Pt 2 - Day 62 - Streaky Bay

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!!!! 

This morning we get away by 8:20am.  I feel sad for the kids as they run over to their friend's place to say good-bye, but their Mum gets out of bed to tell them that everyone is still in bed.  Oh well, not much we can do.

Today is pretty uneventful, about  a 390km drive to Streaky Bay.  What a lovely spot.  It is a small town and it seems that everyone likes it, as the sign out the front of the park says "No powered sites available tonight" and it looks like it has been sitting there a while.  We go in anyway, just to see if there is a non-powered site available.  Sure enough, there's the "in case of emergency" spot, which is a nice big spot out of the way, with our name written on it.  They say it is not powered and has no water, but we fill the tanks and some people lend us an extension lead and we are in business.

This park reminds us a bit of Eighty Mile beach.  Everyone here is booked in for weeks on end.  They all have a boat each and there is notification of whose mail has arrived, on the front door of the reception.  There is a bit more here though, a lovely little town with a couple of nice eateries, a chemist, two groceries, a nice pub, a fantastic walkway all the way around the bay and what beautiful scenery of the bay and the jetty.  The colour of the water is beautiful and the resident pelicans spend the day on the beach pruning themselves waiting for the fisherman to come and clean their fish.

This afternoon we head out of town to the Whistling Rocks and Blow holes.  Unfortunately, the blow holes aren't happening, but it is still worth the drive out.  What a rugged coastline it is.

We really like it here and we have internet access so decide it is a good spot to stop, chill out for a bit, and catch up on some office work that I desperately need to do, bills still need paying unfortunately!!! This evening we buy some local King George whiting and crabs for tea and then, another family movie on our bed........the bed seems to be getting smaller!!!

Pt 2 - Day 61 - Back to Port Augusta

This morning we got up early again.  On the road by 6:45am, which was probably a bit early as the sun didn't come up until 7:40am.  We were a bit worried about the roos,  but there was no bush for them to jump out of for the first 100km so it really wasn't a problem.  We had a brief stop at Glendambo, we got a bit of a laugh out of this sign as you enter the town.

Then we went off the main highway at Pimba, about 5km into Woomera where they do a lot of missile testing and rocket launching.  This place is also quite amazing.  Not very big, but the information sign lists every possible sporting facility you can imagine from a softball oval to squash courts, to swimming pool, footy, netball, you name it, they had it.  Obviously a lot of money sent out this way.  We figure that it is due to all the testing the area is used for.  They also have a very impressive outdoor museum with a lot of the weapons that have been tested, on display.




Anyway, we had lunch at "Spud's Roadhouse" then headed back to Port Augusta with everything crossed that the van was still in one piece.  As we approached the park, the weather starts to get wilder and wilder.  The wind picks up, it becomes very overcast and the dust blowing around increases. We get back to our van to find it intact, much to our relief.   After two minutes of being back, the kids are off to find their new friends who aren't at school.

It is too late and the weather is turning bad so we can't move on even if we wanted to.  I quickly put a load of washing on and jump in the car to go down and collect our last mail pick-up.  I do another grocery shop and get fuel.  By now, thunder and lightning are in full swing and the odd hale stone hits the road in front of me.  I head down the road to the main drag and an enormous branch off a big old gum tree falls across the road about 20m in front of me and into the front yard of the house opposite it.  A bit scary.

When I get home, the van is full of kids with muddy feet!!!! Our guests are dear children and help me unload the groceries.  I have to ignore the mud they are bringing back into the van and all over the car as they climb in to grab the groceries. The storm is fairly short lived, thankfully, and the kids go off to play until we call ours in for tea. Glen and I can't wait to get out of this dump as it would be the worst park we have seen so far.  Isn't it amazing though, we see filth, dirt, a rubbish dump in the park, kids not attending school, broken down washing machines, old playground equipment that would no longer meet regulations.  The kids see new friends, an adventurous playground, hidden treasures in what other people have thrown away and they don't want to leave!!!

Pt 2 - Day 60 - Coober Pedy

Well, we looked into some of the tours and once again, it is going to cost us over $200 for the family, plus we have already seen some of the sites that are part of most of the tours, so we decide to do the rest ourselves.  First stop this morning, the "Old Timers Mine".  This is an underground mine, including someone's house.  No one lives in it now, but what an amazing place.  It is like a rabbit warren and we spend a lot of time exploring here.  We come back up to the surface to watch the demonstration of how a "blower" works.  You see these things on the back of trucks all over town, and they actually "suck up" the dirt, blow out all the dust and dump the rocks.  Everyone has a go at "feeding" it.  Before we leave, the kids park themselves in the "noodling" pit, searching for opals.  They basically search through the rocks, dunk them in water to see if they can see the shining precious stone.  Again, we get back in the car with another couple of pockets full of treasure!!!!

