2012 Around Australia: Day 41 - 48 25th March

Hi All,

Well it’s that time of the week again and we are settled in for the evening and ready to scribe the week’s happenings. We have spoken to many of you this week to say “Hi” and to let you know that although we are on the adventure of a lifetime we still love and miss you immensely. So we will get on with the job of letting you know what we have been up to.

Day 41 Sunday 25^th March 2012

I spent a lot of this morning trying to get hold of my little man just to let him know I may not be there but I am thinking of him on his special day. Happy Birthday my little sweetheart Chase, and remember Ouma loves you heaps and would have loved to have spent the day with you. But this adventure, I will tell you about till you are blue in the face and you will say to me, ”Ouma you already told me that” and I will laugh and say “I know my sweetheart but you need to hear it again”.

My other little sweetheart Troy was not happy today. His brother was getting pressies and he was not. I let him know that it was his brother’s special day and it did not mean we loved him any less it just was not his special day. His special day is July and it will be his turn. “I know Ouma” he tells me, but I am sure he was still not happy. I love you boys heaps. Callan wants to know when you are going to visit him.

Anyway back to the blog. We set off for Yorke Peninsula fairly early this morning as we had a lot of travelling to do. We wanted to go down the east side of Yorke with the intention of possibly stopping off at a camp spot around Black Point just past Ardrossan. We did however get down that end of the neck fairly early and decided to push on through to Innes National Park, on the toe of the Yorke Peninsula. We arrived at the approximately 3:30pm and stopped off at the Stenhouse Bay Campgrounds. There was nothing there except toilets and whilst we have been to other sites with similar facilities, this one was just barren. No trees for shade, it was close to the beach/jetty but that was about the only attraction there. We decided to push on through, as there were 2 other campgrounds in the park. We subsequently found out there were plenty more, biut according to camp 6 there were only the three. We passed Cable Bay Campgrounds but again according to Camp 6 no toilet facilities so pushed on through to Pondalowie Campgrounds, which apparently had showers. We are fast learning that the Camp 6 Book cannot be totally relied upon, Cable Bay does have toilets and Pondalowie does not have showers. The ground was hard, mostly gravel from the rocks that are a prominent feature of the landscape, but the sites were a good size and well laid out.

We set up camp and went for a walk to the nearby Fisherman’s Village. There are approximately 10-15 what Oscar would call Humpies. We found this rather strange as it is a National Park. We had a light dinner as we had stopped off at Yorketown on our way down for a light lunch and drink; yes you guessed it the usual Beer and a Shandy.

Lots of Roos around and the stars were phenomenal.

Oscar, Mark, Kathy and Zoe.

Home in Pondalowie Campgrounds in Innes National Park

Her Ladyship

Mum and Bubs Feeding

The Bay outside the Fishermens Village

Day 42 Monday 26^th March 2012

Took a walk this morning to 2 bays situated next to each other, behind the campgrounds. When we arrived there and sat down to take our runners off I noticed what I thought were fins. I called over to Oscar to look out for the Shark fins and when I pointed it out to him he confirmed they most definitely looked like shark fins. We stood there for a while and observed the fins several times more. We do believe that they were young sharks feeding in the bay. We continued on our walk to the second bay which was just a beautiful as the first. On the return to the first bay I did notice a “slithering” on the sand towards the seaweed, so we took another route back. We returned to camp around lunch time had a drink and used the facilities before heading off to the beach around the fisherman’s cottages for a walk. There is a wreck of a fishing boat on the beach and we walked past that to Pondalowie Surf Beach. There is no life in the rocks which is a bit of a worry. However did spot a seal out playing or was it fishing. After a very satisfying walk along the beach, besides Oscar ensuring that he got a bit of his boot camp in by making us walk up a sand dune the size of Mount Everest. We returned to camp got into the car and went off to Stenhouse Bay, Rhino Tavern, for a bowl of chips and the usual drink.

On the drive back we stopped off at the jetty and then Cable Bay as I spotted a school of Dolphins. We watched them frolic for a while then we headed back to camp. Oscar ventured off to have drinks with the neighbours, who had pulled into camp that day, I chose to stay in and go to bed early.

Bay one

Bay two

Making friends with a Skink while climbing Mount Everest

Mount Everest

Boat Wreck on the beach

Arty Oscar - Making an Impression

Another of his artistic Shots

The Jetty at Stenhouse Bay

Day 43 Tuesday 27^th March 2012

Today we set off for Browns beach. A busload of school kids had pitched up last night and made camp fairly close to us. They too were headed off to Brown’s beach. We stopped off at Shells Beach on the way there, and once again I am really impressed with the amenities set out for people in this country. Sheppard’s Hut, has bunk beds a fireplace matches and anything you would need except food and drinks, should you as a bush walker find yourself out in the night lost and needing of a place to rest. How damn civilised!!!

We continued on to Brown’s beach and found the busload of kids already there. The kids were snorkelling and catching fish and just having a terrific day out and both of us commented on how much good it would be doing those kids to get them out of the lounge room/bedroom away from computers/games and out into the fresh air just enjoying the things we did as kids. To our absolute delight there was life amongst the rocks on this beach. We walked around amongst the rocks for some time just admiring the various colours of the starfish, the crabs and the schools of little fish.

