Look out South Australia, here we come

I know it has been awhile since I last sent an update, so I will warn you that with pics, this will be lengthy. So grab a chunk of time and a nice bevie and come  along for a ride.


At 5:40 AM, Jan 29th, we headed off on our much anticipated road holiday. Ruby the super Avan was packed. And I mean packed, Deb was worried about the weight factor.But come on, 3 women going on a 4 to 5 week holiday? What can you expect? (A broken axle, says Deb!)


Deb took us safely thru the Melbourne traffic, over the West Gate Bridge and beyond. After holding her breath all thru the city, Deb needed a rest stop. We pulled over at a handy dandy road side McDonald's to fill up on coffee and carbs. 


Then it was off again to our first stop which was Ararat, Victoria. We were raising our eyebrows as we pulled into the caravan park. This area is very dry and our site was mostly dirt with a bit of scrubby grass. After watching Wendy and Deb set up(I am the photographer, and wait till the tricky work is done, then I bring from the car what we will need inside). We went for a drive around the town, and took a look at an old house Deb used to own. Was back to the Avan for a much needed snooze, we all woke up dripping because of the heat.

While here we had a midnight visitor, lucky for us he was polite and did not invade our space too much. Just the same, I was not impressed. You will see him in the top of this photo. And he was long gone when we got back home. And no, we have not found him yet!

The next day(Jan 30th) we went for a drive to the Grampians Mt Range. These Mt's are nothing like ours in Canada. They are smooth and much shorter and way, way older than ours. The Rockies still have their jagged peaks and are so big. So much time and erosion have molded these to remarkable smoothness. We stopped in a town called Hall's Gap, where I took some impressive pics of kangaroos feeding in the middle of town. We also went to the Brambuck Aboriginal Center. What an amazing history lesson that was. The aboriginals of Australian pre date the Egyptian and Roman civilizations. They go back 1800 generations!! The rest of the Australians are two to 3 generations.


This area of the Grampians had a huge bush fire go thru about 3 years ago. It is amazing to see how well the vegetation is growing back. They are still repairing the roads in areas, and we were unable to go to some of the look outs I remember from a past visit.


After our history lesson, we drove on to Baroka Lookout, high up in the Mt's. I have been here before and was delighted to be back. After posing for the requested  tourist shots and ogling the views, we headed back to Ararat for our last night.

After packing up in the morn we were off to Boardertown over the boarder of Victoria into state of South Australia(from now on it will be referred to as SA). Our main mission in Boardertown was to find Deb's ancestors. We were thrilled to find her Grannie Carson's grave. And we hit pay dirt at the local library. Grannie Carson had 13 kids, was widowed, and moved to the town to set up a private clinic to birth babies. After bringing 1153 babies into the ares, she retired at 73 and died at 75. Deb was thrilled when a gentleman, after finding out what she was researching, gave her a book of the history of the area and the families who lived there.


I also took tons of pics of the white Kangaroos that live here. They are not albino, but are born to the great grey kangaroos. A grey mom can have white babies and a white can have grey ones. The white do not have the pink eyes that albinos have. And they were so cute. Being a hot afternoon the whole kanga gang was sleepy and not at all concerned with the Canadian with the clicking camera.

Boardertown was beautiful and I took heaps of photos of the ancient gum trees and river gums in the area. Of course when the very good looking owner of the caravan park told us he loves Canadians, well, that in itself made it a nice place to visit!

We were sad to leave the Boardertown area, but much looking forward to our next stop which was Mannum. On the beautiful Murray River sits the town of Mannum. We were delighted with our caravan site when we got to the park. For $28.00(divided by 3) a night, we had a million dollar view. The Murray River is at it's highest in over 10 years. The camp grounds have lost it's tent camping sites to the high water. We were just across a small track to a small stretch of grass and the mighty Murray. What a treat, the trees and grasses are all green and healthy. The bird life was amazing. We also got to enjoy watching the ferry go from one side of the river to the other. This ferry goes 24/7 and takes big trucks, cars, passengers etc. The ferries run on a cable pulley system and was fascinating to watch. Lucky for us, it was not too noisy.

Mannum. But, we decided we were glad to leave when the weekend crew arrived. This entailed motor boats, screaming kids and loud music from the tenting gang. When we were awoken by hundreds of yelling Galahs( a small parrot type that is grey with a beautiful pink chest) at 5AM, we decided maybe Mannum was trying to tell us something.






