Cooper Pedy

Glendambo Roadhouse.

North along the Stuart Hwy we go, headed for Cooper Pedy. Situated in between the larger centres are the Road Houses. These places are quite amazing, offering services such as meals, fuel, groceries, snacks, toilet (but only if you buy!), and often a small caravan park out the back, for an overnight stay. We stop at Glendambo Roadhouse, and as you can see from the sign, not much here except flies! The girls are ready for coffee and cake. The looks on the faces, when they get empty cups, and are pointed towards the end of the room where there are large jars full of Nescafe, sugar, tea bags and milo, are priceless! The water urn is bubbling away, and the milk is in the little fridge under the table. A tentative "do you have any cakes? and they are rewarded with a home made banana cake, where I am sure they get twelve cakes out of one banana! Over in the corner, a local cowboy is tucking into the truckies breakfast: steak, sausages, fried tomato & onion, bacon, hash brown, a huge plate of toast on the side, all smothered in tomato sauce. It has the daily calorie count of a bus load of tourists, and looks and smells delicious, as I run my eyes over my paltry slice of bananaless cake.

John & Carolyn at Cooper Pedy.

We arrive at Cooper Pedy, population around 3,500. From 50 kilometres out, you start to see the mounds of earth. Small, medium, large and humongous mounds, all evidence to the search for opal. We are all genuinely surprised at how much earth has been moved, and over how wide an area it stretches. Cooper Pedy is the first stop we've had where no running water is available in the caravan park, so we have to fill up our tanks at the kerbside, where $1.00 buys about 40 litres of good quality water. We find our spot at the Opal Inn Caravan Park, and then go in search of Robyn's Budget Room. It is small but clean, and the marine theme has definitely ended, though there is sufficient sand to make a red beach! Town is two supermarkets, one big the other small, a couple of cafes, the large Underground Hotel and Tourist Mine, a bank, a couple of shops, a bakery and countless opal shops and galleries. There is also a hospital, and other general services. There is a large aboriginal presence in town, though we are told that only about 350 live in town.

Centre of Town, Cooper Pedy.

We decide, that with limited time, we will book a half day tour for the next day, and use the rest of the time to self drive around. It proved to be a good plan, as the tour, run by Desert Cave Tours, was excellent. Our own travels were also very interesting. My first stop was to establish if there was a windscreen repair place in town. A road train had thrown a large rock up at us, and we had a large star fracture at the bottom of the windscreen. I was told we were in luck, and I was given directions, and soon found myself, full of expectation, parked outside of a yellow shed advertising Windscreens Replaced or Repaired. I walked inside to be met by a smiling face with a bushy beard, and a hearty "G'Day Mate, wadya want?" I'd like to get my windscreen repaired. "Why'd ya come here?"  Well, someone sent me here, and I saw your sign outside. "I ain't done no repairs for years. All I can do is give ya a new one." Do you have one in stock? "Nup." How long will it take to get one? "Dunno." Consequently, we still have the fracture, covered with sticky tape!

Machine called a Blower.

Driving around town, you start to figure out how the underground housing works. Every small hill has homes dug into the side of it. It is all about climate control, due to the extremely hot summers. It seems strange, with mountains of earth everywhere, dotted with rusted and disused machinery, and hardly a blade of grass or tree to be seen. There are many abandoned home and business sites. It is not attractive. Mining in town is now banned, though if you build an underground home, or remodel an existing home, you are allowed to process all the earth you move. There are some amazing stories of people who have made their fortune, building their home. One poor guy, who was vertically challenged, gave up after 20 years of fruitless searching. He sold his old underground home to a tall guy who decided to raise the roof. Boy did he raise the roof, to the tune of $3.5 million worth of opal!!

Carolyn with an Orphan Joey

Just 16 weeks old!

During our touring we had spied an Art Gallery and Kangaroo Orphanage. Feeding times are 12 noon and 5.00pm. We head in for the 12 noon feeding, and a wonderful experience. The two people who run the Gallery & Orphanage are volunteers, who rescue kangaroos that have been injured in any way. They release them back into the wild when they can. Many of the orphaned joeys are found in the pouch of a dead mum, who has been hit by a car or truck. When we visit, there are two little ones being cared for. They are still being bottle fed, and we get to participate and then get a cuddle and close up experience. The youngest one is still getting 3 hour feeds! So, not much sleep for the foster parents. What wonderful people they are. Not sure if they ever sell a painting, but their work with orphan animals is priceless.

Cooper Pedy Golf Club

Carolyn & Robyn at The Breakaways.

Off on our tour, we first learn about the 45 different nationalities, that make up Cooper Pedy's population. Our guide is a Bosnian Serb, who has lived here for 17 years. Our first stop is the Golf Course, where we are surprised to learn that the club has reciprocal rights with St.Andrews! Apparently it is one of the world's most unique golf clubs. There is not a blade of grass to be seen! All sand, with oiled greens, it just doesn't seem right! Out into the Opal mining area, we soon find out how difficult mining opal is. You buy a lease, Small (50 metres x 50 metres), or Large (50 metres x 100 metres).You can butt right up to an existing claim, or start in the middle of nowhere. You start by drilling a small circular well. You check the contents and if promising, widen the well and start tunneling. When you get enough space you bring in the Blower, which is like a huge vacuum cleaner mounted on a truck, that sucks up all the dirt to the surface to be checked. Nobody knows why a machine that sucks is called a blower!! There has to be an easier way to make a living! 

