ANDAMOOKA - LAKE HART

We both slept reasonably well last night but were woken early this morning when Royce rolled over in bed and promptly started another nose-bleed!  Finally got that to settle, cleaned up all the blood and mess and sat outside having a cuppa.  Blue sky this morning and looks like it could be a nice day but after seeing all the ants on the ground outside the caravan and the swarms of flying ants sheltering under our awning we decided we were going to leave.  The flying ants were getting in our hair, ears, nose, eyes etc! Packed everything up and took off.  We thought we would have a look at Roxby Downs but ended up just doing a short drive through and didn't really see anything of interest.  We drove through to Pimba and filled up with diesel (165.9c/l) then headed off to Lake Hart.  We weren't too sure whether we would stop at Lake Hart because it is normally pretty busy but it was about 4.15pm by the time we got there (we were a bit late leaving Andamooka) so we decided to stay.  Luckily we found a reasonably level spot and set up camp.  The place is pretty full and some people who came in later have had to go on to other areas.  We met the people in the caravan next door and chatted for a while with them.  They are on their way to Darwin as well.  We tried out the Weber Baby Q tonight to cook up chops, snags and onions and they turned out well.  We hadn't used the Weber before but I think we will get a lot of use out of it.
As usual, a beautiful sunset at Lake Hart - see picture.  We think we might stay put here for at least 2 nights and perhaps a 3rd night (if the flies aren't too bad during the day) and then move on to Coober Pedy.
We saw a bit of wildlife today - on the road into Roxby Downs a blue tongue lizard was crossing in front of us.  We slowed right down and stopped next to him.  He promptly turned around and hissed and opened his mouth at me!  We left him alone and moved on.  After leaving Pimba there was a flock (?) of emus about to cross the road but they changed their mind and headed in the opposite direction.  They were right by the road and there was about 8 or 9 of them.

WE'RE OFF!!!

Well, the day finally arrived and we headed off on our BIG TRIP yesterday.  It's quite strange how, when we first set the date of 1 May 2011 it seemed a long way away but then it seemed to arrive very suddenly and we had this mad flurry of activity to be ready!
After a few prolonged farewells (and a few tears on my part) we headed off about 11.45am yesterday.  We met my brother and his wife at Port Wakefield and had lunch then parted company and we headed off.  At that stage it still didn't seem quite real and in some ways it still hasn't sunk in that we are off and away for about 6 months! (I am feeling a bit homesick and missing everyone but I am sure that will get better).
We camped last night at Mambray Creek rest area.  As always it is quite a nice setting but the traffic (and train) noise is a bit of a nuisance.
We both slept reasonably well and in the process of packing up this morning to head off Royce had a whopping waterfall of a blood nose!  It finally settled and we toodled into Port Augusta, did a bit of shopping then headed off again.
We have had Miss B-Haven and UHF call number put on the back of the van and have had it used once yesterday (by someone who overtook us and just wanted to chat) and twice today.  The first time was when Royce pulled over to let a Linfox truck past and he called us up to thank us. The second time was a couple travelling behind us (also towing a van) who asked whether the road was clear ahead for them to overtake.  We chatted with them for a while and they mentioned they are also going to Darwin but were going to detour to Andamooka.
Royce and I thought about it and decided "why not" so at Pimba we turned off and headed towards Andamooka. We were going to camp at the Roxby Downs Rest Area but it was a bit of a muddy site so decided to go on to Andamooka.  What a mistake!!  The area where we can camp is at the Campground.  Sounds OK doesn't it?  Unfortunately the Campground is just a large, very muddy, area and we nearly got bogged getting in.  We hope we can get out when it comes time to leave but at the moment we have decided to stay 2 nights and have a bit of a rest day tomorrow.
It has been raining quite a bit since about an hour out of Port Augusta and it has clearly been pretty wet here at Andamooka.  I decided to drive for a while today and as luck would have it that is when we had the heaviest rain!  I hate driving in heavy rain at the best of times but since there was nowhere to pull over I had to just keep going.  Visibility was pretty poor for a lot of the time but luckily there was very little traffic.
I haven't taken any photos yet to post and doubt I will be taking any here in Andamooka.  It is a bit of a 'hole' (from what we have seen) and as muddy as the place is I am not sure we will be able to get out and about and explore - even if we wanted to.
We have put the awning up and set up chairs and tables (it isn't too cold - just a bit on the cool side) and then Royce copped his second blood nose for the day (AND NO - I HAVEN'T HIT HIM YET).
As I said we will probably sit around and do little or nothing tomorrow then expect to head off Wednesday and maybe explore Roxby Downs for a while then move on to our next camp site.  We may choose to go straight through to Coober Pedy or we may camp somewhere else for a day or two - only time will tell (and assuming we aren't stuck here for longer than expected)!

