Motorhome 2010 Just paddling along singing a song.

Just paddling along singing a song.

I flew back into Adelaide after a fun weekend in Brisbane. Great to see everyone again and Sylvia didn’t look any older either. I think 60 is the new 50! She’s going Gr8.

Public transport was cheap and easy in Adelaide. $2.70 had me picked up by bus at the airport door and after two x 20minute journeys I was out at Clarence Gardens to collect my van from Alister’s relatives.

A big day ahead as after rising at 4am to fly from Brisbane I then needed to drive 500 kms from Adelaide to Winnap in SW Victoria to meet friends for a 5 day canoe trip down the Glenelg River..

On the Dukes highway just after I passed Tintinara 3 semis clipped each other and all rolled over, completely blocking the highway! I was about the 4^th vehicle to arrive. Within 10 minutes their was a long lineup of B doubles, road trains, caravans, motorhomes and cars all pulled up. One driver was hurt a bit and the others were ok. Police and Ambo’s arrived. A detour down along the coast was going to be long and tedious.

Imagine all of these huge vehicles managing to do U- turns on a narrow highway with little space. It was happening though. I had the UHF radio on and had just “ done a Uey”   myself when I heard on the radio that there was a way through. A gravel detour. The truckies were all grumbling about getting their rigs dusty.

Arriving in Winnap at Paeston Canoe Hire’s delightful property, I met up with cycling friends Mike and his daughter Jess and Michelle who I met on the bus home to Portland after the Great Vic 2009. We were all very excited in anticipation of our journey. We met Pete and Rose who were great fun and we joined them at several camps.

It was a fabulous week of perfect weather, great company and 63 kms of canoeing through the Glenelg river forest. We camped on the banks each night, swum in the river frequently, bushwalked and saw lots of wildlife.

A copperhead snake swimming beside us aroused my curiosity. We followed it for a closer look with me paddling forward and Michelle in the front paddling nervously backwards until it raised its head for a look at us…whoops… let’s get out of here!

A koala in an overhanging low branch eyeballed us as we paddled underneath him. A wombat stood in mid track as we walked one morning up to view the Margaret Rose Caves. Kangaroos hopped away and echidnas waddled in search of ants. A blue yabby was in a spring at one of our secluded green campsites. Wombats and possums were around our tents at night and the birdlife was varied and prolific.

The scenery was magnificent as we paddled downstream, sometimes crisscrossing the river sometimes singing along and stopping in at little jetties for a cuppa or lunch. Most days, with no breeze to ripple the river, we had a perfect mirror image of tree branches, cliffs and bushland.

On the last day as we neared Nelson we had head winds to challenge us. We shared a drink at the Nelson pub whilst we waited for Ross to collect us. Mike and Michelle unloaded the storage barrels and did a sprint out to the mouth and back getting absolutely soaked in the process but arriving back grinning from ear to ear. A great finish

We weren’t ready to say goodbye and end our journey so we camped one more night at Paeston and shared our second counter meal at the Dartmoor pub where the publican is amazingly surly. His full on grumpiness gave us a few chuckles.

Now it was time for me to head back to Brisbane for a number of reasons. I need to return to some solid work. ( money) I am rapt to have some really good house sits for a 12 month period which will enable me to do that and to join in with friends, family and community again. I need to belong somewhere!

I am in Manly until mid April and then Birkdale after that.

My beautiful van is listed on rvpoint.com.au. I want to have a separate vehicle to drive. I also don’t want it to sit unused for 12 months devaluing and getting grimy.

My next plan is to buy a tray back ute and a slide on camper and take off again further afield next year. Can I sit still for that Long?

Hope to see many of you very soon.

Sue

xxx

Motorhome 2010 Mighty Hot on the Murray

Mighty Hot on the Mighty Murray

I don’t like the extreme weather here!

I also have found SA not particularly “Free Camp” friendly. There are lots of ugly” no camping you will be fined” signs.  Many stop over points do not have toilets.

However…

I enjoyed the South Australian coastline with its spectacular scenery and good walk tracks. There are also very many lovely old stone homes, farms and commercial buildings from the 1850’s onward in SA.

