Streaky Bay in WA to Adelaide in SA.

Streaky Bay  19/10/12  Gran and Gramps arrive

Today we left Ceduna at 9.45am and made the 110km journey east to the small coastal town of Streaky Bay. We were all excited to catch up with Craig’s Mum and Dad as they had arrived at Streaky Bay yesterday. We arrived at the Streaky Bay Foreshore Tourist Park, costing $35 a night, at about 11am. We set up camp next to them and caught up on all the news. In the afternoon we all walked along the foreshore to the jetty where we saw a dolphin in the water. We finished off the day with some fish and chips by the water.

20/10/12

This morning we went for a drive along the Cape Bauer Loop Drive. We first of all went to a nice beach called Hallys Beach. Then we went to the Whistling Rocks & Blowholes which are created by huge waves pounding the coastline. We had morning tea overlooking a beautiful little bay that had crystal clear water. And lastly we went to Cape Bauer where we saw a couple of surfers riding the huge waves, and there were lots of sculptures on the roadside lookouts. After lunch all the boys watched the first race of the Gold Coast 600 Motor Racing.

Venus Bay  21/10/12

We left Streaky Bay at 9.45am, & after calling in to get groceries, we started heading towards Venus Bay. We first of all went to Sceale Bay which is yet another lovely bay, where we had morning tea. We then went to Murphys Haystacks which is a unique outcrop of pink granite boulders. We arrived at the Venus Bay Caravan Park at about 1.30pm, & after setting up we had a late lunch. It cost $31 for the night. The caravan park was right on the water so we had a lovely view. In the afternoon we went for a walk down to the jetty. We travelled about 85km today.

Sheringa Beach  22/10/12

We left Venus Bay at 9am & continued heading south. First of all we went on the Talia Cave Tourist Drive where we saw 2 great caves -  The Tub & The Woolshed. Both caves are limestone & granite formations which are common to these areas. We then went to another nice coastal town, Elliston, where we had lunch. Then we went on the 12km Anxious Bay & Clifftop Drive which had more spectacular views of the coastline. We arrived at Sheringa Beach (Camps No. 702) at about 3pm & set up camp. It cost $10 for the night. Then we went 4 wheel driving in the sand dunes near the camp. We travelled 154km today.

Coffin Bay  23/10/12  

First up this morning we drove up to the lookout near the campground. Then we hooked up the caravans by about 10am & headed to Coffin Bay. We arrived at the Coffin Bay Caravan Park at 11.30am, & after setting up we had lunch. It cost $39 for the night. After doing the washing, in the afternoon we went to the Coffin Bay National Park which cost $11 for an Entry Pass. We really enjoyed this National Park, although we didn’t allow enough time to explore all of it. It is a remote area & most of it is accessible to 4WD Vehicles only. We first of all had a look at the Templetonia Lookout which had lovely views over the area. Then we went to Yangie Bay, up to Lake Jessie, & onto Black Springs Well where we had afternoon tea. The bays we saw as we drove along had beautiful clear water, & we saw a lot of wildlife such as kangaroos, emus with their chicks, a rabbit, a snake (later identified as a Tiger Snake by the photo), lizards & many different birds. When we got back to the caravan park there were kangaroos & emus there as well. We travelled 115km today.

Port Lincoln  24/10/12

We left Coffin Bay at 9.30am for the short drive of 49km to Port Lincoln. We arrived at the Port Lincoln Tourist Park at about 10.30am. It is situated on the foreshore of Boston Bay & cost $33 for the night. Boston Bay is one of the largest protected natural harbours in the world & 3 times the size of Sydney Harbour. In the afternoon we went grocery shopping, got fuel, & some supplies from the local caravan shop.

25/10/12

We all went for a drive in the morning out to the Lincoln National Park, which is south of Port Lincoln. On the way we drove past the Marina that was full of fishing trawlers and fishing boats. There are numerous fish breeding enclosures that are all around the bay, and we can see the trawlers and fish feeding boats getting around the bay from the caravan park. It is again very cold and windy today so we were not very keen to get out of the car to have a walk around too much. It cost $11 for an Entry Pass. It is the sort of National Park that in summer would be lovely to go camping at one of the many bays, as the water is just so clear, but today it was just nice to look at from in the car. We went to the lighthouse at Cape Donington on the northern tip. The seas looked fairly rough. Then we did some 4 wheel driving on a track to a bay, but it got very narrow so we did not follow it to the end.

Arno Bay  26/10/12

One of our neighbours from Port Lincoln told us about a nice little town 119km north that was nice, so we decided we would head there and have a look. We left at 9.30am. It was a pleasant drive along the Gulf, and before long we pulled into the little coastal village of Arno Bay. It is a one pub, one shop, one caravan park town right on the beach. We arrived at about 11am & booked into the Arno Bay Foreshore Tourist Park, costing $35 for the night, and set up camp. Before long, Braydon and Mum had come back with a handful of roses that they had picked from their huge rose garden. In the afternoon we all went for a walk around the Boardwalk & Mangrove Trail. We can’t believe how pristine the water is in all the creeks and ocean. It is fairly cold today, as it is overcast and the wind is blowing with a maximum temperature of about 15 degrees.

