SA - Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island is a 45 minute ferry ride from the tip of the Fleriueux Penisunsula at Cape Jervis( which is 110 klms south of Adelaide), to Pennishaw on the northern end of the island. We had placed our caravan in storage and repacked our camping gear in the Pathfinder ready for our week on the island. Mike drove the car onto the ferry and I was fascinated watching the semi trailers full of sheep driving off the ferry and empty ones replacing them for the return journey.
KI as it is known to the locals, is an island of contrasts and stunning scenery.

The island is 45klms at its widest point and 150 klms long which makes it easy to explore. There is one sealed road which circles and crosses the island, all others are dirt but we found them well maintained.

There is a bit of everything here. You can go from calm bays to surf beaches within a very short distance and all with crystal clear water. From the majestic cliffs along the south coast and the many stunning white sandy beaches all around the island to the rolling hills of grain or grazing sheep and cattle, make it extremely picturesque.

While driving around the island we have seen a large amount of wild life - echidna’s, koalas, heath goannas, Kangaroo Island kangaroos, possums, Tammar wallabies, Australian Sea-lions and New Zealand fur seals and many beautiful birds. Unfortunately there was also a lot of road kill.

There were so many bays and inlets that we fell in love with. The first was Stokes Bay where you have to squeeze your way along a pathway through huge rocks that open up to a stunning hidden sheltered beach. We were often the only ones on the beaches which always makes it feel special. Hanson Bay was another favourite, where we rented a cabin overlooking this idilic beach. We stayed here for two nights as it was raining and cold. The cabin had a fireplace so we sat by the fire and watched the waves. Unreal. Mike went fishing off the cliffs, caught two cod which he threw back. From the top of the cliffs you can see to the ocean floor the water is so clear. Magic!
Vivonne Bay is noted as one of Australia’s most beautiful beaches and we would have to agree. It is a large bay with fine white sand, transparent water, and a jetty. We spent time watching one of the lobster trawlers unloading their catches, and then the captain gave us some freshly caught snapper which fed us for two meals. Nice guy. Most of these fishermen spend at least five days at a time out at sea. We bought one of these lobsters as a treat and savoured every delicious mouthful.
There are two areas here to watch seals. Seal Bay has the Australian Sea Lions where you can get quite close and watch them lying and “hanging out” on the beach. The second area is Admirals Arch where the New Zealand fur seals spend their time on the rocky coastline. We watched them getting on and off the rocks in pounding surf and playing in the water where they are so agile. While on land they seem to spend most of their time sleeping, unless of course you are a young male who has to fight and annoy the others all the time
The island runs on a very slow pace which is perfect for a holiday. There are bountiful amounts of local produce including honey, cheeses, jams, oils, wine, delicious meats, sea food, eucalyptus products and I’m sure much more that we didn’t see. We visited a sheep dairy farm where we watched the sheep being milked and then sampled the cheeses and yoghurts made from it. The haloumi was delicious.
Our time on the island was so enjoyable we would recommend it to anybody.

SA-Clare,the Barossa and McLaren Vale

These three areas at this time of year provides a picturesque contrast between the golden fields of grain ready to be harvested and the lush green row upon row of grape vines.
The Jesuit priests planted the regions first grapes in 1851 in the Clare valley and today are still making wines at Sevenhill, which is one of the areas oldest wineries.
The Clare, Barossa and McLaren Vale have huge contrasts in the size and age of the wineries. You can visit a small family run winery producing beautiful limited quantity wines and right next door may be one of the larger castle like buildings with acre upon acre of vines.
We spent several days in these three areas and found each one beautiful. The Clare township is charming, has some wonderful old buildings, and for the bicycle enthusiast you can cycle the 30 klm riesling trail which takes you to a large number of the Clare’s 41 wineries. Both days that we were here it was very windy and rained which dampened our enthusiasm to ride it.
Unlike the Clare, the Barossa has several towns that make up this rather large area in which there are 60 or so wineries. This area was originally settled by many different Europeans so there is a great variety of foods and traditions. We stayed at Tanunda which has a population of 4000, with many of the dark ironstone cottages and barns that have been lovingly restored. While here we visited the very impressive, Wolf Blass and Chateau Tanunda wineries. Chateau Tanunda has a croquet green and a cricket ground.
Some of the original old homes in these three areas were built by wealthy families who had done well from the mining and farming.
McLaren Vale was our last wine stop heading south to Kangaroo Island. We were here about 10 years ago and the area had expanded noticeably. Many wineries had built new, stunning cellar doors and even one of my


favourite, Wirra Wirra had updated theirs.
The huge fence out front still remains, and after sampling a few wines one afternoon( giving myself a little extra dutch courage) climbed on it to see if it would still support me. It Did. Whew! It would have been a hard landing if it hadn’t.
As you drive through these areas you can’t help but fall in love with them. The wonderful old buildings, the vines, the surrounding countryside, the locals and the shops give them a feeling that makes you want to return.