Driving in to Canunda National Park and Coola Outstation was a bone shaking experience I would prefer not to repeat! The stones were large and sharp and I had to straddle the ruts with one wheel in the high scrubby center and one off the track to prevent the low bottom of the van scraping. Nerve wracking and slow!

The Lakeside vegetation, coastal habitat and dunes were lovely .The Coola outstation, occupied from the mid 1800’s to 1950 was still partly standing and gave me a sense of the isolation the outriders must have lived in. Plenty of roos and birds.

At Southend, Beachport and Robe, I walked around the intriguing limestone cliffs where the forces of nature, wind and waves, have created fascinating seastacks, reef platforms and weirdly sculptured cliffs. I perched for the night in my van on a precarious undercut cliff out near the Obelisk Light, surrounded on 3 sides by by sheer drops to wild water crashing on the rocks. No sleepwalking that night! I was completely out of sight of nearby houses. The spot was recommended to me by a gorgeously painted young “hippie” couple traveling with their small parrot.

Leaving the cliffs behind, I drove through Kingston SE and then along the Coorong to Meningie. It was extremely hot again with blasting hot winds. Horrible weather! I don’t find the Lakes attractive but I am told they are currently very low on water.

In the extreme weather I hung out in a shady park at Langhorne Creek (dry) for a couple of days before heading to beautiful Victor harbor.

I really enjoyed my stay, camped outside the home of Alister’s sister Marg and her husband Nigel for Christmas and New Year. I must say I much prefer their quality wines to my “chateau cardboard”.  Christmas day with all of their extended family was a lot of fun. Maybe starting off with a glass of Moet champagne had something to do with goodwill and Christmas cheer!

Over the next few days Alister took me cycling, walking and driving around the very attractive Fleurieu Peninsula. We walked across the bridge to Granite Island. We viewed the mouth of the Murray where it runs into Lake Alexandrina. We looked across to Kangaroo Island. I was fascinated by the “white elephant” modern marina at Werrina with huge hills towering over it. The resort failed and was resold. It is a beautiful but rather remote little harbour.

Time to move on again!

In Strathalbyn I asked for the local BUG’s and found them.I don’t think Kay and then John knew what to think when a perfect stranger rang them asking to go cycling. They did make me very welcome though.   I cycled from Milang to Goolwa with John where we joined about 10 friendly cyclists for a ride to the coffee shop at Middleton and back. John, Colin and I then returned to Milang. It was 90 kms of enjoyable riding in good company.

In Milang, Colin suggested we visit after lunch for a cuppa with him and Angela. I felt so comfortable with them all so when Angela invited me to park overnight in their yard and to join them for a roast dinner…well I couldn’t refuse could I?

Next morning I walked at 7am with Angela and Kay and several other local ladies. We covered the whole of Milang in an hour and with our chatter and a few barking dogs along the way I think we made sure the whole town was well awake!

Lovely people.

I spent a couple of very hot days in picturesque Strathalbyn swimming in the only pool for miles around whilst I attended to a couple of minor repairs to the van. Vibration had broken a catch on my storage box and the springs were creaking quite a lot. They were apparently just suffering from the dry and dusty conditions. I could sympathise! The blokes in the Strathfield garage were very helpful and easy on the purse as was Rhys at the Home Hardware.

In Langhorne Creek again, I met Kathy and Paul from Sydney. We enjoyed a couple of days relaxing under the trees and shared a delightful lunch and wine tasting at a nearby winery of which there are very many around here. Another baking hot day!

At Mannum on the mighty Murray I have spent the last few days just surviving the heat by constantly dipping in the muddy Murray with many other happy campers.

There are lots of ducks swimming about, a snake or two and ski boats buzzing about. We really know about it when the Paddle Steamer comes through as it blasts its loud horn all the way!

We all had cheap seats to the Jimmy Barnes, Adam Brand and Shannon Noll concert (we could hear it all from across the river). There were plenty of wild looking utes there. Friendly cowboys and girls with akubras were horsing around in the murky water. The river bank was packed out.

My gas fridge can’t cope so I bought a solid slab of ice. It is feeling better now.

I have had enough of being blasted by strong winds and grit in 45 – 48 degree temperatures and will be glad when I jump on a plane to Brisbane to join in the fun of my good friend Sylvia’s 60^th this weekend.

Guess what? Today is a gorgeous day, sunshine and a gentle cool breeze.