The Breakaways

The Dog Fence

From the mines we head out to a mountain range called the Breakaways, so named, because the geological composition is the same as that in the Flinder's Ranges, further south. The area is breathtakingly beautiful with so many colours, and shapes. Wherever you look it is just one wow after another. We head further down the road, where we take a stop alongside the Dog Fence. I never knew about this. Sure we heard about the Rabbit Proof Fence, made famous in a movie and books, but this is actually the longest man made structure on earth, and it is still fully maintained today. Farmers from South Australia, NSW and Queensland, had all experienced significant lamb stock losses from Dingo attack. A plan was hatched to join all the fences so as to keep the dingos to the west and the sheep to the east. Today, the fence stretches from the Great Australian Bight in South Australia, along the SA/NSW border north of Broken Hill and up into Central Queensland, a distance of 2400 kilometres. Absolutely amazing! There is so much to learn about this country. Back on the bus and heading for town, we run across another tour that has broken down. One young fellow with 5 young backpackers were rescued by us. Poor guy sobbed all the way back to town. Why didn't we just leave him out there with all those young girls!

The chapel at the Serbian Orthodox
Underground Church.

Carving in the rock above the Alter.

Back in town we visited the underground Serbian Orthodox Church. More wows! You walk down into the rooms that are the church. The walls and ceiling have been sealed with clear sealer to show off the beautiful soft colours of the sandstone. From the vestibule, you can look down into the chapel, and marvel at the carvings and the beautiful etched glass. Though we didn't go inside, there is a meeting room next door that can seat up to 400 people! Sadly the Serbian priest has returned to Bosnia due to lack of parishioners. It seems all the Bosnian Serbs in town are a mix of Orthodox, Catholic and Muslim religions. They have intermarried, and chosen no religion, as many of them fled the religion driven war of the 1990's in their homeland.

Underground mining at Umoona.

Our final stop was the Umoona Opal Mine and Museum, a must for anyone visiting Cooper Pedy. You get wonderful insight into living underground, doing a tour of a now unused home. You learn about the construction techniques, and get to see first hand how dark it is when the lights go out! Somehow, living without windows isn't our scene. We also went into some tunnels to see opal mining first hand, and as we stumbled up the tunnel, we found ourselves delivered safely into the Gift Shop!


The final treasure we found in town, was the vanilla slice from the new bakery in town! Those that had discovered it, were reluctant to share the address. Seems they only bake a limited supply each day, and once you are hooked, it is addictive, and people go to any length to protect their supplier. But Robyn and I tricked them, and rose early in the morning, to clandestinely follow known vanilla slice eaters, to the secret location, where we procured sufficient supplies to sustain us for the days journey north. God they were good, and no we aren't telling where it is!


We sure had managed a lot in a short time at Cooper Pedy, all of it a fantastic experience.

Woomera

We are in the Outback.

The road north from Port Pirie tracks along Spencer Gulf with the Southern Flinders Ranges to our east. There isn't a lot to see, until we reach Port Augusta at the head of the gulf. This is another mining town, with smelter beside the gulf. It is the gateway to the South Australian outback.
We only stop in Port Augusta for a fuel top up, then are back on the road. No reflection on Port Augusta, we just don't have the time for another smelter town stop. We are immediately amazed at how the scenery has changed to flat open plains and red earth. There is no doubting we are now in the outback. You can see for miles. The road trains loom in the distance, then take an age to get near, such is the distance you can see. Along the road we stop at a couple of road side parking areas, just to take in the magnificent scenery. The only people on the road, are caravanners like ourselves, or the huge road trains.

You can see for miles.

Our destination is Woomera. With the after burners on, we arrive mid afternoon. The caravan park, Woomera Travellers Village, is a red earth paddock with a fence around it, a few kerbs define the sites and there is water and power. Along the bottom boundary is a two storey brick building that serves as office, motel accommodation and managers residence. The building is one of dozens around Woomera, left over workers accommodation from the boom days of yesteryear. Robyn gets to keep her marine theme going, this time in room C2 (Sea, get it? Ho Ho).

Rocket Display at Woomera.

Woomera itself is quite amazing. It looks like a large booming country town, with rows of relatively new houses and two storey apartment buildings, government  buildings, shops, hospital, school, theatre, bowling alley, playgrounds and much much more. The only thing missing is the people. Current population is around 70! So all this is left over from when Woomera was the centre of Australia's space program, along with weapon testing. There is a full air base, but it only gets used occasionally, when the air force needs to get a little practice. Apparently we just missed the Hornet Jet Fighters, having a great time in the skies around Woomera. There are left over displays of old rockets and other types of missiles and aircraft, and there is a museum, that covers the history from the late 1940's, when the Aussies and Poms got together to test rockets. It just takes some getting used to, driving around these miles of deserted streets, hardly ever seeing a person.

Drinks at the Cudgee Bar, Woomera.

At the Caravan Park, Happy Hour was starting at The Cudgee Bar, a timber deck with a 20ft Container on the end, acting as the bar. There was quite an atmosphere going, and as the temperature starts to drop, the patio heaters come out.
We got a visitor to our table. We thought he was moving in to chat up our Robyn! Turns out he was also a Robin, the local meteorologist, and cook at the Services Club, on Fridays! He was a wealth of information about the town and the area, and we got an invite out to the Weather Station for the next mornings weather balloon launch. Now that was an offer too good to refuse! When drinks ended we adjourned to the caravan for another great Carol cooked meal.

