Perth to Adelaide: January 2007

Following their Christmas break, Ray and Nikki have hit the road again, for a once in a lifetime journey by road from Perth to Adelaide. In Part One of our two part feature, published a few days ago, our Aussie guest journo, Chuck Maboomerang, caught up with Ray and Nikki in Perth, and told us a little bit about the preparations for their mega trip, If you missed it, you can read it now: On the Road Again.. in Australia (Part One).

In this issue, Chuck follows Ray and Nikki as they head east towards Adelaide on their epic journey, which includes crossing a section of the desolate, arid Australian Outback, known as "The Nullarbor".

We have also introduced a new feature for 2007, called "It's All in the Name". This will appear from time to time in The Daily Lama throughout the year and will feature photographs of different places that Ray and Nikki have been to on their travels. If the name of the place or thing in the photograph matches with your name, you are invited to send us an email telling us, and we will include your name in a prize draw to be made at the end of the year, in our final issue of 2007!

Having carefully planned their route and schedule whilst still in Perth, Ray and Nikki became aware that their 3,000+ kilometre journey would take them between five and seven days to complete, depending on their average speed and length of their stops en route. "We were not trying to break any land speed records and obviously did not want to exceed the strictly enforced speed limits in Australia, so we decided to take it nice and easy, sharing the driving between us" Ray told me. "We heard from friends that the trip could be made in three or four days at a push, so we thought we would aim for seven days, allowing us to take longer stops on the way" he added.

Above: A reminder from Part One of Ray and Nikki's planned route from Perth to Adelaide - the equivalent of driving from London to Moscow

There was very little to do after picking up the camper van, other than buying provisions at the supermarket. "These vans are really well equipped" said Nikki. "Ours had a small fridge, microwave oven and gas cooker, kettle and toaster, with an on-board 30 litre tank for water and an electric pump to get the water into the sink" she told me. "The design is so clever, they manage to fit everything into such a small space, including a double bed!" added 'virgin' camper Ray.

Above: It did not take long for Ray and Nikki to get used to driving the camper van, which was very well equipped, or to work out how to brew up during roadside stops

As Ray and Nikki were departing Perth, they called in at the RAC station for some up to date information about their planned route. "We were lucky that we decided to call in" said Ray. "We had heard on the news that a typhoon had caused some serious road damage in Esperance, whch was directly on our route" he explained. "When we spoke to the people at the RAC, they confirmed that the main road to Esperance was closed, meaning we would have to make a detour, robbing a few hours from our carefully planned schedule" added a concerned Nikki.

"It was inconvenient, but not the end of the world" added Ray. "We were just very grateful that there was an alternative route, although it would mean driving on an unsealed road, which was (strictly speaking) a breach of our rental contract. But there was no way we were going to completely re-design our route and miss taking in the coastal towns of the south-west, so we thought lets go for it!" recalled a very adventurous Ray.

Above: The circled area on the map shows the main coastal highway near Esperance that was closed due to storm damage. The town of Pemberton (bottom left) was Ray and Nikki's planned destination for the end of day one, committing them to the route around the south-west coast, meaning they would have to take an unsealed road to by-pass the closed off area

After a relatively uneventful first day, completing about 350 kilometres of their journey (about 10%), Ray and Nikki arrived in Pemberton. "We found a decent caravan park by a river, and hired a 'powered' site, so that we could use the microwave and the laptop without draining the on-board batteries" said Ray.

The first experience of spending the night in a camper van together was a source of great hilarity for our intrepid explorers. "Anyone who has spent time in a camper van will know that is the human equivalent of one of those old, little, square plastic puzzles, with eight small squares that slide around in a nine square frame - you have to move the pieces around until you end up with them all in the right order" said Nikki. "Ray and I had a lot of fun as we worked out how to choreograph our movements to avoid constantly bumping into each other!" she added.

Above: There isn't a great deal of space inside one of these camper vans and movements have to be carefully choreographed to avoid collisions and mishaps!