SA - Yorke Peninsula

On the map, the Yorke Peninsula looks very much like Italy except there is no heel on the boot. With ocean on three sides, it is only 2 1/2 hours drive from top to bottom and 25 minutes from coast to coast. Mike and I being the slow travelers that we are, spent two weeks in this beautiful area. When here, you feel that you have stepped back in time and life seems to move much slower. It is wonderful.
We started our travels on the western side of the peninsula, down to the southern tip and then up the east coast. We stayed at many beautiful little sea side villages on the way, each having a jetty as so many people come here to fish. Garfish is a popular local fish, so after watching the fishermen for a while Mike decided to give it a try. He visited the local store, purchased all the right “stuff” and found his spot on the jetty. His second cast produced a garfish and that was his one and only for the morning. What use is one garfish, especially when there are two of us, so Mike donated it to the people fishing next to him who were delighted.
Many of the beaches here have blue swimmer crab and we watched people walking up and down with their “rakes” digging the crabs out of the sand. Those with boats take crab nets out to sea.

Years ago the Peninsula supported limestone, copper and gypsum mining and with over 200 salt lakes in the area, salt mining was also popular. Now a days, you can visit some of the old mines and there are many museums to catch up on the local history.
Wheat and barley are now grown on almost every square inch of the land. While here, it was harvest time so there were golden fields everywhere and the farmers were working around the clock trying to beat the forecasted rain. There is also a windfarm which has 55 giant turbines spread amongst the wheat fields.
As there have never been big trees on the peninsula for building, the early settlers homes were made from limestone which is found everywhere. There are hundreds of these homes throughout the area, many were built in the mid 1800’s, and you never tire of their beauty. The owners take pride in their up keep and they certainly add a uniqueness to this part of the country.
The Yorke has something for everybody- fishing, snorkelling, surfing, scuba diving, sailing, walking and bike riding.

SA - South from Coober Pedy

When we left Coober Pedy we were heading south in search of cooler weather. Unfortunately, that was not to be, as the next place we stopped at was Roxby Downs where the temperature was 43 degrees. This town was purpose built by BHP Biliton for the massive Olympic Dam mining plant which produces copper, uranium, silver and gold. The town is very well planned, neat and tidy with some lovely new homes and good infa structure. A small shopping centre, great swimming pool and recreation centre, walking and riding paths all around and through town, make it very peasant out here in the middle of nowhere. Grass is rare so those few homes that have lawns make you look twice as “green” out here is rare. This small area uses 10% of South Australia’s electricity.
We also stopped at Woomera and walked around the museum and saw some of the rockets that Australia and Great Britain had used on the rocket range. The range is flat, barren and takes up 127,000 square miles. Long range missiles and rockets were tested here during the cold war and the launch and tracking of spacecraft in the early days of the space age.
We then drove straight through to Port Augusta which took us about five hours. Port Augusta is at the top of the Spencer Gulf, on the water and we were sure that finally we would find a break in the heat. No such luck. Our two days there were in the low 40’s.
Down town Port Augusta has some beautiful old brick and stone homes.
The area has a power station and a very busy rail yards and is known as “the crossroads” as this is where the major north/south and east/west highway meet.

NT - Coober Pedy

Coober Pedy is 685klms south of Alice Springs on the Stuart Highway. About 40klms out of town we started seeing mounds of white dirt dotting the landscape. As we got closer to town these mounds were everywhere and looking very much like a lunar landscape.
After taking a tour in Tom’s Opal mine we learnt that these mounds are called mullock heaps. They are formed by the ground up rock being sucked out of the shaft and blown up to the surface. The rock is ground up underground by “tunneling machines” with revolving cutting heads. The shafts are left open so you need to tread carefully when walking out in the fields. Many people have died over the years by falling down a shaft.
We spent quite a bit of time “noodling”. This is where you search through the piles of mullock for pieces of opal that the miners have missed. We spent a few hours in the heat noodling and found lots of potch which is opal without the fiery colours and worth very little. About 90% of the opal found is potch, but it is the other illusive 10% that keeps the miners digging.
About 50% of the towns people live in “dugouts”. These are mostly excavated into the side of the hills and have a constant 23 - 25 degree year round temperature. Some of these homes are up to 450 square metres. We visited a church, motel and a home which were all underground and it was definitely more comfortable than the 35 - 40 degrees above ground.
About 30klms east of town is The Breakaway Reserve. These are a group of hills that change colour during the day as the sun hits them at different angles. We were wishing that it was cooler as there were some beautiful places to walk. Somehow the air conditioning in the car was more inviting than the 40 degrees outside.
Beside this set of hills runs the dog fence. This is 2 metre high wire barrier structure that runs for 5,600 klms across three states. This fence was built to protect the sheep country in the south from the dingo.
We were fascinated by the area and can understand the passion that the locals hold for this place, its almost spiritual, we would have loved cooler weather to do more noodling. it certainly hooks you in.