Robin checks minimum/maximum
temperatures.

Launching the weather balloon.

Bright and early Sunday morning we were on the road to the Weather Station, past  the golf course, past the abandoned boom gate to the abandoned Refugee Detention Centre, past a lot of other signs prohibiting entry to Commonwealth Lands, and into the driveway of the Bureau of Meteorology, Woomera. Apparently there are only 40 of these weather stations around Australia, all in pretty remote places. Robin has been here for years, going from 5 staff and lots of manual work, to just him and lots of computers. Every day at 8.45am, along with all the other stations, he launches a weather balloon that goes up some 20kms, measuring all sorts of data. Robin is a real character. He is a Kiwi, which probably explains why he lives in such a remote place, has spent lots of time in Antarctica, and really enjoys living in Woomera. Surprisingly, he has a wife and kids in Adelaide, who he visits on those weekends, when he isn't required for cooking duties at the club. We are all so different, in the lives we live. Anyway, it was a unique experience for all of us.

18th Green at Woomera Golf Club.

On the way back out, we called into the Woomera Golf Club, where Sunday comp was well underway. Now this is unique. The fairways are narrow, and all sand, and the greens are oiled sand.  The rough is terminal! You get a small square of synthetic turf, to hit your shots off, and you roll out a clean line for your putts! Still, the guys looked like they were having fun. The hardest part looked like having to pull your buggy along in all that sand!!

Olympic Dam Mine at Roxby Downs.

From here we went out to Roxby Downs, home to the Olympic Dam mine site, largest underground mine in Australia, mining uranium, gold nickel and lots of other things. Future plans could see the mine double in size, making it the largest underground mine in the world. Unfortunately they don't do mine tours on weekends, so we could only view from afar. The town of Roxby Downs was a real surprise. It was purpose built by BHP Billiton, to house the thousands of workers and contractors needed to operate the mine. It is a good sized town with all new and modern facilities, including a shopping mall with a Woolworths Supermarket, centre stage. Unlike Woomera, it has green grass and trees, and lots of people. From here we headed out to Andamooka, a small opal mining town, not quite as famous as Cooper Pedy, but still a source of quality opal.

The opal Big Bus Andamooka.

Driving into Andamooka is similar to a moon landing. You are surrounded by mounds of earth. It is as if a horde of giant ants have been working over the land. Small mounds, large mounds, and then mountains of earth, are evidence to the work that has occurred here, over a long time, and it spreads out for miles around town. The whole place looks tired and rundown. The people look tired and rundown! Lots of deserted homes and shops. We decide to try the pub for lunch. The Opal Inn is doing Sunday lunch. As we enter the pub and our eyes adjust to the low level of light, we soon realise that Jack Palance is alive and living in Andamooka. So are most of those guys that played Mexican extras in those cheap spaghetti westerns! I order beer in a dirty glass, and use the spittoon for effect, while the girls are ogled constantly by the female deprived. The girls order soup, which is also pretty tough. The spoon is standing upright as the waiter brings it to the table! My steak was served rare, horns off!! We finished a great lunch experience, found the car, still with four wheels, and headed back to Woomera, knowing that winning Lotto is a lot more likely than striking it rich in Andamooka!


Back in Woomera a cold night was looming, so we tucked into a great dinner of salmon and warm kumera salad, beautifully prepared and served by our own master chef Carolyn. Early to bed as it is off to Cooper Pedy tomorrow. 

Adealide to Port Pirie

We met an excited Robyn at Adelaide Airport, then headed back to Adelaide Shores Big4 Caravan Park to get her checked into the exotic "Turtle" Cabin, before heading up to Carmel & Geoff's place for a farewell "High Tea". Carmel had again excelled with the goodies and fine china, and we said our farewells, promising not to leave it another 30 Years before we meet up again!

Carolyn & Robyn in Snowtown.

Bright & early Wednesday morning, we headed off on the big drive north, with our first overnight stop to be at Port Pirie. It is pretty uninteresting scenery, but everyone is chatty as we travel along and find our first coffee stop at Port Wakefield. Now I wouldn't rush off and book your next holiday at Port Wakefield just yet! Not a lot here, but the bakery was doing a roaring trade, selling countless varieties of pies, plus old favourites like finger buns, cream buns, match sticks, eclairs and even a rock cake! We sampled a few & the coffee was pretty good too. Robyn has settled in well. Coffee and cake isn't going to be a problem!


Back on board we hit the highway north, taking a short detour through Snowtown. Remember Snowtown? Yep that's right, bodies in barrels in the bank vault. Now even made into a movie. Not much else there, except a display about the wind farms, that dot the hills nearby. There is one blade from a turbine, which just goes to show how big these windmills are! A quick body count, yep still three, and we are back on the highway to Port Pirie.

