19th July: left Norseman after filling up with water and fuel and headed for Balladonia, travelling once more through the Great Western Woodlands, which occupy 16 million hectares, and contain as many as 3500 plant species. It consists of mallee scrubland grassland and woodlands, over flattish country with salt lands. The Woodlands contain 20% of eucalypt types in Australia - including in particular gimlet guns and salmon gums and also mulga acacias and corymbias and casurinas . It is an amazing experience to drive through such a large area of this woodland going on for mile after mile. Most of the trees looked quite young, with evidence of controlled indigenous burning over many areas.

We reached Balladonia and played our Nullarbor links hole- hitting off mounds of dirt into patches of scrub with medium sized trees blocking a clear path to the hole- a 175meter par 3 which Nic coped with but which defeated me with lost balls caught in shrubbery! 

We travelled another 50km to the Woorlba 24 hour rest area where we set up for the night, using Starlink to watch the Tasmanian election- a predictable result of yet another minority govt- probably Liberal having to compromise with a disparate collection of greens and independents.

Pesto for dinner.

Straight road to Balladonia

Flag in direction of large tree to be navigated!