Making Good Time

Got up with the sun, and it was lovely.  I had mucked up some bookings and hence we had a big travel day. Bigger than I really wanted given that the start was on an outback road.
We headed off after breakfast in gorgeous light with. The road was OK so w were making good time......yes the hole day was about making time.......we had been advised that the prettiest part of the road was after the Yardea sheep station. However that was going to add about 80k of outback track, so we would stick to our plan. As it was early we managed to spook quite a few roos and emus, so both diver and co-pilot were on constant lookout for the next stupid animal. We were heading into a huge cloud bank so our beautiful light was not to last. We were in shade again bt the time we got to the Gawler Ranges National Park. As the light went down the number of roos and mus went up. The national park was teeming with them. The sheep country had also become prettier, more grass, more trees. In fact it looked a lot like Hattah Kulkyne/Murray Sunset with dunes, mallee, and cypress and the addition of shyolite.

The road in the national park ws quite rough, so in comination with the animals we wer losing some time. Eventually the nationalpark ended and we were back in grain country. Finally even the dirt road ended and we got to Minippa. We stopped for a fluid break an to put a bit of extra air in the tyres after the dirt roads. Whilst there, about 10minutes, we er pumped by the 87 year old local on her way home from the shopping. Why we were there? where we were going? where we were from? Blood types etc. She was quite switche on. She had move to Minippa in 1959 and did not want to move out ever again. Onto the Eyre Highway and 110kph. We were making good time. Running along besides the Murray River water pipe an the wheat fields we eventually made it to Ceduna and the sea. It was a bit early but we decided to break for lunch. A local aboriginal guy liked my shoes....I like them too. We sat by the water and had a sangger and back on the road....we needed to make time.

 The grain farms were huge. Such big skys.

But eventually the grain faded to sheep and the cypress pine disappeared. We were in driver waving space and made sure we waved at every body coming the other way. Even the huge wide loads. Those mining trucks ar hhhhuuuuuggggge.

We stopped for petrol at Nundroo, a typical outback petrol stop/food joint. This one run by an Indian chap.  And just kept heading west.

At around 3:00 we hit the nullabor as the trees had been fading away completely over the past 20km. So at about 3:15 we got into the Head of The Bight reserve for a chance to check out some whales. Making good time meant we got there in time. They close at 5 and I wanted a chance to have a look this afternoon.

As we got to the water we noticed a small raptor (I will eventually identify it) hovering over the scrub, we also noticed the dunes, and the cliffs and a pacific gull, some nice boardwalks .......

........and of course some whales.

Quite a few in fact, and particularly cute was the calf practicing tail slaps.

We were there for as long as Marjan could cope with the wind chill. Though it had got to 18 on the road, the wind off the water was quite cool.

A short drive to the Nullabor Roadhouse where we met our pilot for tomorrow morning's flight over the whales. I was happy to see him checking out the plane.