Heywood, our second to last stop and Stawell our very last stop!

The final entry, only 6 weeks late!

We packed up and left Port MacDonnell as it was pouring with rain and very cold so not much point in looking around. We had met the Jenkin family several times during our travels. First time was at Uluru and the last time we saw them was Broome. They had kindly invited us to come and visit them on their farm near Heywood (near Portland) so we took them up on their offer and called in for the night.

It was great to see them again. We really enjoyed reminiscing about the places we had both been to and we found out how tricky it can be to settle back in to "normal" life. They very kindly took the boys horse riding and motor bike riding so they had a ball. Tom apparently wants a horse now and Jack wants a motor bike. We may have to move to a farm to accommodate those requests!






We said goodbye and packed up the van for the last time. Hard to believe that it was the last time we would sleep in it. We drove through Dunkeld and stopped for lunch. Then drove on through Halls Gap to get to Mum and Terry's place in Stawell. It was wonderful to see them again. They left on their trip 6 weeks or so before we left on ours so it had been AGES since we had seen them. They had Banjo with them so we were all very pleased to see him again. It felt very strange being back in Stawell but great to be in a house and sleep in a bed.

We stayed 3 nights then decided it was time to get back to Melbourne. Since the kids are so good at driving now we didn't let them stop in Beaufort like we normally do but drove straight back to Barclay Drive. It was a bit unbelievable to be home after all this time away, 6 1/2 months to be exact. We loved going in to the house for the first time and the kids were extremely excited to have their own rooms. I thought we would be happy to be home for at least a couple of days but the post holiday blues set in within about 2 hours as we looked around and realized how much gardening, maintenance and unpacking we had in front of us. In fact it took Michael 3 days to unhitch the van. I think we were all hoping we could get in and drive away again! We sent the kids to school and Charlie to kinder the day after we got back and it was very strange (but good!) to be without them for a few hours. They were keen to get to school and see all their friends but we were sure that the novelty would wear off reasonably quickly. I think it will take a while to settle back in to normal life after such an amazing adventure. What a trip we had!

Mt Gambier

Can't get the photos on for some reason so you will just have to put up with reading about everything instead!

We drove into Mt Gambier for a few hours even though this was one of the towns that we had mixed reports about. A couple of people said not to bother but others said it was nice. Anyway we thought we would check it out for ourselves. We went to see the Blue Lake first which turns blue for a few months each year. We were lucky to see it at the right time and it was really blue and very pretty.

We then had a look at Umpherston Sinkhole. This is a collapsed cave that a man made into a beautiful garden in the 1890's. It used to have a lake in the bottom which they sailed a little boat around. The ground water level has dropped so the lake isn't there now. The garden fell into disrepair for 60 years or so until some people got together in the 1970's and began to fix it up. They did a really beautiful job, it's very pretty.

We had heard about some of the underwater caves that people go diving in around Mt Gambier so thought we might try snorkelling in one. We met a family in Robe who said it was amazing. We drove to a town called Allendale where you get the permits for snorkeling/diving. The bloke there talked us into full wetsuits all round including hats, booties and gloves as apparently the water was only about 14 degrees! Bit colder then we were used to. We started off by driving out to Ewen's (?sp) Ponds which is 3 ponds linked by little streams. They are surrounded by really tall reeds and the water did not look inviting at all. Jack and Tom both jumped in and had a look and Michael went in as well. I chickened out! The pond we looked at was about 14 metres deep and looked pretty amazing according to the boys. We then decided to go to the next pond called Pinaninnie Ponds. Jack and Tom got attacked by midges so didn't want to snorkel but Michael went in and I decided I should too after taking so bloody long to put the full wet suit on! I am so glad I did, what an unbelievable thing to see. From the top all you can see is a normal looking pond, maybe 100 square metres or so, surrounded by reeds. The first section is a couple of metres deep with lots of rocks that looked blue. But when you swam a bit further on, all of a sudden the bottom of the pond disappeared and you were looking down into a bottomless pit! I found it very frightening and had to hold Michael's hand to swim across it! The pond is well over 100 metres deep and is very popular with those crazy people who enjoy cave diving. Personally I can think of nothing worse. Looking down was unbelievable. The water was cold but we didn't notice it since we had all the gear on. It was a really great thing to see and I am so glad I got into the water. Thanks Michael for holding my hand!

