Last day

After 6 days away, we have to go home. Port Victoria is a beautiful place to spend a few days. We had a day of touring the coastal areas, and also spent too long at the Gregory Winery, sampling the products and getting first hand information from the grower Rod and the wine maker John.
We also found a great place for getting fish. Just off the main street, called Gill Fisheries. They had everything. Last dinner away was 6 oysters each, followed by prawns with a bottle of chardonnay. Kathy is already planning the next trip!

Port Victoria

The Innes National Park is an amazing place. The coastline views are spectacular, the access to them is easy and they are within 300km of home. A full day spent in the park went by so quickly we only just got back to the van in time for dinner at the Marion Bay Tavern.
The Internet access is erratic. It only works when a south-easterly is blowing, there is cloud cover and a pelican is sitting on top of the street light. Wednesday was the only day theses factors combined !.
Friday was spent looking at the coast between Marion Bay and Edithburgh, via the Wattle Point wind farm.
Today we moved to Port Victoria for a couple of nights before heading home. The Internet works here for me, but not for Kathy. Next G is at its limit on the Yorke peninsula

Marion Bay

We had a pleasant drive from Ardrossan to Marion Bay, calling in at the various towns on the way. The pic shows Port Julia from the lookout. After setting up the van, we went to Stenhouse Bay then came back to Marion Bay. The caravan park manager said the local jetty was famous for squid so we decided to try our hand at squid jagging. We had sausages for tea.
We are going to Innes National Park for today.

Ardrossan

We started out late, not saying when, but I watched up to the third quarter of the Titans v Broncos gridiron game on Monday night football. If your good at converting American time into CST you will know when we left.

We got as far as Ardrossan at about 5:15, set up for the night and got fish and chips take away, with a bottle of white shiraz. Tomorrow we will try for Marion Bay, but no guarantees.

Part of the delay was because we had to vote at Marion before we left, and then a friend came round to show us their new car, so it was not entirly our fault we were late leaving.

On the move again.

Its been a few days since the last post at Melrose, we have been home for a couple of weeks so it is time for the next trip. Yorke Peninsua is the destination, starting Tuesday.

Mt Remarkable

We made it to the top of the mountain (see pic). The path was narrow, steep and rocky. Total distance is 12.2 kilometres.
Three quarters of the way up is the wreckage of a light aircraft that hit the mountain a few years ago.
Next day we stayed in bed until 9:00am, and only got up then because the primary school alarm went off to get the kids into class!

The roos were friendly enough in the caravan park. Kathy did not have to get out of her chair to feed them.

Melrose

After a pleasant evening at a restaurant with friends on Sunday night, we were a little late getting up on Monday and only just managed to pack up and move out of the Whyalla caravan park by the 10:00 am deadline.
We had a 200km drive to Melrose and booked in here for three days. The pic shows the view from the window of the annex, looking at Mount Remarkable in the background and the river gums along Mt Remarkable creek just behind the van. Could be here for a while!

Whyalla

The two days of dog trials are over. Wild weather was causing a problem, blowing down jumps and tents etc, but when a dog was blown off the top of the dog walk (1.5m high) it was time to call it off as too dangerous. The last class was done the next day.
Heading towards the southern Flinders tomorrow, probably Melrose.

Port Germein

We got to Port Germein for Thursday night. Had a walk on the jetty, 1528 metres to the end, then dinner in the pub. We had a sea bird drop a crab on us, a blue swimmer, but it was too small so we tossed it back in the sea. Pic shows Port Germein from about half way along the jetty.

In Whyalla for the trials now, so it will be a busy week end for us. Kathy is doing obedience for two days and I have a double agility trial on Saturday and one agility trial on Sunday.

Whyalla Trials

We are getting ready for the trials at Whyalla, starting Saturday, leaving today. We are in Whyalla for Friday to Sunday, where we will be for the other days, we dont know yet.

Home again

Back home after a month away. The dog trials went well, not many passes but the general performance was good. Each trial needs a little bit of luck, but it just did not happen for many of the competitors. Pic shows us setting up an agility course at the Alice Springs club grounds.
We were going to stay an extra day or so at Melrose to see the Mt Remarkable National Park, but we are having some paving done and the pavers were about to be deliverered, the ground needed some preparation, there were many phone messages to handle, and so we came home.
Next trip is only a couple of days in Sydney in October.

