Blowing in the wind

The moving sands of time are no more apparent than at the old telegraph station at Eucla. We offloaded Suzi and took the track down to the station site. We were reluctant first time when we called in on the way over back in March to park up the truck unattended but we have become more accustomed to leaving all of our worldly possessions on the side of the road and heading off into the wild blue yonder. Well this side journey was not exactly wild, blue or yonder but the road and the incline was altogether too rough/much for the Hovel.

These ruins are variously exposed or covered in sand. This visit they were fairly exposed but we were told earlier that on a prior visit that very little was visible.

It is still a fascinating part of our early history when you consider the remoteness of the location and the solidity of the buildings that these places were both accessed and built upon and indeed inhabited, in this case by some 3 families in its heyday.

As with the Eyre station and the one near Balladonia these were all built in the 1890’s. Only the Eyre has been resurrected as a tourist visitor site.

Onwards, ever onwards. We made the Head of Bight by Friday morning (I think it was) and the promise made to us by the caretakers back in March was fulfilled. The whales were everywhere (they weren’t in March). Perhaps not as active and spectacular as had been described to us by others on previous sightings but nonetheless a very enlightening experience. These things are GI-NORMOUS. You don’t appreciate their size by measurements, it is only by physical presence that you get a real feel for their enormity – and the sound of their breathing.

We counted 20 not including the few calves while we were there (a couple of hours) but we were also told that on previous occasions there have been many, many more

It really is a beautiful insight to the habitat of some of the worlds most elusive and unknown  and spectacular creatures. It was almost as if the mothers were taking their children on parade – one mother and calf would swim past the viewing platform, perform for a bit and then move on to allow the next pair in line. We observed this behaviour of four different whales.

Well one could stay all day and see a lot more of the same but it got windy and cold out there so it was time to move on.

We parked up that night in a free camp somewhere over the Nullarbor only to have a tree branch do some damage to the side and top of the Hovel. Unable to report it until Monday when we had phone reception again we now find ourselves nervous about getting repairs done. A case of make good for the moment perhaps until we get home. Right now we are parked up In Port Augusta for a fourth night, waiting for the winds to die down before travelling on to Adelaide.

Between Head of Bight and here though there is more to tell but it will have to wait for the next enthralling episode.