Whyalla  27/10/12

We left Arno Bay at 9.30am and headed north to Port Gibbon which is only about a ½ hr. drive. We stopped here to have a look at a Sea Lion Colony and sand hills. We managed to see a seal and a pod of dolphins, but we also had fun playing on the big sand hills. After a bite of morning tea and watching some 4WD’s playing on the sand hills, we continued heading north till we came to Whyalla, the north-eastern gateway to Eyre Peninsula. We pulled into the Whyalla Discovery Holiday Park at about 1pm, costing $39 a night, and got a lovely site right on the beachfront. We set up camp and had some lunch, but it was extremely windy and quite hard to even open the caravan door, but on the up side we did the washing and it dried really quickly. We all decided to go out for dinner so we headed to the local hotel and had a nice dinner. Whyalla is a city that mines and manufactures steel. We travelled 174km today.

28/10/12

Today was a day to wash the car and caravan and generally relax. In the afternoon we called around to see some people that Mum and Dad did a Simpson Desert trip with just a couple of months ago, Bruce and Viv Rossow. We had a lovely afternoon tea, and then headed to the Hummock Hill lookout to have a look at Whyalla and the coast. Today is a beautiful day with the wind dying down and no cloud cover, so the temperature got up to about 25 degrees. We have decided to stay another day tomorrow, as we have got such a lovely caravan site and the weather has come good.

Braydon sounding the ships horn which is still operational

29/10/12  Whyalla Maritime Museum, & Crabbing

It was time to do the Maritime Museum today. We arrived for the 10am tour of the wartime corvette HMAS Whyalla, which was a mine detection boat during World War 2. It was fascinating to see how the different ranks on board ship had such different standards of living. After a full guided tour of the ship, we headed down to the model railway display of Whyalla, which Braydon loved. This same building had some history of shipping in the area and Whyalla’s contribution to it. In the afternoon we decided to go crabbing, which we have seen many people do at low tide with a purpose built rake walking out onto the sand bank with their buckets and then coming back with a feed. We borrowed a couple of rakes off Bruce, and Mum and Dad, Braydon and Craig headed to see if we could get any. After many attempts of raking where we thought the sand crabs would be, we found our first one. Now we had the confidence we started walking further out on the sand bank and started finding more. We all had a great time and got about 30 crabs all up, but we threw most back because they were too small, and were able to keep about 7 of them. We didn’t realise how far we had walked out until we had to walk back, and it seemed like a couple of km. Once back at the van we boiled a big pot on the BBQ and cooked the crabs and ate them - Delicious.

Fitzgerald Bay  30/10/12

We packed up camp this morning at 9.30am, and headed a short distance north to a free campsite (Camps No. 662) right on the coast at Fitzgerald Bay. After a look around at Stony Point & the Point Lowly Lighthouse, we arrived at about 10.30am. It was a very hot but relaxing day, and in the afternoon we had a play in the 4WD on some steep tracks, and then went on a track around the coastline & saw lots of kangaroos. In the late afternoon we went for a walk on the beach down to the waterline. It was amazing to watch the tide coming in – it was literally following us as we walked back. We had a very disturbed night with an invasion of mosquitos, but we couldn’t see where they were getting in. We travelled 56km today.

Port Augusta  31/10/12

We left Fitzgerald Bay at 9.30am & headed to Port Augusta. We arrived at about 10.30am & booked into the Port Augusta Big 4 Holiday Park, costing $45 for the night. It was a fairly easy day for the rest of the day. We did the washing, got groceries & fuel, & then went for a little drive around the town. It is known as the crossroads of Australia because it is where the Sydney, Perth, Adelaide & Darwin rail lines intersect. We travelled 88km today.

Hawker  01/11/12

We left at 9.45am and headed towards Hawker in the Flinders Ranges. We first of all stopped at Quorn & had morning tea. Craig and Mum & Dad had the renowned Quornish Pastie, while Dianne, Braydon, & Aaron shared a packet of twisties. Then we went to the Kanyaka Station Ruins which are the remains of an old homestead & out-buildings from 1856, which were originally made of stone. Some of the walls of the buildings were still in reasonable condition. We then drove on to see the Yourambulla Caves. We arrived at the cave after a short walk & having to climb 2 ladders. There we saw some Aboriginal Rock Paintings, & the view was lovely. Then we arrived at Hawker at about 2.45pm & booked into the Flinders Ranges Caravan Park, which cost $31 for the night. In the late afternoon we walked into Hawker & had a little look around. We travelled 115km today.