After this we head out to the Breakaways and the Moon plains about 15km out of town.  It is out here that a lot of the movie Mad Max was filmed.  The Breakaways are formations like odd shaped hills that have been left behind, about 70million years ago the place was under water and a lot of sea fossils have been found out here.  Hard to imagine when we are so far from the coast.
After this we head to Umoona opal museum and yet another opal shop.  We are continually amazed at what looks like a gravelly hill with a door, can open up to a whole museum and show room for opals.  I do love this place and quickly find the perfect necklace I would have bought if I had recently had a lotto win!!!!

We head back to our hotel in the afternoon and drop Cody and Glen off, then the girls and I proceed to visit every opal shop in Coober Pedy.  Shannae buys a beautiful pair of earrings and Tori a bead containing a boulder opal, for her necklace.  I then drop the girls off and have some time to myself.  I buy a small souvenir necklace, not quite the original I had picked out, but one that wouldn't send me broke!!!!

What an interesting place, we are so glad we made the trip out here.

Pt 2 - Day 59 - Coober Pedy

This morning we set the alarm for 6am.  Pitch black outside at this time of the day.  We make sure everything is locked and secured and just hope to goodness the van will be okay while we were away.  Unfortunately we didn't have many van storage options.  When we pull out of the park at 7am the sun is still not up.   I just can't get used to daylight savings and while it doesn't worry us on our travels, I thank my lucky stars we don't have it at home!!

We have 540km to drive today, but it is so nice not to have the van on and to be out in the wide open spaces.  We are on a decent road where everyone waves hello and the only thing you have to worry about is a cow or an emu wondering across the road in front of you.  The landscape is very bare, not many trees and the Pimbi roadhouse is like an oasis after the first 200km.  I drive most of the way today to give Glen a break.  I encounter a mob of kamikazee cockies and reduce the group by about 5, and when we stop for the toilet, one is still wedged in our roo bar, much to the horror of Shannae!!!

We arrive at Coober Pedy to a beautiful 36C.  A bit of a shock to our system, we have forgotten what heat is like.  The place is dry, dusty and there are mounds of sand and rock everywhere from the mining.  The town itself has a few shops down the main street, every second one selling opals, and we are struck by the security rails on all the windows and doors, reminds us a bit of Carnarvon.  Every hill has a house built into it.  We find our hotel "the Underground Motel", where our rooms are built in to the side of a large hill.  Thankfully it is quite cool in here.

Our car parked outside our hotel room.

We are not feeling too much like sightseeing in this heat, as we are a bit weary adjusting to this temperature, but we head out anyway.  Firstly to the Opal Cave where we find our first underground shop.  What a bizarre sight.  What looks like a run down little house from the outside, opens up to a beautiful showroom underneath, a cave of jewels.  The kids can't believe it.  Opals everywhere, they can't get their money out of their wallets quick enough.

The first place we visit is "Faye's house".  A residence that was dug out by hand by three ladies in the 1960's.  We just can't imagine how hard it must have been and are amazed by the number of rooms including a decent sized cellar for the bar.
After this we head out to the Serbian Church which is not only underground but has had carvings carved into the walls and ceiling.  Quite an amazing place.
This afternoon we head to the Big Winch" lookout where we encounter some very bizarre "art" work and it is about now that we start to realise that the people living in Coober Pedy are quite unique.

"Art"

One view of Coober Pedy from the lookout.  Yes, these are all car wrecks that have just been left!!!

Coober Pedy is certainly like no other place we have seen so far.  Cody is beside himself with all the rocks to choose from and by the end of the day his pants are weighed down with all the treasures he has collected.  He can't wait for "noodling" tomorrow when he can search for opals.  The girls are also in awe of this beautiful stone and start to count their pennies for the jewellery purchases that plan to make before we leave!!!!!

Pt 2 - Day 58 - Port Augusta

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TRACE AND MICK!!!!!

Today we decide to move on.  We had planned to go into Adelaide for a day, however, after driving through the city we couldn't bring ourselves to drive back in to do more sightseeing.  We are nearly "sightseeinged - out ".  Unfortunately, on a trip like this, after about the 5th museum and 3rd zoo and 15th tour, you get a bit over it, which is how we are feeling at the moment.  Which is a shame as there is still so much to see.  And as Dad says, once your vehicle is pointed in the direction of home, you just want to hit turbo boost and head for home. But, had we read your email yesterday Michael, we most likely would have stayed another day....oh well!! thems the breaks!!!!

