SLIPPING INTO SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Lockhart a delightful little Australian town, all my preconceived ideas of an Australian town were of this, veranda covered walkways either side of the street, quiet, with a friendly feel, this was it we found a little campsite at the end of the town next to the river where you pitch up and sometime later somebody comes around to collect your money, we make off to have a look around which takes all of 15 minutes (its lunch & most places are closed until after 1400 hours so we make for the hotel (pub) to have a few schooners of cool Tooheys and a couple of games of pool, us and four others how these places make a living we don’t know, not once, apart from in Sydney have we been in a pub where there has been more than 6 people including us. A nice gentle afternoon catching up with bookwork (reading) and a few more beers leads up to the lady arriving to collect our dues, as it turns out she was in the pub when we there and had been ever since, before jumping in her car and collecting the rents probably to finance the evenings session, no wonder they have a drink drive problem over here, there are just not enough police to go around once you get out of the cities just about anything goes. From Lockhart we make our way up to Ivanhoe getting caught out on the way with a fruit fly ban zone, where all fruit and veg that you are carrying has to be put in bins or hefty fines are imposed if you are stopped with it still on board, this is to try and stop the spread of the fruit fly from state to state, I thought this only occurred at state borders but this one is like a buffer zone and so we had to ditch our fruit and veg, but not until we had eaten as many of the peaches as we could as we had only brought them the day before and were very nice, we proceeded on our way minus the fresh produce arriving at Ivanhoe at 1830 hours which was earlier than we expected because we had crossed into the central time zone and so put the clocks back half an hour.

TWO GOLD NUGGETS AS MINED BY ONE OF OUR FELLOW TRAVELLERS "HOW MANY LUMPS WILL IT TAKE TO BANKROLL THIS TRIP?"

Ivanhoe right out in the middle of nowhere a railway line, state prison, one hotel (no not prison) and one service station with a camp site behind it where we stayed, oh and lots of dogs who took it in turns to bark throughout the night but the showers were hot, so we were fine compared to some of the accommodation that we had sampled on the way to oz, this was pure luxury. Leaving Ivanhoe we took an unsealed road 200 km’s across to Meindee Lakes the first 150 km’s weren’t too bad but the last 50 was like being flung around in a washing machine (not that I’ve actually been in a washing machine you understand) and we were pleased to get the wheels back onto tarmac at the end, emus instead of kangaroos were the main feature of this cross country drive not that we got any photos though what with the bouncing of the truck and the speed of the emus by the time we got the camera out they were gone.

A JOEY FOUND ABANDONED BEING HAND REARED BEFORE BEING RELEASED BACK INTO THE WILD

NOTHING ELSE BUT THE OUTBACK NOW.

The town of Broken Hill the last town in NSW before the outback, famous for its mineral mining which is still going on today and Silverton a small place 25 km outside of it with between 40 and 60 residents depending on who you speak to was our next stop,

SPOT THE RESIDENTS!!!this place has the most filmed hotel (pub) in Australia in it , it’s where they filmed Mad Max, Razorback, A Town Like Alice and a lot of TV adverts including all the Castlemaine 4x ones, the landlord even has a replica dodge charger parked outside as was used in the film Mad Max, we really liked the town, it now only consist of a few artist galleries the pub and a couple of museums but it had a really nice to feel to it.

"PARK WHERE YOU LIKE" AN ARTIST DISPLAY

It was here we drove out to the old Daydream mine where they take you down the old mine showing what the conditions were like all those years ago, many miners didn’t live much past there thirties what with emphysema from the dust down the mines, eating tinned food that had been sealed with lead back in England and foul water, either through breathing, drinking or eating one of them was going to get you.

DOWN THE MINE

JAN WITH ONE OF THE OLD TIMERS FROM DOWN THE MINE & NO ITS NOT ME I'M TAKING THE PICTURE "NOTE FRIENDLY DOG NEAR FEET"

Monday the 26th is Australia Day plenty of parties and fun day events taking place, after visiting some Art Galleries back in Broken hill we head back south to Wentworth some 260 km’s away, we stop overnight at a rest stop in the middle of nowhere halfway between the two towns.

