Perth all day – A free day exploring.

So, today was a chill day, not as in cold but as in a relaxing, do you own thing a bit and if possible catch up with friends and family. We caught up with both friends and family at Fremantle, more on that later.

A good start to the day, Captain Kirk is still sourcing provisions for Nomad 2, the Gluten free weetbix are outside our room at sparrow f..t this morning, I’m not sure where he got it?  Also, there is gluten free bread for toast, with a GF toaster, that’s risk management for you.

We get the $4.80 seniors day pass for the train and head to Fremantle ( aka Freo here), three take the ferry but we don’t see them. Nice easy train ride out there, and we walk the streets, and the Freo markets, the Freo Gaol and the flag staff. I love the way they retained the architecture and character of the period the buildings were built, with a few modern buildings mixed  in. It’s a hipstersish sort of place but it feels comfortable walking around there. The Don & Wally are meeting family and we are catching up  with 1. A work friend of Genelle’s who used to live in Dubbo, and 2. Family, a cousin in law and her husband.

It’s great to catch up with Chippo and Weston, they left Dubbo about 5 years ago and moved to Perth for work and opportunity. Originally from Zibabwe, they look like they’ve done well. Their son, 18 years old, a good-looking young man, and still walking with his parents, a nice smile on his face, how good is that. Genelle missed Chippo when she left, the Lourdes Hospital crew were a close knit team and good fun.

The other catch up was cousin in law Jenny Reid and husband Norm. I haven’t seen Jenny for 25 or 6 years when she and her parents showed me around Freo when I was over here for work. Her children, Andrew and Rachel, and our boys share Reid blood so its important to stay connected. We swap family news and update a bit of family history. Nice to meet Norm and see Jenny again after all these years. Unfortunately, their car has a parking ticket which is detected when they offer us a lift back to the city. I’m sure Jenny will sort the officials out regarding the error of their ways by issuing the ticket.

We return to the city with Norm and Jenny via ” The Highway to Hell”, past the pub AC DC sang the song originally that became the huge hit in 1979. Note to self – send Reid family history to Jenny.

Tonight is dinner is at an Italian restaurant, Italian Street Kitchen, the last meal together before the crew of Nomad 1 return back to their galaxies. Nomad 2 crew are continuing their tour of the south WA nebula. It’s been a great trip, well planned, fun company and we feel privileged to have been invited along. A special thanks to Captain Kirk who planned and let from the front. Possibly the weight of responsibility affected his performance in the cards and golfing, despite being given a leg up in the cards  and the occasional shoe blocking a golf ball careening through the green into the next town.

Long Way Over Awards

Cards – Wally won in a close contest, despite a poor performance at Fraser Range Station when she and other seasoned ” Kings” players were beaten by a rookie.

Bananagram – Smurfette was a clear winner, particularly while we were playing the kiddie version, however she had the brakes applied a little when the rules were reviewed and we got to play the adult version.

Shoppers – The Navigator, no contest, made a purchase in almost all or all ports The Starship Enterprise patrols of Nomad 1 and Nomad 2 stopped.

Putt Putt Golf – Smurfette was winner at Port Lincoln when poor and dangerous weather stopped play.

Propper Golf – The Don and Pauolo were tied and no play off hole was played. The only 2 to complete the 18 holes of the  Nullabor Masters ( some as reality golf, some as virtual golf – you work it out) A dead heat. Harve played some holes, caddied others, gave sage advice and the odd hurtful comments about the  quality of play and the course.

Vigneron Award for wine consumption – Jenzy. She certainly knows her pinots from her proseccos.

Sugar and Calorie Consumer Extrordinaire – Captain Kirk. He had chocolate on his lips every day, when he didn’t, he was pilfering snakes out of the large jar at hotel reception in Perth. He does like his sweets!

Best Supportin Drinker – Harve. When the call went out  to meet at a bar somewhere, first man there was Harve. Outstanding support act.

Tomorrow is another day but the last 15 have been terrific. Safe travels to the crew of Nomad 1

Ciao

Paulo

Know What I Like?

