OUR FIRST WEEK BACK ON THE ROAD

Tuesday2^nd April   - We were both excited and sad to be leaving our dear friends at Warnervale.  They have made us so welcome and opened their hearts and home to us once again.  We left their driveway at 9am intending to get to Gunning for an overnight  stop, approximately a 4 hour drive.  The drive on the freeway towards Sydney was fraught with the “wobbles” as the caravan was swaying in the wind too much.  Richard decided to keep to an 85-90 maximum speed.  He stopped a few times and made minor technical adjustments in the height of the tow bar to the A frame and decided “we’re overloaded” and it was all my fault with all the extras I’d loaded the van up with (hard not to take many things when you’re living full time in the van – I mean it’s not quite the same as going away for a few week’s holiday!!!).   Anyway, I decided silence was golden and got on with my crosswords until we’d passed Sydney and the traffic wasn’t as bad.  We stopped at a new large rest area just past Campbelltown for morning tea.  It was very busy and noisy there so we didn’t stay any longer than necessary.  Kate had loaded me up with some of her delicious sticky date cake to keep us nourished for morning tea.  We’d had it for dessert the previous night warm with caramel sauce, but it tasted just as delicious cold with a quick roadside brew.  Thank you yet again Kate.

We got to the little town of Gunning at 1 o’clock and pulled up beside the river.  It was a beautiful day and we got chatting to another couple having lunch at the same table as us.  The ducks were swimming and roaming about.  It was lovely and peaceful there.  There were lots of vacant spots but they started filling up quickly with the new tenants for that evening.  Much as we had wanted to stay there, we decided to keep going to Wagga to lessen the driving time for the following day.  We arrived at Wilks Park in Wagga at 4pm and found a suitable spot.  The area was crowded with vans from the Easter break still.  It was a very large area so there wasn’t a problem finding somewhere to park.  Since our last visit to the park, the Council have put in a new covered bbq area with lights to make your stay there easier.    Very considerate.

Wednesday 3^rd April  -  We left Wagga at 9am headed for Lake Benanee (1 ½ hours before Mildura) our intended stopover for the night.  Driving through the Hay Plains again was pretty boring as the landscape is so very flat, dry and practically treeless.  We did spot a few frolicking emus now and then and had to stop for a herd of cattle walking from one side of the road to the other with not a hurry in the world.  To be fair a sign did warn us of “5km cattle crossing”.  It did break the monotony somewhat. We passed by “Quilters Road” and “Poison Waterholes Creek” (well you’ve got to look for anything amusing you can find to alleviate the boredom).  Richard had treated us to a new IPod and had loaded it up with about 13,000 songs to keep us awake whilst driving.  It was my task to learn how to use it and be the resident DJ for the duration of the trip.  I’m not the most savvy person with technology and made Richard quite frustrated when I’d ask “another dumb question that he’d already told me a million times” – an interesting trip as you can imagine!!.  We arrived at Lake Benanee at 4pm.   There were already quite a few vans pulled in.  We were trying to get a waterside spot beside the river, but they weren’t flat enough to park on.  We soon found a suitable spot and took Sally onto the beach for a long awaited run around. Lake Benanee is a large irrigation lake and a popular free camping area. It’s set back from the main road with toilets.  We soon got chatting to a couple that had been on the road for 13 years with a home renovated bus.  We had happy hour with them and another couple that were beside them.  Sally loved the freedom of roaming around off the leash.   It was a beautiful stopover and very quiet at night.

Thursday 4^th April  -  We wanted to stay another night at Lake Benanee.  Unfortunately the generator had stopped working and we were forced to drive on to our next destination at Buronga   about 1 ½  hours drive from Lake Benanee.  We arrived at Buronga Riverside Caravan Park at midday and were given a site beside the swimming pool.  It was a huge caravan park and very well maintained and laid out.   Many of the trees and bushes had solar lights that looked really pretty at night time.  The pool had solar lights and looked lovely at night also.  We quickly got set up and had a wander around.  We walked to the river bank and watched the paddle steamers passing by.  The park was full of ducks so we had to keep Sally on her lead all the time which she wasn’t too happy about.  The grounds were extremely well maintained and the amenities blocks immaculate.  There were so many lovely touches around the place that you don’t find in other parks.  There was also a separate washing machine for pet blankets.  It’s the first time I’ve ever come across that. We walked down to the river edge with our wine and beer and sat for ages looking at the water and everyone else having happy hour by the waterside.  It was certainly very relaxing.

