South Australia 2010

1/1/2010

Day one, heading off to Devonport to catch the Spirit to start our journey.
Looking forward to all that is to come.


2/1/2010

Up at 5.15am dressed and showered in the car by 6.00am.
First stop Warnambool for some groceries, then onto Port Fairy for lunch and a look around the shops. Went into the dolls museum, which was a room full of dolls from the owners collection as well as others she had made and collected from other people. In all she had around 3000 dolls, there were some lovely dolls especially the ones she had made.
Overnight stop at Fitzroy River, quiet spot by the river. Was excited to see 5 Koalas up in the trees.


3/1/2010

Left Fitzroy River at around 9.00am. Drove through Portland and took a few pictures. Made our way to Mt Gambier taking a few more pictures along the way. Arrived at Blue Lakes Caravan Park and set up camp for the time that we were going to be staying there. Got ourselves familiar with the town and our surrounds and the lake, will take a closer look as
the week goes on.

4/1/2010

Today we went on the Blue Lake Aqua Tour, this was an interesting tour of the lake and how it uses the water for the towns use.We walked down to the lakes edge, it was so blue, like there were diamonds on the surface, at this time of year, other times it is a grey colour. We stopped at the lookout on the way back and took more photos and some video.
We also went to the Cave Garden in the centre of town, this was a sinkhole with a lovely garden planted within, we also went to the Umpherston Sinkhole which also has a garden that had been planted within. We will go again to the Umperston Sinkhole to view it at night, to see the gardens light up and the possums come out to feed.


5/1/2010

Today we drove to Port Mc Donald, a lovely little coastal town. We drove as far as the Posties, then made our way back stopping at various spots along the way. First stop was down a small road to a lookout and was not disappointed, took lots of photos.
Next stop was the site of the old Lighthouse as well as a penguin colony. Some more nice scenery. We then drove back to the next town for some lunch.
Driving further down the road was some more coastline.
We started heading back to Mt Gambier, on the way we stopped at the cottage that was the home of one of Australia's famous Poets, Adam Lindsay, we took a guided tour of the cottage which was interesting to hear some of the history and the cottage was well displayed.
Our next stop was Mount Shank, another sink hole, had a look around and again took some photos.
We moved onto another smaller blue lake called Little Blue Lake. Here, apparently you can swim at your own risk, there were some kids at the lake jumping off the lake wall, this was very high, they had obviously done this before.
We came back into town and had a look through Engelbrecht Caves, these were only small caves, but interesting to hear how this cave was once used as a rubbish dump for a local, then took 4 years to clean out to discover the underground lake that is used today by snorkelers.
After a big day, back to the caravan for tea and a rest.



6/1/2010

Had a fairly quiet day today, did not leave camp until around 10am. Going down town to look around the shops, got a few bargains.
We went and had a look at the Lady Nelson Information Center . Had a look around the display that was set up quiet interesting.
Made our way just out of town to visit one of the local vineyards, not what we thought it would be very quaint, picked up a nice Pinot Noir and Chardonnay at good price. After this we drove up the road a little to an open garden that served a lovely devonshire tea and a lovely garden to took around. Back to the van to rest as we were going to look at the gardens at night and try to get some night shots.





7/1/2010

Today we went out to Naracoorte, around 100kms from Mt Gambier. We went there predominatly to look at some caves that were in the area, but we called into the sheeps back museum before hand. Here we got some first hand insight into what it was like for the sheep farmers and their families in the late 1800's and early 1900's.
After visiting the wool museum we made our way back to Narracoorte caves National Park. This is a World Heritage listed Park and has a variety of caves that you can visit along with an exhibition of what some scientist interpret what the area may have looked like around 40,000,000 years ago. We choose to do the exhibit and what was known as the wet cave, although there was no sign of water in the cave, it was still very interesting especially the exhibit.
We travelled about 1km up the road to the Victoria Fossil Cave, which had a very informative guided tour through the stalactites and stalagmites to a fossil bed discovered in 1969, well worth the tour.
We made our way back to Mt Gambier, on the way stopping at Lake Bool, meant to be a swamp lake with birds and wild life, but it looked very dry to us so we kept traveling back, car washed, chicken and chips for tea settling down for the night.