Do you know what I like, no word of a lie,

Friends gathered around a warm winter fire,

The chatter, the warmth of food and a drink,

I like it, that I can stare into the flames and think.

I like the night stars, in the clear Australian sky,

I hope I shine in your memory like that when I die,

This big country, with frosts and burning heat,

I like the space, it’s people, to hear it’s heart beat.

I like to travel to unfamiliar places, some far away,

To hear the voices unfamiliar, the music they play,

The colour of faces, of children chattering in the street,

I like their innocence, their unkempt hair and dirty feet.

And I do like my home, the tv loud while I sip a beer,

A constant voice behind me that I try hard not to hear,

The birds in the garden, the tree filtered sunlight,

I like the sound of rain on my roof on a winter’s night.

And I liked the two shy little red headed boys,

The wrestling, the shared room and shared toys,

And I like their mother, with the same coloured hair

And an attitude of cross me, only if you really dare.

I like the pub on Friday, for drinks at the weeks end,

The battle of wits, challenging ideas, who’s first to bend,

I like Saturday coffee, breakfast with friends at Cafe DC,

And rugby on Saturday arvo at No. 1 is where I like to be.

I like my old man, our days on horses droving a mob,

The singing whistling horseman who loved his job,

And I liked my Mother, and sometimes she liked me,

I really liked her scones and sponge cake for afternoon tea.

I reckon I like my life, drifting by quietly like a cool breeze,

To walk the streets freely, and swim in our blue seas

With friends and family, to walk with them or stand beside,

Life is like a horse you like, then saddle up for the long ride?

Paul Reid 19th July 2019

Perth WA – all day.

Breakfast at the Alex Hotel this morning, outside it’s raining as per the forecast and little chance of abating. I’m reliably informed by The Navigator that the rain will stop at 4pm. Not only has she made Navman and Tom Tom’s redundant, soon she’ll have Bureau of Meteorology staff in jeopardy of receiving their final pay.

Pauolo has belly issues and is reluctant to move too far from the hotel and reliable sanitary facilities, however the others get a hop on hop off bus where The Don headbutts a step and is close to a yellow card for a shoulder charge on the bus floor. Nomad 2 is short two crew, but it’s ok. We have no rocketship, so there is no need for reserve crew to be called.

Jeff – the bloke from last night clearly didn’t send a message to Jesus to look after us today. Think I’ll throw his pamphlet in the bin.

The rain is pouring down when we reconvene at the hotel after lunch and the third round of ” Kings” gets underway. Wally is the winner, Jenzy plays hard but doesn’t get the money, Captain Kirk gets fed kings and aces all afternoon but can’t convert his good fortune. Smurfette’s early form has deserted her and she may lose her chance at the All Rounders Award. Look, it’s all ok, in the end “Kings” is the winner on the day.

Prior to dinner at Grilled, The Don seeks medical advice on concussion and back and shoulder injuries with Dr Harve, leaning over the bar at the Brass Monkey Hotel – beer is prescribed.

Dinner at Grilled is very good, and we wander back through the busy crowd. A convenience store is visited for supplies, its full of police, there are some outside as well, and it looks like the gluten free cereal has been stolen. What would a thief of gluten free cereal look like? They are probably burping and farting their way along the street looking for a lavatory with a box of GF Weetbix under their arm.

Not many photos today and the paper has stories that are boring, this is all you get today.

Today Kalgoorlie to Perth. 600km and about six and a half hours driving.

First stop is Coolgardie, not far from Kalgoorlie. Beautiful buildings, clearly a lot of money at some stage, probably the start of the 20th century when one on the buildings is marked  “1901”. A proper coffee is hard to find but we do. Otherwise, the town is sort of in decline. An grizzled old guy sits outside the former pub, now a Cafe that doesn’t serve espresso coffee, his Labrador sits near him with a water bowl beside, the dog clearly loves company. Maybe the old guy reflects Coolgardie a little.

Just outside Coolgardie there is a camel farm, its that sort of country.

At Southern Cross the farming country starts. Some crops are ok, some are struggling. The bright yellow of canola flowering patchworks the countryside with yellow, various shades of green and dry brown of scrub country.

