SOUTH AUSTRALIA

We followed the Mallee Highway to Lameroo and ten turned north through Kulkami to Bowhill and on to Purnong where we caught the ferry across the Murray River to a beautiful camping spot right beside the river called Caurnamont. 

It was such a lovely spot that we decided to stay a couple of days. We enjoyed swimming and taking a drive into Mannum, following the road on the western side of the river. 

The sight of the river paddle boats moving through was lovely especially at night but it was sad to see so few people on them at this their peak season.

An original take on guest accommodation.

Leaving Caurnamont, we drove back through Mannum then turned  north to Sedan. It was lovely to see the amazing stone fences again. If there’s one thing in plentiful supply in South Australia it’s rocks. 

We continued on to Nuriootpa  and Freeling then headed north-west to Balaklava. Along this road we saw the sad evidence of the recent bushfires that had raged through this area. It is surprising when you realise that most of the fires were fed by the matured grain crops, with most of the bush consisting of roadside verges. Unfortunately, recent rains meant that the farmers had ploughed their fields so the really strong winds that were blowing were just picking up all the soil and carting it away, piling much of it up against fencelines.

At Balaclava we turned west to Port Wakefield and then it was a short run through to Kadina where we spent the next couple of days with great our great friends and fellow Bushie owners, Neil and Sue. Kadina is the biggest town on the York Peninsula and is a great place to restock. There is also some great crabbing to be done on the coast just to the west and we were treated to several feeds of sand crab over the next few days.

KANGAROO ISLAND

We booked our accommodation on the island through the ferry company because that gave us a small discount. The selection was limited through them but we decided that since you don’t really know much unless you’ve been there before it was worth a punt. So that we wouldn’t be rushing too much, we left a day early since we had to drop our dog, Leo, at the kennels on the way. It was nice to take a leisurely drive through Adelaide and down to the Fleurieu Peninsula. On the way we stopped at a fantastic spot called Port Wilunga where we had a delicious lunch at a restaurant called Star of Greece. Thanks Neil! 

The view as we ate lunch at Star of Greece restaurant.

The beaches along this coast are truy beautiful and the sand so hard that everyone just drives down onto the beach.

After coffee in Port Elliot and some investigations we decided to stay at the Anchorage Hotel on the seafront in Victor Harbour. The rates were OK and everything was clean and tidy. They have a nice bar and restaurant although the evening meals aren’t really what we were looking for so we just walked up the road to another pub. 

The view from the balcony outside our room was lovely and we enjoyed a leisurely stroll around town after checking in. Unfortunately not many of the stores were open as it was after 5 pm. We were a bit surprised that there was no late night opening since this is supposed to be their peak season.

Next morning it was off to Cape Jervis to catch the ferry, with Neil worrying that we didn’t get seasick if it was too rough. He needn’t have worried as the crossing was pretty easy despite the big swells coming through Backstairs Passage. The cost of getting a van across to the island is prohibitive so we all came down in the one vehicle. A normal car under 5 metres costs around $97 and passengers about $50 each one way. 

Approaching the ferry terminal at Penneshaw.

We arrived at Penneshaw just before lunchtime and decided to head straight to a great little spot on the north coast called Stokes Bay. It was great to be doing the trip with Neil and Sue as they had been here before. A little bit of local knowledge goes a long way to making the trip easier. After a walk through the rocks to a beautiful beach we had another delicious seafood lunch beside the ocean at a little restaurant.

This beautiful beach lies at the end of the path through
the rocks from Stokes Bay carpark.

After lunch we continued along the northern coast, exploring more beautiful beaches as far as Western River Cove. 

Black boys this size abound on the island.

Looking back to Western River from the west.

Then we headed south to the Playford Highway with runs through the middle of the island. Kangaroo Island is surprisingly large with about a third taken up by National Parks and Conservation Parks. With only about 4600 residents it is certainly not crowded and the countryside is a mixture of bushy scrub and farmland. Most of the minor roads are dirt but easy driving without a 4WD.

There are several large salt lakes throughout the island.

