Day 1 - Prologue
Although Murphy did not play bowls last Saturday, Murphy's Law came to the fore and delayed our departure. A team mate from Saturday tested COVID positive on Sunday, so we considered it prudent to delay our departure in case he had been kind enough to pass on a few germs.
An appropriate PCR test was conducted on Wednesday morning, and the results thankfully came back negative.
So, the caravan was moved from its home on Thursday, before being packed with food, drinks and clothes - including my cocktail dress for the wedding.
Day 1 - Friday 27 May 2022 - Home to Birchip
After last minute packing, switching off of appliances, and locking all things that need to be locked, we took a deep breath and moved away from home around 10:27 am.
The forecast was rain and a top of 15C as we headed north west, up the Calder Highway towards the north west corner of Victoria. Our first big trip in our new caravan had started.
Shirley had her first nano-nap 140 km later, and then the rain started. Neither lasted for long - but they both tried hard - unsuccessfully.
We had a couple of breaks and pitched camp at Birchip - the "Home of the Mallee Bull". I thought that it was an appropriate name. He was a formidable creature in the main street.
Driving conditions had been superb - no wind and little or no sun or rain.
Birchip locals of note include:
- Dusty Rankin, who was a country singer with a hit single in 1946 ("Little old Log Cabin on the Plain"). Dusty died in Birchip in 2015.
- Frank Hunt, who received critical injuries in Vietnam on the day that Neil Armstrong walked on the moon (when a platoon member stepped on a mine). The song "I was only 19" immortalized Frank. Frank survived and went on to receive many awards for his work with Vietnam Veterans.
- Ray Neville, a jockey who rode the winner of the Melbourne Cup in 1948, 80-1 Rimfire. He was only 15. It was his 9th ride in any sort of horse race. Incidentally that was the first time that a camera finish was used in the Melbourne Cup.
The town is dotted with wall art, as per the following:
We visited the local butcher and bought some rissoles to go with the few vegies that we probably cannot take into South Australia tomorrow. They were excellent.
Day 2 - Saturday 28 May 2022 - Birchip to Lake Bonney
The day started on a high - I woke up. That is always a great start.
Then it went rapidly downhill. The amenities consist of one male ensuite and one female ensuite. I (of course) chose the male option. No toilet paper and no hot water. Not happy.
I started preparing breakfast and the power went off. This time it was my fault, as I was using too many appliances.
From there the day went swimmingly. We headed off, around 8:45, as the fog cleared.
Our first stop was Woomelang which is on the map courtesy of some "Field Bin" Art. These field bins have wheels so that they can be moved to 'where the action is'.
Then we moved on to Lascelles & Patchewollock, which is at the northern end of the Wimmera/Mallee Art trail. We saw a painted silo at each location. Needless to say, we were in the heart of grain country.
There was very little live stock, as it was all about growing grain.
From there we headed north to Walpepup, then west to Pinnaroo in South Australia. On the way we redefined happiness, as follows:
We even told her why we were happy to be stopped by her.
Shirley had her first nano-nap (for today) at the usual time, and then the rain started - again. Again, neither lasted for long.
We stopped for a stroll around the Pinnaroo Wetlands, which is man made and has a long and interesting history. The bird life was unimpressive, as opposed to the many mosaic plaques that were made by local children and artists. They were numerous and very good.
We headed onwards and had a coffee on the banks of the mighty Murray River at Loxton. The water level was very high. By now we were driving though the rich Murray Riverland region, abundant in grapes, citrus and other fruit. We stopped and bought some apples and mandarins.
By mid-afternoon we were checking into the huge caravan park beside Lake Bonney. They have 61 cabins and zillions of camping sites.
The clouds and the gentle rain prevented my first sunset photo of the trip.
Shirley conjured up some spaghetti bolognaise for dinner. We use the PC to stream the ABC news from Melbourne and forgot about the 30 minute change in time. So, we tuned into the Adelaide news.
Day 2 was 413 km. Tomorrow will be a little less. We are booked into a bush camp just before Port Augusta.
Day 3 - Sunday 29 May 2022 - Lake
Bonney to Port Augusta
The day again started on a high - I woke up again. Then
it went rapidly upwards. The Lake Bonney Caravan Park has toilet paper and hot
water. The little things can really ‘make’ your day.
I celebrated by cooking myself an
egg for breakfast. Shirley arrived back from the shower and ate it. So, I cooked another.
