Committed Travellers

Only a couple of cafes open on Sundays in Broken Hill. I drove to Gourmet Crib Tin Cafe for our take away coffees. The coffee is good but the food display didn’t look very gourmet.

After breakfast I put on the first load of washing. Bluey was in need of a bath, but he tried to hide in the pillows.

When it was warm enough for T-shirt and shorts, I set up the table and big plastic bucket for Bluey’s bath. After towel drying him, I put him in the car to dry, where it was warm but not hot.

After he was dry I sat in the outdoor critter crate to give him a trim. Most of his loose fur stays in the crate, but it is a challenge grooming him on my lap.

The second load of washing was all towels. Most of the clothes lines in the sun were full, but with a slight breeze everything dried.

I have walked Bluey and Tilly separately around the caravan park. Tomorrow we will give Bluey a run on some green grass in town.

We went for dinner at the Palace Hotel with my nephew and his wife and nearly four year old daughter. This 1889 hotel featured in the fabulous film Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Food is average but my salmon was excellent.

I couldn’t take photos as good as those on the hotel website, so I copied theirs.

After yummy banana hotcakes, we farewelled our hosts and our friends, then headed to our first pit stop at Peterborough. We just propped in the main street, which doesn’t seem to have changed since any of our previous trips through this old railway town. The two storey Railway Hotel is on the opposite corner to the cabinet maker’s shop, which has been permanently closed. There is an entrance to the hotel on the corner under the roof turret with the wonky weather vane.

We drove through what’s left of Oodla Wirra, population 5. The halfway hotel looks more than halfway dead. There is a quarantine station that checks fruit and vegetables being transported into SA, but it was closed.

Our lunch stop was at Yunta, population 60. There are old railway trucks on a siding. I wondered about this small town having four all-weather tennis courts, but discovered that for 60 years, there was a Yunta Easter Tennis Tournament, which ended in 2023. The Yunta Tennis Club is yet to announce future plans for any future tournament.

There is unique and ever-changing scenery on the Barrier Hwy.

We drove through Manna Hill, Olary, and Cockburn, the last town in SA, before we crossed the border into NSW. While Broken Hill is in NSW, it operates on SA time and SA telephone area codes.

We expected to be allocated a powered site near the gate at the Broken Hill Tourist Park, but were sent to another dusty site next to a smelly drain. Anita persuaded the office to relocate us to the area we prefer. After we moved and set up, Anita cooked dinner for all of us.

We were the last van to leave Jamestown caravan park, but were not in a hurry. I topped up the tank for the diesel heater, and put 10 litres into our jerry can. This old truck was on display in the service station.

Our next stop was the Jamestown car wash that has a truck bay so we could drive through with the Bushtracker. We just focussed on removing the dust from yesterday’s drive through roadworks.

Soon after we drove onto RM Williams Way, we found ourselves behind an oversize truck. Oncoming vehicles had to stop on the verge to allow the wide truck to pass. There was a pilot vehicle ahead, but no following safety vehicle. We could not overtake, so I dropped back to avoid the inevitable dust. We stopped for a break at a roadside picnic table to allow the truck to get ahead. We could see a wind farm in the distance to the west, and paddocks to the east waiting for rain before they can be sown with wheat.

After we resumed our drive towards Orroroo, we heard over the CB radio that the oversize truck had just passed through the town. We stopped for a takeaway lunch from Two Farmers Daughters, a cafe and fresh produce store that opened late 2022. Our pulled pork bun was made fresh in the kitchen. As I waited outside with Bluey, one of our Roadie friends pulled up and stopped for a chat.

Orroroo has a wide centre median strip with lots of lovely green grass. Bluey was very happy to walk on the grass rather than in dust and dirt.

We moved on to Walloway, a small farm 10 minutes north of Orroroo. Our friends who live here are hosting a concert tonight on their property for up to 100 people. This is one of the SHE concerts featuring Beccy Cole, Felicity Urquhart and Lyn Bowtell, however Felicity is unwell, so Amber Joy Poulton is filling in for her.

The property has a house and sheds, but a new house is being built. When this 800mm concrete slab was poured, the concrete works at Whyalla and Port Pirie devoted all their trucks to delivering the concrete to complete the pour in one day.

There was no way we could keep the critters out of the dust, other than to walk then on the faux grass under the marquee. When Beccy arrived with Patsy, she and Bluey had a good run, but he doesn’t like her barking at him.

