a spot, called Sullivan's Creek. The reviews were alright, and there weren't many other options. When we found it and pulled in, our faces dropped. It was literally right next to the highway, with truck after truck barrelling past. Oh poop. While we sat there contemplating, Will decided to have a little walk, and see if we could get around the fence, and find a better spot. Well thank you very much, we could. So we did, and found a great clearing, away from the road, with plenty of good wood for a fire, and a relaxing evening.


Sullivan Creek, Edward Sullivan was the first man to find gold in Leonora. He worked his lease with four other mates. After travelling to Kal and going on a bender for five days, leaving his mates to work, they did the Aussie thing and teased him and bagged him out, to which he grabbed his revolver, walked into the bush here, and shot himself........that showed them!


Cooking up our curry while it's still light.


Now the fire is raging, and warm, and Nonuts is into our Port......


Aside from Nonuts getting into our Port, and finishing our supply, it was another super bush camp. After getting our Thai Red Lamb curry cooked, Will suped up our fire for warmth on the outside, and we poured some Port (before Nonuts got to it) to warm our insides. Again, we were mesmerised by the amazing night skies, and changing colours of the flames in the fire. Gotta love this shit!

In the morning we made coffee, ate our nuts and berries, packed up and choofed off again. It was another bloody cold morning, with an icy breeze blowing. We headed into Leinster for a few supplies, Pokemon, and a look. Neither of us have been here. Not much to it, it is just a mining town, whose population varies with the mining climate. Currently starting to increase after a couple of quiet years, we were told. 


Getting out of the way of these big boys........


Awesome granite formations outside of Leinster.


Time to change direction, and now we're heading west again, towards Sandstone. But first, another ghost town, Agnew. Will has been there before, and remembers the pub open, and selling fuel. Not anymore! It is a sad and lonely sight. Over grown, run down, and surprise, surprise, no fuel. There is still mining going on nearby, but with Leinster 20kms away, the town isn't needed. We plod on to Sandstone.


Agnew, another poor deserted mining town.


No beer, no fuel......


The pub, shop, servo.......


It was a very pleasant drive, good weather, tailwind, and some wonderful scenery. We spotted some 5 Wedge Tailed Eagles all together on some poor dead animal on the side of the road. We weren't quick enough to capture them on camera, but it was cool. Hardly any traffic, and amazingly, a good sealed road. 

Sandstone was a very different place to what we remembered. Both of us had been there before, many years ago, and at that time, it was all rough dirt roads, in and out of town. Now, it is clean, tidy, and all sealed roads. We parked up in the council caravan park, which had new amenities, and was extremely well kept. It was also cheap, at $16.50 for an unpowered site. After setting up the van, and our new awning, for the first time, we walked to the pub, for a few drinks and dinner. It's a great little old pub, the food was delicious, and we chatted to some nice people who had just come across the Anne Beadell Hwy, which goes from Coober Pedy to Laverton. Two of them in their 70's, and tenting it. Good work people.


Our first time using the ARB awning. Super easy to erect.


Getting ready for bed after a great night at the old pub.


Great little pub, lots of character, memorabilia and good tucker.


After getting some fuel from the council run, self serve pumps, we headed off to find London Bridge. We knew it was around here somewhere, but never looked before. It was 2kms out of town, and on the way we stumbled on the Old Brewery. It is a cave they used to brew beer in. Huh, how cool. Then we found the bridge. It was pretty amazing, and didn't look like it had changed much over the years.


Pre-paid, shire operated fuel stop.


Never too early in the day to check out an old brewery...... I don't know that Dixy should be drinking.


She's really keen for a drink.....no luck today Dixy.......nothing going on today.


London Bridge! Wow, they used to use camel trains and horse drawn carts on this thing.....


Photo bombed.......


Off we go, in search of some early wild flowers, towards Mt Magnet. We've been to Magnet plenty of times, having lived in nearby (200kms away) Meekatharra for a few years, and Tom Price for several. So we weren't surprised that it hasn't really changed. It wasn't pleasant, and the only open one, of 3 pubs, The Grand, was far from it. Beer came in stubbies or cans, taken out of dingey old eski's along the filthy back wall, the only food pre-made beef and gravy rolls heated in the microwave.....seriously? You can't smash together a fresh Sanger or burger? 

No Pokemon either, so no point hanging around. This next stretch of road was awesome. We saw emus, Roos, goats, sheep, and flowers. It just started with a few small patches, then as we started to pay more attention, more and more, until it looked like fields of snow. The smell was incredible. 


What's that Nonuts? You want a photo shoot with wild flowers...... I don't know about that!


Mt Magnet.......hmmm.....could do better.....


OMG......look at all these beauties.......more than I thought we'd see this early....


At one spot, Nonuts decided to get his model on, and we just had to frolic in the flowers. Mostly white, it was great to find a patch of yellows, and some tiny mauve ones. What a fantastic drive through to Yalgoo, where we parked up in the council caravan park. Another neat, tidy town making good use of the Royalties For Regions funding. Lots of historical buildings, a museum, and Rec center. We cooked dinner at the newly built camp kitchen, with some prospectors from Rockingham, and a few grey nomads. An interesting crew.


