Day 13: Emotional Quotient

This morning on our early walk I asked Rich how he was enjoying his long service leave – is it all that he had hoped?  There was a long pause and then tentatively he said …. “yes ….. but ….. I had not factored in the emotional stress that being away from our lives would bring.”  I was struck by that, because it put into words exactly what I was feeling – nice to know I am not the only sap in the family!  And that sums it up – we are having an absolutely wonderful time as you will have seen from the blog – loving the travel, the sights, the freedom … but we are funny creatures us humans – there is something about family, home, routine, work and the need to be needed that is just embedded in us.  Don’t worry, we are not rushing home and ending our trip early – it is just an observation and a reminder to us all to appreciate what we have at home – because it is precious! J

 So what have RichMax been up to today?  Well last night we stayed in Bussellton – which is a lovely place even though you can’t go on the jetty.  It did rain again last night – I think we have had rain every night for the last week!!   The absolute highlight of the day was catching up with my cousin Jenny (Jenny’s Dad and my Mum are brother and sister) and her husband Christian and their gorgeous little girl Amali (hope I have spelt that right Jenny!? Their young son was at school so we didn’t get to meet him.)  We had a lovely coffee and fairly intense catch up (about twenty five years worth to talk about) where we learnt all about Christian’s photography work, Jenny’s life and plans and a chance to show them Kirsty and Josh’s wedding photos.  It was really helpful chatting to them about the places we still plan to go to – given that they have been to most places in search of the perfect photo!  It was a real highlight of the trip so far and we were blessed by a signed copy of Christian’s book ‘Landscapes’ and some yummy cupcakes for dessert for the next few days!  Thanks again Fletchers – it was wonderful!

(see http://www.christianfletcher.com.au/ for Christian's  amazing work)

From there it was onwards to Bunbury for a quick look and then to Freemantle – mmmm!  Can’t say I am too enamoured of the place – but it is useful being here because tomorrow we will be catching the ferry over to Rottnest Island with our bikes for the day – should be great fun – and the weather is predicting NO RAIN!!  Yay!!

 The plan is not to spend too much time in Perth – big cities don’t really do it for us – so when we have finished in Freemantle, we will drive through Perth to get a feeling for it, and then onwards with another big drive to Geraldton.  Rich promises me that we will be staying for TWO nights in one place after Geraldton – mmmmm – we will see, but it would be nice to not travel for more than two days! (shh don’t tell her, but it will take 2 days hard driving to get to Coral bay.) Of course it will be warmer there, and hopefully no rain!

 So, this blog is missing the usual attempts at humour and lightness that the others have had … guess that the old emotional quotient is a little low tonight – sorry about that – but then a blog is not only about the happy stuff – and as those who know me know, you always get the whole truth from me, whether you want it or not!

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Day 12: Pseudo snobbery sipping

Last night we arrived in Margaret River and set up in a nice little Caravan Park – we are trying to avoid the big caravan parks because they are twice as expensive as others and all for facilities that we don’t really need or use.  It pelted with rain over night, but once again, we were cosy in our little (being the operative word here) van which we have just determined is only a little bigger than our bed at home! (see the double bloggers below).

Anyway, I put in a couple of hours study this morning early, while Rich rolled around in bed (did I say that yesterday?  Seems to be a bit of a pattern here! Which cannot be true as I {Rich} cannot even turn over as the ribs are too sore) and then it was breakfast, pack up and into Margaret River for a ‘Kimmy morning’.  This means meandering through shops, having an unrushed coffee whilst reading the paper, spending time in book shops, browsing through fudge and chocolate shops (tasting but not buying!) and of course wandering through the local market (Not a tree, winery, pier or bird in sight! Blokes – to gain points just go along with this and show interest – even if you can hear the fish calling). 

