Trying hard to complete this task

About the Drambuie...it was the Germans fault, honestly. Next morning was a bit slow and it was certainly not helped by the relentless squawking of dozens of galahs! Hot night - we had slept with the back door wide open and the noise was incredible. They have emailed twice since and are planning to visit us in the New Year. Hmm must forward plan that, and hide the new bottle of Drambuie.

I should say that when we first arrived at this camp site we found ourselves next to a big group of noisy ocker Aussies and decided to move to a quieter site. I am not sure how much noise we subsequently made, those Welsh hymns can really carry you away, but at least our neighbours were involved and enjoyed it.

We went for a 1 hour walk through gullies and over hillsides, lovely in the early morning light, found remnants of old mine sites; thanks galahs for getting us up.

Our recently developed plan was to visit Whyalla on the Eyre Peninsular, in the hope of having a snorkel with their famous giant cuttlefish, but a bit of research revealed that we need to be there in breeding time, between May and August, so put it forward to next trip. We stopped for lunch in the Kimba Community Hotel, recently renovated with community money, very unusual. It was a great pub and we were glad we had stopped. his is what you find whe you read the local info. Kimba boasts being halfway across Oz. Nice little farming town close to main highway, easy access to many beaches. Now we are on the Eyre Highway which crosses the infamous Nullarbor Plain. Most people complain about this journey; it is one lane each way, carries large trucks and tourists, overtaking can be a nightmare. We find if we stick to 90 kph everything else passes us so it is not our problem! We found a free camp at Pildappa Rock, a huge granite formation in the middle of flat farming land, great to climb over and check for wildlife in the rainwater pools at the top. Some still had water in them, some had tadpoles and one even had a tiny frog. It is always worth the 10 to 20 kms side trip to these places, to get away from the highway and have a wilder experience.

Next day we reached Ceduna, a pretty town on the sea, had a really great fast walk along the foreshore, a nice change from scrambling in dry river beds and climbing ridges. For you mad golfer out there, Ceduna is the beginning (or end) of the Nullarbour Links Golf Course, a recently constructed facility to amuse travellers. You tee off and find the "green" (not very green out here), sign off and then drive for a few hours to the next hole, which I think is the Nullarbor Roadhouse, and so on all the way to Kalgoorlie. You register at each green to prove you have done it and you receive a certificate at the other end when you finish, covering several 1000 kms in the process. So popular is this golf course that people are forming groups to do it as a holiday of choice!

We just missed the head of The Bight Whale Lookout; it closed today, end of season, but we found a beaut free camp at the 133km peg ( 133kms from where I am not sure) with great views of cliffs of Great Australian Bight, the wonderful smell of the sea, clean fresh air, a lovey evening with clear blue sky and a strong feeling that we were getting close to our beloved Western Australia!

Next day John informed me that because of my cold, with associated coughing, snoring, tossing and turning, he woke up 25 million times! needless to say it was an early start. It was a cloudy day with a forecast of rain. We thought that might be a bit of a novelty, rain on the Nullarbor Plain...last time I remember such rain was when I had tickets for Cliff Richard concert in Perth in 1995, and his trucks coming from Adelaide to perth got bogged in wet mud and he had to delay the concert by 24 hrs. It was chaos for us because I was on night duty and it had taken me ages to find someone to work the night for me, and then I had to change it. Great concert though, good old Cliff, he's back again in 2010.

So there we were riding along, singing a song, when bingo...rain! Something to tell them all back home. But even more exciting, we noticed rainwater pools forming on the road and then we noticed kangaroos with joeys, and emus with chicks , wedgetailed eagles and Great Australian bustards coming to the pools to drink. Looking at the low scrub of the Nullarbor Plain, you would not think that so many animals were lying low, so close to the highway. What a treat! lets hope that traffic slowed down and reduced the risk of road kill.

We soon reached the SA/WA border where you pass through a quarantine check and have to hand over fruit, veg, honey and such like. We have done this before and are getting wiser, so only a remnant of honey to give up this time. In Victoria the sign yelled at us EAT FRUIT NOW which really didn't seem very practical because you would still carry the peel and cores, and anyway how much fruit can you eat in 2 kms at 90 kph, and who's going to check? between Vic and SA we did the right thing and threw a few items in a bin, which emitted a vast cloud of fruit flies which invaded our van and crossed the border into Sa with us! In WA they are serious and there is no messing about.