Our accommodation was just outside the main town of Kingscote at a little winery at Bay of Shoals. We were really happy with our choice. The 3 bedroom house was not flash but clean, comfortable and tastefully decorated. The large deck overlooking the vineyards and the bay beyond was fantastic. 

We spent many hours just sitting there enjoying the view and the antics of the wonderful variety of birds that came in to take a drink or bath in the birdbath. The blue wrens were very friendly and were not afraid to come right onto the table chasing tidbits that we tempted them with. We also had lots of red-browed finches, new holland honeyeaters and silvereyes among others. 

At around $160 a night we thought it was great value. There is a wide selection of accommodation scattered all over the island and while some is way out there on the luxury end, most houses range from $150 to $200 a night. We thought Emu Bay just north of us would be a great spot for families. There are lots of houses for rent and you can just drive down onto the beach which is sheltered from most winds.

The beach at Emu Bay.

The guys went on a fishing charter next morning and managed to bring back a good lot of King George whiting which of course we enjoyed for dinner. There was even enough to freeze some for later. 

There was no shortage of pelicans on the island and they always appeared wherever boats were returning from fishing.

The rest of our time we spent sightseeing around the island. Admirals Arch and Remarkable Rocks at Flinders Chase National Park, were quite spectacular. 

Cape du Couedic Lighthouse above and the view to the south-west over Admirals Arch to the Casuarina Islets below.

There are plenty of New Zealand fur seals to be seen on the rocks all around the Cape.

Admiral's Arch

Weirs Cove where supplies for the lighthouse were offloaded at the bottom of the cliff and lifted up to the storehouse.

Remarkable Rocks certainly live up to their name.

Once again we had great lunch – fish burgers this time – at a little store at Vivonne Bay before heading out for a look at the jetty there.

It was then back to the house and a leisurely afternoon out on the deck. I would recommend Kangaroo Island to anyone. It has a wide range of things to do and see and there is something to suit most budgets. 

On our way to catch the ferry home we made a quick stop at the boat ramp below the vineyard to feed our fish scraps to the pelicans. John almost lost his hand down ones throat.

We also called in to Pennington Bay before enjoying a lovely coffee back at Penneshaw.

Pennington Bay

The lovely beach at Penneshaw beside the ferry terminal.

YORKE PENINSULA

Of course Leo was very happy to see us when we picked him up on the Monday. Next day was catching up with washing etc then it was off down to Gleeson’s Landing, our favourite spot on Yorke Peninsula. This is a wonderful bay which reminds us very much of Wooroora Station at Ningaloo in Western Australia. As the wind wasn't too strong, we made our camp on the headland at the south end of the beach. The views were spectacular.

We put the tinny in one day but didn’t catch anything. Not that we minded. It was nice just to get out on the water. Being fair weather fishermen, we decided it was too choppy for the rest of our stay but it was so relaxing just sitting out watching the birds and the ocean that we were happy to stay for several days. We didn’t see anything of the ranger so didn’t get to pay the $35 a week fee that you’re supposed to pay. Apparently you can pick up a permit etc at Minlatin on the way down. There are lots of other camping spots and caravan parks on the Peninsula and Innes National Park right at the tip has some lovely beaches as well. The surf here at Gleeson’s is pretty good too. 

We saw several guys on surf boards, boogie boards and even a “why bother” board out at the point catching a wave.

Because we were camped on the headland we didn’t get the sunsets over the ocean but they were still pretty spectacular. We will definitely be coming back again.

EYRE PENINSULA

Our trip to Eyre Peninsula didn’t start too well as we got a flat on the van just out of Port Augusta. While trying to help John I managed to put my back out of whack again after having it fixed the day before. I was lucky however as I got a chiropractor’s appointment in Whyalla for the following morning. Fortunately, the Bridgestone people in Port Augusta looked after us and we were off again pretty quickly to Port Lowly Point just north of Whyalla. 

