25-31 May, 2025 Bush camp, Mosquito Creek area, east of Nullagine, WA

Sun, 25^th

Warmer night, 13.3 degrees min! A bit of thin cloud overhead.

Went exploring with Ray and Carol and waved our detectors about! We had a nice day and got lots of exercise.

Up to 31 degrees today.

Back to ‘camp’ and set up for the night as the sun started to drop behind the hills. Joined Ray and Carol for a drink as the sky lit up - very pretty.

Warmer night with no breeze so we enjoyed sitting outside a bit longer before going in to cook dinner.

 

Mon, 26^th

Warmer night, 18.8 degrees min and overcast. Rain is forecast for the next couple of days but we will probably only get a sprinkle - well we hope so.

Went wandering under the grey sky. I made soup for lunch as it feels cool and dismal. A few drops of rain hit the camper but not for long.

Headed back towards camp then pulled up to the ‘phone’ hill we use. There were two chaps parked up in ‘Barry & Ziggy’s ’ old camp so Steve went over for a chat while I checked the phone for messages and updated Trilobite (our detecting map which shows where we can go etc).

Back to camp.

Cooler afternoon. It only got to a max of 23.7 degrees in the camper. Decided to have drinks inside as it was a bit chilly and no one could be bothered making the fire.

Nice hot shower needed tonight.

 

Tues, 27^th

17 degrees and the sun is out but there are clouds on the horizon.

Went wandering again.

The clouds are coming over again and the wind has picked up as we had our morning tea.

Back to camp. Got to 28 degrees today.

Drinks by the fire. Still quite windy but the fire place has big quartz rocks around it and the area is clear of spinifex here. The grey clouds are in the south now so hopefully we won’t see any more spits of rain.

Back to the camper for dinner.

 

Wed, 28^th

 

18 degrees min, overcast and a cold wind when we eventually went outside.

Went back to the same spot and went wandering.

The sky has cleared and is bright blue and not a cloud in sight.

We wanted to get some bore water for our showers and to do the washing so headed back out then back along the track to the new water point. There are no cattle here so we headed in. With the sun shining brightly the solar pump was pumping the water out onto the ground through a big pipe away from the water point. We got our buckets and filled them up. Nice sweet water - not salty like the older bore near Mosquito Creek.

Back to camp and got the washing machine out and the line hung between the trees. Managed to get it all washed and most dry by drinks.

Ray put on his Starlink so I checked my phone and we had missed a call from Rick so rang him back. They got the loan for the block of land in Yungaburra so a new adventure for them will be beginning. Kaylene has had enough of teaching so this will be their retirement plan. We chatted about his trip over too but will ring him when we are in Nullagine to have a more detailed chat about what he needs etc.

Lots of lovely stars appearing in the sky and a few satillites zoomed across. Ray and Carol like spotting them too.

 

Thurs, 29^th

Warmer night but cool in the morning, min 16.4 degrees. Cloudy again and the wind is back.

Back to our spot from yesterday.

Ray and Carol came across from their spot for a cuppa then they moved further along the track.

By lunchtime the sky has cleared but the wind is still blowing.

Had a cuppa then headed back to camp loading up with firewood along the way. Camp oven roast tonight.

Still breezy but not too bad and with the quartz wall around the fireplace we got dinner cooked - delicious. Last night there was no wind but because we wanted to camp oven cook the wind comes up - typical!

 

 

Fri, 30^th

Min 16 degrees, clear sky and no wind.

By the time we headed back to our ‘patches’ spot the wind was back.

Two zebra finches sat on our bullbar for a while as we packed up to head off to the water bore.

Saw 2 galahs (or as they call them in WA, Pink & Greys) sitting on a dead tree when we went in to fill up the buckets.

Home for drinks by the fire after collecting some more along the way - dead Snappy Gum branches. Not cooking on the fire tonight so there is no wind!! Spotted a heap of satellites tonight.

 

Sat, 31^st

Min of 19.6 degrees and overcast but I can see the sun shining under the clouds in the east. No wind.

A few drops of misty rain fell while we had breakfast.

Drove onto Telstra hill and checked the weather as the sky looks dark. Rain forecast for Tues/Wed not today. Fran had posted a video of Sophia giving her dolly a kiss - so cute.

Back to our same area.

A light misty shower came over us as the cloud started to clear in the west.

My neck tendon plays up with all the swinging of the detector so I stop when it gets sore and rub it with Bee Venom - great anti-inflamatory that Margaret gave me.

After lunch we drove back out and back along the track to try another area. No wind and now the sun is shining so it is quite warm. I bailed as my neck was sore. I worked on my blog while Steve went wandering.

Had a cuppa then headed back to camp. Thermometer said we got to 30 degrees max and still no wind.

