Gidday all,

After a long fifteen months spent at home, cleaning up, fixing up, decluttering, renewing and tying up loose ends, the time came when we could hit the road again. So, with Din cracking the whip and sitting in the truck urging me to start the F*#!;@!  thing up, we finally drove out the driveway and headed south.

Took us four days to get to Mackay, usually a four hour drive, but had to stop at a couple of favourite camps of ours on the way, just to get back into on the road life. After catching up with friends and family on our way down, we carried on, with an old familiar feeling of carefree freedom that had started to become a distant memory.

Called in to Notch Pt. and camped for a couple of days then visited a friend at Camila West up in the hills.

 

Went down the coast to Rocky then headed a little inland on the Leichhardt Hwy. Stopped at Banana for a lunch in the air-conditioned pub, then on to Theodore where we stopped by the river and gave each other a new no. 1 haircut. Was great to feel the breeze around our ears.  On through Miles and Moonie and hit the boarder at Goondiwindi. All the way the temps were nudging into the 40s .

 

 

 

 

 

Travelling from the furnace of far north Qld. We had reached the border of NSW and into the fan forced oven of that state. There seemed no escaping the heat. Following the Newell Hwy. we went through Moree then Narrabri and on to Coonabarabran, to Gilgandra then to Dubbo. Further south to Parks and Forbes, through West Wyalong and on to Narrandera, finally hitting the boarder of Vic at Tocumwel. Here we scouted for a track down to the river. Found one and set up camp on the Murray for a while to escape the heat by the water. This amount of travel would normally take us months to complete, but the stifling weather prevented us standing still for too long anywhere, so we had covered the distance in only a couple of weeks.

 

The camp on the Murray was a welcome change, a chance to stop and give the camper and ourselves a good clean-up. The temperature was bearable and the river was cooling. One morning Din spotted a koala and her baby sitting in a gumtree next to us. They stayed there for a couple of days, then moved on one night. What a special thing, to be neighbours for a couple of days. The forecast was for hotter and hotter days ahead and the smoke from NSW fires was closing in so we took the decision to move on. It seemed the only place to escape the relentless heat was going to be the far south coast of Victoria, so that’s where we headed.

 

 

Down to Shepparton and then on the Goulburn Valley Hwy. through Nagambie, on to Seymour and on the Hume Hwy. through Melbourne, we headed south east to a little National parks camp ground on the coast at Cape Liptrap, around the coast from Wilsons Promontory.

When you camp there you have to book on the internet, looked up the site and there were a couple of sites available for the next day and that was it till after Christmas and beyond. Found a site and camped up, no one came to claim the spot so we had two days there. The difference in temperature was amazing, we even had to dig out our doona from under the bed. You could sleep at night without tossing and turning in the heat.  It was still a week till Christmas and all the camps around the coast were packed out, so we headed to our friends in Wonthaggi who had invited us to stay as long as we liked.

 

Christmas was a quiet one, which we didn’t mind, the weather was so much cooler, you might even say cold at times. We spent the time camped up in our friends front yard and helped her with rejuvenating the garden beds around the house. They got a trailer full of mulch from the local tip and we used some existing pebbles for covering the front beds, it looked wonderful when finished. Ended it off with planting cucumbers and pumpkins up the side. Their eighteen months old daughter just loves chewing on cucumbers, so we said she can go and feast on them when they grow.

Two days before we were booked on to sail to Tassie, we headed into Melbourne. Found a servo come truck stop at the approach to the Westgate bridge, just down the road from Port Melbourne. Parked up the truck and settled in for the night. The ferry boarded at six the next morning, the cruise ship Queen Elizabeth was due to dock around seven and there was going to be some parking difficulties, so in the morning at about 3:30 we drove to the port and parked up ready to board, then climbed to the back and got some more sleep.

The crossing was smooth enough, no sick bags employed. We arrived in the early evening and headed to Forth sport grounds to camp up and enjoy the cool Tassie evening. Next we begin our summer Tassie adventure.

Gidday all,

It’s been a long eventful summer, lots of stuff happening and not a lot of time to blog. The hectic pace has slowed now so back to the blog.

We left Tassie at the start of April. With our friend from Switzerland in tow, we said our farewells to Devonport. The weather was starting to turn into autumn with rain and overcast days becoming the norm, so was a good time to leave.

 

Docking in Melbourne we wasted no time in getting out of the city and headed North West toward Ballarat.

At this stage I should mention that our numbers have swelled, as well as our Swiss friend we also have our daughter and four dogs traveling with us.

Fortunately the other six are in another car, would be a bit crowded in good old Ned otherwise.

