8 April, 2017 by Explorers

West and Central Eyre Peninsula

1st – 7th April 2017

Saturday 1st

After a quick restock in Port Lincoln we headed to Coffin Bay. I was pleased to see that it was Flinders who named this location after Admiral Coffin, and not that it got its name for some other macabre reason.

Across the oyster beds to Coffin Bay township.

Coffin Bay is a fisherman’s dream come true – 20 kilometres of protected seaways and apparently an abundance of sea creatures to be caught. Not being particularly interested in that aspect, other than when our lovely neighbour at the caravan park gave us some freshly caught and filleted fish, we cycled (illegally) the Oyster Trail for 6 km along the foreshore before heading out to dinner at 1802 Oyster Bar. We both had oyster entrees. Steve’s were pistachio-crumbed grilled oysters, mine were natural in gin and tonic – talk about heaven!

Lovely bike ride (even if we shouldn’t have been riding!). Coffin Bay Oyster Trail.

Sunday 2nd

This morning was a walking day – we walked to the lookout then the other direction of the Oyster Walk (from yesterday’s ride) – about 8 km. Oysters were originally dredged, which unfortunately led to their near extinction by the end of the 19th century. In 1969 the Japanese Pacific oyster was successfully trialled and that is now the predominant oyster grown here, though there are attempts to reintroduce the native Angasi oyster.
As it just so happened we had to walk past 1802 Oyster Bar on our way back – I felt I’d earned another half-dozen gin and tonic oysters!

These were the most amazing oysters ever! Coffin Bay

In the afternoon we practiced changing the tyres on the motorhome. With our remote outback travel drawing ever closer we wanted to be sure we had the right equipment.

Monday 3rd

Before leaving Coffin Bay we took a drive into the National Park, went for a run on the beach, then headed north along the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula.

These pedestrians were in no hurry to cross the road - we waited patiently. They know what it means to live in a National Park, at Coffin Bay.

These pedestrians were in no hurry to cross the road. They know what it means to live in a National Park, at Coffin Bay.

To see the photos we took in the Coffin Bay area CLICK HERE.

The countryside is mostly grazed by sheep or cattle with some wheat. At the moment it’s looking very brown – goodness knows what the sheep are eating. We also passed several dry salt lakes, one large salt lake with water and lots of very, very rocky fields. Not inspiring countryside.

Lunch stop was at a pretty spectacular lookout – the Leo Cummings Memorial Lookout. The outlook is over the cliffs to the Bight. The Great Australian Bight begins at Cape Carnot, which we saw on the Whalers Way, and is believed to be the longest line of sea cliffs in the world, running more than 1,100 km. The relentless pounding of the ocean against the crumbling limestone cliffs is frighteningly awesome.

Stunning coastline of the Great Australian Bight as seen from Leo Cummings Lookout.

Would you believe it, when we arrived at our campsite at Walkers Rocks, our front passenger side tyre was rapidly deflating!

Tuesday 4th

It was late when we got in so left the tyre changing until this morning. Despite yesterday’s preemptive practice we ran into a few hitches – one jack can’t lift the vehicle high enough to put the new wheel on. We had to use two jacks – luckily Steve always carries a spare!

Bit tricky to get the motorhome high enough to change the wheel. Two jacks did the trick.

That done we took a long refreshing 5 km walk along the beach before setting off for Venus Bay. Here we’d planned to spend the night at the caravan park. No way – the park was full and vans were so close you could hear the person next door change their mind. We stopped in a beachside park for lunch, then did the 2.5 km South Head Walking Trail which took us along the very pretty bay side of the headland and up over the top to the rugged ocean side with its imposing cliffs. Lovely walk.

Quite an attractive walk around the headland at Venus Bay. This is the calm side.

Venus Bay township itself though is little more than the caravan park and a cluster of small holiday shacks, mostly without lawns, trees, gardens or any other landscaping – in other words, if you don’t want to fish then Venus Bay is not for you.

Continuing on we arrived in Streaky Bay late afternoon and booked into a new caravan park on the north side of town. Talk about flash! Very large sites, tiered up the hill so everyone has ocean views, a licensed shop, lovely rec room, laundry trolleys to take your washing to the line, and the piece de resistance – the ablutions block has lots of little separate bathrooms, each with its own toilet, shower and handbasin.

Very pretty foreshore and jetty at Streaky Bay.

Wednesday 5th

Streaky Bay is a pretty little town with a lovely foreshore, jetty and facilities – and good internet! We stayed there for a while catching up on personal admin before beginning the trip across the central part of the Eyre Peninsula.

CLICK HERE to see the photos we took as we followed the western coastline of the Eyre Peninsula.

Back into wheat and sheep country. The fields are ploughed and farmers awaiting the first rains before they plant next season’s crop – a fairly stark drive to the tiny township of Minnipa then on to the free camp at Pildappa Rock. On the way though we passed through Poochera, famous for its Dinosaur Ants! (See the photos linked to later to read about them.)

Pildappa Rock is a granite ‘wave rock’ and quite stunning as it rises out of the flat countryside that surrounds it.

The wave-like effect of Pildappa Rock.

Late afternoon we climbed it to enjoy the view over the wheat farms to the Gawler Ranges. The surface of the rock had many ‘basins’ of all sizes on its surface. Being granite these, of course, would hold water after rain but as it hasnt rained for ages down here they’re all dry. We were admiring the view when a couple of heads suddenly popped up from one of these basins – Rod and Maree, other campers, were sheltering from the wind in one of the basins and invited us to join them. It was plenty big enough for us all. We sheltered with them until time for the obligatory sunset photos.

In the ‘basin’ on top of Pildappa Rock at sunset.

Thursday 6th

Not a happy day today! We headed off to the Gawler Ranges to see the Organ Pipes rock formation. The dirt road was pretty good, corrugated in places, until we got into the National Park, then it deteriorated quickly to rocky with tough mallee roots coming in from the sides. The rangers had made detours around the worst patches, but we unfortunately caught the sharp end of a mallee root into the side wall of one of our rear tyres. Damn!

