Off to South Australia.

The wanderlust has returned!! We are off to South Australia!

We spent January with the Ayerso's, and what a busy January it was!!! On a personal note, we got stuck into all of the belongings we have had in storage for the past 7 years. We now know what will fit into our Noosaville apartment, so felt it was a good time to make those hard decisions, of what to keep, and what has to go!! It was back breaking work, but we are very happy with our decisions, so it will be quick and easy when the time comes to call the removalist. We also took the time to give the caravan a good clean out, removing quite a lot of weight we have accumulated along the way!!

With Wayne & Deb, Graeme & Louise.

Lunch at Summer Salt.

On the social front, there was lots of catching up with friends. Day 1 of the Ashes Test at the SCG with mates, family birthdays to be celebrated, and plenty of golf. Sometimes we wonder how we fit it all in!!! By the Australia Day long weekend, we were ready to hit the road! We did enjoy a great last weekend though, catching up with Graeme & Louise at Wayne & Deb's on Australia Day, where some great food and wine was consumed. Yes, lamb of course!! On the Sunday, we lunched at Summer Salt Restaurant with Wayne & Deb, which was just fantastic. A fitting farewell for the special times we have shared this visit. Great food at an equally great location looking out over Eloura Beach. The plan had been to head off Monday, but as I had won the Monday Golf comp the previous week at the nearby Ridge Golf Club, which Wayne has now joined, we delayed departure by one day so I could defend my title!! The defense failed, but my winnings from the week before, paid for the beers after the round. I'd really enjoyed the Monday golf with Wayne, Chris and Paul!

Summer Salt Scallops.

Summer Salt Souffle.

So on Tuesday morning we climbed up the driveway with the van attached, and headed south west. Our plan was to get to SA as quickly as possible, knowing that the inland weather would be hot and dry at this time of the year. We headed down the freeway to Yass, then turned inland, stopping at Harden for lunch. After weeks of hot dry weather, we ironically drove into a cool change, that dropped the temperature and even a little rain!! We stopped in Harden, because Carol remembers almost every meal we have eaten along the way, and she remembered stopping at a little cafe in Harden about 5 years back, and having a chili chicken and cheese toastie, which she loved!! Amazing that girl!! What was more amazing, was that the cafe was still there and the toastie was still on the menu and just as good!!! I looked, but couldn't find a groundhog anywhere!!!

Drive thru site at Lake Talbot.

Wall art at Jerilderie.

We continued on to Cootamundra, where we went in search of a battery store, as the monitor that checks the level on the caravan breakaway safety system, was screaming at us every time I touched the brake pedal! It isn't a critical thing, just bloody annoying!! After three shops we found a battery at an Auto Electrician, who in true country style, dropped everything to fit us in and keep us moving!! While all this was happening, we decided on Narrandera as our overnight stop, and rang ahead to book a drive thru site for the night. We chose the Top Tourist park at Lake Talbot, just on the edge of town. It was very quiet with only about 4 other vans staying. The location is great, right on the banks of man made Lake Talbot. The drive thru sites are all pretty new and excellent, with a view over the lake. A short walk from the park is a swimming centre and water slide park, which is really popular with locals and travellers alike. The managers told us that the place had been packed over the long weekend!! They were enjoying the rest!! That night the temperature dropped to around 10 degrees, so we had a lovely quiet night and a great sleep!!

Arriving at Carol & Neville's farm.

With Carol & Neville.

We continued on the next morning, heading for Swan Hill, to visit our friends Carol & Neville. We met them caravanning about 5 years ago, whilst visiting Carnarvon Gorge in Queensland. They have a farm at Swan Hill, and this time had insisted we stay out at the farm, 13kms out of town at Tyntynder, on the banks of the Murray. We were really looking forward to seeing them again. We stopped at Deniliquin for lunch. The weather was quite cold, which really surprised us, and the rain had all cleared. We decided to visit the famous Deniliquin Bakery to try one of their pies. It was the right weather for pies!! We were not disappointed, they were good, and the place was doing a great trade.

Sheep crossing the highway.

Down on the farm.

The GPS did the right thing, and we pulled into the driveway of the farm on schedule mid afternoon. Carol & Neville had some big news for us! They were selling the farm!! After too many years of hard work, first dairying and more recently with raising beef cattle, Neville has had enough!! So they will sell the farm, and buy something in, or close to town, to enjoy their new retired life, in which they have both embraced Bowls with the local Racecourse Bowls Club. We had a couple of great days catching up with them. The cooler weather was a pleasant reprieve from the past two weeks of 40 plus!! We did a bit of house hunting with them, looking from the outside, checked in on Carol's bowls team, enjoyed a lovely lunch at a cafe in town where their daughter works, and partook of happy hour in the fantastic entertainment room on the back of their lovely home. A great roast dinner one night and a BBQ the next, topped of a terrific couple of days. It is a harrowing time selling your home, so we wish them all the best. It is a beautiful home on a lovely property. We are certain they will get a great outcome, and enjoy starting the next phase of their life. Hopefully, we may see more of them on the road!!