Old Port Pirie Railway Station

Now you wouldn't think there was much to do in a city whose claim to fame is a lead smelter, but we found the town and the surrounding area of the Southern Flinders Ranges, really enjoyable. You can't ignore the lead smelter, with its 207 metre smoke stack, situated right on the end of the main street. But the current operator, Nyrstar, is totally focused on keeping the town lead free, and there is a community based, free service to monitor blood levels in adults and especially children. We did a tour of the smelter in a mini bus (I was worried that on the last tour it had been a big bus!), which was really interesting and informative. Our guide, Ian had worked as a furnace operator at the smelter for 37 years, and had worked through the old days of no protective clothing, to limited protective clothing, to dismissal for not wearing protective clothing. We weren't allowed off the bus, Ian said, because of OH&S rules, but I know it was so we wouldn't grow extra fingers and toes!

Port Pirie's Opera Swimmer

Our caravan park at Port Pirie was the Beach Caravan Park, and it was right on the river and very close to town. Robyn continued with her marine theme of cabins, this time residing in "The Dolphin". Each morning we would awake to the sounds of opera coming from the river. Port Pirie has its own opera swimmer, who swims up and down the river every day singing opera. Sure you get a bit of a falsetto gargle from time to time, as he takes on water, but I have to say it is unique.

The King Tree is really big!

On one of our days, we took a scenic drive up into the Southern Flinders Ranges. I must say, that the local tourist authority needs to do a bit of work. We couldn't find a detailed map, and the information available was sparse to say the least! Sort of like finding your way around the streets of Sydney using a map of NSW!  It was a very full day, not least because we kept going over the same ground! First we drove up Collaby Hill Road to the Beetaloo Valley and Reservoir, through some very nice farm country.

Statue of C.J.Dennis at Laura.

We arrived in Laura, the home of famous poet C. J. Dennis. Actually, we became very familiar with Laura, as every road we took seemed to come back through Laura! The third time through, we found our way out the other side and on to the Bakery at Stone Hut, by which time we were well overdue for coffee and cake. The Stone Hut Bakery was excellent. All real home made goodies. On to Wirrabara and the Wirrabara Forest, the first pine plantation in South Australia. There is a famous orchard, where all of the European trees were trialled, but we never found it! The signage was woeful. The only orchard we found was O'Riellys, and he wasn't home and he isn't famous! We did find the King Tree, at the third attempt, and it was pretty big. 

The pier at Port Germein.

The drive home took us through Germein Gorge which was spectacular, with its red rock features, and down to Port Germein. At Port Germein, is the longest timber jetty in the southern hemisphere, at a touch over 1500 metres. That's a three kilometre walk out to the end and back, which we all did. My suggestion to the local council, is to install a toilet out there. It is a bloody long way back! The reason it is so long, is the shallow water. This used to be a very busy port, shipping grain in huge sailing ships all around the world. With the railway and steam ships, the port became redundant. Now it is a tourist attraction and fishing spot.

Mystery machine at Port Germein.

Now for a bit of trivia. Check out the next picture, and see if you can figure out what it is. It was in the water at Port Germein. Well, it is home made tractor to launch trailer boats. Not much use for a boat ramp here! You could find that by the time you got back, you could be 500 metres from shore!! So this guy tows his boat out to where he thinks there will still be water when he returns! Pretty ingenious if you ask me.

Grain Silos at Port Pirie.

Back in Port Pirie, we had a look around the waterfront. There are some wonderful old buildings. The railway used to run down the middle of the main street. These days the railway just crosses the main road to bring ore to the smelter and grain to the silos. The sheer size of the silos, shows just how much grain gets grown around here.It still goes out by ship, but as the ships get bigger the harbour won't be able to cope, and the grain will all go by rail or road.

Saeid (working), Rafael & Helen,
with John & Carolyn at Caffe Florence.

Last task on our agenda in Port Pirie was to locate some relatives of our friend Daphne from NZ. Given that they run a cafe it really wasn't a problem at all! Daphne's brother Will lives in Port Pirie. His daughter, Helen, and son-in-law Saeid, run Caffe Florence in the centre of town. We called in and ordered lunch and coffee, then started asking some questions, then the excitement really set in! We were all welcomed like long lost friends, by Saeid who was the only family member at the restaurant. More coffee and home made cakes, Saeid was on the phone, and we were given strict instructions to call in for breakfast the next morning, when Helen, son Rafael and father Will, would all be there. And they were! Hearty breakfasts all round, more coffee, lots of conversation, grabbed between customer orders, and we were on the way, waddling back to the car, thinking what a great experience we had. If you are ever in Port Pirie, you have to go to the best cafe in town, CAFFE FLORENCE.


We rolled past the cafe with the caravan in tow, horn blowing, and Saeid, Helen, Will and Rafael waving farewell, along with half the town, waving, but with bewildered looks! Who are those people? We turned north, and put on the after burners, en route for stop number two, Woomera.

Wine Trails - Barossa & Clare Valleys

Autumn colours at Seppeltsfield
Barossa Valley.

There is something about being in a wine producing area. Driving through the rolling hills on dirt roads, winding through the vines, and past those beautiful little boutique wineries. It is a wonderful experience. At this time of the year, the vines have done their work for the vintage, and are now showing their glorious autumn colours, waiting for the arduous job of pruning to commence.