Damn! And damn again!

We are a well-oiled machine at tyre changing now! However, we no longer have a spare. With that in mind we decided not to continue along this road, nor do the scenic road through the park to the far side. Damn again!
However all was not lost. Just as we’d finished the tyre change along came Rod and Maree and offered to take us the 3km remaining of this road to see the Organ Pipes. One consolation, the road continued to get worse, so a good decision by us not to risk it. The Organ Pipes were very interesting, just hard to get too excited when we were both so preoccupied by thoughts of tyres.

The ‘pipes’ were pretty interesting.

Back at Priscilla and before they left us Rod and Steve had a cold beer and Maree and I had home-brewed (by Rod) Malibu and pineapple slushies – wow, that sure lifted my mood!

Following this we drove on to the little town of Wudinna where we parked in the shade, had lunch and began investigations to change all our tyres to a tougher off-road brand. Of particular note at Wudinna is a very beautiful granite sculpture to the farmers and community of the district.

Granite monument to the Australian Farmer. Note the wheat sheaves, the smaller figures representing family and the sheep.

Carrying on we stayed the night in Kimba Lions Park – nope, not a white lion to be seen anywhere – no sense of humour here! A good little free camp in the middle of this small town.

Friday 7th

The saga of the tyres was still consuming us and after numerous phone calls and long discussions to every relevant person or business we could think of we finally came to the conclusion that the Continental truck tyres we have are actually pretty good and we have just been unlucky. Decision made and booked into tyre place in Adelaide to have the two damaged wheels fixed as soon as we can.

Kimba has a few claims to fame; its Big Galah, which I didn’t feel the urge to photograph; being the halfway point between the west coast and the east coast; and its Roora Walk which winds through lovely arid-climate bushland, past several very cute sculptures of animals made from recycled steel up to White Knob where there are clear views for 50km all around – it’s not high, but the countryside is so flat it doesn’t need to be.

Edward John Eyre and his friend Wylie looking over the countryside they’re yet to explore. At Kimba.

Also up here are the quite famous steel sculptures of Edward John Eyre and his indispensable indigenous friend and guide, Wylie. Eyre is the first white explorer in this area and right across the Great Australian Bight. The return walk was about 6.5km. CLICK HERE to see some of the fauna we saw along the walk.

Back at the motorhome we moved on to Iron Knob. As you drive towards town the iron ore quarry greets you, followed by decrepit houses. This is a very sad town. Iron Knob is said to be the birthplace of Australia’s steel industry. Quarrying for iron ore commenced here in 1900, with the very high quality ore being sent to the steelworks in Port Kembla, Newcastle and Whyalla for either processing or exporting. Mining operations, however, closed down in 1998 and Iron Knob very nearly became a ghost town, only saved by the comparatively very low housing prices. 15 years later, in 2013, mining was resumed, though only for the next 10 years. The townspeople have developed a tourism business by creating a great free camping area, which we’re now in, running mine tours and having a unique golf course.

Looking over the tiny township of Iron Knob to the tailings of the iron ore mine behind.

We complete our circumnavigation of the Eyre Peninsula back at Port Augusta.

A lovely park at the very tip of Spencers Gulf at Port Augusta.

For a look at all the photos from the Central Eyre Peninsula CLICK HERE.

31 March, 2017 by Explorers

Whalers Way & Mikkira Station

29th – 31st March

An overnight in Port Lincoln once again provided opportunity to restock everything we needed, plus a trip to the Information Centre to book The Whalers Way to pick up the key for the gate ready for an early entry tomorrow. ($30 entry + o/n camp; $5 each additional night).

Whalers Way is a 14km scenic route that follows a spectacular, cliff-edged coastline around the most southerly point of the Eyre Peninsula. It was named for the Whalers who hunted the southern right whales off this coast from 1837 – 1841, not very successfully apparently.

106 metre cliffs meet the ocean at Cape Wiles. See the fur seals, enlarged in the inset.

The photographs I’ve linked to show you the views we enjoyed. The ocean along this coast leaves one in awe of its power and dominance over the land. Our campsite at Redbanks was among the best we’ve had so far on this journey.

We camped at the base of a sand dune which is protecting us from the prevailing wind. Idyllic location, once again. Redbanks campsite.

Just a personal soapbox opportunity here though … the unsuccessful and cruel whaling industry was here for 4 years in the early 1800s. It’s not a part of our history that I feel needs commemorating! I’d much rather the drive were related to the indigenous people who cared for this southerly point for thousands of years.

For more photos from the stunning Whalers Way CLICK HERE.

Friday 31st

We viewed a few more fantastic parts of the coastline this morning before leaving the Whalers Way, heading for Mikkira Station, a camping ground on a sheep station on the way back towards Port Lincoln. ($25/n)

This property, or ‘sheep run’ as it was originally called, was first settled in 1839. The original homestead as well as stone fences and the huge chimney from the shearer quarters remain. But of great delight to us are all the magnificent old manna gums around the camping area that are chockas with koalas. In just a short walk we spotted more than 20. Such beautiful animals – so relaxing.

Mikkira_koala16

For more photos from Mikkira Station, and the koalas, CLICK HERE.

28 March, 2017 by Explorers

Lincoln National Park

23rd – 28th March 2017

Thursday 23rd

After a bit more of a look around Port Lincoln we headed south to the National Park – it’s a short drive. Of the several camps available we chose a close one that was well recommended – Surfleet Cove. You know, it was alright, nothing wrong with it – sealed road in, numbered, separate sites, clean loos, water from a tank, and even a ‘camp host’. However the site was off the beach a little (50 metres) and you couldn’t see the water. We went for a 6km loop walk, part of the ‘Investigator Trail’ – it was good to get moving again. A family of emus met us on the beach and later wandered through our campsite – that was a bit special.

A family of emus on the beach at Surfleet Cove. Dad at the back and 7 adolescents in front.