You’ll be relieved to know the generator was only a small problem – the micro switch????  Anyway, it’s up and running a dream now and ready for our next free camp spot.  We also found the fridge wasn’t working properly – wasn’t cooling down or else froze everything solid.  So many teething problems on the start of our trip.  The first 2 days we were constantly adjusting the setting on the fridge.  Thankfully it  settled down and the beer/wine/cheese and dips were  perfectly chilled for the next “happy hour”.

Monday 8^th April  -  We went on The Melbourne Paddle Steamer for a 2 hour leisurely trip up and down The Murray River.  It was $29 each with refreshments available at the kiosk. We sat on the upper deck to listen to Captain Lance’s commentary and learnt that The Melbourne was licensed to carry 300 passengers.  It is 98’ long and 21’ wide.  It has operated continuously in Mildura for the past 30 years , alongside The Rothsbury.

 On approaching The Lock, Captain Lance had to blast his hooter three long whistles to alert the Lock Master that we were approaching,  as  the  paddle steamers weren't visible from that side of The Weir.  Construction started on The Weir in August 1923 and took 4 years to complete.  The Weir chamber is made from concrete and is 61 metres long, 17 wide and 7.6 deep.  The first paddle steamer passed through The Lock on the 2nd of August 1927.  We went through Lock 11.  It took about 20 minutes for the lock gates to open and shut before we could continue our journey further down The Murray.  It was amazing to see how fast the water levels dropped.  It was like going down an elevator in slow motion – the sides of the walls got higher and higher.   We then went around the other side of The Weir to see the cascading waters.  There were quite a few other tourists aboard The Melbourne also.  The trips runs twice a day with a Thursday  evening dinner/music cruise.  We decided to have a champagne  with our lunch.  I was stunned when I asked for 2 glasses to be told there weren't any more champagnes left as all the piccolos that had been put in the fridge that morning were sold.  They obviously weren’t prepared for many customers in need of some bubbly with their lunch.  I reluctantly settled for 2 savs instead –not quite the same thing when you fancied a bubble or two!!! 

We continued our journey past  The Mildura Homestead – an historic village that’s free to visit, past posh houses and new ones under construction and on to Apex Beach which is beside the caravan park we stayed at a few weeks ago when we first collected the new van.  We turned around here and made our way back up to The Lock once more.  Anyone that wanted to steer The Melbourne was welcome to do so and received a “Skipper’s Certificate” for their efforts.

Paddle steamers have been operating on The Murray since 1853.  Australia has the biggest collection of working paddle steamers in the World.

All too soon we were back at Mildura Wharf and our trip back in time was completed.  It was certainly a worthwhile and enjoyable trip and one that we’d highly recommend.

The Melbourne Paddle Steamer

View from the banks of our caravan park 

me steering The Melbourne

Richard steering The Melbourne

enjoying a liquid lunch on The Melbourne

Tuesday 9^th April  -  We had an early start as the van was going back to Halls Jayco for a 1,000km service and we had to be there at 8.30.  This consisted of minor adjustments to the wheel nuts and fixing up any teething problems. It was basically to validate the 12 month warranty period and took 4 hours to complete.  We were left homeless in the boiling sun with Sally and had to find something to do whilst the service was being carried out.  We went back to Apex Beach and let Sally run riot along the beach. She had a ball chasing ducks into the water.  We had our morning cuppa relaxing by the river and went to visit The Mildura Homestead.  This is an accurate reconstruction of the first Mildura Station built by the Jamieson Brothers in 1847 and stands as one of Mildura’s biggest links to the past in the pastoral and irrigation industries.  It includes a homestead, outbuildings, woolshed and rose garden and can be hired for rustic weddings and functions. It was very interesting to walk around and inside all the old buildings.  We were impressed by the biggest fireplace we’d ever seen in one of the smallest rooms and could imagine it’s occupants scurrying about their business whilst  being roasted by the heat.  The rose garden was very well maintained with some beautifully strong smelling roses growing there.  There was lots of old machinery on display outside and Richard was fascinated by it.

Thursday 11^th April  -  Richard’s 59^th birthday.  We were going to leave Buronga today but decided to stay another day as it was Richard’s birthday so that we could go out for dinner that night. We picked the only thai restaurant in Mildura called the Thai Riffic.  It was licensed which we normally don’t go to.  It was located in the main strip of restaurants.  We were pleasantly surprised walking up to the restaurant by how pretty the street was with hanging vines and ivies over the covered walkway with fairy lights hanging down that went all the way up the road, called "Feast Street".  It looked so pretty and all the restaurants were buzzing with diners – it felt like a busy Saturday night at Parramatta. Luckily we’d booked our restaurant as it was full.  Richard wanted to sit outside on the Al Fresco table and I wanted to sit inside as it looked beautiful inside.  I won as all the outside tables were taken. We had a beautiful meal and finished off sharing deep fried banana with coconut ice cream (the only dessert on offer).  I was disappointed they didn’t have my favourite dessert deep fried ice cream. Nevertheless we were so full when we left and had really enjoyed the evening.  The waitresses were really friendly, helpful and efficient.