After we dropped off the wetsuits etc back at Allendale, we drove on to Port MacDonnell for our last night in South Australia. We treated ourselves to a night out at the pub and then spent the rest of the night listening to the pouring rain! Welcome back to the south!

Hahndorf and Robe

We left Coffin Bay after lunch and just started driving, planning on stopping when we had enough. Found ourselves in the driving zone so after stopping for McDonalds at Port Pirie at about 6:30 we didn't stop driving until 10:30pm! We ended up making it to a camp spot at Port Parham about 70km north of Adelaide. Stopped for the night and then moved on at about 10:30. Drove straight through Adelaide and ended up heading into Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills for lunch. This is a really beautiful spot. Very pretty with lots of old sandstone buildings. Great shops including cheese and chocolate shops! A bit like Margaret River but not so expensive.




We then drove towards the coast, planning on getting to Robe for the night. Unfortunately we left it a bit late so stopped at a camp spot on Wright's Beach about 15km north of Robe for the night. Didn't see much point in paying $50 for a night at a caravan park so instead payed the grand total of $6.

Drove into Robe the next morning and checked into the caravan park. Much to the boy's excitement there was a jumping pillow and an indoor heated pool. Robe is a great spot. The beaches are much nicer than those we saw on the Eyre Peninsula. It has some good cafes and interesting shops. I had a photo here of Long Beach which you can drive on. So of course we did since it was the last opportunity to do so!

We didn't end up doing a great deal else, just enjoying our last few days before we get home. We drove out to the Obelisk which they used to shoot rockets from with rope attached to rescue people from the sea.

The boys tried fishing at the jetty and caught a few fish but nothing big enough to keep. They had a kick at the footy oval and a couple of visits to the skate park which was empty again with everyone back at school. The caravan parks are very quiet again too. The grey nomads must love it but the boys find it a bit hard being on their own again. We will head off to Mt Gambier, then to Portland to stay with some friends, then on to Stawell to see my mum and Banjo!

Ooops we have been home for 3 weeks! And Port Lincoln to Adelaide

Well I have to say I have lost interest in doing the blog since we got home but a couple of people have asked about it so I am going to finish it off. It has been so long I have forgotten what we did! Lucky there are some photos to remind me.

From Port Lincoln we headed north up the Eyre Peninsula towards Adelaide. We had no plans on where we were going to stop so just kept driving. We were all in a bit of a driving mood so since I had lunch packed we left the Eyre Peninsula pretty quickly and made it to Port Augusta. It was really strange to be back in Port Augusta. We couldn't believe that 6 months earlier we had driven through here and onto the Stuart Highway towards Alice Springs. And then drove the ENTIRE Stuart Highway to the beach in Darwin. We turned onto the Stuart Highway for a km or so, all feeling very nostalgic, and the kids were yelling "Keep going to Alice, we don't want to go home!" however we had to turn around and take the road to Adelaide. Now that we are back at home I wish we had taken that road back to Darwin!

We got to Port Pirie at about dinner time and decided to stop at McDonalds and give the kids a run around at the playground. Piled them back into to car and decided to keep driving until we found a suitable roadside stop. Got to Snowtown but we weren't too keen on stopping there. Got to feel a bit sorry for that town but all I could think about was those bodies in the barrels!
By this stage it was very dark but we were on a dual highway so we kept driving until about 10:30 and stopped at the last possible place before Adelaide called Parham Beach. It was a free camp and it was packed. The wind was atrocious but we managed to set up quickly and get to bed.

Massive day of driving for the kids, our longest ever I think, over 10 hours! They are very good at it now. Onto Adelaide the next morning.

Map of Australia - Nearly Home

We have a map stuck on the wall in the van which the boys have really enjoyed drawing our route on. It looks amazing and it's hard to believe we have really done all that driving. And look how close to home we are!

Port Lincoln and Coffin Bay

We drove past Coffin Bay with plans to get back there as we wanted to get to Port Lincoln to check out their annual Tunarama Festival. The kids absolutely loved it. The first thing we got to do was to meet Red Dog. Actually one of the 6 or so Red Dogs they used in the movie. He was absolutely beautiful.




The kids then checked out the Sound Stage which was all these enormous musical instruments made out of various recycled things. Charlie in particular was very taken with this exhibit.




They then got to go on a couple of rides at the carnival end of the festival. The next day we came back so the kids could enter the Kid's Olympics which were sprint races. They all did really well.