Friday 24th we decided to go for a drive and look at the other campsites. Didn’t take long to lose the sealed road, but it still wasn’t too bad. We found a site we loved so stayed there – another of the advantages of a motorhome, not having to go back to pack up the caravan when you change your mind.

Fisherman Point divides Boston Bay on one side and the delightful Fisherman Cove on the other. We camped perched atop the cliff overlooking the cove from the side of the motorhome and Port Lincoln in the distance from the back doors. Wow – now this is more like it! Million dollar views!

This is our campsite at Fisherman Point in Lincoln NP, at low tide. We loved it here so much we stayed for a lot longer than planned. Access to the beach was very easy down a well-formed path.

This is our campsite (on the cliff top) at Fisherman Point in Lincoln NP, at low tide. We loved it here so much we stayed for a lot longer than planned. Access to the beach was very easy down a well-formed path.

Saturday 25th we set off to do the ‘out and back’ walk to the lighthouse, another section of the Investigator Trail, but enjoyed the walk so much we went on to see Donington Peninsula and explore a little down the eastern coast before crossing through the middle back to home.

The Investigator was the name of the ship Matthew Flinders used to circumnavigate Australia in 1801/2 mapping the coastline as he went. His maps were so accurate it wasn’t until recent years that they were replaced. Flinders was born in Donington in Lincolnshire – after which he named this area. Flinders rates very highly in South Australia with many places named in his honour, not the least being the Flinders Ranges where we’ll be in a few weeks time. It was Flinders who put forward the suggestion that the whole continent should be named Australia, replacing New Holland and New South Wales – for that I am very grateful! An excellent book I can recommend by David Hill is, The Great Race. The race between the English and the French to complete the Map of Australia.

On our walk around Donington Peninsula, Lincoln NP. Note the low shrubby flora. A lot of variety in the shrubs, some were flowering.

Several sections of the walk are along the beach, then on paths through low shrub bushland and finally a good sandy path back across the island. A truly enjoyable 13 km walk on an overcast, pleasantly cool day. A very well sign-posted path – well done SA Parks.

Arty shot of a pelican and a cormorant at rest. Lincoln NP

Sunday 26th Being a weekend there’s a few extra campers here. It seems the Port Lincoln locals come over to camp then motor their boats over, it’s only 5 nm across Boston Bay. During the day our little cove entertained 2 or 3 groups of people, BBQing on the beach, pulling an inflatable with kids on it behind the boat and generally having a good time. They all left early afternoon and once more the serenity of the campsite has been restored – just us, the gulls, pelicans and numerous other birds … and two other campers, well away from us. I’ve really enjoyed the birdlife here, there’s so many different types of birds, both land and seabirds. A pair of beautifully coloured parrots that we’d never seen before visit the trees beside our campsite each evening. I looked them up in bird book and, believe it or not, they’re Port Lincoln Parrots. I’m pleased we spotted them.

The Port Lincoln Parrot. Thanks Wikicommons.

A brief walk on the beach followed by a swim just before sunset finished off a perfect day.

Contemplating sunset at Fisherman Point campsite. This is a Pacific Gull - a much larger bird than the Silver Gulls we are used to, but smaller then the Kelp Gull that are also on this coastline.

Contemplating sunset at Fisherman Point campsite. This is a Pacific Gull – a much larger bird than the Silver Gulls we are used to, but smaller than the Kelp Gull that are also on this coastline.

We’re booked in to Memory Cove for the next two days but have decided to stay here – it’s beautiful and relaxing with plenty to do, so why move!

Monday and Tuesday 27th and 28th

And it has been a relaxing and enjoyable 6 days here in the National Park. Since the weekend we’ve had the place to ourselves. We’ve swum, walked, rested, did little things around the motorhome, cooked, eaten yummy meals, and read books – just what we both needed. Today Steve started investigating geocaches in the area. There are several around so we set off on a walk to find a couple of them. The first was at the far end of our beach and, while tricky to find, Steve was successful.

Awww – how happy is he! He’s just found the geocache.

The next one was further away hidden amongst some very old, but very interesting, rusting farm machinery. Unfortunately he wasn’t so successful with that one.

Aww look at that sad face! No geocache could be found. 🙁

Tomorrow we leave the Park. It’s been a good stay and I recommend it to everyone reading this.

To see more of our photos of Lincoln National Park CLICK HERE.

23 March, 2017 by Explorers

To Port Lincoln

18th – 22nd March 2017

Sunday 18th March

Today we’re heading for Whyalla. We took the opportunity of driving on the back country roads – so much more peaceful. The countryside was flat and the wheat had been harvested leaving brown stubble and occasional sheep grazing. Not the most exciting drive, but interesting for what it is nevertheless.

On the way is Mt Remarkable National Park. I must admit we both laughed when we saw the ‘mountain’ rising above the plains – these South Aussies have to get out more if they think that is remarkable! We drove up on the eastern side of the park to have a look around and do a bit of walking. It’s a steep, winding road up (no caravans or trailers allowed). Alligator Gorge is the predominant landform here. We joined a few walks together to make one decent one and had to admit that the gorge is quite remarkable after all. The red cliffs were stunning – reminiscent of Ormiston Gorge in the Northern Territory.

The red cliffs were quite beautiful, as were the trees growing in the gorge. Mt Remarkable

At Whyalla we drove up to The Hummock to get a view over town. The steel works was one side, a nice beach and foreshore on the other. We camped at the sports club ($10) – lovely friendly people. The next morning just before we left the caretaker lady came around on her bike and gave us a brown paper bag of home baked goodies. Wasn’t that lovely!

The steel works at Whyalla, taken from The Hummock.

Monday & Tuesday 19th, 20th March

We followed the coastline down the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula on a good unsealed road. There are several free camps on the beach, most taken up with campers keen on fishing. However we did find a small one with no one else there so settled in comfortably to have a good break. (It’s the campsite north of Port Gibbon that doesn’t have a sign saying ‘beach access’ as the others do).

