Preparing for our 2017 Road Trip

With less than a month to go, preparations for our next road trip are well underway, a few upgrades/mods to the caravan have been completed as well as a service, I even stripped, cleaned and re-greased the stabilizer jacks, what an improvement - they now work as smoothly as I expect them too.

We depart on the 3rd June and trundle up to Poona, we then spend a week on Fraser Island, up the coast to Midge Point. here we turn inland (West) to Mt Isa then to the Stuart Highway and down to Alice Springs, we leave the caravan at Kulgera and head East towards the Simpson Desert. 

Old Andado

Molly's place

We will be caretakers at Old Andado (it is a heritage listed station) for about three weeks then spend two nights at Dalhousie Springs back to Kulgera to hook up the caravan and on to Coober Pedy for a few days. then to the Flinders Rangers for five days and on to the Barossa Valley for a few days then on to Broken Hill to do some research on the family tree as Kathleen's mum was born there. our final stop will be at Mildura for a few days and we should arrive home towards the end of September. We will cover some 10,000 Km without side trips

Our Planned Trip

The map does not include Broken Hill, I intend to post as we go, however it all depends on the time available.

Until Next Time: Turn your dreams into reality!

An Update

It has been some time since I last posted, there have been a few reasons but I guess the main one is that I was just slack! So here is a short update, I'll expand over the next few months.

Not long after our return from the 19,000 Km trip to Perth via Darwin we decided that it was time we upgraded to a caravan with a shower etc., so it was visits to all the dealers to find the one that suited us and the bank balance. We found a 19ft Bluestone and so traded our Snowy which had given us such great service.

Melbourne Cup weekend (1st Tuesday in November) we did a 'shake down' 91Km trip to Daylesford where we spent a most enjoyable weekend. There were a few small problems so returned the caravan to the supplier who did the necessary repairs.

Next was our week at Lakes Entrance from Boxing Day to the 4th January with two of our children and their families, unfortunately Paul and Derek had to work, but we had Derek's three boys with us and a great time was had by all.

We then spent a long weekend at Sorrento which is near Point Napean with Maryleen and family, a most relaxing and enjoyable time.

After that it was planning for our next Simpson Desert crossing. This time it would be just two vehicles Derek and his two youngest boys and Chareen and her youngest with me. We left on the 12th September 2015 for Broken Hill, Tibooburra, Innamincka, Birdsville, Mt Dare, Old Andado, Ayers Rock, Coober Pedy, Leigh Creek and arrived home after 6,983Km on the 3rd October. A fantastic trip that just went too fast and a bit sad as this is my last hard 4x4 trip.

In November we traded the Terracan for a more comfortable Pajero and then it was to Lakes Entrance Boxing Day to the 3rd January, Three of our children and their families joined us, unfortunately Paul could not get time off but they were able to spend two nights with us. It was such a blessing to have all our children and their families together, only Jane who is in the UK and Tim were missing.

Our site at Lakes Entrance

  In April this year we had a three week holiday we visited Canberra, Batemans Bay and Huskisson Beach, returning home via the spectacular Kangaroo Valley in NSW, all in all a relaxing and enjoyable time.

After this month I will have more time to write on this blog as after 50 years and 7 months I'll be retiring, in all that time I'm proud to say that I was only out of work for three months when we emigrated to New Zealand back in 1994. I will be working a three day week in a temporary position until the end of November and then? Who knows?

Until next time.....................Safe travels, make happy memories and enjoy this wonderful land.

Perth via Darwin Part 13

Day 57 September 13^th 
Ceduna. At last a sleep in, can you believe it after two months I can sleep in right till 7AM. My goodness me and I actually got to 7AM and had to get out of bed. And so the day started with sorting out our caravan and then doing the washing and making cookies for morning tea and lunch as Dennis wanted to take a tour down the east side of Ceduna.

Once again we drove in and out of bays, Dacres Bay then onto Laura Bay where we saw a pod of

Dolphins and that was exciting. We drove onto Smokey Bay and walked onto their jetty. While on the jetty we were busy taking photos of birds and then excitement struck when two seals came out the water chasing one another around the jetty it looked like a baby seal and it’s mom having fun in the ocean. We watched them for a while but the photos we took are not very clear which is sad but our eye saw them and it was just lovely to watch. We sat on the jetty and had lunch too and quite peaceful.