Looking over the Flinders Ranges

The Bentley Car Club was at the Resort

Wilpena (Flinders Ranges)  02/11/12

We left at 9.15am & headed to Wilpena. After stopping at a lookout on the way, we arrived at Wilpena Pound Resort & Campground at 10.45am, which cost $33 a night. This is in the Flinders Ranges National Park & cost $10 for an Entry Pass. Wilpena Pound is shaped like a giant crater & is 17km in length & 8km wide. Because it is surrounded by mountains with only 1 opening, it was a great spot to keep the sheep in so they couldn’t escape in the early pastoral days. In the afternoon we went for a 20km 4WD to Bunyeroo & Brachina Gorges. We viewed some of the oldest rock formations in the world, & spotted a couple of the endangered Yellow Footed Rock Wallabies in Brachina Gorge. It was a first for us in that we didn’t have to walk to either of these gorges; we drove through them. It was a slow trip home as it was late in the afternoon & there were heaps of Roo’s around. Upon rounding a bend, we nearly hit a Roo. When we returned to the campground we noticed about 12 1920’s Bentley Convertibles parked at the resort. They were part of the Bentley Car Club, & the cars were valued between $200,000 & $300,000 each & were in mint condition. We travelled 57km today.

Car needed a good wash after Skytrek, but well worth it.

We felt on top of the world with 360 deg. views

03/11/12  It’s time to play in our 4WD’s at Skytrek

Braydon was very excited this morning as we were going to do some four wheel driving today. We headed about 20km north to SKYTREK on Willow Springs Station, which is a 70,000 acre working cattle and sheep station that has got a purpose built 4WD track that showcases the Flinders Rangers and the diverse terrain, flora, and wildlife. Once we registered and paid our $65 admission, we were given a map and were sent off to do the 77km off road circuit. They will only allow high clearance 4WD’s with low range, and it is only for experienced 4 wheel drivers. We left the caretakers office at 10.30am for the recommended 6 hour drive. The detailed map explained various highlights of the property going by your odometer reading. 
It was fairly slow going as the track was very up and down and windy, so we were probably only doing about 20km/hr most of the time. The drive started out running along the base of hilly country where there were sheep grazing, kangaroo’s hopping and lots of emus walking around. At this stage the track was in pretty good condition, & we stopped at an old drovers hut for morning tea before continuing down the track. Before long the countryside was getting sparse and the track became full of bull dust, but it was still through dried up creek beds which kept it interesting. After 37km of driving, we stopped in a dried up creek bed for lunch under a huge Mallee tree. Now refreshed we drove past cliffs, and up dried up river systems. There was every type of track surface you could think of, from gravel, slate, river rocks, bull dust, sharp scramble rocks, to smooth compressed tracks. The track was starting to rise up hills gradually at first, but the higher we got the steeper the track became. Until now the track had lots of little challenging sections, but now the map says to engage 4WD (at 64km) so we knew it was about to get interesting. With a big smile on Braydons face we engaged low range 4WD and started heading up the side of a mountain. The Landcruiser and the Prado performed really well, with us being surprised where they went without any wheel spin or fuss. The Traction Control worked impeccably, along with the Downhill Assist and ABS, where we always felt in control considering the terrain. After continually climbing up and down ridges we climbed up to a spectacular advantage point with 360 degree views over the Flinders Rangers. Di was worried that once you go up you must come down, but again we got down no worries down a very steep and rocky track. After a few more mountain ridges, the highest being 740m, it was time to again follow the ridge back to where we started. What a great day to spend playing in some spectacular scenery testing out our vehicles. The only thing left to do is clean all the dust off our vehicles and dodge all the kangaroo’s, sheep, and emus on the road coming home, as it was 5pm.

04/11/12

This morning we took a short bus ride to Hill’s Homestead. The road is not open to the public, but it is short enough that some people walk to it. The homestead was in excellent condition although some parts such as the roof had been restored. From here we walked 500m to the first Wangarra Lookout, & then a further 400m to the second Lookout. We had panoramic views of Wilpena Pound. It was a really hot day & night. In the afternoon we did the washing & the boys watched the Motor Racing. Braydon’s favourite Jamie Whincup won yet again. We had a storm during the night.

Burra  05/11/12

We left at 9.15am & travelled to a small town called Burra. We arrived at 2.45pm & stayed at the Burra Caravan & Camping Park. It cost $41 for the night, which was very expensive because we were charged for Aaron, which is the first time that has happened in 7 months of travelling. This historic township has been proclaimed a State Heritage Area, with many heritage sites & museums. Burra was made famous from the finding of Copper in 1845, & had one of the world’s biggest copper mines. We went for a drive & found it to be a very picturesque & tidy town. It was like stepping back in time as all the buildings were old but in excellent condition. We also drove to the Mine Lookout, & past some Miners’ Dugouts where thousands of migrants once squatted in homes dug into the banks of Burra Creek. We had a huge electrical storm pass through early in the evening. We travelled 286km today.

