Halls Gap - The Grampians

We arrived yesterday in Halls Gap to a balmy 8 degrees!  To top it all off it was pouring with rain and blowing a gale.  I can handle cold, wind or rain but not all three at once!  We drove through Horsham and I saw a Jayco dealer and I said to Jason "Let's trade the camper in for a caravan".  He thought I was funny but I wasn't joking!

We woke up this morning with more rain but it was more like a drizzle.  It didn't stop us from venturing out so we all rugged up and off we went.

We visited Mackenzie Falls, Reed Lookout, The Balconies and Boroka Lookout.  It really is a beautiful place, despite the weather.  We also went for a drive to Lake Bellfield and walked across the dam wall.

The sun decided to make an appearance this afternoon so the boys were happy to ride their bikes and play in the games room.  A whole heap of kids arrived this afternoon (I guess because it is a Friday) so the boys were stoked they had other kids to play with.  The resident emu also made an appearance.  He is a bit too friendly for my liking!

An early dinner for us tonight as we successfully tired the boys out with all the walking we did today.  Jase and I like it when the boys go to bed early so we can enjoy a few drinks.  It's the small things....

We are leaving tomorrow to start our journey along the Great Ocean Road.  Only small trips for the next week as we don't have to be in Melbourne until Friday 7th September to catch the Spirt Of Tasmania to Devonport.

Nat

Naracoorte

We left Adelaide yesterday and we were all a little grumpy.  The kids were grumpy because we were leaving a nice warm house, toys and a tv, Jason was grumpy because we were heading east towards home and I was grumpy because we weren’t at home yet!

We decided to head to Naracoorte to see the caves and fossils as recommended by Kim and Trudi.  On our way we did a bit of a quick side trip past Christies Beach where I lived before my family moved to Queensland.  I remember the park next door and the big cliffs (although they both looked a lot larger when I was 5!) but it was still good to go down memory lane.

Onto Naracoorte and we managed to find the Retra-Vision store to swap our heater over that decided to stop working when we were at Ayres Rock and the boys found the local McDonalds playground.

It rained most of the night but we woke up and the sun was shining.  We headed to the Naracoorte Caves.  We did a short tour through Alexandra Cave and saw the stalactites and stalagmites.  They also have the Wonambi Fossil Centre here and we had a walk through the interactive centre with life size models of extinct animals.  The boys loved it!  It was very well done and worth a visit.

The weather certainly hasn’t been in our favour lately and in true form it rained most of the afternoon.  It did give us some much needed “down time” so it was a great excuse to do nothing. 

Heading to Victoria tomorrow to visit The Grampians.  It certainly does feel like our trip is coming to an end far too quickly!

Nat

 

 

 

Jason's 40 now...

Dusty birthday Monday arrived & I remembered that red wine doesn't work too well on the recovery process. The boys wanted to climb all over me to give me my present with hugs and kisses which was great, although they seemed much heavier today...

Kim even offered bacon & eggs for breakfast to which we declined, they have done too much already. Plus, jokingly, there was mention of how much our two boys can eat & the fridge was looking VERY bare. Mental note, replace all food the boy vultures ate yesterday.

The boys wanted to go on a tram ride so Kim guided us on the best place to catch one & where  to go in town to see a few things. We went & grabbed Sue & Dale, then had a look around town.

They sure do like their churches, statues & history here & it was as interesting as it gets given the way we were feeling, but you can't not do things just because you are hungover...

Adelaide oval is being revamped, the entire ground is under excavation so that was disappointing, but there was plenty else to see anyway.

After getting Sue & Dale back to the airport, we got back to the house to find roast chook in the oven!!! There was even Black Forest cake with some candles that Ziah had grabbed earlier in the day, special pink ones!!! Very cool.

Another beautiful meal with good company & while I sensed that everyone (particularly Nat) wanted to make sure it was a special day for me and may have thought given we are not at home it wasn't,  the truth is I couldn't have planned for a better couple of days & I really enjoyed it.

So thank you.

Our hosts have certainly made our stay a special one and we appreciate it immensely. The offer was there to stay longer and to be honest it saddens us a little to be leaving, we get on very well and the kids are great together. Ziah certainly learnt what it would be like to have 2 bigger brothers!!!

