The first couple of weeks - somehow this one didn't make it online.

We spent the week catching up with everyone and trying (some might call it failing) to pack for our move. It was a whirl wind event. On Friday the 15th June 2012 we flew back to Alice where a worker from my new office picked Michael and myself up and drove us to our new apartment (provided by my new employer The department of children and families NT). Initially the oven, the bedroom lights and the bathroom sink didn’t work, but within the week all was well. I started my new job on Monday the 18^th and although a little slow to kick off, it is turning out to be very interesting, albeit a challenge. I currently have a few roles at work which keep me pretty busy, but at least I’m earning my amazing pay check! Michael is looking for work and just settling in to the Alice life style.

 Michael and I visited a couple of local landmarks too, we travelled to Simpsons Gap in the West Macs and Emily’s Gap, Jessie’s Gap and Corroboree Rock in the East. The local landmarks are beautiful. In fact I think we’re going to like it here – everyday is sunny and although the nights are cold, we have a roof over ourselves to make it seem a lot warmer than it did in the camper. The Hulk is currently sitting outside waiting for his next adventure, which shouldn’t be far away.

This blog may slow down in pace for a few months (you may have already noticed this over the past few weeks!), but eventually we plan to finish the rest of our trip, so I promise many more entries in the year or two to come.

Lesson of the week: Although money isn’t everything, it sure is nice! 

Oodnadatta and Beyond.

We were up before the break of dawn getting ready for our flight - I must say in the outback sunrises are every bit as beautiful as sun sets, often with reds, oranges and pinks. We got to the airport just before 8. And in a few minutes our pilot, another couple and ourselves were in the plane ready to go.  We each got a window seat and before we knew it, were in the sky.  We flew over Cooper Creek, Lake Eyre North and Lake Eyre South. In total we were in the air for two and a half hours. During this time we saw sand dunes, birds, water and great bodies of land. It really was a majestic experience. Eventually we came back down to earth and once again returned to Marree.

We then packed up, said our goodbyes and began our adventure along the Oodnadatta Track. The road was surprisingly not too rough, granted is was dirt and in occasions mud, but mostly it was fairly smooth. We stopped at the dingo fence (our first of many times crossing this mighty work of man) and then stopped at Lake Eyre South.  We could see that several other people had trekked down to the lake, so decided to try the walk ourselves. Eventually the sand/mud/salt/sludge mix was just too much, we got very close to the water, but did not touch it for risk of being stuck there for a very long time! We returned to the safety of our camper and began making our lunch. I should mention that at Port Augusta we stocked up with enough food for a month, now that we only had a week to get to Alice Springs we decided it was time to eat like kings, instead of wasting all of our food. We met another young couple at the Lake, we had spotted them at Marree and had said hellos, but this time we asked where they were heading and vice versa. We knew we wanted to stay at Coward Springs that night and somehow managed to talk them into the idea as well. So we left the Lake and headed onto Coward Springs. We had been told the campsite housed springs that were constantly at 36 degrees (this water came from the great artesian basin). We set up camp, checked out the facilities and then our new besties rocked up. Travelling in a Pajero with a bed in the back and kite surfing gear that had to be moved in order to sit/sleep in the car (nb kite surfing gear is not suitable for the outback), Mona from Germany and Ryan from Scotland were some interesting characters. We all went for a dip in the springs, which actually turned out to be a weird little hottub like setup. Eventually it was time for happy hour and tea so we all retreated back to camp. That night we all sat around a campfire, sharing stories – it was superb. Mona and Ryan were heading to Coober Pedy, something about the town was calling to them. Originally Michael and I were going to continue on the track to Oodnadatta but with time short, the potential of having some great times with our new mates and unique character of Coober Pedy calling we changed our travel plans (after talking to another couple a few days later we found out we didn’t miss much but a few corrugations and the chance to hire a canoe – except there was no water around – outback humour at its best).

Rubbish!

So in the morning  we left Coward Springs convoying all the way to William Creek. Of course there was a few stop offs along the way to check out rubbish littering the side of the highway – cars not as prepared as our Hulky. William Creek was an interesting town, with a population of 12, a pub, airstrip and the first ever solar powered public telephone. The pub was wall to wall in reverse souvenirs (tourists are allowed to staple pretty much anything to the walls or ceiling such as business cards, towels and photos – Michaels favourite was a shredded tyre left by an Irish tourist – typical). After William Creek we left the Oodnadatta Track and headed west toward Coober Pedy. Almost instantly the road conditions worsened, however were by no means bad for a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. We continued along William Creek Track until we reached a little turn off which we thought might take us to our resting place for the evening – Lake Cadibarrawirracanna. If you had to sound that name out a couple of times its fair enough,  considering it is the longest place name in Australia. The wind here destroyed the beautiful setting of the lake as a campsite, however it was a beautiful stop off – complete with a wedge tail eagle sighting. So we took to the roads again, looking for a place more sheltered. We did this for 50kms or so until all four of us decided to just continue onto Coober Pedy where the camps book promised a nice rest area. We spent the night at Hutcheson’s Memorial, a large rest area with some trees to shelter behind. We all sat around a campfire and once more shared stories and food.

Our set up near Coober Pedy

The next morning we all headed into town. Coober Pedy is really a place like no other. Half of the houses in town are underground, and the rest look like they’re straight out of the seventies. We looked in several opal shops and then went looking for a café for some coffee. We ended up finding an underground café that hadn’t been open in 5 years, but was willing to make us a cappuccino for a couple of dollars. We were very happy with that. Feeling reenergised, we decided to try our luck at noodling. Noodling is a method of mining for opal in left over mounds from mining excavation, without the use of tools. The odd few are known to make a bit of cash from the venture, however it is predominantly just another drawcard of the town and a bit of family fun. All members of our party decided to try they're luck,  at first this was a casual peruse through the rocks, but by the end I think everyone had caught opal fever as sticks, rocks and even an axe were used to try and uncover some opal.  Eventually it was time to give up and head for an underground tour. The tour began in an underground cinema, then took us into some underground houses, an old mine and eventually into an opal shop complete with a historical museum.  After the tour Michael and I were pretty beat so headed back to the previous night’s rest area for tea. Mona and Ryan stayed in town pursuing a potential job prospect. That night they returned and we all sat in the camper chatting away.

