26th May 2011 - Uluru (Ayers Rock), & The Olgas (Kata Tjuta), N.T. Australia



Uluru at Sunset





Ularu Base Walk



Walpena Gorge, Olgas

First chore before setting off from Coober Pedy was to refill our tanks with water.  None of the caravan parks here provide water to fill our tanks, but a tap was available for this purpose downtown.  As we will be free camping for the next day or two it was important to have as much as possible.  Another early start & another convey of large white ants on the highway, which soon dissipated.  The mornings & evenings are still cold but it's usually OK by midday.  It's nice to be away from the shambles of Coober Pedy & we soon leave messy landscape behind.  The desert landscape is full of healthy looking plants - it surprises us as it is not what we expected, but I suspect it is unusual & only since all the rain they have had.  Nevertheless it is great the way the plants survive in this environment, with colours of red, blue/greens, greys, browns & still the wheat coloured grasses.  Initially we see little birdlife though at one stage a small flock of lorikeets fly right into the front of the car & Stuart is worried he has hit some of them, but we are hoping not.  We also come upon a large eagle on the road eating roadkill until we get too close.  Also saw a  much smaller hawk-like bird a little further on.  The inevitable crows are still around most of the time.  Somewhere there are homesteads hidden amongst the flat landscape, the only clue their nameplates along the highway.  By mid-morning we sight some lagoons & more birdlife, especially white corellas which are smaller than cockatoos & without the the crest.  I haven't managed to get a close look at them as yet.  Just before the small roadhouse stop of Marla the golden grass becomes quite widespread over the plains among the other plants.  The cattle farmers must be really pleased to have the luxury of such feed for a change.  We find our rest area for the night quite early today so we can sit in the sun & relax for a change.  It eventually fills up with other vans, some with generators which spoils the peace & quiet somewhat.  Still, they are quiet by bedtime.

It turns out to be the coldest night we have experienced & by morning is -2deg out & zero in the van.  I must say I was cold all night so didn't sleep the best.  One of the other aussie campers who has been up this way many times before said it was the coldest he has known.  Lucky us!  However it is a beautiful sunny morning, so we leave at 8.00am  - much warmer to get going in the nice warm car.  We crossed the border into the Northern Territory at 8.35am  & the landscape changes a little, becoming much more rocky with large outcrops of red rock.  We saw a wild dog cross the road at one point.  It is darker than a dingo but apparently there are wild dogs which have crossed with dingo at some time.    The speed limit changes to 130 - makes no difference to us as we wouldn't do that anyway van or no van, & thankfully most other vehicles don't seem to want to drive at that speed either.  We turn off the Stuart Highway onto the Lassiter Highway en route to Uluru at last.  We are just one of many, many heading in that direction.
Our first sight of Uluru is quite exciting even though it is still 130kms away.  It looms large in the distance clothed in lovely pink/purple hues.  Then it disappears until we come upon a photographic opportunity at a lookout point.  It looks so near, but then we don't see it again for about an hour when we reach Yalara which is the Resort & camping ground.  It is very busy but with 100 powered sites plus unpowered &  cabins, it is nowhere full thank goodness.  It again is not what we expected being in the arid N.T. but the lawns around the resort are so, so green they are almost unnatural.  Still, I guess you have to impress the wealthier tourists who spend all the money on plane flights, helicopter flights etc.
 Next morning we pack our picnic lunch & head off for 'The Rock' & what a rock it is.  It isn't until you stand at the base of this giant that you realise the immensity & powerful.  We are lucky to have a wonderful clear blue, cloudless sky & although it is still possible to climb the rock, we choose not to do so as there are many signs from the aborigines asking people to refrain.  This is a very spiritual place for them so it was our wish to respect that.  Not so most others who were capable.  It is a really steep climb with only a rope handrail to hang on to & those ascending  do so on the left & those descending keep to the right.  There is no room for shuffling past someone & there have been about 35 deaths & many injuries.  We later watched & although most climbers  seem to manage the up, many were on their rear ends at times as it was obviously very scary on the down.  It must have been amazing to do it, but we were glad we did not.   We did walk around the base of the whole thing however, all 11km of it.  One thing which struck me particularly when we were able to get close enough, was the texture of the rock which resembled the bark of our lovely kauri trees back in the Kaipara. I discovered later that we could have driven around & made short excursions at different intervals,  but Stu didn't tell me that.  There are many, many signs asking not to take photos of particular sections, again because of cultural significance, but we did get some good shots at 'legal' places.  After returning to the campground for a refreshing shower & a cuppa, we returned for the sunset with at least 1500 others.  When the sun sets, it is not the sun itself that attracts but the light it throws on to Uluru.  It becomes an orange glow slowly changing as the sun goes down.  Well worth the short drive back there.  Stu managed some nice shots.  It's not cheap do stay here even in the campground, & everyone who enters the National Park must pay $25 per person to do so.  However, that permit does last for 3 days & you can enter as many times as you wish.  To visit  'The Olgas" which is about 50kms away, also necessitates travelling through the park, so it's just as well.   Uluru was taken away from the aboriginal people way back, & after many attempts to get the Australian Government to hand it back, they eventually won back the title with the provision that it be jointly managed for 99 years.  Personally I think it makes sense as no-one knows how to manage this land better than the original inhabitants.

A new day & a new walk.  Today we explore The Olgars  (or Kata Tjuga).  The latter is an aboriginal name means  'many heads'  There are 36 steep-sided domes 32kms west of Uluru, so  a 50km road trip from Yulara (our camping ground),  & again are important & sacred under aboriginal law.  It's another lovely day with cloudless blue sky, but still that slightly chilly breeze but we won't complain about that.  We arrive at our destination, grab a cup of coffee from our flask, & set off on our walk..  The Olgas though not as mystical as Uluru, are fascinating & actually a lot more interesting in that it is possible to have more interaction with them, which means walking right up close to them & even climbing over the lower rocky shelf.  We have lots of company on the initial stages to the first two lookouts over a rather rocky track, lots of steps & hard under foot, which  passes between the massive irredescent  domes.  Kata Tjuta is actually 200m higher than Uluru & unfortunately it is hard to portray that in a photograph.  In order to carry on to the latter part of the walk, we continue through a canyon which leads to the 'Valley of the Winds', which leads to a  large open  valley of vibrant colours  & textures quite unexpected.  There are many trees & a lovely distant view of a range of hills, & 100's of little birds who chatter & cheep musically but never stay still enough to snap.  We find ourselves blessed that the valley is not living up to it's name today, as it is quite sheltered  & warm, so as usual I have to start taking off the layers.  One of the great aspects of these walks is that there are taps of drinking water to refill bottles along the way.  Apparently in the hotter months of the year this is really necessary as temperatures can reach 40deg or so.  If it reaches 36deg  the walk is closed as it is too dehydrating.  You wouldn't find me walking in those temperatures!  Incidentally this National Park  including Uluru & Kata Tjuga, covers 1,325 hectares & has been Heritage listed  not only for it's importance as a natural phenomena, but also because of it's cultural significance.

24 May 2001 - Coober Pedy, South Australia

Spent the night before in a packed caravan park at Port Augusta - we felt like sardines we were so packed in.  There was a mass exodus the following morning, & we continued  on the appropriately named Stuart Highway we seemed part of a line of white ants all heading in the same direction.  It wasn't long before we began to meet the 'road trains', luckily heading in the opposite direction.  It is still very cloudy & gradually we lost sight of the hills, then the trees & were left with scrubby growth for most of the day.  Passed through the township of Woomera which was a rocket & space research centre set up after World War II.  It was used for several atomic tests & firing of space satellites & guided missiles & was very much a secure area.  The town today is still in existence & was a very sterile sort of place obviously built to plan, but what goes on there these days we don't know.  It was eerily quiet & the only people about seemed to be tourists like us.  Stuart took some photos of rockets etc (didn't interest me).

Continuing on we saw huge flat table top mountains in the distance & large flat spaces between.  We were amazed at the number of dead cattle on the side of the road - must be expensive for the cattle farmers who don't bother to fence their land & very dangerous for the motorists.  About half way to Coober Pedy the sun came out at last, & we passed by several salt lakes, .  We found an overnight rest area about 3.00pm so that we could sit in the sun for a change & only one other van to share with so we had a good chatter to the couple who gave us lots of travel tips & information.  There were numerous road trains through the night but they didn't disturb us much.

On the road early (8am) next morning to another roadside rest area at the end of the day, quite busy this time.  Another sit in the sun & time for a read for a change though I had to chase the tiny flies which were very persistant.  I resolved to buy a fly net for over my hat at the next available place.  There were quite a lot of birds around & while we were sitting outside, a delightful little honey-eater came & sat himself on Stuart's knee & just gazed up at him longingly - for food I suspect.  Aint love grand?  Unfortunately I didn't have the camera on hand, so that was a great shot lost. 
Cold night & morning  with an early start again to reach Coober Pedy today, but at least it was sunny.    At one part of the road we realised we were on the Royal Flying Doctor emergency 'air strip' for the area - just a section of the highway made a little wider than usual.  There are lots of luxurient golden grasses on the roadside now & it reminds us of Waiuru & the desert road & similarly it is defense land owned by the Commonwealth of Australia.

We have definitely acquired the Australian wave but not for flies.  All the caravans & motorhome drivers give each other a wave & as there are so many of them  it's probably a good idea if someone invents an automatic hand before they all get RSI.

Our first impressions of Coober Pedy before we actually reached the town was not a favourable one.  Coming along the highway all we could see were mounds of crushed rock as far as the eye could see, interspersed with many  wrecked bits of machinery & vehicles.  We were later to find out that the 'mounds' were called 'potch' & is the residue from the diggings.  It is possible to get a permit to go 'noodling' - i.e. to sift through these mounds in case there has been some opal missed.  Fat chance!  We of course had better things to do.  Inspection of the town did nothing to improve our impressions - most of it is Opal shops & it all looks grubby & rundown.  
The services are there if you can find them, but everything is very disorganised.  There is a very nice visitors centre & several upmarket resorts & caravan parks, but we opted for something very different called 'Reba's Underground Camping & Caravan Park' - curious?  Well yes, there is underground camping, but not for the caravans.  The gentleman who owns it owned his own little mine & did do quite well financially, so rather than go on mining forever, got this great idea to make an underground camping area from the empty caverns.  Sounds weird, but in this town it is quite normal, as 85% of the population live underground.  So backpackers can actually pitch their small tents down there or he also has rooms available.  The caravans parked as normal though some of us had a drive through site with a roof  & walls of shade cloth for the summer heat.  One other amusing building was an outside flush toilet called 'the thunder box'.  Made from a corrugated tank on it's side with a flush toilet inside, it would certainly 'thunder' under the right circumstances.  Luckily it was only necessary to use it when the normal ablution blocks were being cleaned.  The whole place is surrounded with the mounds of potch, but I have to say their area had been landscaped with cactus gardens & dry stone walls, so was a big improvement to most of the landscape. That evening we were given a tour of the now unused mine & learned a great deal about how to go about it all if you want to find opals.  We decided to give that a miss too.     It took us some time to realise that there were houses in many of the hillsides, which could only be identified by the air vents poking out from the ground.  We actually went into one of the earliest built by a woman on her own & it was very liveable & they all maintain a steady temperature of between 21-25deg summer & winter.  Some of the recently built ones do have a house frontage but the rest of the house is underground, sometimes in two stories or split level.  A few looked really lovely.  It really is amazing & not a bit claustrophobic.  We also visited a couple of lovely underground churches.  The best part of the visit was to an area called 'The Breakaways', which at first looks like massive mounds of 'potch' but are in fact natural features which have broken away from the Stuart Ranges.   They are all shapes & sizes, most very large hills of lovely shades of red, gold, pink & white & have been used in many films like 'Mad Max', 'Beyond the Thunderdome', & 'Ground Zero'.   Very photographic & we managed to get the afternoon sunshine but a sunset would have been better.  Another feature in the area was part of the 2m high 5,300km dog fence, which extends over three states to protect the sheep country in the south from the native dingo. 

