It wasn't far from Yulara to the WA border and a good part of it was bitumen. The road to WA takes you past Kata Tjuta, so we had one last look at this range as we left and got some great photos.

WA's agriculture rules prevent people bringing fresh fruit and veg into the state, so we had consumed most of what we had and had given away some more, we had however saved enough to have lunch before we crossed into WA. We had chosen Lasseter's Cave to stop at for lunch.

This cave is where Lewis Lasseter sheltered for 25 days in January 1931 while trying to refined the reef of gold he had supposedly found in 1897. He died trying to get to Kata Tjuta after leaving the shelter of this cave. People have been trying ever since to find the elusive 'Lasseter's Reef' of gold.

After lunch we continued on to the border where we expected to be checked for fruit and veg along with our pass to reenter the state. But when we arrived there was nothing other than a few signs telling us we had arrived in WA and a quarantine sign saying there were bins to deposit our fruit and veg into at Laverton, some 860Ks away.

On the information we had regarding our pass to enter WA, we were told we had to present ourselves at the nearest Police Station, this would be at Warakurna where we had wanted to call in to see the Giles Meteorological Centre, the most remote weather station in Australia.

When we arrived at the turn off to Warakurna there was a sign saying the road was closed. We suspected that this was because it is an aboriginal community and most, if not all, communities are closed due to Covid. So we kept going, but at the next turn off to Warakurna there was nothing saying it was closed and the sign pointed to Giles, so we thought maybe it went around the community to get to the weather station.

It didn't, we finished up in Warakurna. So we found the Police Station, but there was no one in attendance, so we went to the roadhouse to find out how to get to Giles. The attendant told us that Giles was closed because you needed to go through the community to get to the weather station, he also mentioned that the Police had put up a notice asking people from NT to call them and that just yesterday they had sent a man back to NT. We didn't like the sound of that prospect and decided to continue on as if we had never called in.

Further down the road though Julie pointed out that we had scanned in on the Covid register back at the roadhouse. So at our next stop where we had phone service we stopped and called the health department to see what was going on. They told me to email the Police Covid department advising them of our arrival, which we did. Next time we had service we had received a reply saying to present at the next Police Station. This was Warburton, another community, and again the station was unattended.

Since crossing the border into WA the road had been one of the best dirt roads we had driven on and there was very little traffic, we averaged about ten cars a day. We also enjoyed a dramatic and changing scenery and a couple of lovely campsites, which we had to ourselves. It was a welcome change from what we had experienced in the top of WA and in the NT.

Our last night on the Great Central Road was about 60Ks out of Laverton at a place called Giles Breakaways. A lovely spot under some trees on top of the breakaways with a view out over the valley/planes that stretch out to the east. It is also where the dirt runs out and the bitumen starts.

In the morning we had a nice smooth and dust free run into Laverton. On the way we did stop in at the quarantine bin to deposit our apple cores. In Laverton we called in at the Police Station and got scanned in and cleared to travel in WA. We also picked up fuel as we had only put in a little at Warburton, it was $2.55 a litre!! The most expensive we had paid anywhere.

After leaving Laverton we called in to Kookynie, a living ghost town, to have lunch. We also checked out what is left of this once thriving gold town. The pub that was built back in 1900 is probably the only building that is left that could be considered original and it is now up for sale.

Then it was on to Niagara Dam. This dam was built back in 1897 and they had to use camel trains to bring the cement and other materials from the rail-head in Kalgoorlie, some 190Ks away.

This night we stopped at Rowles Lagoon Conservation Reserve, a freshwater lake in the middle of nowhere. It was lovely.

Our last night was spent at Victoria Rock not far out of Coolgardie where we had stoped for fuel and lunch, along with some fresh fruit and veg.

After a very cold night, again. (The nights had been getting colder ever since we left Yulara and everyday and night had been windy) We were glad knowing this would be our last night out, tonight we would be back in Lake Grace and in a warm house and bed.

It had once again been a very interesting and enjoyable adventure in Australia. We had again seen some amazing sights and met some 'interesting' people. We are looking forward to what next year brings us.