Merredin for lunch, a great little cafe and the pumpkin soupis delicious.

The traffic is getting more intense as we near Perth. The Klugers have been terrific, running at 6-7 litres /100km.

We arrange to meet at the Alex Hotel where we are booked for the next few days, too hard for two cars to stay in touch in the Friday afternoon traffic.

It’s a nice modern hotel, rooms are not large but ok. Dinner is at the pub next door, we’re all a bit weary but the drivers must be super weary.

Perth is humming with the Friday night end of working week vibe. However, as I go for a walk up the street, a guy with a beard presses a pamphlet into my hand, its a message from Jesus! Only, it says his name is Jeff and he wants to know ” Are You Saved?”. I walk on, The Navigator saved me years ago, from what I’m still trying to work out.

Tomorrow 20-40mm of rain is forecast, plans are on hold.

Cheers, caio

Pauolo

First night ever in Kalgoorlie.

Breakfast, cereal, toast and coffee/ tea at the Air B & B

PTA is done successfully for my new target pistol

Golf, we’re booked in at 11am. Pretty casual approach by the club pro in the pro shop. This course was where last years WA PGA championship was played, no bull, its a beautiful golf course, couch fairways, clean constant pace greens with lots of variety in slope. But, to poor golfers its irrelevant. The better the course, the more we hack ( read that as suck). Harve carries the bag and dispenses sage advice, which doesn’t find the right spot in our brains. Never the less we finish the two holes and retire to the 19th to pick our wounded pride.

A few drinks in the shade out front of the club hydrates and assists recovery.

Lunch at Dome, then we head to the Kalgoorlie Visitors Centre for our certificate, we feel special. But we’re not, we are just bad golfers on good course today, and some scrappy holes previously. We have played, not conquered the longest 18 hole golf course in the world.

Our golf certificates are presented at Kalgoorlie Visitors Centre, we receive our complimentary polo shirts after handing over $37. We are waiting our invitation back to play on the Kalgoorlie Pro Am, but not holding our breath on this one.

Some shopping is done, scarves, souvenirs, shirts etc.

The big long awaited event, a super pit blasting at 5.15pm fails to take place. After a long freezing wait in the Super Pit dust, sun setting in the wrst, Captain Kirk calls it quits and we head to the York Hotel for warmth and food. The York Hotel is a strange piece of architecture in a dusty dry Western Australian gold town. Sort of Victorian, Indian British Raj architecture with little turrets, upstairs verandahs and internally its like it sort of would have been 100 years ago. It was built in 1901 so it’s possible.

Some Kalgoorlie news;

The annual Diggers and Dealers forum is finishing up – returning home with their mistresses in their private jets.

Quote “A man exposed himself to some children at a bus stop and enquiry into land and development planning”.      Now, I can understand him exposing himself to children ( i can’t actually !) ( shocking as it is) but why expose yourself to a mob of old foggies discussing zoning and subdivisions!!!

A 63 year old Perth bloke was sacked for referring to a fellow as “he” rather than “they” after the aggrieved person advised they we non- binary. WTF!!!!!!

Perth Neo Nazis were probed over the Kwinana freeway. Being probed over a freeway could be painful, but I say probe the neo Nazis with cattle prodders, hot irons etc, anywhere, not just over the railing of a freeway.

Tomorrow is the big drive to Perth, 6 + hours.

Cheers from Kalgoorlie

Pauolo

Esperance to Kalgoorlie

9am roll call and all troops of Nomad 1 and 2 are present and accounted for. Today we head north for 2 hours, a break in Norseman, north for a further 30 minutes to Widgiemooltha Roadhouse for hole 15, 30 minutes north to Kambalda for hole 16 then 30 minutes north to Boulder/ Kalgoorlie.

It’s pretty uneventful until Widgiemooltha Roadhouse, where a request for the golf stamps is met with a blank stare by one of the young backpackers running the place. 2 Nordic birds with less than strong English. Just before me a woman has roasted the poor girl for her poor effort in stamping her golf card. She said to her, loudly as though she was deaf as well as clueless about the Nullabor Golf championship ” Yooo need to listen to me, learn how to stamp properly so you don’t smudge the card. Yooooo have ruined my card, arm not heppy!!!!” I ask nicely and get a couple of lovely stamps and a smile. See, its not hard angry woman, she was doing her best.

