And now for something completely different ....

Just for a change - it's raining AGAIN.

We got back from Western Australia and it has rained most days. Walking out the door is not the way to lift the spirits.

On the other hand, we got back to a garden that looks like the start of spring rather than the end of autumn.

Pat's Basketball

Having been away for a time we had the opportunity to see Patrick in action with his new Basketball team yesterday. While they did not win, they were not disgraced on the court. In fact it was tied about 10 min before the end of the match when the opposition pulled away.

Finished

It has only been 6 months but we finally have the repairs completed!!

Repairs at Last

Well, it has taken a time but the ceiling in the family room is nearing completion. It was damaged in a rainstorm before Christmas and the insurers were very slow off the mark. Then a halt was called because we were away. The plaster was done on Wednesday and the painter is working today. Yipee!

 

The New Camera

While traveling, I have been using a good quality, light camera that I have used for a couple of years. Before the trip I had decided that the time had come for a change but the replacement had not yet arrived in Australia. I went to the store yesterday to see when they might be available and, to my surprise, there was one on the shelf. I purchased it immediately. Apparently it had been on the shelf 15 min and they were not sure when more stock would arrive. In the paper today and on line, people are complaining that they can't get their hands on one, so I was in the right place at the right time.

It is a beautiful little unit capable of amazing quality images at low light and able to take 9 frames a second for sports pics. I took the following on my walk this morning using the available street lighting.

I think I am in love!

Back to the Mundane

We have had a day of sorting problems and re-entering normal life after our long break. We are just about into it but the accounts will take a while to bring back under control!

Back to Base

Our final day of travel saw us back home by about 1.00pm. We started early and as a result spent an hour or so driving through fog. It eventually lifted as we passed the Grampians and entered the familiar Victorian countryside.

We got home and started the tedious process of unloading the car and van and starting the washing process. Today we continued the process and cleaned the car and van. It took some time to remove all the red dust we had brought home from the Pilbara. Now it is a matter of sorting the mail and making sure all the accounts are up to date.

Back to Victoria

It was another long day of driving today (about 770km) driving to Port Augusta then down through Adelaide. On the way, we tracked "The Ghan" which was a nice reference to our Round Australia epic in 1979.

Having driven through Adelaide, we continued on down into Victoria and have set up for the night in Kaniva. We hope to make it home with a slightly shorter drive tomorrow.

Back Across the Nullarbor

The time had come for the long haul across to the east. It is never as interesting the second time around but we still enjoyed the drive.

We left Norseman and made it just over the border to South Australia by evening where we camped overlooking the Great Australian Bight. There has been some rain about and the clouds made a dramatic sunrise.

Today we continued across South Australia on the Eyre Highway as far as Kimba where we have set up camp for the night. The flat wheat and sheep country is far less interesting so we are looking forward to driving down into Victoria tomorrow.

 

Norseman

We had a wonderful night in Mt Magnet. Someone had decided that it was a good idea to keep a rooster next to the caravan park and he started crowing at 2.30am so we were a little sleep deprived. Still it is wonderful what swapping drivers and coffee can do.

We have now moved to the centre of WA into the goldfields area. It is more bleak and featureless than the beautiful Pilbara area. We thought it interesting that even the sealed roads featured the signature red colouration of the earth around here.

The further south we traveled, the landscape became more pock marked with mines and mullock heaps. In fact large areas look like industrial refuse areas. It is not a pretty sight.

As we approached Kalgoorlie and then Norseman, the vegetation began to change and the beautiful Salmon Gums with their shiny red/brown bark began to appear again.

It was another long day today, 850km, so we treated ourselves to a restaurant meal and an early night.