After playing on the beach we decided to drive back but stop off at the other sites we had noticed such as Ethel’s Wreck and Innison Historic Village. We went back to Rhino’s Tavern, after doing a walk around the village, for lunch of Hamburger and drinks. Drove into Marion Bay to see what the little town was like, and put in some fuel, not filled, as fuel is pretty expensive in these remote little towns. We put in just enough to get us to our next destination and hopefully a bigger town with less expensive fuel.

We had made the decision that we would move on tomorrow as we had seen most of everything that was to be seen in the area. We were heading to Mount Remarkable if we could make it in a day.

Brown's Beach

Life at Brown's beach

Oscar Close Up of Sea Life

Sheppard Hut

Inside the Hut

Ethel's Wreck

Inniston Historical Village

Ruin from within a Ruin

The restored Telephone Booth

The name of the Pub

Day 44 Wednesday 28^th March 2012

We rose really early today as we had a lot of driving to do. Mount Remarkable was approximately 350km’s from Innes National Park. We stopped off at Kadina which also had a dump station so did the housework first and filled with water. We parked the van and walked to the nearest hotel for a counter lunch and drink. We decided that we were early enough to push on through to Mount Remarkable. We had decided on a campsite called Mambray Creek. This took us through Port Broughton, Port Pirie and Port Germein. We arrived at camp approximately 4:30pm. On arrival we were greeted by 2 goanna’s within a few metres of each other. These were fairly large Goanna’s. We set up camp and I must say very impressed with the facilities. There are showers and toilets and BBQ facilities.

Settle in for the night. Tomorrow we will drive into Port Germein and Port Pirie to see what the towns have on offer.

Dump Stations - Just so you know the drill too

New Home - Mambray Creek

View from Our Lounge

Sunset at our Joint

Now this is what you call a lizard

And another

Day 45 Thursday 29^th March 2012

Woke at a reasonable time and set off for Port Germein. On the way out we decided to pull into the Parks offices to see what walks were on offer around Mount Remarkable. Loaded with the brochures we continued through to Port Germein. At Port Germein we took a walk on one of the longest wooden jettys in Australia. It was a magnificent walk. The tide was out and no doubt probably does not get very high at any time as we judged based on the vehicle which has been invented to get the fishing boats in and out of the bay. See photos. What an ingenious invention.

There are steps leading off the jetty and you can walk down them and step into the bay. Again not something you find on most jetty’s as the water does not tend to get radically deeper the further in you walk. We met a couple at the end of the jetty that were catching Blue Swimmer Crab. There was a stingray hanging out around their nets and is believed to have been there since crabbing started off the jetty. He is too lazy to go do his own fishing so steals the bait out of the crab nets. Cheeky!!

We drove on to Port Pirie and I decided to buy some sandals as my feet have been hurting from wearing thongs. I’m not sure that the sandals have made much difference though. We passed by Mitsubishi and Oscar ordered Keyed lock nuts for the Pajero. Then we headed over the road to the pub for a counter lunch and a drink. They have a garden gnome named “Hauley” after one of their patrons who died of cancer. I was tempted to pinch the gnome but after hearing his story decided it would be rather cruel.

After lunch we went to the camp shop and Joe I finally found a Cob Oven. I really wanted to buy it, plus a washing machine but Oscar didn’t buy into either of these so our only purchase was toilet chemicals and clips for the awning ropes. After this we went to the Laundromat to do the usual, then off to Woolies to do some top up shopping then back to camp.

I almost forgot to tell you we witnessed the birth of a lamb today on our way back to camp from Port Pirie. It was a truly magnificent experience.

The following day we had decided we were going to do a few walks in Alligator Gorge.

The Jetty at Port Germein

Oscar - under the Boardwalk Port Germein

Neccessity - Master of Invention

This is the vehicle that takes the boats out and brings them back in to and from fishing

Standing in the water in Spencers Gulf - after climbing down the steps alongside the jetty

RIP - Hauly

The little lamb taking her first faultering steps.

Day 46 Friday 30^th March 2012

I didn’t have a good sleep last night as it was incredibly hot; it only got down to 25 degrees at 2:00am. After breakfast we headed out to the Gorge which was through Wilmington. On the way there we drove up to Hudson’s lookout which was pretty remarkable, the other remarkable thing was, that there was a couple up there in the middle of nowhere camping out for the night. This amazes me every time as I still cannot believe how safe you are in this amazing country.

We got back on track and arrived at the car park to Alligator Gorge. There were 3 walks. We did Ali’s Lookout first this took a few minutes then we went to the opposite side of the gorge again a very short walk. We then decided to pack the knapsack and with the rolls I had prepared that morning and with the juices we bought when we did our shopping at port Pirie. Off we went down a flight of steps into the base of the gorge. I was not sure what to expect as I had not done any of the homework on the walks. We went to the Terrace first which was pretty fairly nice to look at and then decided that we would go through to the Narrows. Well what a stunning place. There was definitely a wow factor there for me. We then decided to walk back via the alternate route which took us up to Red Gum Flats. This is a picnic area again setup with all the facilities required for a day out in the bush, Toilets, BBQ Facilities including picnic table and benches. We stopped off to have our lunch in this tranquil environment. We were the only people around. We then climbed our way back up the side of the hill to the car park.