At the underground cafe!

The next morning Michael and I decided we should head on, considering our flights were in a few days. We said our goodbyes and travelled northwards. We stopped via the Breakaways and then drove for a very long time into nothing. Since there are no other tourist attractions along this stretch of highway, the next thing to mention is our stop off, being a rest area, and luckily one of the better on offer (we did, of course stop in at almost all along the way to compare and be choosy). Agnes Creek provided shady gums, red dust galore, the sound of the odd road train, but also the incessant noise of a generator. There was also some Norah Jones tunes belted out by a nearby hippie as she strolled through the campground.

The next day was boring. We crossed the border into the Northern Territory. I found some much needed distance from Michael ( a whole state!) then continued to jump to and from SA/NT. Stopped in at Kulgera for a quick look around, but luckily not a diesel top up, with it costing $2.10/L. We chose to stay at the closest rest area to Alice Springs, which also happened to be the smallest and most crowded of the lot. Luckily we were there in time to secure a position next to the fireplace, however being right on the highway meant no break in the noise of trucks, and also a large presence of four wheel drives towing motorbikes and quads, as we had managed to stumble into Alice on the busiest weekend of the year – the Finke Desert Race.

We arose early the next morning, eager to see our new home town. Our first destination was Alice Springs tourist information centre to ask about accommodation, but to get into town meant driving through thousands of budgies! Yup budgies! Apparently there are swarms of them in the Northern Territory, and they love nothing more than to fly back and forth across the main highway. Somehow I managed to not hit one – well there wasn’t one in the grill when we next pulled up – and sooner than we thought we’d reached civilisation of sorts. Alice Springs. There’s no other town quite like it. When you drive into town there are a lot of gum trees, red dirt and of course the beautiful McDonnell Ranges. Town is actually a lot larger than we thought and nowadays Alice houses a Coles, Kmart and Target – so everything we’ll need. We got to the info centre only to confirm what we had previously thought – town was filling up quick due to the race and we had better search for somewhere to stay fast! We ended up at the HeaviTree Gap caravan park, getting one of the last spots. We went into town then returned in time to cook tea. I managed to overhear someone mention some skippies out the back and before Michael knew what hit him, we were out the back of the park hand feeding black footed rock wallabies. They were ridiculously sweet and were quite happy to eat out of your hand, hop on your lap and be patted. That night we packed our bags ready for our flight the next day.

We flew back to the coast around lunch time and were greeted by Mum and Dad at the airport in Sydney. I think it’s worth noting that this was the first time in a long time that Michael and I had flown with an airline that cost more than 40 dollars to fly on, so when we received complimentary food, drinks and watched an in flight movie we were pretty impressed.  Saturday night we were home for the first time in a couple of months, it was nice to eat dinner inside in the warm, surreal compared with what we’ve been used to though. And that is the week that was epic travel.

Lesson of the week: Budgies are dumb.

The Flinders Ranges

Needing some serious R&R and to get a lot of odd jobs finished, Michael and I stayed at Mt Remarkable for a few more days.  Mostly we just had a campfire and enjoyed some of the finer things in life – wine, cheese and our beautiful surrounds. One evening, we perhaps indulged a little bit too much on one particular “finer thing”, but the result was pretty good - us running up a mountain to see the sunset over the Southern Ranges – if sober I think this definitely would not have happened as it was a very steep, rocky mountain. Good times!

Wednesday rolled around and we had achieved all we needed to and we also had a giant shopping list of everything we’d need to get for “up the middle”. Once more we set off to Port Augusta. We restocked and excitedly drove north. We stopped off at Quorn, got a few hints and tips as to where to go and what to see, then went to Warren Gorge for the evening. To begin with the campsite seemed quite small, but we found a track to the left and decided to explore – luckily we did so as it turns out that Warren Gorge was a maze of camping sites, rocks and huge gum trees set on many an acre! The gorge itself was also rather spectacular, large red and orange coloured rocks jutting out at sharp angles with small scrubs peppering the ground – beautiful.

The next morning we took a back road towards the Flinders Ranges National Park.  Along the way we stopped at some rather interesting ruins. Simmerston was the town that died before it came to life – literally, the railway was potentially going to pass by, thus a few hopeful go getters started to build a large hotel and a house, only to find out the railway was not going to be built there and thus all was abandoned half finished and still “standing” (however it was mainly only the foundations). We drove through Hawker then stopped off at some more ruins, this time of a huge homestead near a water hole. After getting a small history lesson, we moved on towards the Flinders. On this drive we spotted the first of many Wedge Tailed Eagles, we also saw several hundred emus and a couple of skippies.  We stopped at several lookouts and then settled for the evening at Wilpena Pound Resort. Once more the rain was looming, but we were eager to go for a walk. We put on our raincoats and left regardless. We ended up doing the Drought Busters Hike. This track had several desert plants along it with placecards to tell us what they were. It also had sweeping views of the ranges and the Pound. On the way back we spotted some feral billy goats and some absolutely stunningly coloured parrots.

Eager to find out about my potential job, I used the pay phone several times to talk to several people. This is where it gets interesting folks – I got the job and now Michael and I are going to live in Alice Springs! We went to the pub to celebrate and had quite seriously the largest meals we’ve eaten so far on the road.  At this stage I was to start mid August but had a lot of paperwork to do and had to also get it signed by a JP. The next morning we went to the information centre to ask where the closest JP would be only to find out it was Hawker (northward it would be a couple of weeks til we found one). As the rain had once again set in, all of our hikes were postponed, so the drive back to Hawker seemed like the best idea. When we reached Hawker (and reception) I received another phone call, apparently I was to start the job June 18! Eek! So with some serious planning, a lot of form filling then posting and a change in our trips route (we now had a week to get to Alice if we wanted to go home first to get everything we’d need to move – so much for two months!).We left Hawker, once more heading for the Ranges. 

