Committed Travellers

We were busy cleaning out dust and doing multiple loads of washing and drying. Our condensation woes continue. I unscrewed the large front window frame which contains the blockout blind and flyscreen on rollers. The blockout blind was wet so I removed that and dried the frame and wall and screwed it back on.

We rotated the mattress and aired the mattress topper in the car while it was parked in the sun. Everything was airing and drying so we drove to Tanunda to wash Bluey at the dog wash next to the car wash. He trembles whenever he goes near a groomer or dog wash. Today was no exception but we needed to wash away the red dust. He ended up two shades lighter! We took plenty of towels which were essential as the blower was not warm enough for him to be comfortable or to get his fur dry. Back in the Bushtracker I finished drying him with the hair dryer.

I was concerned Bluey’s jumper might not dry in time so bought him another one. Silly me didn’t realise I had bought him an Adelaide Crows jumper! He still needs a trim but that will have to wait.

Tilly wanted to get in on the act so I put the jumper on her for the photo shoot.

We are planning where and when we will be travelling. Tomorrow we are having dinner at Ferment Asian in Tanunda, and will leave Nuriootpa on Thursday.

It has been a long time since we woke to frost. This ute was parked next to us. I took the photo through the caravan window as I wasn’t going outside until I had to.

The post breakfast dish washing extended into helping the staff pack up the cooking equipment. We were willing workers but did not know how most things were packed to travel safely in the trailer. There were also multiple interruptions with Roadies doing the rounds giving farewell hugs.

We hooked up the Bushtracker and said the last of our farewells and thankyous. Our first stop was Jamestown to have lunch at the Commercial Hotel. We drove past a truck stop so turned at the next corner to approach from the rear. We washed the car then pulled forward to wash the caravan. Both looked much better without red dust.

Jamestown has lots of parking for long vehicles – a big plus for caravanners. After ordering my lunch I stepped back outside to take a couple of photos. This building houses a large clothing shop which also sells knitting wool. After lunch we couldn’t resist a visit and Anita bought a lovely jumper. I bought some wool to knit an extended beanie for our musician Roadie with dreadlocks.

Some buildings were built using local limestone, which is not a very robust construction material. The countryside has hundreds of ruins of old buildings built using local materials.

The local butcher claims to be trading from the oldest continuous butcher shop in South Australia. Who keeps such records?

We continued our journey in a southerly direction reconciling the different routes selected by Google Maps and our Tom Tom GPS navigator. We were following Booborowie Rd which is a quality sealed road. I missed a left turn and continued on Booborowie Rd which unexpectedly changed to gravel after a couple of hundred metres. There was nowhere to turn around safely so we ended up driving several kilometres on different gravel roads, recoating car and caravan with dust!

We reached Nuriootpa about half an hour later than we otherwise should have. Our caravan park was booked so check-in was straightforward. Blue and Tilly were glad to be out of the car. We set up and had a simple dinner, staying warm in our van instead of braving the cold outside at Orroroo.

It was sunny all day but still very cold, except in areas getting sunshine out of the wind. We realised our battery storage problem on the Bushtracker might be an issue with the control panel. We pressed the “synchronise” buttons and the reading rose from 50% charged to 100% fully charged. This annoying feature of the battery monitoring system caused us to waste time recharging.

I went to town to the dump site and for an outing. It was good to see the coffee shop busy serving locals and visitors, even though I had a short wait. I drove the short distance to this large gum tree. It is difficult to imagine how many similar trees there were in this region before European settlement.

I drove up to the lookout on Tank Hill to see the view of the Flinders Ranges.

When driving around town I have been impressed by some of the older houses so photographed a couple of them.

I also came across a settler’s slab hut. The front is made from slabs of timber with mud infills. A couple of walls were constructed using local stone, with later corrugated iron additions.

After lunch back at the farm I drove to the nearby Walloway monument to mark the centenary of a train crash in 1901 which killed two people and injured others. The old railway line near the crash site no longer crosses the gravel road, but the warning signs are still there.