NT - Alice Springs

Alice Springs is a very modern city in the heart of Central Australia and sits between the East and West Macdonnell ranges. We enjoyed our stay here and one of my favourite pastimes was visiting the art galleries full of wonderful Aboriginal paintings. The main mall in town, Todd Mall, has many galleries and you will often see Aboriginals sitting on the grass selling their own art work.
The city has fantastic bike tracks and the roads are on a grid pattern so it is easy to find your way around.
We spent a day at the Desert Park which is a huge park on the outskirts of town and has a self guided audio walking tour through the various desert habitats: desert rivers, sand country and woodland. They have the type of animals, plants and birds that live in each of these areas. During the day there are presentations about finding water in creek beds, Aboriginal tools and artifacts and the most amazing show of free - flying birds of prey coming in to feed. It was a very educational day and we would highly recommend the Park to anybody coming to Alice.
I spent an afternoon at the Araluen Cultural Precinct where they were having an art exhibition of Aboriginal artists from the surrounding areas. Some of the paintings were stunning and so were the price tags. I wonder how much the artists get for their work?
We spent two evenings at Aboriginal concerts. One was children singing, dancing and playing their instruments and the second was bush bands from as far away as Darwin. It was wonderful sitting amongst them gaining more of an appreciation for their music.
We spent a month in and around Alice Springs and love the area a great deal. There is so much to see, so much history and we furthered our appreciation of how the Aboriginals had lived so well in this harsh environment for centuries.

NT-West Macdonnell Ranges

Another glorious sight seeing adventure was awaiting us west of Alice Springs in the West Macdonnell Ranges.
We camped at Glen Helen Gorge with our caravan and used that as our base to visit the many gorges and watering holes in the area.
Only a few kilometres out of Alice is Stanley Chasm. This is a magnificent gorge which when you visit it around noon you get the sun streaming down both sides and lighting up the red cliffs. There were many of our favourite birds, the rainbow bee eater flying around. These birds are so stunning in colour that I have spent hours trying to photograph them but can never seem to get that perfect shot.
Further west is the Ocre Pits. For generations the aborigine people used this place as a mine for the ocre which they use for painting and body decoration. Ocre is still collected from here today for special occasions only to be used for body painting.
Ormiston Gorge is another great walking opportunity. We climbed one of the cliffs and then walked into the bottom of the Gorge and cooled of in one of the watering holes. As usual in this area the view from the top was spectacular.
We then spent a day at Palm Valley and Hermannsberg. Hermannsberg was one of the early towns in Central Australia and was the home of the famous Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira. The original whitewashed buildings are still standing and their is now an art gallery, museum and tea house. There is still a large Aboriginal community living there today.
The final place we visited in our four days in this area was Redbank Gorge. They said that it is a 20 minute walk from the car park to the entrance of the gorge but after 20 minutes we had barely reached half way. For the first part, the path was well defined but we lost the path and ended up walking over and around boulders as we made our own way to the head of the gorge. It was a hard slog but so worth while. The large watering hole opens in to a series of caverns with cathedral like walls. The water is freezing and we were so glad that we had brought our blow up mattresses. Unfortunately Mikes’ sprung a leak not far into our paddle and he had to swim in the “ice water”. The sides of the walls have been worn smooth over the centuries from the flood waters. As you swim along there areas where you cannot see the sky and it feels rather eerie.

NT - Watarrka National Park ( Kings Canyon)

Watarrka National Park is 300 klms north east of Uluru and is best known for Kings Canyon. This impressive canyon soars 270 metres from the base of the gorge and has three main walking tracks. The first day we did the short 2 klm Kings Creek walk with a park ranger so we learnt a lot about the history, plants and animals of the area.
The second day we tackled the rim walk which starts off with a steep climb to the top of the canyon ( I was ready to go home half way up). Three hours later after we had completed the 7 klm walk and I was really glad I had hung in there. The walk was spectacular. At times you are standing on the edge of this massive canyon looking down into the valley below. At these spots, my knees felt rather weak and I got that weird feeling in my stomach when looking down from this height is almost too much for comfort.
The camping area is positioned facing this mountain range. At sunset we grabbed a wine, our chairs and camera, and watched the sun setting on to these stunning red mountains. After dark the dingoes start prowling around the camp area scrounging for food. You don’t leave any shoes outside or else the dingoes will take them. I wonder what they do with them?
On route to this area we saw a group of about twelve wild camels. It was exciting seeing them but they are apparently a problem creating havoc with the native shrubs and trees.