The sheltered little harbour at Lowly Point

Light House complex - Lowly Point

We were hoping to spend some time here to do some snapper fishing but the weather didn’t look too good for the next few days and other campers said they hadn’t been catching much so we just spent the one night then headed in to Whyalla and the chiro before continuing down the eastern side of the peninsula looking for another nice camp. 

Just avoided running over this blue-tongue along the road.

We thought we might stay at a new spot this time but after checking lots of them out we ended up going all the way down to Lipson Cove, a spot where we camped on our last trip. It is still a lovely spot and the cormorants, gulls and rock pigeons were still prolific on the little island just off the beach. The beach itself is lovely.

Lipson Cove

It wasn’t far to Port Lincoln next morning and after catching up on washing, groceries, water etc we managed to get to Farm Beach reasonably early on Friday afternoon. It turned out that we got there just before a large group of regulars so we were lucky to get a nice camp site in a sheltered area beside the fence. This gave us some protection from the winds and made it easier for us to keep Leo the dog away from the other campers.

The 'caravan park' here is run by the Lower Eyre Shire Council based in Cummins and has a toilet and cold shower only. It is now $10 a night per site which isn't too bad. Our first two days proved good for whiting fishing with us getting 7 keepers each day, although we did catch probably twice as many which were just under the 30 cm size limit. We also managed to jag a couple of squid thanks to some timely advice from our friendly neighbours. 

Full moon rising over the hills behind the camp site.

And so we filled our days for the next two weeks fishing, squidding and socialising with the great group of people who were there. Each afternoon saw a large gathering for happy hour and on Thursdays and Saturday’s you can get a nice meal in Wangary at the football club. We also joined in the men’s cooking night which was fun.

Men's cook night.

Port Lincoln is only 60 kilometres away when you need to restock, wash etc. You can get groceries in Cummins but other services are limited. Likewise for Coffin Bay which has even fewer shops but it does have a dump point. Oysters can be bought straight from the farms just a couple of kilometres down the road at Little Douglas, where several large farms operate.

The beach where you launch the tinny is hard enough to drive on without problems although there are occasional soft spots in which you can get bogged down . Cars can be seen parked at left.

Getting ready to go out chasing nannagai.

One of the many cliffs along the coast, one of which was
used in the filming of the Gallipoli movie.

A cave John had to explore.

There were dolphins aplenty that day. We even had a large
pod surfing our bow wave at one stage. Magic! 

Our catch of nannagai.

Almost everyone at Farm Beach was friendly and helpful, with information re how and where to fish being shared freely, as well as the catches themselves. We spent our last couple of days chasing squid with some success.

One squid managed to get some revenge!

It was a lovely environment and we found it hard to leave. We hope we will be able to return regularly. Consequently we were a bit sad to head off. We decided to go as far as Whyalla where we stayed at Stuart Park, a local sporting ground for $10 a night. It was quite a good spot for an overnighter and we actually managed to get some useful information from the local Centrelink office when we paid a visit. Whyalla itself, like Port Lincoln, is quite a large place though Lincoln seems more prosperous and will probably be even more so if the steel works in Whyalla don’t continue to operate.

Next day we pulled in at Port Augusta so we could replace the rest of the tyres on the van, since they were all getting past their use by date. John dropped me at the Australian Native Botanic Gardens just north of town while he took the rig in to get the tyres. I was really stoked to get three new birds here so it was a worthwhile trek. We also picked up our mail from a local post office and John managed to complete his postal vote. Unfortunately the staff at the electoral commission couldn’t figure out that we wanted both our vote kits sent there so I will have to hope mine gets to Rockhampton via our mate Steve in time for me to vote too.

We managed to get away from Port Augusta just on lunch time, heading east in the next and final part of this trip.

NEW SOUTH WALES AND VICTORIA 2016

After a couple of days in Rocky with our grandaughter we did the usual rellie run around Brisbane.

A classic 'homie' spotted at the rest area at Yamba north of Rockhampton. Note the ingenious way the tinnie has been sealed to the roof with Sicaflex.

Egrets etc at the lagoon at Gracemere caravan park. A lovely spot.