Ray and Nikki survived their first night sleeping in the van and I caught up with them the following morning as they prepared to set off bright and early for Albany. "We had both under-estimated the degree to which everything inside the van had to be moved in a logical, sequential order" said Ray. "For example, to make the bed, the table has to be put away, which means the table has to be cleared, which means the dishes need to be washed, which means the water has to be pumped, which means the tank has to be filled etc, etc" explained a somewhat frustrated Ray.

As they made their way to Albany, Nikki was rapidly mastering the art of navigation, as she skillfully guided Ray at the crucial junctions en route. "Navigating was actually pretty easy" said Nikki. "There was really only one direction we were going in, so my map reading became more of a tour guide service for Ray, calling out points of interest along the way and spotting good places for pit stops" she added.

Above: Nikki confirms that her and Ray are heading in the right direction as they reach Northcliffe on day two

Northcliffe is home to Shannon National Park, which contains the 'Great Forest Trees Drive'. "It is a nature based tourist drive which takes in some of the most spectacular old growth forest in the south-west" Nikki told me. "It covers a 48 kilometre route along former logging roads, railway lines and strategic fire breaks" she added. "One thing we loved about this forest drive was that we could tune in to a special radio station and listen to information about the park's wildlife, ecology, history and culture as we were moving" said Ray.

Above: Ray prepares one of his specialities - a cheese and tomato sandwich - as he and Nikki make a pit stop just outside Shannon National Park

The next stop en route for Ray and Nikki was 'The Valley of the Giants' at nearby Walpole - another National park with nearly 20,000 hectares of towering karri and tingle forest. "The park has long been one of the areas most popular tourist destinations" said Nikki.

"They have an amazing tree-top walk, which is a specially constructed, 420 metre long steel-truss walkway that rises up to 38 metres above the trees - we definitely wanted to get up there so that we could view the canopy of the magnificent tingle forest" she added, with much excitement. "It's a great thrill to be so high up in the trees, and it gave us a completely different perspective than the one we had on the ground" added Ray.

Above and below: Nikki and Ray take in the spectacular vista from the tree-top walkway, some 38 metres above the ground, in 'The Valley of the Giants'

The park also has spectacular landscapes encompassing estuaries, forested hills dissected by rivers and extensive areas where there is little or no evidence of human activity. There are four species of Eucalyptus, which occur only in the Walpole area - with three species of tingle trees in the tall forest, and the red flowering 'gums' closer to the sea.

Above: Ray is dwarfed by one of the giant tingle trees - it was so tall that Nikki was not able to get all of it in the picture!

Ray and Nikki arrived on schedule in Albany at the end of day two, and booked into a camp site, having covered a total distance of 670 kilometres since leaving Perth. Albany is the oldest European settlement in Western Australia, having been founded in 1826, three years before Perth. "Although we knew we could not stay very long in Albany, we had heard from a lot of people that it was a great place, so we were very interested to find out more and have a look around" said a curious Nikki.

Above: Ray and Nikki's position at the end of day two, on track with 18% of their journey completed

The following morning, Ray and Nikki set their objective to reach Esperance, which would leave them with four days to cross the Nullarbor and comfortably reach Adelaide. It was at this point that their first serious problem was about to arise. "We woke up to discover that our fridge was on the blink, as some of our food had gone off - it had obviously not been working since we picked up the van two days before" said a rather concerned Ray. "Here we were, about to cross the Nullarbor, which is one of the hottest, driest places in the world, with no fridge!" he mused. "We also had to keep moving or we would run the risk of falling behind with our schedule, so I decided to call Britz after we had left Albany and report the problem to them" said Ray.

Above: "What do you mean CHILL OUT? - I can't keep the beer's cold if the fridge doesn't work" says a very heated Ray as he talks to Britz on the phone

Unfortunately for Ray and Nikki, Britz were unable to help them. "I decided to call them after we had left Albany, which turned out to be a mistake" said Ray. "They told me that the only place we could get the fridge repaired on this side of the Nullarbor was in Albany, but it meant going back over 100 kilometres and we did not want to risk our schedule" he explained. "In the end, we agreed they would pay for an 'Eski' (a coolbox), and for daily supplies of ice which we bought en route" said Nikki. "This worked out really well and we managed to get a refund of one day's rental for our trouble" added a very happy Nikki

With the fridge problem solved, our travelling pair put their attention back on the route for the day. "We knew we could not drive directly to Esperance from Albany because we had found out earlier that a damaged bridge had led to the road being closed" said Nikki. "We checked our maps for a suitable detour via an out of the way place called Lake King" added Nikki. "We then double checked with the local police, who confirmed that the alternative road was passable, even though it was in the general area affected by the typhoon" she told me.