This is Charlie with his prizes. Below is Tom in his race. He is on the far right. It is always great to see how keen they are to join in activities whenever they are on offer.




We came back again for a third day to see the street parade. I think this was their favorite part. They haven't seen many street parades before and loved seeing all the hot rods, motor bikes, tractors, animals and kids walking along. It helped that there were plenty of lollies being thrown!













We then got to watch the heats of the Tuna throwing. Some people were very good at it, particularly the guy who had won the previous 2 years. We didn't get to see the finals so will have to find out if he won again. It's a bit hard to see in the photo but the woman in red is the one throwing the tuna. The kids were very upset that the tuna being thrown were rubber. Apparently they save the real tuna for the final. It was still fun to watch.




The next day we drove to Coffin Bay which is only about 40 minutes back towards Streaky Bay. My step sister in law Sarah's parents live in Port Lincoln and have a holiday house at Coffin Bay. They had very kindly offered to take the boys out fishing on their boat. They also let us put the van in front of their house which was great. Particularly considering the very distant relationship! Needless to say the boys were extremely excited about the boat and spent a great afternoon with Peter. They managed to catch some Tommy Rough, KG whiting, a red mullet and a flathead.




Cleaning and filleting their catch.




This is Peter's boat and their son's beautiful Labrador called Barney who Charlie loved.




This is the view from the jetty out the front of their house.




This is the boys on Peter's boat. Jack is now talking non stop about how we need a boat. His plan is for us to sell the caravan and buy a boat! We all loved our brief stay at Coffin Bay and really appreciated Peter and Leonore's hospitality. I am sure they are still recovering, they did really well with our noisy boys.

Streaky Bay - Swimming With The Sea Lions

We left Fowler's Bay and drove through Ceduna and on to Streaky Bay. The caravan park was right on the beach but after the beaches of Esperance it looked a bit sad! The kids spent the afternoon swimming and then the boys went fishing on the jetty but didn't manage to catch anything. A kind lady gave us some King George Whiting fillets and some extra Tommy Rough so we had plenty of fresh fish for dinner.

The next morning we drove out to Baird Bay to do a dolphin and sea lion tour. Some friends had recommended it and we were not disappointed. It was amazing. We went out on a boat and got in the water with a heap of dolphins. The water was very rough and not very clear so it was a bit hard to see them but they did swim right around us. We then got back on the boat and went across to the other side of the bay to find the sea lions. There is a big colony living on the rocks and there were quite a few in the water. They are just like dogs and were amazing to swim with. They were really playful and will chase you if you swim past them. One enormous one came right up to me and I got to scratch it under the chin! They play with rocks under water, picking them up and throwing them to themselves, just like a dog with a ball. They also play with the weight belts that the tour operators drop onto the sand. They grab them and swim away with them hoping that they will get chased. They wrestle and play fight each other and do jumps and flips. They were great. Charlie wouldn't get in but Jack and Tom did and loved it. It was unbelievable to be so close to them.











On our way out of Streaky Bay we had to make another stop courtesy of "Are We There Yet?" at the Shell Roadhouse. They have a replica of the largest shark caught on a rod and reel back in the late 70's. Some guy caught it off the coast of Streaky Bay on a 20kg line. It took him 5 hours to gaff it and then drag it back to shore. It weighed 1300kg if I remember correctly mandate was a white pointer. It was huge. I have to say I did feel a bit sorry for it but sharks are a serious business around here. All the towns have shark cages around their jetties so you can swim without worrying about being eaten!

Crossing the Nullabor

We left Esperance at 8:30am and drove towards Norseman. This town was named after a horse. The story goes that a man was riding his horse through the area and it went lame. When he checked it's foot, he found a nugget of gold stuck in it's shoe! So the gold mining began after that.




We got some fuel and began the big drive. People kept telling us how boring it was going to be but we didn't think it was that bad. We have driven plenty of boring drives over the last 6 months and this wasn't the worst. It is just very long! We ate lunch in the car and stopped to refuel at Balladonia. We then managed to make it to Cocklebiddy for another refuel and pulled over about 60km east of Cocklebiddy at a roadside stop. What a drive. We managed 700km in one day, our record. We were in the car for 10 hours, only getting out once for an hour so it was a great effort from the kids. My heartfelt thanks goes out to Steve Jobs for inventing the iPod/iPad which made a big difference.




