Started the day with the boring task of catching up on the clothes washing so that we all had something to wear.
Mr Roo went off to try and get some caches under his belt so that he can get his 9000 milestone in the remaining days of the trip.
Te four of us went into town to get some parts to fix the power inverter and a mount for the GPS then we headed into Adelaide to go to the Zoo
Adelaide Zoo was another bucket list item for me and it was more than I could have imagined it was mind blowing that something so big and full of variety is right in town.
Left the zoo just after 4pm and headed back to the house for a rest before going to Cousin Heidi's birthday party for a paella (amaze balls!!)
Now after and hour and half of catching up on a weeks blog posts I can finally go to bed.
NIGHT!!!!
Sunday, 30 April 2017
Day 31 - Friday 28/04/2017
Today we head for family in Adelaide and a break from the camping.
We decided to take the scenic route through Craddock, Carrieton, Eurelia, Orroroo (renamed Beagle town in honour of Isobelle and Baz), Jamestown (birthplace of R.M Williams), Spalding, Clare, Seven Hill, Mintaro, and Watervale.
We had lunch in Jamestown and grabbed a cache in almost every town, most interesting of the day was definitely the Walloway Train Wreck cache which was the site of a wreck years and years before (http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/disaster/land_transport/display/101166-walloway-train-crash-)
We then took a slight detour through Balaklava so Sean could see where his cousin once worked.
Into Adelaide (Ridgehaven) just after 7pm, after a quick cuppa and chat with Uncle Eric and Aunty Maggie we headed to the Tea Tree Plaza to find some dinner (kids were almost eating us!) Wow the food at Caffe Primo was so well priced and absolutely delicious another favourite recommendation for those in the area.
Back to the house for desperately needed showers, a wine or two and then a sleep in a normal comfy bed
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh heaven
As we pulled into the driveway we have travelled over 6,000 km (wow we have puts some kms on the car!!!!)
We decided to take the scenic route through Craddock, Carrieton, Eurelia, Orroroo (renamed Beagle town in honour of Isobelle and Baz), Jamestown (birthplace of R.M Williams), Spalding, Clare, Seven Hill, Mintaro, and Watervale.
We had lunch in Jamestown and grabbed a cache in almost every town, most interesting of the day was definitely the Walloway Train Wreck cache which was the site of a wreck years and years before (http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/disaster/land_transport/display/101166-walloway-train-crash-)
We then took a slight detour through Balaklava so Sean could see where his cousin once worked.
Into Adelaide (Ridgehaven) just after 7pm, after a quick cuppa and chat with Uncle Eric and Aunty Maggie we headed to the Tea Tree Plaza to find some dinner (kids were almost eating us!) Wow the food at Caffe Primo was so well priced and absolutely delicious another favourite recommendation for those in the area.
Back to the house for desperately needed showers, a wine or two and then a sleep in a normal comfy bed
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh heaven
As we pulled into the driveway we have travelled over 6,000 km (wow we have puts some kms on the car!!!!)
Day 30 - Thursday 27/04/2017
Slept in this morning after a freezing night in the mountains.
We had breakfast and headed for Wilpena Pound to get some basics and have a look around. We found a few caches including an earthcache at the aboriginal rock carvings and then headed back to camp for lunch.
Lunch done we remembered we needed to get the money out of the bank to pay for our campsite so it was back to Wilpena to visit the ATM........ scratch that ATM busted and has been for about 6 months (they are quick to fix things here obviously)
56km later we arrive back in Hawker to get the cash, we fill up with petrol and grab a few caches in town including a cool earthcache involving the seismograph in the petrol station. This even picked up tremors from the recent Japan earthquake!!!!!
Back another 56km to Wilpena and in the dying hours of the day we took a drive down to Bunnyroo and Brachina gorges, the road took us on some breathtaking scenery including through the ranges of Razorback Ridge. On the way out of Brachina they had timelines for each of the different layers and they ranged from 500 to 900 million years old
We arrived back at camp well after sunset and had a quick dinner and homemade damper around the campfire before all retiring to bed a little weary.
Tomorrow we regretfully leave this amazing place however we have vowed to return for a longer stay in the near future.
360 pics of Flinders Ranges
Rawnsley Lookout
Razorback Lookout
Road between Port Augusta and Quorn
Ranges View Lookout
We had breakfast and headed for Wilpena Pound to get some basics and have a look around. We found a few caches including an earthcache at the aboriginal rock carvings and then headed back to camp for lunch.
Lunch done we remembered we needed to get the money out of the bank to pay for our campsite so it was back to Wilpena to visit the ATM........ scratch that ATM busted and has been for about 6 months (they are quick to fix things here obviously)
56km later we arrive back in Hawker to get the cash, we fill up with petrol and grab a few caches in town including a cool earthcache involving the seismograph in the petrol station. This even picked up tremors from the recent Japan earthquake!!!!!