This time we passed Wilpena, found a dirt track that said “scenic route” and decided to take it. The rain had made the track quite muddy and as a result our Hulky is still wearing a brown and orange coating. Despite the mud, the track was well worth it. It lead us to some amazing lookouts, and considering we now had to fast track our trek, it gave us an opportunity to soak in the beauty of the Ranges at top speed. Along the way we passed Buneroo Gorge and I somehow managed to spot a couple of yellow tailed rock wallabies in their den. Most will probably not know about this little beauty, once considered extinct the wallaby has fought the elements and predators and somehow managed to reappear, it is still considered a rare species to spot though. Excited from seeing the wallabies, we drove on to the Teamsters Campsite, where a yellow footed rock wallaby actually crossed our path! We couldn’t believe it, people were lucky to see one and we’d seen three! We started dinner, with spits of rain threatening. Michael being ever an optimist lit a fire to fend off the cold. Then suddenly a little head popped up over a nearby rock – another wallaby! This one was very game however and came extremely close. We think because we were the only people dumb enough to be out in the weather that we were lucky enough to see 4 wallabies and have one join us for tea!

In the morning the sun was shining, so we explored the campground. Set near a small billabong and with rocky mountain ranges surrounding us we were once again blown away by the beauty of nature. We knew we had to gain some ground that day, so packed up and headed north. We travelled via the Brachina Gorge Geological Trail, saw the Great Wall of China, Blinnman, Parachilna and then stopped in Leigh Creek for some lunch and some much needed reception and internet time. We also booked some flights home for Saturday the 9^{th June}. Then back to the road! We drove through Lyndhurst then lost all signs of civilisation. The road was so thick with mud it made for an interesting drive. Eventually we arrived at Marree. The last thing we expected to find out there was water and mud, but there was definitely no shortage - apparently the town had recently received 8mm of rain. This was enough to close the Birdsville track and coat just about everything in thick red mud.

 We headed straight for the pub. Yes we had earned a drink, but more importantly a family friend is currently managing the pub so we wanted to call in and say hi. For those who haven’t been outback, pubs are also a huge hub of information on where to go and what to do. So we said hellos, set up camp out the back of the pub and somehow ended up booking into a flight over Lake Eyre and Cooper Creek the next morning. But that’s a story for next week’s adventure! 

So we settled down, grabbed a beer and soaked in the local atmosphere. If you’re ever in the vicinity stop by, it really is a ripper of a pub and of course management are lovely!

Lesson of the week: Mother nature never stops surprising you, and if it does you definitely don’t have your eyes open! 

The Barossa, Clare and Beyond

So we spent Sunday lazing around Port Parham. We went for a walk around town, it didn’t take very long, then we played with a few new gizmo’s we’d gotten for the camper. Asides from our banquet breakfast of pancakes, food was fairly average because of our lack of it, but we made it work. When Monday called around, it was time to leave Parham in search of food and wine! We headed towards the Barossa with a quick stop off at Gawler to resupply. The next stop and potentially my favourite of the Barossa, was Jacob’s Creek. We were treated to a range of different wines and some lovely breadsticks and found ourselves quite content. The grounds here were quite nice as well. Next stop was Tanunda for some lunch, along the way we passed field after field of wine grapes and of course several wineries. They have 80 odd in the Barossa. After Tanunda, we went to Maggie Beer’s shop, where we sampled almost everything we could find, and then we sampled some more! We then headed over to Angaston, a cute little town. We bought (and tasted) some cheese, checked out Angas Park Fruits Shop – which if you’re in town and have a lot of money it’s well worth a stop – then went to Yalumba Wines. We warmed ourselves by the fire, tasted a fair amount of their range- their tawny is to die for- and then we said goodbye. We chose not to overextend ourselves or our wallets that day so decided to head north. We went through Nuriootpa and some beautiful countryside and settled at a rest area in Tarlee. A town quite literally in the middle of nowhere.

The next morning it was time for the Clare Valley – more wine! After driving again through some beautiful countryside we ended up in Seven Hills, where we visited Seven Hills Jesuit Wines. Here we explored a very old church, a crypt and the winery cellar. There was also a range of displays showing numerous items that had been used in the winery over many years. After such an adventure we were keen to wet our whistles, so headed on over to Knappstein winery and brewery. An absolutely superb choice as we could taste and buy wine and beer – the best of both worlds. So after being well stocked up in the liquor department, we left the Clare before lunch in the hope of settling down somewhere a bit nicer than a rest area for the evening.  For lunch we stopped at a park in Yacke with potentially the coolest picnic tables ever, we also took this opportunity to stretch our legs and play in the park. Then we were off!

Sure enough we found some where quite remarkable to stay, in fact we found Mount Remarkable National Park. The park had flushing loos, hot showers, fire pits and plenty of shady gums. We settled in, spotted some roo’s and emus and had a rather lovely happy hour with all of our goodies from the previous days adventures. The next morning we enjoyed some sunshine, for a nice change! I even got some washing done. After that we went for a lovely bush walk through some hills. Mount Remarkable is actually the southern end of the Flinders Ranges, so there’s no shortage of hills and mountains around. When we finished our walk we decided to start  a fire early and subsequently had the most delicious camp-oven-cooked lamb stew, followed by some perfectly cooked damper – all in all a really good feed!