We left Margaret River around lunch time and stopped off at two wineries in the Margaret River area – Leeuwin Wines and Vass Felix (Felix means lucky – did you know that?)  Both were truly impressive, but to be honest, the gloss is starting to wear a little thin.  One does start to wonder why it is that fermented grape juice, stored in bottles for more or less time, generates SO much money!  The estates are grandiose – rolling lawns, fountains, dams, underground tasting cellars, restaurants with views and snobby waitresses, glass windows looking out onto vineyards ….. but each time we stop at some spectacular place that is more impressive than the last, I start to wonder if it is not a case of ‘the Emperor’s new clothes’- you know the story of the tailor who as a joke designed a wardrobe for a vain noble that he insisted was there, but in truth simply turned out to be the majestic parading down the street in his undies – everyone except the vain guy had a bit of a laugh … I think this could be the case with wine – it is a conspiracy of a few who are simply making money out of our pseudo snobbery, and they are having a rich old laugh at us, as we sniff the wine searching for the ‘floral notes’ we are told are there, or agreeing with each other that there is a ‘hint of raspberry combined with oak’ from the casks that the wine was aged in.  We enthusiastically roll the liquid around our ‘palate’ and sagely agree that yes, this is a well aged wine, and ‘oh darling – that would go so well with your divine roast duck lórange!’ In fact wine is simply grape juice left in a barrel a bit long and then bottled with fancy labels with a price tag that could feed a family for two weeks and we all think it is something worth having.   Okay, that is my thought for the day …. Richard says that I am a viticultural vandal (maybe even leave out the ‘cultural’)!  Well I am getting quite the rap sheet now:  viticulture vandal, flora philistine and techno-troglodyte! (maybe I – Rich - am a Craft Market Martyr).

Anyway, whilst we didn’t manage to see any lifers (birds) or big trees today, we did manage to catch up with Richard’s other passion – piers!  In Busselton (where we currently are) is the longest pier in Australia (1.84 kms) with an underwater observatory – very sadly …. It was closed for renovation – which saved us a four kilometer walk and deprived us of the underwater observatory … but ahh … such is life.  Instead we set up in the caravan park and went for a bike ride – the absolute highlight of the day – along a lovely bike path just as the sun was setting over the sea.  Wow!  Once again, WA has surprised and blessed us – what a beautiful place – what an amazing God, who makes such beautiful places for us to enjoy. 

We have managed to make contact with Jenny, my cousin (Kim actually has 2 first cousins in Australia) and we will be having coffee with her tomorrow!  Yay!  Did you check out her husband’s lovely photos of this part of the world (?  Stunning – just like the area we are in right now.

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Day 11: Trees glorious trees

Anyone who knows and/or loves Richard, knows that he loves trees, especially if they are big ones – certainly my girls and I have visited so many giant trees, so many ‘biggest trees in the world’ over the years, in many different countries and on numerous continents, that we can be forgiven for being a bit skeptical that there are that many ‘biggests!’   Anyway, you can now understand why the Valley of Giants was a veritable lolly shop for Richard today – and the cherry on the top (so to speak) was the aerial boardwalk!  Pardon the pun, but he was as ‘close to heaven as he is likely to be’ for quite some time.  I must admit that, flora philistine that I am, even I got a bit of a tingle down the spine looking at the red and yellow giant …. Tingles – yes that is what they were called, Tingles – not a very splendiferous name for such a huge piece of wood, but there you have it.   The aerial boardwalk was truly magnificent too – certainly the highest boardwalk I have ever been on, and made more poignant by the fact that a few years ago, Richard’s Dad (now passed away) had made a special point to visit this same board walk – it was nice to walk in his footsteps.

 So from the Valley of Giants, we drove through what seemed to be endless forests – and on and on and on.  Somehow we had significantly underestimated the distance to Margaret River and only pulled in just before sundown – oh well, another learning curve I suppose – check the mileage before venturing out. 

 We have settled into a little routine when arriving at a new place – set up the van then hop on the bikes and have a quick explore – it serves a dual purpose – (1)  you can check out the lie of the land to see whether there is a book shop, nice restaurant, coffee shop for the morning and of course the information place; and (2), it is a good opportunity to stretch the old legs (especially if you have driven ALL DAY LONG!)  Then it is usually back to the caravan park and van for showers, dinner, blog, reading, emails and some TV (which my techno-hero Rich, has working on the laptop) if there is any time left.  Early in the morning I get up and study for an hour or so while Rich rolls around in bed trying to get up (as it gets light note!), and then we head off for a walk, coffee and reconnaissance to the information place so we can form a plan of action for the day.  We have settled into specific jobs for the pack up which is pretty quick really – we basically fit into the whole stereo-typical role model of the lady doing the inside jobs and the gent doing the outside ones.  Not much of a feminist am I – but it really is a survival strategy.  I have been known to load the horse into the float that I ‘think I have hitched up’ only to drive off without it – (don’t laugh Cassie!) and I can’t imagine Rich would be too happy with that situation and the van!!  