Above: The map shows Ray and Nikki's detour from Lake King, via the unsealed Cascades Road (the lower red dotted line) joining the main coastal highway near Esperance, and by-passing the affected area

Going this way meant that Ray and Nikki would still be able to reach Esperance, although it would mean them having to take the much longer and far slower route along the Cascades Road. "The road is classified as 'unsealed', which means that it is basically dust and gravel" Ray told me. "Strictly speaking, we were in breach of our insurance cover for the van by taking it on this road" he explained to me. "But the alternative was not feasible for us - if we went a different way to reach Norseman via tarmac roads, it would require an additional 2-3 days, which we did not have, so we decided to take the risk" said Ray.

Above and below: It was quite risky for Ray and Nikki to take the Cascades Road, which is probably better suited to 4WD vehicles. Although it was very slow and dusty, it was also very exciting!

Luckily for Ray and Nikki, the normal daily traffic had also been diverted via the Cascades Road for the last few days, which made things a little easier for them. "Because a number of heavy commercial vehicles had been using the unsealed road to get through to Esperance with their cargo, the surface had been compressed and a lot of the larger stones had been compacted" explained Ray. "Although it was still very dusty, it meant that we could maintain a faster speed than we would otherwise have been able to" he added. "Inside the van, everything got covered in a very fine layer of dust, as it invaded through the vents and our air-conditioning system" said Nikki. "It was filthy and took quite a long time to clean up" she added.

Above and below: The Cascades Road has been the subject of much local debate in recent weeks. Transport companies are pushing for the road to be sealed, to provide an alternative route to Esperance if the south coast highway is closed. But the Australian treasurer, Eric Ripper, has suggested flood proofing the main highway would be a better option. You would probably have to try driving it yourself to get worked up about it!

After a couple of tense hours, Ray and Nikki arrived at the end of the Cascades Road and re-joined the main coastal highway to nearby Esperance. "We were extremely relieved to get back on to a proper tarmac road" Ray told me. "Throughout the two hours or so that we spent on our detour, we did not say very much to each other as we both secretly contemplated the potential disaster scenario of a puncture in the middle of nowhere" confessed Nikki. "Had we broken down, the heat outside was intense, there was no mobile signal and hardly any other drivers on the road, plus we would have been in big trouble with Britz for taking that road in the first place" added Ray.

Above: Back on the tarmac surfaced coastal highway again - a much relieved Ray and Nikki continue along their planned route

Upon arrival in Esperance, Ray and Nikki headed straight for the unique Pink Lake, while there was still a few daylight hours left. "The lake is a very well known beauty spot, and named because of the type of algae which grows in the water, although it did not look very pink to us" said Nikki. "It was a really beautiful spot to stop for a cuppa" added Ray, "and get some of the dust out of the van before getting our supper ready later on".

Above: The unique (and not very) Pink Lake at Esperance

Pink Lake is located along a winding, 38 kilometre loop road known as the 'Great Ocean Drive', which circles around the town of Esperance, the last main coastal town before the Nullarbor crossing. "The views are sensational" said Nikki. "The drive takes in some of the most beautiful coastal scenery Australia has to offer, with sheltered, pristine beaches, crystal clear waters and snow white sands" she added as she re-counted her experience of the drive.

Above and below: Esperance is a truly sensational visual feast, as these photographs show

Along the drive is the Ten Mile Lagoon. "We really enjoyed finding this place" said Nikki. "A rocky shore acts as a natural breaker for the pounding waves, forming a long shallow pool that is considerably warmer than the ocean" she told me. "We walked down a steep path to the beach and we could see the crashing waves in front of us, with the wind blustering overhead propelling the windmills which stand watch beyond the sand dunes" added Ray.

Above: Nikki can hardly contain herself as she reads the sign by the beach - and it's not because it's free!