20 May 2011 - Wilpena Pound, Flinders Ranges, South Australia

aft

Having left Mambray Creek our route along the Princes Highway  takes us close to the Spencer Gulf,  with large, flat topped, beautifully shaded mountains on the other side of the water, while on the land side a line of dark blue mitre topped ones misty in the morning light.  The road is very flat & long & quite busy in both directions.  The sky is blue with streaky clouds, & it's lovely to be in a warm 22 deg  after the cold  in the Adelaide Hills.  For all that I personally don't regret the colder places we have been  as they have had a different beauty & it's all a new experience, but I know Stu wouldn't agree as he has hated the cold weather.  We are heading towards Port Augusta, & Port Germaine, two of many ports along this stretch of coast but we bypass them all, as we deviate off to Wilpena Pound.  The scenery changes a little & the mountains become lumpy & the plains are covered in blue salt bush & mallee scrub.  Following a small gauge railway line we soon realise it is the Pichi Richi heritage steam train line which takes tourists from Port Augusta to Quorn & back again, a full days trip.  We soon arrive at Quorn itself, a very old town which I imagine relies mostly on tourists.  It is very small but in Aussie tradition has 3 beautiful old pubs & was obviously a very busy place in the late 1800's.  At this time of year it is very quiet, but at least it had a supermarket so we could stock up the pantry again.  Next town was Hawker, similarly to Quorn had seen better days.  Australia definitely makes the most of it's heritage which is good to see.  It's pretty hard for these small towns to renovate the old buildings these days as so many of the farms have been abandoned after the long years of drought, so obviously the population has diminished somewhat.  As I have said before in a previous blog, I have been looking for a ruin of some old building to photograph with a future painting in mind, & my dreams have come true tenfold.  There are so many old stone homesteads abandoned en route, so not closer enough to snap.  But finally we come to Kanyaka Station.  The name is derived from an  aboriginal word  meaning 'place of stone'.  In the late 1800's this was a beautiful, prosperous sheep & cattle station of 101 sqare miles with plenty of water for stock & copious amounts of pasture on the surrounding hills.  The homestead was the home for the manager, his family & servants.  It  had 5 or 6 bedrooms, parlour, dining room, offices, kitchens, cool sores & cellars, surgery & laundry, not to mention the stables, woolshed, mens quarters,  & other buildings for the blacksmith & carpenter,  & stockyards, all necessary in the running of such a large station.  It was surrounded by a stone wall to keep out the stock, & paddocks were also divided by dry stone walls as that material was so available in the area & more readily available than fence posts & wire.  In the 1860's sheep numbered 41,000 before the droughts of that period  & 10,000 after wards.  The government of the day proceeded with a policy of subdivision into wheat farms & Kanyaka Station was whittled down to 18,000 acres, not enough for a viable pastoral enterprise.    Sadly the whole thing was abandoned & over 100yrs later has parts of all it's buildings standing.  I couldn't help visuallising the way it must have looked - what a sad end to so much hard labour.  Many photos were taken & I'm sure one day a painting will be attempted if I haven't forgotten how to hold a brush by then!

Finally we arrive at Wilpena Pound a place we have heard much about.  It is the best known feature of the Flinders & is an outstanding natural phenomenon.  The oval bowl is 16km long & 10km wide surrounded by a 35km rim of steep quartzite cliffs which face outward.  The landscape is wild & the rocky walls change colour during the day (provided you get sunshine).  The floor of the pound if covered with eucalypts & native pines plus other varieties of trees I can't name,   Apparently in season there are many wild flowers & we did manage to see some tiny grevillias & others which are unknown to me.  The wildlife are rock wallaby's, wallaroos, (or euros as they call them)  kangaroos & emus.   There is also a rare yellow footed rock wallaby which I was hoping to spy, but weren't successful.  We did see banded parrots, kookaburras, lots of little wrens, apostle birds, & too many crows with their horrible, horrible squawking.  The crows & roos get into anything left around the camp in the way of rubbish & though most people were sensible in this respect, there were a few who obviously didn't heed the warnings .  The entry into the pound itself is through a small opening by a super large rock aptly named sliding rock as it looks just like a large childrens playground slide.  The camp & resort actually outside the pound itself, & all the hikes start from that point.  Next morning  we did a short walk of 6kms out to some lookouts & another abandoned small homestead site within the pound.  The view from the lookouts gave us a better perspective of the pound itself.  In the afternoon we took a bike ride, but no trails for mountain biking really.  At 5pm Stu suddenly decided there might be a sunset, so we headed off by car for a particular lookout we had been told was 'the place'.  At first we thought we were going to be disappointed but patience is a virtue & it gradually took on the most fantastic glow. (See Stu's best )  That same night I heard a morepork  & thought I was back home.