Back another 56km to Wilpena and in the dying hours of the day we took a drive down to Bunnyroo and Brachina gorges, the road took us on some breathtaking scenery including through the ranges of Razorback Ridge. On the way out of Brachina they had timelines for each of the different layers and they ranged from 500 to 900 million years old
We arrived back at camp well after sunset and had a quick dinner and homemade damper around the campfire before all retiring to bed a little weary.
Tomorrow we regretfully leave this amazing place however we have vowed to return for a longer stay in the near future.
360 pics of Flinders Ranges
Rawnsley Lookout
Razorback Lookout
Road between Port Augusta and Quorn
Ranges View Lookout
Day 28 - Wednesday 26/04/2017
Sean's Mum Birthday today!!
Woke to a cold day in Woomera but got packed up reasonably quickly and headed out to finish of the last few caches in town (feels good to have a town full of smileys where traditionals should be)
5 quick caches later we were on the road to the Flinders Ranges but not before we stopped in at the site of the first NASA base to be built outside of the USA (COOL!!!!!) there is not much left but we got some pics and the kids and Sean managed to find some old bolts etc from the structure which they collected as a story piece of the location.
360 Pics
Lagoon Island NASA Station
Lagoon Island Lookout
The long drive to Port Augusta felt like it was never going to end but we eventually arrived and had a quick bite for lunch and filled up with petrol ready to head into the Flinders for a couple of days of R&R.
Then it was through Quorn and Hawker until we eventually reached our bush camp at Upalinna Station (can not recommend this place enough, great private and cheap sites, friendly host and only a few kms out of Wilpena Pound. We were in site 6 which is the highest site and I was able to watch the sunset on the ranges as I cooked dinner (check them out at http://www.upalinnastation.com.au/)
Tomorrow we will explore the Ranges and see some of this beautiful landscape
Woke to a cold day in Woomera but got packed up reasonably quickly and headed out to finish of the last few caches in town (feels good to have a town full of smileys where traditionals should be)
5 quick caches later we were on the road to the Flinders Ranges but not before we stopped in at the site of the first NASA base to be built outside of the USA (COOL!!!!!) there is not much left but we got some pics and the kids and Sean managed to find some old bolts etc from the structure which they collected as a story piece of the location.
360 Pics
Lagoon Island NASA Station
Lagoon Island Lookout
The long drive to Port Augusta felt like it was never going to end but we eventually arrived and had a quick bite for lunch and filled up with petrol ready to head into the Flinders for a couple of days of R&R.
Then it was through Quorn and Hawker until we eventually reached our bush camp at Upalinna Station (can not recommend this place enough, great private and cheap sites, friendly host and only a few kms out of Wilpena Pound. We were in site 6 which is the highest site and I was able to watch the sunset on the ranges as I cooked dinner (check them out at http://www.upalinnastation.com.au/)
Tomorrow we will explore the Ranges and see some of this beautiful landscape
Saturday, 29 April 2017
Day 27 - Tuesday 25/04/2017
Anzac Day and my Mums Birthday!
We left Coober Pedy and headed for Woomera caching along the way.
Our first town and lunch stop was at Glendambo where they saythe population is
Sheep........... 22,500
Flies............. 2,000,000 approx
Humans........ 30
This was a queer little town it had some nice houses, 2 pubs, 1 takeaway, a motel and 2 petrol stations all within a stones throw of one another.
We finally hit where we could start to see the wonderful SA salt lakes, and stopped at Lake Hart for a couple of caches and some photos, even got to see a large train go past.
Train video
https://youtu.be/vpx4oWpMH9k
Lake Hart 360 Pics
http://pnr.ma/aovqvj
http://pnr.ma/dfkGOJ
http://pnr.ma/bWueam
http://pnr.ma/bgBDuP
We hit Woomera at about 4pm and after setting up the tents quickly we headed out to try and clear as many of the 12 traditional caches in town as we could.
We got about half way through and realised that the sun had set and that it was about 7pm, a quick stop into the RSL confirmed there was no bistro so it was over to the Eldo Hotel for a bite to eat and then back to camp for sleep.
PHOTOS TO COME
We left Coober Pedy and headed for Woomera caching along the way.
Our first town and lunch stop was at Glendambo where they saythe population is
Sheep........... 22,500
Flies............. 2,000,000 approx
Humans........ 30
This was a queer little town it had some nice houses, 2 pubs, 1 takeaway, a motel and 2 petrol stations all within a stones throw of one another.
We finally hit where we could start to see the wonderful SA salt lakes, and stopped at Lake Hart for a couple of caches and some photos, even got to see a large train go past.