Below: Nikki agreed to pose for our photographer, although she insisted on putting her clothes back on first

Above and below: Further along the 'Great Ocean Drive' is Salmon Beach, where Ray and Nikki were mesmerised by the huge, crashing waves pounding the granite rock

Having reached Esperance at the end of day three, our two road travellers were bang on schedule and had completed about 1,400 kilometres since leaving Perth, or about 40% of their journey. I asked them about their plans for day four as they were leaving their camp site. "We knew from our research that we would drive further on some days than others, because there are less things to stop for on some of the stages" said Ray. "We had planned to cover a long distance on day four - nearly 1,000 kilometres" Nikki told me. "Our route was going to take us to the very egde of Western Australia, to the roadhouse at Eucla" recalled Nikki.

Above: The route for day four covered nearly 1,000 kilometres, as Ray and Nikki left Esperance to reach Eucla, via Norseman (both circled in red)

"Shortly after leaving Esperance, we had to make a fuel stop and chose a tiny little town called Salmon Gums" said Ray. "As the van was being filled with petrol, something strange caught our attention on the other side of the street, so we paid for our fuel, parked the van and went to investigate" recalled a very curious Ray as he told me about it.

Above and below: Ray and Nikki seek out some alternative company in Salmon Gums, after being confined for three whole days and nights inside their tiny camper van

Above: Ray rehearses for the entrance 'examination' to the local school

Norseman is a prosperous gold mining town roughly halfway between Kalgoorlie and Esperance and is also home to Australia's richest quartz reef, which is still being mined. "To us, it seemed like a rather non-descript place" said Nikki. "If you did not work or live there, you would probably only go through Norseman if you were driving North to Kalgoorlie, or east to the state border, as it is the last stop for fuel before the start of the 2,700 kilometre Eyre Highway, which crosses the southern edge of the vast Nullarbor Plain" said Nikki.

Above: Ray and Nikki arrive at the three way junction at Norseman, which is a 'decision point' - North would take them back to Perth and east will commit them to the very long and straight Eyre Highway. Many travellers seem to want to cross the Nullarbor, just to prove they can. If you want to see a short video clip, then watch Are you going to Adelaide?

Leaving Norseman and turning towards the Eyre Highway, fully prepared for the long and mostly straight road ahead, Ray and Nikki were forced to delay their departure for a while because of a train passing through, crossing the road in front of them. "We could not believe how long the train was" said Nikki. "It went on for absolutely ages; at one point I thought I was stuck in a 'groundhog day' experience! - there was even time to make a cup of tea and some toast while we waited for it to pass" she added.

Above: The train which held up Ray and Nikki's progress was probably the longest train in the world! Ray initially munched on some Mintie's to help pass the time...

Above: With the supply of Mintie's exhausted, Ray seizes the opportunity to broaden his mind....

Above: But it isn't long before Ray has dozed off, with the train still passing by!

As soon as the train had passed, our two travellers hit the gas pedal and headed for Balladonia, which is 193 kilometres east of Norseman, and the first fuel stop on this impossibly long stretch of road. "Unbelievably, it was out here in the middle of nowhere that the dramatic crash landing of the Skylab space station took place in 1979" said a well informed Ray. "They have several pieces of it in a tiny museum adjoining the roadhouse and have proudly mounted a large section on the roof of their gas station" he added.

Nikki had heard there was more to the amusing Skylab story. "At the time the crash landing happened, the local Dundas Shire Council presented NASA with a littering fine, and President Jimmy Carter even rang the roadhouse to make his apologies!" she told me. "The whole issue was something of a good natured, diplomatic event with Canberra's American Ambassador visiting the region to inspect any damage that may have been done" added Nikki.

Above: Nikki, pictured below the large piece of Skylab, which is proudly displayed on the roof of the gas station in Balladonia

After filling the tank, Ray and Nikki made a quick stop for a brew and a bite to eat before continuing. "The driving is mind numbingly boring - we found that the best way to cope with it is to take lots of very short breaks" said Ray. "And it is always really interesting when we stop, because there is so much wildlife to observe, even though it is obviously very hot" said Nikki.

