Time at home in Casino went quick, and before we knew it we had flown back to W A for Chris to work in the wheat belt. I usually spend one day a week going with Mary to help her with whatever she needs to do, either to Perth or out to a farm . Olly the dog is always ready to come along, he is never far from Mary’s side, and I’m becoming quite attached to him too. Such a great companion for her.
The farms are so big out here, and the roads to them very isolated at times. We enjoy each other’s company and always make time for a bit of shopping, a coffee stop or even a photo stop if something takes our eye.
Chris also likes company as well, so I’ve been with him on some of the more interesting runs. He took the float trailer down to Manjimup area and picked up an excavator for the eucalyptus farm, one day. 
Quite interesting for me to see over the distillery plant .
The oil is extracted from the cropped trees by feeding plant into the furnace and distilled into stainless steel vats, 
Cooled and put into plastic pods.
Mainly it’s sold overseas to Johnson and Johnson. The plastic pods are worth around $35,000 each.
Another trip was out to the farm where the eucalyptus trees are grown.
They’re harvested, loaded and brought back to the distillery in Kalannie.
They take a while to load, so the camera and I went for a walk around the farm. 
There’s always gotta be one black sheep eh!
Unloading is simple, just tip it off.
After 2 weeks, the work is starting to slow down in the area, as the farmers wait for rain. It’s so dry and not looking good for this years crop. Chris and I have decided it is time to head towards home. So with one last load of sand from Jurien Bay, our time here will come to an end, well for this year anyway.!
I went for the last trip, leaving early in the morning and getting back to Kalannie as the sun set, after unloading on a farm out near Beacon.
Well that’s it from the work side of this adventure, its been 15 months since we left Casino in the van. Sure has been interesting. We have decided to go north from here and over the top, which means we will do the big loop as they say, this trip.No matter how many times you loop this country, you would still not see it all. Just a magic country we are privileged to live in.😊
The day I went into Northam, I met this cute little fellow, in the shopping centre. With Easter only a few days away, Mary and I went to a luncheon in the old convent in Dalwallinu. It has been renovated beautifully and now is a B and B and function centre.
Nice to have a chat with the local ladies, nice food and a good fundraiser for homeless women. I even won a raffle prize. No… not the dog !!
This is Oliver, Mary’s dog, he is just a gorgeous boy. I have become quite attached to him, and he was happy to go for a drive with me to Dally one day, when I was helping Mary.
Just a pic of some Parrots, in the park, that took my eye, looked like rain, but it didn’t. This area has an average annual rainfall of 300mm, hard to believe, as it is not unusual to have this amount in one day over East. So hot and very dry, however the nights are starting to cool down as we approach Easter. We had decided to head for the hills over Easter, with no desire to compete with holiday makers on the coast. Mary and Steve also needed a break so we got together, planned, packed up and headed out on the Thursday evening. We only drove for an hour or so, then pulled up in Wilki, A grain storage yard, complete with weighbridge! And to our surprise we are not overloaded.
Good Friday 2019
Next morning we stopped at Bonnie Rock, before checking out the huge Beringbooding Rock. It is the largest rock water storage in Australia.
There were a few campers out here already, we didn’t intend setting up here, so just did a rock walk. We all agreed that it is more interesting and spectacular than the renowned Wave Rock, at Hyden WA. Hope you like some of my Photos.
We spent a couple of hrs here, climbing around and finally making it to the top.
Again the rock walls built around the edge to catch the water, is a tribute to the early settlers . I love the natural gardens that have formed in the rock hollows.
Amazing how some of the smaller rocks have fallen down and are just clinging to the edge. Makes me wonder what would happen to them in an earthquake.
The view from the top was good, as was the phone service, obviously ! Been there done that and worth doing. Next to find a camp spot for the night.
We arrived in Perth to unload, around 4hrs later. Hundreds of ducks, very fat ducks, gather around the grain storage plant, eating the spilled grain, after the trucks have unloaded.
After unloading in Perth, we picked up a load of fertiliser from Fremantle, and headed back in the peak hour traffic, not a fun time, however I soon relaxed as the sun set behind us and enjoyed seeing the paddocks of fire, burning the stubble, shame we couldn’t stop to take photos, as it is an amazing site. 
This is a photo I took a few days later, of the wind rows being burnt during the day. Nothing spectacular but it shows how they clean up, before planting again soon.
We stopped to wander around old farms, seeing dams, wells, windmills, even thought this old farm bike was cute for a mailbox. We are amazed that nothing gets thrown away from these farms, even today, most farms have a dead machinery paddock. Brings back memories for Chris, and photo opportunities for me Steve also knew where to look at some old sheep dips, took awhile to move on from here as he and Chris pondered over their sheep dipping days.
Some of the sheep dips are still in reasonable condition.
Mollerin Rock was a huge catchment area for water. So much work was put into stone edges around the outskirts of the rock, so the rain water would run down into drains that led into big water tanks. These are mainly on common land so the drovers had water for their travelling stock. 
They even went to the trouble of building rock walls around the scrub areas and holes in the rock, so they didn’t lose any water and kept it as clean as possible, before draining into the tank below.
Some of the old tin covers have deteriorated over the the years, but to me this makes them more original, and interesting to climb up and look in. Can be a bit creepy looking into the depths of there now slimey contents, due to lack of use. 
Most of these big flat rock areas are quite accessible by 4 wheel drive.
So Chris just had to !! Note I got out, before he came back down !! 
And for those interested in old machinery, here is some we found laying around in the paddocks.
Another large water tank is not far out of town, at Xantippe. Locals were thrilled at the end of last Year, that Channel 7, Sunrise team came and featured Xantippe. A town starting with X, as they filmed, and featured towns of the alphabet.
