Today I leave Western Australia

Happywanderer · The Master

Today I leave Western Australia

Chicken strangler · Senior Member

Is there to be a get together in adelaide ?

ralph

chichen strangler

Dougwe · Chief one feather

How,

Well done Marj. You have had an amazing adventure for sure one I hope to do in the near future. Like you I think I would prefer to do it as a small tag along I think.

aussie_paul · Guru

Congratulations. You have done well Marj. Makes us envious...

Aussie Paul. smile

Vic41 · Guru

You have done very well Marj, and seen a lot of WA, and now when we speak of the funny names over here you will be able to say "been there, done that"! smile

GaryKelly · Guru

Is yours a 2 or 4 wheel drive, Marj? Mine is 2 and I wonder sometimes about how much of the outback I'll get to see. Meanwhile. congrats on a great effort and all your encouraging reports.

jules47 · The Happy Helper

Welcome back to civilisation Marj - that is what it will feel like - though some of the places in SA are pretty limited for shops etc.

Pildappa Rock is a good and lovely spot - as is Kimba - Haslem not far out of Ceduna is beautiful - donation camp.

Enjoy the rest of your journey!

smile smile

frangipani · Guru

Well done, sounds like you covered a lot of country, bet your seen some wonderful sites, - Fran

Happywanderer · The Master

Chicken strangler wrote:
Is there to be a get together in adelaide ?
ralph
chichen strangler

Won't be going into Adelaide CS, don't like traffic lights.

Happywanderer · The Master

Frangipani wrote:
Well done, sounds like you covered a lot of country, bet your seen some wonderful sites, - Fran

I certainly have Fran, so much that I think I will do it all again, just to see all the things I missed in this trip. 5 months is really not long enough to see it all.

Happywanderer · The Master

jules47 wrote:
Welcome back to civilisation Marj - that is what it will feel like - though some of the places in SA are pretty limited for shops etc.

Pildappa Rock is a good and lovely spot - as is Kimba - Haslem not far out of Ceduna is beautiful - donation camp.

Enjoy the rest of your journey!

Too true Jules, don't really want to head into any of the civilized built up areas. Not used to traffic lights and rush hour traffic any more.

Happywanderer · The Master

GaryKelly wrote:
Is yours a 2 or 4 wheel drive, Marj? Mine is 2 and I wonder sometimes about how much of the outback I'll get to see. Meanwhile. congrats on a great effort and all your encouraging reports.

Mine is only 2 wheel drive GaryKelly. I agree a 4 wheel drive is needed to see a lot of the out of the way places and many times I wished I had one of those nice 4 wheel drive trucks you see them using for the Outback Experience tours. Would be so handy.

Happywanderer · The Master

Vic41 wrote:
You have done very well Marj, and seen a lot of WA, and now when we speak of the funny names over here you will be able to say "been there, done that"!

One thing I find peculiar or maybe just strange was a lot of the towns with indigenous names have "up" on the end. From Goingup to Kojonup etc.

Most of the stations run by settlers have "Downs" on the end like Cecil Downs, Martha Downs or whatever.

Now who has the right thinking on that one? I would rather be up than down.

Happywanderer · The Master

I am now at the Head of the Bight for the night. Did you know you can free camp just outside the gate, heaps of room.
Will be putting up photos on my blog later tonight.
I have to say seeing both ends of the Bight have been breathtaking and awe-inspiring, I sat there for over half an hour just mesmerised.
While others came down, took a photo and left, all in less than 5 minutes.
Does make you wonder why they are in such a hurry.
Unfortunately too late to see the whales, they have all gone on their way.

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Wow! good on you Marj! sorry you missed the whales, it's worth going back again just to see them!