Then we headed into New South Wales and decided to take a look at the showgrounds camp in Maclean. This turned out to be a lovely spot with beautiful views across the Clarence River. 

View from our camping site at Maclean showgrounds.

From here we crossed over the bridge just beside the showgrounds onto the large island in the middle of the river and drove through the village of Lawrence. There is a camp spot there behind the pub which also looks quite nice. We had to take a ferry to get back onto the road to Grafton where we fuelled up etc. It was a lovely drive down Highway 78 to our next camp at Little Styx River, just south of Ebor. We had stayed here before and despite an afternoon storm it was still the lovely spot we remembered. 

Little Styx River

Next day we continued on to Armidale and then joined the New England Highway to Tamworth where we saw the early signs of the upcoming Country Music Festival. We must try to be there for it sometime.

Travelling south from Tamworth, we went through Willow Tree and Scone then turned west just before Musswellbrook. We went through Castle Rock to Sandy Hollow and continued on through the beautiful Bylong Valley. There is a lovely little camp opposite the store in Bylong so we decided to stop here. It proved so hot that night that we turned on the gennie to run the air-conditioner for a while. Fortunately it cooled down later in the evening so we did get a good night’s sleep.

Bylong Valley

Next morning we hit the road south through Ilford to Sofala. We were wishing we had more time so that we could call into the historic old mining area at Hill End but we continued on to Bathurst and thought we might spend the night at Carcoar Dam just past Blayney. However when we got there we didn’t think it was so great. The water was low admittedly but there weren’t many level, sunny spots left so we kept going to Cowra. Here we discovered a lovely little camp spot called Farleigh Reserve on the Lachlan River. It was still quite warm and there was quite a strong wind from a threatening storm but Leo thoroughly enjoyed swimming in the river and the storm didn’t come to much so it was a lovely stopover.

It was a relatively short run next day down through Cootamundra and Junee to Wagga Wagga where we spent the night with our son Dave and his fiancée Kristy. As we set off next day, we were looking forward to catching up with our good friends and fellow Bogsters, Phillip and Ann, who were camped at a beautiful spot on the Murray River called Neil’s Bend. It is a lovely reserve just east of Walwa and there was plenty of room for the 8 vans that eventually made up our little group. John got the tinny set up and we had a lovely little trip upstream. It certainly is a lovey river but is becoming choked with willows and another tree in places. Parks and Wildlife were busy removing them from the banks upstream from us so at least it is being controlled.

Views from our camp at Neil's Bend

While staying here we took a drive to visit fellow Boggers upstream on another lovely reserve Clarke Lagoon. This is also a nice spot but river access is not quite so easy in most of the campsites here. We also took a drive further east to Tintaldra. Here we turned north across the river and then west back along River Road on the northern side of the Murray. This gave us a chance to have a good look at this part of the river and also to visit some more Bushtracker owners who were camped at Jingellic. The reserve here is right behind the hotel and while it is certainly a lovely spot it is usually very crowded. In fact this couple ended up moving up to Neill’s Bend next day as they were given a very nasty reception by some incoming Australia Day campers who deeply resented them being in “their spot” which they had been coming to for years.

We also took a little trip in the tinnie up and down the river.

Neill’s Bend was a wonderful spot for Ann and I as we ended up identifying 50 different bird species between us. It was also a great place for the guys who were keen fishermen. They managed to catch two lovely Murray Cod using cheddar cheese. They really are very pretty fish.

We were quite sad to be leaving this lovely camp and all the terrific people we had met here but we were also looking forward to our next little interlude, the 45^th Anniversary for John’s Army Apprentice School intake, which was being held at Albury-Wodonga. John was excited to be catching up with old mates, some of whom he hadn’t seen for nearly 40 years. We drove along the Murray River all the way to Wodonga, skirting the southern shores of Lake Hume and it was a really pleasant drive. Along the way we noticed several other nice camping reserves on the river.