THE GRANITES - REVISITED

We left Dartmoor yesterday morning.  What a lovely little town it is.  I highly recommend it to other campers.  The tree carvings are great, the camping area is great and it has a natural spring with water flowing from a tap 24/7 and it is free!
We travelled through Mount Gambier, stopped at Millicent to stretch our legs and have some lunch, into Kingston SE for a coffee then arrived at the Granites (about 20km north of Kingston).  We have camped here before and decided to stop here for a couple of nights before heading home.  There were already a few caravans and campervans here when we arrived but we found 'our spot' and set up.  It was pretty windy yesterday so we put the anti-flap bars on the awning and probably lucky we did because this morning it came in very windy with some pretty strong wind gusts (rocking the caravan - I almost feel sea sick!) and quite a bit of rain.  It is now almost 5pm and the rain appears to have gone but the wind is still blowing just as strong.
We saw a beautiful sunset last night - see photo.
I have had a couple of challenges on this trip - mainly with trying to have a decent shower!  On Wednesday morning I went to have a shower and got as far as washing my hair, rinsing the shampoo out, applying conditioner and lathering my body when the water went cold!  The gas bottle had emptied and by the time we got it switched over to the other gas bottle and got the hot water running again I was a mass of goose bumps and had rinsed off in cold water!  On Friday morning before leaving Dartmoor I had managed to wash and rinse my hair, put conditioner in my hair and lathered up my body when the water tanks ran dry!!!  We had some containers with drinking water so I had a rinse (again with blood cold water).  We were able to fill the caravan water tanks at the Dartmoor spring as we were leaving but these two experiences have left me very wary of showers!  Don't have too much choice unless I want to smell but I am apprehensive every time I get in the shower now.
Royce has been getting his rocks off!!!  Don't jump to conclusions - he has been working on his zebra stones - see photo.  They have come up really well and he has done a good job.  The photo doesn't show them as well as in real life but hopefully you get the idea.

DARTMOOR, VICTORIA

We left Mount Monster last Saturday and arrived in Casterton that afternoon.  We were up early Sunday morning to do the Casterton market.  We had some sales - not as many as we would have liked but we did come out a little bit in front so that isn't a bad thing, and we met some really nice people!  It was bloody hot though so I am glad it was for the morning only.  We spent the last few days with Sharon and Richard and had a nice relaxing time.  The kookaburras came to visit this morning as we were packing up to leave - see photo.  This kookaburra was in the tree at the bottom of Sharon and Richard's garden.
We headed off after lunch and arrived a very short time later in Dartmoor.  We had decided to make it a leisurely drive to Dartmoor (which is only about 60km from Casterton) but it turned out to be a lot slower than we had expected.  Roadworks were being done on the road and we sat behind a grader, doing less than 5km an hour for about 5km or so!  The area we drove through is apparently known as The Ark because of the abundance of wildlife but unfortunately we didn't see too much.  We did see a small kangaroo (or wallaby??) and a flock of coloured parrots and one dead snake but that was all.  Perhaps the roadworks scared them all off.
Dartmoor is a lovely town and we have been for a short walk tonight after tea and will do some more exploring tomorrow.  The main street has numerous 'tree carvings' - see photos.  We haven't uploaded all the photos because it takes too long but this will give you a bit of an idea.  They are really lovely.
We also saw a koala in a tree near where we are camped and he/she is a big one.  It was very co-operative and turned to look at me when I was taking photos of it.
The kookaburras have been laughing nearby tonight just as the sun was setting, and the magpies were warbling earlier. 
We do love this life!!!!! (other than the damn pesky mosquitoes).
We will probably stop here for a few nights and will do another post once we have moved on (unless something really exciting happens before then).


The kookaburra in the tree at Sharon & Richards




Royce with one of the wood carvings at Dartmoor




One of the carvings in the main street of Dartmoor commemorating WWI




A massive tree carving




Our very friendly koala



MOUNT MONSTER CONSERVATION PARK

After a somewhat  delayed departure from home this morning Royce and I reached the Mount Monster Conservation Park (about 20 minutes south of Keith) at about 4pm.  We had a pretty good run on the road today, stopping shortly before Tailem Bend to make some lunch then stopping at Tailem Bend for a milk shake (Royce) and coffee (me). 
This is a beautiful spot - lots of bush around us and plenty of magpies warbling outside.  It was quite warm when we arrived so Royce set up the generator and we got the air conditioner running (what a hard life????).  We cooked a couple of steaks for tea then decided to go for a walk.  It was only going to be a short walk but we ended up doing a 1 hour circuit to get back to the caravan and boy are my hips feeling it!  Still, it was a lovely walk and we had a look at the old gold mine, saw lots of magpies, galahs, finches and a couple of coloured parrots.  There are quite a lot of bees around the place (a property nearby has a large quantity of beehives) but they aren't bothering us much once we shooed out the two that came into the caravan when we first got here.  We did see a fairly large beehive in one of the trees when we went for a walk as well. We also saw a very large hare but it hopped away before I could get a photo.  It was about the size of a smallish dog. The flies haven't been too bad (so far) and hopefully that situation will continue.

