N is for NORSEMAN

NORSEMAN, Western Australia is a town in the Goldfields region of Western Australia.  When travelling from South Australia to Western Australia we stopped in Norseman for lunch.  In my diary we took  8 days to drive there with a few overnight stops in between, and it is the first major town in WA after the SA/WA border.  We stopped at Phoenix Park for lunch which was a great little park tucked away behind the main road and had a nice water feature as well as some other historical equipment from the early days which was a welcome break from driving.  We don't always find such nice spots to stop for lunch.

The sculpture commemorates a horse called "Norseman" who allegedly kicked a gold nugget which started the gold rush to the district 

Norseman camels on the roundabout

These street art camels apparently caused a few issues with the Council a few years ago as they were supposedly causing a traffic danger but thankfully they are still there.

Phoenix Park, Norseman

N is also for NULLARBOR

I couldn't resist adding Nullarbor to my alphabetical list as we have travelled across the Nullarbor plain a few times on our way to WA. Nullarbor means "no trees" but in actual fact there are trees, bushes and various other vegetation but many people who haven't travelled the Nullarbor plain are surprised about the vegetation as we were before we had driven over to Western Australia from Adelaide.  Nullarbor Roadhouse is on the Nullarbor Plain and has been a stopover for us on our trips.  There is a good caravan park, cabins and motel as well as a roadhouse and fuel supply and some interesting historical artefacts.

Interesting old fuel pump

Some of the old Nullarbor buildings

Nullarbor roadhouse

Small aircraft at Nullarbor

Head of the Bight Whale Watch Centre cafe which is a few kms from Nullarbor

We were lucky to see so many whales 

M is for MENINGIE

 

Meningie is one of our favourite places to spend a week or more in our caravan.  We can usually get a lovely site right on the waterfront and it is always very relaxing sitting around watching the birds on the water - perfect - especially with a nice glass of whatever!

Meningie is a small town on the shores of Lake Albert on the Coorong in South Australia.  

On one of our trips we found a nice drive out to see the Tolmer Rocks not far from Meningie.  We were quite surprised to find these huge granite rocks and had never known they existed but probably the locals did and apparently camping in tents is allowed too, although I don't think caravans would be suitable as the track around the rocks was not wide enough and a bit rocky in places.

The pelicans on the lake are always delightful to watch and I spend too much time sitting and watching them, but that's what holidays are for.

 

Even a surfboard up the tree

The other attraction in Meningie is a very good Bakery and also a great restaurant /cafe that has on their Menu the famous Coorong Mullet as well as many other favourites.  Once back home I'll be chief cook and bottle washer so I make the most of being away.

L is for LIGHTNING RIDGE

 Lightning Ridge is in New South Wales and has a population of around 2600 although there is a fairly transient population in this remote opal mining town.  It is a town where mining of black opal is the reason people live there, but opal mining is  a lot of hard work and many don't find their fortune.  It's not for the faint-hearted!

Lightning Ridge is full of interesting buildings and people who have built very unusual buildings over many years.

 

Amigo's Castle

One of the most amazing buildings is Amigo's Castle, built over 20 years by Mr Stefanato, known as Amigo.  It was open for viewing when we were there but I understand that it is now closed to the public as possibly there was too much attention for him but amazingly it is now Heritage listed.

Bottle House

The Bottle House is another quirky building which was built entirely of bottles, not sure if the contents were consumed entirely by the builder, but it was certainly unique. The Bottle House was originally a miners camp and is now a Museum displaying local artefacts.

There are many tourist drives in Lightning Ridge and we did the Car Door drive which had old car doors brightly painted which guided us to various interesting sites.

Mining site

Corrugated iron church

Stanley the Emu

Stanley is constructed from old car parts and various other bits and pieces by local artist John Murray who also has a great gallery in the main street.

Lightning Ridge is different, weird but well worth a visit and we enjoyed a few days there, but it does get very hot so its best to go in the cooler weather.