Above: Who is watching who? ... These two crows sit patiently in the tree above Ray and Nikki's camper van, hoping that they may tuck in to any morsels that Ray and Nikki inadvertantly leave behind

To the east of Balladonia, on the way to Caiguna, is Australia's longest stretch of straight road - all 146.6 kilometres of it - commonly known as the '90 Mile Straight'. "I chose to drive on this part of the journey, as it seemed quite novel to say that I had done it" said Nikki. "It lived up to it's reputation, in that it was long and straight and very, very boring. However, the excitement of seeing another vehicle way off in the distance and guessing how long it would take before it passed us, helped to relieve the boredom" added a road weary Nikki.

Above: The red circle shows where the '90 Mile Straight' is - Australia's longest, straightest stretch of road

Below: The sign that welcomes all visitors...

From Caiguna to the Madura Pass, which is a further 160 kilometres east, the landscape hardly even changes from one kilometre to the next. "Our main aim on this particular day was to get as many kilometres completed as possible, so we just knuckled down and kept going" Ray told me. "But when we reached the Madura Pass, we just had to stop as the view was simply breathtaking" he added.

Above: The Madura Pass - the road follows the hills which you can see far off in the distance and provides a breathtaking view of the southern Australian landscape

Ray and Nikki eventually made it to the roadhouse camp site in Eucla, although it took longer than they had planned. "By the time we arrived, it had started to get dark and we tried to avoid driving at this time, because it is when most of the 'roadkills' take place" said Nikki. "We had effectively lost 45 minutes on the way, due to a time zone change, which meant it had got darker earlier" added Ray. "Most of the Kangaroos that come to the road do so after the sun has gone down, as the surface stays warm for a few hours whilst the air rapidly cools. Quite a few of them get killed because they do not have time to move out of the way of vehicles travelling at high speeds" explained Ray.

Above: Ray and Nikki leave the roadhouse site in Eucla at the start of day five - with 2,350 kilometres of their epic drive completed (about 60%). The small town is 12 kilometres from the border with South Australia and 196 kilometres from the treeless plain which is the true 'Nullarbor' section, although the entire journey is often referred to by the same name

It was 'all go' from the start on day five as Ray and Nikki headed towards the Eyre Peninsula to be positioned within easy range of Adelaide. "We had to stop at the state border and hand over all our fruit, which is how the authorities control the migration of insects" said Nikki. "We also had another change in time zones, losing a further 45 minutes off the day as we crossed the border" added Ray. "But before long, we had reached the Great Australian Bight, where the Eyre Highway comes within spitting distance of the south Australian coastline, which is the most scenic part of the entire journey" said a very inspired Nikki.

"The Great Australian Bight stretches for over 1,000 kilometres and is believed to be the longest line of cliffs in the world" said a knowledgable Ray. "The white coloured rock near the base of the cliffs is Wilson Bluff limestone, and it was formed on the sea bed some 38-42 million years ago" he added.

Above: The southern edge of Australia, as seen by Ray and Nikki during their crossing

Below: "It makes me feel rather small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things" says Nikki as she takes it in

Luckily for our two travellers, they spotted 2-3 pods of dolphins in the sea below. "I think they must have been swimming in the warmer waters close to the shore, looking for food" said Ray.

Nikki was really inspired at the sight of these magical creatures jumping in and out of the water in close formation. "It was wonderful seeing them" she said. "The water was so clear that we could make them out easily, even though we were a long way away. I counted 8 or 9 of them in one pod and there were two other groups of about the same size. It made me feel like jumping off the top of the Bight so that I could be in the water and swim with them" she added.

Above: Nikki tries to capture the magical experience of witnessing the dolphins on film

The views out to sea along the Great Australian Bight are so beautiful, travellers can be forgiven for its distraction, which may prevent them from noticing the 'nothingness' of the Nullarbor Plain. For those readers that are interested, the Nullarbor Plain covers a total area of 77,000 square miles and is 720 kilometres wide from east to west. The name comes from the Latin 'Nullus' and 'Arbor' meaning 'no trees'.

