Our Trip

Day Eleven 

Part One 

On the road again as day 11 rolled around. 

The weather was not so cold, but 

we enjoyed left over curried mince on toast

for brekky and the packing up commenced. 

The dingoes were calling again last night

but none ventured near us, that we knew of anyway. 

Dave pumped the tyres back up again

as we were on different roads now,

being off the Canning for our detour. 

The road constantly changed in colour

and so did the landscape around us. 

We saw another caravan of camels

that all turned our way to watch us go by. 

We passed a large crane going very slowly,

on it's way to the next community. 

As we were driving along

we noticed we had a bar of reception! 

Wow! First time since our real adventure

had started. I was able to text Lauren

and let her know we were okay. 

We turned off towards Telfer Gold Mine

and pulled up at the security stopping place. 

(sorry, don't know what it's called)

Here Dave and Kon had to 

let them know the driver's details,

the number of passengers, the make of 

the vehicles and such and then we waited

for our own personal vehicle that would 

escort us 'safely' through the mine site. 

(I think that they knew Dave would be off

exploring and digging for gold if we weren't properly

escorted off the premises ha ha)

Anyway, we felt very special nonetheless.

And we had reception to catch up on 

quick phone calls and texts. 

I would have liked to stop

and take photos of the huge dump trucks,

but there was no stopping or sight seeing allowed. 

Just pass on through and be on your way, yes siree! 

We pressed on and occasionally

passed vehicles coming the opposite

direction headed for the Canning as well. 

Pretty soon, we were turning onto the

Rudall River Road (Rudall River National Park).

We drove over some of the most horrendous

corrugates in Australia's outback then it became

even more interesting,

as for quite a long time,

you literally drove down the dry river bed.

It was very sandy and soft in parts

which made for interesting driving techniques. 

(but our very experienced and capable drivers

handled it like pros! Emilee included)

The Rudall River National Park is 

the largest national park in Western Australia

and one of the largest in the world. 

It's actually more than 2 and a half times

as large as the Grand Canyon National Park

in Arizona, but is also one of the remotest parks. 

We didn't have time to explore so we 

kept on the not so straight, but yes, narrow, road. 

(this was only a means to an end,

this part of the country would have to 

be explored another time) 

The road was an interesting one

and I was kept very busy taking photos

and listening to the never ending rattle

of the old girl enjoying her 30 year anniversary

tour in the magnificent Australian Outback. 

Sometimes you'd come over

a rise and be taken aback by 

the breathtaking views and the vast

expanse of such a huge country. 

What awe-inspiring scenery God

allows us to see and enjoy!

At times, the road would fall away

into a washout without warning,

but occasionally (only once I think),

there was a witches hat on a picket to 

give us warning. 

Not a road to zip along at any great speed.

Why you'd want to anyway, is beyond me. 

There was so much to see all around you! 

The remarkable, reds and yellows

and purples of the wildflowers were

eye catching, but unless we stopped 

right near them, I was content to capture

them with my camera as we drove on by.

(this was an abstract version. ahem)

And as with each post, I seem 

to be getting more long winded

and more photo happy,

I have divided day eleven into 2 parts

as there's much more to tell

and I wouldn't want you getting bored

and skimming over everything quickly. 

So for now, we stop, half

way through the day,

and about to turn off the main road 

onto another, rocky, desert track into

the wild unknown.

To be continued...……….