I forgot to mention in the last blog that we had to have the washing machine in the van replaced on the third day after picking it up brand new as it was leaking everywhere.  We thought it might have been a pinched pipe, but it turned out to be a major problem and involved taking the bench top off the vanity unity in the bathroom to access the machine (great design forethought with that one).  Jayco had to put in a new washing machine and took the whole day to do so.  Another day stranded in the hot sun!! 

Today we had to take the van into Jayco once more as we discovered the washing machine leaked during the two loads we did yesterday. We were none too pleased or impressed.  After 2 hours we got a phone call to inform us they couldn’t find any further leaks but had made a note of it on our warranty, making us very frustrated to say the least. 

We are now free to leave Buronga, although we have thoroughly enjoyed our stay here and would rate the park 10/10.  We would certainly not hesitate to recommend this park to stay at.  I would say it’s the best place in Mildura to stay and it is also in the top 20 of tourist destinations in Australia.

That brings me to the end of this long blog (thank goodness I hear you all sigh and say).

Tomorrow we head off through Renmark, Wakerie and Cadell and make our way through to The Eyre Peninsula in  South Australia. I’ll tell you all about it in our next blog edition. Thanks for your company so far.  Tune in next week for the latest news .





WE GET OUR NEW VAN AT LONG LAST

MY NEW KITCHEN

CARCOAR DAM

Welcome back to all our friends that have been following our travel blog.  We hope you’ll continue to follow and enjoy our travels.  We also hope that we may inspire some of you to get out there and see more of the beauty of Australia.  It really is SO spectacular.  Even to just explore your nearest surrounding beauty spots.

Monday 11^th March   - We drove from  Sydney to Hay leaving Sydney at 6am, arriving in Hay at 2.30pm.  On the way down, we stopped at a little town off the highway called Gunning– 2 hours drive from Sydney and found  a lovely free camping area right along the river.  It was pretty full and was quite small, but a definite possibility for another time.  It’s very pretty with lots of ducks wandering around the grassed areas.   We also stopped at Wagga to check out Wilks Park another free camping spot.  It’s a very big area off the main road where you can stay for up to 3 days.  That was also quite busy for mid-week.  Both of these rest stops are featured in The Camps 7 Book.

 We stayed at Charlie’s Retreat, which is a house owned by The Royal Chain Hotel where you’re allowed to take dogs.  They’re supposed to sleep in the laundry (try telling that to our pampered Sally).  It’s a big old house that’s been done up with fenced gardens and was very comfortable.  It sleeps up to 8 people, but the only drawback is there’s only 1 toilet and bathroom.  Perfect for us.  The local Bowling Club had a lovely Chinese restaurant and the food there was absolutely beautiful.  I had sizzling lamb in a black pepper sauce with vegetables.  We doubled the restaurant’s patronage as there was only one other couple eating in the dining room.  We spotted 2 people coming in for take-aways.  The barman was flat out when we walked in talking to his only customer, a local. When he’d served us he must have been exhausted and went on his extended break.  

Tuesday 12^th March – We left Hay at 8am for a 3 hour trip towards Mildura.  We stopped for morning  tea at Lake Benanee which is another free camping area.  Richard stayed overnight there on his return trip from SA to Sydney last year.  We got to Jayco at Mildura and spent the next two hours looking over the van and doing the paperwork.  We were thrilled to have our new home again and couldn’t wait to stock it up with the immediate supplies that we could fit in the back of the car.  The staff at Jayco Mildlura have been fantastic to us, so very helpful and couldn’t do enough for us.  We’ve had many phone calls from Sydney to Mildura since November and the Manager there Newton has really gone out of his way to do all he could for us.  It was so nice to actually meet him.  We were anxious to be on our way to the caravan park.  By 4pm we arrived at Apex Riverbeach Holiday Park and eagerly stocked it up with our belongings.  The park was right on the riverfront and the sites very spacious.  We had a roomy drive through site on the water front.  There were some lovely walks and bike paths in both directions following the river which were always busy.  We had a celebratory wine later that night by the riverside. We were told it gets very noisy at weekends.  It didn’t worry us as we would be long gone by the weekend. Our stay was pretty quiet and enjoyable.