 Set up is now a bit easier since we have ironed out some of the initial wrinkles.  We have learnt, usually hard way and with much advice from resident grey nomads, the following important points:

 Make sure you orient the van appropriately so you are:

• not opening your door into your neighbor’s lap – one gets a little tired of saying hello every time you step out the back door;
• Not facing the back door into the prevailing wind or rain;
• not parking the van the wrong way so the electricity cord, water pipe and sullage pipe can’t reach – we have done that once and completely set up everything else before realizing we would have to turn the van around! 
• not parking the van so the awning hits a tree
• not parking under a tree that is a little low.

 …. And that is just the parking … did I mention putting in plastic anything that can leak and tying down everything possible otherwise you end up with:

• a sweet-chilli sauce coated fridge (lid came off)
• a whole melon rolled in yogurt trundling around the van
• red wine in the footlockers – how does one explain wine stained runners?
• Salt and dishwashing liquid spread generously across the entire kitchen area.

 Anyway, we think the plan tomorrow is an exploration of Margaret River – there is a Gloria Jean’s here so that will be the first stop, with the possibility of a few winery visits, (mental note to self … hide the credit card from Richard and do not swallow any wine when tasting just don’t let Kim near any wine or else she will whine) check out the coast line, and visit a cousin!!  Yes you read correctly – I only have four cousins in this wonderful world – one lives in Canada, one in London, one in Inverloch, and one close to Margaret River – her name is Jenny and she is married to Christian Fletcher a landscape photographer – if you Google him you can read all about him – pity he is not part of my particular gene pool – those genes have to be a good thing! J

Oh yes … today’s loo code is:  C2508 (Come to jive or date) (I just put the code in my iPhone – no dotty ditties needed).

Oh yes yes – Rich’s rib is coming along a bit better – still very sore when I try to tickle him, and when he sneezes or coughs, but otherwise very slowly improving.  Nurofen is a wonderful thing – I have been saying that for years and I think he is finally coming around! (yeah right – only taken 2 in 4 days).

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Day 10: Punch drunk in Albany

Well it is official – if the Eckards had to choose a place to live (other than lovely Warragul) it would be Albany.  Why are we punch drunk in Albany?  It is truly the MOST BEAUTIFUL place we have seen – literally every corner you turn (and there are plenty) is another stunning scene – by the end of the day we were feeling truly punch drunk with beauty. 

 We started off the day with a beach walk – and on the walk decided (similar to yukky vegetables) to get the bad stuff done first.  So Rich headed off to pay a visit to the hospital to get the rib checked out and I settled down to some study.  Rich was given an X-Ray – not to find out if the rib is broken (which it is) but to check that no vital organ had been pierced in the process.  No major damage (which was good to know for peace of mind) and basically an instruction to ‘suck it up’ …. can’t do anything for broken ribs and it will take about 6 weeks to heal.  Righto – at least we know where we stand – as he pointed out, it is a good leveler for us – he has to slow down a bit which means that I can keep up for a change! (just don’t make me laugh or cough – it hurts – otherwise let me at the mountain trails).

Anyway, once we had that out the way and Rich was sucking it up ….. and quite considerable pain it is …. we headed into the lovely town of Albany.  We took some fantastic photos from the main street – basically any place in Albany has a view – including the main street.  We meandered through a ‘historic places walking tour’ and checked out all the heritage buildings from the gaol, to the replica boat that brought the original settlers, and even the churches and accompanying manses.  (We criticise large church preachers these days for being in it for the money but these the manses are just beautiful!)

 From there it was off on a driving tour and oh my goodness – how stunning.  Hopefully the photos we took did it justice, but really, even in the middle of winter, it was beautiful scene after stunning vista.  (Did I mention that the bad weather blew over last night and today was a stunning, blue skied, warmish day!) for your reference think of a small city build around the granite massifs of Wilson’s Prom or Boulders in False Bay.

We soaked up the peace and tranquillity of beaches and rocks on the inside of the bay and then headed to the wild side, the side that takes the full brunt and incredible power of the waves coming in from the Antarctic.  We witnessed the incredible strength of the waves in various landmarks such as the ‘Gap’ (sheer cliffs with the waves pounding into and through them); the blow holes (truly awesome to see the power of the water in a small space strong enough to blow Rich’s cap off) and the ‘Bridge’ (a worn bridge of granite that is due to collapse any day now).   The day ended off with a full moon rising over the bay – sigh!!  So lovely – as I said at the start, we feel punch drunk on beauty.

 I always laugh at Richard – ever the scientist – it comes out all the time!  We were discussing how the big ships get in through the sometimes very small gaps into the safe harbours.  He told me that ports often insist on using their own pilots – but they don’t fly them in by chopper because it is too dangerous to drop them on the ships in bad weather – instead they have to come in on the tugboats and climb up the sides of the ship to pilot them into the harbour.  We mulled this issue over for a while and then he said he thought that magnetic boots would work well to resolve the problem! 