The perfect campsite. Near Port Gibbon

We’re here for two nights. Both days we went for a swim and walks on the beach, the second day to Port Gibbon and back, doing our HIIT training on the way back. The beach is beautifully white, while the crumbling cliffs that bound it are red conglomerate. Many of the holes in the cliff face have pairs of pink galahs sitting outside them – I guess they’re nesting/breeding in them.

The setting sun on the red cliffs at our campsite, near Port Gibbon.

Wednesday & Thursday 21st, 22nd March

The wind came up overnight, quashing our plans for an early morning swim before heading on to Port Lincoln. The salt bush one side of the road and salt flats the other soon gave way to wheat country. Three out of every four vehicles we saw were road trains carrying wheat to Port Lincoln. On the way we stopped at Tumby Bay for a cuppa and a look around. Lovely town – nice foreshore and park. We were very surprised to come across Steve and Leonie who were pulled up in their caravan not far from us – friends from just up the road back home. Small world. We both ended up in Port Lincoln caravan park for two nights.

Port Lincoln refers to itself as the Seafood Capital of Australia. Just my kind of place. There are tuna farms, oyster leases and a huge fishing fleet here. Lunch was calamari and King George whiting – yum.

Priscilla (our motorhome) inspecting the fishing fleet at Port Lincoln. Serious problems for fish this lot!

Priscilla (our motorhome) inspecting the fishing fleet at Port Lincoln. Serious problems for fish from this lot!

Thursday was a work day – washing, shopping, cooking, motorhome maintenance. We’ve purchased our park passes from the Info Centre and will be heading in to Port Lincoln National Park tomorrow for at least a week, hence the need for supplies. A welcome relief was going out to the pub for dinner with Steve and Leonie.

To see photos of our trip to Port Lincoln CLICK HERE.

17 March, 2017 by Explorers

Farewelling the Murray

15th – 17th March, 2017

Wednesday 15th

We backtracked a bit to have a look at Mildura. Vineyards, vineyards and more vineyards, with occasional almond groves, citrus and stone fruit. Mildura region supplies 98% of Australia’s dried vine fruits (eg sultanas), 68% of our table grapes and 20% of our wine grapes. 60 – 70% of Australia’s wine grapes are grown in Mildura, Riverland (just over the border in SA) and Griffith (just north east in NSW). We don’t hear much about these wines because the huge majority of them are exported – the 41% tax put on local sales makes export much more lucrative.

Leaving Mildura we crossed into South Australia which has even stricter biosecurity regulations than the Victorian Pest Free Area and I added my zucchinis and pumpkin to their bin.

Entering South Australia – just past the biosecurity check point.

We met up with Ric and Gill in Berri. They’re now heading back to Queensland before going on a volunteer assignment to Fiji. Tonight we’re all staying at Katarapko, part of the Murray River National Park. Yep, you guessed it – back camping with the Redgums again.

Sunset on Katarapko Creek, Murray River NP

Hot day today (35-ish). Hot night too.

Thursday 16th

A blustery cool change came in at 3.30am – no rain luckily considering the state of the road we drove in on, but sure cooled things down.

We had a slow start to the day, chatting with Ric and Gill about their exciting times coming up and them giving us lots of tips about where to go and what to see in our coming travels (they’ve been here before). We farewelled them in Berri then stayed on in a caravan park, beside the Murray, organising shopping, cooking, washing, etc.

Friday 17th

With hot weather forecast for the weekend, yet again, we’ve decided to head towards Eyre Peninsula where it’s much cooler. Leaving Berri the vineyards and occasional almond groves quickly disappeared replaced by flat grazing country. We followed the Murray to the town of Morgan where we stopped for brunch. It’s an historic town, a port for the region when river transport on the Murray was of major importance. We farewell the Murray now. It’s been fun following it, but different adventures await us.

From here we continued on towards Burra. We’d noticed the mallee country changed to mile after mile of saltbush (sheep grazing country), then passed a sign that mentioned we’d crossed the 1865 Goyder Line which is a line that joins places that have an annual rainfall of about 250mm. South of that line is mallee country and cropping is possible, north of the line, saltbush country, only light grazing recommended. It’s proven to be remarkably accurate over the years, though scientists are now saying the line is shifting further south as climate change affects the area.

Saltbush – as far as the eye could see.

At Burra we dropped into a cidery – mmm delicious organic apple cider. Phew, definitely alcoholic though!

Clare is one of many areas in Aus well-known for its wine and we did visit a vineyard but because it had a bush tucker cafe rather than for wine tasting. We were disappointed though – got there at 3.30pm, knowing it closed at 4pm, to be told the kitchen was closed. That’s rubbish! If you’re open till 4pm the kitchen should be open until then too!

Clare Valley.

Tonight we’re at the Clare Racecourse for the night with two other campers.

To see more photos from this part of our trip CLICK HERE.

14 March, 2017 by Explorers

Mungo National Park

12th – 14th March 2017

Sunday 12th

Fuelled, watered, showered (at Info Centre), fruit and veggies replaced, got the good guff from the Info Centre before we headed off to Mungo National Park. We’d heard varying stories about the condition of the road, from it being so bad tyres were shredded to ‘it’s OK, just a bit corrugated’. As it turns out it was surprisingly good – unsealed, a few areas of corrugations, a few areas of washouts, but on the whole not too bad. A 2.5 hour trip.

Nearly there. Just up and over those salt bush covered sand dunes.

Mungo National Park is World Heritage listed for both its geological significance and its cultural significance. It first came to national and international attention in 1968 when the remains of Mungo Lady were found. A few years later Mungo Man was revealed. It’s been agreed that these two people lived 42,000 years ago, the oldest bodies found in Australia and anywhere outside Africa. Apart from many ancient artefacts, archaeologists also uncovered footprints of a group of people, including children, in ancient mudflats.

The remains of Mungo Lady and Mungo Man were found in weathering ‘lunettes’ on the banks of Lake Mungo. Lunettes are formed only in specific and rare geological conditions, hence another reason why Mungo is such an important location. Lake Mungo and the other lakes in the Willandra Lakes area have been dry now for several thousand years.

