We're off to see the country, the wonderful country of Oz! :-)

So at 1.06pm on Tuesday 19th August 2008 Dad and I officially started the holiday... and left Mum with a whole heap of work to do at my place – she must love me a whole lot! J Travelling in George (the van) and with Millie (the tom tom) directing us we were headed for Southern Cross for the night. With a stop for fuel at Sawyers Valley (and then one at the bakery in Bakers Hill) we made pretty good time to get to Southern Cross just before 6. Set-up took about an hour, which wasn’t bad for the first time considering Dad really had no idea where anything was stored in the van as I had packed it. Left over chinese for tea, unpack a few bags of random stuff I didn’t have time to sort through before leaving and then a night of..... Olympics in the TV room. Infact, the room was so comfortable I set-up camp and slept in there, although I did turn the heater off before going to bed! Incident free first day!

Wednesday 20th August
Day two and what was intended to be an early rise to go for a run was dampened (pardon the pun) by the fact that it was raining... well sort of, more of a drizzle really. On the road before 8.30 we headed for Kalgoorlie/Boulder. Dad had noticed George running a bit hot at various stages, so we found the mechanics, who on inspection of the engine determined that a replacement radiator was on the cards! What was intended to be a day stop in Kal then turned into an overnight ordeal, but better than a ‘Cataby’ experience (cooked engine on the way to Shark Bay). Booked into the mechanics (which happened to be over the road from 181 Hay Street, little place that goes by the name of Langtrees, you may have heard of it? J) for the following day and headed to Boulder to stop for some lunch and check out the Town Hall. 100 years old and home to the only Goatcher painted curtain believed to be in existence, with a ‘dramatic three-dimensional effect’ that you would swear is made of satin and velvet until you get right up close. A trip back into WA Museum Kalgoorlie-Boulder took us through some old historic buildings and stories, including growing up in the early 1900’s in the gold mining area. Some amazing artefacts, woodwork and a beautiful Flowering Peach tree. Oh, and a tv showing us winning silver in the 110 m hurdles! Checked out the Super Pit on our way to home for the night and oh my god – I’m sure the photos won’t do it justice at all – Cowie, it must put Sunrise Dam to shame! The massive trucks looked like toys in the 500m deep pit, so you can imagine how the standard 4wd’s looked! Managed a spot in the caravan park before heading back into Kal to Paddy’s (part of the Exchange Hotel) for a drink, tea and to catch up on the sport... and happened to come across a guy who could kick a goal or two in his time playing AFL - Plugga Locket! J Watched the softball for a bit until in the 12th innings when we though the game might never end and headed back to ‘home’ for the night.
Thursday 21 August
Early start (6.30am) to get the van into the workshop for 8am. Max temp of 15 but wind chill was incredibly cold. Saw the sights down Hannan street before heading to the Mt Charlotte Lookout, the end of the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail. Convinced dad to head (still on foot) to the Australian Prospectors & Miners Hall of Fame which was well worth the $30. So much to see, including an underground tour of a mine shaft by Wombat (Les) and a gold pouring demonstration. Walked back into town, picked up the car and some food and headed to Hammond Park for a look before hitting the road aiming for Norseman. With the car having a tape deck we have had some very ‘interesting’ music on, and as driver gets choice the first hour was Gene Pitney (yes Aaron, dad still has his old tapes – and I’m not sure which is sadder, the music or the fact that we must have heard it soooo many times as kids I knew most of the words!) Made it just right on 6pm, dad set up while I cooked our first meal... well sort of. Pasta with some vegies and a cut up chook we got in Kal. Dad was happy cos he could put bbq sauce all over it! So PAWA (pasta and wine appreciation) night was a success with a lovely drop of Preece Merlot to warm me up. Early night with a big (boring) day of driving tomorrow... across the Nullarbor Plain.