Watched our last WA sunset.




We had dinner and went to bed pretty quickly as there wasn't much around. While we were in bed we heard what sounded like some sort of animal outside. There were heaps of rustling noises so Michael and I looked out the window hoping to see a wombat or something interesting. Couldn't see anything in the dark. Then I felt what I thought was a moth brush my shoulder. And Michael felt something on his leg. And then something ran over his toes! We turned the lights on to find we had mice in the van. They had found two small holes next to our mattress and made their way into our bed. Well lucky for me Jack was still awake to help Michael get them out. They chased 2 out and killed another one. We plugged up any holes we could think of but I still couldn't go back to sleep. Which was lucky because about half an hour later I spotted another one. Jack was asleep by this time so Michael had to deal with it! The rest of the night we could hear them crawling all over the canvas bed ends and the roof so we didn't get a lot of sleep. We found out later there is a mouse plague and they are everywhere on the Nullabor. Wish we had known that earlier! We did better than some other people we met who unfortunately left a window down on their car and had them in there for the next few days.

We got underway by about 8 the next morning and got to Eucla, about 13km from the SA border and the kids got out for a bit of a play. Then we crossed the border. Bye bye WA.




There are a few scenic lookouts just over the border and this one at the Bunda Cliffs was very spectacular.




Our only other stop was at the Head of the Bight where we had to pay $10 to walk out on a couple of boardwalks. They charge this during whale watching season but it seemed a bit steep when there are no whales. There were some more good views of the Bunda Cliffs.




Not sure what Tom is doing in this photo! We had to stop at the Head of the Bight to make sure we were following the book "Are We There Yet?" which if you don't know it, is a story about a family traveling around Australia in a camper trailer.

We were pretty sick of driving by about 5pm so decided to stop at a little place called Fowler's Bay, about 20km off the highway. With the 2 hour time difference it meant a pretty late arrival but funnily enough there was still time for fishing and both Jack and Michael managed to catch some Tommy Rough (or Australian Herring) from the jetty.

The Duke

We drove another 40km or so east of Cape Le Grande and checked in to the Duke of Orleans CP or "the Duke" as it is known locally. We had never even heard of the place but it is extremely popular with the locals, and is one of those caravan parks where the same people book each year so there are lots of people here and plenty of kids. You are allowed dogs too so there a a few of those around. It's claim to fame is the beach about 2km away called Wharton's which many claim is the best beach in Australia. Having seen it I have to agree it is up there. It is one of those great beaches that you can drive on, there are rocks at one end to fish from and shallow water with enough waves for a bit of surfing and swimming. Charlie liked it because the sand is great for making roads for his cars! The sand is that squeaky sand and is the texture of icing sugar and the same colour.




Driving your car right onto the beach is one of the things we really love about WA. It is fantastic not to have to carry all your stuff from the car, you have your fridge within easy reach and some instant shade. Love it.

The boys have made some friends and spend their time riding around in a little gang, sometimes letting Charlie join in. We spent the second day here at the beach and Jack tried some surfing which he did well at. Jack and Charlie spent most of the time fighting which has been happening a lot recently. I think they need a break from each other, in fact I think we all do! Tom woke up this morning saying how much he misses my mum and how pleased he is that it's only 18 sleeps until we see her.

We spent our last day on a day trip to Cape Arid National Park. There are basic camping facilities out there but we didn't feel up to the effort of tenting it again. It took about 45 minutes to get to Thomas River along some very reasonable dirt roads. We realized that we actually could have brought the van out here with no trouble. Maybe next time. It was a very beautiful place and there was hardly anyone around. Miles and miles of beach with white sand and that amazing blue water.










And more driving along the beach! We had a picnic lunch at the Thomas River inlet and Michael and Tom went for a walk and found some huge crabs. Jack and Charlie played cars in the sand without fighting for a change.




We then went for a drive to look at some of the other beaches in the area. This is looking down onto Dolphin Cove (I think) and around to Cape Arid.




We followed a track to Tagon Beach which started off pretty well but ended in some deep sand which we got stuck in, having forgotten to lower the tyre pressure! The minute we realized we were stuck all three boys jump out of the car and go straight to a tyre, find a stick and start letting out the air! Even Charlie! Very experienced 4WDers we are now! Apart from forgetting about the tyre pressure in the first place. We weren't stuck in very deep sand so got out easily. Lucky really as there was no one else around and it was a long walk to the ranger for help. There are heaps of other areas to look at in the National Park but it would be much safer to do it with someone else so we will have to come back!