Lovely chat over drinks and we saw some early satellites zoom overhead. We told Ray & Carol that we are going further along the pending lease so might camp out tomorrow night if we can make our way along the track ok - lots of creeks and thicker spinifex etc.

 

 

Sat, 24th May, 2025 Bush camp off Skull Springs Road, east of Nullagine to Bush camp, Mosquito Creek area, east of Nullagine, WA

11.6 degrees this morning, clear sky.

After breakfast we continued along to the turn off into Mosquito Creek area.

Eventually we arrived at ‘Harry’s Camp’ where Ray had said they were planning to set up camp. Called Harry’s because when we first came here in 2016 Harry and his wife were camped here. Nice area clear of spinifex with lots of Snappy Gum about. They have unhooked their van but we will just drive out to spots to detect and leave the camper on for the time being. They way I don’t have to pack a lunch etc.

Had a cuppa then headed off to wander about with our detectors! No joy so after lunch we continued along the track to a pending area but no joy there either. Not a good start.

Back to ‘camp’ for a cuppa and set up for the night near Ray and Carol. There is a big fireplace beside their van so will use that for our drinks and cooking.

Steve went for a wander while I fixed my wind chime. I have had it a very long time and have had to restring the chimes but now the hanging string had broken so I found an old shoelace and fixed it back up.

Unfortunately I broke the wing of the bird too so got out the superglue to fix it and it squirted onto my fingers so I quickly got out the nail polish remover and managed to get my fingers unglued. Luckily I didn’t get it anywhere else!

A warm day, thermometer said it got to 30 degrees in the camp. The breeze comes and goes.

Joined Ray and Carol for drinks and catch up and made plans for tomorrow.

 

Fri, 23rd May, 2025 Rest Area, 20km north of Kumarina Roadhouse to Bush camp off Skull Springs Road, east of Nullagine, WA

5.2 degrees min and it still is at 6am so on with the heater! Clear sky.

Nice 21 degrees when we got up for breakfast - love our heater. Ray and Carol left at 7am as they wanted to be in Newman when the shops opened. We are more leisurely so we had said we will catch up with them in Nullagine.

8am back on the highway and headed north to Newman to restock with fresh fruit and veggies for the next month while we meander east of Nullagine.

An lady waved us down as their Toyota Landcruiser had stopped about 75km south of Newman. Steve went through things with the chap trying to work out what was wrong. Battery, fuel etc ok but he said the engine light has been on and by the looks of it the maintenance hasn’t been well done. With computers in vehicles now it isn’t easy to fix on the side of the road. They are from Port Hedland and were heading to Wiluna for a funeral. We have noticed a lot of vehicles full of people heading south. We didn’t have any phone reception here even with the antenna so I got a phone number of a friend of the driver and said we will let them know they were broken down and will probably need a tow. It was funny watching one of the women trying to start a fire, the young guy was trying to help with the wine carton but eventually they got smart and found some small twigs. I said ‘what happened to the bush craft - didn’t you go to Scouts’ - they just laughed. They had water and food so we headed off. I wrote out a text and when we got a signal I sent it off. The lady responded which was good and they will get something sorted out.

About 30km from Newman we see a cloud of dust which will be from the iron ore mine.

Across the Tropic of Capricorn - the sign has been removed off the big rock by the highway.

Across the Fortescue River which only has a small pool under the bridge.

Into Newman and around to the Information Centre to use the dump point. While we had a cuppa we rang Terry to see how he has been. Doing well - got new uniform for the Van Club. Will get his new lift up chair and walker soon too.

Ray and Carol rang to say they had finished shopping and were heading off to Nullagine. They liquor store doesn’t open till midday so they asked if we could get a bottle of port or muscat for them as they tried ours the other night.

We parked near Woolies then walked across to the electrical store and got a keyboard to plug into the laptop. That should solve my problem till I can get the laptop cleaned etc either in Kalgoorlie or when I get back to Cairns in October.

Restocked with fruit, veggies and a few other items and bought our usual ‘shop day’ treat - hot chook, bun and pasta salad for lunch.

The lady texted to say that she had been able to get help to the people we stopped for - nice of her to let us know.

Went to the liquor store but they don’t sell port or muscat!  I walked back to the street library box and dropped off some books and got one for Steve to read.

Topped up with diesel at the cheapest place here ($2.179/l) as it will be a lot dearer in Nullagine.

Left Newman then back down the road a bit to the Marble Bar/Nullagine turn off. Not far along we had to stop for the iron ore train - very very long.

