The Grampians

Colleen says “We are in Victoria now and what a difference in climate and scenery. As you cross the border it’s as if it’s a different country, fertile farms, big huge trees, lots of English trees planted in the towns like Oaks, Beech, and Elms. It is nice and cool and we are loving it. We stopped at a little town called Dunkeld which is in the foot of the Grampian Range of mountains. Even though it is just the Southern end they tower above us like a brooding Table Mountain covered in mist over the top. The little park is small, shaded, friendly and has thousands of birds, incl some I have not seen before. Flocks of Musk Lorikeets, King Parrots and Eastern Rosellas (all types of colourful parrots) and lots of kangaroos. We took a drive into the valley of the Grampians, Halls Gap, and did some of the spectacular lookouts and waterfalls (McKenzie Falls) in the area. Today we went into the little town of Hamilton, and saw their well designed Botanical Gardens and Art Gallery. I must say for a small town the Art Gallery is really a tourist attraction. Started by a generous bequest by a local farming family who were avid collectors of fine art, it is now a showpiece. Not only does it have original Mc Cubbin, Hans Heyson and the like, but notable overseas painters as well. There is also a huge collection of Paul Sandby who is considered a “father” of modern watercolour, and whose collection other than this is in Windsor Castle. We also drove to an extinct volcano called Mt Rouse which is in the Volcano valley where there are a few volcanoes from the Australian Volcanic era, and from the top one could see not only the other extinct/dormant volcanoes, but a wonderful view of the whole area.

Fleurieu Peninsular/Mighty Murray River

Thank you for your comments. Much appreciated and valued and makes us feel that we are connected to you all in the rest of the world! I know it seems that we have done the first part of the journey like a “bat out of hell”, but I guess partly the Nullarbor takes up a large part of it, and partly we have seen a lot of SA before. Also we were unfortunate to have a big heat wave for the first two weeks which was difficult for Colleen as she hates the heat and wilts. So hiking or staying in hot places was no go as she just wanted to head out to the cooler climate. We are now in Victoria -3/8 States/Territories of Aus and the weather is gorgeous - 20deg at 8.00pm, last night saw thousands of bats emerge from their cave after sunset, today toured a cave, tonight nestled against a mountain with cloud covering the top, birds roosting, hot shower, beer, prawns and nice drop of wine from the wine tour we did. The scenery is spectacular and there are lots of interesting places for us to see. We are now starting to get into it and our pace will slow dramatically. We are not really “desert “people, and while we can appreciate the rugged ranges and remote outback, we really want to be in the green and treed parts of the country. As Frank from London says 60% are grey nomads been on the road years on average and loving it 20% Overseas visitors in camper vans. Vans from ours to one as high (18ft) as ours is long from tow bar to back and 11 metres long made in Canada, one year old.

Colleen says “We decided to drive to a beachside caravan park in Adelaide in the hope of getting some sea breezes in this awful heat wave. We drove through the Clare Valley which is renowned for excellent wineries, but it was too hot to stop, and even the being right on the beach in Brighton gave no relief to the 37 deg. The next day we decided to do some admin things like our early vote (very efficient, they had the voting papers ready with candidates for our constituency right there ready..what a pleasure). We also had to do some things for our caravan (the gas struts on the pop top packed in..they quoted us a huge amount, but Paul is so clever he sourced a re- gas guy and did the whole job himself in two ticks).After a couple of days of doing things we had to, we just had to get out of the big city and somewhere quieter and cooler, so decided to go to the Fleurieu Peninsula, which is south East of Adelaide..What a discovery. Not only was it much cooler, it was So beautiful..lovely hills, valleys with huge trees, fields with crops and fat cows, vinyards and wineries, gorgeous old buildings dating back to 1820 (don’t laugh you poms..thats old for here!) and spectacular beaches with icing sugar sand which squeaks when you walk in it. Our caravan park was right on the beach, surrounded by wonderful views and bluffs, and everywhere we looked there were art galleries and historical sites. It was the Margaret River of Adelaide, and it was 23 degrees..I was a happy camper again! We took a drive around the Peninsular and stopped at Victor Harbour where there was a lovely little island which had a causeway across the sea which we had a Clydsdale horse tram ride across which was very interesting. There we saw seals and fairy penguins and wonderful granite rock formations with the southern ocean crashing into the bays. We were very taken with this whole area and every new turn brought a wonderful view. We only stayed 4 days cos would you believe it, it was “schoolies week” this weekend and this is the Dunsborough of Adelaide and was about to be invaded by schoolies ( the hundreds of school leavers who go away to celebrate the end of their school life by being totally wild for a week). We left the area sadly and stopped by a charming little village called Strathalbyn which was settled by Scottish immigrants in the 1800 and so all the names and character of the village was from that country ..ie Angus River. Lots of art galleries and gorgeous old buildings. The Fleurieu Pen ends at a place called Cape Jervis where you can take a Ferry to Kangaroo Island. It is the third largest island in Oz..Tasmania is the largest. It is 13 kms across the sea and is about 150 kms long. We toyed with the idea of going over, but in the end decided against it. The scenery was spectacular and there were seals, koalas, penguins etc..but frankly nothing we had not seen before.

