Heading West

Back on the road we are, and beginning a BIG TRIP. Or to be more accurate THE BIG TRIP. Our plans are flexible and yet definite. Our schedule includes Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory (and perhaps Queensland). Our accommodation will be the trusty anaconda tent and hotels when we need. We will be visiting friends and family and seeing parts of Australia we haven't ventured to before in our search for sunshine. Yes, Chris is obsessed with heat.

Our journey began with a quick visit to Port MacDonnell to visit friends we met in the middle east. It was rough and windy in the area, but apparently the tuna fishing was good. We didn't spend long on the catch up as we were keen to get back on the road, aiming for Mount Gambier (and a hotel) for the night. The weather turned a little wet (understatement) with driving rain and huge puddles and we were most grateful for a warm dry bed that didn't involve pumping up. Air beds just can't compare to the real thing.

From here we headed to Tantanoola, South Australia, to check out a gorgeous stone church that we were hoping to buy but just missed out on. Tara's been watching too many Grand Designs and has her heart set on doing a major renovation, complete with mezzanine, bridge, open plan living area etc.  It was situated on plenty of land and was perfect, being a decent size. Many are too small, with only two or three windows and therefore not tall enough for a second floor. Perfect... But obviously not for us.

On to Naracoorte through the Coonawarre (wine) region to catch up with friends. Here are some images of the Padthway vineyards... and local grain crops. The large watering systems- pivots are amazing. They even "walk" over fences to irrigate the paddocks.

We met the Murray River at a place called Mannum where to cross from South Australia into Victoria you travel on a car ferry. It's a very short trip but has two ferries running at once. The town itself is delightful, full of friendly folk, beautiful trees and scenery. The Pretoria Hotel stands proudly between the main street and river, and whilst we didn't drink there, we needed a photo for our south african friends, Jan and Sharon. This one's for you, Yeiki! 

 

(Please excuse the terrible photos- it was a chilly morning and I didn't notice the lens was fogged until Snowy had chugged too far past.)

From here we continued our journey west/ south west heading towards the coast. We wanted to avoid Adelaide and the traffic (Poor "Snowy"- whilst most reliable, really consumes fuel when we push her) so on to Gawler we headed. The journey was punctuated by short stops at playgrounds to keep a little explorer happy. The countryside was windswept, rocky and at times desolate. Ruins in various states of disrepair indicate the farming history of days gone by. We figure it was mostly sheep grazing land, although some grain crops are evident. Some farms now are growing olives.

Passing through Port Augusta, a busy industrial town with a natural port, and huge factories for electricity generation we viewed massive salt plains and more arid land. The waterways for pleasure craft looked inviting.

On to another seaport/mining town on the Eyre Peninsula, Whyalla- "Where the Outback Meets the Sea" for the night in a handy motel on the foreshore. A touch worryingly the room contained not one but two cans of insect spray but once we saw past that it was definitely convenient with the beach and playground right next door. Amelia had a wonderful time and we passed Anzac day peacefully by the seaside.  

Whyalla is again arid and somewhat windswept, with everything covered in red dust. Originally there was no water available and it needed to be brought in from Port Pirie by ship. The HMAS Whyalla was launched in 1941, the first ship to come out of the new shipyard, which was closed in 1978 being unable to compete with Japanese shipyards. Now it produces steel from the OneSteel works which were built in the 1950's. 

A barge being loaded with iron ore, then heads into the gulf to fill the waiting ship.

Back travelling

After a few months at home and organising our next adventure we're back on the road, this time in a tent!
Stay tuned for more details and photos of our time exploring Australia...

Exploring Glen Aire- the Aire River

With the advent of Pre-school us grown ups were able to get paddling once again. We traveled to the Aire Valley, just outside Apollo Bay, between Cape Otway and Lavers Hill. It's a gorgeous spot where the river meanders down from the Otway hills to the sea. The river mouth had recently been opened up (it silts quite regularly) so the water was flowing more quickly than we were used to near the mouth where it's shallower and the river colour changes becoming deeper as the tannins from the tea trees upstream.

Here are some photos of a very keen paddler in his new kayak... (not as suitable in the surf as our old Penguins but much faster on flat water)

There are two camp grounds on either side of the river here for free camping... very busy during the school holidays.

And some random photos trying to capture the serene beauty of the place... we were the only boats on the water both yesterday and today. Various birds were startled by our presence and most flew upstream when we approached. The fish were jumping; "summertime and the living is easy, fish are jumping and the weather is fine" was trapped on repeat in my head!