NT-Kata Tjuta ( The Olgas)

About 50klms west of Uluru is another unique rock mass, Kata Tjuta. This group is made up of 36 weathered rock domes which are estimated to be about 500 million years old. These domes are mixtures of gravel, pebbles and boulders cemented together by sand and mud called conglomerates. Apparently, Aboriginal people have lived in the area for at least 25,000 years. When you view the harshness of the land you really appreciate the Aborigines and their survival skills.
One morning we drove out to Kata Tjuta and spent three hours walking the “Valley of the Winds’ trail which is the hardest walk we have done to date. It was up and down some of the domes, through some valleys and I think we did more walking up than we did walking down. The temperature got up to the mid 30’s so by the time we had finished we were both beet red.
One afternoon we went on a helicopter ride over Uluru and Kata Tjuta. A storm was rolling in so we saw both rock structures with cloud around them which gives them a different perspective than all the sunny photos that you normally see. They are both majestic from the air.
Later that night the storm hit. We had red dust everywhere in our caravan and even though I have wiped everything several times there still seems to be a fine layer of dust arriving as quickly as I wiped up.
Our visit to the Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park has been a wonderful experience, Both of these places have a certain magic about them which makes you want to return.

NT - Uluru

All the pictures that you see of this incredible Australian icon do not do its size and rock structure justice.
As you are drive or walk around the base the colours of the rock are constantly changing depending on where the sun is striking it.
Uluru is one of the great natural wonders of the world. This sandstone monolith stands 348 metres above ground and has a much larger mass hidden beneath the surface. Uluru is also considered by many to be the spiritual heart of Australia.
On our second day, we drove out to the rock at about 6:30a.m, and watched the sun move onto, and then up the rock. It is as if you are watching the rock wake up, the colour goes from brown to brilliant red in a matter of minutes and is spell binding.
We then decided to walk around the base. It is a 9.4klm walk and took us about three hours. There are times when you are walking beside the rock and other times, because of sacred aboriginal sites you are walking quite a distance away from it. There are many caves with aboriginal drawings, water holes and as it had rained recently, there was still a little bit of water running off the rock.
We enjoyed being out by the rock so we came back every day we were there to either do short walks, watch the sunset or just sit beside it. I felt like the rock was a friend and I couldn’t wait to get back out to be beside it. The drive from the camp area out to the rock is about 21 klms so you always get a good view each time you drive out there and back.
The Aboriginals ask they that you do not climb the rock as it is a sacred site and while you are in this amazing part of Australia you certainly want to respect the wishes of this incredible race of people.
I spent about an hour at the Cultural Centre watching three aboriginal ladies painting which was fascinating. I could have sat and watched them all day. One of the women has an exhibition coming up in Melbourne so she was busy finishing off a couple of her latest works.
Uluru is one of those special places that touches your heart.

NT - East Macdonnell Ranges

We spent three days in the East Macdonnell ranges and were fascinated with the many different geological formations. We were driving around spellbound, appreciating the upheaval that had occurred in the earths crust eons ago to create these mountain ranges.

We drove on a 4 Wheel drive track to N’Dhala Gorge Nature Park which has over 6,000 aboriginal carvings. This park is unique in the fact that much of the art is not sign posted so when you find something yourself it is very exciting. It is hard to believe that some of the carvings are as much as 10,000 years old. While walking these mountain tracks Mike and I have seen many beautiful birds, try to photograph and then identify them in our now much used bird book. Many of them are very small and so colourful.

Another afternoon was spent at Trephina Gorge which has spectacular walking and hiking trails along the top of the Quartzite cliffs. After you are totally exhausted from walking up and down the cliff tops, you descend into the dry sandy river bed which you then have to walk along to get back to the car park. Along the way there are huge river red gums which give you shade from time to time. Needless to say, this was another 35 degree day so we were looking forward to getting back to the caravan and cooling off. (A beer is always very welcoming at the end of these hot energetic days).