And the road was calling us, so off we drove, pulling comfie Ruby behind us.


The tours next stop was Burra, SA. What can I say? Burra is an incredibly historic town with a very interesting past. Plus, we arrived in Burra Sat afternoon around 1:30PM. Guess what? Small towns in SA close shop at noon on Sat!! No open grocery store! Oh, well, it was out to supper that night at the town pub. And actually. the food was very good. We also spent time, until the wee hours talking and laughing with other campers at the caravan site. Was so fun to get to know and hear other's travelling stories. As well we got some useful tips on where to go and what to see in the places we will be travelling to.

Pictured above are the 5 day old chicks that greeted us as we set up camp. Sad to say but when we left there were only 5 left from the original brood of 8. They kept us amused as we ate outside and were our entertainment.


Getting up Sun morn was not hard. We had things to see and do. Deb remembered visiting the area on school trips as a girl, so we had certain places to visit. The number one being the old copper mines. We did the tour and found great interest in the relics and stories attached. The whole town is very beautiful with stunning old buildings. The town of Burra is a heritage site. The buildings have mostly been restored and the government is working on the rest. Here in SA, the buildings are built of stone, mostly Mt Gamber stone, or brick or cement. Not many wooden buildings, even the telephone and power poles are metal and cement. Too many termites. We have also come across an incredible amount of ants. All shapes and colors.


We also encountered an incredible dust storm while viewing the old mine. Had a great laugh, with dust in our eyes and teeth.

Deb also told us about how the miners lived in dug out holes in the river bank. This was the late 1800s.  Had to see that, and it was heart breaking. Out of 400 kids, only a 150 lived past the raw sewage and floods that plagued them. Of course the government has had to make these dwellings safer for the public and Deb remembers them as being much more sad when she saw them as a school kid.

Well, that takes us to the 6th of Feb when we set out for Port Pirie and Deb's reunion with her father. I will leave that until the next post, other wise this may never be sent!


So, until next time. Happy trails to you. We certainly are having them!


Cheers   Bon

Fun in Melbourne

Welcome back.
I spent a great week in Melbourne from Jan 16th to the 20th.
Caught a ride into the big city with Marg. She picked me up at 5AM and dropped me off at Southern Cross Station.  From there I took the 7AM train to Reservoir Station to meet up with Alison and Wally.
The train trip was a great way to see a part of the city I would normally not see. Some graffiti  artists have incredible talent. And on the train trip I saw lots of "art".

Alison and Wally picked me up at the station and we walked back to her place. Had a rest and chat, then drove to Costco. What fun, lots of different things for sale than in Canada. Bought myself a 1.25 liter bottle of Bundaberg Rum, for a low price of $34.00. Very cheap. Then back to Al's to drop off our purchases. Had a bite to eat and took Wally with us for a drive to Hurstberg, outside the city. This area had some bush fires last year. We stopped at St Andrews pub and carried Wally thru to the outside area to have a drink and enjoy the nice breeze blowing thru. The picture above is of a King Parrot that watched us enjoy our drink.

Wally enjoyed our stop, he always gets lots of attention. Such a cute guy.
Tuesday morn saw us sleeping in, so nice. Alison and I took the tram to Sugardough to have brunch and catch the tram to Flinders St Station downtown. We walked over Princess Bridge to South Bank. There we went up Eureka Tower, to the Skydeck on the 88th floor. This is the highest public vantage point in the southern hemisphere. It was incredible windy and the top of the tower can flex up to 600mm.

We had a great time up there and the views were incredible.

Alison being blown around in the wired in viewing area.
After the tower we jumped back on the tram and went to Prahran Market. This market has the best olives, and I bought my faves, yum. We then had some award winning gelato and caught the tram to Glenferrie road to go to Sweetas, a great chocolate shop. We then took the tram back to Pony Fish Island for a glass of champers.

This is a photo of Pony Fish Island, it is a cool little bar under the pedestrian bridge from South Bank to downtown.

After our champers, we caught the tram home. Took Wally for a walk and went over to Al's friend Jenny's and went to Saleem Indian for supper. Was wonderful food, I have eaten there before and it was exactly the same.
Wed was a day of rest for me. Al left for work around 7AM, I took Wally for a walk around Edwardes Lake near Al's place. I then walked up to the shops and back to read and sleep the day away. Jen came over for supper.
Thurs I got up when Al did and took the tram to downtown and went to Queen Victoria Market.

