Cocklebiddy

What a way to start the day. We were evicted from Woolies!!!! We left the Caravan Park just after 7:00 and went to the Turkish Bread Shop but it was closed so we went up to the Shopping Centre and bought some stamps in the Newsagents then went in to Woolies to get some supplies. Alex went to get some meat and I went looking for biscuits but a Woolies Worker caught up with Alex & said they weren’t open yet then they both came looking for me. I’ve never been evicted from a shop before! We went back to the bread shop but the bread wasn’t ready so we decided to walk on the jetty but when we got near the jetty there was a caravan called the “Coffee Cat” and they were serving choice coffee and other hot drinks. Chairs were set up on the lawn and lots of people were drinking coffee and gazing out to sea. At first we thought there must be something special happening out at sea but then it appeared to be just a normal morning event so we enjoyed hot chocolate and coffee then went back for the delicious bread.

Nothing eventful happened between Esperance and Norseman, a town named after a horse which fortuitously kicked up a gold nugget and so made the place a good one for a town. When we were about 10kms out of Norseman we passed a Storm Trooper striding along the road and then later a person in a wheelchair being pushed along. At least they had a support vehicle behind them but we didn’t see any support for the Storm Trooper. A few days ago we heard on the radio about a guy who was walking to Sydney, I think, and there were plans for a mass greeting by suitably dressed Star War fans when he walks into Adelaide. At least his Storm Trooper helmet was protecting him from the flies.

Alex had the pleasure of driving the 96 MILE straight which started just outside Baladonia but he did remember how to turn the car when we arrived at Caiguna.

The mechanic’s shed here is the same one that housed the original Cocklebiddy “Roadhouse” but there is now a new Snack Bar/Restaurant and Motel units which seem to be filled with workers. We passed quite a few gangs working on relaying sleepers on the railway line and wondered if they were contributing to the strings of bottles discarded along the roadside. Not just beer bottles but heaps of flavoured milk, water and also “energy drink” bottles.

We’ve been hooked by a couple of garrulous people so we now should know all about the cost of petrol and the best camping places from here to Timbuktoo. I do now know that Combivans, 5^th wheelers, Winnebagos etc  and campers that fit on the back of utes and are all considered motor homes by the organisers of the Motor Home Convention being held in Kalgoorlie  next month. I also know that different groups going to the Convention are also playing the longest Golf Course in the world, the Nullarbor Course. You won’t be surprised to know the editor thinks there are far too many trees on it even though he hasn’t checked out a single hole!

After Grasspatch the country to starts to dry out a little.

The Horse That Named a Town

What was the original “Roadhouse”, Cocklebiddy.

Not exactly “lush”. Cocklebiddy Campsite.