26/7/12 Did some shopping before leaving Donnybrook. Decided we would head towards Mt Barker for the night as we needed a site with mobile transmission. Drove down to Manjimup before turning west towards Mt Barker. Had lunch at the delightful Lake Muir NP Observatory. After lunch checked out the Observatory but the water was almost out and no bird life was to be seen. A spot to visit agin when full of water. Drove onto Mt Barker and turned left onto the Perth Albany road where our camp site was some 17 km up the road. First time ever we had the camp to ourselves.

27/7/12 A bitterly cold night, and after brekky drove on to Porungarup where we hoped to spend the night. T'was not to be as the local CP closes down for July and August. Not to be deterred we drove onto the Balancing Rock and Castle Rock which is in the Porungarup NP. We climbed to the lookout which took an hour to reach. In in ews are quite spectacular. The lookouts had been helicoptered in in 2007. After the climb down we drove to Mt Barker and purchased some famous Mt Barker pies for lunch. After that we drove towards Albany and turned left and headed westwards towards our camp for the night.

28/7/12 Up early and on our way to Hopetoun to visit Fitzgerald National Park. Much money has been spend on the roads and facilities in the NP but the place we wanted to go to – Hamersley Inlet – was the only area not available. We drove around found a new campsite had been set up at Four Mile Beach so we decided to stay the night. We were informed that the Campsite had only been open for ¾ weeks and we were only the fourth camper. As luck would have it, a Wicked type camper rolled in just on dusk and left before we did. Can't be sure that they paid but we assume so, as the Ranger was onto us as soon as we had set up.

29/7/12 Off to Hopetoun early this morning looking for a waste dump that was advertised in the Camp 6. Can only assume that the disposal unit has been removed as we search high and low. Luckily it was not an urgent matter. Drove out of Hopetoun and turned onto the bitumen back road that we used last year. Much rain has been had in this area and there was water everywhere. One needed to be careful not to get onto the shoulder and get stuck. We drove onto Munglinup where we had decided to spend the night as once again we needed phone contact with the outside world. We had arrived early and picked the best park in the place. Two caravanners drove in around 5 pm and one drove so close to us he nearly took our back off and then proceeded to reverse even closer. He advised that he would be running a genny for a few hours. We were not impressed and moved away for a quiet night. I hope his chooks grow up to be roosters and kick his fowlhouse down.

30/7/12 Another cold night and plenty of water around so we filled up plus some spares. We drove into Esperence to a local shopping centre we had found last year. We decided to do some washing and found a friendly hairdresser who cut our hair and talked our ears off. Purchased some groceries and then motored off to Cape Le Grand National Park to spend the night. Looked like we might have it to ouselves until two other couples turned up. It is a beautiful spot – quiet and serene and the showers were warmer this year.

31/7/12 Up early and paid our dues to the Ranger who came calling around brekky time. Drove around the park and checked out all the beaches and coves and nearly collected a kangaroo for our trouble. And this almost in front of the Ranger who was fixing a pothole. The wind was blowing fiercely and it was too cold and blowy to climb Frenchman's Peak. Back to Esperence where we got some food and beer before heading off to Norseman The thing about the drive to Norseman that sticks in our mind is the amount of rubbish on the sides of the road. People really are grubs. We were surprised at how small Norseman is and after visiting the Information centre we headed west to the Nullabor. Some 80 km down the road we pulled up for the night and had a Winnebago Nullabor drive in on dark. Rained lightly all night.

1/8/12 Started raining and as we hit the bitumen there was aloud cracking sound and the driver's wiper blade started jumping around like a broken chicken wing. Stopped the van and hopped out to see what the damage was. The blade had separated from the wiper mechanism. Stood in the rain and slowly worked out what to do. The wipers worked again, but didn't sound too healthy. We used them sparingly and after and hour or two the rain lightened off. Will get them checked out when I get home. In the meantime hope we don't encounter any rain. Filled up at Balladonia and drove on to the Observatory Turnoff Rest Area for the night. We spend the first hour there picking up other people's rubbish and burning it. Dirty toilet paper, cigarette packets, beer bottles and cans. After dark a caravanner turned up and he had left before we arose. Another bitterly cold night.

2/8/12 Up reasonably early. The weather had cleared although there were some clouds to the south.

We filled up with fuel at Madura Pass and were surprised how high we were as we couldn't remember climbing and any stage. Fuel was dear but I expected that. The Nullabor wasn't as treeless as I expected it to be. Certainly there were more trees than on our train ride the previous year. Passed through all the Roadhouse stops and had thrown out or used all our food and vegies before we hit the border which was after Eucla. Much to our surprise when going East the Quarantine Station operates at Ceduna. We drove on and were driving parallel to the Great Australia Bight. We had stopped at te GAB lookout and took some photos. We had decided to spend the night camped on the Bight and half a dozen other entrepid campers shared our view although 4 groups turned up after 5pm.

3/8/12 A bitterly cold night last night and extremely blowy. We didn't see any whales even though they are said to swim by between June and October. Slept in for a change – mainly because of the time change – and got on the road just before 9 am. We have been waiting to see a Camel or Wombat and signs are up all over. However all we have seen are dead kangaroos and other small animals. Did see one Emu and 3 rabbits yesterday. The landscape changed as we motored further East and now we seem to be in broad acre farming land. We are at a roadside camp some 45 kms east of Ceduna on our way to Port Augusta.