LAKE HART

Neither Royce nor I slept very well last night - way too much traffic noise - which is a pity because the camping area at Mambray Creek is a very pretty spot.  Needed to watch out for the mozzies as well but because it was so cold wet and windy we didn't spend much time outdoors.  Royce and I were up at 5.45am, had a cup of tea then went for a bit of walk exploring the area.  At one stage we were watching two magpies which appeared to be fascinated with a rock.  It was only after watching for a while when one of the magpies jumped at the 'rock' that we discovered it was a rabbit!
We headed off to Port Augusta once Raymond and Hazel were up and about (lazybones!).  Filled up with fuel and did a bit of shopping and then treated ourselves and went to a bakery for lunch.
The weather is a lot better today although the wind did spring up a bit at Pt Augusta.  Most of the time it has been more of a tail wind than anything.

From a lookout at a lake on the way to Pimba

We had a pretty good trip from Port Augusta to Lake Hart (which is 40km west of Pimba).  Lots of 'wildlife' - or should I say ex-wildlife.  We saw about 4 dead kangaroos, one dead sheep, about 6 dead cows, one dead rabbit, one dead wedgetail eagle, one dead fox, some live cattle and sheep, one live wedgetail eagle (at least we think it was an eagle - it was flying and it was pretty big).  We also saw some unidentifiable roadkill!  The road isn't too bad although there were a couple of surprisingly steep hills.  Called in briefly at the roadhouse at Kimba then on to Lake Hart.  A very pretty spot but way too many campers and we have decided to move on again tomorrow.  We had originally thought we might stay here for 2 nights but that is unlikely.

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Leaving Mambray Creek this morning

On the way to Pimba

 Lake Hart

 Some flowers at Lake Hart

Maryanne by a 'salt rock' at lake hart

Royce and Raymond (at the back) at the 'salt rock'

Raymond & Hazel at Lake Hart

Lake Hart

Part of the 'salt rock'

MAMBRAY CREEK PHOTOS

Some photographs from Mambray Creek (last night's stop over)

MAMBRAY CREEK

After a very stressful and slow start we finally managed to head off today at about 11am or a bit later.  We had tried to get the caravan loaded up yesterday and thought there was only a few last minute things we would need to worry about this morning - but once again we were wrong.  We finally got everything loaded and were about to hook up the caravan when the heavens opened up.  So we decided to sit down and have a cup of coffee!  When the rain stopped we hooked up the caravan and drove it out onto the road so we could remove the existing hitch and put the new weight distribution system on.  After a couple more recesses (to avoid the rain) and several attempts we finally got everything sorted, said our goodbyes to Rory and Emma and started the car up.  That's when we realised we hadn't put the towing mirrors on!  Fixed that and off we went. 
The weather was pretty ordinary - wet and windy and cold.  We discovered when we were on Port Wakefield Road that we had 'lost' the cover over the front caravan window.  We don't know if it was a particularly nasty wind gust or perhaps we hadn't locked it down properly but it was certainly gone! 
We finally got to Port Wakefield and luckily Aussie by Design had a cover that would suit so they fitted that and fitted a meter so we can check the caravan batteries (to know when they need to be recharged) and fixed up the second anderson plug so we can charge the Thumper when it is in the boot and we are travelling.  While all that was happening we had some lunch at the bakery (diet is well and truly out the window - on day one too!) and then hit the road again with Raymond (brother) and Hazel (sister in law).
We have all camped at a free camp at Mambray Creek tonight.  The wind has died down a bit and not as much rain so we are keeping our fingers crossed.  Still pretty cold but thank goodness for the diesel heater.

We're back

We stayed Monday night at the Mount Rescue Conservation Park and woke to a paddock full of sheep right next door! I think the sheep were more concerned than we were. We had a pretty good trip home and arrived back about 2pm. We caught up on a bit of TV watching (finally got to watch the Port v Hawthorn game) and then slept in the caravan last night.
We have been cleaning out Rory's old room today and getting it ready for the new bed to be delivered tomorrow and hopefully we can then sleep in our new room tomorrow night (fingers crossed).
One thing leads to another and I am now thinking of relocating my office/craft room to another area and using that room as a separate 'lounge' room for use by us when we have visitors or for Rory and Emma when they have visitors. This will leave the actual lounge room available for general use by any of us.
Lots of things on my To Do list but not much that is likely to be of interest to anyone else so may not be posting any entries for a while. We had flights to Melbourne booked for next week but because we have so much to do before we go away (north this time) on 23/8 we have decided not to go to Melbourne. Anyone want cheap flights?
Take care all

WOOD CARVINGS

The diesel heater died last night but we didn't know it had run out of fuel until we were ready to go to bed, so we had a pretty cold night in the caravan last night.

About 20km north of Penola on the road to Naracoorte, a park has been established to commemorate Father Woods. These are some of the carvings. It is a lovely spot but we only stayed for a short visit then drove on to our campsite for the night. We had intended going into the Kelvin Powrie Conservation Park (approx 6-7 km from Keith heading towards Adelaide) but with other vehicles sitting close behind and no prior warning signs we missed the turn off. We had no-where to turn around so continued on and have set up camp at Mount Rescue Conservation Park. The heater is now working (it is amazing what fuel can do!) and it is quite toasty and warm in the caravan now (thank goodness).

Sharon - if you read this, Royce left his jacket on your clothes line. Would you bring it home with you when you return to Adelaide? Ta

PENOLA TORNADO

We left Casterton this morning and drove through Penola, which had the misfortune to be hit by a tornado on Saturday night. Luckily no-one was hurt but a number of buildings suffered pretty severe damage. The photo attached was the bowling club building

Sunday 1 August 2010

It had to happen - I now have a cold and feel pretty miserable! Sharon, Richard, Raymond and Hazel headed off this morning for a drive but Royce and I stayed home. I sniffed, sneezed and slept while Royce read. It rained very heavily last night and this morning and the rest of the gang said it hailed where they were. I have spent the afternoon knitting, playing around with the format of the Blog and helping Sharon set up her Favourites on the computer. The others have watched TV or read. A very peaceful and quiet afternoon.