White settlers came to the area in the mid 1800”s farming sheep on the saltbush that covers the ancient lake beds. Their arrival decimated the indigenous culture and people. National Parks has taken over the care of the particularly sensitive areas and indigenous rangers from the 3 tribes that lived in the region are the custodians.

The Discovery Centre at the entrance to the park tells the geological, aboriginal and pastoral histories.

Megafauna – a wombat, apparently! Not so cuddly and cute back then.

After getting ourselves well-informed we did the 7+km walk called the Pastoral Loop which took us from Mungo Station (at the Discovery Centre) along the lake to the old Zanci Station shearing sheds and what remains of the homestead, then back to Mungo Station shearing sheds. We enjoyed the walk through Mallee and saltbush and found the information at the shearing sheds really interesting.

Not much remains of Zanci Homestead.

Mungo Station shearing sheds. Note the ‘dropped log’ construction of the walls. When the shed was first built shearing was done with hand clippers and there were many shearers, as times changed and steam-engine powered clippers became available the number of shearers was reduced to 5. Hence only the last 5 bays have the corrals for the shorn sheep.

We camped at Main Camp with about half a dozen other vehicles – good camp, large sites with tables.

Monday 13th

It rained a bit overnight and in this country it doesn’t take much to close roads. Fortunately the park roads are still open because we’re doing a tour with the Ranger to the Walls of China – the lunettes on the eastern side of the lake. ($35pp). We drive to the lookout, but with the Ranger we’re able to go onto the lunettes to see the layers formed over the last 50,000 years or so and see the fossils at various layers.

Walls of China. Even the sand in the foreground tries to make you believe you’re on the foreshore.

The bones of a wombat that died many thousands of years ago. As the Walls weather more of these fossils are being exposed.

He’s also able to tell us about aboriginal ways and practices. A tour well worth doing.

Following this we continue on the 70 km loop around the Park pausing at various points of interest where there are lookouts or short walks before stopping about half way around at Belah Campsite where we stay for the night. The National Parks have produced a leaflet with these points of interest explained. It’s a full moon tonight which would have been spectacular over the lake, however where we are is in the middle of a grove of trees. One other camper here.

Sunset from Belah Campsite.

Tuesday 14th

We continued the loop with more sights on the way. Saw quite a few emus and several kangaroos. Birds are plentiful here with flocks of galahs, pink cockatoos and many small birds, particularly around the naturally occurring soaks.

Pink Galahs having a drink at one of the naturally occurring soaks. It rained a little last night so more water there than usual.

Back at the Discovery Centre we have a hot shower (unexpected luxury in a place with so little water), and speak to the Ranger about the best road out. Arumpo Rd, to Mildura, is badly corrugated as a result of trucks going to a mine somewhere along it. We head off west via the Top Hut Road, which for the first 30 km of the 55 km unsealed section is very good – sand over hard clay. The last 25 km though – corrugations! We survived with no casualties.

Onwards to Wentworth. Here the Darling River, which gets its water from all the south western Queensland rivers joins the Murray. The confluence (where they meet) is quite striking as the Darling waters are a milky greenish colour and the Murray’s are brown. They don’t seem to mix too much until they reach a weir just downstream.

The confluence of the Darling River, closest and the Murray River in the background.

It wasn’t far from here where we spent the night back beside the Murray surrounded by enormous old River Redgums- what a contrast to the arid landscapes of the last two nights.

To see more of our Mungo NP photos CLICK HERE.

11 March, 2017 by Explorers

Echuca plus a bit

8th – 11th March 2017

Wednesday 8th

Went for a walk around the river in Echuca just after we arrived. Lovely to see the Paddle steamers on the river. Imagination can make it feel romantic – I wonder if it really was though.

We checked in to the Murray River Tourist Park ($33/night) in Moama (NSW side) and relaxed while we waited for Maree and Carl to arrive from Melbourne. They took an onsite cabin. Pleasant, small well-cared-for caravan park.

Great time had by all – with Maree and Carl.

After much talking, laughing and catching up we walked over to the Bowls Club for a meal (average). Wow it was quite the Club though – big money in gambling.

Thursday 9th

A lot more of the same today – we had a lot of catching up to do! A walk around the old Port area with its historical buildings and artisan shops was really interesting. We watched a couple of houseboats go out – that looks like fun!

Relaxing by the Murray with Carl and Maree.

Dinner tonight at the Thai in Moama – excellent.

Friday 10th

This morning we had a farewell coffee with Maree and Carl at a trendy little coffee shop. We still hadn’t run out of conversation when it was time to say goodbye. Great time guys – thanks so much for coming up to join us.

We moved on to the little town of Leitchville, its raison d’etre being dairy farming. However the big dairy company of Murray Goulburn has done the dirty on the suppliers and many farms have folded and many people left town.

We’re at a truly excellent free camp in town, with separate bays divided by well tended gardens. It’s beside the pool (hot day, cool pool!) and across the road from the bakery where they make arguably the best vanilla slices in Australia. Yes, we did support them too – it was the least we could do.

I swear this is the World’s BEST vanilla slice!

A local elderly lady came over and handed out tourist information and chatted with me for at least half an hour telling me all about the town – great service. Top little town for travellers.

Saturday 11th

Sad to leave Leitchville this morning. We went for a walk around town – nice, well-cared-for homes and gardens, big, active bowls club, 10 grass court tennis courts … the signs of a prosperous town – I hope it stays that way, despite Murray Goulburn.

We want to see Mungo National Park, but temperatures are very high (37C there today) EXCEPT for tomorrow and Monday when it’s in the 20s before heading back up again. So today we head to Balranald, ready for an early start for the park tomorrow. At Kohuna we stopped at the Tourist Information told the lady where we’re going – very helpful (I thought), then to the grocery store to pick up a few groceries, fruit, veggies, etc. Not a word was mentioned about the Pest Free Area we have to pass through on our way, not carrying any fruits or forbidden vegetables. Not happy!