Some well deserved sleep awaits tonight......

Jase

 

 

McLaren Vale Wine Tour

Sunday 10:00am David - who by the end of the day was Davo, picked us up in the black Caprice for our tour. The sun was out and all things were pointing toward a big session ahead.

I could go on for hours about how good this day out was, where we went, what we drank, bought or ate, but in summary the idea of privately guided tours is a great way to see different regions, taste bucket loads of wines, learn lots about them if you are not schooled on the process (like us) & generally get plastered with a suited up driver taking you to the best places around!!!

We had about an hour in each winery, a beautiful Italian lunch, a local brewery visit to finish and by 5pm we were back in Glenelg very inebriated.....although motivated for more - namely brown liquor.

Normally I could see the sunrise, but now that I was 1 day off 40, I showed a much greater level of responsibility by being home at 8:30 (pm that is) after Dale (China eyes) was asked to leave the local and there was nobody to carry on with....:) A beaut day out and we couldn't have spent it in a better way. It gets a bit patchy after 3:00pm but a sequence of photos on Dale's phone tell a humorous chain of events after getting dropped off.

Thanks sis & Poichass for making the trip down, it meant a lot & we had a ball.

Jase

Adelaide - Day 2

Saturday presented cool showery weather, although this didn't deter Trudi, Nat & I going for a run along the beach with coffee afterward. As usual Mr Mom (Kim) looked after the 3 kids because I think quietly he enjoys it...

It was good to stretch the legs and Henley Beach is a very nice beachside suburb, in summer it would be a busy little Mecca.

A friend (Matthew) was coincidentally racing in a national cross country meet in The Adelaide Hills, so we went up and offered some support. We  had this area on our itinerary so 2birds-1stone. He raced well although I am sure he wanted better given the high standards he places upon himself. Well done and congrats on just being there mate.

A little German-themed town called Hahndorf is centrally located in the Hills and a must visit. Deciduous tree lined streets abound with their limbs creating a canopy effect which is pretty hard to find where we come from.

There are lots of shops along the street offering all sorts of things German, but we gravitated to the pastry & cheese shops where we managed to lighten the pockets a bit. We are suckers for French Vanilla Slices & decent cheeses. A great little place recommended by Kim as one of the better haunts in the Hills.

Sue & Dale rolled in at 2:35pm. We got them checked in and ate some of the Hahndorf gear we'd just purchased, coupled with a couple of frothies of course. Kim & Trudi had dinner booked at an infamous Greek restaurant so we made our way back to organise the boys and ready them for the babysitter. Upon getting down to the car there was a parking inspector who had just fined me for parking in the wrong spot  (we didn't even check signage when we arrived) Just what I need I thought......

I gave him one of my more creative stories and to cut a long story short, I charmed him enough for him to say "take the ticket off your window and I will void it." I then said "here I was thinking all parking detectives didn't have hearts....well done mate you are a champion"  I almost got a smile and tossed up whether a high five was appropriate but chose not to.  Nat just shook her head customarily and said "I cant believe it, you are bloody amazing!!!"

Zucca was the restaurant we went to for dinner - and it didn't disappoint. Great food and service,  reasonably priced - no wonder it's a favourite with many in Adelaide. Kim & Trudi had the chance to meet Sue & Dale also which was good. It's hard not to like them & as always they fit in perfectly so the 6 of us had a great time with some funny stories told over the course of the night. A great time!

We had to be home reasonably early because we had the sitters watching the kids and we wanted to save ourselves for the winery tour Sunday, so although glowing a little we managed to put our heads down by 11. The kids were spending a day without us tomorrow so we wanted to make sure they weren't too feral. 

Jase

 

 

The people you meet - Adelaide

I am not sure if we have spoken about this in any previous posts, but whilst we were at Mt Elizabeth Station in the Kimberley, we had the pleasure of meeting a family from Adelaide, Kim, Trudi & their daughter Ziah, a little cracker that Zander took to like a Maverick poo does to his undies.....(we are glad that phase is just about over)  They love kids and just adored the boys, plus it was a release for them (& us) for the kids to amuse themselves.

They were headed the same way and we met them at different camps, and also spent a night in Broome at Zander's restaurant after seeing the magic sunset with some wines, cheese and bikkies.

