Robe and Mt Gambier

I left fairly late on Thursday morning and the drive to Robe was pretty non-eventful. It was beautiful when I left but the closer I got to the coast, the more overcast it became. I was kinda glad for the cloud cover coz it acts like a blanket and keeps us mortals warmer, but camping in the rain is no fun. The gods smiled and by the time I got to the camp site there was sunshine. 

The campground where we were staying was undergoing some renovations, so while I was setting up the tent all I could hear was the roar of the bobcat. Not relaxing at all. 

Once I had the tent set up we went for a nice hike and we found a beautiful trail along a small river.  Just what we needed after a day in the car. 

We weren't staying long in Robe, but it looked like the kind of place that was hopping during the warmer/holiday times. There were lots of holiday rentals and "fun activities" advertised. October holidays didn't seem to be one of the busy times though so our early the morning stroll the next day was very quiet. We took the coast trail which brought us to a beach (surprise, surprise). It was shaping up to be another beautiful, sunny day, with another 4.5 hour drive.

Just before lunch we arrived at Mt Gambier and here I had to stop to see the Blue Lake. This is a lake that is located in a crater that is one of Australia's youngest volcanoes. It is one of four crater lakes in the area, although there are only two actual lakes left that have water in them. I wish I could tell you more detail about its age and the last time it erupted, but alas that info was not available on the information signs at the site. Shocking, I know. (Turns out there's some contention on the date and that probably why it's not posted. The contested time periods are: 43000, 28000, or as little as 6000 years ago.)

Right next to Blue Lake is Leg of Mutton "lake" - it's dried up so its really just a valley. In 1876 they decided to start a timber planation in the area and the Leg of Mutton crater was used as a nusery. The very lucky nuseryman had a stone cottage in the crater and I think he was very lucky indeed. What an idyllic place this is!

(I can picture my own little cottage right there through the trees...)

I could have stayed a long time in this peaceful place in the middle of tourist mayhem, but it was barely lunch time and we had many kilometres to go that day...and many more interesting things to see!

Angaston

The drive to Agnaston was uneventful, if windy. We passed through some beautiful rolling hills and had the opportunity to drive through some small towns. What a lovely part of Australia this is!

We deviated from the road to Adelaide and very soon the vinyards began appearing. It's just spring so there isn't a lot of green yet but to see the straight rows of vines is really quite a sight. 

When we got to Sab and Scott's place we promptly went for a walk and that evening we just hung out and caught up. 

The next afternoon (after a leisurely morning) Sab was kind enough to play tour guide. First on the list was Angaston's best bakery for lunch! I had a veggie pastie and a chocolate doughnut for dessert. Now, I can hear you asking, "A doughnut? You're in a bakery and you choose a lowly doughnut for dessert??" Well, usually I would agree, and indeed the eclairs and the tarts looked enticing...but the doughnuts. My god! I've never seen such glorious loft and lightness in a doughnut! And I was right. It was magnificent. I've never tasted it's like before. 

After the bliss of lunch, we had a wee stroll in Angaston. Like Wallaroo, this area is has a rich history. Angaston is one of South Australia's oldest towns, established in 1842, but it really started to thrive when the railway came in 1911. It maintains many of it's old buildings and has a nice laid back feel to it. 

(the old train station - the train doesn't run anymore...dunno why not)

We then went to visit Tanunda. Although this town looks similar, old heritage buildings, and vinyards all round, it has a distinctly different feel. It's more, how to put it...nouveau riche. Hmmm not sure how I can describe it...more shi-shi shops, more exclusive this and that, just an air of more better here . My suspicions were confirmed when Sab told me that although the towns are less than 20km a part, Tanunda was vastly more expensive than Angaston.

Last was Nurioopta. We didn't stay too long here, but it had a no-nonsense sense to the place. very business like. Because this was our last stop we really just went to the supermarket so that I could grab some things for the next few days on the road. I thought it was funny that there was a vinyard just past the parking lot AND that there were vines growing out front of the supermarket!

Staying in Wallaroo

Sunday was windy as.

I'm talking hold on to your hat, sunnies and anything else that isn't nailed down.

Felix and I went for our morning constitutional and discovered the Main Street of Wallaroo, the Jetty (Felix did not like that one bit too high above the water and way too windy) and some quaint neighbourhoods.

You can still get ye olde towne feel here; the shops have awnings that cover the sidewalk and recessed  doors that are often quite narrow. Many of the original houses are still standing and in various conditions from dilapidated to completely restored. The massive silos and industrial jetty do give this town a certain hard edge, but it does have a certain charm.

(ye olde train station)

The north beach is another story. Here there are new housing developments with fancy new houses, many of which are holiday rentals. It kinda reminds me a little of Bugendore, with it's new houses set aside from the old town proper. I have a feeling that in no time this place will be a triving, trendy coastal town.

Sab and Scott had to get back home on Sunday, but I decided to stay a little longer here. Monday was nice and calm and I enjoyed a really great seaweed foot massage and exfoliation treatment (I walked on the beach). When I found a ball, well, everything was right in the world.

In the afternoon we went for a quick drive to Moonta Bay which is another coastal town just 15km away. We enjoyed further exfoliation and ball throwing/catching, but I think it was a bit too much seawater for poor Felix who ended up being sick in the car....nice.

Today we leave as the winds pick up again - off to the Barossa Valley and to see my friends again!

Wallaroo

It was really good to see my friends Sab and Scott, and I gave them the quick user manual on Felix (he's suspicious of people)

Soon hot dogs were flowing freely and Felix became a little more relaxed, so we went for a walk to the beach. 