Lovely drive again. The dairy country morphed into vineyards, which were replaced with almond and pistachio trees. We lunched by the Murray at Swan Hill, then crossed it into NSW at Toolybuc and followed it for awhile. It’s still a muddy, fast-flowing river, not very wide.

Finally at Balranald we camped in the free camp in the swimming pool car park, near to the sporting complexes. Do we never learn! Saturday night and the band played till midnight, then cheery customers wandered noisily past our motorhome on their way home. Still not happy!

To see the photos from these few days CLICK HERE.

8 March, 2017 by Explorers

Albury to Echucha

Thursday 2nd to Wednesday 8th March

Thursday 2nd

Lake Hume was formed when the Murray River was dammed. Construction of the dam took 17 years between 1919 and 1938. Lake Hume is estimated to hold six times the volume of water in Sydney Harbour. It’s purpose includes flood mitigation, hydro-power, irrigation, water supply and conservation, as well as provided an ideal venue for water-based recreational activities.

Ludlow Reserve is a campsite on Lake Hume, about midway along the High Country Rail Trail that goes from Wodonga to Tallangatta following the lake; a return trip from here to Tallangatta of about 40km. Out came the Brompton’s and we saddled up to ride it.

Cycling the High Country Rail Trail with Lake Hume in the background.

It’s a good Trail with a mix of shade and sun, long slow ascents and descents, partly gravel, partly single-lane bitumen – the gravel sections requiring a lot of concentration. A highlight (other than the brekkie at Sconned & Jammed in Tallangatta) was the bridge over Sandy Creek – an impressive sculpture!

Steve on the Sandy Creek Bridge. High Country Rail Trail

Back for a swim and relaxing in the shade for the rest of the afternoon.

Sunset over Lake Hume, from our campsite.

Friday 3rd

Really good day today. We started with kayaking on the Murray. That’s something ticked off the Bucket List. The Murray at Albury Wodonga isn’t a particularly wide river, but it does flow very, very quickly. Nevertheless we launched at Noreuil Park and headed upstream! So long as we kept out of the main current we made headway, ie staying on the inner curve of the river’s meanderings. That meant having to cross from side to side several times – a real sprint event to try to get across without losing ground. We paddled for about an hour upstream, then sat back and merely guided the kayak back to our launch site over the next half an hour. It was a lovely paddle. The River Redgums and willows are beautiful. The banks are lined with parks or bushland along that part of the river.

Kayaking on the Murray at Albury Wodonga.

After a bit of a rest we took out the bikes and rode the Wagirra Trail which follows the Murray and joins the Yindyamarra Sculpture Trail traversing the Albury Wetlands and features a series of contemporary Aboriginal sculptures. An excellent track, either concrete or sealed … apart from when we got lost and did an extra 8km on a terrible sandy track. Oh well, think of the calories burned. Total ride today of 25 km.

Sculpture on the Yindyamarra Trail – Bogong Moths

Back at Noreuil Park where the motorhome has been all day, the Cork And Fork Festival was just setting up for the evening. We took our camp chairs over and enjoyed wine, food and live music in perfect weather beside the Murray River along with many locals. What a delightful end to a pretty big day.

At the Cork and Fork Festival at Noreuil Park on the banks of the Murray. Paella!

Saturday 4th

Not a good night last night. We stayed at the park overnight and a few hoons were doing donuts in the street opposite until all hours.

Because of the Food and Wine Festival there was a Producers Market on today in Wodonga, as well as the usual Farmers Market in Albury. We went to both and sampled delicious wares and bought lots of yummy small goods, meats, fruit and veggies.

We were sad to leave Albury Wodonga as there is still so much here to see and do. They are both really great regional cities. We drove out along the Murray on the NSW side and dropped in to the Whiskey and Chocolate place at Corowa – disappointing as we couldn’t taste any whiskey due there being a function in the tasting room. On to Rutherglen where we bought a very good Durif.

Looking for somewhere along the river to stay for the night we checked out about 4 campsites, all lovely, but very busy, after all it is the weekend. We persisted and finally, after about 2km of pretty dreadful road we arrived at Lumbys Bend with not another soul in sight, and well grassed sites amongst the gums right beside the river.

A very peaceful night anticipated.

At Lumby’s Bend on the Murray. Wine o’clock is all local produce, including the Durif from Rutherglen.

Sunday 5th

Excellent campsite, but onwards we go. The region has developed a Farm Gate Trail so we noted a few we’d like to drop into and off we went. We enjoyed the drive, the vineyards around Rutherglen giving way to market gardens, dairy farms, stone fruit orchards and olive groves.

At Yarrawonga we stopped at the River Deck Cafe, the first of the Farm Gate locations selling local produce (I enjoyed a nashi spritzer), then spent some time in the shade on the banks of Lake Mulwala, where water skiers, yachts, a cruise boat and many family groups enjoyed a lovely afternoon. A large number of vintage cars and trucks also had a gathering, all remarkably shiny. Lake Mulwala is quite large, however only a small section at the town end is ‘usable’ with the remainder having countless tree trunks protruding. Apparently before the river was dammed for irrigation purposes in the 1930s the river redgums were cut down, but not removed.

We moved on to the Rich Glen Olive Farm where the array of olive oils and foods is huge, bought a delicious tapenade.

This sauce, or maybe that one? Rich Glen Olive Farm.

A brief stopover in Cobram before looking for our next campsite. There are literally dozens of them here, all along the banks of the Murray. We chose one just a little further downstream than Big Toms Beach. Once more no other campers and pretty idyllic.

Looking downstream on the Murray, from Big Toms Beach campsite.

Monday 6th

A rest day today – euphemistically that means a day to clean and tidy the motorhome – OK, it’s not big, we did have plenty of time to read and relax. One thing it’s hard not to notice about the Murray is the number of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos. We’ve encountered them everywhere we’ve stopped on the Murray. They’ve entertained us with their aerial acrobatics, though less so with their ‘melodious’ call, particularly at dawn.