They insisted we stay with them when we got to Adelaide for my birthday. Nat and Trudi kept in touch & today we marched the final 430klms south and arrived. Zander said he couldn't wait to stay in a real house & play Ziah's iPad games... 

Candlelit home made delicious pies with a funky tomato salsa, a local Cab Sav, chocolate pudding and ice cream for dessert, and some great conversation was what awaited us. How good is that!

The boys played with Ziah, had a bath, watched telly & basically had a blast. It was almost 10.30pm when we realized they were still up.....that usually means tears at some stage tomorrow.....but that's okay, we all need a late night now and again.

The trailer is parked up in the driveway, we have taken over the games room, the washing machine will get a workout tomorrow and I might just leave a little red dust reminder for them on the driveway after washing the car.....(it's a Kimberley thing, you will understand when you get there) At no stage have we, or will we feel like there is any imposition, they are the highest calibre of people. 

As an example, they have booked their favourite restaurant for all of us tomorrow night while their god daughter will watch the kids, on Sunday they insisted on watching the boys all day while we tour the Barossa & Mclaren Vale wineries with Sue & Dale who are arriving tomorrow, and on Monday they want to push us out the door again so Nat & I can enjoy a meal on my birthday together! 

 

This looks like it will be a great few days in Adelaide courtesy of meeting like minded people in one of the most remote places on earth. 

Brilliant.....

Jase

The gods are on our side!

This morning first thing on the agenda was to arrange the repairs. I got on to King Springs and he arranged the part under warranty to be sent to Adelaide, the best bet for me was to see if the guy in Hawker could patch me up well enough to limp into Adelaide so I could be there Friday.

Once again I take my hat off to country folk. Nothing is a drama, there truly are still good people around & I have had a good look at myself on this trip in regard to a few things I can do a bit better in future.  

Chris (mechanic) had a look, took it off & welded it all back together. He felt that it will last me the life of the shock and only charged me $95 labour. I couldn't be happier. A good chat about life in Hawker, coffee, and I was on my way!

Ironically he is the agent for Star Track also, as I saw all of the freight on the floor. I said, "Chris, you do deliveries too mate?" he replied "yep, (thinking I was referring to possible delivery of the replacement shock absorber) do it all mate, but Star Track are unreliable, I wouldn't use them. If you need your part up here quickly then use Northern Cope.." I smiled and let it be, I wasn't at work and didn't care!

It was late morning by now so we still didn't get a chance to do the self drive, but we were able to go and have a look at a few places available to AWD vehicles and this was still fantastic.

There is so much history through this area, plenty of ruins of old homesteads that each tell a different story of life in the mid to late 1800's. The boys are only interested in wildlife, sticks and stones and getting the Prado on a bit of a lean (or bogged) so old decrepit houses don't  press their buttons, but Nat & I have come to appreciate these things. The same can be said with how current people on the land live and the daily battles they face after meeting many cattle, sheep & wheat farmers in parks and pubs.

Anyway, we will hitch up tonight and head for Trudi & Kim's house in Henley Beach Adelaide for 5 days in a home....with a washing machine, TV, heater, real food........Nat is not looking forward to it at all!

Jase

 

 

 

 

Busted Shock

I really wish we'd stayed at Wilpena Pound now....not that it would have changed the course of these events....

In Coffin Bay a week or so ago I noticed a rattle in the casing that protects the shaft of the shock absorber on the right rear. I looked at it and thought it might be the tac weld that holds it in place, but after taking it to a suspension dude in Port Lincoln he said that was not the case & that the only thing that might be making it happen could be it that it looks like a stone had hit the shaft and bent it. Not much he could do.

It definitely looks like a rock has hit it, but to look at it you wouldn't think it could result in that much noise. After getting much reassurance from the guy in Port Lincoln, even  after I told him I was doing Flinders Ranges etc, we set off. Perhaps 700kms down the Oodnadatta mightn't have been the smartest decision, but no regrets here....

I have been checking it every time I get out and it has been okay, no sign of leakage, just the casing rattling against the shaft. All good.

Well today I checked it and the photo tells the story....

Its messy but if thats all I need to worry about then I guess we are going okay.