Wednesday 13^th March  -  We went for a drive around the area stopping at Jaycee Park for morning tea.  We sat by the river watching the paddle steamers going up and down.  It was such a beautiful spot.  We walked along the river up to the Weir.  We drove further along to The Australian Inland Botanic Gardens and visited the magnificent rose garden.   We then drove to Wentworth to see the junction where the Murray and Darling Rivers meet – quite an historical spot.  We had lunch in the park by the viewing platform.  At the top of the platform you could actually see the division of the two rivers.  It is the site where Captain Charles Sturt gave the Murray River it’s name in 1830.  The Murray River is the longest river in Australia, stretching 2739 kilometres from Northern New South Wales.  It officially starts near Bourke at the junction of the Culgoa and Barwon Rivers. The Murray River is Australia’s third longest river, stretching 1,472 kilometres from New South Wales.

Friday 15^th March  -    We left Mildura and started the long drive back to the Central Coast.  We drove from 8am to 4pm with comfort/tea breaks  along the way and stopped at Wilks Park at Wagga overnight.  It’s a large free camping area with toilets and water available.  It was fairly crowded with weekend campers by the time we arrived.  It’s off the main road and within walking distance to the town and shops.

Saturday 16^th March  -  We left Wagga at 9am heading for Carcoar Dam near Blaney on the other side of Bathurst.  We stopped for lunch at a lovely park at Cowra and stocked up on supplies.  We arrived at Carcoar Dam at 2pm to find it quite busy.  It’s a beautiful spot with camping/caravans all over the grassy slopes overlooking the Dam.  It’s a busy place for water sports and always popular.  We found a suitable spot and set up.  We bumped into a couple we’d met at Wilks Park on our way down to Mildura and had a catch-up chat with them. There are some lovely walks around the Dam and there’s a viewing platform to look at the wind farm on the other side of the Dam. We really enjoyed our stay there and will definitely go back there again.  It’s an idyllic free camp area with 2 showers and toilets .  I think it’s only cold water though!!!

Sunday 17^th March  -  St. Patrick’s Day –We left Carcoar Dam for the final league of our trip back to “Camp Cox” at Warnervale on the Central Coast.  We arrived in time for a lovely roast dinner and a huge warm welcome by our very dear friends and their teddy bear dog Tyson.  Sally and Tyson were really happy to see one another again.

We’re busily doing minor altertions to the van  - outside  – installing fishing rod holders (top priority) underneath, rear vision camera, installing fans behind the fridge for better airflow in very hot temperatures.  Inside – extra power points, extra shelves in some of the cupboards, putting up pictures and heated towel rail (a godsend in wet weather) to name just a few of the many jobs to be done before we finally head off.  We’ve also been busily sorting out our storage shed to finalise what we do and don’t want to take with us.  We’ve been flat chat getting everything organised and finding a place inside for it all.  We’re just about done now, so can relax and enjoy Easter with our friends. 

We leave Warnevale on Tuesday 2^nd April and will be heading to Gunning to stay overnight.

APEX RIVERBEACH PARK A MILURA

 

 

We’re very much looking forward to heading off and being “on the road” again, being official itinerants and grey nomads once more.  Don’t forget to log on the blog for the next instalment of The Winter Adventures around Oz.

BACK TO SYDNEY ONCE MORE

Hello there everyone.  The latest news and happenings since our last blog are as follows:

We’ve rented a house at Holsworthy – one station further south from our old address at East Hills.  It’s around the corner from where the girls are renting and very handy for the station. It took us over a week to find somewhere suitable.  Some of the places we looked at were really old, run down and very expensive.  This place was by far the best we looked at for the money.  It was soul destroying and so tiring looking around all the time.  We also needed one that was immediately available.   Not too many places allowed dogs either. The one we chose is a fairly new 3 bedroom townhouse with a small courtyard/ garden (not much maintenance thankfully). Daniel left some of his furniture and household things that he couldn’t take to Perth with him, so we’ve been able to put them in the house.  We had all the cooking things, linen etc in the caravan so that’s all been unloaded into the house also.  We’ve borrowed anything else we needed from friends and the place is looking reasonably homely now (we don’t want to make it too comfy).  It’s a much smaller house than East Hills and fairly easy to keep clean.

