29th December 2013-Week 2 in Mount Barker SA

29th December 2013

It's been a busy week with Christmas and 2 speedway events.

Christmas was a quiet one for us (which was exactly how we wanted it!) it was seafood, sunshine and pavlova. Even though the caravan park had filled up in the days prior it was a ghost town on Christmas Day. I do love it when the park is full, it gives me a sense of being part of a happy group...and gives me lots of people to watch :) Walking into town keeps us fit and well, the first time we had driven the car this week was to take it to the car wash to remove a build up of leaves and grit.

The first round of World Series Sprint Cars commenced on Boxing Day. It was held at Speedway City, north of Adelaide about 55kms away. We headed off and got a great parking spot right near to exit gate for a quick escape. Trekked from the car to the entry gate loaded down with all of the necessities required for a comfortable evening and quickly found a great viewing spot and settled in for a big night of racing. I have to admit that this isn't one of the best facilities I have been to but I guess it does the job. Interestingly they still allow smoking in the crowd, pretty rare in WA. A great time was had by all....except maybe the guy who's bottle of coke exploded in his lap.....bwaaaaa haaa haaaa

The next night the World Series Sprint cars were south of us at Murray Bridge Speedway, I was all speedwayed out so Les headed off on his own and I had a girls night at home with Sam. Les made good friends with the gent that he was sitting next, it turns out that gent was also travelling around to see the speedway events and had been at Speedway City the previous night so they had plenty to talk about. Sammy and I had a quiet night that involved rather a lot of Pavlova-yummy!!

MURRAY BRIDGE SPEEDWAY

We had been to Murray Bridge Speedway 3 years previously and it was a great facility with a fantastic view of the Murray River in the background, and most importantly it has a great café which Les made to most of. It is very easy to get chips and gravy here...it's harder to find in WA.

The after Christmas sales were worth a look and we were at the opening of Spotlight on Boxing Day ready to buy new pillows at 40% off......who can resist a bargain like that!!!!

We are watching the weather and will be using a moderate temp day to go to Mount Lofty for a walk, and we also want to take the bus (to avoid any parking problems) into Adelaide for potentially more shopping. I LOVE catching the bus....what a treat!!!!

Highlight of the week: Christmas!!
Low Light of the week: Washing the car :(

21st December 2013-First Week in Mount Barker SA

21st December 2013

We have been in Mount Barker SA for one whole week, it has been a relaxing week but also feels like we have accomplished a lot.

Our plan to drive through Adelaide early went like clockwork and we were outside the park waiting for the office to open at 7.30am (waaaaaay too early for the park managers to be up and working) It gave us time to look around and be sure that we had chosen the right bay (as we have stayed here previously we knew which sites were best) We were checked in, plugged in and even had the annex set up (for the first time!!) and were sitting down for lunch in time for the 12 noon start of the Ashes test. A great opportunity to feel very smug with ourselves when others were still only pulling in!

We try to keep fit and Mt Barker is great for this as it is so flat (walking is sooooo much easier without hills, which some might say is counter productive to the point of the exercise but it sure makes it more pleasant) We are located very close to town and always walk to the shops instead of driving, and have wandered further afield for exploration and yet more exercise.

A GEORGOUS PARK WHICH ALLOWS DOG OFF THE LEASH-THERE WERE A FEW HAPPY DOGS RUNNING AROUND

On the way to the park we came across these timber statues just standing there on the side of the walk path.

STATUE OF MOTHER WITH DAUGHTER

MATCHING STATUE OF FATHER WITH SON (FATHER HAS A TOOL BELT ON)

The weather has been a tad erratic......Thursday I hung out washing at 5pm and it was dry within the hour.......the bad news is this was because Adelaide had their hottest December day in 83 years and we were all melting :(  Tip of the day : If you should buy a caravan make sure it has an air conditioner!!! We planned ahead and had upgraded our air conditioner to a more efficient model and were glad we did, I felt very sorry for fellow campers who had no relief from the heat- not sorry enough to invite them in though.