It is however a pain that we don't have phone service at Rawnsley... Which I did at Wilpena...which makes it harder to recover. I now need King Springs to supply the part, have it freighted to a remote area and then have it repaired. The trouble is that I don't know a reputable freight company to get it here efficiently.  

I had my heart set on the self drive 4x4 track through the station which takes you to the best vantage points in the Ranges, now tomorrow I will be arranging freight and mechanical repairs. I think I could easily replace a rear shock, but it's just as easy to have someone do it in Hawker 30k south of here.

We have commitments in Adelaide Friday, (today is Wednesday) with family coming down for my "coming of age" birthday, so I really hope this doesn't put a spanner in the works!

FYI, The dunnies do have soap in them, and the views from the campsite are spectacular, but in terms of ability to communicate, a little harder here than at Wilpena.

The sat phone will get some use tomorrow.

Jase....bourboned out......

 

Rawnsley Park Station - Flinders Ranges

We woke up today and packed up quickly given we didn't unhitch last night. The decision was to do a couple of walks and move on to Rawnsley Park Station only 30k down the road but everybody raves about it...Nat was happy to stay, it was a nice campground but there was no handsoap in the abolition block and that irritates me when you pay good money.

We walked 4kms to Hills Homestead and then on to Wongara Lookout which was 720m in altitude. Add 865m at Uluru and we have done some mountain climbing in the last 3 days.

Breathtaking views, this place certainly lives up to all expectation. Some interesting historical detail about the homestead, who lived there, what they did to make a dollar and what happened to them. You will have to find out what when you come here but it is an interesting read.

Mav was blowing up and didn't want to walk anymore so we caught the shuttle bus back to the Visitor Centre and moved on to Rawnsley Park Station.

We should have stayed where we were, whilst it is a Top Tourist and cheaper, it is more exposed and blowing a gale today. Not as much shade as where we were and noisier. Oh well, I should have listened to Nat...& I bet there is no soap in the dunny here too!

On the upside we will have an afternoon of rest, do the self 4wd track tomorrow through the station which is $45 but takes in some magic views, then in the afternoon we plan to hire bikes and go for a family ride.

I have all of the firewood chopped and ready to go with the help of my boys, stubbie in hand and dips and chips on hand. Doesn't get any better and we don't know how we will go back to work...

Jase

 

 

 

Flinders Ranges - Wilpena Pound

Along the last section of the dirt road, there was much to see. The ruins continued, as did the Ghan train line, but we also came across things like the "Dog fence" which runs for thousands of klms to keep the dingoes out of properties. This was cool and the boys talked about it for a while until we saw an old Ghan carriage, a robot made out of engine bits, two small planes upended in the ground, and another structure that we couldn't work out. We didn't drive in and read the details about what it was, as we had lost a bit of time already stopping, so we got some pictures and kept moving on. For an outback track, things like this certainly keep you interested.

Once on the road again we went through Leigh Creek which is a coal mining town much like Tieri in Central Qld. They move 10,000 tonnes per day into Port Augusta and the coal from this open cut mine supplies 40% of SA's power needs. It was pretty big. The boys go crazy when they see mines now....

Into the Flinders Ranges after lunch bound for Wilpena Pound. Without knowing it we came in from the west and did the main 65k drive track through the National Park. Beautiful scenery right the way along and many photo opportunities taken, albeit overcast and a bit spitty.

When we checked in at Wilpena, they showed me the map and we realised we could have been here sooner coming another way, but we'd nailed the big drive anyway.

No powered sites because the FJ Cruiser car club were there. There was about 30 of them all numbered and all looked quite cool. They call them the budget Prados because they have the same running gear as Prados, just not the bells and whistles but they looked great and I like them.

We settled for unpowered which was OK with the option for a powered site tomorrow. I said to Nat let's do some walks in the morning and perhaps move on somewhere else given we had seen much of the park on the way in.

Pressure off now, we have 4 days to get to Adelaide for a 4-5 day stop, so whilst it has been a big week we don't regret it one bit.

Jase.....

 

Oodnadatta Track - William Creek

After 500km on the blacktop we found ourselves on an unsealed red dusty road, but an iconic one at that.

We passed through the Pink Roadhouse which was cool & we stopped for a look around & something to eat. It still amazes us how people live in these remote areas.