We miss our caravan so much.  It was just so sad unloading it.  It’s now looking very bare and lonely.  We parked it outside a friend’s place in Sydney whilst we were house hunting, in the hope we’d get a place where the caravan would fit also.  Alas, there’s barely enough room for our big Landcruiser in the driveway.  Off street parking is limited and the streets are quite narrow, so parking the van here just wasn’t an option.   We’ve left the van at “Camp Cox” – our very good friends at Warnervale have once again given up part of their driveway so that we can leave the van there until we’re ready to head off once more.  We’ll spend some weekends up with them and also go away for short breaks on the Central Coast work permitting.   Yes, I did say work permitting.  Unfortunately we both have to work as much as possible over the next 6 months.  Richard’s been offered a 6 months contract back at Invocare – the company he was at before we set off on our travels.  They’ve also very kindly agreed to lend him a car for the duration of the contract which is fantastic as both of us trying to work at different places with only one car wasn’t going to work out too well.  He’ll probably start back next week.  I‘m going back to the club Panania Diggers as a casual and am waiting for my uniform to come in and a phone call to start back.  Unfortunately we’re back into the rat race for at least 6 months.

Our aim is to get Adam back to work and finish his apprenticeship in June.  At least then he’ll be earning better money as a qualified tradesman and will be in a better financial position to decide what he’s going to do. It’s also his 21^st birthday in September and we’d always intended to come back to Sydney for it (didn’t expect to be actually living here once more at that time).We’re committed until mid-November now and will reassess everything further down the track.  Adam may join Daniel in Western Australia next year, so time will tell.

In the meantime Adam’s having physiotherapy 3 times a week and has a specialist appointment tomorrow.  He’ll probably start back to work on light duties next week 5 hours a day.  He’s still got a long road to full recovery and has had one third of his cartilage removed from behind his knee as it was too badly damaged to repair.  This means he’ll be more prone to arthritis later in life and shouldn’t (but probably will) go back to trail bike riding and jumps. He’s living with us as he just can’t live with his 2 sisters any longer (it was a nightmare waiting to happen). KIDS!!!!!

Thanks for joining us during our travels.  The blog will now go into hibernation for 6 months until we resume our trek around Oz and head back to South Australia that we absolutely loved and then on to Western Australia.  

Love and best wishes to you all.  Please keep in touch and there’s  a good chance we will catch up whilst we’re based in Sydney.  

Marian, Richard and Sally

VICTOR HARBOUR SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Tuesday 27^th March   -   Victor Harbour Beachfront Tourist Park  - We left Port Willunga with our next destination Victor Harbour.  In just under an hour we were there.  The caravan park was very large and the accommodation was pretty full with a Probus Convention being held there for the week. 

We parked next to a Winnebago that Richard straight away said looked familiar.  The owners were out in their car.  We got set up and had a look around the park and it was a few hours later before our neighbours returned to their van.  They were just as surprised as us when we realised we’d been parked next to them in Bowen (Far North Queensland) last October.  They’re a lovely couple called Ros and Rob and their staffie dog Molly.  We’d all got on very well when we first met.  Straight away that called for a happy hour to celebrate meeting up once more and catch up on our news.  They stayed for another 4 nights and we had a great time with them and went to the local Indian restaurant on their last night.  It’s really quite amazing how many times you bump into people again on the road.

We really liked Victor Harbour, although the beach was hard to walk on as it was almost completely covered in dry clumps of seaweed which made walking diffucult.

It was only a 10 minute walk into town to the shops, restaurants and coffee shops which we loved.  It was a lively town with plenty to see and do.

The park was slowly filling up with school holiday families and Easter visitors.  The amenities block was absolutely spotless and very well maintained.  There was also a small swimming pool.  The park was surrounded by wire mesh fencing throughout with a cycle/walking path on the other side leading into town or further along the coast. There were some beautiful walks which we did twice a day. 

Victor Harbour has a long pier stretching 632 metres going out to Granite Island.  Until recently, a horse drawn cart took tourists along the pier to the Island.  The pier is now being repaired so the 2 old dray horses were sadly confined to their stables on the esplanade for the tourists to look at.  It’s quite a long walk to the island so now the elderly or impaired can’t get there which is sad as it’s a very pretty island with coastal walks and a café/restaurant and a penguin interpretive centre to visit.  Granite Island is about 62 acres and is a recognised ecological attraction.

Captain John Blenkinsopp set up a whaling station on the island in 1837 and in April of that year guided Captain Richard Crozier into the harbour who named the harbour after his ship the Victor. When whaling came to an end the island was used to graze sheep. 