THE OPEN ROAD BETWEEN BROKEN HILL & WENTWORTH

It was while we were camped here that our ability to take photos became severely restricted due to the head of communications and navigation dropping the camera on its nose in the sand with the lens cap off and yes it didn’t want to work after that, this all came about because as we sat out under the stars sipping our wine Jan noticed that one of the trees that was illuminated by moonlight looked like a Scottie dog and so wanted to take a picture of it which meant having the camera on night setting, mounted on the tripod which was all good but unfortunately the camera wasn’t located on the tripod correctly and so took the nosedive into the ground, we need to find somewhere to get the camera repaired and so apologise in advance for the lack of photos in this next section. THE LAST PHOTOWentworth sits on the confluence of the Darling & Murray River’s a very picturesque town with lots of history and huge red gum trees shading the banks, we get a personal guided tour around one of the old paddle steamers called the Ruby, a group of volunteers are restoring it to its former glory, for us ex sailors all boats are good to be on, for Jan it’s not quite the same but as we are well secured alongside she enjoyed it as well. We leave Wentworth calling at the Perry Dunes an impressive range of orange sand dunes dating back 40,000 years if only I had my camera! We are now in the first few days of the heat wave, temperatures in the mid 40’s are to become the norm for the next fortnight, we seemed to have adjusted to the temperatures better than the Australians (perhaps it was the heat of Pakistan that has helped) who are forever complaining about the heat much like the British do about the rain back home. We are on our way to the Barossa valley for those wine drinkers among you it will need no further explanation as it is a renowned wine producing area of Australia, we are going to stop with some of Jan’s relations who own and run a small 25 acre winery in the valley at Angaston perhaps this could be the retirement ideal that we have been looking for. On the way we stop off at Barmera, our girls lodged here a few years ago while they were working on a fruit packing farm when they were working their way around oz, we find their place that we had heard so much about and it did seem a nice little town to us, but we didn’t have to live here for three months like they did but for the hour we were there it seemed fine. We camp on the bank of the Murray River that night just half a kilometre from the Overland Corner Hotel which is named after a bend in the Murray River where drovers and travellers once camped while waiting to cross the river, the pub has plenty of character and is very much like the old English inns we have back home, only this one is only a couple of hundred years old. After chatting to a couple of the locals who were on their way home from work (does that really still go on now days work!) we sort out a really nice camp spot right on the banks of the Murray which is also convenient for washing the camper off, we haven’t been able to do it yet because of the water restrictions that are in place over here, they actually do have a drought in Australia unlike back in the UK where after three weeks without rain we think the worlds going to end. The Barossa Valley’s rolling landscape of manicured vineyards, red gums and Lutheran churches with some quaint villages nestled amongst them such as Angaston which is where Robert & Rosemary’s house is situated amongst the 25 acres of vines that make up their vineyard, and theirs is just one of 60 or so winery’s such as, Wolfblass, Jacobs creek, Penfolds to name but a few of the bigger names that we all know back in England (well if you drink wine that is). We spend a very enjoyable week with the family meeting and getting to know them all plus seeing what goes on behind the scenes with the vineyard it’s very interesting, water playing a crucial part while this heat wave is on, due to water restrictions tap water cannot be used and so every winery needs it’s own bore water supply, starting the pump adjusting the valves to cover different areas of the vineyard is an 18 hour job plus having to sort any leaks in the irrigation system that keep cropping up, Robert’s looking forward to harvesting his crop in a couple of weeks time if the heat has left any of the grapes for harvest of course, they expect quotas to be 20 to 25 % down this year because of the heat wave. We spend a week in the Barossa sightseeing and helping out with a few odd jobs around the vineyard one of which was cutting the grass which takes all day on Robert’s sit on lawn mower, very therapeutic but I’m glad I still don’t have to cut grass for a living anymore my present lifestyle is much more acceptable!!. On the Saturday before we leave the Barossa the heat wave comes to an end and between 4 o’clock in the afternoon and 10 o’clock that night the temperature drops 25 degrees from 45 degrees down to 20 degrees, Sunday is feeling positively chilly after the previous two weeks, mind you this is a welcome break for all the families and firefighters who have been involved in the Victorian bushfires for the past week, the tragedies that have occurred there are truly horrific it makes you realize that whatever problems you might think you have in this world pale into insignificant when you see what has happened to these families. Monday we call in and see Margaret & Jim more relatives of Jan’s who have a small fruit farm and watch how they dry apricots, something that I thought would involve mechanical drying processes turns out to be as simple as cutting them in half soaking them in sulphur sheds and then laying them out in the sun to dry before being sent off for packaging and sale, mind you if it rains there is a lot of hurried activity to get them under cover not that that happens a lot here. We head off for Goolwa on the south coast and the families beach house, THE FRONT OF THE BEACH HOUSE AND THE VIEW.we had hoped to stop off at Adelaide and pickup our camera that is in for repair but unfortunately it isn’t ready and so still no photos I’m afraid, Goolwa is where we will be staying until we go across to Kangaroo Island on Sunday the 15th of February this is at the mouth of the Murray River which used to consist of a huge lake called the Alexandrina fed by the Murray before entering the southern ocean but because of the lack of rain the lake has dried up to a small river running through the centre of its dried out bed and the actual mouth of the Murray has to be constantly dredged to prevent it being silted up with sand off the beach, I would provide more photo’s but again no camera yet! A quiet week spent in Goolwa braving the chilly low 20’s temperatures, we need to get our boosters done for some of the jabs that we spent a small fortune on when leaving England, Hepatitis A&B are easily obtained but our Japanese Encephalitis has a worldwide shortage, there are no stocks in Australia for at least a year so we will have to wait for Fiji or New Zealand to see if we can get them there.