The old Ghan Railway line used to weave its way along this track and there is still parts of it standing. The steel has gone but the mounds and bridges can be seen.

Every 16k there are cottage ruins where people used to live when they built the line, they run for hundreds of klms. These are quite interesting also but it's hard to create a picture for the boys in terms of how these people must have lived. Great all the same.

880km from Uluru and we pulled in at William Creek. They call this the gateway to Lake Ayre & the pub is legendary too. In by 6pm, set up and fed by 7pm, in bed by 7:15pm....not before I snuck over to the pub for a couple of frothies mind you....

Once again, the pub was staffed with international backpackers. Much like The Blue Heeler & Daly Waters pubs, the walls are littered with paraphernalia, this time business cards and hats. Great stuff and very cool.

In the small world we live in I met some guys from Logan River who were off to the Simpson before going to the Birdsville Races. Nice guys and we had a good chat about the places around but they tended to skite about the places they'd been & what they'd done. I didn't say too much until we got on the subject of tyres, one of them had blown 2 tyres at $400 a pop over 1000k's and he told me don't buy Coopers. Well that'll do me!!! My Coopers are sensational.

I told them I had done 22,000 in the last 4 months over some of the hardest country you will ever see, and didn't baby them by any means (Nat will attest to that) and I haven't had a problem....no chipping, side walls perfect, just bloody great. He asked me what pressures I run and I told them the different ranges for the different terrain & he looked bamboozled... The silly bugger runs them at 40-45psi everywhere!!!! I guess he is made of money... For someone who has been everywhere and done everything, he doesn't know much about tyres....

All good and they were great characters, a big part of this journey has been meeting people like these.

Off to bed and 500 odd klm to Flinders Ranges tomorrow.

Jase.......

 

Uluru

This morning it took some convincing and a couple of swear words to get Nat out of bed for the sunrise at Uluru, but aren't we glad we did it!!!

Although it was 4 degrees, it was magical ..... Absolutely brilliant. Not a cloud in the sky and the colour show was everything we have been told about.

We made our way back to camp and as promised, I made bacon and scrambled eggs for the family which was the needed bribe to get them out of bed earlier.

I serviced the Prado, we went for a look around the shops & resort and then we decided to head back out to the rock and try to climb it around lunch. On the reluctant advice of the guy at reception after probing him, he said that if the wind died down they might open it.

To cut a long story short, they don't want you climbing it and do everything they can to discourage you, but the choice is yours. All the signs say the rock climb is closed, but they are obliged to open it if it is safe enough. The 3 days prior it was closed due to wind, so I wasn't hopeful but we ventured out for a look anyway with the idea of doing the 10k base walk and then cultural centre.

As we pulled in we saw 2 guys heading up so I thought this I'd my lucky dag and off I went!!  Words can't describe how great this was. I absolutely loved it. It's not for the faint hearted and took every minute of the 1.5hrs, but what a magical place to be.

Once at the top I met the 2 guys who were from New York and we had a good chat and took photos for each other. It was seriously like we had the rock to ourselves. They told me that the lady had just opened the gate as they pulled in so they came up, and I was shortly after. To give you an idea, on the decent I think I passed 80 people so to have the entire summit to myself and a couple of gay New Yorkers was just right place right time....legendary stuff.

The family were happy to see me safe and sound at the bottom after they did the shortened base walk, then we did ice creams and the cultural centre which was cool.  

It was easier to get Nat out for sunset at the rock after she had a few wines, and again, spectacular. We think we liked the sunset better, although you must do both. Pictures just don't do it.

There are a strong international contingent out here, and they are pushy bastards. I literally had the boys lined up for a photo in front of the rock at its reddest when these (I think Italians) just barged in and took the space. Then she took off her hat and started combing her hair, then they wanted to rearrange their position, all the while the rock is going blacker...Nat was squeezing my hand to make sure I didn't say anything and in the end I just said "Hey, I want a photo with my sons, please move"

Even then the rude pricks didn't move so I as good as barged myself in and got a shot. Unbelievable.....it was the same at sunrise also....

To summarise my babbling on, it is a must do destination. For once I accepted the crowdedness (aside from rudeness) because this is an Aussie Icon, and every Australian/or person should experience it. The boys will remember this for their entire lives.