Adventures in boat maintenance

Our adventures have been close to home of late. The fact that it's so nice to be by the water during an Australian summer, in our home town, combined with the sorry state of both house and boat (requiring extreme maintenance) necessitated efforts on the home front. We were also needing a survey for boat insurance purposes so time was of the essence- just to add extra pressure!

For those of you familiar with larger boats, you'd understand that annual anti-fouling is a must. It's a yucky job; requiring slipping, cleaning, sanding, preparing, re painting and attaching new anodes amongst other dirty jobs. Getting her onto the slip was a bit of a challenge to begin with, due to her size (45 feet), the shape of her hull- semi-planing and the cradle posts being a bit sticky or scratchy. She kept slipping down on the starboard side. It took almost a full hour filled with more than a few nervous moments, and ended with the small work boat being sent out and four men jumping up and down on the port side of the stern. Chris was one happy fellow when she was safely on dry land. (Last time she was slipped, she dropped down and required extensive/expensive repairs.)

 She kept snagging on the port side.

 Help was at hand- thanks to the harbour hands!

And a very bored little explorer... she was building sandcastles on the pier and collecting shells.

 

 Showing off Princess Ariel.

Here's a photo of what we encountered when we first slipped the Kerry Dee...

We had a big job on our hands. Just arranging all the scaffolding took over three hours, four men and one woman.

Here's how she came up after many hours of sanding, prepping and painting...

 The painting/ rolling of anti-foul is a yucky job- very messy. Chris was responsible for under the waterline and Tara responsible for above and topsides. In the above photo Chris is reapplying the anodes.

 at the end of a long weekend!

 About to be re-floated! All went smoothly.

Special thanks to the lovely Nanna and Aunty Denise with whom Amelia was able to stay while Chris and I worked non-stop all weekend. Amelia loved her sleepover so much she didn't want to come home! Thanks to cousin Kat as well for taking Amelia swimming.

We were delighted to get the job done, boat surveyed, approved and back in the pen... all done for another year! Now to get fishing...

Lake Elizabeth- Victoria

Recently we had time and inclination to explore our local area with Amelia in tow. This is something we haven't really done too much of since she's joined us, given she's now way too big to be in the backpack and not quite into the walking spirit yet. After some convincing, and the promise of a packed lunch we managed to make it into the park- and to the lake itself. She was incredibly disappointed not to see platypus- but given the noise she was making it's no surprise.

Lake Elizabeth was formed a number of years ago after record levels of rain caused a rock and land slide into the Barwon River- it's situated just out of Forrest in the Otways. There are lots of nice walks and free camping which makes the place quite popular. Canoe tours can also be taken where you may be lucky enough to see platypus close up. Here's some more info from the link below. http://www.forrestvictoria.com/lake-elizabeth 

Now for some photos of our intrepid and sometimes reluctant explorer...

 

 Trying to motivate!

 Towering tree ferns

 For a short while she did walk in front...

 Prolonging the trek back.

Advent Calendar

So, so happy to be home at the moment we have made an Advent Calendar for Amelia.

 

It's a little bit creative and was loads of fun, especially as she was able to open the first one today.

 

Here are some photos of the project...

 

 

The Supplies; paper, spice containers (magnetic), stickers, glue (PVA/ MOD PODGE- dries clear), Surprises (hair clips, smarties, marbles, stamps, special notes for an activity for the day, stickers, toys etc)

 

Apparently IKEA has some of these, as does Amazon (who wouldn't deliver to me in Australia). I ended up finding these in a cheap store- Treasure Hunters. They're already magnetic which saves me some time and effort in finding magnetic tape.

 

Getting started; choose design and numbering for each day, draw and cut our circle to fit top of container. Funnily enough the medicine cup was a perfect size- thanks Panadol!

 



 

Circles ready to be glued. It was good fun to choose colours of Christmas paper.

Containers drying upside down so they'd dry quicker. (I had one very excited helper!)

 

Finished product- surprises added and lids sealed with stickytape- a necessity.

All went well, except the containers had holes for spices to be poured through which I superglued and some of them turned milky as the glue dried which was a bit disappointing. Didn't bother Amelia though who was so keyed up that she's been asking when we can open the next one! I was amazed that the magnetic strips on them actually held even when they were filled with heavy marbles. I can't wait to see them on our fridge- which arrives from Abu Dhabi on Monday- very exciting. I especially enjoying making up the messages and have included a few tasks for her to complete on particular days (Eg, making Christmas treats in the kitchen, setting up the tree, calling relatives to wish them Happy Birthday...)

Overall great fun!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS