Safari 2109 August 16th & 17th

Friday August 16th at Kimba

Shortly after we left the Lake Gairdner camp we changed our decision toe camp at Mt Ive. The sky was cloudy and we definitely did not want to drive on wet roads...so here we are settled for the night in Kimba which is on the Eyre Highway. 
The road south was mostly wide and gravel until the last 40 odd kms when we found bitumen. I stopped thinking of our belongings rattling around in the van. All is safe after the gravel roads so, both van and driver did an excellent job!
We stopped for lunch at Buckleboo which is a country area of rolling hills and green crops and pastures. We pulled in at the local sports arena and tennis courts and enjoyed our lunch.
Right where we parked there were several eucalypt trees. They were not all familiar to us but John was able to identify the one with the wonderful square fruit which were 2.4 cm wide by 2.5cm so quite large fruit. It was a type of Fuchsia Gum called 'Eucalyptus Dolichorhynch'. I am sure I will never learn to pronounce this one!!

Mallee Fuchsia Gum with square fruit

The weather has definitely been warmer today,not as warm as yesterday but 15 or 16 deg.













August 17th 
We decided to camp a second night at Kimba which enabled us to have a good look around the little township as well as getting all our washing dry..hooray!
Late morning we drove around to look at the various sights including the 'big galah' which is quite ghastly and much in need of a coat of fresh paint! 
We visited Foodland and now realise 

Kimba Silo Art

that many super markets are only open for 5 1/2 days per week. 



 In several places we have noticed the use artificial timber, especially in tourist precincts. one of the Brand names used is REPLAS. Examples of uses are posts and picnic tables. These items are made from re-cycled plastic

REPLAS picnic table

Mid afternoon we set off along the Roora Reserve Nature Trail. It begins in the outskirts of Kimba and was developed for footballers needed to make training runs away from traffic on the roads. It is a well formed track with a firm surface without stones or ruts. The full length is 6km return trip which John was successful in walking. I did the shorter walk of 4 km return. We thoroughly enjoyed our walk through the bush. Trees and flowers were named and there were a number of metal sculptures made to fit into the environment.

Sculptured  kangaroos

  

Sculptured Mallee Fowl near (artificial nest)