The following day we undertook a hike/climb to St Mary's Peak, the highest point of the Pound,  & the tallest mountain in the range.  Falls of snow have been recorded on the peaks surrounding the Pound & I can quite believe it.  We left on a windyish, cloudy morning at 9,15am through a delightful section of the bush, had morning tea on a large rock slab, then started the climb upwards.  Naturally it went higher & higher, soon becoming a rock climb rather than a hike.  She who is not fond of heights decided not to look down, determined to reach the top.  We knew there were others who had left about 15 minutes before us, & soon we caught up to them (a group of 3 young women) at almost  what we thought was the top . Meantime the weather was closing in, becoming much colder & windier, though we were quite warm enough with all the exertion.   Having reach the saddle, we took photos before it was too late, & we then had to walk along quite near the edge according to the arrows,.  But I was having none of that so found my own trail further back & a bit safer.   The markers were really not very good by that time, but we eventually found the track to continue upwards to the actual peak which by that time was totally covered in mist & cloud.  I've heard of the saying 'having your head in the clouds'.  Well we really did - an amazing feeling.  Felt like using Sir Edmund Hillary's words - 'We knocked the .......... off'.  Anyway, having attained our goal, no view to capture by now, we decided to do the loop & not continue back down the rock climb.  This meant an extra 6kms, but we knew it would be down, then flat.  Weatherwise it was a bad decision, as it got windier & colder, so having started the day in lightish clothing, we then donned our warmies, including rain jackets t& hoods to keep out the wind.  We had lunch on a very low, flat rock surrounded by bushes to stay warm, then trudged on along the very rocky underfoot track.  It really was pretty boring & became a bit muddy before the end as we had rain the night before, but we enjoyed the challenge & after 22.5kms, were back by 3.30pm, 6.25hrs after we began.  As the time allowed was 9 hours we felt very proud of our efforts, & I have to say that other than the Tongariro Walk back in NZ, it is the hardest I have ever done.  Nice to get back to a hot shower & a good old cuppa & no sore muscles next day.

Rough night, very windy & wet, & still raining next morning .  We were to have done a 4WD tag-along tour, which means we join an experienced 4WD driver with his paying tourist passengers, &  follow him on a route we would be unable to undertake ourselves, over some of the high ridges & onto a private cattle station.  Because of the weather it was naturally cancelled - not safe, so we decided to hit the road again rather than sit inside the van all day doing something like reading!.  Far too boring!  Also disaster had hit, in that our prepaid broadband thing-a-ma-jig was not functioning, so needed to find a Telstrar shop in Port Augusta.  The weather brightened in patches along the way, & I saw a lovely rainbow of the mountains which I would have loved to capture with the camera but couldn't stop.  We also missed going to some aboriginal rock carvings because it was too wet.  The big grey clouds seem so low as we drive over these flat plains, something I have never experienced before.    There a more caravans on the road today than we have previously seen, so we really are beginning to feel we are on the Grey Nomad Trail. 

One of the similarities between here & home is the road kill on the roads - here it is kangaroos or even emus which I find much sadder than seeing possums.    Saw 100's of Corella's in a flock in a paddock, which are similar but smaller than a cockatoo but without the crest.  Another thing we keep encountering is a very large road side sign which says 'STOP CREEPING'.  We have no idea what it means but did hear some other vanners talking on their CB's & one of them thought it was to remind you to check your speed???

On arriving at Port Augusta & the Telstra shop, we were told they couldn't check our broadband thing as they were only a sales outlet, so we had to drive another hour to Whyalla further up the coast.  We had by then parked the van in the caravan park, & luckily had the problem solved in Whyalla.  This port is the home of the iron ore smelter & not very exciting, but on the drive there I couldn't help noticing the colours on the plains, like a tapestry of gold, blue greens & dark green of small mounded bushes.  Tomorrow we set off towards Coober Pedy, the Opal City, with a nights stopover in a freebie along the way.

17 May 2011 - Mt Barker to Mambray Creek, Mt Remarkable National Park

Left Mt Barker on a clear sunny 3deg morning taking a scenic route through steep hills dotted with more autumn colour including the grape vines once again.  There are so many wineries in South Australia,  even Stu ponders on who drinks it all???  Must say they do make lovely reds.  We also passed through lots of cherry, apple & pear orchards.  Travelling  on to Gawler, then Clare, both very small towns rich in heritage but have seen better days.  The area changes &  becomes the big grain growing region & also sheep.   It is very flat so there are big views & massive paddocks of very rich, productive land, presently ploughed in readiness for the next planting.  We saw huge grain storage 'bunkers' which seem to have replaced the old grain silos.  They look like huge pillows of plastic of several colours.  I think they must be pits underground, then covered.  Haven't thought to ask anyone as yet.  The area does remind us of Pukekohe in many respects with it's red soil & big open ranges & valleys.  Some of the paddocks have the remains of their last grain stubble so are quite a light wheat colour. 