The fog came in as we departed at
8:30 and it was a pea souper. Fog lights came on.
Our first stop was to check out
historic Morgan and its wharf. The Port of Morgan was established to take away
some of the Victorian trade at Echuca. Echuca and Morgan were the two biggest
ports on the Murray.
Murray River at Morgan
Morgan has some magnificent old
buildings, as do a lot of the towns in this part of South Australia.
From there we left the Murray and
started to head north-west – into a strong head wind. Driving was hard work for
the rest of the day, particularly as we were ascending the many mountain ranges
in the area.
We stopped at Burra and bought a
couple of provisions and marvelled at the beautiful old buildings that give
Burra a lot of its character.
Onwards we pressed and stopped at
Terowie – which consists of a fuel station. Terowie’s claim to fame is that J.P.McGowan
was born there. Jack is the first Australian to feature in a film that was made
in Hollywood. He made Hollywood his home and became one of Hollywood’s first
stunt directors. He is credited with changing the way stunts became a part of
films. He was the first director to tie a ‘damsel’ to the railway line.
We drove through Peterborough and
headed still north-west.
We passed through quite a number of towns with interesting names, but Orroroo was close to the best. So, I took the following photo.
Orroroo is one of those
towns where the main street is so wide it now has a pleasant, shady median
strip with a small park. It has a reasonable claim to being the widest street
in Australia. The town is notable because it is at the crossroads of main roads
from both east to west (from Sydney to Perth) and north to south (Adelaide to
Darwin).
Onwards we pressed, looking for more interesting trivia.
Our camp for the night was at
Stony Creek Bush Camp, about 45 km south-east of Port Augusta. Rain is forecast
for tonight. We are hoping for less rather than more as we are camped about 10
metres from Stony Creek itself – and the road out is red clay.
Kelly Rig at Stony Creek Bush Camp
Shirley conjured up a great dinner of ham-hock and vegie soup, rye bread and 5 year old shiraz. The rain on the roof was great music. No TV reception and dismal internet reception made for a pleasant evening.
Today we completed 357 km - for a trip total of 1100 km.
Day 4 - Monday 30 May 2022 - Port
Augusta
Heavy winds and occasional rain were
the features of the night, but we were in a sheltered location. We departed Stony
Creek Bush Camp around 8:30 and headed into Port Augusta.
We visited the Information Centre then headed out to the “Australian Arid Lands Botanic Gardens”.
The weather was more ‘artic’ than ‘arid’. We wandered around the gardens and shivered as we did so.
In front of "Old Man Saltbush"
We ended the tour with a cup of coffee.
The gale force winds were forecast until well into the evening so we decided to stay in Port Augusta, rather than fight a gale force head wind for 250 km. We pottered around for the rest of the day.
There are 151 cabins and plenty of powered sites in this park and all are booked out for tonight.
Day 5 - Tuesday 31 May 2022 - Port Augusta to Glendambo
Today we continued the pattern of leaving at 8:30, this time with full sun and no wind. Around 100 km later that all changed as the strong westerly and the occasional drizzle came along. I did not mind the dampness but the head wind was a pain.
We drove through barren country all morning with very few farm animals (or any other sort) to be seen. Apart from all that it was an interesting drive.
We stopped at Glendambo for the night in a caravan park behind the pub. There is not much to see or do in Glendambo but we may check out the pub.
Today we drove around 285 km.
Day 6 - Wednesday 1 June 2022 - Glendambo to Coober Pedy
It was great driving conditions for the 255 km to Coober Pedy and we had our caravan set up before lunch. Many would say that the road was boring, but we enjoyed the undulation and the changing forms of vegetation.
The caravan park does not allow connection of water to the caravan, but you can buy water for the caravan at $1 for 40 litres.
A bowl of pumpkin soup preceded exploring of Coober Pedy, which is an eclectic mix of holes (as in opal mines), piles of dirt (as in extracts from the mines), rubbish, relics of days gone by and the tourism trade.
We then stopped to admire a garden of South Australia's flower emblem - the Sturt Desert Pea (Swainsona formosa).
Earlier we had disconnected the caravan from the car in preparation for our trip to The Painted Desert tomorrow - weather permitting.
So far we have driven 1748 km. I don't think we saw the sun today and we reached a top temperature around 12 or 13 degrees.
Today we drove around 285 km.