There are a couple of other ruins on the farm, but I only had time to see the church.

Our two Roadie friends who couldn’t come to this gathering, suddenly decided they would be able to arrive late this afternoon. They were able to catch up with other Roadies and enjoy the group dinner and final concert. Blue was keen to visit them.

While we are finding the cold a challenge, we at least have a warm van thanks to our diesel heater. Some of our Roadie friends are here in small campervans with no heating.

After breakfast we drove into town to buy the papers and have lunch at the Orroroo pub. A couple of Roadie friends joined us for what turned out to be a very disappointing meal.

I hosed the dust off the solar panels on top of the Bushtracker to improve our chances of having them recharge our batteries. To further boost the batteries I got the generator out of its storage box and found water in the bottom of the box. After my failed attempts to start the generator, one friend cleaned the spark plug and another started the it. We ran the generator until it was out of petrol. Tomorrow we will have to connect the Toyota and caravan to boost our batteries.

The sun was out most of the afternoon. While it is too low in the sky to quickly charge our batteries, Tilly finally enjoyed some time outside in the sun and out of the wind. When it was time for her to go back inside she found a warm spot on top of my clothes. The sunset was impressive.

One of our Roadie mates has been studying photography and taking lots of photos, such as this one of me and Blue sitting with Merryl who came all the way from WA for this four day get together. Merryl’s partner died a few months ago, and Merryl can no longer drive after suffering strokes. Her daughter has never been on an Aussie Road Crew tour, but she drove her mum here so she could catch up with the friends she has made.

Beccy suggested our hosts invite their local friends to this evening’s concert so we had a larger audience. During the concert a couple of Roadie latecomers arrived with their huge van. They had been delayed due to poor health.

The concert was great but it was a struggle to keep warm. I ended up wearing two pairs of socks, thermal leggings topped by thermally lined jeans, a long sleeve thermal top, merino jumper, fleecy jacket, a down vest, two down jackets, gloves and a beanie! For part of the show I had Bluey on my lap. He had on two jackets and I covered him with a blanket. He hates being left in the caravan at night and lays quietly on my lap during concerts.

After having a Roadie breakfast and helping with the dishes, we drove the 10kms into Orroroo. It is colder today than yesterday because of the wind. The prediction is it will drop to zero tonight.

We found moisture absorbing tubs in the IGA so now have four in cupboards and behind the bed. Hopefully they will help with our condensation issue.

It wasn’t pleasant walking outside so we retreated to a warm coffee shop until it was time to go to the Commercial Hotel for lunch. Both of our meals were tasty and cooked well. I braved the cold to take a couple of photos. Visitor Information is located in this lovely old building. The detailed carvings are unusual.

In the 1800s sandstone was used to build churches and houses in this region as there was little by way of local timber. A lot of the corner and window features on local buildings are painted heritage red, with red roofs.

Years ago we stayed one night in Orroroo on our way to Alice Springs. We went looking for the old house we visited and saw these lambs roaming the street.

Back at the farm it was Rosemary’s Champagne Day, or Champain Day according to Amber Joy who had a hangover this morning. We also heard from the Roadies who own this land – they told us a little about its history, wheat and sheep farming, and their plans to build a new house.

I let Blue off his lead to play with Tilly. She is slightly disadvantaged in their wrestling game by being on her lead, but she is much quicker and more agile than him.

Our concert was earlier this evening with all musicians joining in. Kelly Brouhaha is not well but couldn’t not join in. She sang a couple of songs including Proud Mary which had some Roadies up dancing. The Hussy Hicks sang an Abba number which is different to their Bluesy style.

It was unpleasantly cold and drizzly this morning as we packed up in Burra. The water hoses and electric cord become hard and more difficult to roll up. I wear protective gloves but these don’t stop my hands from aching with the cold. Last night and this morning the man on the next site offered to help – the sort of offer that wouldn’t have been made to a man, because he would assume another man knows how to set up and hook up a caravan.