The next morning we had to go to Port Augusta, as our Hulkie was booked in for a service. Sure enough it was raining again, so we packed up in the wet and headed north. After the Hulkie was dropped off we had some time to kill in town. So we checked out the info centre, some shops and ended up hiding in the library most of the day. The weather was miserable. That afternoon we picked up our baby and stayed in a nearby van park. With the wind howling and the rain pelting down, we decided it was an indoors afternoon and night and as a result watched a ridiculous amount of Underbelly. The next morning we had our Hulkie booked in for some new tyres (which by the way look very suave). We spent the morning walking around Port Augusta, got our baby back and headed South. I needed to stay in reception for a phone interview that afternoon, so we headed towards Whyalla. We were going to stay at Lowly Point, but the place was about as dreary as its name, so we continued on to Fitzgerald Bay, via a very muddy coastal road that was more of a 4wd track at the time. Fitzgerald Bay was a lot nicer. There was ocean views, lots of bush scrub and some very weird toilets (the doors were latticed so if someone was at the right angle outside they could see you on the loo!), most importantly there was no gusty winds and it was flat. So we set up camp. Oh, I should mention it was right near a military base. We spent that afternoon listening to gun shots a plenty.

That night we decided we’d been rushing around too much and the weather was once again getting us down. We noted we had several things to do before we were prepared to go “up” the middle, so we made a radical decision to drive back to Mount Remarkable – to hot showers, flushing loos that had proper doors, fire places and generally a nice view. And that’s where we are now. We’re slowly ticking off our things to do list and just taking a couple of days to relax. I think the weather agreed with us because since we arrived back here it has been sunny. And we’re loving it.

Lesson of the week: sometimes it’s good to relax

The Limestone Coast, Adelaide Hills and Adelaide itself!

We began this week in Little Dip National Park – The Gums campsite. We vegged, played on the bush swing and had showers. Feeling cleaner and more relaxed, we headed to Robe. First we drove to The Obelisk (which can only be described as a poor man’s lighthouse or potentially where “Where’s Wally” would live) but is actually a warning sign for passing ships. Whilst there we managed to spot a seal and we watched as it played just off the shore.

Where's Waldo's House - The red looks a lot brighter  in person!

We headed into town, once again restocked and drove north onto Kingston SE. Kingston is a sweet little town, it has a lovely info centre, a historic lighthouse, a few shops, oh and a giant lobster! So we said hey to Larry the Lobster and then promptly exeunted the town with its giant crustacean in search of better things – The Coorong National Park.

Larry the Lobster!

The park was definitely not well signed, but somehow we found a track in,  and after a couple of skippies had passed we saw several small lakes and a path leading to a campground called 28 Mile Crossing. Initially we weren’t sure where we’d end up that night but after spying this ground we were quite happy to stay as:

There was no one else around,

Nature was in abundance,

It was getting late, and

There were magnificent giant sand dunes to explore!

It was just on dusk so we spent the last light of the day exploring the dunes and viewing the ocean and the Coorong in all its splendour, leaving cooking as a chore to complete in the dark.

Me in the vast sand duney landscape

Our Hulkie parked next to a Dune

The next morning we were eager to explore more of this wondrous park so we headed north. Not long had passed before we found another campground (42 Mile Crossing). It was grassy, had picnic tables, nice facilities and seemed like a great place to stop…but seeing as though it wasn’t even 9am yet we decided to explore a bit more first. We went to a historic site called “Chinaman’s Well”. This well was built in early gold mining days and was constructed purely from limestone. Interesting fact- The well was built in a circular shape as apparently demons like to hide in corners. Obviously these guys had never seen the ring. Eek. Anyway we also checked out Loop Road, where there was a few other campsites and a bit more of the parks natural beauty. We then headed back to 42 Mile – all before noon. It was a glorious sunny day so we decided to do some washing, well a couple of weeks worth due to the weather we’ve been having. Anyone who walked by remarked on it, including a ranger who said to Michael, “Where’s the washing machine and how did you manage to fit it in?” ….Michael promptly replied by pointing at me and said “There she is” – good times! Luckily we put the washing away that night, because it reached -2^oc and in the morning everything that was out was covered in frost and ice!

Loads of washing!

The sun did eventually peek out and we had heard of another nice campground further north, so we packed up and went exploring. Along the way we went to Jacks Point (a pelican breeding area) and then Meningie (township). At this point I should probably mention somehow in the last week or so I decided to go for a rural social work job. So when we hit reception in Meningie my phone went mental. Apparently I’m a prime candidate for a job in Alice Springs. So I spent that afternoon reading, typing up notes for the agency and prewarning and chatting to my referees (which meant a good yak on the phone). I’d been scheduled for a final interview on Saturday. All that accomplished we headed back into the park to Long Point. Where the camp ground was, well it was alright (read gravel car park), but I’m glad we stayed because the sunset was spectacular!

That night we had to make some decisions on where we were heading and how to get good reception in South Australia. So we decided we’d head to the capital – because surely they’d have reception. So the next morning we drove a few hours and eventually ended up in the Hills region. I think the Hulk disliked the Hills region because before I knew  it, I was doing 40 on the freeway! Anyway, we ended up in Hahndorf, a lovely little German village. The town was full of amazing bakeries, beer, weird sounding food and everything German. We explored the shops, tasted a few delights and ate in a café that was most likely decorated by a two year old (a colour scheme of green, yellow, purple and pink, stickers on the wall and figurines anywhere they fit. We decided to try and find a place to stay quickly to avoid “city” traffic (NB – Adelaide is not your typical city and does not have your typical city traffic, it is more life a large regional town…). We ended up at Levi Tourist Park, which had BBQ’s, a nice camp kitchen, grass, ducks, a possum, lovely showers and a bath! And all within 5 km of the CBD. To put this into some perspective, Newtown is about 15 km from Sydney CBD.