Stopped in at Ballarat for supplies then onwards to Ararat, then a more northerly track till we came to the mallee hiway

Took us four days to get that far with Alfons (the Swiss) wondering at the vast night sky each day. He has been with us for nearly three months but a lot of that time was spent in the mountains and valleys of Tasmania, where you don’t get a big view of the sky.

We tried to tell him we weren’t even in big sky country yet.

Near Underbool we ducked up to the Pink Lakes for a look. We camped up at the border of the national park and looked after the dogs as the others went for an explore.

They came back and we stayed there the night.

He has become very good at rolling his swag, or as he would say wery goot. The swag, he says, is one of the best inventions ever.

Next day we headed up the mallee hiway on our way to Deb and the camels. Along the way are huge grain silos some of which have been painted with murals depicting rual scenes. Truly amazing artworks.

Arrived in Taplan S.A. a day later to find out the temperature for the next week was going to be around 37 degrees, so after a night catching up with Deb we said it’s good to see ya and took off to the Murray River. Spent the next week at the water’s edge having hair cuts and swimming in the middle of the days. Bit of a temperature shock after Tassie.

 

 

 

Days have cooled down now to the mid twenties so we back out with the camels and helping Deb with odd jobs that she couldn’t do on her own.

Gidday all,

The weather in Tassie is slowly changing, spring is springing and the sun is coming out more each day. We have had our young friend from Queensland over for a visit.

Went for a drive to Stanley on the northwest coast to see the nut, an old volcano plug with the pretty little town at the base. A wonderful sunny day when we started, but as we approached town the wind picked up and the sea mist started to roll in.

 

Was still a magical day with special views from the top of the nut, which you get to on a chair lift.

 

Back in the Myrtle Forrest again now. Will go to Launceston on Monday to drop our friend off at the airport .

Made our way from the coast of Tassie into the hills and climbed  the Loongana range on our way back to the Gingerbread house in the old Myrtle forest. Familiar feelings of peace and good times came back as we climbed the winding narrow track through the forest.

Arrived at the house and opened it up and inspected it for water damage and such. It was surprisingly in good condition, as no one had stayed there much since we had left.

Woke up one morning feeling a bit cold, looked out to see snow on the ground. Soon after snow started to fall and add to the stuff already on the truck. Just another great experience in this diverse country we are lucky enough to have.

Gidday all,

Said our last goodbyes to Deb, Ziggy, Coco, Thac the dog and even Tootoo the cat, then plodded off toward Melbourne.

Got to the port early on the day of sailing and parked up at the gate ready to board when the time came. Strolled along the docks and had a wonderful lunch at a café, then climbed back into bed and watched a movie till boarding time came.

One of the roughest crossings to Tassie we have had. Over three meter swells and rocking and rolling all night. Din managed to keep her lunch down but stayed horizontal for the duration.

Back to the Tassie cold and a bit damp weather. Snow on the Bluff as we reacquainted ourselves with the landscape. September is the earliest in the season we have been here, still winter weather but not as bad as it can get. Still, we hear of 40 degrees temps on the mainland and it doesn’t seem so bad.

So begins our summer adventure winding our way around this beautiful state.

Gidday all,

Back in the Taplin camel camp after a trip to Adelaide for a few xrays on Dins teeth which were giving her some trouble. The dentists are on to it and things are getting sorted.

 

Coco the camel likes to be amongst the action, but Deb says she is too big to hang so close

 

On our way back from Adelaide we had to cross the Murray by ferry at Swan Reach, looking down river we saw the Murray Princess paddle boat coming towards us.

 

 

 

She pulled in at the wharf and passengers got off to look around town. One of the last paddle boats to be doing trips up and down the Murray around here. A wonderful reminder of days gone by when the river was the main form of transportation of goods and people.

 

 

 

 

About a week left before Deb flys off to Townsville for her son’s wedding. We are camel and dog sitting till she gets back.

 

Gidday all,

Just been hanging round Taplin, doing odds and ends on the camper, fixing a few things that have been waiting for my attention for a while. The water temp gauge for the motor stopped working last week, so after some intense research, finally tracked down the correct sensor and replaced it. All working as it should now.

 

Also helped Deb start and move her bus to another location on the block. Was a bit of effort starting the thing as it had sat where it was for a couple of years, but eventually it burst into life with cheers all round.

 

After some time waiting for it to warm up and build up air pressure, it was into gear and on the move. Only a few hundred meters, but now in a better position for her and closer to the camels too.

