[RUNNERBUN]

Once again, hello to all. Time to report in again. We have now travelled a total 5576 km / 3456 miles and are now camped at the City of Albany which is only 380 km /240 miles from Busselton which is our destination for the Model A Ford National Meet. Unfortunately I have some good news and some bad news. Firstly the good news, both the the Model A's are performing well and still going strong and trouble free with only normal servicing along the way.
Unfortunately the Chevrolet will be arriving here at Albany on the back of a truck having suffered a bearing failure on number 3 connecting rod. The rod ran dry due to an unusual problem. The oil dipper on the end of the con rod is unlike that of the Model A which has the dipper built integral with the Rod cap. The oil dipper on the Chev is made from thin steel which is clamped in place using the two big end bolts. The dipper cracked and was dislodged. No dipper, no oil, no lubrication for the big end equals bearing failure. He will be staying on here at Albany where he should be able to have it repaired. Fortunately Albany has a strong vintage car following and he will get the required help. He will join up with us again after the meet at Busselton.
My last report was from Norseman where we had a scheduled rest day. On leaving Norseman we headed north and had a quick visit to Coolgardie before continuing on to Kalgoorlie where we did a bus tour through the Super Pit Mine. The Super pit mine is one of the largest gold mines in the world and produces over 850,000 ounces of gold each year. Look closely at the picture of the mine and at the centre top of the picture you will see some vehicles on the roadway. They huge trucks that weigh approximately 500 tons fully loaded which will give you some idea as to the size of this hole in the ground. The mine is now an open cut mine but in the past was all underground mining and the ground is full of mining shafts, so many that if you put them all end to end they would be about 1500 miles in length. The amount of material they shift now is unbelievable. A clue the wealth that this area has created is on show in the centre of the city at the top of the clock tower (see picture) That dome is covered in 24 carat pure gold.
From Kalgoorlie we travelled south again to Esperance which is a beautiful sea side township on the south coast. from Esperance we turned west again and on to Ravensthorpe. West Australia is renowned for it's wildflowers at this time of the year and the small township of Ravensthorpe celebrate the Wild Flower season with a two week festival which we were very fortunate to be there at the right time. On display were over 600 varieties of wild flowers. The variety and colours were absolutely spectacular.
Since the last report the weather has been perfect for driving with clear, dry and cool days. However the nights have certainly been too cold for us coming from the tropics.
The National Meet commences on Sunday 21st and with only 240 miles to go we will have a couple of spare days to play tourists and take in some of the many attractions this area has to offer.
My next report will be from th National Meet at Busselton if all continues going to plan, until then cheers to all.

Pics.
1 Tailings at the Norseman gold mine (Norseman produces 100,000 ounces p/y
2 corragated Iron sculptures at Norseman
3 Mining registry & Courthouse at Coolgardie
4 What happens when you get run over by a 500 ton truck
5 Super pit Mine at Kalgoorlie
6 Clock tower dome covered in 24 carat gold.
7 Beachside at Esperance
8,9,10 Wild flowers of West Australia
11 Bush Camping