Adelaide  06/11/12

We left the caravan park at 9.15am & filled in time until 10am when the Morphett’s Enginehouse Museum opened. This was located at the Burra Mine Site where we learnt all about the copper mine & saw the remains of some buildings. The actual Enginehouse was built in 1858, gutted by fire in 1925, & restored to its’ former glory in 1986. All the parts for the Enginehouse came from England, & many mine workers came with their skills from the UK, particularly Cornwall. We really enjoyed this tour. After having lunch at the Burra Bakery, we then continued the 176kms to Adelaide. We arrived at 2.30pm at the Big 4 Adelaide Shores Caravan Park, which cost $41 a night. The caravan park is right on the beach & very close to the airport. Soon after setting up we drove a couple of kilometres down the road to Harbour Town Shopping Centre, where we went grocery shopping & bought a present for Cousin Matthew as it is his birthday today, & he, his brother James, & Mum Susan (Craig’s Sister) are coming from Brisbane to visit us tomorrow.

Braydon & Matthew next to a tram

07/11/12  Susan, Matthew, & James fly in

Craig washed the car this morning as it was still filthy from the Skytrek 4WD track. He also put up the tent for his sister & 2 boys. Braydon is very excited to see his Cousins Matthew & James & Aunty Susan today. Their plane landed at 11.35am & we drove the 6km to the airport to meet them, along with of course Gran & Gramps. We all took it fairly easy for the rest of the day & caught up with news. We went for a walk down to the beach, & the boys had a jump on the jumping pillow & went for a swim in the heated pool.

Braydon driving a fire truck

08/11/12

Today we all caught the bus into the city. We had a good walk around & had lunch in the Myer Centre in the mall, topped off with a Maccas icecream each. When we started walking out of the mall there was a fire truck with the firemen doing some work, & one of the firemen asked Braydon for a high five. Then he invited Braydon & Matthew to sit in the the fire truck, firstly in the front passenger seat & then in the driver’s seat. They were both so excited. Then we caught the tram to Glenelg, which is Adelaide’s most popular seaside destination. It is a nice mixture of old historical buildings with contemporary hotels & cafes etc. It was a short walk from the Tram to the beach. The World Lifesaving Championships are here at the moment, so we walked out on the jetty & watched them practicing rescues in their rubber duckies. We then continued walking along the front & around the Marina. After some difficulty in finding the right bus stop, we finally caught the bus back to the caravan park at about 6pm.

09/11/12

This morning we drove up into the Adelaide Hills. We first of all went to the German settlement of Hahndorf. The main street is lined with Elm trees & touristy shops that are beautifully restored & maintained buildings. There were beautiful gardens everywhere, particularly rose gardens. We had morning tea & a barbeque lunch in a lovely little park. We then drove to Mt. Lofty for panoramic views over Adelaide.

Aaron having some fun

10/11/12

Today we caught the bus into the city to go to the 2012 Credit Union Christmas Pageant. It started at 9.30am & went for a couple of hours through the streets of Adelaide. We had an excellent vantage point by sitting on the front balcony of an old building. The pageant was excellent for all of us, but particularly for Braydon & Matthew. They were celebrating 80 years of doing this, & it was set to be the biggest ever. There were 250 clowns, 1000 characters, and a huge collection of bands, performers and floats. And of course Father Christmas came at the end. It was televised so we watched it that night. There were thousands of people around so we didn’t want to catch the bus back until most of the crowd had gone home. We had lunch at the Adelaide Zoo café (much to the boys disappointment we didn’t go into the Zoo), and then caught the bus back to the caravan park. The boys had a play on the playground before tea.

11/11/12

Today was a rest day. We did the washing first up in the morning & then went for a walk along the foreshore. It was very hot today. After lunch the boys all had a swim & then we drove up to Port Adelaide. Along the way we drove past many lovely little coastal villages. It was a beautiful day today, so it was very busy at all the beaches. When we got back the boys had another jump on the jumping pillow.

Point Turton  12/11/12

We left Adelaide at 10am & drove 275km to Point Turton in the Yorke Peninsula. We first of all went to Ardrossan & had lunch. This is a little costal town & was where we were originally planning on staying the night, but it was very windy there for Susan & the boys in the tent. We then continued on to Port Victoria which was on the coast on the other side of the peninsula where we thought it would be more protected from the wind. Much to our disgust the wind had changed direction & made this spot too exposed. So we then continued heading south to the little coastal town of Point Turton which was more protected. We arrived at 4pm at the Point Turton Caravan Park which cost $28 a night. After setting up we went for a short walk down to the beach & along the jetty. This is a really protected spot from the wind and a nice little fishing village.

13/11/12

We thought we would have to move camp today as the nice little caravan park was full and we were told we could only stop one night, but luckily enough there was a cancelation so we were able to stay put. We decided we would drive down to the southern tip of Yorke Peninsula and have a look around at the Innes National Park, which cost $10 for an Entry Pass. We drove the coastal road down to the Corny Point Lighthouse before heading to Gym Beach for a bite of lunch at a beautiful little headland. After a nice picnic we continued to drive to the Innes National Park to the Cape Spencer Lighthouse, and then to the Inneston Historic Township which is the relics of a gypsum mining area.        