In the morning we bussed it into the city. We explored Rundle Mall, Central Markets, shops, a local Maccas, the Botanic Gardens and also caught a magic show. I was eager to study-up for my interview so we headed “home” and spent the night relatively relaxed. I even allowed myself some procrastination time on skype. The next day the interview wasn’t until one, so we had some time to fill. Naturally I found a chocolate shop (Haighs) to visit and even managed to book us into a free tour of the factory. The tour was great and involved several tastings – I would advise anyone in Adelaide to do it! Just before the tour started I found out the interview was to be postponed for a week due to an emergency, so being located within a chocolate factory definitely helped. To try and keep the day positive, Michael and I decided we’d follow up the factory with a movie. Though we ended up missing it by 10 minutes or so. I believe this was an act of fate, as we managed to stumble upon a fashion show with that guy off “how to look good naked” (Gok), then left to get lunch on the Glenelg foreshore. The sun was out, so we had fish and chips on the top balcony of the Dublin Pub with a lovely cider, then headed to a different cinema to catch the next session of “The Avengers” – considering our car made an appearance we had to see it!

...We were told when you work there you're allowed to eat as much chocolate as you want for free! ....
Am totally getting a job there!

We decided we’d do our shopping after the film as we were also out of essentials – however we forgot that South Australia is from the past, and although we were out of the movies by 5:30, Coles was shut by 5. We were pretty hyped up from all the explosions and CGI stuff in the film, so drove on anyway. An hour north of the city and you are well and truly in the sticks. Port Parham has a free campsite, one tar road and a Sports Club that offers takeaway meals two nights of the week and dine in another two. However in saying that, it is still open longer than Coles in the city. There are also the coolest tractors that have seats and engines about 2 metres high, which means a much better water crossing capability than the Hulk.

Saturday night’s dinner consisted of a hearty meal of cup ‘a’ soup with 2 minute noodles mixed through (don’t judge us we we’re on rations!) and a dessert consisting of fudge, oreos and chocolate. Entertainment involved listening to a guy play a ukulele and sing camp songs (yes we’ve bumped into the CMCA again…) and a generator being started up because of an issue on one of the nearby buses (imagine “oh no my central heating/ TV/ microwave/ electric blanket/ kettle/ toaster isn’t working”…get real and get out of fakeville buddy, you’re camping).

Hopefully we will shop soon, but if not we’re heading to the Barossa soon enough so we’ll have wine and all will be well!

Lesson of the week: Expect the unexpected cos it sure as heck can happen        

The Limestone Coast

When last we left off, we were at Mount Gambier Showgrounds. A lovely little stop over, mainly because of the hot showers! Anyway we spent Sunday in town stocking up and then went to the well known sunken garden (Umpherston Sinkhole). It was spectacular and you could really see why everyone says you must visit it. Originally it was created as an oasis away from Aussie heat, but now it’s a public garden that descends deep into the ground, with cave walls, cascading vines and flowers of all sorts, it was beautiful!

 A view of the sunken gardens

The next day we had The Hulk (our car) booked in at a mechanic to beef it up a bit. We were told it would be finished by 5 and we’d be back on the road again, so we thought we’d adventure the town a little more and check out the Cave Gardens (Mt Gambier is actually built around a cave/sinkhole…it’s not huge but it’s at the centre of town and has roses all around it – very random). When it was nearing 5 Michael and I were beginning to wonder what was going on, and upon calling the mechanic we found out that everything was not finished. With our house being stored in the garage on stocks, it somehow seemed only logical that we were to sleep in the garage that night. Initially this idea seemed foreign and unpleasant, but having access to a coffee machine, heater, tv and a computer meant we ended up being quite happy…we did however have to wake up relatively early so when the first mechanic rolled up we weren’t still asleep.

It doesnt look great, but it was actually a pretty good stay!

So we had another several hours that day in town to kill, somehow during this time we managed to find another way to spend a grand and ended up with a new you-beaut fridge. We eventually got our beefed-up Hulky back, picked up the fridge and did some serious re-arranging of the camper. Then we set off – in search of more adventure. However it was rather late in the day so that adventure really just meant find somewhere to sleep! After taking the wrong road yet again, attempting to read the longitude and latitude of our location and then finding a lovely fellow who pointed us in the right direction, we ended up at Bool Lagoon – a bit dry on the water so more like Bool almost swamp but it still had lots of birds. We set up, annex up and began cooking tea. I thought it had begun to rain because I could hear little taps on the annex, I looked up and saw hundreds of mozzies and subsequently had a little freak-out. Asides from the mozzies Bool “Lagoon” was rather lovely. We spent the next day having showers, wandering around and swapping fridges over. Good times!

Stalactites in Naracoorte caves

The next morning we set off towards Naracoorte – Caving time! I’d been looking forward to going to the world heritage fossil caves since just after the concept of our trip took form. We descended 20 odd metres below the ground into picturesque caves, where beautifully lit stalactites, scarfs and really cool rock formations were in abundance. After walking through several caves we ended up at the fossil sites, where we saw fossils from a long long long time ago! Because we were a small tour (6) we were able to see another chamber and climb some rather scary slanty steps to overlook some more fossil sites. Very cool. We slowly ascended and had a picnic in the grounds before heading to Naracoorte town…not long after arriving in town, we had seen the town. So we grabbed a few naughty foods (cheese and choccy biscuits) from the grocery shop then we were away – back to Bool “Lagoon”. We decided to take the 4WD track around the lagoon because the local ranger had recommended it – saying there was still some water on that side and brolgas had been sighted. We found water by half way, but by about three quarters through we felt lost. We reached a gate that was locked even though this was clearly the way to go – so I called the national parks office. Apparently a lovely local fellow had locked the gate because he had nothing better to do, despite police and court efforts the gate keeps being locked. We were directed through other gates and sort of found the track again. Feeling reassured we continued on, by now it was late in the afternoon, making for a lovely sight when looking at the lagoons and birds, but also a tad worrying when the mozzies were potentially looming! Again we found a gate, this time not locked, so we went through it – only to be greeted by a full herd of sheep. By now we were very close to the end of the track and turning back meant over an hour’s adventure – so we ploughed on, well herded on? The sheep were following us, surrounding us and coming at us. Seriously bizarre. At one stage I had to hop out to scare then away. Eventually we reached another gate, got out before the sheep and headed back to camp.

"Kangaroo" from many years ago

 The next morning we decided we’d had enough of the “lagoon”, so we went to Penola, stopping off at several wineries along the way. We drank a bit and purchased a couple of bottles and headed west towards Robe. Along the way we stumbled upon a nudist beach/colony, an emu, a giant kangaroo and several tracks that led the wrong way! Eventually we found Little Dip National Park and settled at a place called “Old Man Lake” – we’ve decided this is either because:

aa)     This is a place an old man would like to sit and ponder

bb)      The sand smelt like old man

Regardless, it was a nice stay in amongst trees all alone. The next morning, feeling the need to get back to nature we went 4WDing along a rather long and at times rugged track. It was superb. We saw a baby wombat, a fresh water lake, several really weirdly placed picnic areas, beaches and rocks. We settled at a campsite called The Gums – confusing because there wasn’t really many gums around. The one Gum I did manage to find had a homemade swing attached so good times ensued.

With wine and cheese to follow we had a lovely evening (despite the weather still doing its best to dampen our spirits) and that my friends is the end of that chapter!

Lesson of the week: Don’t be afraid to Ask – Ask for help, ask for directions, ask for advice – in the long run it pays off!

The Discovery Coast and The Limestone Coast

After a rather wet night at the Grampians we said our goodbyes on Sunday to mountain country and headed back towards the coast. Along the way we thought we’d stop off in “Volcano Country”. Our first destination was just outside Byaduk, at the Byaduk caves. Here we explored Herman 1 Cave – despite difficult climb down into the cave the adventure was quite fun. We got to a stage where our head lamps were not bright enough for navigating damp volcanic rock and turned back. Once safely (or so we thought- hours later I discovered I had been bitten by a leech resulting in the grossest sight and a need for washing clothes!) out of the cave we adventured around looking at other caves and a historic stone wall.

What we had to scramble down!

We then headed to Mt Eccles National Park – where hot showers were available! The park was lovely and the amenities quite nice, there was quite a lot of wildlife around, including roos, koalas and possums. We decided to stay two nights, as the weather had been fairly average and we wanted to do a few of the walks in the park. The next day we wandered around Lake Surprise! And explored a lava tunnel (this time it had steps in so we were much happier to enter the cave plus we took the dolphin torch with us!), we also had some much needed RNR. Before leaving the park we also checked out “The Natural Bridge” – a bridge formed by lava tunnels. It was rather cool. Then we headed towards Portland and the coast – potentially a big mistake; as we drove into town clouds amassed in front of us and then the rain was upon us! I think it’s important to note that since we departed the Grampians we’ve barely seen the sun, most days have been cloudy and we had small spits of rain. After a day in Portland we were beginning to think of the sun as a mythical being. We stocked up and hid in the library and eventually gained the courage to head to a local state park – Cobboboonee. The weather was fierce so we settled down to watch a movie, ate butter chicken and decided to leave the dishes until the morning – except a possum had other plans. Now it is not widely know that possums are great lovers of Indian food, so anyone could be forgiven for leaving their butter chicken dishes out on a picnic table in the rain and proceeding to watch Mission Impossible, but if you wanted to watch the movie in peace and not wonder what the heck all the banging is and where you’re dinner utensils have gone then it’s probably not a good idea.

On the plus side poss basically scraped the pot clean so less washing up in the morning!

A typical look at what caving involves - I'll give you a clue, darkness!

Anyway, we left in search of the sun. Although we didn’t actually find it, we did find some interesting things along the way. We stopped in at Cape Bridgewater to look at the blowholes and petrified forest.  We were going to attempt a walk to the local seal colony until icy cold winds (strong enough to blow Toto out of Kansas) and rain appeared. Instead we headed west. We ended up camping by the Glenelg River at a wonderful little camp ground called Pritchards. And magically the rain held off for an hour or so. In this time we explored the area and the river, which was overflowing. Then we had happy hour with a skippy called bob and fed possums (about 10)  some of our old veggies (we were soon to cross the border and no fruit and veg is allowed). In the morning it was once again raining. We put it down to being in Victoria so decided it was almost time for a tree change!

The Petrified Forest

We explored the little town of Nelson, the river so high that several sheds were surrounded by it, and then headed to the Princess Margaret Rose Caves, which meant briefly driving into SA to come back to Vic. This time Michael took the honours of driving across the borders. Weirdly enough we didn’t actually explore the caves, as the sun was coming out sporadically, we set up camp and tried to enjoy the patches of nice weather, separated by bouts of rain. The campsite was ok – Michael and I decided there were too many rules PLUS the showers were timed to 4 minutes, not so fun.

Bob the Skippie - Helping us figure out where to go next!

The next morning we set off to South Australia, but this time to stay. I drove across the border, past several mobs of skippies, landing in Mt Gambier by 10am. We stocked up and checked out the town, but found out there was a festival on and there were a lot of tourists around – so we got out of town fairly quickly and went to the Piccaninnie Ponds – a place where the water is so clear that in some parts you can see 40. The campsite was alright and again the weather slipped back to average so we watched another movie and hid out in The Hulk. We also devised a wicked way of hanging the tablet so we have a suspended flat screen telly ;p

Our big screen telly with surround sound!