The Barossa Valley has come a long way since families of German immigrants arrived in the 1830's, escaping religious persecution back home. We stayed at Nuriootpa, at the Barossa Valley Holiday Park, which is an easy walk into town, and set in park lands beside the local playing fields. We liked it a lot. A little further down the road, are the equally, in fact quainter villages, of Tanunda and Angaston. We spent most of our time in and around these three towns. The big wine companies have a strong presence here. The wineries are huge. Jacobs Creek, Penfolds, and Wolf Blass, would be the biggest of the big. What a story is the life of Wolf Blass, and it is extremely well told at the Wolf Blass Visitors Centre, just off the main highway, and well worth a visit. From poor, immigrant wine technician, to Australia's most awarded wine maker, his life has been without peer in the Australian wine industry. He is still going strong, peddling the virtues of his wine, around the world, as a wine ambassador for the company. Is it a sign of the times, that we are the only visitors at the centre, for the duration of our visit?

Home to some great Barossa Shiraz.

We favour trying the wines at some of the smaller boutique wineries. Our favourites from this visit to the Barossa, were Elderton and Kellermiester. Elderton have been producing wonderful, award winning reds for years. A few bottles are now travelling with us! Kellermiester was new to us, started by a young family who appear to have a flair for marketing. We spent a fascinating hour or so chatting with a family member, tasting their products. They are a 5 Red Star Halliday rated winery,  so know a thing or two about making red wine. Beautiful, big fruit flavours. Again, we have a few new travelling companions.

Historic Seppeltsfield.

The mausoleum at Seppeltsfield.

For us, no trip to the Barossa is complete, without a visit to the historic Seppeltsfield Winery. What a place. The huge avenues of date palms herald your arrival at the estate, passing the Roman inspired mausoleum perched on a hilltop, surrounded by palms, and the final resting place of 27 family members, you enter the winery precinct. It is an amazing collection of stone buildings, that are both the winery and the family homestead. As the country's premier producer of fortified wines, including the iconic Para Port, the huge stone cellars house hundreds of huge vats of maturing ports and other fortifieds. There are also picnic grounds, a cafe, and it is just the most wonderful place to walk around and soak up the history.

The Chef & The Cook (Maggie)

Maggie Beer's Pheasant Farm Shop.

Another place we can never go past, is Maggie Beers Pheasant Farm Shop. What a remarkable lady she is. Without a doubt our personal favourite cook. From a humble start farming pheasants in the Barossa with her husband, they have created a huge international food business. Her food isn't fancy, just bloody good! Wonderful flavours, her terrines and pates, puddings and roasts, are legendary with most (except the Heart Foundation!). Today, she has the Farm shop, not far from Nuriootpa. Sitting beside the lake, it is a wonderful setting to showcase her produce. You can buy her entire range, or sit and enjoy some of her signature dishes, overlooking the lake. I had to have the warm game terrine, in a pastry case served with fresh green salad and her home made relish, washed down with a Barossa Shiraz. WOW! Carol had the Minestrone Soup with Chicken and a crusty roll, another wow! We walked around the lake, came back through the shop, and left with a bag full of goodies that included pates, jams, relish and her renowned verjuice. A delightful lunchtime experience.

Huge Vats full of Port at Seppeltsfield.

Other little places worth a mention, were the cafe in Tanunda called Nosh, that does excellent coffee and home made cakes. The quite amazing Wohlers Department Store at Tanunda. It is a step back in time. Two levels of giftware, kitchenware, furniture and toys and good old fashioned service. It even has a cafe, hidden away behind the stairs. Over in Angaston, is the lovely Clouds eatery, that does great coffee and lunch, and on the way stop up at the Mehngers Lookout to check out the expansive view and way out sculptures. Angaston also has some great old stone buildings and parks.

Camped at Clare. 

Carolyn & Steph.

Darrin & Matthew

Gorgeous Little Hayley

We took a call from our friend Stephanie, who lives in that other great wine area, the Clare Valley. She has called to tell us to come early to Clare, as the weekend is the annual Gourmet Food and Wine Festival. So we pack up a couple of days early and head for Clare, just over 130 kms away to the north of Adelaide. Here we are staying at Steph and Darren's property. They have 13 acres just north of Clare. The property has an olive grove and a few sheep, and we set up beside the shed, surrounded by their little farm and the next door vineyard. Very Nice indeed. Carolyn met Steph at Balmain, as her hairdresser, and became friends. Steph also does all the beauty treatments as well as massage. She has plied her trade on cruise ships, and took on the role aboard Orion, the amazing small adventure cruise ship that travels places like The Kimberley, New Guinea, and Antarctica. She met Darrin, who was, and still is, an Expedition Manager on board Orion 1, and the rest, as they say, is history! Steph grew up on a farm at nearby Auburn, so has returned to be near her family, and Darrin's family is currently relocating to Clare, from Western Australia, so most of the family will be together. They now have two little children, Matthew who is two, and Hayley who is 4 months. They are lovely kids. Life threw Steph and Darrin a real curve ball, when little Hayley was born with Down's Syndrome. Time will tell the extent of the challenges they face, but they are so determined to ensure the best possible outcome, that we know they will. Hayley is the most gorgeous little girl.

Soaking up the atmosphere at
Seven Hills Winery.

Seven Hills Winery.