(The jetty from afar)

I'm sorry to report that none of us brought a camera, or a phone or any other device that could have captured this event. Felix's first time at the ocean ( I do realise that it wasn't the ocean proper...but you get what I mean). He was like a kid in a candy shop. The wind was pretty strong and the sun was setting so we sadly didn't stay too long, but tomorrow is another day!

A little bit about Wallaroo. 

This is a huge wheat export town. The jetty here is connected to an array of giant silos which are full of grain. Sab tells me that when the ships come in they take days to load. 

Grain was not always Wallaroo's claim to fame however. When the white folks settled here in 1857 they soon discovered there was copper in them dar hills.  Together with the neighbouring towns of Kadina and Moonta, this area became known as the Copper triangle and soon became the biggest copper smelting area outside Wales until the operation shut down in 1923.

The original inhabitants of course were the indigenous tribe of Narungga who named this place "Waldu Waru" which allegedly means wallaby urine. Apparently the white folks found that too long to stamp on wool bales, and so the great Australian tradition of shortening every word and name began. 

Driving Outback and Arriving in Wallaroo

There was a lot of cloud cover during the day so the night was relatively warm - except just before dawn. That's when its darkest and coldest. So it's no surprise that I stopped pretending that I could sleep at around 5 and just got up. Felix, of course was happy to be out discoving a new array of smells left from the wanderings of various night creatures.

When we got back to the campsite the sun was warming everything up and it was time for breakfast. Ahhh nothin' like a shot of oatmeal and a cup of tea to get ya goin' for another long haul on the road.

We were looking at another 600 + kms today and a lot of that was through flat outback country. We left the campground by 8am, but even so it got real hot, real fast. My plan was to push though until about 11:30 - 12:00 but by 10:30 Felix was getting quite restless and I was getting dozy - not a good thing. 

It was about that time when we went through a place called Gol Gol. I didn't know it at the time, but it's right outside Mildura. I saw a park right by the river (the mighty Murray River) and thought that's just what we need. 

Felix had a dip and a romp in the grass with an empty toilet roll that he found and all was well in the world...until I suggested he get back in the car. So, we played in the grass a little bit longer.

Driving in the outback is great coz it all pretty straight. You can see a long way in front of you - good for overtaking, but it can get tedious. BUT there's no slowing for sharp turns or small towns every 10 km. You can go fast. Once into South Australia I could soon see the difference in terrain - it was greener for one and there were hills...and I could hear they were alive with...something... 

 

All to say I finally, gruellingly got to Wallaroo. By the end though I was looking at the markers and would wail in frustration when what seemed like 20km had actually only been 5km. Thankfully, from here on in  the drives will be more manageable (5hrs max)

First night - Yanga National Park; The Willows Campground

It was a lovely day for a car ride, but I gotta say that 7 hours is rather long and boring. 

We covered over 600km today and tomorrow is more of the same, but I hear that Wallaroo is having fantastic weather so it will be worth it.

Felix is an exemplary navigator although he doesn't say much. He was glad to get out of the car for a spot of lunch, which is where I discovered the first 2 things that I forgot to bring.

 1. Toilet paper. DOH! How could I forget to bring toilet paper??!! S' ok I have a box of tissues in the car that will suffice until I can get toilet papered up.

2. Felix's bowls. Yes, that's bowlS, in the plural. I forgot both of them. S'ok I happen to have his portabowl in the car. It's a little small, but it'll do in a pinch. As for his food bowl, well I finished the carrots I brought in a tupperware container...that'll do.

With the first crisis averted we loaded back into the car and were off again. I gotta say that I was dreading crossing the Hay plains, because everyone says how tedious it is, but honestly I  quite liked it. There's nothing like having a huge sky above you stretching out as far as the eye can see.

That said it's a good thing that I had my eyes peeled for a camping sign coz the one they put up was about 50cm wide and low to the ground.

We stayed at the Willows campground about 30km outside of Balrand. When we arrived we were the only ones there...well, us and the three emus that were grazing close by.

I quickly set up camp so that I could take Felix for a walk around, but when I finally did take him we just wanted to take a meandering stroll with much sniffing.

Interesting aside, did you know that emu poo looks a lot like cow patties?? Anyway, back to the story

It was when I was getting ready to prepare dinner that I discovered Important Forgotten Item #3:

 - My billy. Seriously?? It sits in my kitchen. I didn't bother putting it in the pile of stuff by the door coz seriously how could I forget THAT.  I gotta say there was a string of expletives when I noticed that major oversight. S'OK though I did remember to bring the frying pan.

<mutters...who makes bloody tea in a frying pan???>

Two more people came about an hour later - one, a couple from Canberra of all places. We stayed well out of each others' way and the night was peaceful and placidly uneventful.

On the road again

It's been a while...ok, maybe it hasn't been that long if you count Ireland last year, but it's Road Trip time   again!! Contrary to the Ireland trip however, this road trip will include camping as a proper road trip warrants. I'm off to South Australia to visit some friends in the Barossa Valley.

I'll be taking a direct road there (two, seven hour days in the car) and then on the way home I'll head down the coast at a leisurely pace down the Great Ocean Road and then stopping in Mallacoota for a short rest before heading home. And I'm taking my deaf dog...who is wary of strangers. It's my first time going camping with a dog. Should be interesting!

Gotta get back to packing, hitting the road bright and early  - stay tuned!!