While sound checks were being done for the show, we watched a great all-around sunset.

The show was terrific. Each of the singers has a wonderful voice with different characteristics, and they are funny, sparking off each other. There were also tears as Beccy dedicated her song Poster Girl to our friend Chris Riley.

We left Nuriootpa about 9am to drive to Greenock for breakfast at El Estanco, but our breakfasts were disappointing. On our last trip to this part of SA, we had lovely meals at this venue, but it has changed hands. The cacti garden is still impressive.

This old tree growing near the cafe is taking over the footpath.

We had a rest stop at the tiny settlement of Waterloo. The toilets are located in a concrete water tank. The area is known for the nearby wind farm.

We booked into the Jamestown caravan park, getting the last powered site. The park is expanding with another 20 powered sites under construction.

Google maps didn’t know about the 34 kms of roadworks between Spalding and Jamestown, where the speed limit was 60kph, at times 40kph, with two long stops where only one side of the road was open.

Unusually, there are three banks in town, each opening part-time hours. Equally unusual is that each bank occupies an historic building that was originally built as a bank.

There are three murals beside the former Savings Bank of SA, including a portrait of Sir James Fergusson, the Governor of SA at the time the town was named.

The shop with blue trimmings is Shear Magic Shearing Supplies, which sells anything and everything a sheep shearer might need. I recently bought small Shear Magic dog clippers. Nearby, there is a pop in dog groomer open 7 days from 6am to 10pm. I didn’t notice any dogs about town that would need grooming.

We had dinner at the Commercial Hotel, where a few of the roadworkers were gathered. My Sri Lankan curry was tasty,  and Anita enjoyed her T-bone steak. The critters devoured her leftovers.

We walked from the caravan park to Barista Sista for coffee and sourdough fruit toast. I walked Bluey back to get the car as Anita did more shopping. Park Ave runs between the rear of the shops and North Para River. Vines grow the other side of the river, and on Park Ave I was impressed by these two grand gum trees. The concrete levee bank is designed to protect Nuriootpa from 1 in 100 year flood events. Demountable flood barriers are used in other parts of the town.

After it had warmed up a bit, it was another pleasant sunny day following a minimum of -2.3°C at 7am.

I finally got around to vacuuming the dirt off the floor of the car. Our table in the Bushtracker has become a bit loose and creaky, so I removed it, cleaned parts otherwise hard to reach, tightened all of the retaining screws, and put it back together. It is a lot better but not perfect.

Tilly had lots of outdoor time, but I had to shoot away a magpie that was pestering her. When we all went out for dinner, I put Bluey’s warmest coat on him and let him sleep in the car. He gets far less stressed doing this than if we leave him at home in the van.

Our meal at fermentAsian was delicious, and from all accounts, the wine was excellent.

Today our dear Roadie friend Chris Riley passed away. She bravely battled several different types of cancer from her teenage years through to her seventies, but she couldn’t beat the last one.

Chris and Bill have been together for more than 52 years. Chris had hoped to make it to their 50th wedding anniversary later this year, but that wasn’t to be. Bill has been by her side throughout these medical battles.

Chris loved reading my blog, especially about the antics of our critters, and seeing their photos. Our Roadie family is reaching out to Bill, and we hope to see him soon.

We left Auburn at 10am and made a tourist stop at the small town of Saddleworth. The colours used in the house renovation make it stand out.

I recognised the yellow scaffold platform as being the same as the one I bought recently. I am glad I don’t have as much work to do on it as the owner of this house.

A former shop now houses a local museum. It was closed, otherwise I would have visited. The front bay windows are in an unusual timber frame.

The 1873 Saddleworth Institute was remodelled in 1963 when the unattractive entrance was added to the front door.

This impressive two storey Art Deco former bank was built in 1938 as a branch of the Bank of Adelaide. The branch was closed in 1942 as part of wartime rationalisation. In November 2023 the bank building and attached residence was sold for $539,000.

We checked in to the Nuriootpa caravan park just after midday. After setting up, we drove to the bakery for lunch, then to the Barossa Co-op for shopping. The rest of the day was devoted to washing and getting it dried. Clothes that can’t go in the dryer are hanging around the Bushtracker.

On one of my treks to the laundry, this gorgeous kookaburra was sitting on a clothes line. He or she posed for photos!