8/1/2010

Today was fairly hot so not much was happening. We started packing up the caravan for the part of our journey.
We did venture out to a wildlife reserve, not far from the caravan park, but I think it was too hot for the wild life as all we seen were a few birds and a snake that scared us silly.
Early night tonight as we want to get an early start tomorrow.


9/1/2010

Left fairly early this morning heading off towards our nest port of call with and overnight stop in between. We made our way up the coast stopping at a few towns along the way. First stop was Beachport, lovely little town, with a great jetty and beach. I even managed to find a bead shop and found something inside to keep me occupied when I might get time.
We drove through Robe, this was a busy little town and we would have stopped to look around but found it hard to get a park with the caravan attached. We stopped in Kingston SE for lunch and spotted the Giant Lobster, photo opportunity.
We then made our way to our stop over, a place called the Granites, a lovely spot right next to the beach. We went for a swim, it was lovely and warm we were in there for about an hour.

10/1/2010

Today was a driving day so we packed up early to avoid the heat of the day, it was going to get to 48 degrees.
We drove from the Granites to Aldinga, our next set up for a few days. We made a few stops along the way for a few photos and lunch.
We arrived at Aldinga Caravan Park. This park is set out in a natural setting and was quite nice.
We spent the rest of the day setting up and getting our bearings and seeing what there was to do in the area.

11/1/2010

Today we went to Victor Harbor, a popular seaside town down the bottom of the Peninsular We were a little disappointed as the hot weather had closed all the things we came to see such as the horse drawn carriage that takes you over the causeway, and the steam train that runs between the Harbor and Goowla, so we looked around the town, which was very lovely and we will come again when the attractions are running. We drove up to the towns lookout and got some great photos of the area.
Headed back to Aldinga and headed to the nearest beach, not as warm as The granites but still great swimming.




12/1/2010

What a difference a day makes, yesterday it was hot, today it is raining and cool, so we decided to go to the Adelaide Zoo.
We found a car park not far from the zoo. Making our way around the zoo we saw lots of different animals, all very interesting.Some of the favorites were the Pigmy Hippo and the Meer Cats. We had an 11.15am viewing of the Panda's, this was their first venture out into their new enclosure, they were so cute.
Looking around we also spotted some Pink Flamingo's and some rare Rock Wallaby's.
After looking around a bit more and getting very wet, we decided to leave and make our way to the Adelaide Oval to see the Donald Bradman Museum. When we finally found the entrance and went in we found a great display of Sir Don's personal collection even though we could not take any photos, this was to preserve the collection for all to see.
Making our way back to the caravan park we stopped of to buy a shade cloth for extra shade that we will be needing as our trip continues.

13/1/2010

Today was a long day, we decided to do a bus tour of Kangaroo Island. We boarded the bus at 7.30am and traveled to Jarvis Point, where the ferry leaves for the Island. The ferry took about 40 minutes to make the crossing and was quite relaxing, no driving. Off the ferry and onto another bus waiting on the other side.
Our bus driver was very informative and full of useless trivia, good fun though. First stop was Seal Bay, our chance to see Australian Seals in the wild, these magnificent creatures were lying in the sand and playing around in the sea. There was plenty of time to observe the seals before boarding the bus for our next destination, lunch at Vivian Bay.

A short drive to a free flight bird sanctuary, where we seen birds of prey flying around doing what they do best in the wild. I had the privilege of having a Kookaburra sitting on my arm, was an exciting experience. Our host was most informative and it was a great display.
Next stop was a place called the Remarkable Rocks, these are naturally forming granite boulders that sit on a cliff face baing beaten by the weather and sea. This is a great natural display and there are no rope barriers so the public can wander over them as much as they want.
Our last stop was the Admiral Arches, here we saw New Zealand fur seals, although we could not get as close as the Australian Seals, we were still able to get some great shots and video footage and just watching them was amazing.
At the end of the day we were all travel weary and eager to get back to the bus and make our way back to the jetty and the boat.
When we got back to the jetty we had time to grab some fish and chips from a popular takeaway to eat on the ferry on the way back.
On the boat we met a nice Hungarian couple on a 3 month tour of Australia. We gave them some places of interest that they should see.We finally made it back to the van at 10pm. This was a long but enjoyable day and would recommend taking a bus tour if you only have a day to do Kangaroo Island.