The day we went to Granite Island we spotted a lone seal swimming on the harbour edge.  Unfortunately he’d swam away before we could take his photo

We also visited the Penguin Interpretive Centre to see the 7 Little/Fairy Penguins that are living there. Their handler knows them all by name and their individual characteristics.  We instantly felt sorry for one with a big blue balloon on his foot and discovered it was to keep the dressing on his injured foot dry.  They were all squawking for their fish feed as it was feeding time.  Some of them hid in their bunkers and we discovered how they swap and change partners constantly.  They’re so small and cute and are moulting at this time of year.  One of the penguins looked like he had a woolly scarf around his neck.  The rest of his body was bare as he had almost finished moulting.  2 of the penguins are permanent residents of the Centre as they’ve lost an eye by being attacked by fish.  Some are only there to recover from an injury until they can be released into the wild again.  Every night there is a tour out to visit the penguins coming in from the ocean onto land.  There were only 7 this time of year and we were told they all look quite scraggy due to them moulting.  The Little Penguin is only found in Australia and New Zealand and is the world’s smallest species, averaging about 35cm and weighing 1.2kg.  They can dive to a maximum depth of 60 metres and have excellent eye sight. Each bird has around 10,000 feathers.  During the moulting season in late summer when breeding is finished, their coats are not waterproof so they are very vulnerable to land predators. They stockpile as much food as they can before they start to moult as they can’t hunt for food.  It takes about 2-3 weeks for their new feathers to regrow.

Monday 2^nd April -   Adam out youngest son (20) had an accident at work 3 weeks ago and is having an operation on his damaged knee tomorrow.  He’s living with his 2 sisters and all is not going well for the trio.  We got a phone call late in the evening that decided us to return asap to Sydney and try to sort the situation out.  Sadly, alas our travel plans are now on temporary hold and I’m booked to fly back to Sydney on Wednesday 4^th.  Richard will drive the caravan with Sally the 1500km back to Sydney and we’ll take it from there.

Trivia Facts:   From 1^st July when we set sail in the HMS Jayco we’ve clocked up 33,500 kilometres, spent $5,300 on accommodation and $7,300 on petrol.

PORT WILLUNGA - FLEURIEU PENINSULA SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Monday 12th March  We left Beachport with our next destination 4 hours away at Port  Willunga Big 4 Tourist Park.  We passed though Robe, Kingston (where we saw The Giant Lobster), Tailem Bend and on to Port Willunga on The Fleurieu Peninsula.  The scenery was stunning with a back drop of the Adelaide Hills along the way.  The colours of the landscape were amazing – yellows, browns and greens of the valleys and undulating fields and the striped tiered effect of the surrounding hills.

The tourist park was very big with large sites. There were lots of permanents living behind the casual area.  It was very well maintained with beautiful tubs of flowers on the verandah by the office.  There were 2 peacocks and 4 peahens wandering freely around the park plus a penned area for ducks and geese.  Several times we had to stop the car as there was a peacock in the way not taking a blind bit of notice of us.  They came right up to the caravan, so we had to make sure they weren’t around before we let Sally out.

Our nearest beach was Maslin Beach – a 10 minute walk across the pathway opposite the caravan park to steep winding concrete steps down to the beach.  What a stunning view standing at the top of the steps and looking across the ocean with the hills to one side creating a calm bay.  This was the “clothing optional” end of the beach which was in fact the first unclad beach in South Australia.  We drove further along to the next car park which led on to the dogs on leash area and further along the dogs off leash any time area.  Sally loved it there as there were plenty of stones to throw for her and she had lots of doggy friends to say hello to each visit.

We spent the next 2 days enjoying the sunshine and beaches and going for lots of walks.

Thursday 15^th – Tuesday 16^th  I flew to Sydney and caught up with friends and family and had a wonderful evening celebrating Paddy and Mary Joyce’s 50^th Wedding Anniversary on  17^th March held in The Officers Mess at Victoria Barracks, Paddington.  What a magnificent place with dark wooden paneling and leather chesterfield lounges in the Ante Room.  The dining room had silver place mats and 3 crystal glasses at each place setting.  The tables had silver candelabras which all added to the magnificence of the place.  A perfect historic venue for their celebration.  It was a real honour to be part of their special occasion.

Wednesday 21^st March   We went for a drive around the surrounding areas of Port Willunga, stopping off at Myponga Reservoir.  We went up the winding roads leading to the lookout across the entire valley looking down onto the dam.  It was quite a view and much larger than I imagined. It took 4 years to build and was completed in 1962.   It holds 26,800 megalitres of water and is presently at 71% capacity. It provides 5% of the water needed by Adelaide.  The Dam was searched in the early 1960’s for the missing Beaumont children and 2 other missing women.

