Doolgunna Station Trip. Days 4 and 5

Day 4 and it's Sunday, the truck is loaded and we are off, heading back the way we came, aiming for New Norcia which is a couple of hours north of Perth.  We'll stop for food, toilet break, smoke break.  Hopefully these will all be at the one stop as we want to get to New Norcia before dark.  We're not too long into the drive when the clouds come over and soon it was raining.  And it didn't stop.

There was also a lot more traffic on the road today, a lot of roadtrains and trucks taking up machinery for the mines.  We saw 2 trucks, each carrying 2 tyres.  Mind you, they were BIG tyres...A truck with a massive scraper and another with the body part.  Put the pieces together and build yourself a haulpac to use in the mines.  We had to slow down and pull over for the wider loads, add in the slow driving due to the heavy rain and we lost quite a bit of time.  We saw a lot more eagles on the way home as there was a lot more roadkill and the properties are not fenced up here so you need to be careful of cattle on the roads as well.  At least with the radio on we were forewarned of any upcoming hazards like water over the road...

 

 And oncoming oversized loads..

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Hubby drove and kept driving.  I looked at the scenery, read a bit, had a bit of a sleep...all the stuff I do on long distance trips when I am not the driver.

We had to unload the truck in Perth on the Monday and if Hubby had been by himself he would have pulled over somewhere and slept but because I was with him and I really wanted to see a bit of New Norcia we planned to stop off there on the Sundy night and had booked a room.  I was hoping to see a bit of the town before night but it was a lot later than we wanted it to be by the time we came close to New Norcia.   It was wet, dark, cold...not exploring weather and after being on the road all day all I wanted was a hot shower, hotter coffee and a warm bed.

Driving up the road to the hotel I was keeping an eye out for it but it was a pleasant surprise when I finally realised which building it was.

The above photo was taken from the web but the one to the left is one I took on Monday morning.  It's a bit dark because it was overcast and still raining.  It is the top balcony, each room had doors opening onto this but I didn't see anyone else out there the whole time we were there.

This hotel is old and a bit worn but I loved it. 

Unfortunately it was raining when we arrived, it rained all night and it was still raining the next morning so I didn't get to explore the town like I had  planned.  Still, that gives me a reason to come back and if I can overcome my stupid fear of driving near Perth I will come back in the van.  We did don a raincoat so I could go and visit my rellies in the cemetery but then we left for the seemingly short trip into Perth for the drop-off.

That was achieved with no trouble so we drove back to Byford to finish unloading and to refuel then home.

I enjoyed the whole trip and look forward to going again. 

Doolgunna Station Trip. Days 2 and 3.

We had a long way to go so there wasn't time for seeing any more of Dalwallinu than I had with my morning walk so after loading the freezers back onto the truck we were back on the road heading North.  The plan was to make as few stops as possible and get to Doolgunna around 4pm. 

So we drove.  And drove.  And drove.  Well Hubby did, I was the passenger so I got to look at the scenery and point out the herds of wild goats, the emu, the eagle...Things like that.  I also got to read a bit.  I think this could be a long boring drive for the drivers and there are people who do it all the time. In trucks a lot bigger and slower than the one we were in.  

We passed through a few towns, Wubin, Paynes Find, Mt Magnet, Cue...but didn't have time to stop at any of them except we had to stop at Meekatharra to refuel but from there we didn't have very far to go.  Just another couple of hours.

One day we will do a proper road trip and go back to all these places and take time to explore the area. 

We finally turned off the highway and into the dirt road that led to Doolgunna Homestead.  Now that was a rough ride in the truck.  We had to take it real slow but it still rattled everything.

Then we were there.  D was the bloke in charge of the camp and a mate of ours so we reported to him and he gave us a choice of places to stay.  In a tent at their camp area or in the accommodation area 100metres away.  The rooms would be warmer, they were close to a kitchen.  The bathrooms were there...Hard choice but we chose a room.

Below is their camp area.  The Geologist sleeps in the mobile home and the other workers have a room in the shed.  They cook in the MH and one end of the shed has a room with a TV and, now, the lounge and the 2 freezers that we took up.  They have electricity from a generator that runs on petrol and they refill each morning.  They seem to have unlimited power though with 4 laptops, a fridge, a freezer, now 2 Engels, lights etc. 

These people work for a mining company and their job is to take samples of the dirt in different areas to see if it is worth the mine drilling for gold. There is a team and they take it in turns to fly in and fly out.  There were 4 men there while we were there but 1 was a temporary, a young bloke there for a month to see if he wants to become a geo.