Alice again

A day of looking at gorges, water holes and hills at Alice Springs. We went to Glenn Helen then looked in at all the tourist stops on the way back until we ran out of time. The pic shows us at Glen Helen, 130 k west of Alice Springs, but full of bird life. We took the rest of the day to get back. Ormeston Gorge soaked up a lot of time as we saw some Black Footed Rock Wallabies and animals always catch our attention.
Today is a rest day, and also getting some minor warranty repairs on the Jayco.
Kathy starts judging tonight and I start tomorrow morning, so we will have to read up on the rules.

Alice Springs

Arrived in Alice Springs, a little bit early, and staying with Karren, in a house. The Jayco is in the carport getting a bit of a break from the weather. After leaving Coober Pedy we got to Cadney Station and went to the Painted Desert area. Miles of dirt roads but well worth the trip, although I think the Breakaways were better. Next stop was at Stuarts Well, home of Dinkey the singing Dingo who howls when the piano is played. He does it for donations and has raised over$14000 for the Flying Doctor service. We went to the Rainbow Valley, about 30 k on the worst corrugated road I have seen in a long while. The pic shows Rainbow Valley at sunset.
Today we head for Glenn Helen then tomorrow the trials start and we have to earn our keep.

Coober Pedy

The Breakaways are one of the most spectacular sights I have ever seen. Its also called The Painted Desert for obvious reasons. The trip also included a look at the Dog Fence that runs from Surfers in Queensland to the Bight near WA. The track to the Breakaways runs along side the Dog Fence for about 15k.
Sunday in Coober Pedy is an experience not to be missed. We went for fuel at 9:30am, the pump started then cut out after 6 litres and I could not find anyone to reset the pump. Someone was there to start the pump, but they had disappeared. Kathy said she heard a loud noise, and as no one responded to my calls, we began to get concerned that something had happened to the attendant. I went all through the service station, the stores, the workshop and every room or alcove I could find. I was beginning to think the guy had been abducted by aliens when suddenly he appeared from behind an office, fixed the pump and let me off for the first 6 litres. God knows what he was doing in that tiny little space behind the office!
We then went to the Information bay, it was shut. We went round to an Opal display with the Big Miner outside, a sign said it was open and to ring the bell. There was a hole in the wall where the bell push used to be! At the Big Winch, the sign said open, (and Free Admission to a shop) but was locked up.
Fortunately the Old Timer Mine was operational and we had a pleasant afternoon in there.
Moving on tomorrow, not sure where yet.

Rest Day

A day of doing nothing much. Cleaned the car, cleaned the van, did the shopping, mooched around Port Augusta.
We went to the beach that Kathy used to play on about 50 years ago – see picture.
We had fillet mignon for dinner, with an avocado and mushroom salad and a bottle of Glaymond Shiraz. Life‘s tough on the road.
On the move again on Saturday, aiming for Coober Pedy but, going on past performance, if there is somewhere we like we will stop for a while.

Port Augusta

We had a tough time crossing the Eyre Peninsula due to the strong wind and dust that was blowing about. 250 k on almost a tank full of fuel was not good economy and being buffeted about was not pleasant. We stopped for a break at Kimba at the Big Galah tourist trap. I think that it used to be the BP roadhouse a long time ago; pic shows Kathy at the door. When I saw the ad for the big galah I was looking for Trevor, but all that was there was big concrete parrot.
Now at Port Augusta, swanking at an ensuite site for a couple of days. The van got a bit of dust in it so we need to clean it out, and we need some shopping. We will move on to Coober Pedy in a day or so.

Kathy's Birthday

Kathy’s birthday was in the Gawler Ranges. We went into the Ranges at the eastern end, followed the 4 wheel drive tracks through to the western end, then went round the Minnapa tourist drive and back to Wudina for dinner at the pub.
Some spectacular sights in the Gawler Ranges, they seem to be changing every time we turned a corner. Finding a picture to put on the blog was hard, but the one of us at the Organ Pipes won as it shows the amazing rock formations that are in the district.
Moving on today, heading towards Port Augusta. The wind has got up and it will be blowing us along so maybe we can save a few litres of petrol.