We finally had a couple of very light rain showers at Auburn, but a lot more is needed. Our lunch venue today was not pet friendly, so the pooches had to stay home in their respective RVs. We kept our critters under camera surveillance and monitored the temperature in the Bushtracker.

We drove to Polish Hill to eat at the Bush DeVine Winery Restaurant at Pauletts. As we drove up the driveway and around a roundabout, followed by Mr Eversoimportant, who entered the roundabout from the wrong direction and parked where he effectively occupied two spaces. He rushed through his wine and meal, without having any conversation with his partner, then hurrying out. Good riddance! We enjoyed the view across the valley, and the duck dish received high praise.

Just before we were leaving the restaurant, a couple came to our table and said they recognised us – they are Roadies who did one trip with Aussie Road Crew. They arrived at Auburn this morning and are camped next to us. They are nice people who are self-confessed wine wankers. They are going on a bus trip over several days around the wine regions staying in motels. They have arranged somewhere to leave their caravan.

Our drive home was via historic Mintaro, where I walked around the many historic buildings, while the others stopped at Reilly’s Winery for wine tasting.

Most of the old buildings were built in the mid 1800s, and many are showing signs of deterioration.

Three churches were built on the hill, but two need a lot of attention.

Some buildings have been very well maintained or renovated. The first is the Institute building, the second is the 1856 Devonshire House, which provides BnB accommodation, and the third is the post office. The rear of the post office building has been transformed into luxury accommodation.

Several buildings are beyond restoration. The window opening still retains a sign indicating this first building was once occupied by a carpenter. The dry stone slate walls of the second building are in good condition, but it is unlikely it will ever get a replacement roof or be occupied. The slate is from a local quarry and was also used to build boundary fences in conjunction with other rocks.

Mintaro has a small population of just over 200 residents. The Magpie and Stump Hotel and Reilly’s Restaurant are the only dining options in the small town. There is no shop other than the post office.

There is a lawn bowls club, a decent playground for kids, and a football field that has green grass used by the Minman Sporting Club, which attracts football and netball players from Mintaro and nearby Manoora.

Back at our Auburn camp, I took Bluey for a run on the tennis courts. He wanted his little friend to play chasey, but Bluey was too boisterous, so I just threw his ball for him to fetch.

Frost on the ground this morning and ice in the washing bucket! The minimum overnight temperature was -2°C. I left a seat cushion cover soaking overnight. When I lifted the brush, the seat cover came up as a frozen lump.

A more serious problem caused by sub-zero temperatures is condensation in the caravan. We ran the diesel heater on low all night but found condensation inside some cupboards. After drying all damp clothes, I packed most of them into shopping bags, and these will stay in the Toyota overnight. On our next trip, I will pack dry bags that I use to keep gear dry on the kayak.

We ran the air con on heat mode, but since being repaired while we were at Tamworth in January, the compressor is very noisy.

We loaded our friends and two dogs into the Toyota and drove to the Watervale Hotel for lunch. We rugged up and sat outside under cover with heaters on. Our pooches had coats on and warm beds to rest in while we ate.

The hotel has regularly been owned by women – one who established and named the hotel, another who rebuilt it after a fire in 1913, and most recently, one of the current owners undertook a major renovation, turning the hotel into a fine dining venue. The furniture in the women’s toilet is a good example of the quirky design features of the hotel.

Our food was mostly great, but the kale dish did not have enough parmesan trimmings. I had the delicious kingfish ceviche, while others enjoyed risotto, prawns, and duck sliders. Unusually, I wasn’t tempted by anything on the dessert menu.

Later in the afternoon, I walked Bluey and Tilly separately to the nearby fenced playground where they were safe from big dogs. Other sporting facilities are colocated with the Auburn Oval, but appear not to be in use, including the oval itself, four lawn tennis courts, and club rooms. The lawn bowls club is surviving. The population of Auburn is around 600, but the median age is mid fifties.

Tilly wanted to be brushed while lying on my lap near Bluey, then she played with the brush.

An ambulance came to our caravan park this morning. A little while later, a woman was looking for the dump site that she had just walked past. She told me that her husband had been taken to hospital and she didn’t know how to use the dump site. I  showed her the way there and was giving her step by step instructions, when a man came to use the dump site and started giving contradictory advice!