Wodgiemooltha is a par 3 125m hole, not rated as hard, open fairways, big green, easy pin placement. Pauolo hits a mully grubba to within 2 metres of the green, The Don is pin high left of the green and a lovely chip gets him close to the pin but he can’t convert the Par. Captain Kirk hits it pin high, well left after initially losing the ball on the clouds, but then a number of chips before he hits the green. Harve is right and a lovely chip gets him near the pin, but he still finishes with a boggy 4.

Onwards to Kambalda International, a proper golf club, well sort of. Off the tee we see duffed  shots, duck hooks and squirts off the toe into the bush. After a variety of shots from various sorts of vegetation and ironstone fairways, we eventually get the hole finished. A relief. Thankfully no Norwegian backpackers are present to f…k up stamping our cards, its self service at Kambalda Golf Club.

Next stop is the Kalgoorlie Super Pit, nothing prepares you for the sheer scale of the operation. It’s massive, noisy, dusty and hugely impressive how human beings could do this. I know it’s a messy big hole in the earth, but it’s a messy impressive big hole in the earth.

Our late lunch is Red Rooster, then we find our Air B & B, a house about 15 minutes walk from town. Kalgoorlie is a big mining town, beautiful old buildings, lots of shops and a seedy under belly.

Dinner is at the Exchange Hotel, and old style pub where the early reconnaissance mission by The Don, Harve and Pauolo find that some of the bar staff left home in a rush and forgot to get fully dressed. We failed to see the sign outside ” Skimpies from 10am till late”. It was shocking!!!

The food is OK but it’s not cheap. Kalgoorlie has had a huge mining conference on, there are lots of blokes in suits, 5 o’clock shadows, pointy shoes, all with purple lanyards around their necks. A few females are attached to them like limpets to a submarine, clearly their PAs are here helping them with their PowerPoint presentations. What do you think?

Tomorrow we’re in Kalgoorlie, last 2 golf holes of the championship, I wonder who will win ???

Cheers, arrividerci

Pauolo

Esperance WA, a nice town of nearly 15,000 people. Looks like there is money here. Tidy, clean, lovely beaches, pretty as a picture and a climate that’s pretty easy to take, mostly.

The weather forecast looks a little dodgy for today so we’re a bit flexible with plans. First job is breakfast and Dome gets another run, pretty easy option really, room to sit down, warm, food and coffee ok.

First tourist option is visiting Esperance Stonehenge. A full size replica of Stonehenge proper, only the 137 local granite stones are erected as a fully complete Stonehenge  just like 1950BC. How the f… do we know what it looked like then? Anyway, I take the pamphlets information as correct and trust they aren’t pulling my chain. There’s hundreds of tonnes of granite. The project was conceived by some people, who went broke (my interpretation of the term “deal fell through”). There is a price on everything, no discounts for seniors, and the owners drive twin late model Range Rovers with matching personalised number plates, so they clearly drag enough through to make a dollar or two. All the same, it’s an impressive structure, Bill Baillie, the pommy comedian thought so was well when he shot part of one of his travel shows here.

*** The Spell Nazi’s – a heads up – I know how a forest of trees is spelt, ok, its ” forrest”. Or is it, I clearly wasted Mum and Dads investment in my education, I fink.

We move on to the coast line west of the town, the rain starts, lightly at first, then when The Captain, The Don and Pauolo get out of the car at Twilight Beach, Mother Nature suddenly drops a bucket on us, like walking under a Waterfall, we’re soaked in 5 seconds of rain. The waves are big, crashing on to thin white sandy beaches with huge bald granite rocks holding it all in place. No doubt there are some Noah’s Arks swimming around there as well.

Next is the non pink, Pink Lake. Should be called Lake Disappointment, or nothing at all. There is a story to it but recent development has kept the water non pink.

