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ALMOST BEEKEEPING - RELATED TOPICS => OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES FORUM => Topic started by: Lesgold on May 14, 2023, 09:10:49 pm

Title: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 14, 2023, 09:10:49 pm
Hi Folks,

Just thought I?d share a few images of my winter road trip across the country. I?m sure that there are people out there that may want to see some of the sights of Australia and it?s variety of landscapes. So here goes. The plan is to drag our caravan from the east coast of Australia and then travel up the west coast, camping as we go. The plan is to be back home by mid August so that the bees can be given hugs and cuddles just before spring. We hope to get across the country reasonably quickly as we have done this part of the trip before. The holiday will start as we head north from Perth in Western Australia. Before leaving, all hives were checked and tested. Most should make it though winter without issue. Some hives were already down on honey reserves which means they may struggle a bit. There is a bit of a pick of nectar that should keep most hives going over the cold period. Here is a photo of sunrise from my back door just before leaving. The Pacific Ocean is about a mile away in the direction of the sun.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on May 15, 2023, 12:06:14 am
Sounds amazing!  I can't wait to hear about your trip and see pictures of your unique and beautiful country!  :happy:
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Kathyp on May 15, 2023, 10:28:36 am
I sure am interested in your trip!  I have only been to Australia once and it was to Perth.  Had the best time there.  would love to see your vacation and what more of the country looks like.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 15, 2023, 08:30:16 pm
Thanks guys. I actually started the trip about 2 weeks ago and have now only begun the thread as we have travelled big miles to get to our starting point. The first few photos were taken from an overnight camp we had about two hours drive east of Perth. We stayed in a bush camp close to a old dam. Being in really low rainfall country, water is a valuable commodity and is really cherished. I have attached a photo of a Rocky outcrop. It is basically one piece of granite and covers about 170 acres. It is a huge, rounded hilly rock that the old timers took advantage of.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 15, 2023, 08:32:52 pm
They saw it as a potential roof to gather water runoff so in the late 1800?s they built a stone drain around the perimeter of the rock.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 15, 2023, 08:40:12 pm
The drain was then channeled into a dam to collect the water. Very clever people to even think this way. I did some rough calculations and the sums really surprised me. For every 1mm of rainfall, about 780000 litres of water would drain into the dam. The dam is still used to this day for irrigation purposes. Picked up supplies just outside of Perth and started the trip north. The holiday can now start after travelling 4000 km across the country.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on May 15, 2023, 08:58:30 pm
That's incredible!  You know, I was just learning about water management recently in the online homesteading school my family is part of, and the instructor, Joel Salatin, was speaking about how much just collecting runoff in a pond can provide water for an area.  He was saying how pioneers in Australia were the ones who really perfected these methods of water catching and management (he mentioned the work of a particular man, whose name I can't remember now).  Really neat to be able to see some pictures of that engineering to reinforce what we were learning!  :happy:

The holiday can now start after travelling 4000 km across the country.
So did you guys just cross the whole country and now you are going to sight-see at a leisurely pace on your way back?  That's a good idea, I don't think I would have thought to do that way. 
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on May 15, 2023, 09:39:09 pm
Thanks for posting this 'good stuff' Les. Keep 'em' coming.

Phillip
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 16, 2023, 04:53:00 am
Hi Reagan,

Not really. We drove across the country from east to west and our holiday started a couple of days ago when we started heading north. We were getting quite close to the west coast when we started to see some interesting plants. The first one is called cockies tongue and is will flower through the winter months supplying nectar to many native birds and bees. The second photo is of an acorn banksia flower. I have never seen them before. They also produce nectar for bees through the winter months. Can?t wait to sample some of the local honey.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Kathyp on May 16, 2023, 11:16:30 am
Love the water management thing.  Seems I recall that this is kinda the way they supplied water to Petra in ancient times.  Channeled the water from the bit of rain in the hills to cisterns below. 

One of the few things I remember from that long ago trip to Perth is that there was a park there.  It had a lot of really neat plants.  Runs in my mind that it was named something like Kings Park.  40 years ago... :grin:
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on May 16, 2023, 12:44:55 pm
Not really. We drove across the country from east to west and our holiday started a couple of days ago when we started heading north.
Oh, I understand now.  Looking at a map helped.  :embarassed:

The first one is called cockies tongue and is will flower through the winter months supplying nectar to many native birds and bees. The second photo is of an acorn banksia flower. I have never seen them before. They also produce nectar for bees through the winter months. Can?t wait to sample some of the local honey.
Those are incredible!
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 16, 2023, 08:40:09 pm
That?s correct Kathy. Kings Park is quite an amazing place in the middle of Perth. We looked at it 4 years ago when we last visited. We travelled a couple of hundred km north of Perth and stayed a few nights in a caravan park to refresh. We had free camped the whole way across the country an met some really nice people on the road. It was time to catch up with washing, pick up some water and spoil ourselves for Mother?s Day. Here is one of the early views of the Indian Ocean at a little place called Sandy Cape. Beautiful white sand and a beach sheltered by an outer reef.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 16, 2023, 08:51:25 pm
One place that we really did want to look at was the Pinnicles in Nambung National Park. They are a series of natural limestone formations that were created on an ancient seabed about 25 to 30 thousand years ago. They are located about 8km from the existing coastline. Pictures don?t really do them justice. A truly amazing area.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on May 16, 2023, 09:01:05 pm
That?s correct Kathy. Kings Park is quite an amazing place in the middle of Perth. We looked at it 4 years ago when we last visited. We travelled a couple of hundred km north of Perth and stayed a few nights in a caravan park to refresh. We had free camped the whole way across the country an met some really nice people on the road. It was time to catch up with washing, pick up some water and spoil ourselves for Mother?s Day. Here is one of the early views of the Indian Ocean at a little place called Sandy Cape. Beautiful white sand and a beach sheltered by an outer reef.
How beautiful!  I haven't been to the beach in so long.

One place that we really did want to look at was the Pinnicles in Nambung National Park. They are a series of natural limestone formations that were created on an ancient seabed about 25 to 30 thousand years ago. They are located about 8km from the existing coastline. Pictures don?t really do them justice. A truly amazing area.
Hey, we have Pinnacles in California too!  Yours are better though, I think.  :grin:
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Skeggley on May 17, 2023, 04:45:34 am
Welcome to WA Lesgold, I hope you got some of our Marri and Jarrah honey while around Perth. I'm assuming your wife wouldn't let you go out Kalgoorlie way. ;)
Have you checked out Lake Thetis while in the area and the oldest living lifeforms on earth?
Keep up the great posts mate.
 