Sunday was a fantastic day, as we joined Steph, Darren and the kids, and many of their friends, touring the wineries and enjoying the wine, food and entertainment being provided. This is a huge event for the Clare Valley, and the area is packed with visitors. Lucky we didn't have to be at the caravan park, it was full and overflowing into the nearby showgrounds and racecourse. We started at O'Leary Walker with scrambled eggs & smoked salmon, plus some bubbly to wash it down. There were people everywhere, being entertained by some good country rock singers.  From there we headed for Seven Hills Winery. What a change of pace! This winery is run by the Catholic Church, who have taken alter wine to a new dimension! Sure they still send some wine to the Vatican, but a lot more goes to the heathens! Lovely wine too! The setting is wonderful, with the beautiful large stone church and other buildings, set among the tranquil gardens and vineyards. This is my kind of religion! Next stop was Kilikanoon. This is another Halliday 5 Red Star winery. It has the distinction of producing the "World's Best" red wine, as judged by an International Wine Show in Paris(2009 I think). The Oracle Shiraz, was not on the free tasting list! Here we enjoyed a great lunch of Soup and Pumpkin & Feta Tart, plus some lovely wines. Last stop was Knappsteins, where the music was very loud and the crowd was very young. Yes folks, we are noticing these things these days!

The vines around Skillogalee Winery.

We had some lovely times with Steph and Darrin and the kids. Lovely family times, with home cooked meals and lovely local wines. Carolyn & I explored the region. It is Australia's leading Riesling area. The lovely Clare Valley Rieslings are legendary. There is the "Riesling Trail", an old railway line, that has been converted to a cycle and walking track, and winds it's way for miles through the entire valley. We visited a number of great small wineries. Pikes, which is not really small, Paulette's, Claymore, Mitchell, Greg Cooley ( who is a true extrovert and made us feel like part of the family!), and Skillogalee, where the restaurant is probably more famous than the winery, and based on the lunch we enjoyed, rightly so.

Dust storm between Clare and Adelaide.

Carolyn had a lovely girly day with Steph, complete with massage a hair cut, and the time went all too quickly. Our weather had been mixed. The nights were very, very, very, very cold, with frost most mornings, but the days were mostly sunny. Our little heater worked overtime to keep the caravan warm, and the electric blankets have been wonderful. The time really flew by, and it was all too soon to set course for Adelaide. We said our goodbyes, on a really windy day. Thankfully it was a tail wind. We headed out of the Clare Valley and started to cross the plains, towards Adelaide. This area is in the grain belt, but at present is almost in drought. Farmers are waiting patiently for rain, so they can sow a winter crop in those ploughed, dry, dusty paddocks. The further we drive, the windier it gets, and soon we are driving in a dust storm! Boy what this country can throw at you. We can now add dust storm to the wind, rain, hail and snow we have seen so far!


Adelaide for a week, before Robyn arrives from Sydney, to join us for the trip up through the Red Centre. We have decided to be lazy. John has a bit of a cold which he has now shared with the sexy voiced Carolyn, so some recuperation is necessary. The weather has been wild, with strong winds, and lots of rain, and very cold. The good news is that those dry areas where we had dust storms, have now had 40mm of rain, so the farmers are madly seeding the paddocks.

Our long lost Adelaide friends,
Carmel & Geoff Williams

Our only task was to track down Carmel & Geoff, a couple who Carolyn met on her round Australia odyssey in 1974. We have since seen them twice, once when we came to Adelaide for the Australian Grand Prix, and once when they called in on us at Illawong. Both visits were in the early/mid 1980's. So a get together was long overdue. We have enjoyed a lovely casual meal and evening at there home, and last night they came down to our place for dinner and drinks. It has been fantastic reminiscing and catching up on all that has happened in those almost 30 years that flew by. Catching up with friends is undoubtedly one of the highlights of our journey. 

Echuca and Along the Murray.

We leave Melbourne heading for Echuca on the Murray River. We drive out along the highway towards Bendigo, and it isn't long before we are at Heathcote. We stop at a wonderful bakery for early lunch. The place is packed. Now the wine lovers among you will be familiar with the Heathcote region. It is one of Australia's premium red wine producing areas, and the road is lined with the vineyards showing the colours of autumn. There is nothing much better than a Heathcote shiraz!


We drive on towards Echuca, arriving mid afternoon, and find the Echuca Top Tourist Holiday Park, situated at the end of the "old town" area. It is a big park, right on the banks of the Murray River, and with friendly staff we find our site and settle in. Driving into the park was a hoot! We think it is the friendliest caravan park in Australia, as everyone is coming out to look at us. We wind down the windows to acknowledge the waves, and hear the reason for their interest. Our newly serviced suspension is creaking like a 90 year old jogger!! The noise is deafening!! A quick call to the service company, puts us at ease, along with a liberal coating of lubricant!!

Restored Paddle Steamers at Echuca.

Echuca is a prosperous town, heavily reliant on tourism. The town itself is in two sections, the old port section, which is beautifully restored and even has the wharf undergoing a refurbishment, and the new business district. It has a nice feel to it. The old days of busy life as a river port are reproduced, with a number of restored paddle steamers offering lunch & dinner cruises, or simple 1 to 1.5 hour cruises, and even 3 night packages along the river. There are also dozens of luxury houseboats for hire, many of which are very large and very smart, with 4 double bedrooms, large entertaining lounges and BBQ's, plus huge ice chests for those that favour a cool beverage!

Lots of damage from the recent floods.

