Safari 2012

May 31st 

 June 1st tomorrow..the first day of winter. John and I are dreaming of departing  NE Victoria at this time of the year!

Many days dawn over a white frost with wafting fog. The mornings are beautiful but very cold. Despite our warm home, I gradually become tired of below zero temperatures. Generally the days produce clear blue skies with warm sunshine. We enjoy our lunch outside in the sun..but this is when we dream of, and plan for a warmer, northern and inland adventure. Inland temperatures do drop below zero but days become warm very swiftly.

 Pre-dawn frost -a view looking west

Sunrise from our home-‘Kyamba’, Milawa, on the last day of May.

Home to Milawa

^{Monday August 15th}

^{Unexpectedly we decided to head for Milawa..the sky had clouded overnight and our tent was dry!! A night out in the wet was not appealing. Rain first hit our windscreen at Swanhill and increased the further we travelled east.}

^{The NSW country around Balranald reminded us of the Nullarbor Plains..salt bush and very little on the horizon! Civilization was upon us as we travelled the Murray Valley Highway. We have had a memorable 6 weeks exploring the Australian Outback. It was great having Eileen and Geoff with us making our days more fun!!}

^{Our home lights were on as we arrived at 'Kyamba', smoke coming from our chimney and John A in the kitchen preparing dinner for us. Thankyou John for this gesture. We are pleased to be home but we are also certain that the 'Outback' will call us again!! We love it out there..the remote locations, the quiet and stars at night and the sense of discovery of so many interesting things.}

 ^{Safari 2011 is over and so is my first foray into writing a blog! Hope my friends and family have enjoyed it as I have.}



Travelling companions at Ian's Hotel



To Mungo—unexpectedly!

^{Sunday August 14th}



Echidna on roadside



^{Our day began with thick fog which did not clear until 10 am. We travelled through Station properties all day..into NSW from South Australia...across the Silver City Highway and through more Station properties.  Public roads go through the outback properties and it is legal to drive on them. Often there are many gates to open and close..my job! We crossed the Darling River at Pooncarie and unfortunately were unable to buy fuel in this small village. Eventually we have set up camp at Lake Mungo in a great spot under clear skies. The highlights today were not the flowers but the fauna we saw..wild goats, kangaroos, emus, a brown snake, a shingle back lizard and an echidna.}

Port Augusta – Quandong Road

^{Saturday August 13th}

^{Travelled from Port Augusta through the southern Flinders Ranges. Country through Peterborough, Orroroo and Yunta was hilly/saltbush country-- real DOT country as hills were dotted with low growing plants of various greens.}

^{We headed south from Yunta, leaving the Barrier Highway onto a gravel road. The rain and wet conditions made me feel apprehensive. However the road proved to be well maintained and easy to travel on. As we travelled through Quandong Station the country changed from hilly to flat to slightly undulating with very colourful wattles and cassias in bloom combined with the never ending grey of the saltbush. Unfortunately a ROAD CLOSED sign was in place when we came to turn south to the Danggali Conservation Park.}



Entry to our campsite!



^{We continued on toward NSW along the same gravel road and eventually camped near the road among cassias. wattles and small oak trees. Thankfully the dark clouds have cleared!! Today kangaroos, goats and emus crossed our path and even on father emu with 8 or 9 'fast running' chicks about 30 cm in size.}

Gilles Lake and Port Augusta

Friday August 12th.

This morning was one of our coldest with ice on our tent..We travelled north and east through the most magnificant cropping area. .undulating hills stretched across the patchwork of green, canola yellow and fallow brown.
We entered the Lake Gilles Conservation Park from the west. What a pretty  area with Mallee eucalypts and Myall acacias..some of which are very old. The Salina or lake has water in it at present and gave the most beautiful reflections. We stayed a couple of hours enjoying the view, walking and eating our sandwiches.



Lake Gilles

 This evening we are in Port Augusta with a very dirty rig. Eileen & Geoff will leave early to-morrow to make a fast return to Wangaratta. John & I plan to take several days to return to Milawa.

My Journal is nearly full with drawings, paintings and stitching. I was pleased to have time to paint a quick image of Lake Gilles today.

Ceduna to Pinkawillinie Conservation Park

Thursday August 11^th

Fog around our tents this morning after rain in the night. However the day has fined with only intermittent showers.

We spent several hours in Ceduna shopping and visiting the Aboriginal Art and Culture Centre. There were a large number of artworks on display and for sale and everything was well organised. We had the pleasure of meeting a young artist. His name is Beaver Lennon who could definitely be classed as 'an emerging artist'. It appears that he has a great artistic career ahead of him. He is quietly spoken and already mentoring other youngsters in the town. His work will be shown next year in Adelaide in a Solo Exhibition.We wish him well and look forward to following his artistry.



Another wattle!!



Tonight is our last camp together as a foursome and we are camped in the Pinkawillinie Conservation Park south of the Gawler Ranges Park...in yet another gravel pit.

Eucla - Nullarbor

Eileen & June at Old Telegraph Station



Tuesday August 9th

First Activity this morning was a visit to the Old Telegraph Station at Eucla where sand has partly covered the limestone building.

Instead of travelling on the main bitumen road we took the Old Eyre Highway which is further north. We did not see any other vehicles on this gravel track/road. My mother nad father went to Perth about 1960 and this is the road they would have travelled on. The Nullarbor Plains at this point is flat and treeless with only saltbush and a few low shrubs none od which were in bloom.

Tonight we are camped in a camping area at the back of the Hotel/Motel at Nullarbor..the only attribute of this settlement is the fact that I have Ineternet/phone connection. It is EXTREMELY WINDY.

We are heading East now but with quite a few diversions.