And that brings us to today. This morning we slept in again since the rain was around before we eventually headed off. Heading to Mt Gambier again (where we are going to stay for a couple of days to upgrade our car), we went via Port Macdonald, which was small and kind of sweet except for a strong smell of seaweed. We briefly looked at Mt Schank – not attempting the walk because of the rain. And then stumbled upon a lovely look out of the Blue Lake at Mt Gambier. The lake was actually still blue, which we were told we wouldn’t see because of the seasons. So we checked out a few lookouts, marvelled at the lake and the surrounding sinkholes and went to Valley Lake for lunch. A black swan decided it wanted some lunch too – although they look really majestic on the water, their pretty scary when there trying to steal your spag bowl! Valley Lake has a free nature walk and wildlife zoo, full of Aussie animals, so we quickly went in to see some more skippies. After that we headed to Dan Murphies to resupply and we’re currently at the town’s showground. We plan to explore the area over the next couple of days and restock as were going to do a big stretch of wilderness soon. Oh if you haven’t guessed by now, the theme of this week has been rain…we seriously cannot wait til we’re at Alice where the temperatures are still in the 30’s! Anyway that’s it for now, hooroo!

The scary black swan

Lesson of the week: Don’t let the weather dampen your spirits (get it? It’s punny!)

The Great Ocean Road and The Grampians

Saturday morning started off with a slow stroll along the beach and rocks of Blanket Bay as we waited for the sun to eventually shine through the clouds. After slowly packing up and saying goodbye to all our koala mates we headed out to enjoy the last few stops in the Otway National Park. This involved stopping at Maits Rest and Melba Gully for a couple of rainforest walks and a quick morning tea break at Johanna’s Beach campground – where we saw our first up close and personal snake of the trip! We headed further along the Great Ocean Road to Wreck Beach, where I proceeded to have a shower in the car park and Michael set out on a walk that involved 732 steps in total to see an anchor – for his troubles he also got rained on, so I think I got the better end of the stick. We then headed back to Melba Gully for a BBQ at sunset then strolled through the freezing cold rainforest to spot glow worms all around, a rather magical experience. After we left the gully we headed towards Princetown and ended up sleeping in some random car park a minute out of town, good times!

The Beach at Blanket Bay

The nest morning we were total Muppets and decided to get up at stupid o’clock to see the 12 Apostles at sunrise. Well we saw the Apostles at sunrise except the sun decided not to show… Despite this minor setback the Apostles were magnificent. We spent the next few hours continuing along the Great Ocean Road stopping at any and all walks and lookouts. We saw Loch Ard Gorge, Mutton Bird Island, The Arch, London Bridge (well what’s left of it),The Grotto (well worth a look even though it doesn’t make it onto a lot of maps!) The Bay of Martyrs and The Bay of Islands. As we were up so early we managed to do all of this by a decent time and headed onwards to Warrnambool. On the way  we stopped off at Cheese World – after all we cannot resist free food.

Just before we left some clouds cleared - The "12" Apostles

Once in Warrnambool we restocked and thanks to having my birthday recently Michael had a free muffin and I had a free coffee at Muffin break, everything tastes better when its free. Then we headed to a camping reserve in Killarney for what was to be the worst weather night so far on the trip! Picture gale force winds, torrential rain and freezing cold temperatures and you probably only have half the picture. We had to get up during the night to pull the annex down because we were afraid of it ripping or flying off Absolutely a horrible night. Upside the washing machine was free, downside it took a few days to dry…

The Bay of Islands

The next morning we headed to Port Fairy for a quick squiz.  It was still freezing and very gusty so most of our viewing was done from the car. We then headed to Tower Hill, the site of a very old volcano. Upon entering the park we saw emus and kangaroos, which was enough to tempt us out of the car. We decided to climb the highest peak in the park, usually a half hour walk, but upon reaching the top it pelted down rain so we probably did the walk in 15 minutes or so. Once we reached the car the rain stopped – of course! So we headed further into the park to do a walk and see emus and a couple of koalas. We left Tower Hill and headed to Warrnambool to get some thermals and a hot water bottle since we’d had enough of the freezing cold wet weather on the coast and planned to “escape”  to The Grampians. Even though it had an average temperature of 8, we knew what we were getting into and knew there would be less rain and wind there, so we headed off late in the afternoon. We had a quick stop over in Dunkeld for dinner then headed into The Grampians to make camp. The roads driving in were about as picturesque as it gets, gum trees in abundance and marvellous mountains. Even though it was getting dark we could see we had made the right decision – The Grampians are spectacular. That night we camped at Wannon Crossing, within a few minutes we had seen some wallabies and a brush tail possum.

One very "special" emu at Tower Hill

Wednesday we woke up and decided to explore this wonderland of mountains (which includes The Wonderland Ranges). We explored several campgrounds (Jimmy’s Creek, Boreang and Smith’s Mill), several dirt and soft 4WD tracks and a few walking tracks including Mackenzie Falls, Boreang falls and Mafeking Picnic Area – the site of the last Victorian Gold Rush where the largest nugget found was the size of a match-head. Throughout the day several roos and emus crossed our paths – emus we’re beginning to understand are definitely not the sharpest tools in the shed. We settled down at a beautiful camp ground called Plantation, made a brilliant fire and watched the roos surround us.

A typical afternoon in the office.

The next morning we had a bush shower (several of the camp grounds have them and they’re bloody brilliant) and headed off to see the Giant Koala at Dadswells Bridge (which is for sale…). We had a scallop sandwich and an ice-cream, walked round the carpark, thus seeing all of Dadswells Bridge (other highlights including, and is limited to, a turkey farm and an Indian restaurant with a cat as the only patron, who didn’t look happy with the service either). We considered climbing Mount Zero, but then looked at the sky and considered settling down and making a fire instead. This time we camped near Mount Stapylton. When we arrived there wasn’t a soul in sight, but somehow by the end of the evening 3 school groups had shown up to break the peace and quiet. This was still a great site and there was once again skippies and emus around.

The Giant Koala!

The next morning we decided we’d try a bit of a challenging walk and climbed Hollow Mountain. This walk involved rock hopping and at times literally rock climbing, there was no railings, and we only had a yellow arrow painted on a rock every now and then to follow – there was definitely no set track just rocks. It was challenging and for those afraid of heights or sheer drops this would not be ideal – at one stage I almost turned back but thanks to Michael and his outstretched arm I persevered to climb the most amazing and picturesque mountain. On top we had 360 degree views of the Grampians. It was well worth the hard work.

