Penelope Goes West

In December and January 1997/98, Tim Bowden and his wife took off for two months to the Eyre Peninsular following the route that Eyre took in 1840/41 and the area covered by Flinders' 1802 journey of discovery. Here he recounts his meetings with interesting, strange and even loony characters.

---

Tim Bowden loves travelling and camping and has a great interest in Australian history. So, when he decided to take off to Western Australia with his wife Ros and their newly acquired camping trailer and four-wheel-drive (named Penelope as to travel in her was to be truly to the Manor Born), it was only natural that their journey would be just as much about history as the travails and joys of the gypsy life. Crossing the Nullarbor Plain on roughly the same track taken by the courageous young explorer Edward John Eyre, and following the coast in the wake of the admirable Matthew Flinders, Tim kept a diary of his and Ros's two-month journey. The result is an engrossing travel tale that takes you from Sydney to the far southwest of Western Australia and back. Told with Tim Bowden's wry humour and love of a good yarn, Penelope Goes West brings vividly to life the dramatic stories of pioneer explorers, tales of bush life today and the many ups (and occasional down) of life on the road.