We drove back to camp and the weather becoming increasingly hot so we had a change of clothing from a wintery to shorts and slops. I rested for the afternoon and around 4PM we went for a walk onto the Ceduna jetty and once again were graced with the presence of two dolphins in the bay.

During our travels around the sand roads we saw many Moby Shingleback Lizards, which are from the blue tongue lizard family. Interesting wee creatures they are.

 

We came back to camp and then the sun started to set leaving a wonderful glow across the bay and slowly the sun started to disappear and darkness fell on the ocean and our surroundings. By this time our eyes were heavy and time to retire after a most enjoyable day.

--oOo--

Day 58 September 14^th 

Ceduna. Derek’s birthday today and so we phoned and sang “Happy Birthday” to him. We decided to venture out on the opposite side of the bay. We made a flask and packed a lunch and left about

9:30 AM. Just after the quarantine post we turned off to Denial Bay where they oyster farm then went back onto the main road and came to a turn off where it became a sand road to Mac Kenzie ruins. Here we drove into see the ruins and it touched my heart to see what is left of our pioneer’s home. It makes one realize the value of what they gave up and did for us to what we reap today from their hard works.

After being here on these open plains we carried on to the Davenport Creek. When we finally reached this destination to find it was a 4x4 beach track and Dennis’ face lit up as we drove onto the beach. There were signs there to respect the dunes and its habitat also telling us to let down our tyre pressure for the beach run.                    

 How can a wife say no to a face full of glee? So down went the pressure on the tyres and off we went. Up and down dunes which were beautifully white and with the wind blowing one could see the sand moving and replacing old track marks and slowly but surely the dunes were changing shape.

Most of these dunes were quite high and at times one could hear the engine turbocharger kick in  trying to get up to the next dune. Dennis had loads of fun and I must admit it was also enjoyable being able to see the beauty of the beach in another perspective. We were at times surrounded in sand mounts smooth with no marking on it and I'm pretty sure when we leave there will be no marking of our tyres to show we were there. 

Well the wind is increasing and becoming unpleasant and time to head back to camp and finding that the temperature is changing to and the white horses in the ocean increasing rapidly and becoming very rough. So Dennis and I rushed into the caravan to find shelter and enjoy the warmth of our abode and it’s also time to pack all the things lying around as we on our next leg of our journey tomorrow and I can assure you it will be quite early too.

 --oOo--

Day 59 September 15^th 

Well it’s hard to believe it’s the last week of our holiday and feeling rather sad at the thought as this trip has been absolutely wonderful and we have been so blessed to have done what we have done and been able to see so much in such a short time as this. We are on our last leg home from Ceduna to Melbourne via Broken Hill where my mother was born and all her ancestors lived and were buried here.

Yesterday afternoon the weather truly turned to wild gusty nasty winds, howling around the caravan with the temperatures dropping and all we did was close ourselves up in the caravan and enjoyed the warmth and cosiness there.

We left this morning with winds, overcast and cold and yet the temps said it was 18°C  but it definitely did not feel that way. We passed through the granite country where we saw a huge statue of granite commemorating the farmer and the people of the town in Wudinna.

Driving onto Kimba which is HALF WAY ACROSS AUSTRALIA and has the Big Galah and this is where we had morning tea but it was cold and it was a quick jump back into the car for warmth. 

We Arrived in Port Augusta and went into the town to look at shops and walk around and got some things for the caravan. We arrived at the caravan park and set up camp had dinner and retired for the night.

--oOo--

Day 60 September 16^th 

We had breakfast packed up and left at 7.42 and the temp was 11.4. The weather was overcast and the sun struggling to beam through all the clouds and in the distant when we looked at the ranges it was misty and looked as if it was raining. We took some photos of the distant terrain and as we moved towards the mountains the mist was more evident and the roads became windy and the lights of the vehicles on the roads were put on for safety. 

It was an enjoyable journey crossing from South Australia to New South Wales stopping at the Big Gum tree which apparently is over 500 years old.Took a photo of me hugging it, gosh the circumference is huge.

 We then drove through Peterborough which use to be called Petersburg. They have a beautiful entrance to their town of a train and then tin sculptures of kangaroos and oxen. 