The average annual rainfall is just 20 centimetres. Experts believe the plain was created about 25 million years ago when it lifted out of the sea and is one of the largest arid to semi-arid Karst landforms in the world (resulting from the solvent action of water on bedrock). "I am very pleased that we have experienced driving across this vast area, but will not be in a hurry to do it again soon" said Ray.

Above: Ray and Nikki spot an isolated truck on the treeless Nullarbor Plain, which brings some momentary relief from miles and miles of 'nothingness' . If you want to see a short video clip, watch The Long Straight Road

Sitting between the edge of the Nullarbor and Adelaide is the triangular Eyre Peninsula. The main towns are Ceduna, Port Lincoln and Port Augusta. "We knew we did not have enough time to get to the south of the peninsula to see Port Lincoln, so we decided to complete day five at the relaxed seaside town of Smoky Bay, just past Ceduna, and get a good rest, as we still had over 800 kilometres left to cover in the day and a half remaining" said Ray.

Ray and Nikki left Smoky Bay on day six and headed for a visit to the somewhat unusual rock formations at Port Kenny, known as 'Murphy's Haystacks', named after an Irishman born in 1858, called Denis Murphy, from County Limerick, who spotted them on his travels around Australia.

Above: The rocks known as Murphy's Haystacks have a very surreal look about them

I spoke to Ray to find out more about their history. "The origin of these granite rocks, or inselbergs is fascinating" said Ray. "They are made up of pink Hiltaba granite, so named after a sheep station situated some way north-east, and have stood on top of the earth in their present form for nearly 34,000 years" he told me. "This represents an almost immeasurable amount of time in relation to us as humans, but is actually less than 0.002% of the granites estimated lifespan of about 150 million years" added Ray.

For more pictures and information about Murphy's Haystacks, you can visit the Nullarbor website.

Above and below: "It is hard to believe that these rocks are going to be around for millions of years, much longer perhaps than us humans" says Ray as he walks around the 'Haystacks'

There were three further stops for Ray and Nikki as they made their way towards Wilmington, close to the beautiful Mount Remarkable National Park, for the last night of their trip. "The first stop came at the place we discovered was exactly halfway across Australia - a small town called Kimba" said Nikki. "Seeing the sign for Kimba gave us an enormous sense of achievement, as we had come such a long way, and at the same time, gave us a feeling of insignificance as we started to realise how huge the continent of Australia really is" added Ray.

Above: Ray and Nikki reach Kimba - which is situated exactly halfway across the vast continent of Australia

The next stop was at the old mining town of Iron Knob. "If you have seen any old western movies, where someone turns up in a small deserted town and there are a few balls of tumbleweed being blown around by the wind, you will know what our experience was like when we stopped in Iron Knob!" said Nikki. "The place was basically deserted, and we later discovered that all mining there had ended in 1998, so we were not really surprised" she told me.

Above: Ray and Nikki make a brief pit stop in Iron Knob. The first iron ore deposit was discovered here in 1894 and mining came to an end about 100 years later, in 1998

The final pit stop on day six was at the town of Port Augusta, where Ray and Nikki picked up some provisions and fuel. "We were headed for a place called Wilmington, just outside Port Augusta, for two reasons" said Nikki. "Firstly, it would put us within 300 kilometres of Adelaide, which meant we had a nice easy drive on our last day. And secondly, we had the opportunity to do some trekking in Mount Remarkable National Park on our last morning, which was a great way to finish off our trip" added Ray.

Above: To reach Wilmington from Port Augusta, Ray and Nikki had to cross 'Horrocks Pass' - a desolate but strangely beautiful landscape, which changes quite suddenly from being very flat, to very mountaineous

Their final night in the camper van made them reflect on their journey. "We had covered a huge distance in the past few days and had a real mixed bag of experiences, but very few matched sitting outside at night under the canopy of thousands of bright, shining stars filling the sky, as we had on our last night" said Nikki. "And to add icing on the cake, we were joined by a couple of very friendly Possums, hoping to get some food from us, although we were quiet nervous of them to begin with" she added.

On their last day, before setting off for their final destination in Adelaide, there was time for some trekking at Alligator Gorge in Mount Remarkable National Park, close by their camp site at Beautiful Valley. "When we got to the visitor centre, we discovered that there were many treks we could have done if we had more time" said a slightly disappointed Nikki. "But based on our assessment of the journey we still had to do, we thought we would be OK with one of the shorter hikes" she added.

