Billy's Blog

Wednesday, 28 May 2014

Billy's Camps No. 31, 32 and 33....Lake Mulwala.. ( 20 months after Camp 30)

28/05/2014

Its about 20 months since the last blog in Broome. Many people are still viewing the old blogs, I'm chuffed about that.
I'm having trouble getting into the swing of a blog for each camp as I did last time, so this is a combination of several camps and a month on the road. 6600 k's travelled, wow a bit of zig zagging there !
I'm now retired and aim to pick up my travels from last time by heading to Broome, and down the WA coast to Albany. My plans change all the time, I can do that :), and I'm currently in Kalgoorlie heading up North via outback WA. Its cold here at night and Broome is becoming very inviting, but so it is to everyone else. Crowds are not Bill. I could always go back to Middle Lagoon....
I have regrouped after the last trip and now have a slightly larger boat, and motor, and more fishing gear and more of most other stuff. The result being I'm carrying and towing more weight and the fuel economy has suffered, but you get that !
Fuel here in Kalgoorlie is $1.50/l. It was $1.96 at the SA/WA border and $2.06 at Balladonia.

I left Canberra on 24/04/14 and spent a few days on the NSW south coast before heading to Lake Mulwala, from there I went to the Adelaide Hills area and then via the Nullarbor to Esperance. From Esperance to Kalgoorlie, Kalgoorlie Boulder to be correct.

Camp 31. Lake Mulwala.
The township of Lake Mulwala is on the NSW side of the border and the bigger centre Yarrawonga is on the Victoria side.

Goodbye Florey

Lake Mulwala

A pic from the local museum of when the lake was drained. No wonder I lost lures.

The camp

Yarrawonga weir. It is the only weir between here and the Murray mouth where naval navigation is not possible.

My first and only Murray Cod, only 550mm, keeper is 600. Unfinished business. Spots are parasites, not very sightly.

The bridge about 500m upstream from the weir. Slowly subsiding.

Some family history

Ditto


Ditto

Camp 32 Adelaide Hills.
I travelled the shortest route to the Adelaide Hills via Shepparton and Bendigo, stayed overnight at Bordertown. The noisiest caravan park in Australia, next to the Western Highway and trucks galore all night.
I camped at Balhannah near Hahndorf in the Adelaide hills, and revisited a few places from my last trip.

Typical Murray vegetable irrigation grounds

Vineyard between Balhannah and Hahndorf

Waipinga Beach revisited

Fish from the above beach and squid from Cape Jervis ferry jetty

Camp 33 Lucky Bay, near Esperance.
I travelled once again the shortest route to Esparence via Fowlers Bay and The Nullarbor

Ceduna Jetty

Fowler Bay Jetty

Fowler Bay sand dunes

Critters in the night

Folwers Bay camp

I had never thought much of the derivation of the word Null arbor plain...derrr

Following from the last travels, I am still to see a wild camel

The emergency air strip is the road

Why..... ??

The Great Australian Bight

Over night stop on the Nullabor, twas foggy the next morning.

Salmon Gum....amazing colours

I will find a better example.

Esperance...no words necessary

I want one.... fathers day... about a k each girls, haha.

He was looking for a salmon school

Lucky Bay

From the camper bed...sunrise

Dolphin pod from the shore

The sand is SO fine...

Lucky Bay sunrise

Frenchman Peak


A white flathead...caught on white sand.

To be continued....and updated.

Sunday, 16 September 2012

Billy's Camps No.s 29 and 30, Middle Lagoon and Broome.WA.

16/09/2012

This is going to be my last post in this trip, I'm going to head back to Darwin for a while and then back to Canberra, in time for my grandson's 1st birthday in November.
Total time on the road has been 7 months almost to the day, and I have traveled about 18,000 k's, which is not really that many for that length of time. Add on 3-4 k to get back to Canberra, I suppose.
I have still only seen two days of rain in the 7 months, and they were early on, back in camps No's 2 and 6.
I have caught 19 different fish species, most being new to me.
My favorite camps would have been in order, King Ash Bay, Middle Lagoon and Newland Head Conservation Park, all coincidently involving fishing and saltwater, but all three had beautiful vista's.

I am still trying to convince Gordon Butt of Mechanical Care at Belconnen, he should not have installed a fuel tank with a teaspoon of iron filings in it. Its now two months. Stay tuned, excuse the pun.

I left Derby and traveled to Broome where I stayed one night before going to Middle Lagoon for two weeks. I then returned to Broome for three nights, just in time to see the Raiders get hammered by Souths at The Roebuck Pub.The first game I'd seen them play all year.

Middle Lagoon is great, a protected bay to launch your boat and swim and another swimming beach and another two for extra fishing, 4 in total as well as rugged cliff faces and interesting rock pools at low tide.

I fished one beach for 3 days and beside getting busted off 3 times I still caught a GT and spangled emperors. Having convinced myself it was safe to take my small tinnie out into the open Indian Ocean waters, I fished there several times, getting hammered by god knows what. I did catch mackeral tuna and spanish mackeral. On the last day I had a double hook up with tuna, 10 and 15 kg line, and mayhem broke out , the guy in the pic below came over and took one rod, but we lost both fish and both lures :( . That is one reason why I'm not continuing down the WA coast, I'm under powered for the fishing, boat and gear. But I'll be back prob early next year and will definitely stop and fish local Broome, fishing galore to be done here. Perhaps with the aim of fishing the runoff for Barra, and maybe over to King Ash Bay again and maybe go to ..........
One could travel Australia 4 times and take different roads each time.

Cable Beach

Willare Bridge

The road to Beagle Bay

Bulldust

Sacred Heart Church- Beagle Bay

Mother of Pearl shell is its main claim to fame

Middle Lagoon cliff face at High tide

Same rocky point at low tide.

Middle Lagoon

Spear Guns are prohibited at Middle Lagoon, LOL.

Bardi community power supply

Middle lagoon launch beach

Middle Lagoon camp site

My camp is the one on the right

The Main Cape Laveque road after Beagle Bay

Cape Leveque and island

Cape Leveque again.... as pretty as it is, Middle Lagoon is better to camp at

Chook island

I would have seen 100 whales from boat and land, I now understand what the saying of "Having a whale of a time " means. Also saw many a turtle and dolphins.