We stopped at Yunta to put in diesel and have a cuppa here. It was quite funny, as we were entering into this border village we had to drive behind an oversized vehicle and they pulled over in this town for a rest and of cause we hurried with our tea just in case they decided to pull off and then we would be in a pickle as one could not overtake this vehicle. So off we were to Broken Hill arriving in the afternoon, set up camp and then drove around the town looking for the miners Memorial but sadness is as we were unable to drive up there it was closed. Came back had dinner and retired.

--oOo--

Day 61 September 17^th 

Woke up at about 7am enjoyed the sleep in, Got ready and went to Maco’s for breakfast then off to the Desert Sculptures. 

Another day of the freezer door being left open my goodness the wind was icy and froze up the bones. It was an interesting insight to see what sculptures see in and feels in their hearts and minds and how they hammer at the stone to get what they want others to see. 

Some you could see and others it leaves you looking and wondering what you looking at but that is me, the view from up there over the terrain and its surroundings was spectacular. I looked at Broken Hill and the mines and thought of my ancestors and their hardships and tried to imagine their life in the late 1800’s I could see them bustling around the main street and working in various shops. Maria Downs was a seamstress in one of the shops and Aunt Sarah use to look after all the nieces and nephews and bake and sell cookies and pies. Yesterday we went and took photos of their homes no 1 Argent street and of cause my G. G Grandmother Jane who lived in 3 Argent Street and this too was where my mother was born in the 1911.

When we left the Living Desert we decided to take the back road to Silverton which of cause ended up being a 4x4 drive through the outback. It was a lovely experience seeing kangaroos, sheep and goats in this vast arid piece of land. 

Driving through dry river beds and opening and shutting farm gates. It was a lovely experience being in the true outback of Australia. We hit a snag when reaching the main road the farmer had locked the gate and of cause we had to back track to another road which we found was the Kelly’s farm which had an open gate leading onto the Dreamers mine road. Whew, we were so grateful for that as we had been on the road at least 2 hours 4x4ing. 

So off we went to Silverton and had lunch there and a cuppa, a well-deserved one at that. We came back to camp and rested the afternoon and now it’s time for the smell of a homemade meal and then to retire for the night.

--oOo--

Day 62 September 18^th 
Today is a day of catch up with the chores of our wee home on wheels and do the washing. There was a waiting line for the machines this morning but we managed to get a machine and do 2 loads, so now we have clean clothes till we reach our home in Melbourne. Dennis and I are feeling rather sad as our holiday is coming to an end. We truly enjoy the beauty of Australia and what it has to offer. Each town we have been to is unique in its own way with their strange quirks of doing things and the set-up which we have enjoyed along the way. Broken Hill is not exception with its vast arid terrains surrounding this remote town/city with loads of history to its name in regards to the silver mines. Having my family in the late 1800’s working on the mines and in the shops and hotels, a story each in its own way.

We went to my G Grandparents, Grandfather’s and his brother Joes grave today and placed wee flowers and my heart was with gratitude in what they did for this country way back then. Oh how they must have struggled but at the same time lived a life I’m sure of happiness too. The Armstrong and Downs family all united together coming from Ireland to a land here in Australia which they now could call home. 

We decided to go to the lakes at Menundee and this is where Joe Armstrong had drowned. It was over 100k’s to this lake and when we arrived there it was lunch time so we stopped off at the Maidens Hotel and had an Outback hamburger with the lot.

It was tasty and not too bad. Just outside the hotel is a memorial to the men Burkes and Wills expedition and the history there when it was their last post before leaving civilization and heading out to the vast and treacherous outback way back then. I find it ironic that Dennis would end up at this place as our last outback experience was all about these two men and where they had died in Innamincka so here we are taking photos of these memories to their lives and their exhibition. We left there for the lakes and drove around there and discovered Burkes and Wills last camp site on the edge of the lake so we were rather elated in our find today and a wonderful ending to this trip in Broken Hill and Darling district. We drove back to Broken Hill and went to the shops then back to camp and packed up a few of our things, had dinner and then retired as it’s an early start tomorrow for out long stretch home.

