As full-time RVers, we are drawn to roadside attractions. They are fun and frivilous and make for great selfies! Who can resist a giant kangaroo? This is the story of Rooey II. As with all roadside atrractions, it is also the story of trying to devise something to cause visitors to stop, fill up (with both food and gasoline) and generally spend money. When Australia won the America's Cup in 1983, there was much national celebration. It was then followed, in 1987, by the defense of the cup which was held in the waters off Fremantle in Western Australia. At the time it was believed that the defense of the cup would attract such interest that the journey across the Nullarbor from the eastern states would see a dramatic increase in traffic. At the time two men, Allan Schwartz and Brian Rucioch, owned and managed the truck stop at Border Village. One day when they were driving to Ceduna to get supplies they came up with the idea of a Big Kangaroo to entice travellers to stop. They got a local sign maker and artist, Bill Metheral (known locally as "Saltbrush Bill") to produce drawings and a model of a big kangaroo. Allan and Brian built the main body in Ceduna, and Val Samsonenko, the art teacher at a local school, made the head out of papier-mache. The whole thing was then fibreglassed by local fisherman, Horrie Jolly, and 'Saltbrush Bill' completed the job with several coats of paint. In order to generate some publicity, they ran a "Name the Kangaroo" competition in the local paper and entries were received from all over the Eyre Peninsula. Ruey was the winning entry, but because Brian's nickname was Ruey, they ended up calling it Ruey II. However, Saltbrush Bill spelt it wrong, so he became Rooey II. Here Dave does his best "joey" impression with Rooey II.
Rooey II isn't the only attraction along the Nullarbor. This area is home to the world's longest golf course. Nullarbor Links is an 18-hole, par 73 golf course situated along 1,365 kilometers of the Eyre Highway along the southern coast of Australia spanning two states. Here Kathy get's ready to tee up on the sixth hole know as "Border Kangaroo" for the obvious reasons.
The course begins and ends (depending on the direction of crossing) in the goldmining town of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia (on the west end of the Nullarbor) and the coastal town of Ceduna, South Australia (on the east end). Professional golfer Robert Stock, from Manchester, England, consulted on the design that incorporates 7 holes from existing courses and 11 holes created at roadhouses and roadside stops. The roadhouse holes have tees and greens that use artificial grass, with natural desert land between. We were so excited about this unique golf course, that we purchases a souvenir golf shirt for our son Matt, who is an avid golfer.
Here, Kathy get's read to pull the pin for Dave's chip.
After a hearty roadhouse breakfast, we hit the road to Norseman. We had several stops planned among our route. The first one took us out to another scenic overlook of the Bunda Cliffs. In this picture, you can see the layers of limestone that make up the worlds longest uninterrupted line of sea cliffs.
The terrace below was crisscrossed with four-wheel drive tracts. Just beyond the edge of the terrace was the Great Australian Bight. The large open bay was constantly changing colors as we drove by.
Our next stop was in the tiny outpost of Eucla. Established in 1877 as a manual repeater station for the Overland Telegraph, the town reached its peak in the 1920s, prior to the construction of a new telegraph line further north alongside the Trans-Australian Railway in 1929.
Just outside the Eucla Motel sits the Leeuwin Way Whale! According to the adjacent sign, it is approximately 10 meters long, 3 meters wide, 3meters high, weighs 4 tons, and was constructed of ferro concrete. The sign goes on to explain that the whale was constructed, transported and erected by the people of Albany, Western Australia, as a promotional exercise. Australians love their roadside attractions!
We were a little nervous taking the rental car five miles down a sandy road toward the old telegraph building whose ruins are still barely keeping their nose above the drifting sand dunes at the beach near Eucla, but our fears were soon put to rest as the road was well graded and hard packed.
In the 1890's a rabbit plague passed through the Eucla area eating dune vegetation which caused large sand drifts that repeatedly covered and uncovered the telegraph station. Today the telegraph station remains in ruin and the area is reportedly haunted by a ghost. We did crawl in and out and all around, but never did see the ghost. It must have been his day off.
Cruise control is definitely your friend when travelling 90 miles straight!
After a few hours of straight driving, literally straight driving, we pulled off to see another roadside attraction - The Caiguna Blowhole!
When blowhole caves ‘breathe,’ air pressure falls and rises. The periodic reversal of air flow is caused by the pressure equalization between the underground cavities and the air pressure above the ground, while the speed of breathing is related to the volume of air contained in the cave as well as the cross-sectional area of a cave’s entrance. The Caiguna blowhole breathes more vigorously than all the other caves in Australia – in fact, air movement at the cave entrance has been measured to be around 120 miles per hour!
Below, Kathy prepares to be blasted with cave breath, but finds just a gentle whisper instead of a full force gale.
Upon arriving in Norseman, our first order of business was to stop at the Visitors Center and pick up our Certificate of Completion - we had successfully crossed the Nullabor! We also learned all about Norseman. Gold, the magic metal, put Norseman on the map in 1894 when prospector Laurie Sinclair stopped off to visit his brother on his way to Esperance. He tethered his horse "Hardy Norseman" overnight and in the morning was amazed to discover that it had pawed up a gold nugget. A rich gold reef was discovered on the already proclaimed Dundas Field and thousands flocked to make their fortune. The town was named in honor of Mr. Sinclair's horse!
We had a couple hours before dinner, so we decided to take the scenic drive recommended by the folks in the Visitors Center. Our first stop was the Lake Cowan Lookout. The massive salt lake spreads out for miles and miles. We did look around for gypsum, but didn't find any keepers.
We did, however, come across several small opal mining pits. While the quality wasn't as fine as what we found at Coober Pedy, it was still fun to poke around and see what we could scrounge up.
Our trip to Norseman would not be complete if we didn't stop and take our selfie with the camels all dressed in their Christmas finery!
We snapped this photo just before returning to our hotel and bed, ready for another adventure tomorrow on our way to Esperance.
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