Wallaroo  14/11/12

We left Point Turton at 9.45am to head up the eastern side of the peninsula. The wind has dropped today and it is a beautiful sunny day. We headed across to Edithburgh, and then up to Port Vincent for morning tea & to Ardrossan for lunch. It is a lovely drive through the many wheat fields being harvested and small coastal villages. You could easily spend a bit of time at many of these little coastal towns when the weather is good, but we headed west to Wallaroo and booked into the Wallaroo North Beach Tourist Park, arriving at 3.30pm which cost $31 for the night. It is a lovely park right on the waterfront. We decided we would head out for dinner tonight, but on the way we stopped to watch the car ferry that goes across the Spencer Gulf. It was a huge ferry with only 5 cars on it and two passengers, so we guess it would have lost money on that trip. We found a nice restaurant and had a lovely dinner. We travelled 220km today.

Adelaide  15/11/12

It was time to head back to Adelaide today so we left Wallaroo at 9.45am for the 171km journey. We again headed to the Big 4 Adelaide Shores Caravan Park as it is in a sensational position, being right on the beach, and close to the city, Glenelg, the airport and Harbour Town Shopping Centre. The kids love it because it has two jumping pillows, a couple of playgrounds & a heated swimming pool. We arrived at 1pm & set up camp, and then in the afternoon decided to do some Christmas shopping, so we all headed to Harbour Town to get some presents so Mum and Dad could take them home. The kids then had another play on the jumping pillow & playground. You would wonder how they have got so much energy as they just play all day.

16/11/12  Christmas Dinner

We did some washing this morning before spending the day relaxing in the caravan park. The kids had fun playing on the jumping pillow and swings while Mum and Dad took off to see some friends that live in the area. We are going out for dinner tonight at a buffet restaurant to have our Christmas dinner together before everyone leaves to go back home. We had a lovely dinner together & all came away with full stomachs. 

17/11/12  Goodbye Susan, Matthew & James

After a very disturbed night with Aaron being miserable for some reason, Braydon and Craig got up early so they could say goodbye to Susan, Matthew & James as they were flying back to Brisbane on a 7am flight. It was great to catch up with them again, and the kids had such a great time playing together. After saying our goodbyes we watched the plane fly away before heading back to the park for breakfast. We packed up the tent and camping gear that Susan & the boys used, and then spent most of the day relaxing. In the afternoon we headed down to Glenelg to watch some of the World Lifesaving Championships, and had a nice Royal Copenhagen icecream. We watched the beach running relay finals and the women’s beach flag race which was quite interesting. We also watched a boat go through a lock so he could get the boat into the marina which was very interesting.

18/11/12  Goodbye Mum and Dad

It was time for Mum and Dad to leave this morning, so with a sad goodbye they headed for home, back to Ipswich in Queensland. We did some grocery shopping and watched the motor racing in the afternoon.

19/11/12

Today Dianne got her hair cut & coloured, & then we all went shopping at Harbour Town. Braydon & Dianne came away with a couple of new outfits.

20/11/12

After doing the washing first up this morning we went to the Barossa Valley, famous for its’ winemaking, which is approximately 74km from Adelaide. We first of all travelled through the nice little town of Lyndoch, & then we went to Jacob’s Creek Visitor Centre. Craig tasted a few of the wines & then bought the one that he liked the most. We then carried on to Tanunda which had a beautiful garden entrance to the town. We had lunch here at the Tanunda Bakery & Café. We then travelled the Barossa Scenic Heritage Drive. The first point of interest was a lookout with views over the Barossa Valley & all the vineyards. We also drove along Seppeltsfield Road which is lined with palm trees for a few kilometres. It is known as the “avenue of hopes & dreams” as the date palms were planted during the Great Depression providing local families with work. We then travelled south to The Toy Factory near Gumeracha. It had a huge Rocking Horse near the entrance that you can walk up a couple of flights of steps to the top, but we didn’t do this as there was a storm approaching. They make all their own toys, & they also had a farm attached to it, so we bought some food & Braydon enjoyed feeding the animals. We plan on leaving Adelaide in the morning.

 


Mmmmmmmm, I like the smell of your shampoo

Busselton(WA) to Ceduna(South Australia)

Busselton  30/09/12

We packed up our camp and left Fremantle at 9am, and started heading south along the coast road. We stopped at Mandurah for morning tea and then Bunbury for lunch. The drive has been so enjoyable today, more like a Sunday drive through spectacular scenery. With rolling green fields, wildflowers, rivers, lakes, and nice coastal towns, it was just beautiful. We arrived at Busselton at about 2.30pm, and were lucky enough to get the last site into the Kookaburra Caravan Park, costing $45 a night, which is right opposite the Busselton Jetty. We went to the shops to stock up on food. Today we travelled 236km.



Donnybrook

Gnomesville

Busselton Jetty Train

01/10/12

This morning we walked over to the Busselton Jetty and paid our $5 so we could walk out on it. It is 143 years old, & at almost 2km long it is the longest wooden jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. The train was booked all morning, so we got to walk both ways & get some exercise. You could see lots of fish from the jetty but the fisherman didn’t seem to be catching anything big. After lunch we headed east to a place called Donnybrook, which has a huge children’s playground called Apple Fun Park. This is a very small town with not a lot else but the kids playground. It is the biggest free playground in the Southern Hemisphere, so must have cost the council a fortune to put it in. After Braydon had a big play we then headed onto a place called Gnomesville, which is a spot in the middle of nowhere where there are over 3000 garden Gnomes all in this park. It was one of the more bizarre things we have seen on our trip. We bought a gnome to leave here, with our name and where we were from. People have left gnomes from all over the world here.     

Margaret River  02/10/12

We left Busselton at 10am and headed further south west along the coast to the Cape Naturaliste National Park, which has a nice Lighthouse & we saw whales. This is really pretty country, and we again loved the drive as there were colourful wildflowers everywhere. We have arrived in wine country, and there were vineyards everywhere. We then went & had a look at a lovely little town on the coast called Yallingup. Di couldn’t pass up the Gabriel Chocolate Factory for a tasting and a drink. Di really loved the dark chocolate. After lunch we continued south to Margaret River and booked into the Margaret River Tourist Park, costing $36 a night, which is close to town. We arrived at about 3pm. Once set up we took a trip into the nice little touristy town, and had a look around. Today we travelled 119km.



Di in Chocolate Heaven

03/10/12  Looking around Margaret River - Chocolate overload for Di

It was time to look around this picturesque place, but there was so much to see in such a relatively small area. We started out having a look at the Margaret River Nougat place, followed by the Vasse Felix Winery for some wine tasting. We then went to the Margaret River Chocolate Company. Di was amazed at this place as they have chocolate everywhere, and three huge tubs of different samples – white, milk & dark chocolate to gorge yourself on. We have been trying to eat healthy for the last month, so this is the first chocolate Di has had in some time. I guess you could say she went into chocolate overload, as she had quite a few samples, and then had a dark hot chocolate drink that was so strong Braydon could not have any more than a sip. He said this is terrible Mum. It took her about 1/2hr to drink half a glass, before she had to admit that there was too much of a strong chocolate taste for her. She could however fit a few more samples in on the way out the door. We then went to the Margaret River Dried Fruit Company, Margaret River Nuts and Cereals and then the Margaret River Dairy Company. It was time for lunch so we headed to the Cowaramup Brewing Company for a nice meal, and then had a look at a town on the coast called Gracetown. It was time to do something for the kids, so we called into the Sunflowers Animal Farm so they could feed and pat and hold every type of farm animal that you could think of. We all had a fantastic time. It was time to head for home, so we firstly called into another lovely little town on the coast called Prevelly, & then we called into the Voyager Estate Winery which had meticulously maintained gardens.

Aaron and Brock

04/10/12  Sad news today - Brocky has died

Today was just a catch up day doing the washing and cleaning. We have just had a call from Craig’s father to say Brocky our dog is in a bad way and he is having trouble walking. We have been expecting this phone call for the last couple of months as he was starting to go downhill, but the decision had to be made that it was time to put him down. We feel so sorry for Craig’s parents having to do the job of taking him to the vet. It was a sombre afternoon, so we decided to go for a walk into town to take our mind off Brocky. He was a lovely, smart & faithful dog who will be greatly missed. We had a look around town and got some supplies before walking back to the caravan park.



Jewel Cave

Pemberton  05/10/12

Gloucester Tree - 61M high

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

It was time to leave the beautiful Margaret River and start heading south. We left at 9am & headed down the coastal road to Hamelin Bay & had a look around. The Jewel Cave was on the way so we called in for a guided tour of this fantastic limestone cave system. The whole cave system has got stairs and platforms to protect the fragile cave structure, and lights have been set up to enhance the Stalactites and Stalagmites. After an informative 1 hour tour, we headed further south through Augusta to Cape Leeuwin where the Indian & Southern Oceans meet, & we saw the Lighthouse and old Waterwheel. The Lighthouse is the tallest one on mainland Australia. After a bite of lunch we headed to the lovely little town of Pemberton, which is due east of Augusta. We arrived at about 2.30pm & set up camp at the Pemberton Caravan Park, which cost $47 for the night. We then went to the Gloucester National Park, where we had to pay $11 for the Entry Pass into the National Park, to see the Gloucester Tree which is huge standing at 61M high. They have put pegs in the tree and you can climb up to the top to a platform for a fantastic view. Craig could not resist climbing the tree, which is not for the faint-hearted, as there is little safety if you were to slip or fall. Halfway up he had to convince himself to keep going as it was very daunting. Once at the top the view was definitely worth it as you look over the forest canopy. Coming down was a little easier. Di did not want to climb this tree as she was looking after the kids, and wanted to save herself for the higher Bicentennial Tree that we plan to do tomorrow. Today we travelled 187km.  



