Adelaide Hills

We have loved our time in the Adelaide Hills.  Everything is within an hours drive and there is just so much to see & do.  The beautiful old homes are everywhere and the churches - so many and varied.
Handorf for every thing German, Stirling for it's beautiful homes and wares, Strathalbyn for the old homes, shops and stunning parklands are just 3 worthy of a mention.  We shared a few drinks at the Prancing Pony Brewery and some wine tasting at the Handorf Hills Winery (Oh Lynn you would have loved this).  Did I mention Victor Harbour (loved this so much we are going to have a few days there later this week).  We rode on the SteamRanger Heritage Railway and the horse-drawn tram, Max had a pony ride and Emma just enjoyed the food.  The Giant Rocking horse, Mount Lofty Lookout - it's been a busy week

Giant Rocking horse

Rob enjoying German beer at Handorf

Pearson's on steam train

Max's pony ride

Victor Harbour

Port Pirie to Mount Barker

From the Flinders Ranges we headed to Port Pirie where we enjoyed a couple of days - it really wasn't what we expected but an interesting area to look at.  Once you head over the Mount Remarkable range you are in the heart of wheat/farming land.  Gladstone has the largest wheat handling facility in SA - HUGE!!    Port Germain has the longest jetty in South Australia - sadly badly damaged in storms and no longer open to walking on. 
Interesting fact - South Australia sources 36% of its water from the Murray River. There are Reservoirs and water pipes running all over the state.  28% of the water is seawater (desalination plants) and only 6% from groundwater.  The remaining is from Reserviors which can be topped up from the Murray in times of drought.  No worry of that this year!! 

Port Germain jetty



 South Australia is classed the driest state, in the driest inhabited continent on Earth.


Port Pirie

We had planned a stop over in Clare & the Barossa however the wild weather and flooding put a stop to this.  Onto Adelaide Hills.

 

Flinders Ranges

Well this section was meant to be about the Flinders Ranges and the amazing Wilpenna Pound.  Sadly due to a 1 in 50 year storm - we didn't get the full experience of the Flinders Ranges, however that said we saw enough to ensure we will return next year. 
We left Peterborough on the Wednesday morning knowing the storm event was coming. It was suggested we would be better off staying put and waiting out the storm, however we decided that we would see if being a few hundred km north would lessen the ferocity of the storm.  We arrived at our destination - Willow Springs Station - around 2pm.  Some wind but the sun was shinning and we had time to set up camp and have a beer before things deteriorated.   Whilst we were staying on station land- we were basically 'free' camping - no power or water, however we were only about 1km from the station homestead where there was amenities and a camp kitchen. 

Our perfect campsite

Beautiful sunset

Sunshine at last



Ready to weather the storm

Max

 





Marshmallows!!

 

 

 







We could hear the wind coming down the gullies and just gusting past us.  Hard to sleep through this even though our campsite was pretty protected.
The next day we thought we couldn't put our trip on hold despite the weather so we headed into Wilpenna Pound to have a look around.  Whilst the Information centre and Café both had access to power, both phone lines and mobile connections were down and they closed both facilities.  All roads and walking tracks in the area were closed due to the amount of rain.  Still not to be daunted we headed into Hawker to have a pub lunch - Not going to happen - Most of SA lost power and phone/mobile service for 48 hours and all the shops etc; were closed.  The main service station in Hawker had their own generator so they were busy as the only business for a few hundred km that was open.  Back we went to Willow Springs Station and their camp kitchen!!  With their own generator they were able to supply a warm, safe spot for us to while away the day with some fellow campers.  Hot showers, heaters, cooking, cold beers and DVD player/games - we were pretty much better off than most people in SA. 