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 17, 2023, 08:35:41 pm
Hi Skeggley,

My wife and I went to Lake Thetis and had a look at the stromatolites. Pretty amazing stuff. I?m just about to put some Marri honey on my breakfast cereal. It?s totally different honey to what I?m used to. That?s what makes it such an adventure. The honey is mild honey with a floral and almost salty after taste. Very nice indeed. At the moment we are camped on Coronation Beach about 400km north of Perth. We will head to Kabarri this morning. Here?s a couple of photos taken yesterday. We are about 40m behind the beach camped with about 15 other caravans. We had a beautiful sunset yesterday afternoon.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 17, 2023, 08:38:07 pm
Reagan I forgot to say that your pinnacle's look very similar to what we just saw. There are some incredible sights to see no matter where you live.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on May 17, 2023, 08:51:23 pm
My wife and I went to Lake Thetis and had a look at the stromatolites. Pretty amazing stuff.
I'd never heard of stromatolites before.  I just gave them a google.  Super neat!
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: max2 on May 17, 2023, 10:13:13 pm
That's incredible!  You know, I was just learning about water management recently in the online homesteading school my family is part of, and the instructor, Joel Salatin, was speaking about how much just collecting runoff in a pond can provide water for an area.  He was saying how pioneers in Australia were the ones who really perfected these methods of water catching and management (he mentioned the work of a particular man, whose name I can't remember now).  Really neat to be able to see some pictures of that engineering to reinforce what we were learning!  :happy:

The holiday can now start after travelling 4000 km across the country.
So did you guys just cross the whole country and now you are going to sight-see at a leisurely pace on your way back?  That's a good idea, I don't think I would have thought to do that way.

PJ Yeomans

https://www.keyline.com.au/
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on May 17, 2023, 10:48:59 pm
PJ Yeomans

https://www.keyline.com.au/
THAT'S IT!  :happy:
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 18, 2023, 03:57:40 am
On the way to Kalbarri, we stopped to look at Hutt Lagoon Pink Lake. The unusual colour is due to algae in the water. It doesn?t seem right looking at this type of natural occurrence. Later today we will go for a drive and walk to some of the cliff tops in the area. Will post a couple of photos tomorrow.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on May 18, 2023, 10:41:53 am
On the way to Kalbarri, we stopped to look at Hutt Lagoon Pink Lake. The unusual colour is due to algae in the water. It doesn?t seem right looking at this type of natural occurrence. Later today we will go for a drive and walk to some of the cliff tops in the area. Will post a couple of photos tomorrow.
Crazy!  It looks like a lake on some alien planet!  :shocked:
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 18, 2023, 08:32:28 pm
We saw some really interesting coastline just south of Kalbarri yesterday afternoon. As always, my photography skills don?t reflect the colour and beauty of this area. This section of the coastline was used for navigational reference by Dutch sailers well before James Cook visited the country.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 18, 2023, 08:34:17 pm
And here is some more
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 19, 2023, 10:09:44 pm
Yesterday was spent walking and viewing the gorges on the Murchison River. Very pretty scenery.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 19, 2023, 10:10:57 pm
Natures window was particularly interesting.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on May 20, 2023, 01:07:15 am
Les your pictures are amazing. I would again like to say thanks for taking the time to share your adventure; Both in picture and commentary..

Phillip
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on May 20, 2023, 11:54:32 am
Natures window was particularly interesting.
Beautiful!
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 20, 2023, 08:28:46 pm
Thanks guys. We stayed at a free camp last night and will be hitting the road again today. Only 200km today to get to our next location.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 22, 2023, 01:54:17 am
We are currently spending a couple of days in a caravan park in a small coastal town called Denham. Here is a shot from the back of the van. The scenery here is quite spectacular. We went and had a look at the dolphin feeding this morning. My wife took a few photos. Will post a couple of those when I can.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 22, 2023, 02:15:32 am
We went for a drive to Monkey Mia Conservation Park to have a look at the dolphin feeding. It is a daily occurrence and the dolphins come in very close to onlookers standing on the beach.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on May 22, 2023, 08:58:21 pm
We went for a drive to Monkey Mia Conservation Park to have a look at the dolphin feeding. It is a daily occurrence and the dolphins come in very close to onlookers standing on the beach.
That is so fun!  So these are wild dolphins that the park feeds regularly?  Or is this like a managed pod that lives inside the park?   
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Kathyp on May 22, 2023, 09:35:03 pm
really enjoying your trip.  Had always intended to get back and Geoff had been after us to come over before COVID.  keep up the pictures.  I'll have to get my passport out and see if it needs to be renewed!   :grin:

Some of those pictures look a bit like Utah. 
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 23, 2023, 06:50:24 am
Thanks Kathy and Reagan. There are many beautiful places around the world and quite often those special places are often right in your own back yard. Reagan, I believe that the feeding started back in the 60?s by a fisherman and his wife who started to share some of their catch with the dolphins. It is now a highly regulated experience that generally occurs 3 times every day. The dolphins are wild and therefore the whole experience is monitored and regulated by park rangers. We travelled a further 400km to get to our next d destination today. We are now camped at a beach at the southern end of Ningaloo reef. Had my first swim and a snorkel at the camp site. Temps got up to 27 degrees today. The overnight minimum will be about 16 degrees C. Not bad when you consider that winter starts in a couple of days. Water temp was a pleasant 25 degrees. Might see if there is a reasonable sunset to follow. We will camp up here for about 4 days.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on May 23, 2023, 11:03:02 am
Thanks Kathy and Reagan. There are many beautiful places around the world and quite often those special places are often right in your own back yard. Reagan, I believe that the feeding started back in the 60?s by a fisherman and his wife who started to share some of their catch with the dolphins. It is now a highly regulated experience that generally occurs 3 times every day. The dolphins are wild and therefore the whole experience is monitored and regulated by park rangers.
That's super cool!  I bet it was awesome to see them so close. 
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 24, 2023, 09:20:41 pm
Took a couple of shots of the rocks at the end of the beach. The Quobba blowhole was working but only producing a small blast of water. The Indian Ocean swell was quite strong and hit the coastline with considerable force.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 24, 2023, 10:23:42 pm
Here?s a little spot at our campsite called the aquarium. This is where we snorkel on coral reef. It is a quiet, protected spot that is calm even during windy conditions.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on May 24, 2023, 11:05:16 pm
Here?s a little spot at our campsite called the aquarium. This is where we snorkel on coral reef. It is a quiet, protected spot that is calm even during windy conditions.
Did you see anything good underwater?
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 25, 2023, 02:08:21 am
Hi Reagan,

I saw plenty of coral and beautiful fish. The colours were outstanding. I wish I packed my GoPro to show some pics. The reef will improve as we travel north.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 30, 2023, 08:06:26 am
Hi Folks,

We?ve been camped up on a remote beach for the last few days with no phone connection. Took us about half an hour driving down a rough track to get to the location. It was a lovely spot to camp next to the beach. Was lucky enough to see a large shark swimming close to shore on dusk and also a few turtles. We are now in Exmouth on the top of North West Cape. Quite a tourist based town with plenty to do and see. Will post a few pics when we can.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Kathyp on May 30, 2023, 12:27:06 pm
nice camper.  looks the perfect size for a couple of people on a road trip!  Looks like a great place to camp.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on May 30, 2023, 02:09:17 pm
Was lucky enough to see a large shark swimming close to shore on dusk and also a few turtles.
:shocked:  Awesome!  Do you have any idea what kind of shark it was?  Or did you decide to not get close enough to find out?  :wink: :cheesy:

We are now in Exmouth on the top of North West Cape. Quite a tourist based town with plenty to do and see.
So does Australia have a lot of undeveloped beaches?  I'm not sure what it's like on the American west and gulf coasts, but a lot of the beaches on the east coast that I have been to are very developed with hotels, beachfront homes, boardwalks, etc.  Only our National Seashores are wild.  Or are you guys just visiting those types of ecologically protected areas?   

Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on May 30, 2023, 02:16:17 pm
Quote
Was lucky enough to see a large shark swimming close to shore on dusk

I dont suppose you will be swimming? 😊

Sure is a beautiful spot Les. Sometimes no phone connection is preferable!   :grin:

Phillip
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on May 31, 2023, 04:40:32 am
A lot of the coastline is controlled by national parks. In many places, camping areas are clearly defined. Most places don?t have electricity or water so you have to be self contained. A few areas do provide primitive toilets. Quite a few of the large cattle stations also offer camp spots for a fee. Some of those are very nice and are a less regulated alternative to caravan parks. I was told that the shark was a tiger shark but it was close to dark and that couldn?t be confirmed. We still swam in that area but not in the early morning or late afternoon.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 01, 2023, 10:08:12 pm
We have moved location and are now staying on a small cattle station (about 250000 acres) that provides accommodation for travellers. Many years ago the station saw the potential for creating a business to supplement income from the farm. It continues to grow as it is something that is quite unique and sought after by many people. The station has a cafe and has special entertainment and meal nights to keep visitors happy. It has a relaxed, informal and country feel to it. Here is a series of pictures to show some of its unique features:

The first shot is the dining area. It was the shearing shed in its past life. The second shot is of a donkey hot water system. A tank of water is heated by fire and as the water is used, cold water enters the tank to replace the water utilised by people showering.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 01, 2023, 10:17:06 pm
Toilet and shower blocks are scattered throughout the campground. Recycled materials are utilised to construct the buildings and each block is unique in its design. Shower heads are old metal buckets with holes drilled into the base.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on June 01, 2023, 11:57:36 pm
Les I am very much enjoying your described journey, (as I have said before). I do not see much grass on the station grounds. I suppose the grazing is sparse to say the least. However; 250000 acres should afford a good heard to make it ok. My folks on my Dads side were cattle people. We ran 2 cows per acer in my area. How many acres does it take to graze a cow in this particular station location?

PS I bet you and the Mrs. are enjoying the peace, rest, and relaxation! What kind of food was served here, and what type of entertainment? Keep the reports of the adventure coming Les!

Thanks,

Phillip
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 02, 2023, 08:40:20 pm
Hi Phillip

We are enjoying the trip. The station put on a burger night last night and served 430 people. It is a popular evening and the place was pumping last night with live music making the outing quite enjoyable. There is not much grass at the moment as it has turned dry after a good wet season. Cattle are stocked at one cow per eighty acres but this will be reduced due to the dry season. A muster is going to start soon. 3000 cattle are held on the property. When we can access wifi, I will download some pictures taken recently. We hit the road today heading inland into the Hamersley Range.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on June 03, 2023, 12:41:20 am
Hi Phillip

We are enjoying the trip. The station put on a burger night last night and served 430 people. It is a popular evening and the place was pumping last night with live music making the outing quite enjoyable. There is not much grass at the moment as it has turned dry after a good wet season. Cattle are stocked at one cow per eighty acres but this will be reduced due to the dry season. A muster is going to start soon. 3000 cattle are held on the property. When we can access wifi, I will download some pictures taken recently. We hit the road today heading inland into the Hamersley Range.
Holy cow!  (No pun intended.  :cheesy:)  That's insanely few cattle!  No wonder they have so much land.  Is that normal for this area to have so little forage?   
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on June 03, 2023, 09:32:54 am
Hi Phillip

We are enjoying the trip. The station put on a burger night last night and served 430 people. It is a popular evening and the place was pumping last night with live music making the outing quite enjoyable. There is not much grass at the moment as it has turned dry after a good wet season. Cattle are stocked at one cow per eighty acres but this will be reduced due to the dry season. A muster is going to start soon. 3000 cattle are held on the property. When we can access wifi, I will download some pictures taken recently. We hit the road today heading inland into the Hamersley Range.

With 430 folks, live music, and entertainment, Y'all had quite a shindig! I bet the place was pumping!  :grin:
Im not very familiar with the cattle grazing out west 'here' in America which is dry and perhaps similar in situation, and as I understand it, in Southwest Texas the grazing is sparse, but what grazing is available is packed with nutrition.
Its nice to hear y'all are having such a good time Les..

Phillip
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 05, 2023, 03:09:28 am
Hi Reagan,

On that particular station, they were having to reduce the stocking rate as dry conditions meant that times were getting tougher. I know someone else who manages a cattle station in drier country and they only run 10000 head on a million acres. You are right Phillip, it was a very good night. We have been off the grid for a couple of days with no phone or wifi reception. Will get some more pics up shortly.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 05, 2023, 03:27:21 am
Finally have access to wifi so I could download a few pictures. 5 days ago my wife and I went on a whale shark dive for the day. We had a short snorkel on the outer reef in about 5 or 6 metres of water followed by a series of short dives with whale sharks. The sharks were located by spotter planes and the boats were positioned close by so that snorkellers could jump in and watch them swim by. This was a bucket list activity for me and the whole day was an enjoyable event. We saw beautiful coral, reef sharks, a manta ray, turtles and even a sea snake. On my last dive of the day, a sail fish was also spotted swimming close to a whale shark. It has been one of the trip highlights to date.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Kathyp on June 05, 2023, 11:30:03 am
Very cool!!
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on June 05, 2023, 12:42:44 pm
Finally have access to wifi so I could download a few pictures. 5 days ago my wife and I went on a whale shark dive for the day. We had a short snorkel on the outer reef in about 5 or 6 metres of water followed by a series of short dives with whale sharks. The sharks were located by spotter planes and the boats were positioned close by so that snorkellers could jump in and watch them swim by. This was a bucket list activity for me and the whole day was an enjoyable event. We saw beautiful coral, reef sharks, a manta ray, turtles and even a sea snake. On my last dive of the day, a sail fish was also spotted swimming close to a whale shark. It has been one of the trip highlights to date.
THAT IS AMAZING!!  I can't imagine how awesome that must have been!  :cool:
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 05, 2023, 07:15:23 pm
Les,
There is a great one to check off on your bucket list. 🤗
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 05, 2023, 08:14:34 pm
At the moment we a in the Pilbara region which is famous for its vast mountains of iron ore. We are currently in Tom Price which is a mining town. The photos don?t really show the beauty of the area. We also briefly stopped in a in a town called Paraburdoo which was the home of a famous canine back in the 70?s called Red Dog. A funny film of that name was released in 2011 starring John Lucas. An ocker Aussie film that I never get sick of watching.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on June 06, 2023, 01:17:07 pm
We also briefly stopped in a in a town called Paraburdoo which was the home of a famous canine back in the 70?s called Red Dog. A funny film of that name was released in 2011 starring John Lucas. An ocker Aussie film that I never get sick of watching.
I love Australian/New Zealand cinema; I'll have to take a look at that one.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 08, 2023, 08:38:17 pm
Hi Folks,

We have been ?off the grid? again for a few days as we camped out in the Pilbara region in Karijini National Park. An awesome place with deep gorges cut into the arid landscape. The scenery was outstanding with red cliffs guiding crystal clear water often through very narrow spaces. This place was a photographers dream.

Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 08, 2023, 08:46:56 pm
The beauty of the area was not confined to the gorges. The iron rich area of the Pilbara was on show no matter where you looked. The mountains, trees and even the beauty of the naturally occurring blue asbestos were all on show. Next stop is Port Headland to stock up and rest for a couple of days.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on June 10, 2023, 07:51:15 am
Beautiful!  Reply 58 Looks a lot like some areas of our American Southwest..

Just for curiosity, is there gold known to be in this iron rich location Les?

Phillip
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 10, 2023, 07:54:26 pm
Hi Phillip,

The Pilbara area is known for its gold. Will spend a couple of days having a look around when we get back there. We set off to the coast again and spent a couple of days in Port Hedland. This is where the iron ore is transported to before being loaded onto ships. Trains pull in regularly and dump their loads. It was impossible to photograph them as they were too long. Each ore train was 2.89km long with 268 trucks loaded with ore. Ore was also moved by truck. They are also quite long. Most are around 53m in length. I did see one oversized road train that was 60m long. Port Hedland also produces a lot of salt. Sea water is pumped into shallow pools and the water evaporates leaving the salt behind. The salt is then piled up into a huge mountain ready for transport.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on June 10, 2023, 09:42:38 pm
I learn from each of your post Les.. Thanks!

Phillip
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 11, 2023, 07:21:40 pm
A pleasure Phillip. Glad to hear that you are tagging along on the trip. We headed inland again to visit a small town called Marble Bar. It only has a petrol station, a pub, general store and a few other services. It has been described as being Australia?s hottest town, holding a record of having 161 days of temperatures exceeding 100F. The name Marble Bar came about due to a band of highly coloured, hard rock that crosses a local river. What was initially thought to be marble, is actually a form of jasper. When wet with water, the colours of the rock show through. The area contains gold and I will be out looking later today.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Kathyp on June 11, 2023, 07:58:10 pm
I am still tagging along  :grin:
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on June 11, 2023, 08:47:29 pm
I am still tagging along  :grin:
Same same!  :happy:

So I've got a question.  Australia is about the same size roughly as the US.  In the US all the regions of our country are very different, the climate, the food, the accents, and the culture.  Is it like that in Australia too? 
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 12, 2023, 01:51:10 am
Hi Kathy and Reagan,

Pleased to have you guys in the front seat. From my perspective, Australia is very similar to America in the sense that much of the landscape is very dry (especially in the interior and west) The eastern coast of Australia is quite lush but quickly dries out as you head west of the mountains. As far as accents, there isn?t the range that you guys have. I don?t know which state a fellow traveller comes from until I see their registration plate. Some Queenslanders tend to be a little more relaxed in the way that they speak (especially in the remote country areas) As far as culture goes, we are all pretty relaxed and mostly share similar values. When it comes to political views, we are far less emotionally invested as you are in America.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Kathyp on June 12, 2023, 11:37:43 am
Quote
When it comes to political views, we are far less emotionally invested as you are in America.

Lol.  That's a good description.

Interesting that there is not more diversity of accents.  Maybe less diverse influx of people as the land was settled?  I confess to not being up on my history of Australia.

Your pics are great and your descriptions.  The tourist dept should be paying you!   :grin:
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on June 12, 2023, 01:11:54 pm
Interesting that there is not more diversity of accents.  Maybe less diverse influx of people as the land was settled?  I confess to not being up on my history of Australia.
Les, please correct me if I'm wrong; my Australian history is also rusty, but I'm pretty sure that the perimeter of Australia was all settled at roughly the same time compared to America, which had a slow westward expansion over the course of about 200 years.  I'm also under the impression that Australia's harsher climate didn't necessarily draw the variety of immigrant nationalities that America did over the course of its biggest immigration boom.   

What about food?  Have you had any interesting local cuisine on your trip?
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 12, 2023, 07:54:57 pm
Australia?s indigenous people have been here for about 60000 years. When James Cook reported his findings in 1770, British migration began 18 years later. Many convicts and free settlers quickly settled coastal areas around the country and began moving inland at a rapid rate. The British influence has dominated our culture over the early years. Like America, the gold rush saw a large migration to the country in the Mid to late 1800?s. we are now quite a multi cultural country with people settling here from all over the world. People constantly move from one side of the country to the other and there is no real diversity of culture that is evident. Some areas have pockets of people who settled from other countries and their language and culture remains strong for a period of time. Australians tend to enjoy foods from a large range of countries. Asian, Indian, French, Italian, Mexican?? actually we enjoy all types of food. There isn?t really any difference in food styles anywhere in Australia. Large supermarket chains are found in all areas of the country and they sell the same range of products no matter where the location. Sounds pretty boring really but that?s the way it is.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Kathyp on June 12, 2023, 08:08:54 pm
Quote
Sounds pretty boring really but that?s the way it is.

Like here in many ways although I have only ever eaten alligator in Mississippi!
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 12, 2023, 08:10:16 pm
Now for the important stuff. Staying in an old gold mining area made me nervous. The hands started to shake and my thoughts became tunnelled towards one thing??.. where could I go to find some gold? Fortunately there was a few options available so I grabbed the detector and went out for a scratch around. Was pleased to come home with a couple of pieces and a small specimen in some quartz. It took ages to smash open the rock. Tomorrow will be a day spent in the field trying to find some more.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 12, 2023, 08:38:36 pm
I know what you are saying. Kangaroo, emu and crocodile are all options in a few select restaurants but they are not regular menu items. Quite a few indigenous plants are being used to add flavours to dishes and are growing in popularity due to their unique flavours.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on June 12, 2023, 08:47:03 pm
Now for the important stuff. Staying in an old gold mining area made me nervous. The hands started to shake and my thoughts became tunnelled towards one thing??.. where could I go to find some gold? Fortunately there was a few options available so I grabbed the detector and went out for a scratch around. Was pleased to come home with a couple of pieces and a small specimen in some quartz. It took ages to smash open the rock. Tomorrow will be a day spent in the field trying to find some more.

> Now for the important stuff. Staying in an old gold mining area made me nervous. The hands started to shake and my thoughts became tunnelled towards one thing??..  where could I go to find some gold?

:wink: :grin:
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Kathyp on June 12, 2023, 09:33:13 pm
I am sure your wife was thrilled  :grin:
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on June 13, 2023, 11:39:21 am
Quote
Sounds pretty boring really but that?s the way it is.