I then shopped around downtown and took the train back to Al's. Took Wally for a walk and had a snooze and rest my feet.  We had a nice quiet evening.
Fri I took Wally for a walk around the lake again and then took the train downtown. Went back to Queen Vic Market to pick up a few things. I then met Wendy at the old Post Office where we met up with Karen our friend from Hobart. Wendy, Karen and I met in Europe in 1978. And we have kept our friendships alive for all those years. Had a great time catching up with each other. Karen comes to Melbourne every Jan to watch tennis and see some plays.

 W and I took the train back to Al's and Deb picked her up there. When Al got home from work we picked up Jen and went to Mai Thai for supper. Yum again.
Sat morn Wendy and Deb picked me up and we drove out to Geelong where we were going to a 50th birthday party That night. Geelong is a beautiful port city. It has changed a bit since I was last time.

The party was lots of fun and on Sun we headed back to Melbourne to have lunch with a friend of Wendy and Deb. Then home to the Island and to my bed, and walking Daisy on the beach.
We are now preparing the Avan for our big trip away. I will keep you all updated with photos of our trip to South Australia. Tomorrow is Australia Day, we are not sure what we are going to do. Guess we will lift a glass of champers, maybe even a few times! Take care and stay happy like me!!   Bon

Great Ozzie start to 2012

How was your New Years Eve?

We had a great time, ended up not going to the beach. Early fireworks freaked out Daisy, so we stayed at the house and enjoyed our NYE here. We, of course, had the required champers and enjoyed the fireworks displays from Melbourne and Sydney(on the telly).


On New Years Day, we went to visit friends who live in Ventnor(a 5 min drive from here and further down and around the corner from Red Rocks beach), and had a great walk on their beach. After the walk we all enjoyed appies and champers in their backyard. Of course this was after I had called my mom and talked to her, my bro Steven, sis-in-law Linda, nephew Kyle and his wife Chelsey. Was great to catch up and wish them all the best for 2012. They are having a unusually warm winter, but not as warm as me!!(But then, I am in summer here)


We did have a few days in the high 30s. Did not do much on those days except hide in the house and try to stay cool. Daisy and I took one early morn walk, but even at 7:30AM it was 27C. So we started our walks after supper, usually when a nice sea breeze had popped up. Of course the beach has been very crowded and it is amazing all the broken glass that is left behind. Wendy and I have been picking it up when we see it. Don't want any cut paws or feet.

Wendy and I took Daisy down to Cowes and took a lovely walk along the beach front and along the pier. Daisy had a great time sniffing and exploring. Not too many other dogs so she only got to bark a few times. We watched the kids jumping off the pier and the adults fishing before heading to the shops to do some food shopping before heading home.

Started the painting on the picket fence, slow going, especially when the weather changed and we were getting small showers thru the days. Had some wild wind storms and 1 day of pounding rain. We also had 2 days of 18 and 19C, I was so cold, I had to wear a fleece jacket as well as long jeans. Now we are back into the mid 20s and to hit the mid 30s next week.

I am off to Melbourne to stay with Alison for a week. Will be lots of fun as she has all sorts of adventures planned. Al  gave me a bus/train/tram pass for Christmas, hope I don't get too lost in Melbourne. She has taken 2 days off work and I will have the other days to do my own exploring. I will also get to shmuzze with Al's dog Walley. I feel lots of walks and brushes with him coming on!


Deb, Wendy and I are planning our trip away. Will be taking the A-van taking off for 4 weeks of travel. So exciting, new and old places to visit. Yes, I will keep you updated as we go.

My beautiful gum tree out front is finally bursting with flowers. The Wattle birds absolutely love it and fight with each other to feed on the nectar. I can see lots and lots more blooms to come, can't wait to see it covered.


I am enjoying my down time and getting good books read, eating good food and having great laughs with my dear friends.


The photos are a bit willy-nilly, they are, from the top:  me on Ventnor beach New Years Day
Cowes pier
sea bird
painting fence
Daisy at Red Rocks beach
Red Rocks  at Red Rocks beach x 2
blooms on "my" gum tree


That's all for now. Hope all is well with you back at home. Take care and the best for 2012.


Cheers and love   Bon