We had dinner at the Condingup Tavern which is a tiny pub about 20km north of the Duke, then the next day we packed up and went back into Esperance for one night before we head across the Nullabor!

Cape Le Grande Part 2

The next day the sun was shining so we drove out to Cape Le Grand beach to have a look. It was beautiful but very windy here too. There is another camp site out here. The camp sites are very well equipped. They have solar heated showers, flushing toilets and even camp kitchens.




This photo is Cape Le Grand beach and the next one is another one of Lucky Bay.




We spent the afternoon at one end of Lucky Bay near the rocks. There were no waves here and you could snorkel around the reef. The water was too cold for me but we stuck wetsuits on the kids and they were happy to go in.













As you can see the water is beautiful. Not many fish to see snorkeling compared to some of the other places we have been to further north but other interesting things to see and Tommy found a beautiful shell to add to our enormous collection. The kids disappeared after dinner and rode along the beach and made sand sculptures. Here is one of Jacks, a lizard.




And a beautiful sunset for our walk back to the van.




We would have considered staying another night but we have run out of food so have to move on. The people we met at Munglinup Beach told us about a caravan park called the Duke of Orleans which is about halfway between Cape Le Grand and Cape Arid, about 83km east of Esperance so we will check that out tomorrow. Trying to spend as much time in the area as possible before we get to the Nullabor!

Cape Le Grand

When we arrived at Cape Le Grand National Park at about 7:45am we actually had a few sites to choose from at Lucky Bay so that worked out really well. What a beautiful place.




We drove to some of the other beaches that afternoon including Thistle Beach and Whistling Rock. This is a special place for the aboriginals and has a story about making sure children listen to their parents. I wonder if it works for them?!







This is the boys pretending to rock climb.




We then checked out Hellfire Bay which was a bit windy.




They were trying to shelter from the wind! The weather was actually pretty ordinary for a change today and we even had a bit of rain. But the forecast is good for the rest of the week which is good.

Esperance

We were so excited about the cheap caravan park that we treated ourselves to a pub dinner at one of the locals. However we had to do one of Michael's "boring tourist drives" according to the kids. This was a drive you can do that took in all the amazing beaches. And they were absolutely spectacular. They rival any of the beaches we have seen on this trip and we have seen some pretty special beaches. The sand is so white here and combined with the amazing colour of the sea, it produces something very special.




The pub we chose for dinner looked ordinary from the outside but according to Trip Advisor was much better on the inside. It was renovated on the inside and had excellent, reasonably priced meals. Even the kids meals were only $7 and were enormous. Considering we have paid up to $15 per kids meal! I seem to be going on and on about the cost of things but it is hard not to when everything is so expensive.

The next day we went into town to have a look at the market. Bought Tom some home made Anzac biscuits from one of those little old lady stalls that sells preserves and lots of crocheted stuff. He has really missed his biscuits so that made his day. I have missed having an oven on this trip. It was an option for the caravan but we didn't think we would use it. I think we would have and that is one thing I would change if we ever do anything like this again.

We then drove to Tanker Jetty to meet Sammy the Seal. He is a seal that lives around the jetty and waits for the fisherman to throw their scraps in from the fish cleaning table. He was enormous but was lazing around on the beach in the sun when we saw him. He reminded us of a dog, I think because of the whiskers and the was he was stretched out.




There was another seal in the water waiting for the scraps.




We spent the afternoon at West Beach where we buried the kids in the sand and tried to leave them. They are really trying our patience at the moment, particularly Jack. We think he needs to get back to school. As much as we have been saying we don't want to come home, we are looking forward to the day we can have a break from the three of them. Neither Michael or I have been away for the kids for longer than a couple of hours in over 5 months and it can be hard work when they play up.




When we got back to the caravan park we tried to book in for another night but were told our site was booked the next day and we would have to change sites if we wanted to stay. We had planned on driving out to camp at Cape Le Grand for a couple of nights at some stage so rather than pack up and move 100 metres, we thought we would try our luck at the Cape. It is a very popular place to camp and you can't book. You just have to turn up in the morning and hope that someone is leaving. So we packed up that night and hoped to get away just after 7am.