We found a place in town to park with the caravan and walked to the St Just Cafe for a late breakfast. Blue and Tilly kept each other company in the car.

As we only had to drive 130kms we were not in a hurry. We refuelled on the way and filled the diesel heater tank to the brim. When using the hi-flow pump the meter turns over another $10 every couple of seconds.

We shopped in Peterborough looking for Damp Rid or a dehumidifier to help manage our condensation problem. As the climate is generally dry in this area the shops don’t carry any products along this line. As we walked up and down the main street I admired some of the buildings.

I noticed this building built in 1897 celebrating Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee, given the recent celebrations for Queen Elizabeth’s 70th jubilee.

Our destination was the locality of Walloway on RM Williams Way, about 10kms outside of Orroroo. We spotted the collection of caravans from 2kms away. We parked next to the purple bus belonging to Roadie friends we haven’t seen for a while.

The slight intermittent rain stopped by the time we arrived, and we enjoyed some warming sunshine. I had Tilly outside on her lead while doing some jobs, but kept a close eye on her as many of the dogs were off leash. The Flinders Ranges can be seen in the distance.

At 5pm we gathered for drinks and Beccy’s welcome. The Roadies who own this wheat/sheep farm have gone to a lot of trouble to accommodate our group and make us feel welcome. Bluey sat on our laps throughout the evening except during the dinner cooked by Beccy and her crew. When we walked him back to our Bushtracker, I captured this silhouette photo. The satellite dish is on top of the van.

We sat outside with the temperature dropping to 5° to enjoy an all-in concert. The Hussy Hicks, Amber Joy Poulton, Kelly Brouhaha, Morgan White and Beccy Cole sang for us, and Therese and Jimmy Proust read a couple of Dave Proust’s poems.

We were again up and about before sunrise. The best of the scenery from the Royal Hotel carpark was a TV aerial!

There is a convenient dump site at Sea Lake where we discovered a small camping area with powered sites. Our coffee was disappointing but drinkable.

We followed some minor roads with hardly any traffic. Much of the land north west of Sea Lake is used for growing wheat so we passed lots of silos and crossed the railway line many times. Trucks haul grain to the silos and it is then transferred to trains for transport to ships or flour mills.

At Walpeup we stopped at a public toilet next to another small camping ground. Payment is by donation to cover the cost of power. We refuelled at the only service station in town and again at Loxton, then had a pitstop at Murrayville.

We crossed the border into South Australia near Pinaroo. The quarantine officer inspected our fridge and confiscated fruit that Anita had forgotten was there. This abandoned building is near the quarantine check point.

The town of Loxton beside the Murray River is one we want to visit in the future, not just pass through. We ended up on the Goyder Hwy and followed that road to Burra where we had booked into the caravan park for one night. After setting up and unhooking, Anita took some washing to the laundry, and put another load through our small machine.

I took Blue for a short walk across Burra Creek. The main town is across the creek just behind the caravan park, including the skate and bike park, town hall and art gallery.

For dinner we drove to the Bon Accord Hotel where we bumped into four of our Roadie friends. We had hoped to hear the pianola but there were too many people in the dining room. Unfortunately it started raining on our drive back to our van, and may continue tomorrow.

We were awake early – so early I took these photos at sunrise just before we hit the road! The exit from our caravan park is onto a two lane section of the Warburton Hwy where the speed limit is 80kph. Vehicles turning right need to exit quickly when no vehicles are on the highway. This is a challenge with a caravan attached. We managed to turn onto a gravel area between the park and the BP service station as we planned to top up the diesel in our heater tank. Trucks blocked the driveway but we were able to easily turn onto the highway.

Our plan was to drive north to Yea, and not follow Google Maps which suggests driving through a lot of Melbourne suburbs. Sections of the road were blanketed in fog. I didn’t see a large pot hole until it was too late to safely avoid it, but luckily we didn’t suffer any damage to the four tyres that bounced through it.

Bluey had not eaten or drunk anything since yesterday morning, even refusing his favourite Greenies. The vet in Yea was able to see him soon after we arrived. She checked him thoroughly and concluded the most likely problem was gastroenteritis. I explained we were heading to regions with few vets, so she gave him three injections – antibiotics, antinausea and pain relief. I had been syringing water into his mouth to prevent dehydration, but he willingly drank water laced with a dash of my flat white! By lunchtime he was looking for food.

We drove through Seymour and onto Bendigo. I moved into a right turn lane without realising a tram was about to travel through that lane. The driver raised her hands in frustration and we made several gestures indicating we were ignorant Queenslanders who were very sorry! We didn’t stop to look around Bendigo but my navigator extroadinaire took a couple of pics.

There are several interesting towns along the Calder Hwy. We stopped at Charlton for coffee and a break. A large carpark is available for recreational vehicles at the Travellers Rest Stop. This agricultural town has many silos for wheat, oats, canola and barley.

We decided to stop overnight behind the Royal Hotel at Sea Lake. We unhooked leaving Anita and Tilly in the van while Bluey and I toured the painted silos in town and Lake Tyrrell, about 10kms out of town. This is a salt lake that looks pink in summer when there is little water. Each year 100,000 tonnes of salt are harvested from the lake. A circular platform allows people to walk just above the surface of the lake. Bluey licked at some drops of water but didn’t like the strong salty flavour.

We enjoyed our meals in the hotel bistro and returned to find a hungry Blue. After feeding him I lay on the bed warming my feet in Tilly’s cosy pouch.

It was wet and cold at the caravan park when I drove out to see my father. I made a detour to buy a loaf of sourdough bread from a bakery at Bayswater. At the South Vermont shopping centre I also tried to buy a simple digital watch for my father as his had suffered a terminal event. The jewellery shop had watches that were too expensive, and those in the bargain shop were too cheap and I doubted they would work for long.

After showing my father the latest birthday photos of one of his great granddaughters, I persuaded him to go to the games room for a change of scenery. The staff member and some of the residents were pleased to see him.

I drove back to Lilydale to pick up Anita and Blue for a shopping outing at Chirnside Park – Blue had to stay in the car. I found a suitable watch and posted it to my father. We had to go to both Coles and Woolworths to buy most of the things on Anita’s list. Coles and Aldi have lots of tissues, but there are none at all in the Woolies stores we have visited. The supply issues continue to reduce the range of items available.

When we were driving home the rain finally stopped and the sun briefly appeared in time for me to put the awning down and hook up. Tilly enjoyed some time out of the van but the sun sets here by 5pm.

While walking Bluey around the park I noticed a few flowers on the bushes. The caravan park staff do a good job on the gardens. Someone here makes interesting steel statues from scrap metal.

We are leaving Lilydale tomorrow. The forecast includes symbols that don’t appear on Gold Coast weather forecasts. I assume we will wake to frost. At least we will be acclimatised to the sub zero temperatures expected in Orroroo.

It wasn’t raining when we drove to Hallam, but was when we left and it rained  for the rest of the morning. We had breakfast with Anita’s sister at Cafe Transylvania. I was sceptical about Anita’s choice of cafe that serves Hungararian and Romanian food, but it was terrific. The coffee was great, cake selection amazing and breakfasts good.

We drove back to Lilydale through the Dandenong Ranges National Park. I missed a turn and we ended up on a narrow winding road. At one sharp hairpin bend we had to go into 4WD get through the mud.

After checking on Tilly we headed to the Crown Hotel for lunch. I had the seniors’ roast beef and took leftovers home for Bluey. Anita had prawn rissoto and saved a couple of prawns for Tilly.

In the afternoon I went to Yarra Glen to visit my aunt and uncle. I took Bluey with me and he happily gave cuddles in return for treats and morsels of cheesecake. It was still raining back at our caravan park so we didn’t start any packing up jobs.