 

 

Some cold and overcast days here in S.A. overnight temps around zero or less. Ice on the windscreen in the mornings. Memories of sweltering days in north QLD flood back at times like this, but only briefly.

Well, talk to you later, when we are doing something more exiting.

 

Gidday all,

Menindee, 118ks southeast of Broken Hill, is a quiet little outback town on the Menindee lakes. We rolled into town and as usual did a tour of the streets and stopped at the café for lunch. Took off for the lakes and looked at the sights.

The road we wanted to take went through the lakes national park then came back onto the Darling River again. It then continued following the river through sheep and cattle stations till you ended up back at Wentworth. So that’s the way we went.

 

Was a good trip all up. Back to Taplin and Deb. When we got back, Deb was having trouble with the transport she had organised to pick up her wagon, which was still in Copley, where she had left it at the end of the flinders ranges trip last year. After some discussion we offered to go and get it, as she could supply a trailer to cart it on.

So off we went again toward the Flinders Ranges. Arrived at Copley and the wagon looked pleased to see us.

 

. Loaded up and a quick trip back to Taplin. Deb was excited to see us drive in with her beloved wagon in tow. After a couple of days cleaning the wagon up and reorganization she was keen to hook up the camels and go for a spin.

 

We decided to do the border track alongside the National Park just up the road. As we were preparing to head off a friend of Deb turned up with her two camels and decided to come along too.

So off we went, truck, wagon and five camels, oh and two dogs.

First camp the grass was a bit long and dry so the night’s fire was lit in the middle of the track. Lucky not a lot of vehicles use come this way.

 

 

 

Lovely weather but cold nights. Debs friend was training her camels to walk while tied to the wagon, they soon got the hang of it and all animals were delighted to be out roaming in the wild. So were we.

 

 

 

It was only about 50ks the route we took, but we took the whole week to do it. A wonderful time was had by all.

Gidday all,

As always, last minute change of plans. Looked at the map and decided we were close enough to Lake Mungo to go and have a look. Always wanted to go there, so why not now?

Packed up and headed up the Darling River. About 30ks up the track found a nice spot by the river and pulled up for the day, we did get a late morning start after all.

 

Next day, made it to the visiter centre at Lake Mungo. This is the place they found the oldest known remains of humans in Australia, some 42000 years old. Mungo Lady, she was only 17 years old when she died.

They also found footprints in a clay pan dating back 40,000years, as well as preserved skeletons of megafauna.

 

 

 

 

 

You drive into the vast, dry lake bed to the western side, where you can see the ancient shoreline with its eroded clay mounds and shifting sands.

 

 

Called into the main campground and stayed the night. Next day did the loop track which takes you through the lake bed and around the other side. Another, more remote campground is over there so we staid the night there too.

In the morning, when it warmed up a bit from the minus 1 overnight, we headed along the track again. Reached the shifting sand dunes and went for a climb. Great views of the ancient lake.

 

 

Came out on the park boundary and pointed in the direction of the Darling again. What a special, important and spiritual place. We sat in the silence of the lake bed and thought of Mungo Lady and her tribe, foraging, hunting, communicating, laughing, living there more than a thousand years before the Egyptians started to build the great pyramids, just think about it.

 

Looked at the map again and saw we were half way to Menindee, so, back up the Darling, next stop Menindee.  

Gidday all,

Back on the road again. After a week or two back with Deb and the camels hanging about and then camel and dog sitting for her while she went to pick up a bloke who wants to get experience with camels for an upcoming trek he wants to do across Australia.

Deb arrived back with her student and set about training him with her new, young camel. He was nervous at first but was gaining confidence day by day.

We decided to leave them to it and headed off to do a recon of a trip Deb wants to do with the wagon and the new chums for a test run.

SA have public buildings in all small towns called Institutes, lovely old stone buildings, some big some small, most are still used something like town halls. Taplin, just a small settlement on the boarder, with only a handful of residents and a post office, has one. So many ruins of old stone buildings dotted about the state as well.

Out through Sunset Murray again towards Wentworth in NSW and Mildura in Vic

All good dirt tracks till you get to the Murray River near Wentworth where you meet the hiway and have to cross the river on a busy road, not good for camels and wagon.

Went into Wentworth and camped up on the river just out of town, where the Murray and the Darling rivers meet. Went out to the Perry Sandhills just out of town, a large area of sand dunes which were deposited there by the river in years gone by. They have been the location of many films and tv series like Man from Snowy River II, Burk and Wills, Flying doctors and Bony, to name some.

Camped up at the foot of the dunes and spent a couple of days there.

Will now follow the river back towards Renmark scouting for tracks suitable for the camels.