We packed up and hooked up, leaving the caravan park at 2 minutes to 10am heading towards Auburn. I had planned a stop at Parafield Gardens, where there is an Aldi store on a stand-alone site, and we were able to find a place to park with the van. We went shopping for merino wool winter clothing during the annual Aldi snow sale. The store had plenty of stock, so hopefully we will keep warm at night in the outback.

The Auburn Community Caravan Park is based around the town’s oval and other recreation facilities. We didn’t book early enough to get two of the limited number of powered sites tonight, but will move to powered sites tomorrow. The facilities here are excellent, but some campers are inconsiderate driving too fast and kicking up dust. This is the well-equipped camp kitchen with a small herb and vegetable garden.

I left Bluey with Anita and walked to town to have a look around and buy a bottle of scotch. The town has several wine outlets, but only one pub with very limited stock. I rang Anita to see whether she wanted Grants or the Johnnie Walker Black – these being the only two bottles available! She opted for the latter but is still complaining about it being a blended whisky!

Without realising it was on, we are staying in the Clare Valley during the Clare Valley Gourmet Week 2024, which started yesterday. A couple of the cellar doors had music and other entertainment as I walked past, and a lot more is planned for Auburn and other towns and wineries in the Clare Valley.

Many of the old buildings in town were built using local bluestone, such as the Gothic Revival Catholic Church and the Georgian style Auburn Institute, both built in 1866.

The Rising Sun hotel is for sale. Hopefully, someone will buy this business and continue to operate it as a hotel. The cast iron lacework is based on a representation of the sun.

The Corn Store was also built in the 1860s and operated as a general store and wheat and flour store. In 1882 the local butcher acquired the building, and it remained in his family for about 100 years. It now houses a gallery. The writing on the side of the building could have been there for about 100 years. It advertises Burfords Signal Soap.

Burfods was a soap and candle making business established in Adelaide in 1840, ceasing operations in the 1960s. It became the dominant soap maker for South and Western Australia. In 1924 Burfords merged with J Kitchen & Sons and Lever Bros which became Lever & Kitchen, and finally Unilever, when Lever combined with the Dutch company Unie to form Unilever. It is unlikely the large ad for Burfords soap would have been painted after 1924.

Our friends are parked next to us and by late afternoon, Bluey was chomping at the bit wanting to visit them. It was a short visit as he kept patting me, which I realised meant he was hungry. Both critters are eating more in the cooler weather.

We are running our diesel heater as the temperature at 9pm was 4°C, and it is forecast to drop to -1° with possible frost in the early hours of tomorrow morning. Bluey and Tilly are comfortable on our bed.

Yesterday I made sure Tilly had lots of exercise and attention, because she was going to be left alone in the van most of the evening. After one of her walks, I left her lying outside in the laundry bag, but she hopped out and flattened the bag after dragging it onto the sand

When she came inside for a rest, she jumped into Anita’s wardrobe and made herself comfortable on top of her clothes.

By late afternoon she was snoozing in her doughnut, keeping out of the cold wind.

We gave Bluey a warm bath as he was smelling doggy. He tolerated this quite well as I didn’t use the hair dryer on him. He fits into a large black recycling box, which doubles as storage when not being used as a dog bath.

We took Bluey in the car with us when we drove to town for The Greatest Show on Earth, also known as Carole Sturtzel’s 80th birthday party. We know Carole as she is Beccy’s mother. Carole had a career singing country music in a band and is still a great performer.

Carole’s grandson Ricky Albeck also provided entertainment, supported by one of Carole’s former band members and Golden Guitar winner, Trev Warner.

Carole joined two of her friends in singing an acapella number. Those women certainly know how to sing!

Beccy ran the show and sang a couple of  numbers solo, and joined with her mum and her son Ricky on stage.

Bluey gets less stressed if we are able to leave him locked in his car on his bed. I took him over to catch up with a couple of Roadie friends as they were finishing their dinner outside the pub. He recognised them, and a new memory was confirmed by a couple of chips!

Today I took Bluey the the Brighton jetty to catch up with Adelaide friends. They only see him about once a year, but again, he remembers them.

I didn’t eat one of my sandwiches at lunch, so packed it into a takeaway cardboard box. I left this in Bluey’s crate together with my handbag, a strategy to make sure I remember to unload the dog, handbag, and the food. I was surprised to find an empty box and remnants of my sandwich. Bluey had eaten most of it, only leaving the pickles and some of the greens. If I am going to leave leftovers in the crate with him again, I will need a more secure container!