14/1/2010

Off to a little town called Hahndorf. A quiet little village that was settled by German imigrants in the early 1800'and has not changed much and is the oldest German style town in Australia.
It is full of craft shops and cafe's that sell mostly Germanic produce that has been made in Australia. We spent a lovely day wandering the streets stopping in the shops and buying gifts for everyone at home. We had a lovely lunch at a pub in town before making our way back to the caravan, stopping at a winery and making a few more purchases for us. A nice quiet day spent before we pack up for the next leg of the tour
.

15/1/2010

A traveling day today from Aldinga to Wallaroo. This is to be our base for the next 4 days.
We set up the caravan and went for a look around, we found the beach just a few hundred yards from our van and decided to go for a swim again. we had tea and sat outside for a while looking at all the information we had gathered about the area deciding where to go first and for the rest of the time we would spend here.


16/1/2010

Decided to travel down the west coast of York Peninsula today, first visiting Mootna then onto Victoria Harbour. At Mootna we looked around the quaint little shops and bought a Cornish Pastie from the famous bakery, we then went onto the tourist train with an humorous driver who gave us lots of information about the copper mining that was the back bone of the town for 60 years. We then took a look at the museum, which also told the history in pictures and items of historic interest. A trip to Mootna is not complete with out a trip to the lolly shop, just across the road from the station, some lovely sweets and treats to be had.
We continued on down the road onto Victoria Harbor, here we drove around the quiet town and took a few photos. Off to Minlaton to see athe Red Devil, a plane that was flown by a man named Hary Buttler, we also managed to see a few emus on the way.
We continued back up the highway and took a detour to visit the only vineyard on this Peninsula. This is a fairly new vineyard had some really nice wines and we managed to limit our purchases to 4 bottles. We will order more on their online store.


17/1/2010

It was the East side of the Peninsula that we were going to explore today. This was petty much the same as the West side, more small towns and coastline.
We stopped at Androsons Bakery and bought some pastries for Ian, he told me they were very nice. We also visited the information shop in the town which also house a few local arts and crafts. I spotted a lazy suzanne with frogs etched onto it, I just had to have this little item to add to my collection.
We made our way down the coast as far as Edithbough and had a nice lunch at one of the pubs in the town. The one thing I can say about these small towns, is that they all seem to have at least one pub in them. One of the more unusual things we spotted along the way were the wind farms that are scattered around the area. We were able to drive right up close to them, they were very large up close.
ng.


18/1/2010

After all the coastline we decided to head inland and go to the Clare Valley, we made a stop into a museum called the Farm Shed. Here there were displays of farming machinery and all the things that go with farming. There was also a house that was set up just like it would have been in the late 1800's and the early 1900's, this was one of the better displays of a house that we had seen, even the lighting was that of period. There was also a school set up in the same way, Ian played at being teacher. Next stop the Clare Valley another lovely larger country town, this town also had the bonus of having some lovely wineries as well. After visiting a couple of these we made our way back to caravan park to start to pack up ready for the move tomorrow. We went for one last paddle before we had tea and an early night for long drive.



19/1/2010

Another driving day, heading to Port Augusta. 2 hours of driving we pull into the Big 4 Caravan Park at Port Augusta, after setting up camp we set about exploring the town, starting with the display at the information center. An good interpretive center giving an overview of what the area was like before European settlement.
There was also some video footage on Aboriginal lifestyle and how they would have made their tools and how they would have lived. Also there was a great display of how early pioneers explored Central Australia.
We found a supermarket to make a few purchases for our trip to Coober Pedy. We also spotted some children jumping of the local jetty, when we went to see how far it was to the water we were surprised to see that it was a long way down.



