Adelaide to McLaren Vale

Greetings for 2010, not 2101 as the last blog had it. I am a bit dyslectic with numbers at times. All the numbers were there, just in the wrong place!! and while I am at it, my spelling goes awry at time also.
Adelaide turned on it's best weather for us, mild and sunny and perfect for cycling. SA has the most incredible number of cycle tracks. They seem to criss cross the entire state,making cycling a very popular passtime. SA is also doing a great job in banning the plastic bag. Most supermarkets no longer supply you with them and other shops encourage you to bring your own bags. And while I am singing the states praises, Adelaide has free public transport for seniors,excluding peak times, and the whole city is surrounded by parklands.
Back to cycling....We used the cycle path that goes just behind the caravan park, into the CBD and got there in no time. North Terrace has the Art gallery, Museum, War memorial etc all lined up in a row for easy viewing. We inspected the Art Gallery and were a little disappointed that there were currently no Hans Heyson paintings on display. Their collection is on exhibition around the country at present.We will be able to view it in Newcastle in November.They did, however, have a rather large display of other Australian artists. We left our bikes at the gallery and caught a tram to Glenelg, the beachside suburb which was surprisingly like Manly with a corso, lots of eateries, Norfolk pines and of course, a beach (dare I say, not a patch on Manly)
The next day we took in another movie that has been on our must see list, "Julie and Julia" (really good) then did some post Christmas sales shopping in the Rundle Mall,which was packed with bargain hunters.
While I was on a tour of Africa and Asia 2 years ago, I met a couple from Adelaide whose address I just happened to have with me, so I contacted them the next day and spent the afternoon at their house (just 2 kms from our van park) catching up on their last 2 years.Marnie took the opportunity to have another shopping frenzy in Runlde Mall. We have been bereft of shopping for quite some time. It does'nt take long to get back in the swing of it though!
Adelaide has a bus system called the O'Bahn which has its own dedicated track, allowing some specific buses to travel along this special track at reasonalbly high speeds.They just look like any bus accept they have a horizontal wheel on each side of the vehicle that guides the bus along the track. We were curious to try it out, so we took one of the buses to Tea Tree Gully, about 12km away. It feels a little like being on a train and it only took about 12 minutes to get there. The bus seamlessly leaves the track and back on to the road without you even noticing. Very clever system. I'm not sure why other states dont follow suit. Adelaide has been running these buses since the eighties.
Our last day in Adelaide was spent trying to organise the replacement of our bent awning. After going from one place to another, we were directed to a caravan business in St Marys and eventually we were able to get a quote, have them send the awning  to Melbourne and we will have it installed there. Most factories are closed until 11th Jan so it was out of the question, getting it done quickly.
Thankfully, St Marys was in the south of Adelaide, so we were heading in the right direction for our next destination, McLaren Vale in the Fleurieu Peninsula, just 40 km from Adelaide. I know it gets really boring talking about the weather, so I wont mention the fact that we are heading into a 4 day heat wave of 41C and rumour has it that Victor Harbour is generally 8 degrees cooler than elsewhere, so we have booked into a van park there for the next 3 days in the hope that the rumour is true. Meanwhile, this van park in McLaren Vale that we are in for 2 nights, is really delightful. It has a super abundance of shade trees and sits between 2 vineyards. The sites are large and the layout ambles rather than having rigid lines.And best of all, given the heat today, it seems fairly cool. I dont think we have seen one drop of rain for at least 6 weeks, but we no complain!
Vicki

Me, cycling through the Botanical gardens Adelaide.

The Art Gallery Adelaide.

Balls in Rundle Mall (Marnie is in the reflection)

Glenelg beach.

Glenelg Corso

Marnie at Glenelg.

Glenelg

Torrens river, behind the caravan park

The O'Bahn bus on its track.

Bush Christmas t'Adelaide

Happy New year everyone and hello 2010!