Also along the Murray are some of Australia's best golfing destinations. Here at Echuca, the golf is across the river in the sister NSW town of Moama. The golf club is Rich River Golf Club, which has a huge licensed club full of pokies, a motel to accommodate the golfers, and two magnificent Peter Thompson designed 18 hole championship courses. They are in great condition, and Carol & I enjoyed a social round together, and then later in the week John played in both the Thursday and Saturday member's competitions. Whilst the golf was average, the local members were great fun to play with, and a wealth of information about what's good and what's not, in the area. Lawn bowls is also big business along the Murray.They play for serious prizes including cash, and lots of people in the caravan park are drawn to the town for the bowls! If the golf doesn't improve, a bag of bowls may yet be purchased!!


We didn't travel far from town. It was nice just walking through the Old part of town. John got lost in two of the best caravan accessory shops he's come across, and there were plenty of shops where Carol could also be entertained. Add some great cafes and pubs, and it is a nice relaxing place to spend a week or two. We took a liking to the Star Hotel, drawn by the happy hour and two for one drinks, plus the excellent wood fired pizza, and some good live music on the weekends. 

A cruise on the EmmyLou.

We took a cruise on the Emmy Lou. It was a nice day and we just headed up river and back over a leisurely hour and a half. We were a bit disappointed at the lack of commentary. We were told the history of every paddle steamer tied up along the port, and then didn't hear another word! The river was showing the effects of the big floods earlier in the year. Lots of trees down, and the river bank badly washed away in parts. Still, it was a lazy way to fill in an afternoon, with the trees full of chattering Corella and sulphur crested cockatoos. There are so many of these guys along the river, and as the sun goes down each afternoon, the noise around the caravan park is deafening as the huge flocks relocate to their night time resting place. It is a terrific sound. Carol reckons they sound so happy!!

Lazing along the river.

So the week in Echuca has flown by. We leave on Mother's Day and head for Adelaide. I have arranged a Skype hook up with my brother Neil, so we can say hi to Mum on Mother's Day. We stop in the small river town of Cohuna, and call. As usual mum gets overcome at seeing our picture on the screen, but it is so nice to see her all dressed up and ready for Mother's Day lunch with the family. We also get to catch up with most of the family, who are at Mum's for morning tea, which is really nice. It is times like this we feel that little bit homesick. Soon, we get back on the road, heading for our overnight stay at Robinvale, right on the banks of the Murray. 

Fully restored Catalina Bomber.

Before arriving at Robinvale we pass through the lake district around Kerang. One of the lakes and townships is Lake Boga, and we are fascinated by a sign that points to the Catalina Flying Boat Museum. We take a detour and are gob smacked at what we find. Inside a huge hanger is a fully restored Catalina Bomber, with its 107 feet wingspan. The history of Lake Boga as a secret WWII flying boat air base is fully laid out. Once the Japanese bombed Darwin, a safe place to hide and service the remaining Allied amphibious aircraft. Lake Boga was selected, and a huge military camp was constructed servicing Australian, American and Dutch aircraft. Thousands of service men and women were based here.

Overnight drive thru at Robinvale.

Robinvale is a delightful caravan park and we note it down for a future longer stay. Next morning we cross the border into South Australia. All our remaining fruit and vegetables are confiscated at the border. Really strict about the dreaded fruit fly. We had eaten all the fruit before we got to the border, but the spuds and onions were deemed treacherous, so they went too!! We stopped in Mildura for early lunch, then on to Renmark and Pingara, which looked like really nice caravan parks, and again were noted down for a future stay. This country is so amazing. There are so many places to explore.


Now safe in South Australia, we stop at one of the many fruit stalls, and restock. New season oranges,apples, grapes and tomatoes. We even bought some home dried nectarines, which are delicious. Soft and juicy, and so full of flavour. Not hard like the supermarket stuff!! We drive through thousands of acres of vineyards. They line the road on both sides as far as you can see. Some of the bulk wine producers like Berri Estates and Banrock Station, have dozens of giant stainless steel tanks, standing as evidence of the volumes of Chateau Cardboard that goes into bladders and boxes, rather than bottles.


Mid afternoon, we arrive at the Barossa Valley, heart of Australia's wine industry, and check into the Top Tourist Holiday Park at Nuriootpa. We have a huge site alongside the adjoining playing fields and get settled in, for the coming week.

Melbourne - May 2012

The wake up call on board Spirit of Tasmania, comes at 5.45am. A quick shower, and we are called to our vehicle at 6.30am. By 6.40am we are in the streets of Port Melbourne. The area has been revitalised in recent years, with many apartment buildings and trendy shops and cafes. We find a delightful little French Boulangerie opening its doors, so it will be croque monsieur and coffee for breakfast. Both are delicious! We sit and watch the area come alive, with Lycra clad cyclists, joggers, and people walking their dogs. It reminds us so much of Balmain & Rozelle.


Any more coffee, and our eyes will be permanently open, so we head for The Big4 Melbourne Holiday Park at North Coburg, just 10 kms away. It is still before 9.00am, but the staff are welcoming and friendly, and put us in a temporary spot, until the sleepy heads vacate our designated site. By 12.00 noon we are set up and settled in. It is a lovely park with excellent facilities, and there are shopping centres, and shopping strips galore, within 5 minutes drive. We also have tram, bus, and train services to the city, all very close by, and even though public transport for seniors in Melbourne is not as cheap as Sydney, we can get a day pass for $3.70 each!!