Above: 'The Narrows' - a section of the trail that Ray and Nikki had time to complete in Alligator Gorge, with it's enormous cliffs of ochre and orange rock

Below: Ray and Nikki took this picture as they were leaving Mount Remarkable National Park - we will send a bag of 'Minties', the official chewy sweet of Ray and Nikki's Nullarbor crossing, to the first reader who can spot what is hidden in the picture and email us with the answer!

The run in to Adelaide from Wilmington took Ray and Nikki through some very beautiful countryside, passing through many towns that together form the heart of Adelaide's wine producing regions. "We noticed that the closer we got to Adelaide, the more the feeling of remoteness subsided, as barren plains gave way to vineyards, houses, trees, cars and people" said Nikki.

Above: One of the many vineyards in the Clare Valley, well known for it's Reisling wines

By the time Ray and Nikki had reached Adelaide, they had covered a total distance of 3,764 kilometres since leaving Perth seven days earlier. "We felt very proud that we had chosen to do something like this and come through it with hardly any mishaps" said both of them as I met them on their arrival.

Above: The map shows the site where Ray and Nikki stopped at the end of day five (Smoky Bay) and day six (Wilmington) and their proximity to Adelaide

Below: 'Minties' were selected as the official chewy sweet of Ray and Nikki's Nullarbor crossing - in total, two family size bags were polished off in seven days. We will send a bag of Minties to the first eagle eyed reader who can spot what is hidden in the picture taken by Ray and Nikki as they left Mount Remarkable (two pictures above)

Adelaide started out as a planned capital for South Australia and, in it's design, focused on stone architecture and parkland, making for an elegant city today. "We had made an arrangement to stay in a backpackers hostel in the centre of town, whilst we were on the road" said Nikki. "So, when we arrived, we made our way there" she told me. "Although we were very underwhelmed with it, we decided to stay one more night so that we could spend time during the day to find somewhere better" she explained.

"It was the first backpacker hostel I had ever stayed in, so I did not want to make an early judgement about all hostels being poor" said Ray. "As it turned out, the place we ended up moving to was much better and I could see why people are drawn to the travelling life" he added.

Above: Made it! - Ray and Nikki arrive in the city of Adelaide - which is clean and well organised, unlike the first hostel they stayed in

Below: The Backpack Oz hostel which Ray and Nikki moved to after a couple of days was excellent - they even got picked up with their luggage and dropped off at the airport when they left. "if you need a hostel in Adelaide, head straigh there" said Nikki

Above: Backpack Oz organise a free barbie night every Wednesday for all of their guests. "It was a great way for us to meet some other travellers and exchange stories and useful information" said Ray (far right)

With onward plans to reach Tasmania, Ray and Nikki had set aside a small amount of time for some sight-seeing whilst in the city. "Having spent a couple of days exploring the place, I would have to say we were not that impressed with Adelaide and there was not very much there of interest to us - although we did find an amazing vegetarian restaurant and got some fabulous aerial views of the city from the scenic lookout point at Mount Lofty" said a less than enthusiastic Ray.

Above and below: Nikki and Ray got a great view of Adelaide from the scenic lookout point at Mount Lofty

Editors Note: Thanks Chuck for a brilliant feature, which has really got our year at The Daily Lama off to a great start. In our next issue, we will bring you further covergae of Ray and Nikki's tour 'down under', as they make their first visit to Tasmania.

Above: Nikki at Adelaide airport as her and Ray wait for their flight to Tasmania. Read about how they got on in our next issue!

It's All in the Name

This new feature for 2007 will appear from time to time in The Daily Lama. In some of our issues, we will publish photographs of different places or things that Ray and Nikki have come across on their travels. If the name of the place or thing in the photograph matches with your name, you are invited to send us an email telling us, and we will include your name in a prize draw to be made at the end of the year, in our final issue of 2007! Here is our first collection:

If your name matches any of those in the pictures above, please email us at The Daily Lama office to let us know, and be entered for our prize draw!

AMBER SOLAIRE AND MOZZIE BYTE

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