Coober Pedy

Starting out early we set of for Coober Pedy, We had decided to leave the van at Port Agusta and stay at an underground hotel. The trip up the highway was long and straight, with not much to see. A few salt lakes along the way with a few animals in for our entertainment.
We made our way into the town and found where we were staying. When we got to our room it was so cool inside, we were told that it was the same temperature all year round and there was not an air conditioner in sight.
Next day we had a look around the town, not a lot to see as there was only one street with side streets where the locals lived in their dugouts. These are what they call their homes and they are literally houses that have been carved into the hills, the only part visible are the front door, these houses are very comfortable and cool.
We also went on a tour of an old opal mine that was right in the middle of town. This mine was set up to show how the miners worked the mines before machinery came along to make life easier. The mines were usually owned by 20r3 men, they took it in turns to work the mine, digging by hand most of the time so as not to miss the opal lines that could be only inches away.
The best part of our stay in Coober Pedy was the outback tour of the area outside of township and other parts of town that we would have missed if it had not been for this tour. We went out to the Breakaways, these were a range of hills that seem to jump out of the ground right up at you and the colours were so vibrant, our guide told us that it had rained in the area only a few weeks ago.
Another part of the tour took us into an underground church. This was a beautiful church with stained glass window indoors but somehow giving the same effect as any other churches. There were carvings inside the church that had been done by a local man who was diagnosed with cancer, he finished the last carving only weeks before he died.
We enjoyed our stay at Coober Pedy, it was so different from anything else we had seen before and a place you need to see to experience.



24/1/2010

We left Port Augusta yesterday to head to Hawker, a small town south of the Flinders Ranges. Entering this small town we were wondering what there would be for us to, see here. Looking around the town we discovered an art exhibition on the main street, there was a great painting of Wilpena Pound inside that was painted by a local artist, this was a panoramic view done to scale of the area as it would have looked like from St Mary's Peak, it was a spectacular painting along with some other paintings in the exhibition. We purchased a print of a photo that had been taken from the area we were visiting to get framed when we got home.
Today we took a drive to a place called Merna Morna, taking a turn onto dirt road to take in some great scenery, we observed some kangaroos and emus in their natural environment.
We then headed down further towards Quorn we stopped at a watering hole and had a look around the area, we took a walk to look at some aboriginal paintings and carvings that took some getting to as the picture shows.






25/1/2010

Today sees us heading to Wilpena Pound, a magnificent amphitheater of high mountains and
hills, the scenery was just amazing. We started our self drive tour from the information center on a sealed road turning onto an unsealed road, this is where the journey began, sometimes crossing river beds and going down gorges, the views and colors of the surrounds were so vibrant. The bumping winding road took us along some of the most spectacular country side we had ever seen, we would like to come back here and have a better look around when it is not so hot.

26/1/2010

Australia Day 2010, we are on the road again. This time or destination is Broken Hill. We were there by lunch time. Went to the information center to find out what would be the best things to see, as we only had one day to explore Broken Hill. We went to the supermarket and to fill up with diesel, back to the caravan park for a swim, tea watched a bit of cricket then off to bed.

27/1/2010

We started this morning by going to a camping store to see if we could get a side shade cloth for the van, no luck but we did manage to get some mozzie band that will stop the little blighters from attacking us.
We then made our way out of town to the Royal Flying Doctors Museum, an insight into how they started and how they operate now a great display and some good information from the tour guide.
Our next stop was to an old fashion Milk Bar that has not changed its decor since the 1950's, but it was not open yet so, we decided to go out to the Living Desert & Sculpture Symposium. Here there were 12 sandstone sculptures, all done by different artist from around the world and completed in 1993. These were well worth the hot walk to see.
Back to the Milk Bar for morning tea and the best spiders and milkshake had in a long time.
Going back into town we went to visit a couple of museums that gave us an idea o how the mines work both now and in the past. It also showed us what they mined, which turned out to be more that just silver, there were other minerals mined in the area as well. We also managed to get a look at the famous solid silver tree that was carved from one solid piece of silver. There was also and interesting film on how all these minerals have been were formed. At the next museum we were able to view the largest painting in the southern hemisphere, this picture took up a whole room and was the artists interpretation of Outback Australia, including what animals live in the wild.
Lunch was at a club in town, this was recommended by the owner of the Silver Mint Museum, after which we went back to the van to relax before we went up to the Miners Memorial at
sunset to take in the views of Broken hill at that time of day, it was well worth it, the views were amazing.

