Doves

Back home early in time for lunch. The Spotted necked Turtle Dove chicks are doing well, see pic. The nest is in the bush by the front door so we have to be careful to avoid frightening the parents away. We put some seed down and it went within half an hour, so it looks like mum and dad are still around.

Keith

Back in SA, at Keith. We probably could have got home, but that would mean unpacking in the dark, and the parked cars in the street would make putting the van away difficult.
The Fyans Lake people said they have been in drought for 12 years; the lake is about 100 metres from the bottom of the boat ramp, see pic. Lake Lonsdale, about 5 Km away is a paddock! A lake near the highway had signs for boat ramps and swimming areas, but there was no water, just grass. It will take a lot of rain to get this area back to normal.

Northern Grampians

Touring round the northern Grampians, we came across a goanna that ran across the road and up the tree, see pic. I had to jiggle the settings in Photoshop as the goanna was almost invisible against the tree.
The day was spent looking at Hollow Mountain, driving down tracks with an Emu family running in front of us, kangaroos leaping out from the bush and lots of birds everywhere.
Got to start for home today, not sure where we will be tonight.

Corellas

Great day climbing to the Pinnacle above Halls Gap, via the Grand Canyon. Not quite as big as the American one, but still spectacular. Picture shows us halfway up taking a breather in the shade.
Last night had us in a bit of a state. We were relaxing in the annex when we heard several shot gun shots. Panic at first but then we realised someone was shooting at the thousands of Corellas in the trees. They kept it up for a while and when I heard pellets landing I thought it was time to call the police. The guy across the road told me it was an official cull and they were licensed shooters. We should have been told about the cull, but somehow they missed us, and the shooters should have been told not to drop the shot on the caravan park. They were not very good shots anyway as with the sky full of Corellas, three shots only dropped two birds!

Grampians

We left Portland early on Monday because the site we were on had been booked by someone.
We went to the Grampians and stayed at Lake Fyans, just a short drive out of Halls Gap. In the afternoon we looked at the McKenzie Falls, quite a steep climb down 200 or so steps to get to the bottom, but worth the effort. See photo.

Today we will be going on more walks, not sure where but the Wonderland Grand Canyon walk looks favourite.

Portland Trials

Saturday was cold, wet and windy with no passes in the UD and UDX classes for Keith, but Kathy had some pass in CCD and Novice. We had dinner at the Royal Hotel with the club and over ate until we could not move - fabulous food.
Sunday had better weather, less rain, less wind but still cold. Pic shows Kathy judging Allan and Wooffey in the Open class. Keith had Agility, with some passes to make the weekend worthwhile.
Tonight we will be at the local RSL for dinner with the other judges and some of the Vic competitors.

Portland via Keith

We left late as usual, so I guess that means we left on time! It was getting close to dinner time when we were at Keith so we stopped at the community caravan park, just find a spot and the lady comes round to collect the money. We were next to the conservation park, so there were birds flying about and kangaroos in the next paddock, yet we were within walking distance of the town centre. Good spot for an overnight stay.

Portland is a pretty place, and the Henty Bay Caravan park is right on the beach, see pic. Its a bit windy, and the weather forecast is not great, so we could be in for a wet week-end.

Back Home

We had a windy drive home, with some rain. There were places where the wind was blowing the top soil off the paddocks, and then just up the road there was heavy rain. The farmers can't win.
Back home for a while, but not too long as we will be in Portland in a few weeks time.

Coffin Bay Dolphins

We were at the Coffin Bay National Park looking at the spectacular scenery when about twenty dolphins swam into the shallow water nearby and started surfing. They stayed there for about 5 minutes before swimming back to deeper water. The video was amazing, catching one of them leaping out of the water. The best yet.
We will start for home tomorrow, possibly with wet equipment as it has just started to rain.

Lazy day on Eyre Peninsula

We went for a bike ride along the foreshore at Tumby Bay as it was a beautiful day with clear blue sky, crystal clear water and no wind. After lunch we went touring around, looking at the Tod Dam, and following the Tourist Drive to Winters Hill lookout (see pic) .
Tomorrow we intend to go to Coffin Bay and then we will have to start packing up to get home for the week end.

Port Lincoln

Makybe Diva on the forshore at Port Lincoln. Not the original, just a sculpture, but fitting for a Melbourne Cup Day post. We were in the Port Lincoln National Park near the Donington lighthouse when the race was on. It did not stop us, but we did listen to it on the radio.
Some magnificent views of the coastline, but the wind and the rain spoiled it a bit. The photos did not come out too good, but we still enjoyed the day. Kathy stubbed her toe and now has two black toes on her right foot which made climbing up Stamford Hill to Flinders Lookout quite painful, but she would not quit, and we have the photos to prove it.

Tumby Bay

We did not get to Port Lincoln, only as far as Tumby Bay. We stopped for lunch near the caravan park, saw the green grassy caravan sites and booked in.
So far we have just toured around Tumby Bay, a beautiful place to stay. Ross Story operates a Clydesdale wagon tour around the town which starts from the caravan park. At 5:00pm we were there and did the tour. The pic shows Polly (real name Apollo) who pulled the wagon for us. Ross is a long term resident of Tumby Bay so the tour gets an in-depth commentary on the history of Tumby Bay

The Trials

Two days of trialling are over. There was an outbreak of kennel cough from Victoria that kept a few people away, and trials in Mt Gambier and Warnambool tempted some more, so this week end in Whyalla did not have many entries. Some good work from those that did turn up.
The holidays really start now as we will be moving down the coast to Port Lincoln tomorrow.
People that arrived today told us there were severe storms on the other side of the Gulf, so we are hoping they stay that side.

The wind came up so we decided to take the annex down just incase the rains came later. This meant that the Tommy Turtle step was getting blown away, so we had to tie it down with a bit of rope and a spare peg. See picture.