Just beyond the check point is the Border Vilage which has lots of facilities, lovely gardens ($40,000 pa for desalinated water) and a shower block, yippee. A bit further on we found a nice bush camp where we could liht a camp fire and cook our dinner in foil, the last day before the Summer fire ban. There were several willy-willys (little tornadoes) which threw plenty of dust at us, so we retired quite early, putting our watches back to WA time to ensure an early sunset!

We are only 2 days from home, but new surprises and excitement are yet to be enjoyed!

the last 2 weeks

Travelling west from Bacchus Marsh, we headed for ballarat, famous for the Eureka Stockade and the miners stand for fair representation; a famous event in Australia's history and the beginning of a new era in democracy. Government mining licences were becoming intolerably expensive, in an attempt to control the invasion of thousands of people from all over the world, intent on making their fortunes in the goldfields of Victoria. We found the excellent Information Centre, built on the site of the stockade, and learned all about. Scarey times, many people died trying to make their point. We also saw many sulphur crested cockatoos around the area, always lovely to see these large parrots, who give a spectacular show of crest when excited, fipping it out like a fan!

We then camped for the night, another freebee, on the shores of Lake Bolac. We had been there 2 years previously and remembered the free toilet and shower block in this pretty location with very few other people around. Still there too. Lots of local infrastructure such as boat ramps, sailing markers, water taps, picnic tables, but the locals say the busy days are gone as people have found other pastimes and travel. This time the wattle was in flower, and we parked in a brilliantly yellow and pungently aromatic glade on a headland overlooking the lake. Not a place for those with hay fever!

As Margot in Mt gambier was helping her son and family to move, we delayed our visit by a day and had time to visit the Grampian Mountains, much to my delight, as we had had to pass it by last time. So we turned north to pass through Ararat, and found ourselves arriving right in the middle of the town Agricultural Show parade! brilliant timing! We watched the various floats and then found the Orchid Show, which I can never resist, and I got chatting to a lady who had lived there all her 70 years and was a non-stop history teller. It was she who told me that the town was founded by some Chinese men. Because of the Vic. government trying to control the influx of people, they put taxes on everything, including the ship's captains who brought people into the ports. To get round this, they disembarked their human cargo in a place called Robe in S Australia, who then walked the 200 miles (500 Kms) to Bendigo. These particular Chinese stopped at a stream to refill their water bottles and LO! found lumps of gold in the stream. They didn't bother to go on to Bendigo, and the rest is history, but Ararat has the largest fied of Alluvial Gold in the world, and it is stilled mined. So of course we had to visit the Gum San Information Centre which tells the whole story and has some terrific displays and artifacts. So you can see how easily a week to get home becomes 2 weeks or more. I was persuaded to treat myself to a silk dressing gown.. it didn't take much pesuading.

We finally tore ourselves away and got to Hall's Gap Tavern in time to have a fine roast lunch, being Sunday, before we drove through the mountains to the reccommended campsite at Jimmy Creek, recently upgraded and very fine for a Dept of Environment and Conservation (DEC) site. The loo was still long drop tho!

My cold was quite bad at tis point and I was beginning to think sinusitis, so I did something which is not reccommended, I dug out of my medicine chest a 4 year old pack of antibiotics whic I always care just in case, and commenced the course. Glad to say the infective threat cleared up PDQ (pretty damn quick) and I began to feel much better. So much for meds going out of date!

We managed to do the Piccaninny walk and admire wild flowers, including several tiny wild orchids, always a treat. Then we got to Hamilton and stopped to get blood pressure meds for John, only to find that his aged pension concession card had been stopped and his pension payments also! Quick visit to the Centrelink office to put that right, and they gave him back pay too. The things that happen when you are away from your mail box! We stopped at a petrol station to ask how to find the road to Mt Gambier via Dartmoor, and suddenly the conversation was taken over by a white South African man who wanted me to go to Portland with him, to see koalas and visit a great DEC camp spot. Well! I got out of that spot PDQ and reported back to John, and we whizzed out of town. Well blow me, a few miles along the road and there is Mr SA, pulled over and apparently waiting for us. As we shot past he fell in behind us, and as it was not the road to Portland, I started to feel a bit concerned and thoughts of Peter Falconio RIP came to mind ( he was ambushed and shot on the road from Alice to Darwin several years ago). So John found a tiny side track to do a sharp turn into, knowing that Mr SA with caravan could not possibly follow us. We found a lovely picnic spot beside a stream and felt much better for having lost him. He was probably a very nice man just wanting some company but...Scarey.