Up to now we have driven 18,166k’s

MY GREAT GRANDPARENTS HOME 3 ARGENT STREET BROKEN HILL. MY MOTHER KATHLEEN THELMA ARMSTRONG WAS BORN HERE IN 1911

--oOo--

Day 63 September 19^th 

Up early today and decided to have our famous Makco’s for breakfast. We felt quite refreshed for our journey back to Melbourne. After having breakfast we said our farewells to Broken Hill and the town of my ancestors with a sadness in my heart and yet it was just wonderful being here to look around and be at peace with knowing something of their past. 

The sun was shining and the flowers were starting to open along the roads giving it a ray of beauty in its own way varying in colours from yellow white purple and sometimes red and pink and blue. The terrain changed from arid to forestry back to arid and the soil changed colours too and at times looking very salty. We had to stop to eat our fruit we had in the car for quarantine purposes then drove on going through wee towns all having their own symbol announcing their town and what they stand for, and at time very interesting art work.We stopped for morning tea and a wee stretch then at lunch time at Sea Lake where we were going to stop over for the night but decided to drive through to Melbourne.

CROSSING THE MURRY RIVER INTO VICTORIA.

Crossing over the border into Victoria made us realize that our journey was coming to an end and feeling quite emotional as we wanted to continue with this wonderful adventure.

HOME AFTER 19,013 Km

God has been our strength and our shield throughout this journey He watched over Dennis and myself and looked after our car and caravan and provided us with shelter each night protecting us and allowing us to experience and see His creation. We give Him all the glory and praise. Thank You Jesus! Amen.

And so our journey came to an end, Kathleen and I both often reflect on the great time we had and have many times wished that we were still 'on the road' but all good things must end. We will once again venture out to the North West coast of WA but that will only be in about two years time when hopefully I can retire.  
I have made a 90 min. video for family and friends, I then taught myself to book bind and printed and bound a 140 page book for each of our children.

 It has taken some time for all the posts to be uploaded, as a matter of fact in about two weeks it will be a year since we left on this journey. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for being patient.

Until next time................be patient, relax and enjoy

Perth via Darwin - Part 1

Day 1 July 19th

I have decide to enlist the assistance of my nearest and dearest so am posting her write ups and adding some information - Enjoy

To our family and friends an insight into our wonderful travels here in Australia. Dennis has been in planning for over a year now with this trip. His working out our stops overnight and booking of caravan sights have been quite a daunting task but with persistence he has managed and done a wonderful job of planning. He has worked out the spending of monies with data put onto the new age gadgets called the iPad and now wants me to learn to do it while he is driving and now contemplating whether I should or not. Big grin on my face at the m moment. Anyway the much planned trip is now underway but let’s not forget my part in this too. I had the tedious task of meal planning for overnight stops, packing the caravan and seeing to all the nutty gritty of everyday life on the road.

We're on our way

And now so the journey has begun this day the 19^th July 2014 with our first stop at Maco’s with the whole family to wish us on our merry travels. We left just after 8 with the weather over cast and raining on and off and into our journey was quite misty. Some farmer had a wonderful artistic idea by making a huge teddy

bear out of hay a great tourist attraction. Going through many towns with lots of heritage buildings and I’m sure lots of stories I’m sure they can tell. We stopped at one of the rest areas for lunch and a leg stretch just outside Culgoa and then again to ditch an avocado in the bin due to fruit fly quarantine much to my disgust as it was a good avo too but law is law. It was not long after this that we arrived at our destination for our first stop which is in Mildura at Calder caravan Park.  Unhitched the caravan and went sightseeing around the town and ended up at the Famous Murry River. Peaceful and beautiful.  We came back to camp had dinner and caught up with the photos and writing of our travels. It’s time to retire and will continue this story tomorrow.

While saving the days travel in Memory Map i managed to loose most of the info however I do know that we traveled 561 Km at an average speed of 92 Km/h

Day 2 July 20th

Our day started off with a well-rested sleep and a shower that was a race through the hot water, drying ourselves and a dash to the van to get warm. Temperature was 3.5 brrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!.

Sun Rise

We survived and decided to just pack up and drive to Maco’s and have something to eat.  We left Mildura at 8am and actually feeling quite refreshed this morning. Taking the back roads and heading towards Port Augusta. Terrain changing quite dramatically from lush green hills to a dry small bushy terrain which carried on for K’s. It was most enjoyable. We over took 2 tankers travelling together quite early on in our travels. Heading towards Morgan but having to cross the Murry River on a Ferry to get there which was most enjoyable. Just before reaching Morgan the citrus farming lands were seen.