Further along that day we saw a rail freight train with one carriage for passengers & many, many freight cars, some with containers stacked two high.  The whole thing was about 500m long & was headed from  Port Piri further up the coast.  Not long after we catch our first glimses of the magnificent Flinders Ranges, with the ocean on one side & the ranges on the other.  We are feeling noticeably warmer at last, so start a slow striptease the further we go - discreetly of course!  We reach our destination of Mambray Creek in the Mt Remarkable National Park about 3pm in time for a cuppa.  Although there are other campers present, it is not busy, so we choose a nice site by a very dry, stony river bed.  After a reconoitre we plan tomorrows activities.  It is an area rich in walking trails & we are very excited about the next day. 

A fine morning dawns & we are greeted by emus & kangaroos around the camp.  The emus are quite funny but elegant too.  A group of about 8 wander around the various camp sites, quite ignoring the humans present.  They look healthy & placid & at one campsite set up with many chairs & tables, they wandered among them as if they were about to sit down to  breakfast. 

Setting off on our 18 km, 7 hr trek for the day which is to a 'hidden valley' in a magnificent gorge.  The initial climb is up to a bluff which has great views back towards the several ports on the Spencer Gulf, i.e. Port Pirie,  & Port Germaine.  We are glad to reach the top for morning tea, then carry over the ridges to begin the climb down.  There are several groups of high school students from the camp doing the trek today, but luckily for us they are going the opposite way round.  Finally we reach the bottom & begin to see the fantastic cliffs of  red quartzite.  The trail now follows the dry creek bed of the gorge, not great on the feet as it is very, very stony.  It becomes a magic land where we are the only humans, with kangaroos to befriend along the way.  The cliffs are so high, & are layered,  & so incredible it's hard to capture their beauty.  Some appear to be performing a great balancing act, which is a bit scary.  It was nice to find a big rock to sit & eat lunch & have a break for a while.  Eventually we come to what we think is a dead end until we walk right into it & realise there is a narrow opening in one corner.  The colours change a little here & there, some streaked with dark colours, & one cliff in particular with large areas of pale pink.  The trail meanders in & out of the creek bed at times among lovely small native pines & sugar gums & very large eucalypts with burnt out centres which have obviously been standing for a very long time.  I just love their shapes & colours.  Every now & then we are surprised by another kangaroo nibbling away at some morsel it has found or leaping out of the bushes beside the track.  One in particular just totally ignored us till I began to think it was deaf.  Apparently kangaroos don't like to look you in the face for too long???  Who can blame them.   Finally we reach camp after 6 hours tired but happy after such a fabulous experience.  Dinner by a nice campfire finished the day.

Unfortunately we can't totally escape chores, so the second morning is spent catching up on washing, computer updates etc.  We have no power, so no internet, but have enough battery left for a short spurt.  Stu discovers he has blisters from the day before, due to the shoes he bought on our arrival & the long trek yesterday, so a short afternoon walk seems sensible today.  However we do take an evening stroll up a hill to catch the sunset before dinner then another pleasant campfire dinner & some photos of a lovely big moon rising hrough the trees before bed.

o9 May 2011 - Adelaide Hills, South Australia

A warm welcome awaited us on arrival at the home of our friends at Five Bob Rd, Mt Barker - & yes, that is the name of the road.  Their property is 20 acres of fabulous red river gums & other natives, so we had the choice of several lovely campsites reasonably close to the house.  The birdlife is lovely too, & I spent lots of time trying to capture them with the camera, but oh so difficult. 
As these are some of the friends we cycled with in Victoria, naturally a ride  was on the immediate agenda (like next morning).  Fortunately it was a nice forest ride they had chosen especially with us in mind & we were able to reacquaint ourselves with some of the others from the group.  Thankfully it wasn't too long (27kms) though there were a couple of hills at the very end which I gave in to.  Stu of course made them all.   Being in one place for a while was the ideal opportunity to do a few little improvements to the van, so for the next day or two Mr Handyman was head down & 'you know' up & happy as a pig in mud.  Apart that is, from trying to source the bits & pieces he needed in a strange place.  Once that was all achieved we spent several days exploring the area.  The hills are indeed a lovely place to live - there are so many little villages or hamlets but I think my favourite is Hahndorf which was settled by German immigrants way back.  It definitely has a real german ambience & lovely food outlets with gorgeous sausages of all descriptions, plus amazing cheeses & the smell of the bakeries - yum!  Of course the hills is a big wine area too, so naturally we had to visit & sample the local wares.  We also attended a Jazz Festival one evening which was a real change for us.  It would not be complete without a visit to the city of Adelaide which is only about 45 minutes on the freeway.  It's quite a drop down from the hills to the city of lovely autumn trees, many parks & green areas & a proliferation of gorgeous stone houses & buildings, some historic but some modern & new.  Luckily we had our bikes to take a cycle round the river, about 10-15kms,  on a glorious warm sunny afternoon.
Next day we took a drive to Mt Barker itself to check out the view of the surrounding countryside.  On Sunday we did another bike ride of about 30 k ms around the local area & this time I managed all the hills, so I am definitely improving my fitness.  We were most surprised to see quite a bit of gorse growing in paddocks, the first we had witnessed in Australia,  though we do see odd bits of pampas here & there.  The weather hasn't been the best for us for our visit in this region, mostly fine with a bit of drizzle, but always cold, even down to zero one morning - very early for those temperatures they tell us???   The last couple of days we spent helping to split firewood with a huge petrol log splitter,  which was quite fun until I spotted a large huntsman spider crawling up my chest!  It got short shift but wasn't the last one we saw while working.  Anyway, we were well rewarded with dinner around a couple of lovely campfires the last two nights of our visit, a very fitting end to such a lovely stay.   Isn't it great to have lovely friends!