Getting to Yahl, near Mt Gambier, it was great to see George and Margot in their new home on their son's property. Son Ben is a vet, is married to Michelle and has 3 lovely kids, Aimee 8, Adam 6 and Ruby 2. We had a lively family dinner, saw some local sights, toured the new family home built of rammed earth, rode the tractor to feed the cows and gossiped, wined and dined; terrific. We stayed an extra day, Margot was so keen to keep us. She has only been in SA for 15 months and misses WA and all her family and friends there. George is almost 80 and still rides his horse most days, M is 70, gardens and helps with child care, so they have plenty to do and the family home is just 50 metres away on the other side of a hedge, so the kids are always in and out. Lucky daughter in law!

Mt Gambier is built on limestone which is riddled with caves, and some cave roofs have fallen in to create sink holes. These holes are large enough to hold concerts and parties in, and some have been made into formal gardens. They are quite fascinating. We climbed down into the Umbertson Sink Hole and enjoyed the gardens and the BBQ facilities. Funny to think that in WA, ever since the catastrophic Gracetown rockfall 10 or so years ago, we have Beware of falling Rock signs, while SA has BBQs under the ledges! MG is also renowned for its Blue Lake, which has a spring/summer phenomenon when the lake water turns irridescent. It had just turned before we got there, and it really was quite a sight.

We were keen to get on to Robe, to complete the story of the Chinese gold miners, and finally hit some lovely warm weather at last. SA countryside was looking green and healthy; it can go so brown in summer, lots of pine plantations, saw mills and wood chipping. We spent the night on the Coorong Peninsular, but didn't se any wombats or emus, much to my disappointment.

John booked us on a ferry to Kangaroo Island for the next day, for 2 days, in spite of $350 cost and then...

Bit of a drama at this point.. we then phoned our sick friend in Keppell Mews and heard that he was holding a party to celebrate the marriage of his daughter (they had a quiet family do due to circumstances) and we were invited. Could we get home in time? To cut a long story short we managed to get our ferry fee refunded, tho it wasn't easy, probably cost nearly that in mobile phone charges! So now we had a real focus.

During the 100's ofkms that followed. North thru Adelaide and into the South Flinders Ranges, we were luck enough to see 4 solar powered cars coming towards us. Its funny to think they are trying to function without fossil fuels, yet they each had a convoy of conventially powered support vehicles! The vehicles are tiny and look so vulnerable. I managed to get photos of cars 3 and 4.

Camp that night was interesting, at a DEC site in S Flinders. Met some German neighbours, and spent some cheerful hours in cultural exchange. They may visit us at home soon. Highlight of the night (apart from me singing Horace the Horse, and John doing his songs and jokes) was when we moved an esky (ice bin) and found a very large scorpion under it. Now I have never seen a live one before so it was fascinating. After a period of careful observation we carried it a long way from camp ( on a shovel) and pointed it at a distant point!

How can it be that, at this point the litre of Drambuie, purchased in duty free a mere 6 days ago, is almost finished?

More later...

Closing weeks

Its Nov 11th, how can it be? was my last entry really Oct 17th, or has one gone astray?

We spent our last week in NZ having on and off days, fine, wet, fine, wet, but there was always a space to get out for a walk and for Nina to have a run on the beach and for Hawk to play "bombs away", throwing rocks into the sea. The planned BBQ for Sunday for Mark's birthday had to be cancelled as the elements were trying to breach the front of the house. I think that was the day also that the near vertical hillside was trying to breach the back of the house, with a series of small land slips, or "slups"as they call them. It was a very squeezy experience! Do you know that NZ has an earthquake almost every week???? Apparently they are very small and often not felt, but.....heck.