I think I rate it better than Bungle Bungles, but each are amazing in their own right. Either way, you must see both.  

To think this was a last minute trip of 1700klm one way because we had a spare few days. We don't know why it wasn't on our original itinerary. The weather gods were on our side too, it had been cloudy the week prior, but Sunday was perfect for us, then tomorrow is forecast cloudy again. Right time right place.

You certainly could stay here a week or more, there is Kings Canyon, Mt Connor and Kata Tjuta that are close, and numerous things to do around the resort. 2 days was enough for us but it would have been nice to stay longer.

Now we get to do the Oodnadatta Track on our way to The Flinders Ranges. Zander  calls of the Nude-Na-Datta track....again, we would have missed this also.

Another couple of big days in the saddle before Adelaide and my 40th birthday. All good in the centre of Oz.

 

Jase....

 

Uluru - Look, the big rock Mummy & Daddy!

Coober Pedy is a small Opal Mining town. It reminds me of a large Rubyvale/Anakie & the gem fields of Central QLD. Heaps of people out here that can mine for opals and make a living out of it.

Unfortunately we didn't have time to look through the opal stores or houses underground, but we might stop in on the way back if we don't attack the Oodnadatta Track on our way toward the Flinders Ranges. There really isn't much else to see there unless you have the time and how to mine opals interests you.

In speaking with a couple of locals last night, it seems they love living in the hottest place in Oz that pretty much consists of one street.  Hats off to them. If there weren't people like that, the outback wouldn't have the backbone that it does. Friendly, accommodating happy people that are great to talk to.

735klm lay ahead of us today, it was nice to wake up, shower, have our weetbix and  just walk to the car and go.

There is a large number of cattle road kill along the Stuart Highway, more so than anywhere we have seen. The boys try to be the first to spot and identify it. Over our time we have seen cattle, kangaroos, wombats, wild pigs, emus, sheep, snakes and one camel. Whilst they have seen all these animals living along the journey, it is a great learning experiencing seeing this and relating it to road awareness.

Zander was the first to spot it...the big rock that is... Well Mum did actually but we let him take the honors. Every time it went behind a hill & Maverick spotted if again he took the honors... Pretty exciting seeing it for the first time and the looks on the boys faces make the drive well worthwhile.

You can see it from about 47k away but that is by road, not sure how far it would be in a straight line with the human eye.

This campground is obviously well catered. The resort handles all types of accommodation and it is reasonably priced and clean.

We set up and dried the trailer & all of the awning after the rain in Coffin Bay, organized everything and sat down for a beer to watch the sunset from the campsite - which is about 16k away. The boys made new friends, Mav took his customary tumble on his bike and we had an early dinner then bed.

Tomorrow we plan to go out there for sunrise, maybe climb it & do the base walk.

Looks like it will be a perfect day weather wise also so we think it was meant to be.

 

Jase

Coober Pedy - BIG day!

We rose early and were on road at 6:50am after packing up in the cold rain & wind of Coffin Bay. Today we travelled 930klm with a 5 & 3 year old. Surprisingly & as we have come to expect, there were no dramas. They really do travel in the car well. We think we have the right mix now....

1st stop @ 2.5hrs, no movies just chatting and maybe a kids audio book. They get 1 x movie up to lunch or another 2.5hr section so it occupies them for an hour and a bit. They seem to amuse themselves well after that with cars and dinosaurs.....

A normal "long" day would have us in camp set up, but not across the Nullarbor or going up the middle to Uluru. The next 2.5hr stint Dad sits in the back and reads with them, plays stickers and silly Dad games....they seem to love this more than anything, not sure who more, me or them!!!

Today on the last leg they got to watch another movie, so they were 'Happy as Larry.'  Making movies a real privilege has been the best thing we ever did. They still have no DS or can play 'phone games' due to a couple of tanties after Perth, but on this environment they certainly learn fast when you introduce structure & consequences of bad behavior. No different to home but it is a different world on the road and hard to get the right mix.

I said to Nat let's push on to Coober Pedy and get a deluxe cabin at the Big 4, just park up, get pizza, shower, then wake up and walk to the car & trailer and start driving again. She didn't need much convincing.

We arrived at 6pm even with a 2hr layover in Port Augusta for lunch and some mucking around...

