Sun, 21st Oct, 2018 Mingol Camp, Carnegie Station to Bush camp, south of Meekatharra, WA

Woke at 4.40am and we greeted with lovely sunrise colours but I was too lazy to get the camera.

The sun is coming up on the bedside at 6am and it didn’t take long to get warm. The birds have been up for a while!!

Packed up and on the road by 7am.

Down the road 4 ladies decided to hog the road. Steve edged forward and they decided we could pass. Steve said they wanted to know if we had a permit to transit this road!!

The good road continued so we are zooming along at 90kph. Spotting a lot more roos and cattle now.

Flat ironstone covered ground then up onto a ridge for a nice view over the green treetops.

Up and down low ridges as we pass Wongawol Station – also owned by the Snell Family of Carnegie.

Continued rolling up and down the ridges which are called Princess Ranges according to our Hema.

The track is chopped up in sections here where the creeks cross over heading to Lake Carnegie.

Quartz appearing so I opened the Happy Prospector App on the Tablet to see where we were in relation to live and pending leases. At its peak Wiluna had one of the biggest gold mines in Australia. Passed some old shafts which show up as Mount Eureka on the Hema.

Passed some clay pans which are covered in salt bush.

Stopped for a cuppa by the road and Steve put in the 40 litres of diesel from the drums on the roof which we have had since the start.

Continued on the wide gravel road then through some sand dunes.

Onto bitumen as we near Wiluna with the ‘end of the Gunbarrel Highway’ sign.

The ‘outer’ suburbs are just disgusting with the amount of rubbish everywhere. All  the loose stuff has blown through the bush on the other side of the road.

Into town passed the cutouts around the park near the pool. Lots of people enjoying a swim.

We started here on the 1^st May so nearly a 6 month trip away from our van. 4 months actually living in the truck as the rest was with Mum and Dad which was wonderful.

Rang Mum and Dad and texted the boys that we had arrived safely. Then texted Ross and Tom to say we would be arriving soon. 200km more to do till we are back to our van.

Down the Goldfields Highway for a bit then we turned onto the Wiluna-Sandstone Road that we travelled on at the beginning of our trip. Still lots of dead cars about.

The gravel changes to red sand but it has a good base so we are zooming along.

Back into salt and pepper country (quartz and ironstone) – gold ground.

Turned off  the road to Sandstone and continued west. Past Youno Downs Station homestead with its big windmill at the entrance.

Into Meekatharra Shire and then Mount Yagahong comes into view. Feels a bit like when we are driving home and we see the Pyramid – almost there!!

Turned south onto the Meekatharra-Sandstone Road then down to the turn off into the lease where our van has been staying for the last 6 months.

We arrived at camp at 3pm and we have covered 21,343 km since leaving here on May 1^st. It has been a great trip and we loved travelling just in the truck but we were lucky we didn’t have to deal with much rain which would have made it uncomfortable.

Said hi to Lara as the rest were out. Gave Abra (black & white border collie) a big pat – she has grown a lot.

Hooked up the van and took it over to Tom and Sandy’s camp to spend a couple of nights with them while we sort ourselves out.

Our route for today. The end of that adventure, now to start the next one.

The van was all good and still clean inside – no dust got in. Unpacked a bit then Tom and Sandy returned so we settled in for a drink or two. Spotted the Space Station passing overhead – so bright.

Ross was back to walked over to say hi and thanks again for looking after the van. Sandy the Scot came over for a chat too.

Had dinner then the girls versus boys Skipbo matches began. The girls still rule!! Lovely evening with a nice cool breeze.