Then today, as we drove to one of the amazing natural wonders, there was a sign that said ‘no dogs’.  I wondered aloud why no dogs were allowed – it is not like the place is teeming with wild life.  He, without missing beat, said it was because of the ‘fragile quok’.  I actually believe him for a while! (he he catch her every time).

Tomorrow we are off to Valley of the Giants (forest of tallest trees in Aus) with accompanying aerial boardwalk) and then overnight at Margaret River – what fun!

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Day 9: Esperance to Albany

(Kim here) Well the next update in caravan park difficulties.  Every park has a different combination lock for the toilet – which is a lovely feature because it ensures security and keeps out the riff-raff but is a real problem in the middle of the night with a middle aged bladder that is less than perfect!  So I have perfected a technique.  As soon as I get the new code, I make up a rhyme ... the last caravan park was CZ0182:  Cheeter Zeeter knows one but ate two.  This caravan park is CZ098 and the rhyme is Charlotte Zanoofie knows ninety eight zucchinis.  (Okay, I always said I was more creative when I wasn’t working – maybe I could actually write a wacky children’s book!).

Other news – the ‘ pop’  that occurred on the rocks when Rich slipped yesterday (sounds like a new drink ... pop on the rocks!) is definitely a broken rib – this has caused more than a few difficulties – Rich can no longer move once he is in bed, so that means snoring!!  He also can no longer lift the van off the hitch, so no, it doesn’t mean that I help because I am no help at all – it means we have to get the jack out every time we ‘de-hitch’!   So tomorrow’s program may involve a visit to the hospital to see if they can advise on the best way to strap the rib to provide some support, and then also a visit to the Telstra shop because the $%#@!! USB-3G internet device that he spent so much money on so we could remain in contact is overheating to such a degree it warms the entire van!!  The more it warms the less it works – watch out Telstra here comes Rich! 

Anyway, about today!  We left lovely Esperance around 10 am with the MOST DIVINE coffee I have had anywhere in Australia so far, in hand.  We took a slow drive heading towards Albany but diverted via the Sterling Ranges which reminded me of a child’s drawing ... flat landscape and then suddenly, a mountain range that jutted up into the sky with startling abruptness.  These mountains are definitely worth a visit if we come by again. We are in the middle of a rather large cold front at the moment and so the ranges were covered and uncovered in cloud as the various squalls came through.  It was rather lovely. 

Then into Albany just as the real front hit hard – so it was ‘set up’  in the rain, with Rich wincing all the way (and moving at the speed of an older grey nomad) and me hovering around like a mother hen trying to help but probably merely getting in the way.  Rich says he now has more sympathy with the grey nomads – everything takes twice as long when you are old and hurting and when it is pelting with rain it is pretty unpleasant!  Having said that, once again our cozy little van is a delight and we are warm and dry inside and that is all that matters.  It is funny through crossing states – you keep learning new things.  For the last few days Rich has been searching every night for digital channels to tune the TV to (our aerial is working really well and I am still up to date with Grey’s Anatomy and Australia has got Talent. )  Anyway, tonight he was surfing the net (on his iPhone - not the %$#%$% USB3G device) and read a web page that said that country WA will be starting digital broadcasts on the 10^th June!!!  Right!!!! ... well that explains why he has been having a smidge of difficulty finding digital TV! 

Albany is beautiful, with granite islands and the city build around the numerous bays and large granite monoliths. The downtown area has great shopping but also a historic sector that we plan to explore tomorrow.

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Day 7 & 8 - Esperance

Well we have been in beautiful Esperance now for one night and one day and it is absolutely stunning!  It must be an absolutely idyllic location in summer, because even in winter, with below 20 degree temps and overcast skies, the beaches truly ARE the whitest we have seen, and the coastline is starkly beautiful with large smooth rocky outcrops falling straight into the sea.  Then there are all these beautiful rocky islands out in the sea – lots and lots of them, some with vegetation, some with smooth rocks, all with huge waves breaking around and over them.  It is truly stunning and well worth a visit.

It has been another study day for me – sitting in the van slogging away – whilst Rich took a bit of a tour around, discovering a wetland and several lifers (this means birds that I have never seem before like the Little Wattlebird, Pink Eared-Duck, Red-Capped Parrot).

