Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th, 2024

Yesterday we drove to Leonora for shopping, getting water and fuel and dumping our toilet. We could have driven to Laverton afterwards, but my efforts to contact the Laverton Caravan Park by phone or email were unsuccessful. So we decided to camp somewhere on the way to Laverton. All Hands Well Rest Area is a silly name for a beautiful place. We found a lake, which extended on both sides of the road, with lots of birdlife including a swan nesting pair. There was a short walk which we enjoyed in the late afternoon before sunset.

This morning we went to the Visitor Centre in Laverton, which proved very fruitful. We now have our Great Central Road map and a journal to record our trip which includes HEMA maps and lots of information.

The Visitor Centre had a little museum with a 15 minute history movie and then information about people, places and the mining industry. Very interesting.

There was a cold wind this morning and we enjoyed our time at the Visitor Centre in the warmth. We went out to get sandwiches which we were allowed to bring back to Centre. As well, staff there organised our permits for the WA and NT sections of the road. They were friendly and very helpful.

There was a dump point and potable water tap in the car park behind the centre and a combined service station and grocery shop a couple of streets away. Having emptied and filled, including filling up with fuel again, we were on our way to the Giles Breakaway Rest Area, about 50 kms from Laverton.

The positive Wikicamps reviews were absolutely right, it is beautiful here. We arrrived here at about 3.00 p.m. We had a cup of tea and a rest before going for a walk before sunset.

As you can see, it is much easier to get a sense of the landscape when you have an overview like this. The campsite at All Hands Well was equally becautiful, but you had to be there to appreciate it.

In answer to the question in the heading is both yes and no. We are on the GCR, but have not yet entered Aboriginal Lands where we need the permits. According to others on the GCR Facebook page no one ever looks at the permits, but we have them because it means we are officially registered and can legally pass through these lands.

It’s exciting to finally be on the GCR after all of our planning. So far the road is bitumenised, but we should be starting on the gravel section tomorrow. There has been just a little rain further along in the last couple of days. It is obvious that there has been heavy rain in this area, with lots of puddles, but people are reporting that the road is dusty, so it must be reasonably dry.

We are back to using the Starlink for our internet. Although both campsites had a little bit of a Telstra signal, it wasn’t enough for normal internet. We’ve been able to find excellent locations free of obstructions and it logs on within minutes of being switched on. It was useful to get our WA permit via email, but, of course, it’s more that we love to have the internet.

We had one other possible fellow camper last night, someone in a car parked a long way away. Tonight, although there are lots of campsites around the breakaway, we have a couple of campers quite near to us. They came in after dark and this is the first camping section, which probably made it easier for them. Anyway, it makes us feel a bit safer to have other people here.