Train video
https://youtu.be/vpx4oWpMH9k
Lake Hart 360 Pics
http://pnr.ma/aovqvj
http://pnr.ma/dfkGOJ
http://pnr.ma/bWueam
http://pnr.ma/bgBDuP
We hit Woomera at about 4pm and after setting up the tents quickly we headed out to try and clear as many of the 12 traditional caches in town as we could.
We got about half way through and realised that the sun had set and that it was about 7pm, a quick stop into the RSL confirmed there was no bistro so it was over to the Eldo Hotel for a bite to eat and then back to camp for sleep.
PHOTOS TO COME
Monday, 24 April 2017
Day 26 - Monday 24/04/2017
An easy day today with only a couple of small hiccups along the way.
About 3am this morning we were hit with an unexpected storm which blew that hard it felt like the camper trailer was going to take off, lots of rain, and a little thunder and lightning. We all managed to survive however others in the campground were not so lucky. A van 2 spots down from us had their awning snap and blow over the road, and a couple across the campground were in swags under an awning and their awning also snapped and them and their swags got flooded out!!!
When we eventually arose from bed his morning we headed out and looked at one of the underground museums and dugout where Sean bought me a beautiful opal bracelet. We then knicked over the road into the underground Catholic Church, this was such a cute and beautiful structure.
From there we went and did some caching and claimed 5 before lunch including one at Crocodile Harrys house (wow this guy lead an amazingly adventurous life) and another along the famous dog fence.
Dog Fence 360
Breakaways National Park
Crocodile Harrys
Big Winch Lookout
Back to the camp for a quick lunch and what was meant to be a quick repair on the trailer jockey wheel (the handle sheered off somewhere between Marla and Coober Pedy). We had dropped into the hardware shop on the way into town yesterday afternoon however when we went to install it today we discovered that it had the wrong fittings and would not fix our drawer bar. Back to the hardware store and we managed to swap the wheel for another one (lucky since we had no receipt). Back to the campsite and use the pliers to drop the trailer back on the car and we start again installing the second wheel.......NO LUCK this time the wheel was too tall and would not fit the height required to get back on car, pliers to remove it off the car again and back to the hardware shop.... the staff by now know us :-( and when we walked in one of the ladies had a little chuckle. Swapped the wheel again this time making sure the staff opened the boxes to ensure we got one that fits and then back to the campground, pliers back out and we got the wheel fixed. About an hour, $120 (including fuel) later and we were able to head back out for some more caching!!!!
7 more caches under our belt we gave up for the day and headed back to camp for dinner, hamburgers eaten we sat and answered the 7 earthcaches we had done and emailed of the answers so we can log the finds.
Total caches for our trip (from Bonnells Bay) including the earthcaches we are waiting to hear about is currently sitting at 146 not bad for a couple of weeks.
Off to Woomera tomorrow only a short day really with about 350km to travel
NIGHT EVERYONE
PS I'll post photos once we have wifi
About 3am this morning we were hit with an unexpected storm which blew that hard it felt like the camper trailer was going to take off, lots of rain, and a little thunder and lightning. We all managed to survive however others in the campground were not so lucky. A van 2 spots down from us had their awning snap and blow over the road, and a couple across the campground were in swags under an awning and their awning also snapped and them and their swags got flooded out!!!
When we eventually arose from bed his morning we headed out and looked at one of the underground museums and dugout where Sean bought me a beautiful opal bracelet. We then knicked over the road into the underground Catholic Church, this was such a cute and beautiful structure.
From there we went and did some caching and claimed 5 before lunch including one at Crocodile Harrys house (wow this guy lead an amazingly adventurous life) and another along the famous dog fence.
Dog Fence 360
Breakaways National Park
Crocodile Harrys
Big Winch Lookout
Back to the camp for a quick lunch and what was meant to be a quick repair on the trailer jockey wheel (the handle sheered off somewhere between Marla and Coober Pedy). We had dropped into the hardware shop on the way into town yesterday afternoon however when we went to install it today we discovered that it had the wrong fittings and would not fix our drawer bar. Back to the hardware store and we managed to swap the wheel for another one (lucky since we had no receipt). Back to the campsite and use the pliers to drop the trailer back on the car and we start again installing the second wheel.......NO LUCK this time the wheel was too tall and would not fit the height required to get back on car, pliers to remove it off the car again and back to the hardware shop.... the staff by now know us :-( and when we walked in one of the ladies had a little chuckle. Swapped the wheel again this time making sure the staff opened the boxes to ensure we got one that fits and then back to the campground, pliers back out and we got the wheel fixed. About an hour, $120 (including fuel) later and we were able to head back out for some more caching!!!!