We took a break to enjoy a traditional coffee in the quaint little town of Esperance and then this afternoon we took a drive along the tourist route and literally every corner we rounded was another ‘breath-taking’ vista.  The sun came out for a while and then we were able to see the lovely blues and greens of the water.  We walked along the very long Esperance Pier under a nearly full moon and enjoyed the antics of the local sea lion as he begged for food from the fisherman on the pier.

Rich did some fishing later in the afternoon, which didn’t end well as he slipped on the rocks – despite hearing a bit of a ‘pop’ near his ribs he seems okay, but tomorrow will tell!  Somehow once you pass 50 you don’t bounce quite as well!

The plan is to spend another night here and to head off tomorrow morning working our way towards Albany – not sure where we will spend the night, but if I can find a free camping site near this beautiful coast line I will!

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Caravan park rules continue to be learnt by us!! 

Rule # 1:  make sure your sink water runs into the drain or into a bucket – otherwise any midnight visit to the toilet can result in Take # 2 of your dinner via dishwater puddling in and around your shoes at the door.  Greasy spaghetti between the toes in the middle of the night is an interesting experience! J

Rule # 2:  Don’t leave washing in the washing machines after the cycle has finished!  Apparently it is not the done thing - I think I am black listed in this particular park because I left my washing in the machine for a few hours and when I came back there was a queue of about three disapproving older ladies who were muttering things under their breath about ‘young people having no respect’ and ‘lack of consideration for others!’ Oops!!

Rule #3: Don’t look at a grey nomad in the caravan park too long, unless you want to spend the next hour hearing about how they level their rig, or the fuel consumption of their van etc. It seems that as they nomads get older they spend most of their day setting up their rig and fussing about minor things, whereas we try set up in less than 5 min and get on the bikes to explore. Some don’t even go out their rigs in a day. One such neighbor with his large Winnebago –we have yet to see his wife actually emerge from the rig. 


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Day 6 – The Nullarbor Plain

Wow – I knew this country was big, but not that big! Today we hit the Nullarbor Plain and drove around 1,000 km on mostly perfectly straight roads, just some slight corners to correct and few small ups and downs, but for the most part the road was just straight over the horizon. We left Ceduna at 7:00 am and arrived at 5 pm (but 1.5hr time zone later, so actually it was 6:30 pm at the point of our departure in Ceduna). The countryside pretty much arid scrubland. I (Rich) found the countryside fascinating and engaging as the vegetation kept changing (see photos) from open scrub through to a mallee type Eucalypt bushland.

OR

Just in case you thought we were kidding about the long straight roads, one section even has the sign claiming to be the longest straight road – 146.6 km with no bends.

Along the way we stopped to see the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight – just a wild section of coast battering very fragile cliffs (don’t go near the edge, as they are continually crumbling and there is no help nearby if you do go over). Interestingly along this road there are aeroplane landing strip markings on the main road for the Royal Flying Doctor Service in case someone gets into trouble – makes perfect sense as the road is straight and as good as any landing strip.

The Nullarbor Plain is certainly also alive (although don’t try compare to African savannahs) – along the way we saw lots of birds, a few dingos (one I had to slow down for as he was sitting in the middle of the road) and a few Wedge tail eagles.

We had a strong headwind all the way as this is the direction of the prevailing winds, plus there was a massive cold front crossing the bight. Go figure – the lowest rainfall region in Australia and it rains most of the day while we drove into a 60 knot head wind. To make matters worse, the price of diesel went from $1.35 in Ceduna to over $1.71 at the border between SA and WA. Paying $1.71 for diesel is simply robbery when there were fuel stations in between that were more than 10c/l cheaper.   (Kim paid $4.30 for a 600 ml bottle of water!)

Tonight we deliberately planned to free camp – a great feature of many outback regions is that you can pull off the road (as long as it is more than 10 km outside a town) and camp in the bush. Along the Nullarbor Plains road these sites range from just a dirt track, to actual free camping areas where there are bins and self-composting toilets. The place we pulled into is just bush and red dirt, but had about 7 other vans all about 100 m or more from each other all tucked away in the bush – best part is that you get a real sense of the total silence of the night bush and it is totally free.

Tomorrow it is another 400 km to Esperance, the first of the larger coastal towns on the West Australian coastline. 

Kim here – well the Nullabor Plain was not at all what I expected.  Somehow I had in my head that it would be desert (red dirt and stones) and hot.  Instead there was plenty of vegetation and it was freezing!  It is truly a majestic area - the silence and the size of the place is confronting  – whenever I come to a place like this, I always think about how we people rush about our busy lives in the towns and cities and here, in the Nullabor, always, and both before, now and after, this place sits in silence!  It is SO big and so vast and absolutely nothing in it – it just exists – possibly simply for God’s own enjoyment.