We then head to the Cannery Gallery, which, when we manage to find the door in, is a little underwhelming. Its OK, I don’t want to seem negative, but I reckon it’s a nice place to bring kids on a wet day to get a bit of art guidance, some Lego time, or write down a bit of poetry in a book. A break for mum while the brats scribble on somebody else’s paper with free crayons.

Lunch is a Dome, the bakery can’t fit us, followed by some retail therapy and the a few of us get a look at the insides of the eye lids. Not me, I go shopping with The Navigator, and she manages to find something to buy, strange that! I’m remaining unaware of how the inside os my eyelids are looking.

The local newspaper usually sheds a little light on local culture. Here are some things I read;

A woman fell off her balcony and claims she was saved by a magpie who woke her up. I call bullshit, magpies are murderous vicious  buggers of things and would not save you, unless she fed it meat and fluffed it’s feathers every day. I’ve got scars on my ears from magpie attacks. And anyway, how did the magpie save her, peck 000 on her phone after putting to her eyeball to get access to the home screen. I somehow doubt it!!!

An electrical contractor (I’m not mentioning their name but the paper did) was fined for dodgy Multiple Earth Neutral work – Harve will tell you this is a real thing. The acronym is MEN. Who ever heard of MEN causing trouble?

There was a tradesmen’s get together organised by the council. My guess is the mob that f…d up the MEN stuff were not invited.

A walk back along the beach in town is very pleasant, the rain has stopped for a little while.

A little quiet reflection before the “Kings” card game gets into action. Now it might be just me, I dunno, but I feel like there was a sub plot to bring The Navigator and Pauolo back to earth a bit. We struggled, Wally was out of the blocks faster than Gout Gout, followed by Smurfette. Performance unenhancing Kit Kat chocolate distracts a few of us and unintended retention of the Joker devastates a couple of players rather average start anyway. Round two of the card champion ship goes to  Wally.

Dinner is at the Pier Hotel. Food is good, The Don and Harve act as advance party and do a quality check before we finalised the card game. The Ginger beer on tap is expensive, I’ll be careful next time.

Home to electric blankets, air con on 25 and get ready for an ETD of 9am tomorrow for Kalgoorlie. Two golf holes before Kalgoorlie are on the agenda tomorrow.

Ciao and arrividerci from Esperence.

Pauolo

Fraser Range Station to Esperance.

Dinner last night was pork ribs, massive meals, tasty and nutritious. The dining room is packed, the two young women cooking and serving do a great job. Food quality has been exceptional here at Fraser Range Station. The blonde girl with the dreadies from Finland is everywhere doing everything, I hope they pay her well! It hasn’t got any warmer!!

Somebody in a van, I think, leave their Starlink open, no password – it runs at 100 Mbps whereas the Telstra link is at 9 Mbps. Interesting!!

Fraser Range Station – the story. Established in 1872, it was the first Pastoral Lease on the Nullabor. It’s about 500,000 acres, a mix of granite hills, eucalypt forests and it’s still a working sheep station diversing to include more cattle with a growing accommodation business. The old buildings, some timber and steel and some stone had some labour input from convicts and Aboriginal workers. It’s a great spot to stop.

The road to Norseman is straight, and an interesting tree appears, shiny copper/ brown bark, dark glossy green leaves, we discover in Norseman its Eucalyptus Salubris or Gimlet. A very pretty tree. There are also Salmon Gums, enough to name a village after apparently.

A coffee in Norseman after Don and I play the two Nullabor Masters holes, a par 5 followed by a par 4, we’re accompanied ( not helped) by Wally, Jenzy and Harve. Lots of good advice is given, very little is taken. The fairways were cut high, the greens were uneven and the pace was hard to read. We both had good shots and extraordinarily bad shots. Harve stood on the green waiting for us, unfortunately he was at about a safe a spot as he could be. As we head into the final round of the tournament with 4 holes to play, we are square. Not sure if there is a play off if we end square? I’m sure I’ll hear from Jesus with guidance on this, I haven’t seen any messages from him lately.

A coffee after golf settles the angst that poor golf brings to poor players dreaming of long straight drives, pitch shots that spin back towards the hole and putts that slowly wind their way to gently drop into the cup. But, I’ll keep dreaming these things.