Sulphur-crested cockatoos enjoying dusk at Big Toms Beach campsite.

Kangaroos and koalas also spotted at this campsite.

Now isn’t that just the cutest?

Tuesday 7th

Continuing down the Murray, Barmah National Park looked interesting, despite the website about it being of little help. The Information Centre at Nathalia was excellent, the woman giving us useful info and instructions. Barmah National Park was gazetted in 2010. Prior to that these wetlands had been used for cattle grazing. An annual muster, which was a social highlight, would round up all the cattle, sort them according to ownership to either be sold, or if still young, turned back out again. You can imagine the damage this caused to fragile wetlands. The muster yards are still there.

The historic muster yards in Barmah National park.

Prior to that, the area was logged for the beautiful timber of the River Redgums.

An indigenous centre was established in the park where many of the traditional ways were taught to the younger aborigines. This has since closed, though the park is jointly managed by local aboriginals and the government agencies. We did a short self-guided walk seeing ancient aboriginal cooking ovens and tree blazes where bark had been removed to make canoes.

The mound behind was, as they say, ‘subtle’. Interesting to see and to think of the history behind this spot. Barmah National Park

Back at camp we pumped up the kayak and went for a paddle on Lake Barmah. Cormorants, spoon-bills, black swans, ducks and many other birds were spotted, as well as the scourge of the Murray River, carp! The river itself flows alongside the lake, so after a pleasant, relaxing paddle on the lake we tackled the fast flowing river. Here the river is quite narrow. It was a physical and navigational challenge going up the river, avoiding the fallen trees, and pushing against the current, but the reward of the beautiful Redgums along the banks was worth it. And of course the effortless cruise back again was a treat.

Getting better at selfies. And no Steve isn’t paddling with a branch – just holding that so we don’t get swept down the river while I take the photo. Murray River, Barmah National Park.

Other campers up from us invited us over for drinks. Turns out they’re all keen on fishing and had just BBQ’d a Murray River Cod which they shared with us – the first time I’d tasted one. It was pretty delicious.

Wednesday 8th

This morning we headed in to Echucha where this afternoon we’re meeting up with Steve’s sister Maree and brother-in-law Carl. Looking forward to a fun-filled few days. We’re staying at the Murray River Tourist Park.

To see photos of this week’s travels CLICK HERE.

1 March, 2017 by Explorers

From mountains to Murray

26th February to 1st March

Sunday 26th

We’d intended to move on today but all felt a day of recuperation wouldn’t go astray. A ‘gentle’ day was spent doing the washing, a bit of cleaning, lots of resting and Steve and I enjoyed a bike ride around this very pretty village this afternoon.

And just for something slightly different… At our campsite in Harrietville.

Monday 27th

Sadly we leave Ric and Gill today. Both their camper and our motorhome needed a good wash – sap from the trees we parked under was all over them. Then off to Bright for another yummy breakfast together at Ginger Bakery. We had a truly fun and interesting time with Ric and Gill and appreciated them encouraging us to do these walks and to share them with us. Fantastic times guys. Thanks so much.

Last brekkie with Ric and Gill for a while. They head directly to Adelaide; we go more slowly following the Murray.

Tuesday 28th

Eastern Australia continues to roast in temperatures over 30C. Now we’ve left the Alps we may experience some of it.

Following the course of the Murray River is now our intention. However, a couple of days R&R is required after our strenuous month! We’re at a camping area called Twist Creek which is in a forest Reserve near Yackandandah (great name). It has individual campsites cleared in the bush beside yet another narrow, shallow fast-flowing, icy-cold creek.

The very pretty little Twist Creek that we camped beside.

Afraid of losing all that fitness we’ve gained over the last few weeks we went for a 6 km walk up the bush road this morning before spending the afternoon sitting in the shade beside the Creek, having occasional dips in the water and snacking on the blackberries that have overtaken the opposite bank.

Just chilling’ in Twist Creek. Despite the appearance in this photo, it was quite clear water.

A lovely quiet day with no one else around.

Wednesday 1st March

Another day was planned for this spot, but we were woken at 7.30am by the sound of heavy machinery, very a heavy machinery! A bulldozer, trucks and road work crew set to work on the road opposite us. We moved on to Yackandandah!

Yackandandah is a pretty, historic old gold mining town. We walked down to the Mining Gorge where the miners in the mid 1800’s cut a narrow cleft through the rock, mostly by hand tools, so they could sluice the gold. It’s pretty impressive!

The pedestrian bridge over the Gorge, Yackandandah.

After a walk around town admiring their historic, and National Trust-protected buildings, we finally headed for the Murray at Albury Wodonga, where we gathered brochures from the Information Centre, did some shopping and headed out to our camp for the night and to have a swim in the lake.

Ludlow Reserve is a free camp on the banks of Lake Hume. It’s a pretty special place this, as you’ll see from the photos.

For a few more photos from these few days, CLICK HERE.

25 February, 2017 by Explorers

Mt Buffalo and Mt Feathertop

Tuesday 21st to Saturday 25th February

Tuesday 21st

Today we will go to Mt Buffalo, but not too early, allowing the icy roads to warm up a bit. Grocery shopping, brunch at the Ginger Bakery and a visit to the Bright Berry Farm ensured the sun got a chance to do its thing on the mountain.

Mt Buffalo is a pretty amazing granite plateau that’s been weathered to reveal huge boulders balancing precariously near cliff edges while in the centre it’s flat-ish, and has lakes and rivers. The Minjambuta aboriginal people would come up here during summer for ceremonies and to eat the Bogong moths, an apparently rich source of nutrients.

First stop was The Gorge. Clear blue skies afforded us wonderful views down the mountainside across the plain to the Alps. Also an adventurer’s playground with lots of cyclists flying down the mountain, a hang gliding launch off the cliff, abseiling and rock climbing being popular and while admiring the view we enjoyed the graceful beauty of a glider exploring the skies around the mountain.