I must say that starkly magnificent that it is, I would not like to live here and whilst I enjoyed the experience of the Nullabor, I am looking forward to Esperance – if for no other reason than to be in contact again with loved ones – there was absolutely no communication with anyone whilst crossing the Nullabor and we couldn't even find a radio station!! 

We did see some funny things in the midst of all the silence and emptiness – the movie Forest Gump seems to have had an impact and there were numerous people walking, running, cycling along the Nullabor plain – all alone, out in the middle of nowhere there would be this lone person slogging their way along.  There was even one guy pushing a wheelchair with a giant teddy in it!!  We were feeling small DRIVING the Nullabor Plain – I can’t imagine what it would feel like to be out there all on your own walking, running or cycling!  Very quirky!

 

I am happy to report that at day six, Rich and I are still friends – despite living in such a small space – and in fact I am so grateful for our small space – it is often a refuge from weather, over enthusiastic fellow travellers and (in the Nullabor) overwhelming silence, and provides a spot that is safe and cosy!  Funny isn’t it, how we want to be adventurers and yet crave our own safe spot! 

PS:       Before we left Warragul Rich and I had dinner with the Fingers.  I asked Heather about how she went keeping everything clean and tidy.  She looked me in the eyes and said ‘ drop your standards!’  Well I have managed to keep the van clean, but I can’t do anything about Rich’s fashion sense – I think the standards are dropping somewhat in the fashion department (she means red socks with orange crocs - what's wrong?)!

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Day 5 – ‘Chill’ out in Ceduna

Today we decided to stay in Ceduna for the day – a study day for Kim who was starting to feel vaguely hysterical about not doing enough study.  As it turned out the weather was for the first time, really wet – pelting rain and howling wind all night, and then throughout the day squalls of rain coming across the bay.  Kim spent most of the day in the van hard at work, whilst Rich toured Ceduna.  

 We have been struck by the grey nomads – so many of them!!  Most in huge rigs with huge vehicles pulling them – one has to wonder about the fuel consumption.  Some of them are fairly fit looking and others you have to wonder how they manage to caravan – even in a huge rig!  They look so unhealthy that you kinda expect them to keel over just setting up let alone navigating their way around a caravan!  But so many of them – there are FOUR caravan parks in Ceduna (a town of 2 700) and we struggled to find a spot!!  We have started categorizing them – our first categorization is simply two kinds:  Mr Nosy Bossy:  this man wants to tell you how to park your van, which way you should orientate yourself, how to set up your hoses and is usually racist (warning you loudly to watch out for the locals), drives a HUGE vehicle and rig and has a hearing aid so there is only opportunity for ‘one way’  transfer of information – him to you!  Then there is Mr Helpful – he usually has a smiley wife, a smaller vehicle, he hovers in the background and only offers advice if you ask for it.  (No guessing which one we prefer!)  Both usually have good advice to offer – the preference comes with the delivery.

Anyway, the day was fairly quiet except for a late afternoon walk that went the way of most walks that involve Richard – cross country, and with a hint of adventure – this time the adventure involved trying to outrun a massive storm – ending up in a beachside shelter sheltering behind a puny umbrella and watching the storm sweep across the bay. 

Quite a magnificent sight!  Then of course we realised that we will be crossing a state border again tomorrow which means that we have to dump all our fresh fruit and veggies, and according to the current Mr Nosy Bossy, our honey too!  We have doubts about that, but I was so irritated about ONCE AGAIN having to dump fresh fruit and veg that I took a tour of the caravan park and gave away all our stuff – I would rather give it away than throw it away!  Grrrr!

Tomorrow is a big drive – we are going to try and do as much of the Nullabor as we can – so will drive for up to ten hours!  Should be fun!!! (was Kim being a touch sarcastic there – time will tell, we will see after 10 hours driving).

Day 4 – Port Lincoln to Ceduna

It is warm where we are!!  How nice when I think of all our family and friends in cold, wet, windy Melbourne!  We woke up this morning to a condensation soaked van, but it was warm outside so we had porridge and sunrise for breakfast – and then off into Port Lincoln for the obligatory morning cappuccino, walk along the pier, grocery update, quick stop at McDonalds for some free Wi-Fi download and then on the road again – long ribbons of road that stretch from one horizon to the next through incredibly dry land.  The place is vast!   