We also drove through Sellicks Beach, Normanville and Second Valley, stopping off at Rapid Bay to check out the place as we were going to stay there for a few days.

Maslin Beach our local at Port 'Willunga

A Visiting Peacock

Another stunning view of Maslin Beach

Myponga Resevoir

Peacocks wandering in the park

Rapid  Bay

We were struck by the beautiful coastline literally stretching for miles in front of us and by the intense colours of  the water.  The landscape was also amazing with undulating fields and hills and changing greens, browns and yellows everywhere.  From Rapid Bay we drove to Cape Jervis where the Sealink Ferries go across to Kangaroo Island where lots of people go camping to see all the seals, birds and wildlife on the island.  Dogs aren’t allowed on the island, so unfortunately we can’t visit there.

We took Sally to Aldinga Beach every day which was a beautiful spot  with plenty of doggie friends to play with. 

Friday 23^rd March   We left Port Willunga and headed south with an hour trip to our next destination Rapid Bay.  It’s a big park by the ocean run by the local council where you can stay for $6 per person per night.  It’s got very clean toilets that are maintained daily and the grounds looked after by a caretaker that also collects money from you each evening.  There are undercover bbqs and a playground and its a popular weekend attraction for fishing off the recently built $3,000,000 jetty, boating and scuba diving to see the rare Leafy Sea Dragons a big attraction for the divers.  The beach is mainly fine stones.  When the tide is out there’s flat sand to walk along.  The park is surrounded by pine trees and dark stone hills with a few caves in one corner.  It’s a very peaceful place away from the hubbub as there’s nothing around, except for The Old Mill pub about 15 minutes drive onto the main road. You have to bring in all your own supplies and water.  People still live in the area.

The park has a replica anchor set in a stone monument to commemorate the first landing by Captain William Light on 8^th September 1836.  He landed in the bay in his ship “The Rapid”.  He stayed in the area for a few days and planted a garden plot that flourished.  The soil was very rich and supported many of the new settlers to the area.

The first white male child to be born on mainland South Australia was at Rapid Bay on 7^th November 1837 and the first while female was born on 2^nd January 1837

In the1950’s the area was a flourishing limestone quarry where 150 men were employed and it was necessary to work two shifts each day to ship the 60,000 tonnes of limestone that the quarry produced, until 1981 when it closed.    It’s sad walking up the street to the quarry and looking at the deserted houses where the quarry workers used to live.  It’s almost like walking through a deserted film set.

We’re really enjoying our time here and chatting to other people staying here.  There are about 12 other caravans and campers around.  Richard’s been fishing a few times and caught a few squid that we’re going to have for tea tonight..

Next Week:  We’ll be going to Victor Harbour for 7-8 nights, then on to Snow Town where bodies were found in vats inside a bank a few years ago (should  be an interesting visit).  We have to go there as it’s Easter and everywhere is fully booked/overly expensive with a 4 night minimum stay/don’t take dogs over Easter (after Easter they’ll be very glad for us to stay!!!).  

Thanks for reading our latest blog.  Hope everything’s going well in your lives (email us and let us know) and that you’re not working too hard.  Bye for now Marian, Richard and Sally.

PORTLAND TO SOUTHEND TO BEACHPORT

 

Monday 5^th March  We left Mount Gambier heading back to Portland for a 2pm appointment with Victoria Roads to get the caravan registered in Victoria. We stopped off in Dartmoor to see the wood sculptures.  What an amazing little place.  We were really quite taken aback by them all.  We parked in The Avenue of Honour and were quite awestruck by the sculptures done by chainsaw artist Kevin Gilders who created a row of masterpieces from the remains of 9 atlantic cedar trees planted in 1918 as a memorial to those that served in WWI.  The trees were going to be cut down as they were a safety risk, until Kevin worked his magic turning them into permanent memorials.  They were all sanded by hand and depict a nurse, soldiers, grieving mother with a telegram in her hand, guns and are a very impressive feature of the town and now a popular tourist destination.  They are so smooth that they look as though they're made from marble.

Further along on the village green Kevin created another masterpiece with his nursery rhyme tree, featuring over 20 fairytale characters which is just stunning, along with smaller sculptures of animals on the posts by the bridge and on the grass verge of the village green.

We also checked out a free stopover listed in the Camps 6 book.  It’s a huge area at the end of the town by a river and it was pretty busy there.  We were told there’s a freshwater spring on the other side to fill up your water tanks and that there’s no restriction to how long you camp there.  Most spots are 24-48 hours maximum stay.  We will definitely keep that spot in mind if we’re that way again.