06 April 2011 - Limestone Coast Victoria - South Australia.

Our travels today will take us out of Victoria at last, & I must say we have really enjoyed it all.  It may be a small state in comparison to the others, but it is so varied & lovely.  We visit the last town, Port McDonnell after driving along the coastal route though not able to see the sea this time.  The landscape was very flat & boring & bleak, not helped by grey cloud & low temperatures.  The only thing of interest was the remains of little stone crofts now  & again which I was dying to photograph but it's not easy to just pull off the road towing a caravan, especially when you have other vehicles behind.  I'm hoping I will come across one in South Australia.  At 9am we  crossed the border into S.A. & had to change our clocks back half an hour.  What a pain.  Mt Gambier is quite a large town, lots of lovely stone buildings.  Stu wanted to visit & board the 'Lady Nelson' an old sailing ship which is part of a display at the i-site .  Unfortunately he was to be disappointed as it was closed for some maintenance.  We did however manage to purchase a National Parks pass for entering & camping in South Australia.  At $46 we thought we would easily get our value from it.

Moving on through the Coorong Conservation Park  we chose a campsite at 'Little Dip' which was very isolated .  The track in was really sandy & I wouldn't like to do it without a 4WD.  We quickly explored some of the surrounding area which was scrubby sand dunes, over which we found wonderful rocks & crashing waves.  No one else joined us so it was a very quiet, dark night which we enjoyed.   The high point proved to be the sighting of a wombat just a couple of metres from the van.  We had noticed lots of 'tunnels'  in the undergrowth earlier & I commented to Stu that I thought there would be wombats around & we intended to go out after dark to see if we could sight them.  However it was so dark we changed our minds until we heard an unusual noise & I opened the door with a torch & there it was.  Yay, another thing off my  'bucket' list.  Next morning we rose early for a walk in another direction where we had seen a couple of fishermen the day before.  It proved to be a huge cliff top with great formations made by the waves.  It was so high I don't know how they fished from there.

07 April - Next stop Robe, a delightful little seaside town, also close to the lagoons & one of the nicest towns we have been through.  So neat & tidy & with a great ambience.  It is also the beginning of wine country again.

Further on the landscape is dotted with lagoons.  One has a pelican breeding island which in breeding season can contain over 1000 pairs of pelicans.  You can only reach it by boat but it is illegal to go nearer than 140 mtrs.  Our next camp was another Conservation Park called Coorong.  It is set in an area of many lagoons, some absolutely huge.  They are all very saline & often surrounded by sand dune.  Those that dry up become total salt lakes.  The road into the camp we had to drive at 15km per hour as it was so rough & corrugated.  However it proved to be worth it as we were able to park right by the lagoon beside a few other campers.  It had no facilities whatever, but of course that didn't matter to us.  We took a walk further round the lagoon to a great picnic area but there was no camping allowed there.   Pity, as it was really nice & very large.  Along the track we saw a couple of Western Red kangaroos - very timid.    To complete the day there was a lovely sunset.  We feel truly blessed.

 08 April - Mother's Day with 2 surprise calls from family & a beautiful sunny morning.  We passed more salt lakes, & once again a very straight flat road., not even any trees or stock at first.  I should be practising driving with the van on.  We suddenly run out of road, due to the Murray River & no bridge.  But surprise, there is a FREE ferry on cables which takes all vehicles across, only about 100 metres.  Was quite neat really.  We arrive at Goolwa & book into a caravan park in time for lunch, then drive off to explore the area.  Goolwa is where the Murray River ends & it is controlled by 'barrages' which control the flow of the water into the sea & vice versa.  The reason for this is for the benefit of the lagoons & all the wildlife & fish which depend on them.  Without the barrages the river mouth would silt up & then in drought the fresh water would dry up & the sea water would not come in.  So they also have sand dredges working.  It costs $6m per year to keep the mouth open.  We also drove through Port Elliot, another small seaside town, & onto Victor Harbour where we climbed 'The Bluff', a large hill covered by large granite rocks which were formed approximately 500million years ago.

5 April 2011 - Warrnambool - Nelson , Victoria

A new day - always exciting wondering what we will experience in it.  The scenery has now changed, initially very flat.  We passed through a very Celtic area, settled in the early days by Scots & Irish, so lots of celtic names & can you guess the local produce?  Spuds!  Stands to reason doesn't it.  There are many small 'crofts' & even more modern buildings built in that vein & it was such a grey, cloudy day which coupled with the landscape which had become very rocky & covered with heather, we felt we were in Scotland or Ireland itself.   In the distance on the seaward side we could see lots & lots of wind turnbines which were luckily turning very slowly.  I say luckily, because if they were turning fast it would have meant a lot of wind, which meant cold, & a lot of noise.  Our first 'port of call' was actually Portland, a fairly busy port as there is an aluminium smelter here & I think that is why the wind turbines.  Portland was actually the first settled area in Victoria &  it is a great spot for whale watching though of course it is the wrong time for us.  We drove around a tourist route which took us along the coast of Cape Nelson with it's imposing 1884 lighthouse.  It is perched on the most amazing headland of rocks & clifftops where we stood for ages just watching the immense power of the waves crashing into them.  The water was an amazing colour even on such a dull day.  Further on we managed to avoid a couple of 'roos who speedily jumped across the road in front of us.  Continuing on we came to Cape Bridgewater to witness the blowholes there, but also the 'petrified forest' which is not wood, but incredible rock formations.  I know I have talked about amazing rock formations before in other areas, but there are so many & all different.  There are also a number of caves in the area, one we passed on the side of the road en route to our next stop at Nelson, a tiny little backwater with a lovely river, edged with many little boat sheds - very quaint & very peaceful with gorgeous reflections on the water.    Our camp was right next to it so we did a walk to explore the area before settling ourselves in & I unusually didn't take my camera.  Will try tomorrow morning.    Tonight for the first time we are experiencing one of the 'ensuite' sites, only because there was no other available & we got a discount anyway.