Continued on to Roy Hill and Gina’s iron ore mine. Ray had texted that it was 60km all the way to Nullagine due to major road works. We had heard that Gina was wanting to bitumen the road north to her mine and on to Nullagine which will be good as some of it is very rocky and when it rains it is impassable. Stopped at the pull off area just before the mine camp area for a cuppa. It has warmed up a lot since the freezing morning.

Long section of graded road - no road work people here. Next section looks like it is nearly ready for bitumen. You would think they would start at one end and work their way along. Back to the under construction area with ‘pilot’ vehicles taking us through the road work.

Into Nullagine where we filled up the water tanks. Ray and Carol had continued on out to Mosquito Creek so we will catch up with them tomorrow. I rang Kaylene for a chat and looked at the lovely photos of Sophia and Beau that they have been putting up on the Geck Family page.

Back out of town as the sun was dipping into the hills then onto the dirt Skull Springs Road. There isn’t much mining happening by the big companies so the road isn’t as smooth as it has been! As the sun set we pulled off into a clear area off the road to park up for the night. Back in the hills and spinifex again.

Bit cool so kept the camper closed up and played cards while we had our drinks.

 

 

 

 

 

Thurs, 22nd May, 2025 Bush camp off Ashburton Downs Road, north-west of Meekatharra to Rest Area, 20km north of Kumarina Roadhouse, WA

10.2 degrees min, clear sky. Love our diesel heater - takes the bite out of the air for breakfast.

Went for a wander in the cold breeze but nothing for anyone.

Drove along the track a bit. Ray & Carol had to stop due to the creek but we continued on to a quartz outcrop. Went for a wander and I got a rubbish target then a bit of gold - amazing . Gridded up and down but no more. Steve found nothing on his big walk so we drove back to the others - nothing for them.

Drove back out to the highway and headed north to Newman so we can stock up and then head to Nullagine and out to Mosquito Creek which is a favourite area for all of us.

The wind has settled so there is no head wind today which is good for the fuel economy.

Stopped at Kumarina Roadhouse for a top up as it is cheaper here than in Newman (208.8c/l). 

Continued northward to a rest area about 20km north of the roadhouse as the sun started to set.

Steve spotted some parrots eating seeds on the ground so took the camera to get a photo.

Chilly again so stayed in our ‘homes’ and played cards while we had drinks again. We can hear a donkey braying somewhere outside.

Put the heater on for dinner and watch a movie as the temp seems to be dropping quickly outside and it was only 16 degrees inside.

 

Wed, 21st May, 2025 Bush camp near Don Well, north of Meekatharra to Bush camp, off Ashburton Downs Road, NW of Meekatharra, WA

10.9 degrees min, clear sky and cool wind.

Went wandering but just got exercise.

After lunch we rang Rick for a chat. He is heading over to us on the 24^th June so will take a week to get to us. Travelling with his sister and brother-in-law which is good. 

Packed up camp. Very windy now. Headed back to the highway then south to the Ashburton Downs Road then along to an old mine road to take us to a new pending lease. Trilobite shows 4 gold site markers there. We pulled up past one where we saw fresh wheel tracks and a couple of dig holes.

Had a cuppa then read for a while. Steve went for a walk to find the ‘mine’ shown on Trilobite. He got to the spot but there is nothing there so maybe the markings are out.

Stayed in our ‘homes’ tonight as it was cool in the wind so we played cards while we had drinks. It had reached 26 degrees in the camper with the windows closed - cooler outside.

Tues, 20th May, 2025 Bush camp near Don Well, north of Meekatharra, WA

11 degrees min again, clear sky though more wind today.

Steve went for a big walk and got lots of exercise though on his way back he picked up a little bit near a creek.

Ray came back after a big walk and had found an area that had lots of pushing etc so we packed up and moved over there after morning tea.

 

We past the spot where Steve had picked up his bit so Ray had done a very long walk. 

There has been a few camps here as there are 5 fireplaces. We parked near one and set up though Steve will make the fireplace better later.

Had lunch then went wandering.

Back to camp for a cuppa. I got out my cross-stitched and Steve for a wander.

Still windy but it got to 27 degrees in the camper with the windows open.

Scrounged up some firewood and had a nice time chatting by the fire.

 

Mon, 19th May, 2025 Bush camp, Karalundi Station, north of Meekatharra to Bush Camp near Don Well, north of Meekatharra, WA

11 degrees min, clear sky.

Packed and headed back to the highway then along to the gate and into Don Well where we have detected before. We stopped a new pending lease on the way in and had a wander. 

After lunch we tried a bit further along but no joy here.

We went around to the hillside where we found some nuggets last year and set up for the night.

Started wandering the rocky slope. 

Annalise posted up the scan photos of Baby Geck - all heathy and another big boy.

Lovely chatting by the fire under the stars and zooming satellites.