Murray River
Colleen Says “We went to Murray Bridge which is a town with a huge bridge over the Mighty Murray..the biggest River in Australia and the fourth largest River system in the world according to the blurb. It is about 3 and half thousand kms long and its catchment area encompasses the Snowy River project and the Murrumbidgee and Darling rivers. It starts in the Vic Alps and its mouth is near Murray Bridge in a series of wetlands of international importance for migratory birds..the Coorong. It’s not a particularly wide river, but considering that it waters huge areas of farming lands, Adelaide, dams, weirs and all sorts its no wonder..and of course the awful drought that the area is having is having an impact. We were going to take a Paddle Wheel cruise but the area there is flat and marshy so we drove upriver instead to see some of the wonderful red cliffs as it meandered to the coast. You can hire a house boat from 2 people to 50 in various levels of luxury and people hire these and go for weeks upriver stopping at all the little historical towns along the way. But at every lookout there were dozens of houseboats chugging up and down the Red Gum lined river. I could see that it could be quite relaxing to just float along with the fishing line out the back. From there we drove through the limestone coast area which has extensive farms and vineyards all irrigated by extensive artesian wells. We came to a place called Naracoorte which has Limestone Caves which are World Heritage listed. The reason is that they have found extensive fossils in the areas caves which tell of the climate in the prehistoric areas as well as many animals that lived then, specifically Megafauna. ..ie gigantic kangaroos, wombats and koalas etc! They have a wonderful centre which recreates these animals in a lifelike tropical forest..huge wombat things that are as big as a baby elephant, marsupial hippos, giant goannas of several meters long with huge jaws and claws, and of course giant kangaroo type animals. VERY interesting and informative. There are series of limestone caves and guided walks ...also a bat cave which thousands of Bentwing bats emerge at sunset. We walked into the bush after sunset to see the bats emerge, and after waiting awhile watching kangaroos hopping around and the many parrots of the area roosting, the bats finally emerged in their thousands. Nearby the bat cave was a Bat Informative Centre where tourists could go during the day and view the bats in their cave with infra red light and get talks about them. As we walked past we noticed a light on, and peering around the door we saw a young zoologist looking at the bats with the powerful cameras in the cavern. We asked a few questions and he obligingly told us that the previous night he had seen a bat mother give birth and he was trying to find her again. As I watched the hundreds of bats flying around I thought what a hopeless job, but then he told us that it was extremely rare to see anything this, and it was a world first to have filmed an endangered bat being born..in fact in the scientific world it was a breakthrough and was going to be in the newspapers (local and international) the following week. He then replayed the video of it and we watched fascinated while the mother gave birth to this tiny bat which clung to her as she fluttered around , showing the new arrival to the interested “aunties” that gathered around.Talk about being in the right place at the right time! We also went on a Fossil Cave tour of 500 metres where they showed the actual fossils of these prehistoric Megafauna and where David Attenborough had filmed one of his series.
After this onto the Grampians in Vic. Only been gone for 3 weeks and cant believe how much ground we have covered and what we have done already.