Day 7 - Thursday 2 June 2022 - Coober Pedy
It rained for most of the night. Soon after rising I received a message from the Manager at Arckaringa Station that we should reconsider our drive to the station and The Painted Desert. 150 km of slippery/sticky road did not appeal so we changed our plans. Even the postman had cancelled his 'run'.
We found out later in the day that the Painted Desert Road had been CLOSED.
I then cooked bacon, eggs and tomato for the birthday girl - a great way to start a miserable day.
I decided that the filters on the range hood needed cleaning so I managed that, while breaking the small LED light.
By the time we had morning coffee Shirley had mapped out a plan of underground venues to visit. Our first visit was to St Elijah's Serbian Orthodox Church - an amazing structure that was dug into the side and under a hill. My photos do not do it justice.
Next we visited the Catacomb Church of Coober Pedy. We had a long pleasant chat to Geoff - the local minister. Geoff explained that the 'Catacomb Church' was a part of the Anglican faith, and he broadly follows the Anglican service - with a few subtle changes.
The church was first conceived as a private home before being purchased for a place of worship.
It was opened for worship in 1978.
Next Shirley had us visiting "Crocodile Harry's Underground Nest", something that could only occur in a place like Coober Pedy. Harry (from Latvia) was a former FNQ crocodile hunter, turned Coober Pedy cave dwelling eccentric. His real name was Avid von Blumenthal. According to the brochure Harry is buried in "Boot Hill".
The cave featured in the Mad Max 3 movie.
I will let the photos speak for themselves.
More photos from the above venues can be seen by clicking here.
We then visited the underground book shop - which was closed. I have never seen an underground book.
After purchasing a new LED light for the range hood, we bought a pie for lunch and headed back to camp. The rain had not stopped all morning.
In the interests of smiling at interesting signs I offer the following:
We relaxed for a couple of hours - with the heater ON, then went for a drive.
As of 5pm it had been raining non-stop since we got out of bed - all day.
At 6pm we raised two umbrellas and walked to the park restaurant for maybe the best chicken parmas that we have ever had - with a glass of red.
We did not need desert.
Day 8 - Friday 3 June 2022 - Coober Pedy
The day started with heavy fog with the sun trying hard to break through. It had rained for most of the night. As the sun started to appear we performed some housekeeping jobs, such as cleaning, water top-up and toilet duties.
We had an early lunch and set off to get a permit to see "The Breakaways". Unfortunately the rain has caused the road to be closed.
So we headed off to visit the two town cemeteries, which are interesting to say the least.
Then we visited the "The Old Timers Mine & Museum", which was not closed. It was a fascinating self-guide walk through a mine that produced a huge supply of opal, and is now within town limits where mining is not permitted.
The mine even contained a home - complete with living, dining and sleeping areas, as well as bathroom and toilet. The photos give you an idea.
The hard hats prevented serious head injuries.
We decided to do some forward planning and book into Alice Springs. However accommodation is at a premium as the Finke Desert Race is on when we want to be there. We may have obtained the last powered caravan in town for those two nights.
We caught up with friends from Melbourne, Wendy & David, and shared a table at the local pub bistro. On the way I took my first sunset photo of the trip............
Day 9 - Saturday 4 June 2022 - Coober Pedy
The start of the day was cloudy, but dry. I will start with some trivia. On 26th June 1920 the 'Progress Association' had a vote on the name of the town. Candidates were Hutchinson (5 votes), Coober Pedy (16), Opal Range (12) and Gemville (3). I guess that there were plenty of people on the Progress Association.
The name "Coober Pedy" is thought to derive from the Aboriginal term kupa-piti, which means "whitefellas' hole". That conjures up images.
We did a load of washing and readied the car and caravan for a few days on the road, from tomorrow. Then we went shopping for a couple of minor items.
After an early lunch we bought our pass and headed out to "The Breakaways". It is an amazing place. The words "moon scape" are thrown around. We just saw amazing landscapes.
The photo shows how high the fence is.
We started happy hour around 4pm and the four of us enjoyed our time together.
Behind us are four families with a total of eleven children - mostly pre-school or primary school age. Dinner for them was wall-to-wall pizzas.
This post is complete. Our first leg was 1910 km.
Tomorrow we start Chapter 3 as we head toward Uluru.
Last update 2:20 pm 6/6/2022 (SA time)
*** End of Chapter 2 ***