We got to our appointment in Portland and everything went very smoothly with very friendly and helpful people in Vic Roads.  Our caravan in now registered in Victoria for $38 per year instead of the exorbitant $650 in NSW.  With our saved money we headed straight for Aldi to stock up on beer and wine as there aren’t any Aldi stores in SA or WA.  Richard’s very happy with their Smith and Clyde beer at $29.99 per carton and I’m equally happy with their Precious Earth range for $2.49 per bottle.  We’ve saved heaps of money being in Victoria.

We had time to spare and went to visit the Botanical Gardens in town that we’d missed on our previous trip.  There were rows and rows of gorgeous roses and dahlias of all sizes and colours.  It was really quite a spectacle.  We didn’t know there were so many varieties and colours, some very vivid and others magnificent two-tone. The town was hosting a Rose Dahlia Festival that weekend and it was great to see them in all their splendour.

We were thrilled to learn that The Endeavour came into Portland Harbour the day before and we went down to the harbour to admire her.  It’s a recreation of the original ship sailed by Captain Cook and is doing a tour all over Australia.  Tours were available from 1 – 4pm.  We arrived there after 4pm and were disappointed not to be able to go on board.   We couldn’t imagine anyone having to climb the rigging to unfurl the sails as it’s just so high up.  Not for the feint hearted.

We also learnt that the Queen Mary had sailed past Portland the previous day.  What a busy place Portland is at the moment. 

We stayed overnight again at Henty Bay Caravan Park and Sally was in her element chasing rabbits straight away.

Tuesday 6^th March  - We left Portland for a 2 ½ hour trip to our next destination Southend-On-Sea Tourist Park.  We couldn’t wait to get there to compare Southend in Australia to the one in England (we knew there would be many differences) and it was a bit of a giggle that we just had to stay there to tell all our pommie friends and share the humour of it all with them.  We knew it was going to be pretty laid back when Richard had tried to book it a few days before we got there (it was a long weekend in Vic/SA so we thought we should pre-book).  The owner said “no worries mate don’t bother we’re not that busy – just rock up when you’re ready”.  We did just that and what a character the owner was – very chatty and friendly and told us straight away “we get a lot of you blokes here taking photos by the sign”.  He also told us the owner of the caravan park in England had emailed him jokingly wanting to swap beaches.

It was a fairly small caravan park with a standard $26 per night flat rate all year.  We had a choice of either the caravan park with power or the foreshore grassed area opposite the park with no power for $16 per night.  We loved the foreshore area as there was a terrific, unobstructed view of the beach.  We booked in for 2 nights and went to the far end of the foreshore area and parked the van looking straight out onto the ocean with an access walkway opposite us.  It was like our own private oasis and it was just gorgeous.  I could lay in bed and watch the ocean!!!

A sign we passed by on our  way into the town told us the population of Southend was 283!!!

We went for lots of lovely beach walks admiring the clear turquoise water.  There was absolutely nothing at Southend except for a general store cum post office/garage on the corner of the road.   We absolutely loved it there and will definitely go there again.

Thursday 8^th March  We left Southend for our next destination Beachport Caravan Park.  This was our shortest drive between destinations so far.  It took us a total of 20 minutes to get there.

Beachport is a pretty big caravan park, facing the ocean and is very popular with golfers as the golf course is the other side of the road. It has a few shops, cafes and a pub at the top of the hill.  We were hoping to find some live music or entertainment over the long weekend, but were disappointed. The cafes and eateries offered very basic menus so we cooked at home every night and saved our money for the next place we visit. 

There are some lovely coastal walks by the light house and a cycle path to the surf beach.  There are also 2 very pretty coastal drives with stunning scenery and lookouts.

Beachport has the second longest pier in South Australia and took about 15 minutes to walk along it.

This caravan park also had the $26 per night flat rate and takes dogs year round.

Next Week:  We will be going to Port Willunga about 4 hours drive from Beachport.  This is 45 minutes drive from Adelaide Airport.  I’m flying back to Sydney on Thursday for a 5 day stay with Hayley, Karina and Adam to go to our dear friends Paddy and Mary Joyce’s 50^th Wedding Anniversary celebration on 17^th March (also Paddy’s 72^nd birthday and St. Patrick’s Day).  I’m really looking forward to being there.  Port Willunga is near a beach where “clothing is optional”.  I’m sure Richard and Sally will keep themselves amused whilst I’m away.

Stay tuned to hear all about the 50^th