The Gorge, and the hang gliding launch point. Buffalo

Mt Buffalo was named by an early explorer because apparently it looked like one. Our next stop, just beyond ‘ the Hump’ was ‘ the Horn’. A very steep, winding road led to within a kilometre or so of the top of the Horn. A steep path, with many granite steps took us the remaining 1.5km to the top. Like all horns it’s not very big at the tip, but the Parks people have fenced around it to make it safe for visitors. Once again beautiful views in every direction.

The Horn at Buffalo. If you look very closely you’ll see a guard rail around the edge at the very peak. Fantastic views from up there.

On the way back we did a 4km walk across the central plain to Dickson’s Falls, crossing several little streams, peat moss bogs and past Information signs describing the subalpine plants and how the wildlife survives in winter. Very interesting.

Dickson’s Falls, at Buffalo NP.

Our campsite at Lake Catani (sites 32 and 33) is heavily treed, and fortunately away from a few large groups of campers. Once more a campfire cooked our meal and kept us warm until we ran out of wood (leftover from last camper). A chilly night tonight.

Camp fees up here are quite expensive at $48 per night.

Wednesday 22nd

A very slow start today – too cold to get out of bed. When we finally did we walked the Chalwell Galleries Track. Quite short, only about 2km round trip from our campsite, but … to get to the gallery you have to climb down a very narrow and very steep chasm in the rocks. It was pretty amazing and lots of fun. The view once through was pretty spectacular, but the climb was the highlight.

Big of rock climbing required to descend through the Chalwell Galleries.

Steve put a roast and veggies into the Dreampot to cook while we later walked the Lake Catani circuit. A lovely lake; another 10 degrees warmer and I’d have loved a swim.

The roast was perfect and we spent the rest of the evening chatting around the campfire (bought some wood from the Ranger’s Office $15/bag). Tonight is much warmer.

Thursday 23rd

Slept very well last night, until a wombat got under the motorhome and decided to scratch his back.

Our last day at Mt Buffalo and we still have a few more walks we’d like to do. The Ranger told us the coffee van would be at The Gorge today so that was our first destination, then up the Monolith. We all loved the views from the Monolith. We walked back to the campsite via the Underground River track. It should really be called an ‘under-rock’ River as huge granite boulders fell and covered it, rather than it forming underground. This is apparently popular with cavers. A very steep descent to the river was rewarded with beautiful cooling breezes coming from the river tunnels. The hot, steep ascent the other side undid that feeling quickly. We walked for around 4hours today, most of it either going up or down. The walks here have all been very enjoyable.

Back at camp for a rest before another campfire and BBQ tea – Cracklin’ Chicken cooked in duck fat for us.

For more photos from Mt Buffalo CLICK HERE

Friday 24th

We farewelled Mt Buffalo this morning. Great walking – not long walks but very enjoyable. Back to Bright for a bit of grocery shopping, lunch at the Ginger Bakery and a bit of decent internet.

After lunch we headed to Harrietville, not far away, in preparation for our walk to Mt Feathertop tomorrow. We camped at the caravan park ($36/night powered). The park is grassy with large shade trees and runs right alongside the Ovens River; here the river is not much more than ankle deep, but flows quite swiftly. Beautiful campsite.

Early night in preparation for tomorrow.

Saturday 25th

Wow! What a day! We walked the Razorback Track (1600 metres altitude), to the summit of Mt Feathertop (1922m), then back to Harrietville via the Bungalow Spur track. A total of 24 km.

Map and profile of our walk up to Feathertop. Note, there’s still 10.5km of descent to do after that.

It started with us all piling in to Ric and Gill’s camper to drive the 28km to the Razorback Trailhead. The Alpine Way is very steep with lots of hairpin bends – a tough drive that took about 45 mins. The forecast was a temperature range of 4 – 12C, slight chance of rain. We were geared up with thermals, beanies, scarves, gloves and rain jackets.

THAT’S where we’re going – plus another 3km to the top of Feathertop and back down again.

Fortunately the day turned out to be quite pleasant, mostly overcast but no rain. It didn’t take long before we started stripping off the thermals.

And the layers came off … Steve’s complaint, “How come this can go on the internet for the world to see, but I wasn’t allowed to turn around.” (Photo R.Jay)

This walk is described as one of the best Alpine walks in Australia. As the name suggests it follows a narrow ridge with steep slopes on both sides. Being mostly above the tree-line the views in every direction are breathtaking. As we got higher there were more and more wildflowers, including an entire slope covered in white paper daisies. There was a fair bit of up and down, with some sections of the track being difficult to walk on.

Tricky walking on parts of the path.

After 10+km we reached ’The Cross’ where the Bungalow Spur Track joins in. The summit of Mt Feathertop is another 1.5km further on, up a very steep, difficult path, the first section loose shale.

This is one of the most iconic walks in Australia. Razorback. (Photo R.J)

Just short of the summit a whoosh just above my head frightened the daylights out of me – it was a very low-flying glider (Ok it was a bit over 1922 metres up, but not much!). We made it to the top and it really was well-worth that huge effort. The glider continued to circle around us for a while before we headed back.

Steve and I at the top of Mt Feathertop.

The return via the Bungalow Spur was a real trial. Basically it was 12km of descent, the first third of it on a shale-y, rocky path, the remainder of the path pretty good, but the constant down was very painful on my knees. Gill suffered too and our return was a lot slower than we’d planned. We finally got to the bottom at 7.45pm, just before dark.

Heading down Bungalow Spur.

We walked for 9 1/4 hours. Steve and Ric had it even tougher. They had to walk a further 2+km to the caravan park to pick up Priscilla, very kindly drove back and picked Gill and I up, then they drove back up to where we’d left Ric’s camper at the Trailhead and back again. Hero-status for them!

In the meantime, back at the caravan park with no camper or motorhome, Gill and I took off our trousers and sat in the freezing waters of the Ovens River for just as long as we could bear it. It sure felt good on our aching legs.

A big effort today, but well worth it for the magnificent walk – the Razorback/Mt Feathertop bit anyway.

For more photos from Razorback and Mt Feathertop CLICK HERE