Like here in many ways although I have only ever eaten alligator in Mississippi!
Funny, I was going to say the opposite.  I've lived in 4 different states east of the Mississippi, and I found the food to be quite different in all of them, even in the grocery stores.  Growing up in Pennsylvania we had ring bologna, Good's potato chips, soft pretzel sticks, none of which I've been able to find since moving.  And living in the south now, there are a ton of things people eat here that the rest of the country doesn't or at least not as much: grits, greens, soup beans, biscuits with basically every meal.  And don't get me started on how many different definitions of the word "barbeque" there are in the country!  We can't even agree on BBQ sauce between the different regions of our state!  :cheesy: 
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on June 14, 2023, 07:26:06 am
Quote
Funny, I was going to say the opposite.  I've lived in 4 different states east of the Mississippi, and I found the food to be quite different in all of them, even in the grocery stores.  Growing up in Pennsylvania we had ring bologna, Good's potato chips, soft pretzel sticks, none of which I've been able to find since moving.  And living in the south now, there are a ton of things people eat here that the rest of the country doesn't or at least not as much: grits, greens, soup beans, biscuits with basically every meal.  And don't get me started on how many different definitions of the word "barbeque" there are in the country!  We can't even agree on BBQ sauce between the different regions of our state!  :cheesy:

Love it!  :grin: :grin:

Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 14, 2023, 07:28:51 am
Back to the coast again. We travelled 700km to reach Broome in the far north west. We have spent a bit of time at the famous Cable Beach. The beach was closed to swimming a few days ago as a salt water crocodile was sighted. Here is a couple of views taken from outside the restaurant just above the beach. We had a lovely meal there last night watching the sun setting over the water. Crowds gather every afternoon for this event.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Occam on June 14, 2023, 08:48:19 am
I always love a good sunset over the ocean (or mountains, or plains), nice you got to be there for a banger. Growing up on the pacific ocean in Mexico a good ocean sunset brings back good memories.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on June 14, 2023, 11:04:26 am
The beach was closed to swimming a few days ago as a salt water crocodile was sighted.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on June 14, 2023, 01:12:26 pm
Wow is right!  :grin:
Do they do anything to remedy the presence of such danger at a public place of gathering? Is the presence of saltwater crocodiles a common occurrence in that area?  There are at 'least' three dangers that would concern me of the beautiful beaches in your country. This salt water crocodiles, sharks, and killer jelly fish. Would my impression and concerns of those dangers be exaggerated?
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 14, 2023, 08:42:39 pm
Hi Phillip,

Crocodiles are a regular occurrence in the northern areas of Australia and restrict swimming activities in those hotter areas. Croc numbers will increase as we travel north. Jellyfish are seasonal and are more of an issue in the hotter months of the year. Sharks occur in all areas around our coast. In reality, there is only a handful of attacks each year. Most popular beaches have life guards that patrol these areas and watch for potential problems from marine animals and dangerous rips etc. My wife and I will probably confine our swimming to safe fresh water locations as we move north.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Occam on June 14, 2023, 10:05:13 pm
You probably have more deaths or problems with dangerous rip tides than animal life if I had my guess
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on June 14, 2023, 10:30:10 pm
Crocodiles are a regular occurrence in the northern areas of Australia and restrict swimming activities in those hotter areas. Croc numbers will increase as we travel north.
Oh I'm really dumb.  I just now realized that northern Australia would be warmer than southern Australia.  :embarassed:
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 14, 2023, 11:05:51 pm
Hi Occam,

You are correct in your assumption. There would be a huge number of lives lost to drowning in the surf compared to animal related deaths every year.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 17, 2023, 10:38:30 am
Our last day in Broome. My wife had to have a ride on a camel before we hit the pavement again. Cable Beach is a pretty place in the late afternoon.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 18, 2023, 03:04:11 am
Heading north again. We are up the top of the Dampier Peninsula for a night before heading out on an overnight trip. Here is a couple of pics from the pearl farm that we are staying at. As usual, the water looks great. On the way up, we encountered a lot of wattle flowering. Not sure the name of it but I?m assume my it will flower all winter. Wattles or acacias produce pollen but no nectar for the he bees.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on June 19, 2023, 11:31:12 am
Heading north again. We are up the top of the Dampier Peninsula for a night before heading out on an overnight trip. Here is a couple of pics from the pearl farm that we are staying at. As usual, the water looks great.
So that is the ocean, correct?  Interesting how there is vegetation growing in the salt water.  We have mangrove forest that does that in Florida, but I've never seen plants like that in the ocean. 
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 20, 2023, 08:36:57 am
Hi Reagan,

Yes, that is mangrove. It grows in salt water in most states in Australia. That particular area has a tidal range of almost 13m. The edge of the water will be 200m away from the mangroves on low tide.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 20, 2023, 07:37:37 pm
The next part of the trip was to be a special time. We caught a sea plane, flew over the Buccaneer Archipelago and landed along side a series of linked house boats for an overnight stay. The view of the islands was spectacular. Not long after landing we watched the sharks being fed. People who wanted to watch this could swim in a cage next to them.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on June 20, 2023, 08:26:47 pm
We caught a sea plane, flew over the Buccaneer Archipelago
Did you look for any pirate gold?   :cheesy:  Sorry, I couldn't resist the low-hanging fruit there. 

Not long after landing we watched the sharks being fed. People who wanted to watch this could swim in a cage next to them.
Oh my sister would be all over that!  What kind of sharks did you see?
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 20, 2023, 10:42:23 pm
The shark in the picture is a tawny nurse shark. We also saw a bull shark and a bunch of reef sharks of a nighttime swimming in the light of the house boats. We took a trip on a boat fitted with 4x 300HP Yamaha outboards up Cyclone creek and finally through the Vertical Falls. The huge tides in this area means that the water flow is impeded by two narrow entrances and a water height difference is established. Running the boat through the wider of the entrances was a real buzz. A few from the plane on the way out helps to explain part of this natural phenomenon.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on June 21, 2023, 12:39:17 am
Noting but "Thumbs Up"!   Thank you Les!!!

