Sadly we said goodbye to the other Pamela Joan about 9.15am on Wednesday 18th May. We are ready to start our journey back to WA.  We enjoyed a nice morning shower inside, but had slept in the caravan.  That was part of the deal in visiting Pam before we left S.A.  We were not making extra work for her.  She is off on a holiday to Melbourne next week.  Pam cooked bacon, egg, mushrooms and tomato for breakie.  Delicious!  Thank you.  And she gave us one of her lovely resin boards and bowls to bring back home.  Thank you again.

I had shared with Pam that I would like to take a metal dog similar to PJ Stayathome, back home with me.  I wasn’t sure though that I could convince Peter the purchase would be worth the trip on the eastern side of the Flinders Ranges.  Plus the Horrocks Pass road to Port Augusta, rather than the Highway.  I needed to know I could definitely get one, so I rang the Wirrabara Bakery.  No joy there and the Visitor Centre phone went to message bank.  I didn’t think they opened until 10, so it looked like one of the metal Stayathome dogs had to stay in S.A.  

Peter has been very good taking me wherever, so I didn’t push the alternative travel.  Now for the rest of the next half hour story!  For whatever reason, I had noticed yesterday that my phone was not alerting when there was a text message, and I had not attempted to rectify the problem.  We were on the A1 and had passed the first turn off to Port Pirie when I glanced at my phone and there were all these messages from Pam H.  I started to reply and next thing she was ringing.  "PJ Stayathome had wanted to go with us" she said.   She was in the car and she was on her way to catch us!  We needed to find somewhere to pullover!  Pam was going to Port Pirie to shop and had thrown her better clothes on to do so, that is once she caught us and delivered PJ!  She has become such a dear friend.  Well you can imagine the reaction of the driver!  I will say no more, except that I said “You now have two Pamela Joan’s to deal with, so you might as well give up and go with the flow”!

We turned down a road near the Rangeview Caravan Park and found somewhere where we could turn around and wait for Pam.  I rang her to tell her where we were and while we waited we organised the car for PJ’s trip west.  Peter is a treasure!  He went to his wallet and got out $100 for us to give to Pam.  After all we were taking the gift we had given her!  I did have the phone number of the lady who makes the dogs and I would have organised another gift, but this was a better idea and the handover was another photo opportunity for the story! Pam took photos of PJ on the front seat, leaving her car and going to ours.  It was fun. Thank you once again Pamela Joan H.  Your kindness is very special.  

At Port Augusta we fuelled up and found the early voting polling booth.  So glad that is done!  Peter’s comment “What a lot of bunnies we are voting for”!  So many parties. It really does seem ridiculous. Our lunch stop was the turnoff to Iron Knob.  We had thought Kimba might have been our first day stop, but it was way too early.  On the downside I gave up our planned drive into the Gawler Ranges at Minnipa.  It was too late and after all I did have PJ in the back.  We continued on to Wirrulla and stayed there the night. We didn’t have the park to ourselves this time.  There were lots of vans there, so we didn’t need to be any later.  I showed PJ and Wally the Gawler stone.  I don’t think I’m going senile, just enjoy a bit of fun.  Wally always travels with us in the caravan with his girlfriend Clara.  Clara has a travel angel pinned to her and she was a gift from Kim, Jas and family in 2014.  Both have been around Australia twice.

We were on the road by 8.30 on Thursday, just as the Wirrulla kids were leaving on the bus to go to their area school.  We took note of the sign on Eyre Highway this time.  It is the Miltaburra Area School and it has 60 students.  We found a Wirrulla community plaque last night that said the Wirrulla school closed in 1986.  No wonder the kids couldn’t remember a school in the town when we came through early April.  Also found a plaque commemorating 70 years of the Wirrulla CWA 1933 - 2003.  I suspect there is no longer a branch in the town.

Morning tea stop was the On The Run (OTC) Service Station at Ceduna.  We fuelled up and there was a dump point to empty the toilet, so this is worthy of noting for caravanners! Topped up with fuel at Nundroo and found a reasonable rest area about 38 kms from the Nullarbor Roadhouse to have lunch.  I think this is a popular free camping spot as two caravans came in and headed down the tracks further into the scrub!

We called into the Whale Centre at the Head of the Bight.  You can’t drive past without having a look. There just might be a whale!  Although Peter didn’t think the drive in was necessary.  I told him he needed to get out of the car and have a walk and the Aboriginal Lands Trust needed our $6.00 each!  Steve from Yorketown who we had played bowls against at Port Lincoln said it was a rip off and Peter agrees.  I have to record what happened.  The guy we payed the money to said he believed there was a young male whale in the bay. Hadn't confirmed it himself but believed he had come back looking for his Mum. The best time for viewing is the end of July.  There was a couple, both with a camera who were about to leave the boardwalk.  Peter’s comment was  “That guy looks as disinterested as me and that woman is more enthusiastic than you”!  I was determined we were having a $6.00 walk!  And it became more than a walk!  There was the young whale not far off shore. My squeal of “There it is out there” brought the other couple back.  It made their day!

Fuel at the Nullarbor Roadhouse was $2.98 a litre.  We thought fuel at $2.95 was bad enough on the way over.  I took some snaps around the roadhouse, that I’ve probably taken on another trip!  Oh well, it doesn’t hurt to do another click!  Especially of the information about Jenny Mac’s Delisser relie who surveyed and named the Nullarbor Plain in 1867.  

Our next stop was the Bunda Cliffs, where we had stopped on the way over.  The sun was behind us this time and much better for a photo shoot.  Onwards then to Border Village to pay $2.98 a litre again for fuel and book into the caravan park for the night.  The guy showed me a layout of the park and said we could park anywhere.  There were a number of the four point power boxes around the camping area.  Most were taped up and out of order. I guess one has to make allowances as this roadhouse has had a real hammering during the Covid Border closure.  I’m thinking the power outlets were probably overloaded many times.  We managed the vegies pretty well this time, so there wasn’t much that we disposed of.  We enjoyed the last of the Burra Butchers Big Bangers with boiled potato and carrots.  I also made the curried tomato and onion, that I often cooked on the farm to have with chops. We peeled the one remaining onion, kept the carrots as they weren’t sprouting as per the Departments list, and removed the skin and seeds from the pumpkin.  We thought we would give it a try.  We put the processed honey in the bin.  Honey's okay going into SA, but can’t be brought into WA. 

We talked to a couple from Hamilton in Victoria while the tea was cooking.  We had parked fairly close to them due to the lack of power outlets.  They were fine about it and where on their way to enjoy 6 weeks in Shark Bay.  They are also going to spend a couple of nights in the smaller WA towns on the way.  Hyden and Wave Rock is on their bucket list.

We are hoping to travel over 700kms to Norseman tomorrow.