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The homestead house has it's own power supply coming from solar panels and a wind turbine and doesn't have much to do with the mine blokes.

There were 8 or 10 rooms in the accommodation block, 4, or 5, running down each side of the building and a bathroom was at one end. The bathroom had a toilet and shower for the women and another lot for the men with a communal room in between with troughs in.   There was a kitchen room at the other end.  

A few of the rooms on the other side had workers in them from a different camp to the one we were involved with but we had our side to ourselves.  These rooms are also let out to the prospectors that come up to the  station to hunt for gold.  There were 2 caravans here and 1 lot had been there for 6 months.  They had found a bit of gold but come up here regularly.

We were told that the rooms were $10 a night but I am not sure if that is per person or per room as we didn't pay, it was covered by the mine we were doing the pickup for.

The walls were cement bricks with different rock embedded in them.  Absolutely beautiful.  And thick so they made the rooms quite warm.  I think we would have been cold if we had of chosen the tent!

Below are just a few photos of the walls.

 I loved the look.

These rooms are also let out to the prospectors that come up to the  station to hunt for gold.  There were 2 caravans here and 1 lot sometimes stays for up to 6 months.  They had found a bit of gold and come up here regularly.

After we were settled in and I set up my coffee making area we went back over to their camp and talked about the load we were picking up and made plans for the next day, Saturday.  We didn't have to worry about cooking as these blokes were going to look after us while we were there.  And they sure did,  We had a couple of lovely evening meals made by N..  After he had finished his day out in the field he would come back, shower and cook.  Brilliant meals, fish one night, marinated chicken the next, made with some of the meat that was in the Engels that we took up and vegies they had in their other freezer.  It seems like they eat pretty good even though they are miles from civilization.

We were in bed by 8 as we needed to be ready to leave here at 6am on Saturday so they could show us a spot to do a bit of metal detecting ourselves.

Most of Saturday was spent looking for gold, getting lost, watching other people look for gold.  Another early night and up early early on Sunday to load the truck before we left.

These bags are full of smaller bags that are full of dirt.  They are taken to Perth and tested to see if the area that they came from has gold in it.  There was a pile of other stuff that we had to load by hand as it too needed to be taken back to Perth but we were on the road by 9am.

These Sturt Desert Peas were growing near one of the sheds.

 These are Pink and Grey Galahs.  They came in in the evening and camped out in the trees.  I thought that as I walked towards them that they would all fly up in the air and it would look real cool but they didn't.  They must be used to people coming and going as they didn't seem fussed at all.

We didn't get to check out a lot of the area so I am hoping that I can come back on another trip.  There are 3 drivers that will be doing these trips though so I will only be able to go if Hubby does the drive over a few days when I am not working.  

That might be next week or it might be months away.

Doolgunna Station Trip.

Doolgunna Station is *a long way*  from here, last time Hubby did this trip it took him 11 hours, from Perth.  Mind you, he was in a truck so doing it in a car it probably wouldn't take as long but, for us, it is a long way from home.

The reason for the trip was to pick up bags of soil samples and take them back to Perth for testing.  There are people on this station, and lots of other stations in the North of our state, looking for gold, copper and probably other minerals but on this station they are drilling for gold.

The blokes doing the soil-sample pickup run usually drive up one day and load up and leave the next.  But I wanted to go and see a bit of the country up that way again so talked Hubby into letting me go along with him and doing the 2 day trip over 5.  The lovely man agreed even though it added a lot to his work and meant a couple of days being away with no pay.  But he had me for company and that would have made up for it.  That's what I kept telling him anyway.  And I might be allowed to go again...Anyway...

Thursday.  I was supposed to work and we were going to leave after that but I had a bonus day off so that gave us the chance to leave early and have more time to stop and look on the way.  In theory anyway.  The truck was supposed to be loaded so we could leave straight away, with no stops in Perth...But...it wasn't fully loaded so we lost time there.  We had to do a drop-off and a pickup in Perth so that added more time so any time we made up by leaving early was already lost.  HoHum...It meant that we wouldn't have time to stop anywhere as we wanted to be in Dalwallinu before dark.  We had booked a room here so we weren't driving through the dark and because I was with him it wasn't possible to pull over and sleep whenever.  
We stayed in a motel unit behind the pub and though it was clean(ish) with plenty of hot water it was old and basic.  I had been quoted $85 and we were told the same when we picked up the key but when Hubby went over to get something to eat and pay for the room he was charged $70.  A much better price.