02 April 2011 - Great Ocean Rd, - The Shipwreck Coast

Leaving Joanna Beach in sunshine, we farewelled our new friends as they were staying another day.  We hoped they would catch up with us in a day or two as we so enjoyed their company - 2 really lovely couples.  There are so many highlights today, with the Twelve Apostles which are the amazing rock formations just offshore along the coast.  They really are a sight to behold.  Golden orange  formations which were created  more than 20 million years ago by the immense power of the southern ocean beating on the limestone cliffs  The next attraction was Loch Ard Gorge, named after the ship 'Loch Ard' which was shipwrecked just off the coast here in 1878 with only two survivors, the ship's  apprentice & a young girl passenger.  Here we were able to venture down many steps to the small beach, the site of their survival.    Further along there were the Arch, & London Bridge whic looked like it's namesake with two arches & was joined to the mainland.  However in recent years one of the arches disintegrated  into the sea & two tourists were marooned on the remaining arch.  Luckily no one was hurt, but an experience one could do without I imagine.  Stu was disappointed that we had to miss 'Shipwreck Beach' which has many remnants of  ships from the 100 ships wrecked along this coast.    Thus it is aptly named 'The Shipwreck Coast'.  Further along is the 'Bay of Martyrs' another group of rock formations but quite diffent again.  Today they were quite misty & mysterious as the weather is a little showery.   This coast is also famous for watching the Southern Right Whales on their annual migration from May to October, so unfortunately we are just a little too early.   Our final destination for the day is Warrnambool where we will camp in the showgrounds for 3 nights while we explore the area & catch up with washing etc while we have power again.

03 April  -  We took to our bikes today & headed for Flagstaff Hill where we have been told there is a unique Maritime Village   The original flagstaff  was erected in the early 1850's serving as a navigational aid & signal point  between ship & shore.  In 1975  the Maritime Village opened after 3 yrs planning by members of the local community.   Over the past 30 years it has continued to expand  with new buildings, artifacts  & vessels.  It really is a unique little village & we were really surprised & delighted on our visit.  All the buildings are historic & original but restored to their former glory & it is just like it would have been in it's heyday, with paved streets & all the little shops & services one would have found then.  The volunteers are all dressed in period attire & are full of knowledge of their chosen interest.  In the dressmakers shop there were ladies industriously sewing, the bank was manned by a little old lady suitably dressed & taking withdrawals after the filling in of a form in suitable script with a pen & ink.  And the highlight was the schoolroom  where there were lessons in progress with the children & teacher all in the dress of the day.  It really was so delightful & the children were full of questions & obviously enjoying it immensely.   Further along there were the 'shipsmith', the inn, the bondstore, the sailmaker,  and so many other little shops etc.  Then there was the little 'port' with a sailing sloop & a very large steam ferry waiting to be restored to it's former glory.  Not to mention the church, the lighthouse etc, etc.  We spent several hours there much to our surprise, so decided to lunch in 'the tearooms' where there were home-made goodies to whet our appetites.   Finally we mounted our bikes again & cycled around some small lakes & part of the local rail trail which goes about 37kms to Port Fairy.  A full & interesting day once more.

04 April - Today we are heading to the next town of Port Fairy, named after a ship which was wrecked off the coast nearby.  En route we visit Tower Hill which is a volcanic formation believed to have erupted about 30,000 years ago.  Because of the way the eruption occurred,  it created a shallow crater which later formed a lake, then further eruptions occurred  in the centre of the crater forming islands & cone shaped hills.  Artifacts found in the area show that indigenous communities were living there at the time.  It is now a tourist attraction with wildlife in their natural habitat & walking tracks due to revegation of the area which attracted them back.  We saw a group of emus quietly grazing, kangaroos lazing under trees, & at last, koalas curled up in the trees keeping warm due to the drizzly morning.  It was quite a hike to the top of the crater up many steps, but it did allow us to see the formation of the area.  After a nice picnic lunch we took a tourist drive right around the top of the whole volcano which gave us an overall view.  This is quite a different volcano in that it is not a high mountain or hill - it is more like a huge empty lake with islands in the middle.   Returning to camp we find that there is to be greyhound racing at the showgrounds tonight, so after dinner we wrapped up & went out to watch for awhile.  Boy can those dogs fly!  There's always a new experience around the corner.