Drove into Melrose as Oscar was sure we could do a walk to the summit of Mount Remarkable. But after discovering it would probably take more time than we had available for the rest of the day we decided to pop into the pub. We had a drink and headed to Port Pirie. We needed to pick up the keyed lock nuts that Oscar had ordered and to top up with juice for the following days hike. It was going to be a big one – 18 km’s. We had decided on Hidden Gorge after looking at a picture of it in the Parks magazine.

The Terrace at Alligator Gorge

We had a light dinner played a game of cards and went to bed fairly early as the walk was going to take 7 hours we wanted to get an early start so we did not have to run it.

The Terrace Alligator Gorge

Oscar - Holding up the walls of the Narrow Gorge

Another View of Narrow Gorge

Oscar's Dragonfly

Cottages for Rent in Melrose - this truck did hit a tree and they built the cottage around the design

Day 47 Saturday 31^st March 2012

Up bright and early had our brekkies and head to the visitor’s day car park. After parking the car in a nice shady area we headed out. When we got to the intersection a decision had to be made as to whether to go to Hidden Gorge via the Bluff or the Creek. We opted for the Bluff, climb while we were still fresh; and climb we did. After the first couple of hours I started feeling like a mountain goat. The terrain was rocky and the path was nothing more than a goat track and it was winding up the mountain. We climbed up the mountain and came across a Battery; which is tower primarily used to check out for bush fires. There were approximately 12 120 watt solar panels and again I laughed and was amazed at how there were no razor wire high fences protecting the solar panels or the tower, which would have been knocked off a long time ago in another country.

On we went, at one point we started descending down into the gorge with a fairly sheer drop off on the left side of the “goat track” and I felt as though I had a need to lean right into the mountain side so I didn’t feel as though I was going to topple over the edge. Eventually we descended into the gorge and the path led us along Alligator Creek. Each time we rounded a corner I said to Oscar it has to be here. The WOW factor has got to be here. On and on we went; we stopped off for lunch in the creek when we were half way through the trip and I had not found the wow factor yet. Nonetheless we plodded on after we had, had half our rations and then about another 1.5km further up the creek we rounded a corner and there it was…WOW!!!!! We arrived at the hidden gorge and knew that it was worth 7 hours and 18km’s. We spent a few moments there chatting to a young Dutch couple who arrived at the same time as us but from the opposite direction. They let us know that the rest of our trip was going to be fairly easy and we couldn’t say the same for them. Their walk was just beginning.

Whilst the rest of the trip was an easy walk on fresh legs both Oscar and I really felt the last 4 km’s. My feet were burning and his knee, groin and hip were giving him hell. I did inform him that were we come from if a horse goes lame on you, you shot it. He wanted to know what I was going to shoot him with and I advised it would have to be a slingshot.

Finally we made it back to the car. Sat in the Day Visitors Picnic Area ate the rest of our lunch. We had made the walk in 5.5hours. It was supposed to take 7. Back to camp and soaked my feet in a bucket of hot baby oiled water. Showered and bed. Tomorrow was a rest day.

Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby

Looking down the Mountain Goat Track

And Looking Up

8.6 to go at the front of the post

8.8 done at the back fo the post

Time for lunch and we are still in high spirits

The "WOW" factor - was definitely worth 18kms

Oscar thinks the blue arrows means climb the tree

Day 48 Sunday 1^st April 2012

Well as it turns out today is a rest day. But I have the job of catching up with the blog. I am now done and it is 12:23 (thank God for daylight saving I have another hour). Oscar has fixed the little plumbing problem we have had, maintained some of the loose plates on the van, water proofed the tent for our next tenting session and washed the car.

The rest of today for me will be spent doing “Glamping”. This is not what one does on a trip like this but to hell with it I owe myself some “Girlie” time.
I probably won’t be able to post today as there is no Telstra signal in this region; a first for the whole trip. I have Optus signal and Oscar does not have Telstra Signal; he is not happy.

Well have driven into Port Augusta so that we are able to upload and publish the blog. On the way out of the camp, I was driving and Oscar's diesel motor makes a fair amount of noise and I had the window open when I heard a rustle in the undergrowth. I stopped and said to Oscar he is out there. "What?" he asks so I said "the Goanna", "You can't hae heard the Goanna" he says and with that the Goanna comes walking out of the undergrowth. Now maybe he will understand why I jump alot when we are out walking. I hear every little sound.

Settled down in the pub with the usual and uploading the blog. Oscar has spoken to Scott and hopefully they will be able to Skype each other later.

Well till we update you again; please stay Happy, Healthy and Safe.

Well no photos today but here are some more of Sir Arty Oscar's Shots.