28/1/2010

Also a traveling day, this time to Mildura, we will stop here for 2 nights to have quick look around before our final stop, Echuca.

29/1/2010

A day in Mildura started with a trip to Lock 11, where the Murray River has a large drop in its water levels so they use the locks to help the boats navigate through these levels. At certain time of the day the locks are opened and the water levels are raised or lowered to the same level.

we then followed tourist route no 54 that took us to Red Hills, this took us to see Big Lizzie, no it is not a giant lizard, but a huge tractor that was used to clear the land for the farmers in the early 40's. Next stop a lookout beside the river just to get another view.

Moving on to Lidermans Winery to purchase a few more nice bottles of wine. Lunch was in a good pub that was recommended by Lindermans and was a good choice. A little more sight seeing around town, then back to the van for a swim, relax, tea then sorting out for next and last stop.

30/1/2010

We are now in Echuca and our first port of call was the Holden Museum. This museum had a great collection of Holdens from the very beginning to the latest that is out now. It also showed a short film giving the history of the car and also how the museum came about. There was also a gift shop where you could buy souvenirs and such.

Next stop would be every mans dream, that would be the

Beer Can Museum, this had so much stuff in it. Not only beer cans but other interesting things including Coca Cola paraphernalia, and other stuff in-between.This done we went back to the van for a swim and a relax around the caravan. This is someting we plan to do a lot in our last days here.

31/1/2010

Shopping day today, We went into the town center of Echuca to have a look around the shops. There were a variety of shops in the town and we managed to make a few purchase for family back home. We also had a look around the shops in the historic wharf area, there were also some interesting shops here.

1/2/2010

Today was river cruising day, the plan was to take a lunch cruise up the Murray River for a couple of hours. Off we went down to the wharf area to see which paddle steamers were catering for lunch.

The only one catering for lunch that day was the Emmylou, a lovely looking boat that took us up the river one way for an hour, then turned around to take us back the other way. The scenery was great as was the lunch. This was a very relaxing way to spend an afternoon and would recommend it to any travel weary explorers. The commentary from the captain was interesting, he even pointed out some wildlife along the way, including a tiger snake in the river.

2/2/2010

It is Ian's birthday today. We decided we would visit his relatives in Shepparton. This was a lovely day, they had morning tea, cooked us lunch then afternoon tea. They told us of some of their travels and we looked at some old photos from way back.

3/2/2010

We went into Bendigo today to have a look at the big shops and to look for more pressies for everyone back home. We did manage to find a few bargains there as well as something for us as well. Tonight in camp there was a huge thunder and lightning storm. The owner of the park came down to where we were camped to check if we were alright, very good of him, we were off course.

4/2/2010

Decided to return to the historic wharf area of Echuca to do a tour of the wharf and the area around. We went through the wharf and some of the building surrounding. Some of the more notable were Sharp's Magic Movie House and the secret pub that was used during prohibition.

Sharp's Magic Movie House was a bit of fun, some old style games that the younger generation would get bored with very quickly. The pub was a tiny room underneath another with a secret entry and exit, there were supposedly up to 50 men in there at on time, would have been cramped conditions.

Our last night in Echuca and we took a walk around the caravan park, there were not many people about and this gave the local kangaroos a chance to come out and have a good feed on the grass that was plentiful, there were some mothers with babies in pouches very cute.

5/2/2010

This is our last day on the mainland, we will be traveling back to Melbourne to catch the boat home. We are going to detour so as we can get a side shade cloth for the next big trip we do, having the front one was a great saver.

We have had the most amazing time both in South Australia and Victoria, the time went to fast and we could have spent more time in some of the places that we stayed and will defiantly return to many others.

We arrived in Melbourne with a few hours to spare so we spent the last of our time at St Kilda Beach even though it was not the best of weather.