A cave in Hollow Mountain

The actual Hollow in Hollow Mountain

Nearly at the top of Mount Hollow - What a sight!

Next we headed to Wartook Reservoir, a massive 1000ha lake that supplies a ridiculous amount of farms in and even out of the area. We somehow stumbled upon Wartook Lookout and after a very steep scramble and again following a silly yellow arrow that kept pointing upwards even though it seemed like you couldn’t get further up – somehow we managed it and were rewarded with once again spectacular views of  mountains and countryside. We then continued to Boroka Lookout and once more splendored at the beauty of the area. We left rather tired and headed to Smiths Mill Campground for the evening. We met some lovely random people, shared some stories and found whilst doing this that crows had attacked our cornflakes (that were still packaged but pecked through!) they also, and to my great distress, took the last of our damper! Simply unacceptable! There wasn’t much we could do, so we went to bed and in the morning I threw water at any crows that came near – a small consolation!

Wartook Lookout

Boroka Lookout

And that takes us to today. Michael and I went to Reed Lookout and walked to The Balconies then took a small journey to the Grand Canyon! Well The Grampians Grand Canyon, which I’m assured is actually the real Grand Canyon and the American one was named after this one! So we walked – or rock hopped – through the Canyon. Our legs a tad tired from the day before, we decided to head towards camp and so now we’re in the south west of the Grampians National Park at a place called Strachans. Once more the rain has appeared, but we’re happily inside the camper sipping Port from Central Tilba and nibbling on Fine Dark Chocolate from Phillip Island, so all is well. Tomorrow we plan on heading back towards the coast and potentially by this time next week we may have crossed the next border – BUT who knows and who cares really, as long as we’re having fun and seeing all these amazing things time means nothing!

The Grand Canyon

Another lookout we stumbled upon overlooking The Grampians

Lesson of the week: Perseverance is key, even though something may be challenging usually the rewards are then tenfold.

The Coast and the Great Ocean Rd take one

So this post has been a while in the waiting! Since our last blog we visited a family friend and had amazing pasta and wine and went to Melbourne for a day, where we saw a comedy show, rode several trams and got very achy feet. We slept at a rest stop roughly 5 minutes from Avalon Airport and flew back home the next morning. Michael and I flew back to the Central Coast for my graduation, birthday and a funeral, as well as for catch ups! Busy times! As a result of this adventure let me just take a moment to show off:

Tada!

Anyway moving on, our flight back to Avalon was rather delayed so again we slept at the same rest area (we left the airport some time after 12am). The next morning, after eventually getting up, we headed to Geelong. We stocked up the camper and went for a walk amongst the bollards on the foreshore. Later that day we visited the famous Bells Beach and went through Torquay. We had heard of a nice camp ground nearby so headed there at a reasonable time to make camp, unfortunately when we got there we found the site was closed due to planned burn offs. With no other appropriate campsites near, we headed to Sheoak picnic area and made use of the flat car park, bbq facilities and flushing loos – even daring to have showers that night by heating the billies up on the bbq. All in all not a bad spot! The next day marked a momentous event – my birthday. So Michael and I travelled along the Great Ocean Road, visited Erskine falls (spectacular!) and settled early at a very lush accommodation site – Big 4 Wye River! There was plenty of king parrots and ducks around, as well as amazing hot showers (I have awarded these showers the best on the trip so far) and a jumping pillow. With goon, some sunshine and being walking distance to the local pub we were set. Whilst visiting an info centre that day I also found the perfect way to spend some of my birthday money – Flying foxes in the Otway Forest. The forecast said Thursday was the day to do it so we booked it in.

The next morning we set out along the rather cold Great Ocean Road. We went to Grey River Road and played spot the koala - a fun game that involves driving along at 30km an hour yelling THERE'S ONE! every 2 seconds or so. We continued along the Great Ocean Road and eventually visited Apollo Bay then headed into the mountains to a little place called Beauchamp Falls. By this time I was feeling rather under the weather and set up in bed whilst Michael made himself dinner, removed bollards so we could park on the grass, made friends with a French man and was offered weed. Good times! The next day, feeling ever so slightly better we headed to Triplet Falls where Michael undertook a lengthy walk and I slept. I'm told it was lovely. I woke up, drugged up and it was off to the Otway Fly where we walked on platforms above the forest canopy, saw dinosaurs (I kid you not!) and went on our zip line tour. The tour ran for just over 3 hours and involved using a series of flying foxes and rope bridges to zip from tree to tree 20m above the forest floor. It was amazing. We couldn’t take cameras on the tour because if they fell they were lost forever, but we’ll always remember the experience.

That night we headed to Aire River Crossing Campground, where we were showered in rain. Gosh the weather has been wonderful! Anyway we slept well and headed off the next morning to Blanket Bay via Aire River. Along the way we saw several hundred Mana Gums and within their branches many Koalas. My camera got a serious work out. We pulled up at Blanket Bay that afternoon and set up shop for a couple of days. Next to our campsite was a gum with two Koalas in it – Meryl and Beryl as I named them. There was also a mum and bub koala around the corner. That night we had a wonderful fire and met a few ladies who had trekked 22km that day along the Great Ocean Walk. We also met a rather random german fellow, whom we taught how to cook potatoes, put sticks in a fire and how to make sure his car doesn’t die. Not sure how well the last session sunk in but all in all good fun. Since then we played on the beach, did a couple of walks and I took many more photos of Koalas. And that my friends is where the tale ends for now, fingers crossed next Saturday we have the internet and our fingers aren’t frozen solid – a hint at what’s to come: more Great Ocean Road and for some silly reason the Grampians where the temperature is averaging out to 8 degrees each day (we're off to kmart to buy a hot water bottle!)

Lesson of the week: Don’t get sick, it sucks butt!