MaryJane · Senior Member

Happywanderer wrote:
Vic41 wrote:
You have done very well Marj, and seen a lot of WA, and now when we speak of the funny names over here you will be able to say "been there, done that"!
One thing I find peculiar or maybe just strange was a lot of the towns with indigenous names have "up" on the end. From Goingup to Kojonup etc.
Most of the stations run by settlers have "Downs" on the end like Cecil Downs, Martha Downs or whatever.
Now who has the right thinking on that one? I would rather be up than down.

I used to live near Joondalup... I think it has something to do with aboriginal origins meaning near water, but don't quote me

frangipani · Guru

Happywanderer wrote:
I am now at the Head of the Bight for the night. Did you know you can free camp just outside the gate, heaps of room.
Will be putting up photos on my blog later tonight.
I have to say seeing both ends of the Bight have been breathtaking and awe-inspiring, I sat there for over half an hour just mesmerised.
While others came down, took a photo and left, all in less than 5 minutes.
Does make you wonder why they are in such a hurry.
Unfortunately too late to see the whales, they have all gone on their way.

yes I stopped one nite there, it was great, I was lucky the whales were in, there were calves also, if you stop at Yalata, the land owner there, Leone Nissen, she will let you free camp, there's power, water, n showers., lovely young lady. To the left around the back of the blue building.

-- Edited by Frangipani on Tuesday 28th of October 2014 08:54:41 PM

sandsmere · Guru

We had our Toyota serviced at Ceduna Marj.

They did a couple of other things as well . very happy with them.

Happywanderer · The Master

Thank you Sandmere, will go book it in tomorrow, when I get into Ceduna. Didn't realise there was a Toyota in Ceduna, have googled and got all the details.
Thank you again.

Moonraker · Senior Member

Happywanderer, pleased you enjoyed your trip through WA.
While traveling up to Exmouth a couple of months ago we stoped overnight at a 24 hour stop where one other there from Victoria told us he couldnt understand why people bothered to visit WA. Said nothing to see or do. He had traveled down from The north said he didnt like Broome, Pt Hedland or Karratha. I asked about some other places I would have thought he would have considered to see but he didnt even know they existed. I asked him if he was going to Shark Bay as we were just north of the turn off. He asked how far from the main road (route 1) was it, said about 150 kms. He said no thats too far I am going straight down to Perth. So His trip of WA consisted of staying on the main road literally the whole way, amasing. He will have done the great lap of Aus I guess and many thoushands of kms and seen next to nothing.

Just to confirm I am sure MaryJane is correct. "UP" is a location close to fresh water. In fact most "UPS" are DOWN in southern WA and most "DOWNS are UP in the north, as it was explained to me by an old "True Blue" when I asked the same question after not long arriving into WA 30 years ago.

Happy travells
Cheers
Moonraker

Happywanderer · The Master

Thanks very much for that Moonraker. Funny you should say that as I know of someone with a similar attitude. Wonder if it was the same person.
I spent 5 month and didn't see it all. Next winter will do the top only again to get in all the bits I missed and wished I hadnt, missed.
It's a beautiful state, I was sad to leave.
You could be right about the ups and downs. I am interested in all the quirky stuff like that.

scottynbulldog · Senior Member

Hi Happywanderer we are south of Adelaide if you are coming this way let us know and we can meet up.

Vic41 · Guru

You might find this Wiki article about the term "up" at the end of town names interesting;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-up

Funnily enough, although we have many pastoral properties with Downs at the end of their name, it would appear the term originally came from the UK and meant grassed hills, see;

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/downs

I couldn't find a meaning for it in Oz...

Funny that person not liking WA, once I met a NSW caravanner at Ceduna who was complaining bitterly about WA and how it was just pouring heavy rain all the time, I asked him where he had been and it was in the south/west in the middle of winter, it's a bit like being in the south of Victoria or NSW in the middle of winter so I don't know what he was expecting, there are some funny people out there...he should have headed north of WA instead at that time of the year.

-- Edited by Vic41 on Thursday 30th of October 2014 11:09:50 AM

-- Edited by Vic41 on Thursday 30th of October 2014 11:10:12 AM