So today was just a day of travel.  Although we did manage to meet up with Glen's Aunty Anne and Uncle Jamie who are heading across to Queensland to pick up their new Bushtracker.  It was great seeing some familiar faces and having a chat, even though it was brief, it was perfect timing.

We pull into our caravan park in Port Augusta......what a dive.  I'm afraid Port Augusta has lived up to it's reputation, we hadn't heard many good reports.  However, this is just somewhere to leave the van for a couple of days while we scoot up to Coober Pedy.  Unfortunately the park is about a "minus 5!!!" star, so we have everything crossed that the van will still be here when we get back and in one piece.  The kids immediately made friends with some kids that actually live in the park.  Needless to say, they received quite an education in the space of just one afternoon!!!

Pt 2 - Day 57 - Barossa Valley

Well, this morning we woke to another beautiful day. Another couple of loads of washing on and Cody and I head down the street.  He has blown out yet another pair of thongs, so we have to get another pair, and while he has clean hair, I jump at the opportunity to get it cut, as it has been a while!!!! 

So today we decide to have a look at the Barossa Valley.  It is a bit dry but otherwise what a beautiful spot.  We stop at Tanunda for a more detailed map and to ask for further info on the best spots to visit, then head to Angaston.  First stop the Angus Park fruit shop, full of dried fruit, nuts and chocolate, next stop the Barossa cheese factory, then, what I think was the highlight of the day, Maggie Beere's Farm.  Wow, what a fantastic place if you like food!!!.  Every product she produces was available for tasting,  pates, jams, marinades, biscuits, relishes, sauces, you name, it was there,  then afterwards you could order a picnic basket with the products you like for lunch.  Absolutely divine!!!!  She was giving a cooking demonstration at 2pm but we didn't stay for that. A very popular spot so it was very busy.

Afterwards we hit the wineries.  First Penfolds, I think they had about a dozen reds to sample here, which Glen tried each and  every one of!!!!!!  He was talking a bit funny by the time we left!!  Then we went to this lovely little family owned winery called Whistler.  A bus load of people on a wine tour having a great time out the front.  Made us think we should have done the same!!  We really liked this place, and their wine.  We then did a couple more, couldn't go past Jacobs Creek which had its own visitors centre and restaurant.  They were very well set up here, had a beautiful grassed area and toys for the kids and lovely people behind the counter.  Needless to say we made a few purchases here as well. 
It was a great day, nice weather and beautiful surroundings, not to mention food and wine, what more could you want!!!  No wonder our clothes aren't fitting us anymore!!!!

Pt 2 - Day 56 - Back to the Mainland

This morning when we get up at 7am and it is just freezing.  Glen and I do everything we need to do as quickly as we can and I make some breakfast for the kids to have in the car so they just hop out of their beds and straight into the car.  We know that by the time we get to Adelaide it is going to be about 28C today, but it certainly doesn't feel like it at the moment.  We wave farewell to our friendly neighbours and head off on our 120km journey back to Penneshaw and the Sealink Ferry.  We stop at the visitors centre for the kids to get changed and sort some things before boarding the boat.

We arrive at the wharf by about 9:45, the boat departs at 10:30.  To our surprise we run into our Belgian friends who we met on the Great Ocean Road.  It is like a reunion, the kids are happy to see each other and we exchange stories of what we have done and seen on Kangaroo Island.  I am surprised we didn't run into them somewhere.  We have a very enjoyable trip back on the boat with them. Much calmer than the trip over and we are lucky enough to witness some dolphins playing in front of the boat.  What stamina those animals have.  When we arrive on the mainland we exchange email addresses and contact details with our new friends and head off on our merry way.

We are headed for a place just north east of Adelaide called Gawler, between Adelaide and the Barossa Valley.  The plan is to use this as our base and spend one day sightseeing in Adelaide and another in the Barossa.  We arrive by about 3pm.  I am so desperate to wash, I cannot wait until the morning, so I fill all the machines in the laundry, then fly down to the local woolies to do the usual shop, giving the family strict instructions to hang out the washing as soon as it is finished!!!  They all recieve major brownie points from the old dears in the park who think they are the best husband and children in the world for hanging out the washing!!!

This evening we just love the nice clean ablutions here with no timers.  Cody washes his hair for the first time in about 3 weeks I reckon!!!!  It is amazing how much you appreciate the little things when you have to go without them for a while!!  The weather is warm now, most of the washing dries by 8pm and tonight everyone is in their summer pj's!!  Surprising we don't get sick more often on this trip!!