I have discovered a negative to travelling and it's a weird one.......you know how when you are on holidays and you lose track of days and dates? Now imagine that you find some leftover chicken casserole in the fridge....it was good casserole and you decide to have it for lunch (yummo) then half way through it occurs to you that you may have actually cooked it 7 days before maybe even LONGER (less yummo) AND have already re-heated it once before (oops! potential food poisoning episode)

Life is going great for us and if I don't post again before Christmas.....A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all!!!!

Les and Di xx

12th December 2013-I LOVE MINLATON!!

12th December 2013

We had one last look around Minlaton SA this morning. I love this town and would truly start living here tomorrow given half a chance. At first appearance is looks small (population 780) but it has a good main street with at least one of every type of store (two or more of others such as clothing) Admittedly it isn't on the coast but is only about 8km from it so that's not an issue. And it is very quiet which I see as a big bonus.

The caravan park is on the main street but we had a bay down the back and relished the peacefulness of it after being on the (windy) coast for so long. The assorted native birds did make some noise in the mornings but I am an early riser to enjoyed their enthusiasm. The only issue-and it was a very small one- was that there were some angry looking birds hanging around, they were about the size of a big budgie and initially started off with dive bombing Sam, but to be honest this is a continual problem for her so we didn't think anything of it, and Sam was so busy sniffing the ground she doesn't even notice.  But by the next day they were also bombing Les and I and doing it with a nasty squeal!!  After some investigation it turned out that they had a nest, complete with chicks, in the tree right next to our van. Sooooo cute and they are totally forgiven!!

A SHOP ON THE MAIN STREET OF MINLATON-THE ROSES HAD A BEAUTIFUL SCENT

ACROSS FROM THE ROAD OF THE CARAVAN PARK WAS A WILDLIFE RESERVE-SEE THE EMU CHICK IN THE BACKGROUND

We left Minlaton and headed up the east coast of the Yorke Peninsula, scooted through Androssen (not a pretty town and even Wikipedia said it has horrible beaches) Through Price which is only famous for its salt farm (this town wasn't pretty either) and then we went onto Port Clinton which was our first possibility of accommodation for the night.....after a very quick drive around town we decided that we could do better and headed off to Port Wakefield.

It turns out that the caravan park at Port Wakefield struggles to fit a 25ft van onto a drive through site so we headed off again toward Adelaide, and 75kms down the road we found an oasis at the Highway One Caravan Park. I know the name isn't inspiring but spacious sites, green grass and palm trees are always a welcome sight. I should say that we specifically wanted a drive through site, to stay hooked up to the car, as we are going to make an early start tomorrow to get through Adelaide before the traffic gets too heavy. We are planning a 6.30 departure to beat the morning traffic. Even though, in theory, we stay on one highway to get through the city.....in reality it is a maze of 6 road intersections, roundabouts and narrow old streets full of trucks and buses. We have driven through Adelaide with a van many times and Les relaxed about it......however I am not, I find it hair-raising so a nice early start is the plan.

Whilst mooching around today we passed the milestone of having drive 3500km's since we left Albany!!!! Geez that sounds like a lot, doesn't feel that bad.

Tomorrow we head to Mount Barker, in the hills on the south side of Adelaide. We have to go up the Mount Barker Hill which is a whole nother horror story that I will save for my next post.

The travelling is going well and we are enjoying it. Sam has settled into the routine of sleeping whilst we drive but with an exercise stop every 1-2 hours. The van is a great size with plenty of room for everything and we particularly love all of the big windows which keep it light an bright....and it is easy to see what is going on around us. I now suspect that people aren't born to be nosey old people, they were simply previous grey nomads who didn't know how to stop spying on other park users :)

11th December 2013-MINLATON

11th December 2013

We spent today sightseeing around the lower portion of the Yorke Peninsula. We made it to Minlaton one day later than expected as little Sammy was paying her ear too much attention so we stayed at Wallaroo an extra day to take her to the vet. (She has an inflamed ear so got an Anti-biotic injection and one weeks worth of ear drops-poor little poppette)

We did a lap of the lower section. Some of the towns can just seem the same as they all have a beach and a jetty, but there is usually one feature that stands out, for Marion it was the gorgeous little beach that we found right up the end of town. If the tide came in any higher there is a chance that the beach would disappear altogether but for all I know this could already by high tide !?

