Just a quick one. Our last night here and heading off tomorrow morning. We were sitting around last night when there came a light tapping sound. It took a while before we realised it was raining! Luckily we realized before it got too heavy and we were able to get the last few bits of washing in and bring in our chairs etc. It rained reasonably heavy for quite a few hours. When we got up this morning we were fogged in! Not something I associate with coober pedy. I spent almost half my day on the phone with telstra trying to sort out why I had intermittent Internet access on my iPad and couldnt send emails. After a few hours on the phone, several calls, and being transferred numerous times we finally got it working! Yay! Now I don't have to get the laptop out every time - will be much easier.
Last blog now for about a week - talk to you again from Alice springs!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
COOBER PEDY
We left Lake Hart yesterday morning (relieved to be leaving the flies behind) and made Coober Pedy about 4pm yesterday. We are staying at Riba's Underground Camping & Caravan Park. It is about 5km from CP on the William Creek Road. The caravans are above ground but apparently the tent sites are underground. We haven't explored them yet. Whilst we said goodbye to the flies at Lake Hart we said hello to a whole lot of new, friendly ones here!
We went out for tea with Royce's cousin and her husband last night and then back to their place after to help with some family history they are working on.
We were reasonably late getting to bed last night and got woken up at 7.20am this morning with a phone call from Rory & Emma wishing me a Happy Mother's Day. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the wonderful Mums out there! Hope you have all had a terrific day.
We headed into CP to do some shopping and had a coffee and cake, came back to the caravan park when Kate & Trevor rang to see if we wanted to meet for coffee, so back into CP for another coffee and catch up with them. Back at the caravan park we decided to do our washing, finish putting groceries away and then catching up on emails, charging all my gadgets and fiddle-farting around.
We have been able to skype a couple of people today which was good.
On our way into CP we saw a wedge tail eagle feasting on roadkill, and on our way out of the caravan park this morning we saw two people coming in - each on a unicycle! We think those who ride 2 wheel bikes out here are pretty crazy, but riding one wheel bikes is even worse!
We will probably spend a bit of a lazy day around here tomorrow - may go noodling - and then head off Tuesday morning for Alice Springs. We are planning to take approximately a week to get there and I probably won't be able to blog before Alice Springs because we won't have phone/internet access for most of the journey.
Saw Marshall when skyping Rory & Emma today and he is looking well but Emma is concerned he may be getting a cold as he has been a bit off colour today. Hopefully he is OK. It was lovely to be able to see him and I certainly miss him a lot. We didn't get to talk to Kane on skype because Rory & Emma had visitors so Kane had to be outside but hopefully we will get a chance to talk to him before we head off Tuesday morning.
We went out for tea with Royce's cousin and her husband last night and then back to their place after to help with some family history they are working on.
We were reasonably late getting to bed last night and got woken up at 7.20am this morning with a phone call from Rory & Emma wishing me a Happy Mother's Day. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the wonderful Mums out there! Hope you have all had a terrific day.
We headed into CP to do some shopping and had a coffee and cake, came back to the caravan park when Kate & Trevor rang to see if we wanted to meet for coffee, so back into CP for another coffee and catch up with them. Back at the caravan park we decided to do our washing, finish putting groceries away and then catching up on emails, charging all my gadgets and fiddle-farting around.
We have been able to skype a couple of people today which was good.
On our way into CP we saw a wedge tail eagle feasting on roadkill, and on our way out of the caravan park this morning we saw two people coming in - each on a unicycle! We think those who ride 2 wheel bikes out here are pretty crazy, but riding one wheel bikes is even worse!
We will probably spend a bit of a lazy day around here tomorrow - may go noodling - and then head off Tuesday morning for Alice Springs. We are planning to take approximately a week to get there and I probably won't be able to blog before Alice Springs because we won't have phone/internet access for most of the journey.
Saw Marshall when skyping Rory & Emma today and he is looking well but Emma is concerned he may be getting a cold as he has been a bit off colour today. Hopefully he is OK. It was lovely to be able to see him and I certainly miss him a lot. We didn't get to talk to Kane on skype because Rory & Emma had visitors so Kane had to be outside but hopefully we will get a chance to talk to him before we head off Tuesday morning.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
LAKE HART (STILL)
Royce has a new nick-name "Rocky". He was sitting outside yesterday working on his zebra stones and a couple of guys from neighbouring caravans came over to see what he was doing and they gave him the nickname! They chatted for quite some time and we then joined them just after 4pm for 'happy hour'. Another couple camped right by us also came over. A good size campfire was built and lit and we all sat around chatting and telling jokes until about 10pm - with a short break while we all dispersed to cook and eat tea. It was a fun night. Most of them have headed off this morning (all travelling north to Darwin) and we have hummed and haa'ed about whether to stay or go. The dilemma is that I have to have mobile phone service on Monday so I can pay the washing machine repairer on Monday. If we head off today then there is a good chance we will either have to stay in Coober Pedy longer than we wanted or we will be out of range. We have decided if we are careful we will have just enough water to last if we stay put and head to Coober Pedy on Saturday. We will then stay 3 nights and head off again. Hopefully the repairer doesn't let us down and actually does come on Monday - I don't want to have to spend more than the 3 nights in CP. That will be enough for us to catch up with Royce's cousin, do some shopping, washing, fill up the water tanks and recharge all the batteries.
The flies here are really bad. It was a beautiful day yesterday but I couldn't sit outside for any length of time because of the flies. I spent most of the day inside doing cross stitch. I don't know how Royce tolerated it but he did sit a bit away from the caravan out in the breeze and that may have helped.
I will have to get used to the flies I suppose but I might do it in small doses!!!
We were woken very early this morning by what almost sounded like thunder but it didn't roll like thunder. One of the other travellers said it was explosions, possibly from Camp Rapier (near Woomera). Just dozing off when a B double (or similar) drove into the camping area, turned around and drove out then parked on the track for about half an hour. We then decided to give up and get up and have a cup of tea. We saw a beautiful sunrise this morning.
Unless something really exciting happens I probably won't blog again until CP or thereabouts.
Over and out.
The flies here are really bad. It was a beautiful day yesterday but I couldn't sit outside for any length of time because of the flies. I spent most of the day inside doing cross stitch. I don't know how Royce tolerated it but he did sit a bit away from the caravan out in the breeze and that may have helped.
I will have to get used to the flies I suppose but I might do it in small doses!!!
We were woken very early this morning by what almost sounded like thunder but it didn't roll like thunder. One of the other travellers said it was explosions, possibly from Camp Rapier (near Woomera). Just dozing off when a B double (or similar) drove into the camping area, turned around and drove out then parked on the track for about half an hour. We then decided to give up and get up and have a cup of tea. We saw a beautiful sunrise this morning.
Unless something really exciting happens I probably won't blog again until CP or thereabouts.
Over and out.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
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.
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.
Monday, May 2, 2011
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)!
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)!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
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).
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).
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| The kookaburra in the tree at Sharon & Richards |
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| Royce with one of the wood carvings at Dartmoor |
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| One of the carvings in the main street of Dartmoor commemorating WWI |
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| A massive tree carving |
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| Our very friendly koala |
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