28 April 2011 - Trentham - Great Ocean Road (via Melbourne)

An early start to head to Melbourne on a cold (light frosty) morning.  Lovely mist & sun shining through  the trees next to Janinie's house.  As we left Trentham & the other little villages enroute the landscape was so beautiful with the mist hanging over it.  Naturally I couldn't use the camera (no time to stop) as we had to have the caravan in Melbourne for 9am (1.5 hr drive) to have a few minor faults corrected by the manufacturers.  They were very helpful but we left the van there & drove into the city for a quick look at Queen Victoria Market (absolutely massive) & walked to Federation  Square down by the river.  The building there is a huge modern hexagonal/octagonal (?) structure which I thought was offensive to look at - guess it's all a matter of taste. Didn't have time to see much else as it was a 40 minute drive back to collect the van by 3pm when they closed, then venture on to our next camp spot at Werribee, west of the city, hoping to miss the peak hour traffic.  Stu had chosen the van park & didn't realise it was right on Port Philip Bay so it was a nice surprise on arrival, especially as we had to drive through very flat market gardens to get there.  It reminded us of Pukekohe with it's red soil, except here there were no hills.  The park is quite large & we got the last site as it is popular for people visiting Melbourne.  Nice to walk a beach again & smell the fresh sea air & as a bonus were given a nice sunset.  Up at 6.30am next morning to catch a sunrise as well, the first we have managed so far.  Gorgeous morning & we are setting off to start the Gt Ocean Road so should be lots of photography in the next week or so (of course that is a change for me).  It's a shame we can't put more photos on the blog.

29th April  -   Lovely day for travelling again, bypassing Geelong we start what I am sure will be an exciting drive.  First stop Torquay, a small coastal town very popular with surfies.  All along this road are lovely sandy beaches & rocky headlands.  At several points we managed to stop & take a few shots of lovely red cliffs &  a lighthouse, the  then stopped at Anglesea for picnic lunch.  The road is naturally quite winding though not too bad at this stage.  Travelling on to Lorne, we deviated off to a campsite in the Otway National Park, called Big Hill only a 10 minute drive.  A basic camp with toilets & water only.  It was quite close to the road & no-one there on our arrival.  However within a few minutes two other vans pulled in together, so it was nice to have company.  They were two couples (related) from W.A. who invited us to join them for a cuppa so a pleasant change to have company.  Another young Irish couple joined us  too in their tiny van. 

30th April -   We discovered this morning that the 3 caravans were all heading to the same camp, so would all meet again.  However, Stu & I left first & just a short distance down the road came upon a big holdup of traffic.  Apparently a motorcyclist (no doubt speeding) went over the barrier & tumbled down the incline leaving his bike behind.  It took about 40 minutes for the ambulance & fire service to get him up the hill though we only waited about twenty.  It was quite funny as it turned into a social occasion with all the occupants from the waiting vehicles having long conversations on the side of the road.  The Aussies idea of a social occasion!  We have heard that the weather is going to change so are all anxious to do as much as possible today.    The road became really quite scary, driving along the cliff tops looking way down to the rocks & sea below - it certainly kept Stu concentrating very hard.  It's not a particularly wide road either, but they do provide a lot of 'pull offs' so that slower vehicles can let other traffic pass.  Stu uses these a lot as he hates having people on his tail.   This is the only coastal route I have ever travelled where it actually does keep to the coast most of the time.  We did call into the seaside town of Lorne to get fuel, & then again at Apollo Bay for lunch.  Both are very popular holiday destinations, especially for surfies, as is most of this coast.  The road   did for a time leave the coast where en route we visited 'Mait's Rest'  and  we did the most beautiful rainforest walk I have ever experienced  (of course I have never done the Sth Island walks).     There were huge native myrtle trees over 300 years old & eucalypts which were so high I had a crick in my neck looking up.  Very hard to photograph of course, but the green of the ferns & moss etc was spectacular.  The only thing that spoilt it was the van loads of other tourists who arrived when we did.    However they didn't stay long so we did manage a short period of tranquility before the next lot arrived.  On arrival at Joanna Beach we were disappointed to find  what we thought was the campsite & it was so sloping that we couldn't get our van level.  We did find another road leading further along the beach & went to inspect & it was great.  We have a CB radio in the van & so have the others, so we were able to contact them to tell them where to come.  We all settled in & had 5 o'clock nibbles time before dinner, then did our own thing.  By the time we went to bed it had started to rain lightly, but by the next morning it had set in, so a quiet day with time for me to catch up on this blog.

01 May  -    By lunchtime the rain had cleared so we left the van & headed for 'The Treetops Fly' which is a wonderful walk through the top of the trees.  We did do one at Lamington National Park, but this one is truly amazing.   The  forest itself is lovely with even a short deviation for kids.  We being big kids thought we had better walk that too & it was like a mini Jurassic Park.  (See photof)  The boardwalk sis 600 metres long  & 25 metres above the florest floor & constructed of 120 tonnes of steel . There are only 3 other steel canopy walks in the world & they are all in Australia.  It was prefabricated in Tasmania & transported in 8 mtr spans & erected on site by cranes, taking 10 months to complete.  It can withstand winds up to 260 kilometres.  At the end of the walkway is a cantilevered section which can hold the weight of 14 elephants.  Luckily we didn't see any wild elephants that day!    The ' piece de resistance' is the 47 metre high tower which is accessed via a spiral staircase.  It does slightly move, as do the boardwalks, but it is meant to apparently.  I'm getting quite good at heights these days.  There is also a 'Zip Line Tour' which is available - this means you can pay $115 each to fly through the trees on a flying fox type contraption for about 3 hours - unfortunately we couldn't view that section but could hear the 'zipping' sound now & again.  A magical place & well worth the visit.  By this time it was about 3.30pm but we wanted to visit the nearby Triplet Falls which was a half hour walk down steps the whole way but once again worth it.  Luckily we discovered we didn't have to return up all those steps again as there was an alternative route back.  To finish the day Stu & I took a walk to the beach & Stu got some great sunset photos.