We are in Melbourne to get some work done on the caravan, and will also take the opportunity to get the car serviced. Getting work done on the caravan is a logistical nightmare, as we have to find somewhere to stay, empty the fridge, and then move our personal belongings such as clothes and toiletries, as well as empty out any areas of the caravan requiring work. We have booked a cabin at the same caravan park, which is cosy, and spend most of Sunday afternoon transferring things from the caravan. Mission accomplished, we are ready to deliver the caravan to the repairer on Monday morning. They need it for 4 - 5 days. There is nothing major, but like a car or a home, it requires maintenance, so the wheel bearings, brakes, and suspension need to be checked as does the plumbing, and electrical, plus we have a list of minor things that have either broken or worn out. As it turns out, the awning which has played up since we took delivery,  is totally stuffed, and has to be replaced, so minor becomes major very quickly. The same applies to the car, so we leave behind a large chunk of money, but can hit the road again, knowing we are in good mechanical order.

The arcades of Melbourne.

So we have time to explore Melbourne. A train into the city for a look around, a tram into Lygon Street to sample the food and cafe culture. We really like Melbourne. The cafes and restaurants, coffee and food scene, the shopping, are all so different to anywhere else in Australia. It feels like Europe in so many parts. There is nothing else like walking through the bustling arcades of the city, that link the main streets. Some are informal and full of small cafes and food bars, with spruikers calling out their relevant virtues to the crowds, and others, like The Block Arcade, resplendent with crystal chandeliers and designer shops. The refurbished Myer and David Jones department stores on Bourke Street Mall, are world class retail establishments where one can get lost for days!! Lygon Street in Carlton remains one of the great places to eat, have coffee or a drink, or just be seen. Coffee and cake at Brunetti's is an institution. You have to see this place to believe it! Baristas and waiters, dressed in starched white shirts and long black aprons, buzzing around like flies. Hundreds of people, many exquisitely dressed in expensive clothes, sitting inside and out, enjoying great coffee and amazing sweets, from early morning until very late. You can sit there for hours, just watching this moving feast of people.

Masani's and 29 wonderful years.

It was our birthdays and wedding anniversary, whilst in Melbourne. I remembered 20 years ago, how in my corporate life, we used to go to a wonderful Italian Restaurant just off Lygon Street. Would you believe that it still operates, under the same family ownership!! We managed to book a table for Saturday night. Masani's remains a food institution, at the higher end of pricing, serving the most fabulous Italian food, presented superbly, in a warm relaxed atmosphere. We had a memorable night at Masani's, especially as I was with the love of my life, celebrating 29 wonderful years together, and not entertaining some pompous Buyer from Myer!

Elevation restaurant at Emerald Vic.

We have sold our kayak. It was living on the roof of the car and not getting anywhere near enough time in the water, so we decided to see what we could do on good old EBay. We listed whilst in Tasmania, and sold it in 3 days to a guy who lives in the Dandenongs, just east of Melbourne, so we agreed to deliver it when we hit the mainland. We took the lovely drive to the little village of Emerald, dropped off the kayak and decided on a joint celebration lunch of birthdays and successful sale. Carolyn spied a place called Elevation, and we had a lovely Tapas lunch and a glass of wine.

John, Barbara, Carolyn and Daphne.

By way of a wonderful sense of timing, we also managed to catch up with friends we haven't seen for a very long time, who were in Melbourne at the corresponding time. Firstly it was our dear friends Daphne and Barbara, who live in Auckland NZ, and who we haven't seen for 15 years. Carolyn met Daphne when she went to work at Civil & Civic as a 19 year old girl. Daphne moved on to Auckland to marry and raise a family, but the two have remained firm friends by mail, phone and more recently, regular email. Barbara is Daphne's close friend, and we have met up on occasions when they have visited Australia, and our rare visits to NZ. It was so wonderful to be able to meet up. Daphne had decided to keep it a secret from Barbara, and so the look of surprise on her face when we walked into the hotel room with Daphne, was priceless! We headed into Lygon Street, found a nice little Italian cafe, and the stories began. Thank God we weren't paying by the word. We'd be washing dishes for eternity!! The hours just sped by. It was a memorable night, shared by true friends.

John and Angela.

We also phoned Angela. Now, Angela worked at Menai Blinds when we first began at Gaymoir Products. She is full of fun, and we got on really well. She moved back to Melbourne about seven years ago, and we keep in touch through email. She jumped at the chance to catch up, and we enjoyed a long, long, long lunch at Northland shopping centre, on a cold, wet and miserable day. Another great afternoon sharing stories of travel and life.


Last thing on our schedule, was a visit back to Bendigo, about 2 hours out of Melbourne. Carolyn had seen that the Bendigo Art Gallery, which is very progressive, was hosting an exhibition called "Grace Kelly - Style Icon". We had seen another excellent exhibition last time we were in Bendigo, "The White Wedding Dress". This one was really good, with a large number of the original designer label outfits she had worn both in the movies, and in her real life princess role. There was also a wonderful Audio Visual show, splicing together parts from her movies, and old news reel footage of her engagement, wedding,  and royal life in Monaco, as well as a lot of home movies of her young family. All in all, it was well worth the visit.
So that about sums up our time in Melbourne. The weather was, well, Melbourne!! We had it all, but mostly, it felt like winter is well and truly around the corner.