Bicentennial Tree - 75M high

Denmark  06/10/12

We left Pemberton at 9am and headed about 9km to the Bicentennial Tree in Warren National Park, which is another tree that you can climb which stands 75M high. This tree has a platform about 1/3 of the way up, so you can have a little rest and compose yourself before you climb the rest of the way. Di was keen to climb first while Craig looked after the kids, and she did a great job and climbed straight up to the top. After a rest at the top to admire the view she then made her way down to the bottom. Her legs were a bit shaky when she reached the ground, but Craig was still amazed at the ease with which she did it and was proud of her that she climbed it. It was then Craig’s turn to climb, and when he was about ½way up, he was asking himself why he was doing this when he climbed the Gloucester Tree yesterday. He pushed on and was rewarded with a fantastic view on the platform at the top. Once at the bottom we hopped back in the car and headed to Denmark. On the way there we called into the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk, which is a 600 M suspended platform that allows you to walk 40M above the ground to the tree tops of the huge forest trees. We were under a little pressure as we had to watch the top 10 shoot out for the V8 supercars, so we raced back to the caravan while in the National Park, and luckily enough we got reception to watch the cars. Braydon was so excited about watching it. After the V8 shoot out we hopped back in the car and headed to Denmark, which is a lovely little coastal town. We arrived at about 3.30pm & got a waterfront site in the Denmark Rivermouth Caravan Park, which cost $36 a night. Today we travelled 213km.

07/10/12  Bathurst

Di was struggling to walk this morning, and again had to walk out the caravan backwards after her big effort of climbing the tree yesterday. This was the day Braydon and Craig have been looking forward to, the Bathurst 1000 V8 Supercar race. Not much was done this day except for watching the race. Braydon was so happy when Jamie Whincup won the race in a nail biting finish. After the race we drove to the Rivermouth of Wilson Inlet and had a look around before going to a playground for the kids to have a play.



Natural Bridge

Albany  08/10/12

We left Denmark at 10am and headed east via the scenic route, through lovely pastures, and 60km later we pulled into Albany, arriving at about 11am. We got a site at the Big 4 Middleton Beach Holiday Park, which cost $49 for the night, which is again right on the beach. After a bite of lunch and a little relaxation time, we then headed out to the Albany Wind Farm, where there are a series of wind generators that power 80% of the town. We continued onto Natural Bridge & The Gap in the Torndirrup National Park. Natural Bridge is a rock formation sculptured into a bridge shape by the treacherous seas of the Southern Ocean. Nearby is The Gap which is a 24M drop where the ocean rushes into a large cavern in the rocks. Driving down the road a little longer, and after a short walk, we came to the Frenchman’s Bay Blowholes, where Braydon got the biggest fright when he heard the blowhole go off. It was more noise than water, but it was still great to experience & see, and we could only imagine what it would be like on a rough day.

Esperance  09/10/12

We left Albany at 9.30am & drove 489km to Esperance. We arrived at 4.45pm & booked into the Esperance Seafront Caravan Park, which costs $35 a night. After setting up it was time to cook tea & attend to the nightly ritual.



Blue Haven Beach

10/10/12

This morning we all went for a bike ride along the Esplanade. We stopped at the yacht club & had a look at the kids learning to sail. It was a lovely ride with no hills. After lunch we went into town & had a look around. The highlight was going to the bakery & having a very delicious afternoon tea. It was recommended to us by our good friends Mark & Belinda Walker (who came up to visit us in the NT). It was also very cheap for the big servings they gave you. After this we drove the Great Ocean Drive which is a loop drive of about 38km. The coastline was rugged & spectacular with about 9 beaches along the way. The water colour was very nice at the beaches, but one in particular stood out which was called Blue Haven. It was a beautiful colour. Another stand out was Twilight Beach which was voted 2006 Australia’s Best Beach. You can walk or ride along a pathway for 11km from Town to Twilight Beach.

11/10/12

After doing the washing this morning, we went back to the bakery to have pies for lunch. We weren’t disappointed & again it was quite cheap. Then Craig & Braydon had their hair cut. After this we went on the Esperance Miniature Railway that is run by volunteers for kids in the beachside park. On the way home we did some grocery shopping. In the late afternoon Braydon, Aaron, and Craig went for a ride on our bikes to the Tanker Jetty, which is only about 500m from the caravan park. From the jetty we could see Sammy the Seal who swims around looking for fish scraps from the fishermen.

12/10/12  Cape Le Grand National Park

It was time to have a look around the much talked about Cape Le Grand National Park, which is 50km east of Esperance & costs $11 for an Entry Pass. This National Park is a series of beautiful bays that has got crystal clear water and perfectly white sand. Craig took lots of photos but they will not reflect this spectacular coastline. We had morning tea at Hellfire Bay before heading to Thistle Cove. Then we headed to Lucky Bay which was voted the Whitest Beach, where we saw kangaroos on the beach. This beach definitely lived up to the reputation we had heard about as it is just pristine. We headed down to have a drive on the beach for 3km, so we could go to the viewing platform where you got a great view across the bay. Leaving Lucky Bay we headed to Rossiter Bay which had a spectacular field of wildflowers right down to the sand. It was time for lunch so we headed to the Le Grand Beach day use area, but for some reason there were fly’s everywhere so it made lunch a little uncomfortable. We decided we would drive back to Esperance on the beach so we could take in the splendour of the coast. We drove about 22km on the beach till we came to Wylie Bay. We didn’t pass a 4WD on the beach so we had it all to ourselves. We even saw a large seal washed up on the beach with a large bite taken out of its side. Before we knew it we were back on the bitumen and back to our van. We all had a fantastic day. To top it off we had McDonalds for tea.