The firies put on a recovery breakfast on the sunday morning. By the time Chris and I walked over to the oval and joined the que, they were running out of bacon so it was an egg and sauce sandwich for us. Think they said they had gone through 25kgs of bacon !! With the cropping finished , it’s time to fertilize the paddocks. Now this could only be done in the West, crazy as it seems they use sand off the beaches . I went for a day with Chris in the truck, to see it for myself and get photos, of coarse.
It’s a 3 hr trip to Jurien Bay, we left by 3am, and was just breaking daylight when we drove into the sandhills, and loaded sand by headlights. Once loaded it was back on the road again, and a we headed to a farm drop off way out East [I think ], these farms are just huge, not a house or person in site. The drivers get a pin drop on google for directions, and the farmer usually leaves a small bucket or stick where he wants them to unload. Bit like finding a needle in a haystack.
Note the size and colour, of the drop off marker, took awhile to find it.
That done it was time to head back to the depot, and Chris can do it all again tomorrow. And to finish off, i’ve found another nice sunset photo. 
Friends from over east were heading to Perth and had booked into Ocean Beach Apartments.
So we had some time with them as well as a lovely brunch at the North Beach Deli. 
Meals there are some of the best we have experienced, we like to go there as our friend Ray Simpkin’s daughter own it, and nice to catch up with 2 of his girls as well.
North Beach is a beautiful area on the ocean, with lots of eateries overlooking the water, making the perfect venue to watch the sun go down. 
When I have nothing to do an Chris is on the road, I sometimes go for a drive and just take photos of lakes and birds, can always find beauty and peace through the lens of the camera.
That’s just about all the excitement we could muster up around here for February, and even the birds have gone to roost.
Nice to be on the road again, stopping at Meckering, a town that had been destroyed by an earthquake in 1968.
It’s now a nice tidy town with a free camp in the centre, there is a beautiful memorial rose garden, which attracts the birds and tourists. 
Next day we stopped off for a wander around York, as it was new years eve, we couldn’t spend as much time as we would have liked there, so intend to call back in on our way back up to Kalannie in a few weeks.
On the road again, and not far out of Perth we check into a park owned by the seventh day adventist church at Maida Vale, we needed somewhere secure to leave the van while we have a week in perth. Off to the fireworks on the Swan River to celebrate the start of 2019. Hopefully it will be a good one, and lots more adventures.
Luckily I have an electric fan forced oven, that cooked a roast pork and veggies just right. 
Crackling was our entree, and it wouldn’t be christmas without trifle.
No pudding this year, i’m so overweight as it is. I’m sure 2/3 of the trifle hasn’t helped.! Lunch done, our afternoon was taken up with phone calls with family over East, and an afternoon nap. Thank goodness for air conditioning as it was still very warm as the sun went down. In all a nice relaxing day. 
Also came across these vintage bikes somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. 
We went for a drive out to Xantippie to see an old ute, lit up for Christmas. Well done to one of Chris’s work mates, who ownes the farm. 
I also have put some lights in the trees beside our van and some decorations in the van. Just love Christmas, no matter where we are. 
The old saying of it’s not what you know, it’s who you know, came to the fore, the last week before Christmas. Chris was carting out of the farm, that his boss’s daughter and husband’s family own, so he organized for me to go out to the farm and go for a ride in the header. What an experience, and I now know a bit about grain farming. A win win ! This family are just so friendly and good to us. Here are some photos of my time on the farm.
The young cattle dog was determined not to give up his seat in the tractor to me, so was eventually was escorted back to the ute, so I was able to get in and be taken out to the paddock that was being harvested. 
Uncle Robin, was the header driver and showed me all the workings, so high tec these days. 
The drivers just set all the computers in the cab, then it’s all remote control. 
Drivers can then just sit back and watch the screens. The bin chasers follow the harvesters around, and without stopping the grain is transferred to the bin, and taken back to other storage bins.
Then the truck drivers, like Chris, fill their trailers from them, and take it into the co operative, storage areas in town. 
This day was certainly one of my highlights this year.
Here is a couple of photos of the old tractors still being used.
This harvest season, has been one of the best ever, so the farmers are saying, in both price and quantity. Storage facilities are almost full to capacity.
We are both getting tired now, and really looking forward to the end of our stint here. The experience has been good, and thankfully the family Chris works for are great. They treat their drivers like family and Mary likes to dish up a cooked meal for them at the end of day. I have been made feel very welcome and Mary and I have had girl time out for lunches and shopping . Animals are also family, 3 dogs, 2 cats, an avery full of birds, goldfish and a lamb that thinks it’s a dog !
Last weekend we had their Christmas party, Mary and I did all the cooking for it, so much food, and of cause drinks.
A big night in this little town, with most of the local farmers there.
It was a lovely night and Steve [boss], had lights all around the yard and depot.
I really enjoyed being part of it and was able to give Mary time with their guests, while I did most of the serving of food.
And boy did they eat, amazing how much they consumed.!
With only a week out from Christmas, I’ve done the big shop, pork, ham and made a couple of boiled fruit cakes and rocky road, towards our, very quite Christmas. We will miss our kids and family this year, but still I think we are both looking forward to a day of rest. We have been invited to have it with Mary ,Steve and family, but we feel they need family time, after such a big harvest this year, so thinking, just having a quiet one on our own, is the way to go. Sure will be different. Even the church up the road, doesn’t get used.
At the back of the park we have a flock of black cockatoos, hard to get photos of, as they are so black, and their eyes don’t show up.
Love seeing them in flight, as you can see the red feathers underneath, that don’t show when they are settled in the trees. 
There are lots of other birds around enjoying the grain crops as well.
That’s it for now.
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