Our unit is the one with the open door.

 One of the things that we had to load onto the truck in Perth to take up with us was 2 big Engel freezers.  Full of meat.  So Hubby had to half empty them to lift them onto the truck in Perth then refill them.  Half empty them to lift off the truck here so we could put them in the unit and get them running again and then do the same the next morning before we left.  And they were heavy even with half the stuff taken out, I know cause I helped carry them, so not sure what the thinking was in expecting him to do that.  We had an early night so I was up early Friday, had a coffee but still had to wait an hour for it to get light enough to see before I went walking the streets and seeing what the town was like.

 I liked the  stone wall in front of this building.

My main impression of Dallwallinu was that the main street was clean and tidy and nice looking.  All the houses and shops were tidy, the gardens were all neat and tidy.   Then I walked back to the hotel and walked behind it to get to the units...and the place was a dump.  Mess everywhere, untidy buildings, old junk laying around.  It was so noticeable after walking through the main street and such a pity that it wasn't tidy as well.
We left Dalwallinu around 8am, knowing there was a long drive ahead.
The area around here is good for wheat growing and as we were leaving there was this sign that I thought was clever.

And after a bit... Six hours to go...

To be continued...

I'm Ba aack

We are home, safe and sound, from our work trip but so much to do.  I need to help clean out the truck, washing from away and stuff from before we went.  Get the house back in order, HoHum, it doesn't take me long to mess things up...Anyway, lots to do before I can start putting *finger to keyboard* but first another coffee before going out and letting the chooks out so I best be off.

Five Day's Away.

My next *adventure* starts sometime on Thursday leaving here to drive to Perth to pick up the truck first.

I have an unexpected day off so we'll be able to leave earlier and take it slower so I'll get to see more.   We'll drive 5 or so hours and stop at Dalwallinu for the night, leave there early Friday and get to Doolgunna Station ...when we get there.   Stay there Saturday, maybe get some gold prospecting in, leave there early Sunday and stop at New Norcia on the way back.  That will give me a few hours on Monday morning to have a look around before we need to get into Perth to unload.  Home late afternoon sometime ready for work on Tuesday.  Sounds like a plan.

Hubby has done this trip once before, drove all day to get there and back the next.  He slept in the truck.  With me going with him this trip and wanting to see a bit of some places as we go things will be different.  He is a buy crap when refuelling eater, me...not so much.    So I need to take stuff I can munch on every few hours...but the fridge in the truck doesn't work.  My job today is to pack a few clothes, some food.  I then need to tidy the house ready for L staying here.  I need to clean out the chook house so she doesn't think I'm a bad chook mummy.  Washing so I have something to take.  Find me Whizz in case I need it.  Clean out the fridge so she doesn't think I'm a bad fridge mummy...And all the other stuff that I haven't done since I heard I'd be going away and that needs doing.   HoHum...

Best be off here and adoing.

New Norcia, Not Yet.

Well it doesn't look like I will be going to New Norcia by myself any time soon.
I'll still get there and probably sometime next month but it will be part of a bigger adventure.  With Hubby.  In a truck.
Details need to be worked out but at this stage it looks like a goer and NN will be a stopover on the way home.   I've been told to *book a room* 
I don't think we'll have a lot of time for exploring NN but I'll get a look and if I want to I can go back another time, by myself, in the van.

I've been ehhh, Nowhere.

Sorry to say I can't say I've been *everywhere* like that song but I did go into our local Tourist and Information Centre yesterday.  I now have a map of the area I am interested in going to but as I had a SookyLaLa moment last week when talking about it I need to hurry up and decide to go so I can *just do it*
The stupid tears started when Hubby said I had to drive through Perth to get there.  I know that I can get there going another way, it will just add on a half days extra travel and seeing as I'm too tight to buy lots of diesel shorter is better.  And I don't actually have to *go through* Perth.  I think I go around it but the sound of him saying "you need to go on ???? highway and then this one" made me freak out, just a tad.but more than any intrepid adventurer should.
He's at work tomorrow so I will be able to pull out the maps and have a good sook look and get settled before he gets home again.

I think driving on busy roads freaks me out so much because I see too many idiots on the roads that don't seem to give a rats about other vehicles.
 
The more I go off and do the driving and exploring though the more I will get used to it but I am too sooky to do it as often as I want to.  As I have said before...I  need to *grow a pair* and just go.