Wudina

Ceduna is now behind us and we are in Wudina, where many people are wearing a fox hat.
The town is in the Eyre Peninsula about 300 k from Ceduna and is close to the Gawler Ranges.
The Scenic tour of the district took in the local sights including Pygerey Rock (pronounced pie - jerey, they get upset if you say piggery).

Kathy took the pic of a Stumpy lizard by the side of the road. There are dozens of them, always crossing the road, never going up or down the road.

Tomorrow we will go to the Gawler Ranges for the day and tonight we will watch the eclipse of the moon, about 6:20 SA time.
The mobile phones have stopped working. I have bought a headset and got my VoIP installed so we can call people if we have to, at least while we still have internet access.

Whales -The Head of the Bight

Whales at last. We saw more whales than you can see from LLangollen.There were about 50 at the Head of the Bight, with several coming in close to the shore. It is usually the mum with a calf that is close in as the new born take time to grow and be able to handle the deeper water. This means that there were many baby whales close in, with the adults further out making the big splash.The only things that spoiled the day was 100 million flies and four noisy kids.
We stayed at Ceduna and set out for the Head of the Bight at 7:30 am. (It's true I tell you!) and got there about 11:00.After about 3 hours of whale watching we went to Nullabor to get petrol (at $1.65per litre) then back to Ceduna via Fowlers Bay. The pic shows some of the whales we saw, Photoshop put them in one frame.

Streaky Bay Still

Still at Streaky Bay. The office at the caravan park has local oysters for $6 a dozen, so we get half a dozen each for entrée every night. Went down the coast to the Sea Lion colony, more beautiful coastline, lots of places to stop and stare. (see pic)
Kathy had booked a tour of the abalone farm so we had to rush back to see how they farm the green lip abalone on concrete bays with sea water washing over them. It’s a bit more complex than that, but the basic concept applies. The direction of flow is changed regularly so the abalone moves up and down the concrete. I never realized you could exercise abalone. The sad part is, all the abalone is exported to China or Japan with very little making it to the Australian market.

Streaky Bay

We reached Streaky Bay and decided to stay for a while. We got a site next to a cabin that gives us a lot of privacy, but is close to the loo. Very important at 3:00am!
Lots to see and do here, we went to Cape Baur, magnificent coast lines and photos that were far to good to cut down for a web copy, so I used the pic of the pelican near the Van Park. There were about a dozen pelicans on the beach waiting for a man that was cleaning some fish to chuck them the scraps.
Talking of fish, we are having whiting fresh from the sea for dinner tonight, with a bottle of white. How are the working folk doing?
Still can not get the phones to work, but the wireless internet works OK.

Alligator Gorge

Tourists at last!The dog trials at Barmera went very well, with several good passes. The social life after the trials was good too.

Now at Wilmington near Alligator Gorge in the Flinders Ranges. The pic shows us at the lookout over the gorge. The strange thing about Wilmington is the mobile phones have no service, but the wireless internet works. I knew I should have got the VoIP working on the lap top.

The next big decision is to see if we can make Ceduna in one go, or spread it out over a couple of leisurely days.

Next trip

We will be on the road again by Friday 17^th Aug. The first stop is Barmera in the Riverland for a dog trial, and then to Melrose for some time in the Flinders ranges.

After that, we may go to Ceduna to see the whales then to Alice Springs for another dog trial.

Home again

The visit to the Parkes Radio telescope was worth the visit, made famous in the movie The Dish.
Things to Note:
1) You can not play cricket in the dish.
2) The dish is for Astronomy not communications.
Our last night on the road was at Hay, colder than a really cold thing on a cold night, but the huge steak in the South Hay pub helped to keep us warm.
Good news is that when we were emptying out the van Kathy found my wedding ring at the bottom of a draw. It must have fell off when I was getting a clean shirt.
No more travels until August when we go to the Riverland then Alice Springs

Dubbo Zoo

The Dubbo zoo worth the visit. Being able to drive between exhibits made it easy to get round and also to keep warm.It was cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass bedstead, but this also meant that the zoo was quiet and there were no parking problems when we wanted to get out to look around.
We are getting the aftermath of the Low that was over NSW Coast, which is giving us the cold conditions, but fortunatley, not the wind and the rain.
Heading towards Hay tommorow, maybe further if it is still cold.

