The Joy is in the Journey

Thursday 21st Nov How bizarre. After that 40+ deg day we went to bed and listened to the wind howling through the olive trees and felt it rock the van at times. It was a hot blast too, no relief until early morning. It had dropped back to about 14 deg C by the time we were rising. We pulled on the fleecies again as we packed up and moved on. Normanville was once the area's main port but most of the original jetty has been washed away. The white sandy beach stretches for more than 7kms, and the caravan park we are camping in, sits just behind the heritage listed sand dunes. Right now hooded plovers are nesting there.  The park sits on either side of the Bungala River and plenty of birds are enjoying the surrounds.  We went for a walk along the beach to the jetty and beach cafe at the Surf Club. Looking at the state of the sea today I would think the members here get as little experience of surf as those at Darwin Surf Club but Glenn assured me that when there is a sout...

Mon 18th Nov I read last night that Kangaroo Island is the third largest of Australia's islands. Straight away I knew that Tassie would be No.1 but what would be in second place? Asking the nearby brain's trust we all came up with different possibilities so I had to call on Google for the answer. What would you have voted for? Answer at end of post or you can just google it too. We've spoken to a number of people seeking suggestions for how long to stay and what to see and do. The answers have ranged from 'Don't go at this time of the year, go in autumn', 'You can do it all in a day', 'You need at least a week'. In total, not very helpful. My biggest concern was to have a rough crossing and then have to get into a car and continue moving - my worst nightmare. We've taken the plunge and booked to stay for 2 nights. All four of us will travel in one car, leaving the vans at Jervis Bay. Shane, a friend of ours who loves fishing but suffers f...

Thursday 14th Nov The drive to Mt Compass this morning took us on meandering country roads surrounded by rolling hills. Five minutes out of town and on the edge of the highly rated golf course (top 40 in Aust) is the small caravan park with the biggest sites we have come across so far. The facilities are first class and the camp kitchen even has a pizza oven! To top it off there were birds diving in and out of the flowering proteas at the gate when we registered.  After some lunch and a load of washing we drove into town. First stop the Op Shop and what did I find? A fabulous pram in top condition but.... how do you collapse the thing? I asked the people in the shop but they knew as little as I did. If it wont fit under the bed I cant buy it. Next thing we have everyone offering advice but we were still getting no where. One suggestion was to wait until school was over and those mums would be able to do it single handed. Eventually I googled and there was our answer...

Monday 11th November We first came upon the Murray on 7th Oct at Barmera and have been following it up and downstream ever since. Today from Loxton we left it to follow the major road network. That took us through the wheat belt area and Karoonda where we found some more silo art and stopped to refuel.  Along the way we passed innumerable wheat fields stretching out between tiny townships that were once viable but no longer home to more than a silo.  We did however see both Bustards and Cape Barron Geese to keep us interested.  Eventually we pulled-up in Langhorne Creek setting up at Frank Potts Reserve, just on the outskirts of town. It's beside the Bremer River, which is unfortunately dry, but it's a lovely spot under shady gums with nice big grassy sites. Frank Potts was the founder of Bleasdale winery just beside us, which has remained in the Potts family to the present day. Perhaps we should drop in to pay our respects in the coming days. In the af...