Phillip
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 21, 2023, 10:10:27 am
Les,
I?m enjoying your trip. Keep the pictures and information coming. 😊
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 23, 2023, 04:48:55 am
We have been staying on a cattle station close to the town of Derby for the last couple of days. While in the Kimberly area, an unusual tree called the Boab has been encountered. This tree is very similar to the Boabab tree of Africa and Madigasca. Scientists can not agree on how the trees are connected. Some say that when the continents were connected millions of years ago, vegetation was shared. Others say that seeds were introduced many thousands of years ago. What ever the reason, they are a spectacular and unusual tree. The first photo is of what locals call the prison tree. Apparently aboriginal prisoners were held here well over a hundred years ago on their journey to Derby goal. This tree has a circumference of about 14 metres. It is estimated that the tree is over 1500 years old. The second tree was at a roadside stop on our journey north.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on June 23, 2023, 08:45:35 am
Looks like the type tree one might see in some of those African educational movies; With a leopard somewhere on the limbs, storing or eating its prey.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Kathyp on June 23, 2023, 10:34:35 am
are those the trees you can go inside?  seems I remember stories of people living in some kind of tree and I don't even remember where. 
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 23, 2023, 03:32:22 pm
Kathy,
I think you are referring to the Baobab that Les referred to. They are are in Africa. I remember hearing the same stories.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 23, 2023, 07:08:38 pm
Some of the bigger trees (like the prison tree) are hollow inside. I didn?t look into the tree as it was fenced off to protect it from vandalism. It appeared as though there was a lot of room inside.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 23, 2023, 07:31:07 pm
Our next point of interest was to visit Tunnel Creek on the Gibb River Road. A creek runs through a limestone cave for a distance of 750 metres. We were able to walk and swim through the entire cave and come out at the other end. The tunnel was not obvious when we arrived at the site but a bit of climbing over rocks revealed the entrance. Head torches and swimmers were required with phones being wrapped in plastic bags to keep them dry. A short swim of about 20m had us deep into the cave. By this rage it was pitch black.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 23, 2023, 07:38:36 pm
Once inside the cave our head torches revealed the presence of bats and one small crocodile. Some of the limestone features were quite interesting. About halfway though the cave a natural opening appeared and gave us some light for a short period of time. We eventually made it though the cave and explored the overhangs on the other side looking at some incredible rock art. We had to eventually turn around and repeat the walk again to get back to the truck. It was a really good day out and was worth the long drive to get there.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 25, 2023, 03:54:53 am
This morning we drove though a small town called Halls Creek. It was the first place in Western Australia that gold was found. We had a look at the China Wall which is a natural vertical wall of quartz that runs for quite a few kilometres. When looking at it, the name of this feature is obvious.

Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 25, 2023, 06:59:22 pm
We are getting close to the top corner of Australia. Yesterday was quite hot at 35C with an overnight minimum of 21C. Pretty crazy temps for the middle of winter. We have also started to move towards the east slightly. Here is the sunrise at 5:40am.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on June 25, 2023, 09:22:49 pm
I can't believe how much you guys are doing on this one trip, Les!  Did you plan every stop in advance?  Or are you just finding all these cool places as you roll along?
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 25, 2023, 10:57:36 pm
Hi Reagan

My wife does a bit of research while I drive so really, most of the trip is unplanned. Don?t know where we will be next week and really, I don?t care. We have barely scratched the surface on this trip. There is so much to see but our time is limited. Within a week we will leave Wester Australia and head to the Northern Territory on our way towards home.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Occam on June 25, 2023, 11:18:12 pm
Awesome to be able to get out like that Les. Good on you guys!
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on June 26, 2023, 01:40:12 am
Great pictures Les!!!!

Phillip
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 26, 2023, 03:51:11 am
Thanks Occam and Phillip. The scenery here is mind blowing. Pictures just don?t do it justice. Will post some more from todays trip later this evening.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 26, 2023, 07:26:18 pm
We headed towards Kununurra to visit Emma Gorge which is famous for its beautiful red cliffs and a stunning waterfall. The walk started with an open valley that was covered in savannah type vegetation. As we progressed the vegetation began to change and the rocks became larger, producing interesting water features.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 26, 2023, 07:35:34 pm
Towards the end of the walk we made it to a pool that had crystal clear water. By this stage we were hot and considered a swim but decided to continue up over some rugged terrain to the end point. The falls were incredible. Water tumbled 65 metres into a large pool below. We enjoyed a well earned swim before attempting the walk out. It was a special place that was visually striking. As you can see from the last photo, the gorge had narrowed considerably by the time we made it to the end.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 27, 2023, 07:47:48 pm
We are staying in the town of Kununurra for about 3 days before moving into the Northern Territory. Yesterday morning was spent exploring Mirima National Park looking at the sandstone features of that area. The soft stone of the cliffs would normally erode quickly but a black algae growing on the surface of the stone protects it from the elements.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 27, 2023, 07:51:27 pm
In the afternoon we went for a swim at a local waterfall. A pretty place with crystal clear water. It?s amazing how some of the trees are able to grow on rock faces into pure stone.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on June 27, 2023, 10:17:54 pm
In the afternoon we went for a swim at a local waterfall. A pretty place with crystal clear water. It?s amazing how some of the trees are able to grow on rock faces into pure stone.

Nice place. Do y'all run across snakes in locations such as this?

Phillip
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on June 27, 2023, 10:23:27 pm
We are staying in the town of Kununurra for about 3 days before moving into the Northern Territory. Yesterday morning was spent exploring Mirima National Park looking at the sandstone features of that area. The soft stone of the cliffs would normally erode quickly but a black algae growing on the surface of the stone protects it from the elements.

Each picture looks like a postcard!

Thanks Les,
Phillip
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 28, 2023, 07:18:13 pm
Hi Phillip

I?ve only seen one snake since leaving home which is a bit of a disappointment. I was hoping to see a few as there are some different species up here that we don?t get on the east coast. If I spot any, I will see if I get a picture or two to post.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on June 29, 2023, 01:34:59 am
Thanks Les I would like that..

Phillip
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 30, 2023, 12:08:59 am
Our last trip in Wester Australia was to the Argyle Dam which was built in the late 1960?s to store water for irrigation. It?s quite a large puddle being about 70km long by about 40km wide. Considering it?s size, the dam wall is relatively small being only 100m long. We had a sunset cruise on the lake and enjoyed the late afternoon sun with a beer. Feeding the archer fish was a highlight and spotting a few crocs really topped off a good day out. We have just arrived in Katherine and will stay here for about 4 days before heading south.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on June 30, 2023, 10:23:37 am
spotting a few crocs really topped off a good day out.
My Patrick face is back.  How big was that croc?  I was just swimming in a local reservoir yesterday (we have a ton of them in my area), but thankfully no crocs around here!  :shocked: :oops: 
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on June 30, 2023, 07:33:12 pm
Hi Reagan,

That was a fresh water croc. They don?t grow all that big. The one in the pic was about 2.5m. The saltwater variety can get much bigger.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on June 30, 2023, 08:51:05 pm
Hi Reagan,

That was a fresh water croc. They don?t grow all that big. The one in the pic was about 2.5m. The saltwater variety can get much bigger.
Uh-huh, because an 8 foot long croc isn't THAT big.  :shocked:  :wink:  https://tenor.com/XVl4.gif 
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 30, 2023, 09:44:49 pm
Reagan,
Do you have alligators or crocodiles? As far as I know we only have crocodiles in the Everglades. Not sure about the Swamps in Louisiana but I never hear anyone talking about them being there.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on July 01, 2023, 01:11:27 am
Do you have alligators or crocodiles?
NC has alligators in the coastal plain, although we are on the northern edge of their range, so they don't get as large here as in other places.  Apparently they grow slower when it's cold.  Thankfully we are too far inland and upland to see them where I live.  :cool:

As far as I know we only have crocodiles in the Everglades.
I was under the impression that the Everglades contains both American crocodiles and American alligators, along with spectacled caiman.  The American alligator is one of FL's state reptiles. 