Dubbo

Had a night viewing the stars at Coonabarabran Sky Watch observatory before moving on to Dubbo. The bad news is I lost my wedding ring somwhere, it was so cold my finger shrunk and the ring fell off. Dont know where.

Going to the Dubbo Zoo tomorrow so there should be a few animal pics to choose from for the blog

Goondawindi

We took a boat trip to Frazer Island yesterday for a day trip. There are many Ranger guided tours that take visitors round to the many picturesque, natural wonders of the island, but the only one that was available to us was a tour of the sewage farm. It turned out to be very informative explaining how every thing on the island is recycled. They have a herb garden that grows all the herbs used in the restaraunts at the Kingfisher Resort. The ticket included lunch and afternoon coffee, but not the beers we had in the picture.
Heading back south today and got to Goonawindi. Coonabarabran tomorrow hoping for clear skys when we visit the planetarium, but not looking good according to the weather report.

Bundaberg

Parked the van at Hervey Bay then went to Bunderberg for the day. Toured the Rum factory and the Ginger Beer factory and got tasings at both of them. The best was the Whales Tale cocktail, which is Royal Liqueur Rum (only from the factory), Cream and Ginger Beer.

After that we went to look at the sailing ship, but was too late to try the Rotary Club Food Van as they had just packed up when we got there. Bundaberg was the most notherly point of our trip as we have to start back for home on Monday.

Picture shows Kathy on the bottle again.

Australia Zoo

A day at the Australia Zoo was worth every penny. It must be the best zoo in Australia with all the animals on show, moving about and in obvious good health. The place was clean with keepers picking up any mess so there was almost no smell.

Planning to go to Hervey Bay tomorrow, if it stops raining.

Ettamogah Pub

We went to the Australia Zoo, only to find cars parked 800m away and people everywhere. The Dalai Lama was there and so were thousands of supporters so we decided to leave the zoo for another day. The Ettamogah pub was up the road so we went in there, read all the jokes, had a drink and went to Noosa. Great walk around Noosa Head national park. We will have another try for the Australia Zoo tomorrow.

Coolum Beach

Arrived at Coolum Beach, near Noosa. Washing day, relaxing day and a bit of tourist stuff. During the set up here we realised we had left the power cord at Ipswitch, but a friendly guy on the next site loaned a cord until we could buy one.

Still deciding how long to stay here, may go to the Australia zoo or Noosa tomorrow, so it wil be at least one more night.

Beautiful place here with lots to do, warm sunny day and cool nights, maybe we will stay here forever.

Caboolture

We have left the van in Ipswitch while we judge at the dog trials. We moved into the Motel and then went round to the trial grounds to see where they are and let the organisers know we had arrived. Saturday and Sunday will be trial days, Monday will be visiting relations then Tuesday will be Holidays. Hope to put up some pictures soon.

Coonabarabran

On the way to Queensland and got to Coonabarabran. First night at Berri then we got through Hay on the next day and ran into a rainstorm. Kathy was driving and it got a bit scary with the Xtrail aquaplaning through water on the road. We stopped at Goolgowie or something like that, so small it is not on the map but the caravan park was OK.
Cousin in Queensland rang on the mobile to let me know his new address, so we will be spending some time there.
Got to go Kathy has cooked tea.

Three weeks in Queensland

Leaving for Queensland tomorrow. We have a commitment here for the morning, but as soon as that is over we will be off up the road. Should be a bit of a rush as we have to be in Brisbane by Friday, so not much time for sightseeing on the way.

Broken Hill

The last trip in the Avan as we are trading in for a new van.
Judging dogs and a brief holiday in the outback. Good times with the dog people and looking forward to visiying some of the sights. Cant post a picture because I left the cable for the camera home.