So the wet Sunday became a trip to the excellent Te Papa Museum, which is great indoor space for kids to run around and fiddle with interactive stuff. Adults too!

Mark had a day off next day and it was perfect weather for BBQ on balcony overlooking great view. Gourmet suasages, chops, steaks, all cooked on his birthday present BBQ from loving wife. Loving in laws gave him binoculars, lets hope they get a good work-out. Chocolate cake once again with candles, saliva and singing, we did him proud. We even had a chat to his Dad Ron and wife Lise in Canada, on Skype, a new experience for us.

That BBQ was serious, it saw us off for the rest of the day!

Tuesday and another day off for Markie, so off we went en famille to Porirua Aquatic Centre with Hydroslide. John and I studied the sliders and concluded it took 12 seconds to go from top to bottom, so we decided we would do it.... We eventually decended a deux (you can tell I have been in Akaroa) with much yelling and a bit of panic, and even did it a few more times so that we could hold our heads up in society. Well you have to, don't you?

That evening I managed to get myself to a local Tai Chi session; rocked up at a convent address to find a beautiful large garden on an absolutely flat large site on a steep hillside, complete with large car park; such a surprise in hilly welly. I was greeted in friendly style, and it was identical to our own class in Shoalwater - exercises, set, etc, really comfortable feeling even though I knew no-one. They are just as friendly as my own group. I left them with a tea towel souvenir from Rckingham and arranged to return the next night with my camera, to take some snaps of their lovely club room. Leasing premises is so much better than just renting sessions, it allows the group to put up information posters, banners, mirrors and wall bars. Perhaps we will be able to lease soon. I discovered later that the nun gardener had won a community garden award.

Going back to Cousin Jim in Noosa, we enjoyed his great knowledge of showtunes and their words, but the one we really got into was "I don't care if it rains or freezes, I'm all wrapped up in Jesus, all my sins are taken away...but that was all he could remember. As we travelled along, whatever went wrong or failed to perform, we used to sing this song, and especially in Arthur's Pass. Well at this point Mark decided to Google the first line and BINGO it was sung by Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke. So Mark printed off the words and we got down to some serious entertainment. We determined that we would print a copy of the words and send them to Jim, plus burn a CD and send that too. What a find. Next day we got the movie out just to hear Paul sing it, but the movie was not as good as we expected, although apparently Paul really liked the story.

Time with Bo's was running out. K and M had time out on Weds night while we babysat and we 4 went out for a meal locally on Thursday, the day before we left. I really enjoyed my role as bathtime monitor and made the most of it while I had the chance. Hawk is a little devil, always getting in Hayden's way, pressing and pushing wih much flailing of arms in the hope of making contact, while Hayden plays along and loves it. 2 completely different kids, physically and mentally, and it was great to watch a fight dissolve in giggles.

Friday, time to go..we spent the morning at a local cafe called the Bach (pronounced Batch), great coffee and food, plus newspapers, mags and toys; last few photos and then taxi to airport. It's always hard to leave them but this time we know they are coming home in a few months, so it was not too bad.

Great flight, we had to have separate seats, so I just watched movies, Harry met Sally and Slumdog Millionaires; great. The hotel van picked us up and it was with some trepidation that John left me with the bags and went to collect Rita after 3 weeks of idleness.....

But what a girl! She was so pleased to see him, she started first time and leapt around the corner to collect me and the bags and suddenly it as as though we had never been apart!

It was late, so we made our way west of Melbourne, declining to see Sarah and Rob because I had caught a bad cold and didn't want to pass it on. We found our way to Bacchus Marsh CVPk in order to plug into mains and recharge all batteries. Next day we did some shpping and found a picnic spot and suddenly we found ourselves being familiarised with the history of the women of BM. There is so much information everywhere you go, you can get quite overwhelmed. Gold was the thing, as in so many places, but of course, the women created the fabric of the society and were responsible for the establishment of so many social services. Very interesting.

We expected that it would take 7 or 8 days to get ourselves home, judging by last time, 2 years ago and our only date along the way was with my nursing pal Margot in Mt Gambier, just over the Victorian border in South Australia. Little did we know how much there was yet to see and do, right up to the very last day!

Hopefully by the time I complete this blog I will also have learned how to post some photos. Give me another week...