13/10/12

The sun was shining again today so we all hopped on our bikes as Braydon wanted to show Mum Sammy the Seal. We rode down to the jetty where we saw Sammy, then continued along the Esplanade. Once we were back at the van we decided we would do the Great Ocean Drive again, which looked spectacular with the better weather. Di spotted some dolphins surfing in the waves so we stopped and watched them. Once back to the van Craig washed the car and the van, & then we did some grocery shopping so we are ready to cross the Nullarbor.

Caiguna Roadhouse  14/10/12  Nullarbor Plain

We left the beautiful town of Esperance at about 9am ready for the trip east. We knew we were going to be in for a big few days of driving as we headed across the Nullarbor. Our drive today included driving on Australia’s straightest road being 145km long. Even though the road was really straight it wasn’t flat, so it wasn’t too boring. The kids however watched 3 DVD’s on the way. We were looking to pull into a free campsite for the night, but all the sites we came across didn’t have anyone else camping there, so we kept moving on to the next spot until we came to the Caiguna Roadhouse at about 5pm. This was a lot further than we intended to drive, but there were lots of vans parked in the Roadhouse Caravan Park. The park was not much better than a free campsite, but we did have power and an amenities block. It cost $25 for the night. We had a really strong tail wind today so the car was just cruising along doing it really easy. We achieved 17.9L/100 fuel economy which is the best of the trip with the van on. The fuel price was 1.90c/L which we thought was not too bad considering we were in the middle of nowhere. We travelled 572km today.

South Australia

Bunda Cliffs Scenic Lookout  15/10/12

We left the Caiguna Roadhouse at 8am & headed for South Australia. There were lots of dead kangaroos on the road today so we spent a lot of time playing dodge the bodies. We had a cross wind today so our fuel economy was not as good as yesterday. We passed lots of old Holden Monaro’s today as there is a big car show in WA. Even though the country is sparse it wasn’t a real boring drive for some reason. We stopped at Eucla for lunch before crossing the SA border. We were not sure of the time difference in SA so we left our watches as they are for now. We stopped at a very picturesque spot where there were other vans pulled up for the night, so we decided to stop there for the night as well. It was the Bunda Cliffs Scenic Lookout (Camps No. 807), which is where the Eyre Highway meets the Great Australian Bight. We arrived at about 2.30pm. It was freezing cold at the lookout which had spectacular views of the rugged coastline, which was only 100m from the caravan. Di kept saying that the wind was coming straight from Antarctica. We travelled 423km today, and got our usual 20.7L/100km fuel economy.

Ceduna  16/10/12

After a stormy night in a very exposed location, we had one last look at the coastline from the lookout before we left our campsite and again headed across the Nullarbor. On the way we called into another lookout to view the rugged exposed coastline. We have had a nicer day today with blue skies, but with a cooler breeze blowing. The next stop was the Head of Australian Bight which is a premier whale watching location in Australia. We paid $24 to get into the Interpretive Centre, where you follow a walkway to a boardwalk which leads to the sheer drop off of the towering cliffs to the rough southern ocean. The view was fantastic and straight away we could see whales only about 50m off the coast. All up there was a total of 7 whales and calves all unbelievably close. The whales appeared to be just relaxing and were not playing and breaching like what we have seen in the past, but just slowly swimming around. There were some dolphins that appeared to be interacting with the whales which was also nice to see. Aaron was starting to get very grizzly so we decided that we had better have a quick bite of lunch before making our way to Ceduna in case we had to get him to a doctor. On the last stretch of the trip we saw so many skinks on the road that we were continually dodging them. We had to go through the Border Quarantine Checkpoint which is only a couple of km out of Ceduna, so we had to hand over the last of our fruit and vegetables. This was not as thorough as when we came into WA, as they relied on honesty rather than the guy searching through the car and caravan for fruit and veg. Once in Ceduna we tried the caravan park right on the beach but it was booked out, so we headed for the Big 4 Ceduna Tourist Park which cost $34 a night. Once booked in we headed straight to the hospital to get Aaron looked at as he was really uncomfortable. Due to the 2 & 1/2hr time difference it was by now 6.30pm. The hospital was fantastic as we went straight in to see the nurse who had a quick look at him, before calling a doctor to get her in to have a look. She only took about 10 minutes to arrive before giving him a once over and prescribing us some antibiotics as his ears and throat were red. We travelled 427km today.        

17/10/12

We had a disrupted sleep last night due to Aarons’ illness, so it was a late start this morning. It is also very hard adjusting to the 2 & 1/2hr time difference between Western Australia and South Australia with the kids. Today we caught up on the washing and shopping, and in the afternoon we went for a drive around the town.

18/10/12

Aaron was a little better today, but we took it easy and had a walk through town and along the jetty. Braydon is very excited as he is seeing Gran and Gramps tomorrow at Streaky Bay.