Our first day at Borderlands van park in Wodonga was really hot so we appreciated having the power so we could run the air-con. We made use of the pool and were parked in a little group of half a dozen other ex-army guys attending the re-union so there was plenty of banter and sharing of stories that night. Next morning we awoke to rain clouds and some welcome rain, as the area was quite dry. The whole weekend proved most enjoyable with get togethers at the RSL etc in Albury as well as an excellent lunch barbecue at the military base at Bandiana where there is also an excellent army museum which is well worth a visit.

The extensive Army Museum at Bandiana.

We left Wodonga on Monday morning and made a beeline to Kilmore, just north of Melbourne. The caravan park is a bit tired and most of the sites for non-permanent vans are on bitumen. But the toilets were clean and the management were extremely friendly and helpful. John stayed in Kilmore while our son Lachy picked Chris up to go into Melbourne to attend the Australian Open Tennis on Australia Day. What a great day it was too. Saw no less than three matches including Serena Williams vs Maria Sharapova and Roger Federer vs Thomas Berdich. The atmosphere was fantastic and the whole day was great. We really enjoyed dinner too at an unusual little restaurant called situated in an old clothing sweat shop.

On Wednesday we travelled west through Lancefield to Kyneton where we had a pleasant little overnight stop with some more Bushtracker owners, Ian and Ange. They have a lovely acreage with extensive country views. A storm with lots of lightning made the night interesting.

Next morning we continued west on the Pyrenees Highway. This area is very interesting as it is the scene of much of the early gold mining in Victoria. There are lots of rustic old buildings and you really get a feel of the history of the place. At Ararat we continued due west through Moyston and then north toward Halls Gap. We found a nice little camping spot on Wikki Camps, called Old Man Emu Campground. It is nestled in the bush in the shadow of the Grampians. The owners have just started developing the place and have set it up nicely. Unfortunately lack of rain has prevented them from greening up the grounds but if when the dam is filled it should look much nicer. At $15 a night I thought it was a little dear simply because of the lack of toilets but perhaps they have plans for more amenities. If you like kangaroos and emus there are plenty of them here.

We really enjoyed the drive next morning up through Halls Gap and over the Grampians. They really are quite spectacular and we managed to get a good feel for the area from the lookout overlooking Lake Wartook. 

Ian and Ange had recommended a couple of camp spots at Rocklands Reservoir so we turned south at Brimpaen until we got to Cherrypool where we took a right turn onto the dirt track which skirts Black Range State Park and takes you into the Reservoir. There are several camping spots around the Reservoir. We visited Mountain Dam and Hynes but unfortunately due to the lack of rain only Hynes had any water to speak of. 

Hynes Camp - Rocklands Reservoir

While the Reservoir would probably be a lovely spot if the dam was full, we decided that it was pretty ordinary right at this time so decided to head back to Cherrypool as we had noticed a lovely riverside camp there. Although it is close to the road it really was a delightful spot and there were toilets there if you needed them. We’d definitely recommend it for a free overnight stay.

Cherrypool

It was north again on the Henty Highway next morning through Horsham and on to Warracknabeal. At Brim we were fortunate to see the beautiful portraits that have been painted on the wheat silos there. Our friends Phillip and Anne had mentioned them to us but we had forgotten where they were so we were pretty chuffed to come across them quite by accident. They really are impressive and one wonders just how they were painted. Apparently a cherry-picker was used by the artist, Guido van Helten. If you are ever in the vicinity do not bypass Brim.

We spent the next night at a delightful camp spot on the banks of Lake Lascelles in Hopetoun. This spot has a variety of sites from grassy powered spots which you pay about $20 for, to various other spots scattered right around the lake. There are a couple of amenities blocks, barbecues and picnic tables and even kids playgrounds. Although it is used by the locals for water-skiing they are not really a bother.

Lake Lascelles - Hopetoun

When we left Hopetoun we continued on the Henty for 6km then turned north on a secondary road heading for  Walpeup. Here we turned west again on the Mallee Highway and continued on through the mallee with eyes peeled for the elusive mallee fowl, crossing into South Australia near Pinnaroo.

Mallee tree

One of the many large wheat farm homesteads we passed.