Seriously Nonuts, you are a tool....


Nice entry, Yalgoo.....


Neat little caravan park. Great facilities.


The old water tank along the old rail line from Mt Magnet. Just out of Yalgoo.


The journey so far!


A much warmer night, and we woke up in the sunshine. At last, I'm not freezing. We cooked some egg and bacon brekkie wraps, on the camp kitchen BBQ, chatted to our prospecting neighbours, before heading off towards my birth town, of Morawa. This was another great drive full of flowers, this time mostly yellow, and lovely, quiet roads.


From white to yellow......just amazing.......hoping for some pink.


McCarthys Well.... 


Bloody beautiful day, flowers, sun and a Kombi....


The chimneys always last.....


In Morawa, we searched out my old family home, and discovered it fixed up and lived in. Some good memories, funny stories, and we were back heading South towards Moora. We passed through Three Springs & Carnamah where Will's mum grew up, and had a brief stop for supplies and lunch. We also used this stop to look for a spot to camp, on Wikicamps, as it was going to be our last chance before home. It is slim pickings, with so many little farming towns from here on, but we agree to check out one at Jingemia Cave, between Coorow and Watheroo. It is a day use spot only, but we thought we'd try our luck anyway.


Let's check it out......been a while since the last visit.


My early childhood home......a few mods, but still much the same.


Another new entry sign...


As we headed south, the weather was changing, the skies were darkening, and the wind became cross winds. Dixybus was not easy to handle in these conditions, so I was pretty keen to find the spot, and crossed my fingers it would be OK. It was. Actually, it was pretty cool. It had a rough long drop toilet, but definitely not the worst I've dealt with. It was in amongst a lovely patch of reserved natural woodlands, and even though the weather was crappy, we had a nice cosy night. No fire, but you can't have everything.


Don't know if we should trust the navigator........Nonuts!


No fire, but the other facilities are not bad....pity about the weather...


Holed up in the van.......cosy and dry!


The morning was cold, but sunny, and we packed up before taking a walk to the cave itself, which was a little surprise. It was a natural formation, small and hidden, but was discovered in the early 1900's and mined for guano (bat/bird poop). It was used as a cheaper fertiliser for farming. What's wrong with cow or sheep poop? Anyway, I walked the walk around the outside, and was totally blown away by the view from the highest point. Which wasn't that high! Will, with the good knees, went down the tricky decline to see the actual cave. 

A very relaxing and interesting start, then we continue on to Moora. We paused here to have a warming coffee and muffin, while wasting time. We are too early for the bottle shop, we need to get a couple of nice bottles of wine for Aunty Helen and Uncle Colin, who are putting us up tonight in Gingin.


Not very big, but interesting.


And look at that view....


The actual cave where they mined the Bat poop.


The workings....


Moora, the pub.........


After a lovely coffee, catching a few rare Pokemon, and a nice wander down the Main Street, we purchased our wine, a couple of newspapers (on request from Helen), and slowly headed off in a westerly direction, towards Dandaragan, then Regan's Ford. We stopped here for our last fuel top up, and chatted to a lovely lady about her past Kombi adventures. Everyone has a Kombi story, and they are all cool. Lastly, we take Orange Springs Road to Cowalla road, and arrive at our final nights stop right on lunch time.


And Pokemon........ha ha ha....so funny! Gotta catch em all!


In the park at Moora, I just liked it!


We've trashed our house, but it's our last day so it's ok.


Helen and Colin, ex-school teachers, have a farm, growing Mangoes, Mandarines and Limes. They are in their early 70's, and had no experience when they started. They listened, read, learned, and worked hard over the last 15 plus years, and now have a successful, money making property. They still work pretty hard, and are amazingly inspirational, and they always look after us. Helen is a fantastic host, making us delicious food, and Colin helps us enjoy good red wine, and is generous with sharing his knowledge. They are wonderful people, and we always enjoy our visits. This was no exception.


Will helped Colin clean up some wood cuttings, payment for food and board.


Helen and Colin! Taking care of some other pests! Not us, some nasty European wasps. In the bug killer container of all places.


Our final day started with picking some fruit, helping with a few jobs, and a long chatty breakfast. Finally, with the wind picking up, it was time to hit the busy roads for home. Not as fun as the outback roads. Hitting the freeway, the weather was going bad. The wind was buffeting Dixy pretty badly, and Will was working hard to stay in his lane. I had a lovely relaxing journey.

Close to Safety Bay road, we started to notice some stuttering, and power loss. We weren't sure if it was just the wind, it was up to 40km/hr now, and getting worse. So we pulled into the new servo, and had a check of the vitals, a leg stretch, and some lunch. Nothing seemed to be out of order, so we carried on to home. There was more spluttering and power fluctuating, but we got home and hosed safely. Another great little adventure, and Will can check on Dixybus tomorrow. She'll be right, hey?


The final road home.