We turn sharp South towards Esperance, initially through eucalypt and mallee country then cultivated broadacre farming commences, wheat and canola that is flowering. Bright green and brilliant yellow, in large paddocks. We stop for a few photos, the drone struggles in the windy conditions suggesting to me –  ” Be Careful – Strong Wind Warning”. I’m glad it handles the conditions and returns to me safely and I don’t have to dive into the canola crop to retrieve it.

We drive through little places like Salmon Gum, Dundas, Grass Patch, Scaddan and Gibson on the way.

Esperance is a nice looking town, about 14,500 people, modern, clean, bright and spread out, there is plenty of room for development out here.

Dinner venue is decided on, after a little toing and froing,  Lucky Bay Brewing at Lucky Bay is the winner. A boutique brewer, funky new building, very pleasant girl who serves us and gives a little free advice on  things to do in Esperance. A little expensive but ok.  The pizza is good and a bit of photo reminiscing chews up the time.

Tomorrow we’ll explore Esperance, it looks a pretty nice place.

Cheers

Pauolo

Sunday – Fraser Range Station WA.

Today is a chill day, a catch up on rest, a bit of laundry, ride out the rain.

Breakfast in the staff kitchen is toast and cereal and a cup of tea.

Captain Kirk goes on a 6km walk, its no time and he’s back with his backpack, he’s not breathing that hard.

The rest of us are thinking about a games day in the warmth of the old cook house, as long as we can get the fire going.it takes a while but it eventually gets a good flame going.

The Fraser Range world Championship ” Kings ” Cards Comp commences after a few warm up games of Bananagram.

After lessons from Linda (is there a poem in those few words?) we commence, the train wheels are taken off and we’re into it. We were warned about Smurfs Kings skill and cunning, but she talks badly at the first hurdle and comments of an errant Joker she never recovers. The Navigator ” I don’t play cards!!!” performs well, Jenzy is consistent but her eye movement is telling and The Don and Wally a slow getting up to speed. Captain Kirk drops in at a middle point but never finds form. The first round of the championship is won by Pauolo, even after he gave up his luck seat to Captain Kirk.

The 🐅 beat the bulldogs 28-14, and I didn’t tip them, what’s wrong with me!

Dinner tonight is pork ribs

Arrividerci from Fraser Range Station.

Pauolo

Saturday 2nd August 2025 – more of the story, a bit more detail From Eucla to Mundrabilla the Hampton Range follows on the Northern side of the road, at a consistent height all the way to Madurah.

There is a sign before Mundrabilla saying “cheap fuel” when I call in to get our golf cards stamped I see it ain’t that cheap but at Mundrabilla you can say what you like, its cheap fuel if you need it.

The golf hole at Mundrabilla is called ” Watering Hole”. A virtual hole, its 2 pars for The Don and moi.

Golf – where do I start? Madura is where reality golf starts. ” Brumbys Run ” is a challenging par 3 with a truck to the right, a caravan to the left, luckily we find the rough left side of the green. Although Wally gave me a special Wilson golf ball for my birthday, i managed to leave it in a timber hazard. Not sure how many shots you would would call a “Truck”? Relieved that we haven’t hit a vehicular mode of transport, either stopped or moving we leave quietly.

There is a lot of saltbush on the side of the road, then there isn’t, not sure what’s going on there. Getting into more like sheep country, however when I see sheep I’m advised they are white rocks. There is no point arguing, even when I’m right I’m wrong. Just shoulda gone to Specsavers! So I don’t really know where all the sheep actually are?

Cocklebiddy arrives, another Roadhouse staffed by backpackers, this time from Asia. The golf is a challenge, a 368m Par 4, a howling wind blowing across the fairway. I’m on for 2 putting for a elusive birdie, which eludes me. Still, a fair dinkum par is OK for me. The Don battles the wind, a form slump and caffeine deficiency, which he sorts out back in the Roadhouse.

There are lots of motor bikes on the road, lots heading east riding into the strong wind, very challenging riding conditions.

At Caiguna the ” Ninety Mile Straight” Par 4 is impossible to play in the prevailing conditions, a good reason for this to be a virtual hole that we par.