Not sure about the Swamps in Louisiana but I never hear anyone talking about them being there.
The range map I found from the USGS places them in LA too.  Wikipedia says that LA has the largest population of alligators in the US.  Gators are their state reptile too.  :happy:   
 
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on July 01, 2023, 06:08:29 am
We are having a few lazy days in Katherine as some wild weather passes through to the south of us. We went for a swim in a thermal pool yesterday. Water bubbles up though a Rocky outcrop and flows down towards the Katherine river. The water is an incredible blue in colour and I reckon it was close to 30 degrees C. It was very relaxing spending time swimming with locals and tourists in this unusual natural feature.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: BeeMaster2 on July 01, 2023, 06:52:23 am
Thanks Reagan,
Quote from: BeeMaster2 on June 30, 2023, 08:44:49 pm
Not sure about the Swamps in Louisiana but I never hear anyone talking about them being there.
The range map I found from the USGS places them in LA too.  Wikipedia says that LA has the largest population of alligators in the US.  Gators are their state reptile too.  :happy:

Here I was referring to crocodiles.
Louisiana swamps are famous for their large alligators but t I don?t think they have crocodiles.
I just looked it up, the Everglades is the only place in the US where crocodiles live.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on July 01, 2023, 08:25:15 am
Aren?t Crocs are more aggressive toward humans than alligators?
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on July 01, 2023, 08:28:33 am
https://youtu.be/mROOk74jV24
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on July 01, 2023, 04:39:22 pm
We are having a few lazy days in Katherine as some wild weather passes through to the south of us. We went for a swim in a thermal pool yesterday. Water bubbles up though a Rocky outcrop and flows down towards the Katherine river. The water is an incredible blue in colour and I reckon it was close to 30 degrees C. It was very relaxing spending time swimming with locals and tourists in this unusual natural feature.
Oh I bet that was neat!  Such beautiful water!
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: BeeMaster2 on July 01, 2023, 08:13:30 pm
Aren?t Crocs are more aggressive toward humans than alligators?

For sure. Alligators are not a threat to humans till they are 8 foot long or larger and even then for the most part they don?t mess with people. For the most part, alligators eat what they can swallow. Crocs are used to having to tear their food apart.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on July 03, 2023, 01:44:10 pm
There was a 13 foot alligator in the lake where my cousin lives in Panama City Fl. The Florida game people had to get rid of it.. Thats a big one... How big do they get?  Les do yall have alligators in Australia as well as crocs?

Phillip
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on July 03, 2023, 02:24:38 pm
There was a 13 foot alligator in the lake where my cousin lives in Panama City Fl. The Florida game people had to get rid of it.. Thats a big one... How big do they get? 
13 ft. for males is the maximum recorded in my state, 9 ft. for females, although it takes them a long time to reach that size.  Crocodiles and alligators continue to grow throughout their lives (although their growth rates slow down once they get older).  Their lifespan in captivity is about the same as a human's, and in the wild they can live 30-50 years.   
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on July 03, 2023, 06:59:59 pm
Hi Phillip,

No alligators is Aus. We have fresh water crocs that have been recorded up to about 3.5m in length and salt water crocs (which are the problem beasts) growing to about 7m and a 1000kg. They are the ones that give a reasonable love bite and tend to treat humans as a potential meal.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on July 04, 2023, 01:44:32 am
Time to hit the road again. Travelling south again for about 700km before heading east into Queensland. We stopped after 100km to look at a thermal spring which n a small town called Mataranka. The vegetation around the springs was tropical in appearance and looked totally different to the surrounding countryside.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on July 04, 2023, 01:48:20 am
As you would expect, the water was warm and inviting so we had to jump in for a swim.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on July 04, 2023, 11:26:01 am
As you would expect, the water was warm and inviting so we had to jump in for a swim.
Since the water was warm and inviting and not full of crocs.  :wink: :cheesy:  Sorry, we're getting a little fixated on the crocs.  Carry on!

Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on July 04, 2023, 06:58:17 pm
Ha Ha. Sounds a bit like that Reagan. Crocs are a concern but if you respect them and stay in safe areas, they shouldn?t be a problem. There have been people taken by them but it?s generally because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. There is a much greater chance of having a traffic accident than a bad encounter with one of those critters. On this trip we have been held up twice by incidents on the road. Once for a car and caravan that turned over and once for a light aircraft that had crashed on the road a couple of minutes before we arrived. We had an interesting stop for a break yesterday. We drove to an abandoned WW 2 airstrip which was located in an isolated spot. It is a popular stop for people on the road. The strip was in top condition considering it?s age.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on July 05, 2023, 10:56:36 pm
Well I tried to let the crocodilian thing go, but then I saw this on the local news this morning.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/69-year-woman-dies-alligator-attack-beaufort-south-carolina/story?id=100662549
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on July 06, 2023, 12:45:56 am
That?s sad to hear Reagan. Incidents like this do happen from time to time.

We dropped into a small mining town called Tennant Creek and had a look around the old telegraph station. The telegraph line which ran from Adelaide to Darwin (a distance of over 3600km) was built in two years and came into operation in 1872. An undersea cable was also constructed which allowed for communication between Australia and England to occur. A telegraph composed in Adelaide would take 7 hours to make it to England. Pretty amazing stuff for 150 years ago. Here are a few shots of the main house, the telegraph room and an underground cellar to store food. It was surprisingly cold at the bottom of the cellar. The old timers were very clever in the way that buildings were constructed.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on July 09, 2023, 08:38:35 pm
Hi Folks

We?ve been offline for a few days camping at a dam that used to supply water for a uranium mine. The dam was a great camp where we met some friendly likeminded people who just enjoy the outdoors. We made a visit to he abandoned mine and spent most of our days walking or sitting around a camp fire chatting. It was a really enjoyable time.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on July 11, 2023, 07:14:38 pm
We are in central Queensland at the moment and are currently following a dinosaur trail. We are driving through hundreds of kilometres of flat country that used to be an inland sea many millions of years ago. The area is rich with fossilised remains of plants and animals that lived in the area during that time. We have visited a couple of museums where dinosaur fossils are displayed. Below is a couple of photos of the larger ones. There is just so much to look at. Tomorrow we will drive to an area where dinosaur foot prints will be visible in the mudstone.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on July 11, 2023, 07:45:10 pm
We are in central Queensland at the moment and are currently following a dinosaur trail. We are driving through hundreds of kilometres of flat country that used to be an inland sea many millions of years ago. The area is rich with fossilised remains of plants and animals that lived in the area during that time. We have visited a couple of museums where dinosaur fossils are displayed. Below is a couple of photos of the larger ones. There is just so much to look at. Tomorrow we will drive to an area where dinosaur foot prints will be visible in the mudstone.

So cool!  I wish we had a natural history museum closer to where I live.  I love looking at stuff like that!

We are driving through hundreds of kilometres of flat country
I've been in the mountains too long, that flat land makes me nervous!  :cheesy:
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on July 11, 2023, 11:21:50 pm
Thanks Les.

Reagan their Natural History Museum in North West Tennessee that is nice. No doubt there are others closer to you than that.

Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Michael Bush on July 12, 2023, 07:52:42 am
The Smithsonian natural history museum is awesome.  By western standards it's close to you.  (If I drive 500 miles west I'm still in Nebraska).
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on July 12, 2023, 09:48:09 pm
Last day on the dinasour trail. We went to the Age of the dinasour museum in Winton for a series of talks about what happened in this area almost 100 million years ago. An interesting series of footprints formed in a mud bog during that time showed evidence of footprints and marks made by turtles, crocodiles and other extinct animals. Some of the prints were huge and gave an idea of the size of some of the creatures. The museum is located on a jump up with the surrounding plains positioned about 75m below the plateau.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on July 17, 2023, 07:52:02 pm
We have been camping at a location called Theresa Creek Dam. It?s only a small distance from the gold fields so the lure of the yellow has me excited. Started looking at some old gold Omer workings. A few hours later and the first piece popped out. The next few days will be spent chasing gold and exploring some new ground.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on July 23, 2023, 12:23:42 am
We had about a week in the Clermont area and have hit the road again heading for the east coast. The prospecting was hard. Long grass made the task a real challenge. I eventually gave up and decided to spend more time around the camp enjoying the scenery and pleasant company.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on July 23, 2023, 09:29:40 am
Might have been hard work, but nice find Les..
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on July 24, 2023, 11:53:56 pm
Finally hit the east coast again and stayed near the township of 1770. It was good to see the ocean again.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on July 28, 2023, 06:05:45 pm
Heading south now. In a few days we will be back in our home state of New South Wales. We are currently staying in the hinterland west of Noosa Heads. Pretty country will nice beaches. It?s a popular spot with people everywhere. We will visit a local market this morning. It will be interesting to see if there is any honey being sold at this location.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on July 30, 2023, 12:48:45 pm
More beauty and more interesting comments to go along with it Les. This has been a wonderful trip! Thanks for taking us along!

Phillip
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on August 02, 2023, 10:53:34 pm
Thanks Phillip.

We are now less than 1000km from home. Currently we are camped in a National Park next to a beach. The weather is generally good with most days around 22 degrees. Nights are also quite good with temperatures dropping to about 12 degrees C. This is one of the best parks that we have stayed in. Plenty of space is provided and fires are permitted. The township of Minnie Waters is isolated from the main tourist areas and has a warm and friendly appeal. We have really enjoyed our time here.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Kathyp on August 02, 2023, 11:45:33 pm
Beautiful trip. I have enjoyed all that you have posted.  Thank you!
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: BeeMaster2 on August 03, 2023, 08:17:58 am
Les,
I have also enjoyed following your trip. Thanks for sharing.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on August 03, 2023, 10:20:36 pm
Thanks guys. Just a couple of days to go before we move south. This will be the last bush camp for us. From now on it will be caravan parks for us until we get home. The bigger towns and cities are getting closer. This is our current camp site. I had to move the van this morning as we weren?t getting enough sun to run the solar. I can almost hear the bees buzzing and asking for some attention. In the next couple of days we will pass through the varroa outbreak area that continues to slowly expand. My hope is that they can eradicate the beast but I?m not very confident.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on August 03, 2023, 11:14:42 pm
Quote
My hope is that they can eradicate the beast but I?m not very confident.

My hope is yours Les. At this point I'm not very confident either...

Phillip
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: The15thMember on August 04, 2023, 12:07:08 pm
I agree with everyone, it's been so fun to see all the pictures from your trip, Les.  Thanks for bringing us all with you!  :happy:
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on August 04, 2023, 08:15:06 pm
Thanks Reagan. We haven?t even scratched the surface on relation to what can be seen in Australia. At least you were able to see some of the scenery that?s on offer here.

Jumped out of bed early this morning for a fish on the beach. Was happy to come home with tonight?s dinner. Two bream and a whiting will make a lovely meal on the campfire tonight.



 
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on August 06, 2023, 10:23:02 pm
With rain approaching we headed a bit further south to stay at a free overnight camp in a small town called Macksville. Quite often small towns provide some free camping to travellers so that they will spend some money in the community. This is a great idea for the more remote areas of Australia. We camped on the Nambucca River before moving on this morning. It was a pleasant, peaceful spot.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on August 06, 2023, 10:33:19 pm
Quote
Quite often small towns provide some free camping to travellers so that they will spend some money in the community.

That is a good idea ..

How was the fish dinner the other night?

Phillip

Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on August 08, 2023, 05:04:49 am
The fish was really good Phillip. Wrapped in foil and cooked over an open fire. The fish was moist, tender and quite tasty. I use a homemade fire pit that was made from an old 9kg gas bottle. Some places don?t allow open fires unless you have a way of keeping the fire off the ground. I have a new improved design in mind that I will build when I get home.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on August 08, 2023, 05:30:13 am
We are currently in a coastal town called Port Macquarie. It is a tourist destination renowned for its climate, beautiful scenery, restaurants and pretty beaches. If I recall correctly, about 10 years ago it was in the top 10 places in the world as a desirable place to live. We are really doing it tough at the moment. Here is a picture from the cafe that served us brunch this morning. We will head to Sydney (the big smoke) in a few days.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on August 08, 2023, 08:17:44 am
The fish was really good Phillip. Wrapped in foil and cooked over an open fire. The fish was moist, tender and quite tasty. I use a homemade fire pit that was made from an old 9kg gas bottle. Some places don?t allow open fires unless you have a way of keeping the fire off the ground. I have a new improved design in mind that I will build when I get home.

Glad y'all enjoyed it. We love our fish done over an open fire or in a smoker. We sprinkle Chef Pauls' Seafood Magic on the Olive Oil coated fish, laid in a tray with a thin layer of Olive Oil on the bottom of the tray. It comes out moist, tender, and tasty as well! I would like to see what you have in mind Les in your new design when the time is right. You always come up with good stuff!

Phillip
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on August 12, 2023, 06:25:04 pm
We made our way through Sydney and loaded up with some honey jars on the way. I couldn?t resist some of the store specials. The poor old Ute is loaded to capacity. Our final stop was at Wollongong which is about a hour south of Sydney. It was fantastic to be able to catch up with family. Our little two year old granddaughter has grown so much in the time that we were away. We will head off at lunchtime for the final 3 hour drive home.
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Ben Framed on August 12, 2023, 08:13:35 pm
Safe traveling home Les...

Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Kathyp on August 12, 2023, 09:23:29 pm
Thank you for sharing your trip and safe travels home!
Title: Re: Lesgold?s Road Trip
Post by: Lesgold on August 13, 2023, 10:07:49 pm
Thanks for tagging along guys. We finally made it home last night after covering just over 20 000 km. Hope you all got a brief insight into what parts of Australia look like through the pics that were posted. Everything was done on he phone so the commentary was often full of errors and the photos were fairly ordinary in quality. It was a good trip where we encountered some amazing scenery. The best part was the people who we met who were also involved in similar journeys. They were so friendly and warm. If you ever get the chance, get over here and have a look around. I know that you would enjoy it. The cleanup starts now followed by some beekeeping jobs before the season starts. I have a few projects both bee and non bee related that I may share with you.

Cheers for now

Les