Here are some key highlights from Rich’s perspective:

-          Long wooden piers in every town that jut out into the most beautiful, clear, sapphire blue sea

-          The country side is very arid and stony all over the Eyre Peninsula – it makes you realize how optimistic the early settlers were

-          We were taken aback at how well developed and tidy the little towns like Ceduna and Streaky Bay are – we always think of Warragul as not too remote as Melbourne city is only 1.5hr drive away. How do the people living in Ceduna see the world? Their closest city is Adelaide over 800 km away and most towns on route are no bigger than Ceduna. Is Ceduna the centre of their universe?

-          Chatted to a store keeper today at Venus bay (between nowhere and nowhere). He remarked that the day was quiet (must be only 30 permanent residents in this holiday/fishing village), as everyone from Elliston was playing Saturday footy against Streaky Bay. But he did not support either as he was not from around there – he was from further inland at Wudinna (did not even know there were any people actually living inland as there were few enough living on the coast).  Just goes to show the differing perspectives depending on your point of reference.

-          The coastline around here is stunning, with craggy limestone cliffs and caves, very clear seas, many protected bays, islands, and scores of small fish in the shallow waters of the bays. A combination of no run-off due to dry climate and low population seems to have kept these waters pretty clean.

-          Every town seems to have large grain silos and Ceduna has the biggest, with a railway line bringing in grain from the interior to the port for shipping. Never thought of Ceduna as either a major grain region or port.

-          Listening to podcasts on the iPhone, downloaded thanks to McDonalds. My daughters think I am nuts, but while I love the driving and seeing the countryside, I cannot face 16,000km just looking out the window. The mind is a muscle and needs as much exercise as the rest of the body. So I downloaded a bunch of science podcasts to keep me entertained.

The highlight of Kim’s day was arriving at the Ceduna Caravan Park and seeing a gentleman walking his cat!!  It was on a leash just like a little dog – a large and stunning cat, of Abyssinian and Siamese origin – he and his wife are travelling around Australia in a combi with Ferdinand, their green-eyed feline!!  I had a cuddle with Ferdinand which scratched the itch somewhat – I am missing my animals!  I resorted to a photo with Makybe Diva this morning!

Studying on the road is hard!  I thought I would struggle with car sickness, but that is the least of my troubles – iffy technology, bumpy roads that make note-taking a joke, too much to look at out the window, working out a book crate and in the backseat of the car – whew – this part is harder than I expected.  We have decided to spend two nights at Ceduna so that I can have a study day tomorrow!  Self defence on Rich’s part I think – he is getting a bit tired of tears when things don’t go my way!

Day 3 (by Rich E)

Well we left the beautiful Clare valley (and finding a bin of older Tim Adams wines) and headed north to Port Augusta to get around to the Eyre Peninsula. What really strikes you about these towns (Port Pirie, Port Augusta, Whyalla) is that they are so industrial and not particularly aesthetic (i.e. I would not want to live there). These areas are also not exactly blessed with much rainfall with most of the scenery being either salty mudflats, red scrub desert hopefully planted with salt bush, or grey wheat crops waiting for the winter rain before the hopeful farmers try again. One analysis reported that the Eyre Peninsula has the greatest climate change signal of any agricultural region in Australia; this was certainly obvious when you see where they have previously attempted to grow grains, where it is almost just a red sandy desert.

Yesterday it really came home for the first time that this is the start of 3 months of travel – I really struggled with the possible lack of intellectual stimulation driving all those long hours. So I got onto a few science shows on the internet last night and loaded a bunch of science podcasts onto my iPhone and spent the day listening to issues from micro-insurance  (remember micro-finance?), to carbon dating, cloning, latest in genetics research and solar panels for satellites. Sad puppy cannot let the mind wander for a few minutes (the mind is a muscle and needs as much exercise as the body you know).

Port Lincoln was a breath of fresh air. Major grain and fishing export town, but also really geared for tourists. We saw the strangest urban planning here with the new elite waterfront developments facing directly onto the fishing fleets (I mean 50 m across their exclusive mariner canals). The best view they will get is the butt cracks of the fishermen when they return and unload their catch (apart from the fact that these fishing vessels leave and arrive at times when I am sure these wealthy dwellers are trying to sleep!).

We found a great caravan park here, sped out to the local fish co-op and bough some local prawns and whiting for dinner, then headed out for a run – Kim on the bicycle and me on the runners. Found a great path around the rocks, across town, sneaked in a long hill before Kim could object – not too far but at least 5 km run to offset all the wine, custard and sitting sedentary in the car all day.