THE HIDDEN LITTLE BEACH AT MARION

I totally L-O-V-E-D Yorketown. And not just because they have a fabbo bakery that sold the best pasties and pies (I will add that they also sold the most awesome looking chocolate doughnuts that were filled with custard......but due to my rather large stash of lollies back at the van I resisted temptation and DID NOT buy a doughnut-amazing I know :(

YORKETOWN PUB (ACROSS THE ROAD FROM THE BAKERY)

 

 It was while we were cruising around in the middle of no-where that we spotted this pink lake, it was as pink as it looks in this photo. I have seen a pink lake before but it was also in South Australia

THE PINK LAKE....NOT SURE WHAT CAUSES THIS BUT IT WAS IN AN AREA WITH A HIGH AMOUNT OF SALT FLATS

 

 

 We had completed a lovely day of sightseeing and were on the final 10km home when we went flying past this sign and totally had to turn back for a photo........

LOVERS LANE!!!!!

How cool was it to finally find Lovers Lane (excuse the weird hair but it was pretty windy there) Disappointingly it is a dirt road that went to farms.....but how cool would it be to say that you lived on Lovers Lane?

And finally, as a Post Script to my earlier post dated 4th December RE:Spuds lollies. When we left Wallaroo heading for Minlaton we had to go through Moonta...the town where I discovered the now famous (to me anyway!)SPUDS....an opportunity not to be missed. So Les graciously stopped to let me get more (isn't he fabulous!) This time I got plenty and took a photo for you.

THE FAMOUS(?) SPUDS. THEY ARE THE SIZE OF A GOLFBALL AND SUPER YUMMY!

We are going to have a more thorough look around Minlaton tomorrow morning before we head up the east side of the Peninsula.

 

8th December 2013- WALLAROO AREA

8th December 2013-Wallaroo Area

The last few days have given us some heat which equals...swimming! The beach here is lovely, though like Streaky Bay when the tide goes out it goes a looooong way out!

THE VIEW FROM OUR CARAVAN WINDOW!!!!

ANOTHER HOT DAY, SEE HOW FAR AWAY THE WATER WAS, AFTER A COUPLE OF HOURS IT COMES BACK IN AGAIN.

 

We have done some more sightseeing in this area, and returned to the Museum in Moonta. It held rooms and rooms of memorabilia relating to the mining operation that occurred there, though of particular interest and not something I have seen at other museums, was a great exhibition of WWII. they had everything from clothing worn by our soldiers and German soldiers, they had ration tins, radio receivers, medical stretchers and medals. It was very interesting (after the first couple of museums they can all start to look the same so we are careful to only look through the ones that can offer 'something different')

I purchased more lollies....the fresh sherbet cone was gone by the time we left the carpark, the spuds were gone by the end of the street and I still have tucked away a stash of raspberry rock and peanut butter fudge....mmmmm good stuff.

HERE IS SAMMY WITH HER CHICKEN FLAVOURED GINGER BREAD MAN-WHAT A CUTE IDEA!!

We are heading off again tomorrow, aren't sure where we will be tomorrow night but it will be somewhere south on the Yorke Peninsula as we have more areas to see down there. The weather is going to cool off a bit for the rest of the week which will be nicer for travelling and sightseeing.

THE SUN SETTING OVER THE WALLAROO JETTY

Wallaroo is a strange town in that so many of the houses here are vacant and advertised for short term holiday rental. The population is 3000 people but  I suspect in summer it swells to over 10 000 people because it seems as though at least half of the houses are holiday accommodation. The lack of shops is odd as well, with Kadina (only 9kms away) being the main shopping centre of the upper peninsula not many people have bothered to open shops here, just some basic necessities. I do like that there are no fast food chains here, just a fish and chip shop and a pizza shop.... what else do you need when you are on holiday, not much I have found.

4th December 2013-Upper Yorke Peninsula

4th December 2013
We woke up at Wallaroo after a pretty windy night (investigation revealed that all of the peninsula is windy today) it was going to be a day of sightseeing and I was pretty excited about it!!!