We enjoyed a very quiet Christmas at the Nuttbush retreat. The lamb was delicious . We had to eat in the camp kitchen as is was too windy outside, unfortunately, as there was a very nice courtyard we could have sat in. Our neighbour Clint was very happy to join us and came over the next day before departing, to give us both a little gift. We slept most of the afternoon, as you do after eating and drinking a bit too much.
We left for Burra  the next day, over 200 km away. We had been told we would most likely get into any park away from the water. So, there we stayed for 3 nights. It is a lovely historic copper mining town. Lots of old buildings and antique shops. The info center told us everything would be closed till Tuesday, Monday being Proclamation day and a public holiday. Not quite right. Several shops were open as well as the art gallery. The van park was only 2 minutes walk to the shops and, as it was fairly flat around the back streets, I decided it was time to get back on my bike. Thankfully, I managed, with a little practice and we cycled around for a few kms (without falling off!)
Our neighbours Rose and John, gave us some advice on what to see in the Barossa Valley, The Clare Valley and The Adelaide Hills.
As we  drove through the Clare Valley we popped into an art gallery in an old church at Blythe,then stopped in  Clare for an over due haircut and on to Seven Hill where there is an old Monastry/vineyard.  They still make the alter wine for the Catholic church. We did a little wine tasting here but didnt like anything on offer. Finally pulled into Watervale to see another art gallery before stopping overnight in Auburn. While here, I managed to book us 5 days in the Adelaide caravan park, which is only a 20 minute walk through the botanic gardens, to the CBD.
The town where Mcloud's daughters was filmed (Freeling) was almost on our route and I thought it would be fun to go to the Gungellan Hotel where they filmed some of the scenes. There is not much else there, apart from the, also featured Truck stop, so we had a coffee and chatted to the barmaid. Angaston was another really cute town in the Barossa valley that we stopped at to have lunch, a platter of local produce.....very tasty. We ended up in Williamstown for the night. It has been realy hot for the last 4 days, but  on new years eve was over 40C by 10am as we headed for Hahndorf.
Hans Heyson, the famous SA painter, lived in Hahndorf for most of his life. His studio and house are just before you get into the town. We arrived there (at The Cedars)  in time for the 11am guided tour, which showed us through his studio and beautiful house and we heard all about his facinating life as an artist. It was a real highlight for us both. His garden is full of heavily scented roses which feature in many of his still life paintings.
We wilted fairly quickly in the heat of 41C and  after looking around the georgeous German town of Hahndorf and having lunch, we collapsed in the RV (with the air conditioning on) at the local van park. We had picked up a good bottle of local wine to celebrate the new year in, but were tucked in and asleep well before the old year had finished.
We hit Adelaide before lunch and thankfully it was a much cooler day. Being new years day, most shops were closed but there were plenty of people milling around. The walk into the CBD from here, was an easy 20 minute stroll through the stunning botanical gardens. After looking through the famous Rundle Mall, we went to the movies and saw "Sherlock Holmes".
I am sure we will enjoy our 5 nights in Adelaide. It is a very attractive city and much greener than the rest of SA.
Vicki

Our Christmas day camp kitchen. I forgot to take a pic of us and our lunch.

 The scenary at the Nuttbush retreat

The courtyard at Nuttbush.

The Burra Town Hall.

The Gungellen hotel of Mcleod's daughters fame.

The Barossa Valley vineyards

Hans Heyson's family home, "The Cedars" at Hahnsdorf in the Adelaide Hills

In the Botanical gardens Adelaide.

Lotus flower in the gardens.

Rundle St Adelaide.

In the Rundle St Mall.

Lovely arcade in the mall

From Koalas to an outback Christmas

Marnie and I, wish all our interested readers a very merry    Christmas and a happy and healthy new year!

We are 40 km from Port Augusta at a place called Nuttbush retreat. It is a working cattle station with caravan park and some cabins. It has an excellent camp kitchen in which to cook our roast lamb for lunch tomorrow. At present, there is only one other camper here, a lone man . Hopefully he will join us for lunch tomorrow.
It was really sad to hear about all the homes burnt down in Port Lincoln. Thankfully we were a long way away by then, in Wuddina, 200km up north. The temperature is much cooler today so the bush fire threat is not so bad.
We left the beautiful Mikkira koala sanctuary and headed for Coffin Bay, lower down the peninsular. This is a magnificent series of waterways and beaches, blessed with aqua blue waters and fine white sand. The caravan park had vacancies up to the new year, so we were able to pay one day at a time till we felt ready to move on. We ended up having 3 nights and only left on the 4th day as the forecast temps were over 40C and our booked boat cruise (to see the dolfins and eat fresh oysters) was cancelled due to the gusty northerly winds.  While here, we drove into the National Park, as far as possible on the sealed roads. The bulk of it is only suitable for 4WDs . The beaches are stunning but dangerous for swimming.We also walked along the oyster track which goes around the bay for 12 km and is very scenic. (No we didnt do the whole track!) Coffin Bay is famous for it's oysters , but sadly I didnt get to try any.
On the drive up to Wudinna, it was getting hotter by the minute and by lunch time it was 43.6C and very windy with dust flying everywhere. Probably the most unpleasant day yet. The van park was attached to the Gawlers ranges Motel so in a flash of brilliance, we decided to take an airconditioned room to ride out the heat. What a blessing that was.
So this is as far west as we are going on this trip and it just about coincides with our half way date 20th Dec.
Now I suppose you could say, we are on our way home, all be it, slowly.
Wudinna is close to the Gawler Ranges, but again, mostly only good for 4WD. We were able to go 7km out of town the next  day (much cooler) to see the second biggest monolith in Australia called Mount Wudinna (second only to Ayres Rock) and quiet impressive.
Wudinna did not seem to be the ideal place to spend Christmas day, so, on we drove stopping at Kimba, a town that boasts that it is  half way accross Australia. Blind Freddy could see by the map that it is not, but apart from the big galah, it is probably its only claim to fame.
We ended up at the Nuttbush retreat and so, it is here that we will spend Christmas day 2009.
I forgot to mention we have to get the awning replace (on insurance) When we were in Cowell, on the East coast of the Eyre peninsular, on a hot windy day, the awning nearly took off, with the RV attached and us in it!!. Since then, we have been unable to retract it fully. We had it looked at in Port Lincoln, but they suggested we replace it. Now we need to find the right place to do the job. The insurance company has approved it, but it may be a while before everyone gets back to work.
Vicki

Sleaford beach, near the koala sanctuary

Coffin Bay

The wharf at Coffin Bay

More Coffin Bay

One of the beaches in the National Park

Kangaroos in the caravan park at dusk

The Big Farmer at Wudinna (it is 8 meters tall)

Marnie on her way up Mt Wudinna

Mt Wudinna from afar. It doesnt really show its huge size in this photo

Marnie being a bit of a Galah! At Kimba

Kimba's claim to fame.

