New Norcia

Tuesday 20^th September

From Jurien Bay the most direct route to Perth follows the coast, but we decided to take a bit of a detour inland to visit the small town of New Norcia.  Geoff and Sheena had told us that the town was a Monastic Community built by Benedictine Monks in 1846, and was well worth a visit.   

From Jurien Bay we headed inland to the Brand Highway, then  headed south for about 20km before heading east again towards the Great Northern Highway which is the main inland route south from Port Hedland, down through Newman and Meekatharra to Perth. 

We drove through some of the most beautiful country side we have seen so far.  Lots of purple and yellow wildflowers, and low rolling hills dotted with trees and more huge paddocks of wheat, lupin, and other grain crops.  There was also a lot of bird life including Black Cockatoos, Corellas, Ibis, and Galahs, as well as the odd Kangaroo or two.

Once we hit the Great Northern Highway we started meeting lots of huge trucks, most of them carrying oversize loads, all heading north towards the mining areas up near Newman. For most of them we just had to slow down and pull well to the left hand side of the road, but the driver of one pilot vehicle waved a big stop sign out of his window, and was flagging us well off the road. 

Luckily there was plenty of room to pull over as when the truck following him came over the hill, it took up the whole road.  Its load was a massive brand new loader, and if you look closely at the photo you can see its wheel hubs overhanging the sides of the trucks trailer.  The truck following was carrying the wheels, and they were a load in themselves.

As we approached New Norcia we suddenly got a glimpse of the huge Monastery through the trees.  It was quite impressive to see this huge building suddenly appearing out of the countryside.  Besides the Monastery there is a Convent, Church, and numerous other associated buildings.  New Norcia is the only Monastic Community in Australia.

We had lunch and then went for a walk around the buildings.  Very impressive, but the whole place was a bit run down and starting to show signs of neglect.  The Benedictine Monks are a sector of the Catholic Church, and the whole town is registered with the National Trust.  

Apparently a few monks still live there and you can stay there if you are looking for a refuge where you can find some peace and quiet.

From New Norcia we continued south towards Perth on the Main South Highway, until we hit the outskirts of Perth, where Nancy took over and guided us to our motor camp at Mundaring in the hills in the eastern suburbs of the City.