Moving on
from Dimboola we headed back down the Western Highway towards Ararat, not sure
where we would end up for the night. After stocking up the supplies in Ararat
we had everything shaken to bits along the most corrugated dirt road we have
driven on the way to check out a camp spot just out of town at Green Hill Lake.
Yuk! The water level was well down and what was left was covered in green stuff.
We headed off and decided on a stop at Dunkeld at the southern end of the
Grampians. Nice view of the mountains...
Saturday was
a hot, hot day (that's why Luke is leaning above) with predictions of hotter
weather coming. We walked around town and had a squiz at the Royal Mail Hotel
which has won food and wine awards all over the place. The restaurant almost
looked out of place compared to the rest of the town (not that the town was
bad). The native garden was great and provided our first chance to check out
the Sturt Desert Pea - haven't seen these in Brisbane.
With the hot
weather coming we wanted a pool and some shade. Just down the road at Penshurst
had what we wanted...a cheap ($18/night) caravan site located in the botanical
gardens which is also where the local pool is.
After setting
up camp we were in.
On a later walk around town we thought this looked like a stereotypical country scene.
Sunday 10 January 2010 - Happy birthday
Ashley!
After
convincing Ashley that we hadn't been in any big towns with shopping centres
for a while so hadn't been able to find any presents, there was lots of
excitement (& maybe relief) when she opened this...
The new
clothes went on as well and it was a happy day.
In the
morning Ashley, Mum (Tarnia) and Grammy went off to Madigans Tea House for a
special birthday morning tea.
And what a
great spread they put on. The milkshakes, cakes and scones were fantastic! A
stop here is highly recommended if you are in the area.
The afternoon
was again spent in the pool before a picnic of pizzas and birthday cake in the
gardens near the van.
Monday was a
sad day as it was time to say goodbye to Poppy and Grammy who were heading back
east in preparation for their trip to Tassie, while we continue our journey
west. Thanks Poppy and Grammy - we had an awesome time travelling with you!
Monday 11 January 2010
We restocked
supplies in Hamilton and then headed for Nelson on another stinking hot day -
42 degrees. The drive in the air conditioning was probably the best place to
be. There have been lots of warnings to get out of the Grampians area with code
red fire alerts for all of that area and up into the Wimmera (where Dimboola
is) so we timed that part of the trip really well.
Nelson had a
bit less than we had expected so we had a quick look around and then headed to
the Princess Margaret Rose Caves for a look. These caves had been highly
recommended by a few people and the tour was not as expensive as other
caves we had come across ($28 for the family).
The cave
features were spectacular and we thoroughly enjoyed the tour...
We were going
to stay at the camp area next to the caves but found that about a hundred
million blow flies had moved into the shower and amenities so we went
back down the road to Nelson and checked into the caravan park. The
Glenelg River winds its way from the Grampians and down through the limestone
cliffs into the ocean here. It is a beautiful river. Little boat sheds line
either side through town.
We enjoyed
dessert on a little jetty and had an evening swim to cool off.
Tuesday 12 - Wednesday 13 January 2010
Across the
border today - this is the sixth state/territory we have been in so far...how
many to go?
Another
beautiful sunset that evening...
On Wednesday
we toured around Mt Gambier and surrounds. Very nice town. First stop was Blue
Lake which is in the crater of another volcano and is also the town's water
supply.
Check out the
colour of the water! An unbelievably deep sapphire blue. No filter was used in
this photo. The water turns this colour blue over the course of a few days each
November and lasts until March when it turns back to a steely grey colour
for the winter.
Next stop was Cave Gardens in one of the many sinkholes in the area. This is right in the middle of town.
Beautiful
rose gardens surround the area...
Umpherston
sinkhole just up the road is like as enchanted garden where you would expect to
see fairies flying around. The area was first set up for public recreation in
the 1800's by the property owner (Mr Umpherston) - what a great bloke.
Then it was down towards the coast to Port MacDonnell for a picnic lunch and a play. The kids love the 'old style' play equipment like see-saws and long slides that are not seen so much anymore.
At Cape Northumberland where we were lucky enough to spot a penguin and baby in their burrow.
Along the
road a bit further was Ewen Ponds, a spring fed water hole. The water is so
clear that it looks like you can touch the bottom from the jetty but it is
actually a few metres deep.
For anyone
interested in stats, so far we have been away for 111 nights, we have spent
$963 on accommodation and have done 11,831 kms, spending $2045 on fuel at an
average cost of 124.9 cents/litre. Food and other miscellaneous expenses such
as clothes and maintenance work out at an average of $41.81 per day.
Entertainment costs eg tours, attraction entry fees etc have cost $1200 so far.
Thursday 14 - Friday 15 January 2010
Time to leave
Mt Schank. We drove on to Millicent & had lunch at another awesome
adventure playground.
We also
stopped in at Beachport and had a look at the Pool of Siloam which is seven
times saltier than the ocean. Apparently it is really easy to float because of
the high salt content - we took their word for it as it was a bit cool and very
windy for swimming.
We arrived in
Robe in the late afternoon. This is a very popular beachside town. The caravan
parks were all full (& very expensive being peak season) so after fish and
chips on the beach we drove just out of town to a free camp and then drove back
in first thing in the morning for a swim and hung out at the beach for the
morning.
After lunch
we continued on to Kingston SE and played in the park until late evening. One
of the best features of Kingston SE was that it has the longest and smoothest
ripsticking path in Australia (that we have come across so far).
After
tea in the park we left (far later than we should have) to head up towards our
next stop, a farmstay near Keith. The light was fading rapidly as we drove
through the kangaroo infested countryside. Needless to say we drove a lot
slower than we would have during the day and beeped the horn continuously for
about 50kms. We saw quite a few roos but they were kind enough to stay off the
middle of the road.
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