The country opens up a bit, less scrubby but less or no saltbush. I thought it might be the other way around?

The weather forecast from a pilot mate in Narrabri isn’t promising, wind continuing, rain coming, cold weather remains cold.

At Balladonia the Par 3 175m hole called ” Sklab” is unplayable. Besides the trees between the tee and the pin there is a blonde woman with a fluffy white dog walking up the middle. She is a reasonable size target. Given our ability and the prevailing howling wind we think she’s probably safe but our duty of care makes the decision to go virtual easy. To keep out of the wind we would a low punch drive and her derrier was a hazard we might find. Not a pleasant thought. We lunch in the Roadhouse, served by an Irish girl and another Argentinan girl. There is a bit of the actual Skylab in the shop with some other artefacts. Skylab entered the earth’s atmosphere out of control in July 1979, I didnt think it was that long ago.

Fraser Range Station is a great place to stop. A few drinks, a beef curry, and watch the Wallabies beat the Lions in a rugby test. A good way to finish the day, but there’s more.

So, today I turned 70, my head doesn’t tell me I’m 70 but my failing body does. I have been getting messages and phone calls all day, as we go in and out of mobile phone range, and its nice to know people remember and think of me. I’m not just another forgotten old foggy. The company over the last week has been wonderful, a great trip, and the birthday chocolate mud cake is beautiful.

So thanks to my travelling mates and the people we met last night – a poem I wrote a few years ago, just for a little reflection;

The Road I Took
I glance up from my strong coffee,
Thinking of a past I can now hardly see,
Visions of a life not written in a book,
It was luck, no plans for the road I took.

The little boy, very quiet and so shy
From the coast to somewhere flat and dry,
The road that was taken wasn’t my call
But life in the west was good for us all.

The school bus, the classroom all good
Home to get the calves in and chop wood.
Then away to Dads old boarding school
The road was rough with too many rules.

6A’s and football then the study petered out
As I floundered around, a head full of doubt
The dilemma of school versus girls and sport
The road wasn’t clear, poor result, I got caught.

Trainee agent and potential auctioneer,
For a wool broker the ad was really clear,
At eighteen I had another look at the road
Not sure, but acceptance lightened the load.

Married young to The Copper Haired Girl,
Houses built, no money, babies, life a whirl,
Food on the table and a mortgage to pay,
A track wasn’t clear but we found the way.

A career happened, a shit kicking notetaker,
Not an auctioneer, a money and deal breaker
And life happened, family and friends grow
Lose a child and take a road you don’t know.

Take a look back on things, remember the joys,
A patchwork of life and people and two boys,
It all went so quickly, so don’t waste more time
Fill in the gaps, take the roads in your mind.

Are there regrets, not many maybe a few,
No plans and a few mistakes to get through,
Got to keep taking roads to places unseen,
To challenge me to go where I’ve not yet been.

Paul Reid

Eucla Roadhouse to Fraser Range Station

I’m not going to say much tonight, I’ll write a detailed blog tomorrow when my belly gets over the kilo of gluten in the birthday cake that was arranged for me tonight.

FYI – Today Pauolo (thats me) turned 70. I’m privileged to be travelling with a great group of people (and the Copper haired girl) in a part of the world I mostly haven’t seen before, a cake was organised long ago by Sharron (aka Wally), no mean feat because this place is pretty remote. I’ve had phone calls and messages from family and friends all day when we’ve been in and out of mobile service. Thanks everyone.

Internet service is OK in certain spots, but not in our room, so I’ll only load a couple photos tonight.

Today was a long day on the road, from chilly Eucla to warmish Fraser Range Station. We played more holes in the Nullabor Masters Golf, some virtually, some for real. The wind was blowing hard today. More on that in part 2 tomorrow.

Fraser Range Station is 850km from Perth and we’ve travelled 2200km from Adelaide to get here, so we’re still pretty remote. This is a great stop point, lots of caravans are here, lots of fixed accommodation, kitchen, laundry and great dining room. ( more tomorrow)

Ok arrividerci from Fraser Range Station in WA

Pauolo