A colourful welcome.

Morning walk along the Murray.

We love it down along the Murray, and have stayed in many great spots along its 2500kms. We love the paddle boat history, and seeing how the river is managed today, given the incredible agricultural activity that exists because of the river. We decided on a few days stay at Berri, in SA's Riverland district, a town we have visited but never stayed in. We really enjoy nearby Renmark, but always thought Berri looked inviting. The weather was warming up again, on its way to another forecast heatwave!! We booked in at The Top Tourist Riverside Caravan Park, which was again quiet after the rush of the school holidays and long weekend. We picked a site right opposite the river. Just over the road, along the river was the new marina and boat ramp.

River gums along the Murray.

Huge Houseboats are really popular.

After settling in, we walked along the river to the marina car park, where we found the well sign posted start point, to a wetland and river walk. We decided that this would be our early morning walk for the duration of our stay of 4 days. In the opposite direction, it was just a short walk into town, along the river bank. There is always lots happening on the river, especially at weekends. There are Houseboats, tinnies and fancy ski boats, as well as kayakkers, passing by in both directions. By the weekend, the temperatures were back in the high 30's. The pool at the caravan park was getting a workout, but it was about 32 degrees and more like a bath!! We just chilled out in the shade of the big river red gums, keeping our activities to the early mornings.

River Jack's Cafe & Visitor Centre.

A cold beer at the Berri Pub.

The Visitor Centre has a prime location right on the river bank. It is also home to River Jack's Cafe, which is very good. They keep the menu very simple, but it is all good. We enjoyed a great Saturday brekkie out on the deck under the shade of those river gums. The Berri Pub is just across the road, and has been modernised a lot. In the afternoon, the outside bar is a great place to have a coldie and watch the activities on the river!!

Dinghy Derby.

The race to the finish.

Sunday, we took ourselves up to Renmark, just 25kms away, as we had been told that the annual Dinghy Derby weekend was on. Racing had commenced on Friday, with the finals on Sunday. We had never heard of dinghy racing!! So we found a spot on the lawn beside the Renmark Club, which was the hub for all the racing. There were dozens of dinghies out front at the marina. They were all similar sizes, about 10-12 feet, and powered by outboard motors from 10-40hp. There is a crew of two, one steering and the other providing constantly moving ballast!! Crews included men and women of all ages from teens to retirees!! We were told that the first racers were already out on the river, and due back in around half an hour. 

Dinghy's at Club Renmark Marina.

Racing dinghy's.

The races start out front of the club, where they charge up river for a couple of hundred metres, then do a U turn and head the other way, to a point some distance down stream, where they head into the creeks and wetlands, racing through narrow waterways, before emerging back onto the river and racing home to the finish line  at the club. These things fly, especially the ones with the bigger engines. It was spectacular to watch, and judging by the condition of some of the

Off and racing!

Sponsored by Red Bull.

boats and crew, they take some bumps!! I reckon that by 5.00pm all you'd be able to smell was liniment!! The whole thing is sponsored by Red Bull, and the glamour girls were freely handing out samples. We watched the start of the second race, and there was a boat rollover at speed on the second bend. Boats came from everywhere and thankfully no one was seriously hurt, but I'd bet they were stiff and sore for the next few days!! Apparently dinghy racing is big on the inland waterways of Australia, and some of these competitors came from interstate. Surprised we haven't come across it before!! I don't think we'll be taking it up any time soon!!

Viewpoint Cafe at Waikerie.

The Murray River view from the cafe.

Monday was a lazy day doing our chores and minor maintenance, before we packed up and got ready for our Tuesday departure. I had looked at the maps to try and track our planned route to the Yorke Peninsula, but gave up and decided to let the Navman have his way. There is no direct route from Berri to Wallaroo!! So Tuesday morning we were on the road again, stopping early at the Viewpoint Cafe in Waikerie for morning coffee and home made vanilla slice. Lunch was at the bakery in Port Wakefield, and mid afternoon we arrived on the northern end of the Yorke Peninsula, called the Copper Coast, and the town of Wallaroo. The landscape around town was brown, flat and dusty. The caravan park is situated right on the beach, but we couldn't book a waterfront. The site they allocated us was like a moonscape, all limestone and gravel. We asked why we couldn't be on one of the empty grass sites, and they eventually complied. It was 38 degrees as we set up and then headed for the beach. It was low tide and the water seemed miles away. The beach is limestone sand, and lots of rocks and pebbles, and there are banks of seaweed at the high tide line. I hope the Yorke Peninsula is going to get better, otherwise it could be a short visit!!!