As far as your eye could see the orchids roamed the country side also alongside of it were grape vines. There were also honesty box fruit stalls. We left Morgan and drove towards Burra where we stopped and had homemade lunch with a good cuppa right in front of the Peacock tower.
We also filled up the car as it need juice, I’m sure the engine had a good smile when it got fed. We left Burra and there on the road were these 2 tankers again and so once again it was passing them and waving to the men. We drove to Jamestown driving towards Port Augusta when we saw these two tankers again in front of us now this was mind boggling as we have no idea how they were in front of us. They must know some shorter road to get to their destination. We finally arrived at Port Augusta about 3.20pm. and our overnight stop at Shoreline Caravan Park. Parking our home in a drive through spot with an on suite. We had to go and buy some veggies and fruit before our next leg of the trip and the reason for this is we had to past a fruit free fly zone and border between the two states one is not allowed to carry any fruit in the car across the border from Victoria to South Australia they check the car.

Border Crossing

The Two Tankers

A most enjoyable days travel, not sure how we did it but we ended up doing about 50 Km on sand!! we did 556 Km at an average speed of 87.8 Km/H








Day 3 July 21st


 …Oh No, what on earth was Dennis thinking when he set his clock last night. I don’t think he lives on my planet. Well, let me tell you the truth about clock setting in my household. The night before Dennis could not get his bedside clock to work and moaned about the stupid thing as he calls it. Then last night he discovers something about the clock and realised it was not a stupid thing and set the clock and alarm clock. So off to bed we go and for some unknown reason we both woke up before the alarm went and Dennis decided to get up and go and shower. I remained in bed until he returned. Then it was my turn to shower, I did not even think of questioning him about the time. Anyway I returned from the shower and Den had to do something but in between this he kept on opening the door to see the sun rise but no sun was to be seen then he looked at his watch on his arm and asked what time was it and then discovered he had gotten up at 4.30am and it was now 5.30am.Oh give me strength what am I to do with this man. Him and his watch and alarm clock , the question is am I going to survive this trip with this going on’s. He has sure had his issues so far on this trip with his fingers doing the wrong things.

Well as you can see today started off rather early and we left Port Augusta after having some oats for breakfast. The road was rather quite as we headed off into the outback bush. The terrain changing from time to time. We encountered 2 kangaroo’s on the road who wished to watch the cars go by in the middle of the road and as we approached slowly they hopped off into the bush, beautiful creature they are and so graceful when hopping. We also saw a lot of carcases along the road from hits. We stopped off at Lake Hart for a cuppa and Trim Healthy Mama brownie cake and cream which was just delightful. We took some lovely photos of this area. The Road then became busy with road trains and lots of caravans. We passed a sign with the distance to Alice Springs 1050k’s quite a distance still to drive. Then the hunger pains started and so we stopped off at a rest place to enjoy a salad I had made before leaving, it was truly scrumptious.

With the road been a long drawn out one we decided to read out loud the book called “The Blood moons” by Pastor John Haggee. I read into 3 chapters which was most informative and learnt a lot about the sun moon and stars in the Bible. Then the distance to Coober Pedy became shorter and the mining of Opals were becoming more noticeable in the fields. Taking heaps of photos coming into town and stopping off at the entrance of Coober Pedy with the blower machine on a stand  took photos and the surrounding area was full of sand dunes from the mining. We arrived at our destination at 1.45pm and set up camp but when  getting out the car there was a strange noise coming from the engine which thankfully Dennis found what the cause was. What a blessing to have a handy man and able to rectify the problem without causing the bank balance to sky rocket. It was 2 rubber stoppers holding the air coolant which had worn and Dennis did a mod to it and fixed it. We drove around the town and went into a few Opel shops but nothing caught our fancy. Went to the shops for lettuce and tomatoes and spent $9 for them, a bit shocked but then what can you expect when you in the middle of no where. Dinner was served without any hiccup from the pepper grinder and enjoyed our meal and now it’s time to relax and lights out not far from now.

The Outback

Underground shopping

Sunset from our van

We did 573 Km at an average of 97.8 Km/h

Until next time............. Focus on the good