Paws and Reflect

  Which one is good, bad or ugly?! A Von Blog. Kiaora readers, I write to you from the "four star" 24 hour free stay at Minilya which is on the main highway about 250km south of Exmouth.  It is variously described on Wikicamps as 'muddy', 'dusty', with toilets that are a 'bit on the nose', 'average', 'nice place to stay for a one nighter' but 'very BUSY' (their capitals not mine).  For those of you who have never looked at Wikicamps it is an App which has a mapping facility as well as user provided reviews, photographs and star ratings for all things camping and travelling.  I think we may have mentioned it in our blog but in recent days Wikicamps has provided us with the good, the bad and (very) ugly of life on the road. Using Wikicamps I will start with the ugly.  Now, most of you know us, you know we are fairly affable, well mannered and, generally, good eggs.  Which was why the incident at the Geraldton 24 hour self-containe...

G'Day readers...it's been three long weeks since my last confession. During this time we have beat a path in, and out, of the Perth and Peel region, remarkably avoiding the four day snap lockdown. Servicing and maintenance, that would be Cilla, and also welfare checks on our friend Sam who currently lives in the city. As we watch our family and friends in the UK basking in uncharacteristically warm/hot weather our itinerary has conspired to give us a full blown Winter experience. The original plan had been to follow the sun. Covid19/20/21 has seen off that idea. Rain, wind, horizontal rain, sun, cold, frost, fog, rain, rain and wind....you get the picture! Within the Aboriginal culture of Western Australia, there are 6 seasons and we are currently in 'Makuru' within Noongar country. Makuru is basically 'Cold & Wet'. In this area it is where the cold front which has been further South makes its way North bringing storms and is the wettest time of the year! Gr...

BIG Gold Nugget, SMALL Brown Dog                                As Spandau Ballet once said 'GOLD.....you've got the power to know you're indestructable....(boom boom) GOLD'. Having completed the Nullarbor we hit a rich seam of Gold; namely the Goldfields Highway. A number of folk had recommended we visit the Goldfield Region due to it's historical significance in Western Australia.  The Western Australians would have you believe that they prop up the economy of Australia single handedly, and I guess to some extent they make a good point. The majority of the huge mines are over this way and bring in huge swathes of money...mainly for the share holders and owners. It is no coincidence that the top two richest Australians for 2021 are in the Mining Industry. Despite the pandemic, Gina Rinehart increased her personal wealth by 123% to a mere $36.28 Billion making her the richest, closely followed by the 2n...

  A Von Blog.   Well, we finally got to Western Australia.  I did not get to it as a backpacker in 1990, we did not manage it during our sojourn in Sydney between 2009 and 2012 and, this time, we have only been waiting a mere 18 months to get here... To achieve it meant driving one of the most iconic roads in Australia, nay, the world!  But what is it about this particular road, the Eyre Highway, which makes it so?  Firstly, the sheer length of the thing, some 1675kms, including one section, the 90 mile stretch, which has NO, and I mean, NO bends or corners.  146km of straight road.   The second thing to think about is the alternative routes.  Mmm.  If you are looking for bitumen (tarmac to our European readers) then the only other east/west crossing is just a mere 2099kms north (oh, and you can only go north from Port Augusta).  To put that in some perspective for those non-Aussies, we drove from (A) Bosnia...