29/9/11 and 30/9/11 Streaky Bay

Streaky Bay was named by Matthew Flinders. The light reflecting from the sand and the seaweed in the water causes the colour which gave the bay its name.

We travelled around the Cape Bauer Loop. We came across a cute stumpy tail lizard who probably didn't enjoy being made into a film star.

Cape Bauer is a spectacular landscape of huge broken cliffs and sand dunes with low coastal vegetation. 

A special point of interest are the blow holes and whistling cliffs.  When the waves surge in they force the air in the under ground passages worn in the cliffs to escape through narrow holes at the surface with  a great whoosh and a steams-like spray, like the sound and vapour of an enormous whistling kettle . 

The pelicans sit in the bay near the caravan park waiting to be photographed (and fed).

28/9/11 Ceduna

This was the worst day and night so far on the trip. Midmorning the sky turned greeny black and it started to rain. This was accompanied by a strong gusty wind that battered our camper backwards and forwards all afternoon and night. Even the birds sat around seeking shelter.

A battered looking salt freighter was loading at the wharf .

27/9/11 Nullabor Roadhouse to Ceduna

We drove across the Nullabor Plain;  Nulla means "no", abor means "trees."

We spent some time at the Head of Bight looking at the whales that were swimming along the edge of the cliffs with their new born calves, building up the calves strength before the long trip back  to the antarctic.  

We passed through Penong, the windmill town. In the past every house had its own windmill to pump up water from the subterranean basin.

26/9/11 Eucla Roadhouse to Nullabor Roadhouse

A beautiful blue day so we went back to have another look at the old Eucla telegraph station and the jetty.

We crossed the border from Western Australia to South Australia.

In South Australia the highway travels through the Great Australian Bight National Park.  We turned off a number of times to view the ocean cliffs. Australia is being slowly eaten away by the waves and is falling into the Southern Ocean! 

25/9/11 Caiguna to Eucla

The day started well with a blue sky but within a very short time it became overcast with occasional light sprinkles of rain.  We travelled through almost treeless grasslands.

We pulled in at Cocklebiddy Roadhouse.

We looked at the old Eucla telegraph station which is partially covered by drifting sand and then walked to the beach to see the old jetty which is a favourite roosting place for sea birds.

24/9/11 Norseman to Caiguna

On the journey from Norseman to Caiguna we went into Newman Rocks but we were attacked by dozens of biting horse flies so we made a rapid escape.

We travelled along Australia's longest straight stretch of road.

On the road we passed two collections for charity. The "Storm Trooper" on a walking journey from Perth to Sydney was collecting for the Starlight Children's Foundation.

A trio, one pushing , one riding and a support vehicle driver were on a journey across the Nullabor from Norseman to Ceduna and were collecting to support a sufferer, the brother and grandson of the walkers.

We stopped at the Caiguna Blowhole. This is an entrance to some of the cave systems under  the Nullabor and, depending on conditions,  it "breathes" air out from underground. Quite a strong breeze was flowing out of the hole while we were there.

 

23/9/11 Hyden to Norseman

We travelled the direct route from Hyden to Norseman on the "Granite and Woodlands Discovery Trail" which is a 300 km long gravel track.  Along the way we discovered some scenic jewels.  The Breakaways are beautiful, multicoloured sand cliffs where you can picnic or camp.

McDermid Rock is very similar to wave rock.  It has a number of gnamma (pools of water) around the face of the rock.

Lake Johnston is a salt lake surrounded by red sandy soil and salmon gums.

Disappointment Rock was surrounded by wild flowers in full bloom so, although we only spent a few minutes there because the day was getting late, it was not a disappointment.

These boulders sit at the base of  Disappointment Rock.

20/9/11 Perth to Hyden

Travelling from Perth to Hyden we passed through York, which has many old colonial buildings.

Just outside Corrigan we drove past the well patronised Dog Cemetery. The head stones attested to the dog's loyalty to their owners and the owners love for their canine friends.

  

22/9/11 The Humps near Hyden

We spent the morning walking around the granite outcrop 18 km from Hyden called The Humps. After returning to the car and eating a picnic lunch we climbed back up again and took more photographs.  Yesterday afternoon and during the night there was heavy rain so all the moss and lichen was in full colour.  

Unfortunately after the first hour in the morning the sunshine was blocked out by heavy cloud cover and this took the sparkle out of my photos.

  

On the top of both Wave Rock and The Humps are amazing tafoni (plural; singular is tafone). These  rocks, hollowed out by wind and water action, form magnificent natural sculptures.

21/9/11 Hyden and Wave Rock

Happy birthday Derek.

Along the main street in Hyden are a number of humorous  metal sculptures depicting past and present people from this community.

Hyden is famous because back in the 1960s a picture of Wave Rock won a photography competition. Wave rock is an amazing formation with bands of beautiful natural colours which showed to advantage  in the sunshine at the beginning of our walk.

Walking around the top of wave rock we encountered a number of the natural inhabitants.  These little lizards wave their foreleg or bob their head at you to warn you not to mess with them.

Further along on our walk we came to the rock formation called "The Hippo's Yawn." I think that you can see why.

16/9/11

We spent a delightful couple of hours on the Swan river foreshore in central Perth  inspecting the "Bell Tower", watching the bell ringers and listening to the bells chiming.  The mast-like tower is partly enclosed by copper sails.

15/9/11 Aquarium of Western Australia

We enjoyed the beautiful coral, colourful fish, strange jellies and great creatures of the deep at AQWA.

14/9/11 Around Perth and Fremantle

The "Old Mill" is the oldest surviving colonial building in Perth.

We drove around Kings Park, inspecting the wild life ...

and the wild flowers.