Further into the ranges we drove to Artlunga Historical Reserve which was the site of an old gold mining town. We climbed down into an abandoned gold mine which makes you appreciate how hard these men worked. The gold from this area was attached to the quartz deposits so they had to grind the quartz down first and then extract the gold.

Qld - South from Mt Isa

We had a wonderful trip south from Mt Isa with varying landscapes and many places of interest along the way.
One of the most fascinating was Devils Marbles. Out of the blue, these huge granite boulders appear and look as though they have been strategically placed there by super human strength. The balance of some of them is remarkable.
We walked along the many trails around the rocks knowing that for thousands of years this has been a very special area for the Aborigines. You can definitely feel that there is something magical about the area.
We camped about 20klms south of here and drove back the next night to watch the sunset from these rocks. Magical!

Further south we travelled to Gemtree, which is a camping area about the 140 klms NE of Alice Springs. We stayed here for two nights and had a delightful time. One of the major attractions of Gemtree is the Tag- a- long garnet fossicking tours. We spent six hours out in the heat with the flies and the wind to find some garnets. My fingers were nearly rubbed raw, I broke two finger nails, my hair was tinged red from the dust, our backs were aching from the pick and shoveling and of course that good old red dust covered our clothes and was in our shoes and socks. How much are these garnets worth? We had loads of fun, lots of laughter and we’ll eventually have some jewelry made so its’ all good.

Gemtree has a golf course which we perused but decided not to play. We thought that our golf balls and clubs would never be the same again.

Qld - Mt Isa

Mt Isa is one of the largest cities in the world with an area of 41,000 square kilometres and a population of around 20,000.
The Mt Isa mine stacks are the first things that you see as you arrive. The mine is huge and the city is built on part of its’ eastern boundary. These massive open cut and underground mines obtain zinc, lead, copper, silver. The land lease takes in an area of approximately 55klms x 5 klms.
We went on a guided tour of the open cut mine and into some of the processing area and found it fascinating.
Lake Moondarra is a huge man- made lake about 15 klms out of town which caters for all the local water sports- skiing, kayaking, jet skis and fishing. They have done a beautiful job creating picnic areas with many shelters, barbeques and grass. Grass out here is rare, so when we see it we get rather excited.
During WW2 they built an underground hospital here in case of attack from the Japanese. The miners drilled out an area that could fit about 30 patient beds, a delivery corner, nursery and a small operating area. Volunteers over the last 15 years have restored the previously abandoned tunnels and re constructed the hospital to its former glory.
This tour was very interesting and lovely and cool compared to the 35 degrees outside. We decided to stay at Mt Isa for three nights as the swimming pool at the caravan park was heaven in this heat and we needed power to run the air conditioner.
We have found the roads in general very good. Sometimes when there is only a single lane, and a road train over fifty metres long is coming towards you, your heart jumps. We pull right off onto the shoulder and give them the entire road. At least by doing that we don’t get showered with red dust and rocks.
The area around Mt Isa has some intriguing rock formations which always keeps the drive interesting.

Qld - Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park

We have been recommended not to miss Lawn Hill by several people on our travels and we are so glad that we made the effort to go. We re- packed our car with our camping gear and kayak and travelled the 100klms of very average unsealed road from Gregory Downs to our camp area. Thank goodness that we had decided to leave our van in storage. I think we would have shaken everything out of the cupboards with all the corrugations on the road.
The drive to the park is very dry but once you set up camp and head for the water the scenery is breathtaking. The first day we took the kayak on a 6 klm round trip to the top of the gorge and back. We stopped three times along the way to swim in the emerald coloured tepid water. We were so glad that we had our own Kayak as the rental ones are $20.00 per hour. Over the four days we spent hours going up and down the waterways.The bird life is so colourfull, the pandanus and coconut palms that line the water make you feel like you are in a heavenly oasis.
The four days that we camped here the temperature reached 35 to 37 degrees each day so no sooner had we got out of the water we would be dry within a few minutes and then jump right back in. The camp ground was very barren with few trees but with our quick- shade and tent we made ourselves very comfortable in no time at all. Our camp site was only a stones throw from the water so it made our frequent trips down there very convenient. There are several wonderful bush walks around the area so we did those in the early morning and late afternoon.
The waters here are rich in lime and when the water evaporates porus rocks are formed, these are composed mainly of calcium carbonate and are called tufas. They look like they are huge solidifed bubbles and they can be seen mainly around the waterfalls and dried creek beds.
We also drove out to Riversleigh where the fossil deposits are among the richest and most extensive in the world. We went to D-site which is the only area open to the public and could see some of these fossils. Some dating back 15-25 million years ago. Fascinating.
Lawn Hill-a little bit of heaven!