Some of the bush area near us

five of the magpies

Miss B Haven

The old gold mine (part of it at least)

Some of the bushland along the track we were walking on

KENNY ROGERS

We went to the Kenny Rogers concert at the Adelaide Festival Theatre tonight (Royce's Christmas present) and what a great night it was.  Royce is a real Kenny Rogers fan and whilst I like some of his music I wouldn't have gone out of my way to go to his concert.  Having said that, I am glad we did go.  I enjoyed it much more than I had expected.  We went out for tea at Fasta Pasta first then headed into the city.  We had to do a bit of a circle loop to get a park but after that all went well.
The first act was a young South Australian woman and for the life of me I cannot now remember her name but she had an amazing voice and I will have to try to remember her name so we can see if she has a CD out.  We think her name was Amber Lee Pointon or Polton or something like that - anyone heard of her?  I will try to find out her name and see how we go. 
When Kenny Rogers first walked onto the stage I thought "OMG he is old and looks like he is pissed".  Appearances can be deceptive.  Whilst the guy is in his 60s and is not a high energy act, he can still entertain.  He sang many of his old songs - including one from the 1960s when he fronted First Edition.  I am not sure of the name of that song but it was something about checking the condition of his condition!  It was certainly very 60s when mind altering substances were all the rage, but it was still a pretty good song and I bet if it was re released now it would sell well!!!!!  Lots of the old favourites and some newer ones as well.  He also engaged the audience really well during the whole show.
We had a really good time and for us old codgers it wasn't even a real late night - home by 11pm.
It was also surprising how many 'young' people were in the audience.  The place was packed with very few empty seats and whilst the majority were our age or older there was a good showing of under 30s.
It is now 11.20pm and time for all good (older) people to hit the sack.   Talk again soon.

Casterton

Royce and I headed over to Casterton on Tuesday last week (11th).  We didn't take the caravan but stayed with my sister Sharon and her partner Richard.  We had only intended to stay a couple of days but that extended out a bit.  We had a leisurely drive to Casterton, stopping on the way to pick up a turtle (tortoise?) that was sitting in the middle of a single lane, narrow country road just south of Langcoop.  We couldn't leave Tommy there otherwise he was sure to get run over, so we emptied out a crate, put him in it and let him go by the billabong at Casterton.  We saw two emus crossing the road and a lot of Rosellas.  It was a pleasant days drive.  We spent time walking, talking, eating and I got a lot of craft work done!  On Friday Royce and Richard headed into Mount Gambier in the morning, picked up a hire truck and drove to Adelaide where they loaded a whole lot of book shelves and stock for Richard's new shop in Casterton - Bikes Books and Bits.  they slept in Adelaide Friday night and drove back to Casterton on Saturday and we all got stuck into unloading the truck which they took back to Mount Gambier on Sunday.  They both worked pretty hard to do all that driving, but particularly loading up the truck!  We got a couple of days of wet weather with one day being particularly bad.  Casterton was on flood watch and the river did rise a few metres but luckily it did not suffer the same fate as many other Victorian towns.  Our hearts go out to all the people affected by the Queensland and Victorian floods!
I didn't sleep very well at Casterton.  There were a few different reasons but one of them was that Royce and I discovered on Sunday night that we were using each other's pillows!  After we swapped over we both slept reasonably well Sunday night - what a pair of wallies!  The corellas at Casterton are a noisy mob as well and whilst they quieten down eventually there are still quite a few that seem to like chatting on through the night.
We left Casterton Monday morning and again had a leisurely drive back to Adelaide arriving late afternoon.  On Tuesday we re-arranged our room (boy was that a big job - had to empty out all the book shelves, wardrobes, drawers, cupboards then shuffle everything around a few times before we got all the furniture where we wanted it), did some cleaning and some washing and today has been a bit of quiet day.  My nephew Jayden and his girlfriend Alkisty popped in this afternoon to see Rory, Emma and Marshall and while Alkisty was nursing Marshall I managed to get a photo of one of his smiles.  He is smiling more often now and it was good to capture one on the camera.  He had his weigh in and 6 week check up today and is now 9lb!  He is getting quite chubby and growing out of quite a few of his clothes.  He is very aware and alert and loves to sit on your lap and have a chat!


The billabong near Sharon & Richard's house




Richard's dog Bonney splashing in one of the many puddles during one of our walks




A small flock of corellas taking off ahead of us.  There were a squillion of them !!




Two horses and one of the ponies currently agisted in Sharon & Richard's bottom paddock




Marshall wearing his Ford jumpsuit given to him by Sharon and Richard




Managed to catch him smiling at Alkisty!