The boys loved it because there were bunks just like Nanna & Grandad had at their place.  Imparja (the outback nine network) had the Broncs playing, Austar saw Nat catch up on E News and the boys just climbed up and down the stairs on the bunks. $105 well spent.

The biggest rock in the world that changes colours during the day awaits tomorrow..Boys are pumped again...

 

Jase

Port Lincoln

Today was worse weather than yesterday. It was however nice to wake up to our awning area, walls included to have a breakfast outside - but within the awning and out of the wind. The first time fully enclosed on the trip.

The plan was to go to Port Lincoln, have a look around and see if I could get on a Tuna charter for tomorrow, that wasn't going to happen in this weather, plus it's the end of the season for tuna, most of them have moved to the east coast of Tasmania. We looked around and whilst a small town, quite nice. Coffees on the foreshore, photos by Makabe Diva statue, a drive around the tuna fishing docks & a walk up the main street, and Port Lincoln was done.

I was a bit depressed about missing the tuna charter, so I called ahead to Arno Bay to make sure I got on a snapper one up there, which is, like the tuna one, something I have looked forward to for a long time.  You guessed it, it is out of season and all of the guys that do it are back in their trades for the winter or doing maintenance so it was a no go. 

I can't believe it, my Barra in Karumba didn't happen because I was a month late and the tides we're too high, my big dew fish in Darwin fizzled because of bad weather, my GT, Sampson Fish & Spaniards in Exmouth folded due to a need to book months in advance, now these two let downs....not happy!!

Back at camp a small tornado has been through and decimated the awning room bending a couple of poles. It's still blowing a gale and raining so we opt to take it down and hold up in the camp kitchen. Not ideal but things are never perfect....the van is all good, but we can't cook in the rain. Nat said we need a caravan, I sub consciously agreed but said we are campers not caravaners, & this was the first time in nearly 70 stops that we'd even thought about it. Not too many caravans in a lot of the places we've been......

After kicking stones all afternoon I started to think that due to a couple of big days in the saddle across the Nullarbor, & after the Arno Bay & Port Lincoln charter flops, we have a spare week up our sleeves....so we decided we would go and see the rock. At the end of the day when we get to Port Augusta we are only 1200k's away, and we won't be that close again for a long time so as we always have & will always do, when an opportunity presents itself...

It will be good for the boys to see it and the weather forecast is magic for Sunday so we should see if in all it's glory, and I will climb the bugger too!!!!

Early rise and aim for Coober Pedy tomorrow. Pumped again.....

Jase

Heavenly Oysters

Today was lousy in terms of weather. Rainy, then sunny, then windy etc, so not the best touring weather. We knew it would come, so we just make the most of it. I will get some oysters later to make me feel better...

The couple beside us are from Nelson and they manage the caravan park there, he also likes bourbon and had a litre bottle there which he wanted to share, that disappeared rather quickly!!! Only trouble was he talks under water with a mouthful of marbles so I know his life story from birth. Nice bloke but can't take a hint when it's 2 degrees and you want to go to bed...only so much JD warms you up & I was a couple in front of him too!!

He looked like death warmed up this morning, it reminded me so much of my old mate Corey, drinks hard but really suffers the next day. He had this astonished look on his face when he arose and saw us bright as buttons ready to take off and have a look around!!!!

We decided to go and have a look at Farm & Gallipoli beaches, about 30k's away. Farm is famous for King George Whiting & Gallipoli is where they shot the movie.

No fishing however, too cold and windy, nobody else was either so there is a message in that. Nothing striking about Farm Beach, in fact the sea grass/weed was probably 2ft deep with limited sand, but Gallipoli was as I remembered in the movie when they landed on the beach and then headed up the hills.

Back in town it was sunny for a while so Nat managed a walk while I prepared roast lamb in the webber. I ducked up to the oyster sheds & grabbed a dozen fresh @ $9, not bad value and they were as big as the lemon quarters that came with them.  This would do me for entree as nobody else eats them...

The couple from next door came back and he sort of steered clear of us and had an early night, he was pretty pale still...my job was done there....

Dinner was great, Dads signature dish, on top of the oysters and Nat's white wine...delicious. Even the boys munched into the lamb.

Hope tomorrow will be better weather...