The Flinders Ranges to The Eyre peninsular

We are now in the Eyre Peninsular, towards to pointy bottom end, at a place called Mikkira Station. It feels beautifully like the ends of the earth, tho it is only 23 km from Port Lincoln, but far enough to be out of Next G Telstra range and of course our phones are out of range too .
But I digress… Back to our last day in the Flinders Ranges .We had a wonderful 5 hour 4WD tour of the area.. There were just the 2 of us and the driver. It gave us a great overview of the gorges and ranges, taking us in, around, over and through them. It was very informative and enjoyable, though a little rough at times. We got to see the rare yellow footed rock wallaby, Emus a plenty, Euro roos, Big reds and Southern Greys. The next day, after packing up to leave, we drove the short distance to the airport and took a 30 minute flight over Wilpena Pound and the surrounding area. What a treat to see it from the air.
After much deliberation about going to Parachilna, because of the 32km of dirt road, we decided to bite the dust and go. TMH is not too fond of rough roads, but we are so glad we went. The urge to see a tiny outback town with a population of only 5 and one building, the Prarie Pub, was almost overwhelming. It was tarmac all the way to Blinman, ( Population 40) then dirt the rest of the way. It was pretty bone shaking stuff, narrow , winding and fantastically scenic, and well worth it . The bikes on the back , had to be seen to be believed . Heavily laden in red dust. This town was definitely one of the highlights of out trip. The pub does get busy at times, we are told, but for this visit, we were the only ones there, apart from the barman, his 4 other staff (chef, cleaner, and bed maker, should there be any guests staying) and there were 3 drillers occupying a demountable across from the pub, where we were able to park and connect to power. Don’t ask what the drillers were drilling for. We happened ask the barman and his response was, he would probably have to kill us if he told us! All very mysterious . One of the Pub’s main claim to fame, is its Feral dinner menu which offers Emu Pate , Camel sausages, curried goat, Kangaroo steaks and rabbit stew amongst other things. They also have a great range of wines, so we indulged ourselves with some goat curry, haloumi with rocket and wild bush tomato and olive sauce, all served elegantly on blue enamelled tin dishes . It was fantastic . The barman was quiet droll but entertaining. The chef was a lady who looked about 21. We were told famous people come here regularly to get away from everything. In fact, David Attenborough had stayed the week before, for 4 days. Probably the only downside were the myriad of tiny flies outside, fully intent on darting into any open orifice or taking refuge from the heat by hiding under your sunglasses. Thankfully, they disappeared around sunset, which allowed us to watch the spectacular, lighting up of the Flinders Ranges. And then the stars came out and the heavens declared the glory of God! (Psalm 19)
About the only other pastime in this town, apart from eating and drinking is to watch the 10pm coal train from Leigh Creek pass through. It may sound like a nothing event, but let me tell you, it must be 10km long, it just kept coming and coming. It took at least 10 minutes to complete its passage through Parachilna.
Our journey then took us through Quorn, Port Augusta and Wyalla on our way to Cowell in the Eyre Peninsular. The next 2 days there are better forgotten as it was windy and insufferably hot. We drove on to Arno Bay then Tumby Bay, but decided to continue to Port Lincoln as it looked more attractive, and indeed it was. While in the info centre , we picked up a brochure on this place we are now at called Mikkira Station and thought it sounded just what we were looking for. You can camp here for a fee, with no power or water, but there is a hot shower and a loo. The big attraction is the Manna trees, a type of eucalyptus which happens to be the favourite of Koalas. The other attraction is, that hardly anyone seems to come here. There is 8 km of dirt road, slightly corrugated but passable. We did find a family of 4 here, but they were a distance from us and left this morning, so now we are all alone with the koalas and kangaroos. Just heavenly. There are koalas in almost every tree (mostly only one to a tree), lots of babies too. The Manna eucalypt is fairly short and these ones are very old, so they are thick, gnarled and twisted. The koalas are low enough to see up close. We will stay 2 nights here then go to Coffin Bay.

Vicki

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Interesting rock art in Wilpena Pound
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Emus

In Brachina gorge

on our 4WD tour

the 4 seater plane for our flight

Brachina gorge, we drove through the day before.

with the pilot

the Prarie Pub at Parachilna (thats Marnie in the trough...it was a hot day)

Our feral dinner in progress

the waterfront at Port Lincoln

The cows have a great view in these parts....the Eyre Peninsular

Cute Koala at Mikkira station.

TMH at Mikkira Station

An old Manna tree (dead)

View from TMH

Cute Mum and baby...Mikkira station