We head off to start the day sightseeing at Kadina. This town is only 9km up the road and is the shopping hub of the north end of the peninsula (which explains the distinct lack of shops at Wallaroo!!)

A RESIDENTIAL STREET IN KADINA

We immediately headed to Puppychino....a shop that sells food, treats and clothing for our furry friends!! Little Sammy got a gingerbread man (a suitable doggy flavour rather than the traditional ginger) and a chewy treat that we didn't think she would be too keen on but was worth a try. As this area was originally populated by Cornish miners we had to have fresh Cornish pasties for lunch and they were veeeery tasty!

SAMMY AT THE PARK WHERE WE STOPPED FOR LUNCH (TO EAT THE PASTIES!)

A visit to the tourist bureau told us that there was more fun to be had down the road (22km) at Moonta and we made it there with plenty of time to get onto the 2pm tourist train ride.

 

THE TRAIN TOUR-WE SAT IN THE BACK CARRIAGE AND SAMMY WAS ABLE TO COME WITH US.

 

The train tour took 1 hour and was filled with info about the local mining industry. It had a few stops where we could get off and look at the old mining operation that was still on the site from over 100 years ago.

 

There is also a museum there which we will be going back to look at as by this time the day was getting on and I still needed to get to the lolly shop (yes you heard me....AN OLDE FASHIONED LOLLY SHOP!!!!!!!) right across the road. We stopped in and I grabbed some Spuds that were recommended by a volunteer at the museum. Those spuds lasted about 30 seconds and I will definitely be going back for more. (We had never heard of these 'spuds' and I think they may be a South Australia thing-they are basically coconut mixed with condensed milk, formed into a BIG ball and then rolled in powdered chocolate-they do look a lot like a potato-hence the name)



 

 

We made it back to Wallaroo (base camp) just in time to see the ferry arriving.

 

 THE MASSIVE FERRY THAT TRAVELS DAILY BETWEEN LUCKY BAY ON THE EYRE PENINSULA AND WALLAROO ON THE YORKE PENINSULA

 

The ferry is a brand new and specially designed for it's purpose as a trans-Gulf ferry.  The ferry trip, one way, takes 2 hours (which is why we won't be going on it as it would take most of our day!)

By this time Sammy was well into the chewy treat we had bought her (the one we thought she wouldn't eat) so we will be swinging back past Kadina in the near future, to get her some more.....how spoilt is this little dog!?

We will be having a 'rest' day tomorrow....all this sightseeing is exhausting! And another Ashes test starts so Les will be happy, I will get a little more embroidery done too.

2nd December 2013-The Sun Sets on Streaky Bay

2nd December 2013
It was time to leave Streaky Bay so we headed back up to the Eyre Highway and then went east.

SUNSET AT STREAKY BAY

The weather quickly warmed up and by the time we got to Kimba SA had decided that was far enough for one day. Kimba is apparently exactly half was across Australia!?  It is a lovely little town and I enjoyed spending a night there...It was particularly nice that it was soooo quiet that we could sleep with the windows open !!!

The next day was forecast to be even hotter (40+) so we decided to make an early start to beat the heat. At 6am we were off and heading toward Port Broughton (one of the first beachside towns on the York Peninsula that we would come to) We had a drive around the town and weren't happy with the shallow manky beaches so called our friends Geoff and Jill to see if they could offer any advice....their advice was to continue on another 50km south to the town of Wallaroo!!!

About half way there we realised that we were heading directly into a thunder storm!!

THE THUNDER STORM

 

It was a very big, loud  storm and we had barely plugged the van in and got set up before the rain came. It lasted for quite a while, and was hovering right over us. I definitely felt more vulnerable being in a caravan than if I had been in a house, and Sammy was very unhappy about it all.

 

The caravan park is right on the beach (again!) and the view is absolutely spectacular. We will be using this as our base to further investigate the area in the next few days. There is plenty to see here and I am looking forward to it.

 

I also want to send out a BIG HELLO to our granddaughters Sharni and Jess. Big hugs to you girls xx