Jase

Coffin Bay

We left early again and headed to Ceduna.  After the quarantine checkpoint we stopped to fuel up and get some groceries.  We continued onto Streaky Bay to have lunch.  This is a very nice little town, very quiet and picturesque.  I kind of wished we had stayed here last night!

We continued onto Coffin Bay and I tell you, I have never been so glad to get out of the car!  The boys were driving me nuts!  We have done almost 2000kms in the last 3 days and I never want to get back in the car!

Coffin Bay is another sleepy seaside town but the caravan park here is very  nice with great facilities.  The town is also a little more developed than Fowlers Bay, they have restaurants here and a supermarket and take away shop. 

It is a little cold here, we arrived and it was 16 degrees!  The next couple of days are looking pretty miserable too with rain forecast and temperatures of around 12 - 14 degrees.  We think we might stay here for 3 nights and drive around the area instead of packing up and moving on, especially if it is raining.

Nat

Fowlers Bay

We had a very sleepless night last night, the wind was blowing a gale!  We had another early start this morning and were packed up and on the road by 7.30am. 

We stopped at Eucla for morning tea.  Not much here at all but a servo.  We ate our last lot of fruit before heading across the border to South Australia as you can't take fruit and vegies across the border.   

We had some hot chips at the Nullarbor Roadhouse and then headed to Head of Bight.  This is where the Southern Right Whales come to breed every winter.  This used to be an old whaling station and they were called Southern Right Whales because they were the "right" whales to kill because they yeilded lots of oil.  There were heaps of whales here and certainly a site to see!  They were not very active but there were lots of calves swimming around.  The boys were stoked that they have now seen 3 types of whales on this trip; the Humpback, Fin Whales and now the Southern Right Whale.

We continued across the never ending road called the Nullarbor.  I can tell you, I am not enjoying this section of our trip and am not keen to ever travel this road again!

We decided to stop at Fowlers Bay because a couple of people have raved about the place.  I wasn't so sure when we had to travel 20kms on a dirt road to get there.  We arrived into the town and literally there is a jetty and a caravan park and that is all!  People rave about this place and Jason loved it but it wasn't my cup of tea.  I couldn't wait to get out of the place!  If you are into serenity and fishing, then you would love it here but certainly not enough to do here to keep the kids entertained.  It did have a nice atmosphere though and we all had dinner in the camp kitchen talking to the travellers who come here every year.

I think we will only stay the one night and push on tomorrow to Coffin Bay.

Nat

 

Nullarbor Plain

Today we left the Gold Town of Kalgoorlie Boulder heading east along the Nullabor. What was predicted at 500klms turned out to be 800, our longest day in the saddle so far. Free camping at Jilah Rockhole, about 300m off the highway & about 550k west of Ceduna.

Away at 7:30am and in at 4:45pm with 3 stops along the way, plus an added 45mins advanced by the central western timeline change.....which I never knew existed!!! There must be at least 50 people in this part of the world that are equidistant in time zone between Perth & Adelaide with a 45 minute differential...go figure??

15 mins to set up without a de-hitch & by the time I had the canvas clipped in Nat was defrosting the meat and we were enjoying butter chicken for tea at 5:30. By 6pm the family were toasting marshmallows on the fire with a red wine and Nat's customary chardy...

The boys were brilliant today, not one fight, (not that they ever do in the car) they were very talkative and found ways to amuse themselves in books and dinosaur figurines. At 12:30 after 5 hours I promised them one DVD and that was such a great privilege....for them and us. Regulating these types of things has certainly improved their behavior. Parenting -  living and learning all of the time.....

Off to Fowler Bay tomorrow, maybe 2 nights, we will see. The big driving days will put us 2 days ahead of schedule for Adelaide and our catch up with Sue & Poichy, can't wait to get amongst the wineries for my birthday.

2 days will enable us more time in The Flinders Ranges,  and allow us to go into Coffin Bay (which isn't in the schedule) before we make our way into Adelaide to catch up with some great people (Trudy, Kim & Ziah) whom we met in the Kimberley & who have kindly offered to open up their home to us. I asked Zander today if Ziah was his girlfriend and he blushed harder than his standard red cheeks appear..., bloody funny & we are all looking forward to catching up again.

All good on the Nullabor Plain.....

Jase....