Friday saw the winds starting to ease and by lunchtime the rain has stopped allowing us to enjoy a drive around the area.  The homemade pies at Bliman are something not to be missed and the hospitality at Parachilna Hotel is second to none.  We met up with some local Police at Parachilna and Max had the best time hanging out with them.  They were amazingly patient and shared their lunch with him and allowed him to 'monitor' the police radio.  One very happy little boy,

Bec & Max

Flinders Ranges



Rob at Parachilna Hotel

Max & SA Policeman

 

Enjoying the Police car

Flinders Ranges

Flinders Ranges

Flinders Ranges

View from lookout over Wilpenna Pound & Willow Springs Station

Flinders Ranges

By Saturday the weather was clearing  however it was time for us to move on,  Oh well we will be back!

Willow Springs Station..







Peterborough

We should have realised from the moment we saw the sign in the camp kitchen "Yes TV reception is bad.  Yes it is always windy!"  that the wind was going to be against us.  Oh well - still a beautiful old railway town with lots to see & do.  Said to be half way between Sydney & Perth and only two & half hours to Adelaide the town caters well to the tourist market and passing grey nomads.

Local home

Council hall/function room

Local picture theatre/now cafe

Inspiring!

Early settlers arrived in the mid 1800's, however they were only issued small parcels of land which was unsustainable to make a living.  The landscape is dotted with old relic's of stone houses from where they either sold or abandonded their farms. Peterborough however really took off with the discovery of Silver at Broken Hill.  The train line which ran from Port Pirie to Broken Hill had as many as 102 trains a day and a staff of over 1300 people at it's peak.  The Steamtown Heritage Centre is well worth a visit with many old steam trains, huge workshop, 23 Bay roundhouse and 3 gauge turntable.  (oh my past employment for State Rail really paid off here!).

Steam Train

23 Bay Roundhouse

Steam Train

With such a large population (early 1900's) 

Carriage
the town infrastructure is amazing -  the theatre is now a café and the town hall still used for plays etc;

 



 

Orange to Peterborough SA

Well our first two weeks of travelling with Bec, Glen, Max & Emma is now over and whilst we've had some 'interesting' weather, we've had some great times!
Heading off on Saturday 24th, after a lovely visit with Betty (Rob's mum) - we made it as far as Cobar for the first night. The only change we noticed in the 12 months since we last pasted through was how wet, lush & green it all was.  Water laying everywhere (and Mosquito's laying in wait also).


We had an eventful trip to Broken Hill on the second day with Glen & Bec doing a tyre on their caravan.  The spare looked a bit dodgy, however we were really lucky that a local man in Wilcannia had a 2nd hand spare that he could give them ($50 fitted)  On a Sunday too - so we were all really grateful.  Wilcannia too has had their share of rain.  Emma didn't care - she's happy to play in either the dirt or the mud! 


   

 

Broken Hill is a really interesting town and well worth a visit.

However a point to note - book ahead as apparently everyone wants to visit.  We were able to stay the one night but booked out after that.  It did however allow Glen time to buy 2 new tyres and fix the hitch on his van.  Then off to Peterborough.

 

Border crossing NSW/SA

Long boring road into SA

 



 

 

 And so our new adventure begins....finishing work on the 8th September was a sad day as the LJ Hooker family has been a big part of our lives for the past 10 years and I will miss each and everyone of the wonderful, generous people I met over those years.  If only I could have tucked them into the caravan somewhere to come along on our journey. 
Leaving Kingscliff we headed to Urunga where we enjoyed a last couple of days with Mel & James. 


Our campsite at Urunga

Mel & James - miss you guys xx

Then onto Hat Head for a couple of days relaxing and getting into this semi-retirement mode.


Whale watching at a new level - we could actually hear them through this gap

Wow this is one place we can really recommend.  It's a National Park, with a caravan park and bowling club - what more could you want.  We chilled out, did some fishing and enjoyed a few bush walks. 

View over beach at Hat Head

Part of the cliff top walk

We also visited South West Rocks and enjoyed the old goal and the light-house.

Next stop - Port Macquarie to catch up with Bruce & Louise - great few days and we miss you both (lets catch up again soon )

We had a job interview lined up in Orange, so that was our next stop,  Travelled through flood waters but car and van handled it well..

 

We are now lined up to work for the Cherry harvest in Orange to commence around the 20th October.  We will both be working in the packing shed.   Watch this space to see how this goes !!