JAN ON THE BEACH GOOLWA

Finally after three weeks our camera has been repaired and we drive to Adelaide to pick it up calling at Victor Harbour on the way back to meet some more relations of Jan’s Marion & Ross, lots of tips from them both on where to go in Western Australia as they have recently done a three month trip there. Kangaroo Island and a very slightly rough crossing on the ferry Sunday morning has Jan our seasoned traveller holding on to the handrail for dear life muttering things like “why does it have to roll about” and “why aren’t we there yet”,

DOES THIS LOOK ROUGH TO YOU

I was pretty sure you could see the dents in the railing where she had been gripping it so tightly when we got off, I wonder how she will cope when we go across to Tasmania in a fortnights time with a nine hour crossing and rougher seas wish me luck!

SPOT THE CAMPER LEAVING THE FERRY

The island is a wonderful place mainly unsealed roads,

OUR ENSUITE SHOWER FACILITIES, & BELOW THAT IN USE

a population of some 4000 people mainly farmers and fisherman, lots of quiet little coves and deserted beaches with some great camping spots and very friendly people, whilst spending the day at one quiet little cove

ANOTHER SIGHTING OF THAT BEACHED WHALE

we got invited out onto a crayfish boat to look at his catch and some of these were huge crayfish all kept fresh in holds that allow sea water to flow through them from the holes cut into the sides, these he caught using Salmon cut into halves and put into the pots to entice the crayfish in, quite expensive taste they have. Another family came down and he went fishing for Grey Mullet which are very similar to our herring back home in an hour he had caught just over 40 and gave us 6 for our tea which were very nice,

THE CRAY BOAT IN THE BACKGROUND WITH ME PREPARING THE MULLET FOR COOKING

needless to say we have now been out and brought a cheap rod so that we can sample some of the local fish on our travels around the coast hopefully.

ME FIRING THE CANNON AT CAPE BORDA LIGHTHOUSE, JAN MOVED TO THE SIDE

Kangaroo Island has a couple of Seal populations on its southern shores, one of them are New Zealand fur seals which we could of spent all day there watching them play in their natural surroundings, unfortunately it was at this point that the camera decided to stop working so after a few choice words of expressing myself it looks like it’s back to Adelaide to get the repair shop to check it out so frustrating especially as our next stop involved walking on the beach amongst some Australian seals, one bull seal getting a little to close and charging our group (I would have changed my aftershave if I had known it was going to upset him this much), luckily they get out of breath after about 10 metres and just flop down on the beach which was good because I get out of breath after 20 metres and flop down, and no Jan wasn’t there she had already left the beach to stand up on the boardwalk when one of the juvenile seals had passed us a cursory glance when we first got on the beach, I must point out that we did have a guide with us at all times who assured us nothing would happen to us providing we ran faster than he did. Well we are now back on the mainland staying with Ross & Marion until we go across to Tasmania on Sunday the 1st March , after spending another day in Adelaide we have got the camera fixed again it still had some grit in it we think, but let’s hope that this time it has been sorted properly because with Tasmania coming up we want to be able capture it all. We hope all our readers wherever you are well and for those of you back in England let’s hope it starts warming up soon, we are not sure how we will cope when we return as we are now finding temperatures in the low 20’s chilly, better make sure the boiler works it might be on a lot!!!!!.

SUNSET AT WEST BAY, KANGAROO ISLAND