Tomorrow we able up the coast towards Streaky bay (don’t worry – too prude to try anything) then Ceduna and the Nullarbor plains early next week. 

Day 2: Thursday 20th May 2010

Up early and on towards the Barossa and Clare districts of South Australia – winery country. The views were stunning with rolling hills, beautiful autumn colours in the trees and the vineyards and beautiful architecture wherever we looked.  

One unpleasant sight would be the water pipelines that seem to traverse most of South Australia – with almost every town dependant on the not-so-mighty Murray river, piping its water hundreds of km around the state.

We stopped in Tanunda and did a walk that went past four different wineries.  We stopped at the first two ‘cellar doors’ and Rich had a wonderful time, tasting and spitting, tasting and spitting.  Kim tasted, swallowed twice and then had to sit down at every opportunity with a spinning head.  We did eventually stop going to the cellar doors, because Rich couldn’t stop purchasing a bottle of everything he tasted!  Still the walk was lovely …. Especially as the wallet got lighter and lighter!   The area is stunning and it was nice to see all the famous wineries represented along the way – Jacob’s Creek, Penfolds, Annie’s Lane, Wolf Blass etc.   

We stopped for the night at the Clare Caravan Park – a lovely little spot and did a pretty cycle ride this afternoon along a rail trail – I felt like I was living in a tourist brochure! Seems Kim can multi-task sending her girls an SMS while cycling.

Not getting much study done unfortunately ….. ah well, another long drive tomorrow so maybe I will get down to something then.

RichMax

PS        For those of you who are wondering what the ‘Max’ part is … my middle name is Maxine, and Richard frequently calls me ‘Mad Max’.  We adopted the Richmax label for our geo-caching (that is another story altogether) – and the Max has just kind of continued on into our Round Oz Blog.

Day 1 - 19^th May 2010:  first night of ninety! J

Well off at last – we got on the road at 7.30 am with Kim crying floods of tears – something to do with throwing out her old sneakers (new ones bought specially for the trip); saying goodbye to Cassie, Titch (dog) and Bliss (cat) and of course our lovely little home.  Why is nothing in life ever simple?  One would think that the prospect of three months leave would delight the soul, but no, we (Kim - separation anxiety I think) left in a river of tears.

Two hours later and we were past the Melbourne traffic woes and out the other side – wow, we had forgotten how lovely the Grampian area is – especially at this time of year – Grampians towering in the distance, lovely deciduous trees putting on a colourful show that is absolutely stunning, the obviously rain drenched pastures a beautiful green all topped with a clear blue sky – what a day to start an adventure! We stopped for lunch in Horsham alongside the Wimmera river.

The drive was fairly long, but went well – we listened to a psychology lecture for my studies and Richard was enlightened about Forensic Psychology – just further adding to his huge fountain of knowledge!  We saw a few interesting things – a giant koala (why is it that small country towns feel the need to have a kitsch, ugly and enormous statue of something to represent them?) and a landrover on a pole (as you do!) .

We arrived at Murray Bridge in good time – reasonable campsite – Murray Bridge itself … well Rich summed it up:  nice Murray, nice bridge, but the general populace leaves a bit to be desired!  Oh well, we are not living here, just passing through.  Right now we sit on the banks of a rather dry and muddy Murray river listening to a Boo Book owl call.

Tomorrow, we head off through the Barossa and Clare Valley – should be gorgeous at this time of year with all the deciduous trees in full colour, and of course there is the prospect of plenty of wine tasting – not sure how that works with studying on the road and long distance driving, but I am sure we will work it out.

Prior to leaving

This trip has been about 12 years in the planning. We are both around 5 years overdue for our Long Service Leave. Initially I just wanted a 4x4 and tent (you know me), but Kim's minimum was a caravan (must be able to plug in her hair drier). 

We have bought the smallest van we could find, but are both very happy with this. See below right:

Part of the fun has been in the planning: buying the free camping guides, planning where to go, buying stuff!

We are now all packed and ready to go on Wed 19th am. On the first day we plan to drive from Warragul to Murray Bridge at least, then pretty much follow the coast all the way around to Brisbane, and then take a direct route home somewhere around 15th August.

Neither of us have ever take more than 3 weeks off work, so this is going to be a whole new experience. However, as I am a bit of a techno-geek, we are never far out of contact (I was known to get full 3G wireless in West Arnhem land, so I could check my emails - sad puppy).