7 more caches under our belt we gave up for the day and headed back to camp for dinner, hamburgers eaten we sat and answered the 7 earthcaches we had done and emailed of the answers so we can log the finds.
Total caches for our trip (from Bonnells Bay) including the earthcaches we are waiting to hear about is currently sitting at 146 not bad for a couple of weeks.
Off to Woomera tomorrow only a short day really with about 350km to travel
NIGHT EVERYONE
PS I'll post photos once we have wifi
Sunday, 23 April 2017
Day 23 - Friday 21/04/2017
Today was a highlight for me and I got to cross 2 big things of my bucket list.
We were up and off to the Ulur/Kata Tjuta National Park to see Uluru (The Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), wow the beauty of both was so much more than I ever imagined. First we walked through the Cultral Centre at Uluru and then went off to Kata Tjuta to do the 2 walks, the first to the Walpa Gorge and the 2nd to the first lookout at the Valley of the Winds, we decided not to do the second lookout due to the heat from the middle of the day and the fact we were all starving for lunch.
Both the walks were amazing and I could have been lost doing some great photography if it hadn't been for the heat.
360 Panoramas (click links)
http://pnr.ma/delFsw
http://pnr.ma/cSEzfM
http://pnr.ma/eeHNrV
http://pnr.ma/dKQkDd
http://pnr.ma/dzSQKm
http://pnr.ma/eGYmEP
http://pnr.ma/cvHHTs
http://pnr.ma/bPokgy
About 2pm and we head back to the Cultral Centre for some lunch and then we went for a drive around the base of Uluru stopping at all the little parking areas and walks along the way. We were lucky in the fact that as we were getting ready to leave an area a number of tour buses arrived so we were able to stay just ahead of the madness.
360 Panoramas (click links)
http://pnr.ma/dxsJJa
http://pnr.ma/bdXedG
http://pnr.ma/cWByoj
http://pnr.ma/edhunS
http://pnr.ma/aortfE
http://pnr.ma/dlYYue
http://pnr.ma/bAMEJK
http://pnr.ma/eJVLEg
http://pnr.ma/cXvwXd
http://pnr.ma/dtCyxy
http://pnr.ma/evtiqn
http://pnr.ma/cpFtYA
Both Kata Tjuta and Uluru is something that every person should experience at least once in their lifetime.
After we finished the last walk we realised that the sun was setting so quickly headed to the sunrise viewing platform to watch the sunseton the rock and give me a chance to have some photography fun before going back to camp for a BBQ dinner with DarzeeDi and ACTchil.
Tons and Tons of photos from today as we had 2 digital cameras going with the 4 of us using them (I will upload them when we have wifi)
We were up and off to the Ulur/Kata Tjuta National Park to see Uluru (The Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), wow the beauty of both was so much more than I ever imagined. First we walked through the Cultral Centre at Uluru and then went off to Kata Tjuta to do the 2 walks, the first to the Walpa Gorge and the 2nd to the first lookout at the Valley of the Winds, we decided not to do the second lookout due to the heat from the middle of the day and the fact we were all starving for lunch.
Both the walks were amazing and I could have been lost doing some great photography if it hadn't been for the heat.
360 Panoramas (click links)
http://pnr.ma/delFsw
http://pnr.ma/cSEzfM
http://pnr.ma/eeHNrV
http://pnr.ma/dKQkDd
http://pnr.ma/dzSQKm
http://pnr.ma/eGYmEP
http://pnr.ma/cvHHTs
http://pnr.ma/bPokgy
About 2pm and we head back to the Cultral Centre for some lunch and then we went for a drive around the base of Uluru stopping at all the little parking areas and walks along the way. We were lucky in the fact that as we were getting ready to leave an area a number of tour buses arrived so we were able to stay just ahead of the madness.
360 Panoramas (click links)
http://pnr.ma/dxsJJa
http://pnr.ma/bdXedG
http://pnr.ma/cWByoj
http://pnr.ma/edhunS
http://pnr.ma/aortfE
http://pnr.ma/dlYYue
http://pnr.ma/bAMEJK
http://pnr.ma/eJVLEg
http://pnr.ma/cXvwXd
http://pnr.ma/dtCyxy
http://pnr.ma/evtiqn
http://pnr.ma/cpFtYA
Both Kata Tjuta and Uluru is something that every person should experience at least once in their lifetime.
After we finished the last walk we realised that the sun was setting so quickly headed to the sunrise viewing platform to watch the sunseton the rock and give me a chance to have some photography fun before going back to camp for a BBQ dinner with DarzeeDi and ACTchil.
Tons and Tons of photos from today as we had 2 digital cameras going with the 4 of us using them (I will upload them when we have wifi)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)