Flinders Range

Flinders Range

Colleen says “We left Streaky Bay in South Australia and travelled all day across the top of the Eyre Peninsula..again, very arid and almost another Nullarbor...very hot. We were planning to stop a night at Port Augusta at the top of Spencer Gulf, but it was still hot and the place did not inspire us so we decided to push on to the Flinders Ranges a few hundred kms north..ie into the REAL outback! I know we should not have been surprised, but we are still astounded at how HUGE this place is..what looks like a hop and skip is many many miles..and when you see it on the map of Australia it is barely a freckle. The Flinders Ranges rise up from the flat, scrubby landscape into a surprisingly high and scenic mountain range which span from quite high in SA to down near the Adelaide Hills. The part we went to was called Wilpena Pound which is a huge circle of mountains which looks like a giant meteorite crash site or the centre of a huge extinct volcano. The middle bit is quite lush and the most amazingly beautiful huge trees called Red Gums grow there right along the creek beds..the subject of many famous paintings. There is a lovely resort there and the caravan park is natural with kangaroos, emus,goannas and lots of bird life wandering amongst the campers. It is part Drakensburg, part Magaliesburg in appearance..bright red Buffs with the wonderful colours of the Red Gums. We went on a walk/climb for 8 + kms to a lookout where you could see the whole Pound surrounding us. There are many hiking trails all around, but we won’t be doing anymore cos of the 37 deg heatwave!! Instead we took a drive on what turned out to be a dreadful road ( 4x4 track really) to the Brachina Gorge ( 100 kms round trip) where it has some of the oldest rock and fossils on the planet..over 640,000 million years old. These huge red folding cliffs were an awesome sight, and I believe there have been real breakthroughs in science from some of the fossil finds in that area (the missing link between amoeba and living creatures). But at one stage we were literally driving down a rocky river bed! Once again the heat did not help, but we managed to see some more scenic gorges before heading back to camp. We will leave tomorrow and head closer to Adelaide where we will probably stay for awhile.

To South Australia

Relaxing in South Australia

Colleen says “We crossed the Nullarbor and its tedious driving in about 2 and half days..Listening to music and Bill Bryson’s “Down Under” along the way. The petrol price in the middle was $1.80 per litre..Luckily we managed to eke it out to the slightly cheaper stations. Once again we stopped to marvel at the massive 90 meter high sheer cliffs of the Bight, with the endless blue ocean stretching across to the ant arctic, and crashing on the rocks below..awesome. We have stopped at Streaky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula for a few days rest..It’s been a long drive from Perth. It’s a pretty bay and a caravan park right on the beach...the water is only meters from our caravan and the pelicans strut around hoping for a feed from the fishermen. The park is almost full..all of us with grey hair! there are the most amazing rigs that must have cost thousands...high tech 4x4 with huge off road vans...funny to see two tiny grey podgy folk jump out, and then set up their laptops! There are also modest rigs with the couples who are retired and are now working at odd job to pay their way round the country. MOST seem to have been on the road for 18 months, 2 years or more, and are just taking their time going around the whole place. What a life! From here we are going to Port Augusta, and then to the Flinders Ranges, Wilpena Pound.”

Paul says ”The picture has some aspects of the Nullabor desert, Honour box, Road train passing us - 46 wheels and the Great Australian Bight”

1sT STOP

The Open Road

Colleen says “ We have been on the road for 4 days now. At first I was anxious and sad to be leaving my family and friends. Our first stop was to spend a night with Michelle in the little rural town of Toodjay where she has a small farm house on 5 acres. We were so impressed with all she had done is such a short time, chicken run, vegie garden, fruit trees with reticulation! We played with the children and collected eggs, helped her fix things and generally had a great time...we were sad to leave. The next day we travelled through the wheat belt and stopped over night at a small village called Lake King on the edge of a huge salt lake. The following day took us to the Southern Coast in the Fitzgerald World Biosphere and to Hopetoun where we stayed with Paul’s cousins and had a wonderful visit with them and Uncle Willie. Then we drove through Esperance where we bought a few fresh provisions to see us through the dreaded Nullabor...expensive, isolated and very barren. So far its been all go go go, but once we are on the “other side” of WA we will stop for a few days to enjoy some lovely bay. “
Paul Says “After 1st stop 1,600kms still to get to West Aus border – 4 days travel to get 1/3 across Aus Southern Coast. Tonight we stopped in Salmon Gums, little town where $10 night gets hot shower , free washing machine, Powered site, only 2 vans here, Thousands of stars and no other lights and two days to the WA border. We enjoyed a lovely dinner with Ron/Pete’s gift of Sauvignon, and Nib’s delicious crunchies. A great sunset over the Gums at Gods own restaurant – top table- a VERY Happy camper –Boy will I sleep well tonight. ” Had 1st challenge today car alarm/immobilizer fails – Freezer/ fridge full and stops for 1heart pumping hr – all fixed – back in the game and we move on with another new skill –isn’t live full of surprises ?”