2012, October 31 to November 2 - Clare Valley to Adelaide (via Auburn, Tarlee, Kapunda, Nuripoota, Tanunda, Lyndoch, Williamstown, Adelaide Hills

Trip Meter Reading Start –  11987
Trip Meter Reading Finish –  12218 (231 kms)
 
Filled up Torrens
LPG @ $ $0.869/ litre; 66.77 litres; $58.02

Filled up Woodside
ULP @ $1.475/litre; 64.41 litres; $95.00

Accommodation

Brighton Caravan Park  - $38 per night for 2 adults

This park is situated overlooking the waters of Gulf St. Vincent and is located only 17 kilometres from the centre of the City of Adelaide.  There are van and camping sites only metres from the beach.

Comments – Luke

Today we had a look at Maggie Beers farm who is a famous chef.  We saw heaps of types of fesents and finches.  We also taste tested lots of different foods.  We then drove through the Adelaide Hills and stayed in Brighton in Adelaide near the beach.

Comments – Mum and Dad

Wednesday – Maggie Beer’s Pheasant Farm and shop is located at 50 Pheasant Farm Rd Nuriootpa SA 5355.  Overlooking her dam filled with turtles and ducks we enjoyed a a Seasonal Cheese Picnic Basket for $15 (Seasonal Cheese with Maggie’s Orchard Dried Fruit, Fruit Paste, and Walnut Wood Oven Bread) with a glass of wine...mmmm.  Luke got to taste the Maggie’s non alcoholic wine and enjoyed viewing the array of birds and pheasants Maggie has at the farm. 

Thursday – had a lazy day sleeping and watching a bit o telly before heading north to explore Glenelg and Port Adelaide.

Friday – we spent today exploring the inner city which was in particular Rundle Mall.  We strolled around the Mall which is the city’s premier retail destination and is a popular attraction in the state of SA having over 700 retailers.   Parking was easy to find and we thought $15 for all day parking undercover reasonable and convenient.   

 

2012, October 29/30 - Port Augusta to Clare (via Melrose)

Not More wheat!!!!

Trip Meter Reading Start –  11711

Trip Meter Reading Finish –  11946 (235 kms)

Accommodation
Discovery Holiday Park, Clare - $31 per night x 2 adults
This park was very spacious and pretty.  Plenty of grassed areas and lovely tall trees.  Fantastic shower and toilet facilities for the disabled; camp kitchen and laundry was very functional, clean and tidy.  The kids can be entertained with the shade covered pool and jumping pillow.  Convenient with the information centre right next door.  Well worth the money  !!!.

Comments – Luke

Monday - Today we went into Port Augusta and went to the information centre were we went into the Outback experience.  It was about how the land was formed Dinosaurs, animals, aboriginals and vegetation.  We also watch short movies on how people survived in the harsh conditions.  After that we drove down to Melroes and had a drink at the pub then drove down to Clare and set up camp at a caravan park.

Me and Dad at the Wadlata Outback Centre

Tuesday – Today we had a look at the historical buildings in Clare.  We also went to wineries and breweries built in the 1800’s.  W then went to a pub and had lunch we also saw a deer antler shanderleer.  We then went back to the caravan park and had a swim in the pool.

Comments – Mum and Dad

Monday – Leaving our free camp early we headed to the tourist office in Port Augusta to visit the Wadlata Outback Centre that was recommended to us by other travellers with kids.  The centre has interactive information about the outback, Ghan, Afghans, telegraph station, early explorers such as Sturt, Stuart and Giles.  It cost approximately $35 for a family and we spent a good 3 hours in there.  It is really worth the money and for your primary aged kids a great educational experience. 

After having lunch in the town square in Port Augusta we stocked up on supplies at Coles which was conveniently near the information centre.  Heading out of the town we went back through Horrocks Pass which was much browner and drier than it was 5 months ago when we drove through on our way up to Coober Pedy.  Along the way to the Clare Valley we popped into the Mount Remarkable Hotel at Melrose to have a drink as the hotel was so old and interesting.  Jack the barman was lovely young man originally from Raymond Terrace. 

Tuesday – Clare Valley wine region  is popular for its Riesling Trail.  The Riesling Trail is one of the first rail-trails to be developed in South Australia by the Office for Recreation and Sport and the Clare Valley community; the trail runs for 27-kilometres along the old Riverton to Spalding railway line between Clare and Auburn.  It is well compacted, making it suitable for recreational walkers, off-road bicycles, wheelchairs and pushers. Named after the grape and wine variety that the region is famous for, the Riesling Trail travels past many cellar doors and other visitor attractions, making it ideal for those wanting a leisurely walk with a distraction or two!  As it was a hot 38 degrees and bike hire for the trail was (in our opinion) a costly $40 per adult for a half day, we got a map from the information centre and drove to the winery’s instead. 

 

Knappstein Winery is one of the most recognizable and popular Clare Valley wineries. This small producer manages its own vineyard, harvests its own fruit and sells its own premium quality wines. It is located in the original nineteenth century Enterprise Brewery, a National Trust building and the landmark of the Clare township – Mark bought himself a 4 pack of beer.

Sevenhill Winery – the oldest winery in the valley was gorgeous and included a winery museum and underground cellar.  This was a very family friendly with its park-like setting, extensive trees, lawns and picnic facilities; they even supply toys and games to keep the kids happy.  Bike hire is much cheaper here as well.  The lady providing the testing was amazingly helpful and very friendly – this is a great place for families to visit!!!!

mmmm...not bad

 

Luke misbehaving....lol

 

Sevenhill Hotel - We had a beautiful lunch at the Sevenhill Hotel for a reasonable $60.00 for the three of us including 3 alcoholic beverages.  Lunch was not your typical pub grub; it was restaurant quality in a beautiful setting.
Pikes – located on the Polish Hill River Road; beautiful setting; lunch can be purchased here.  This winery has a long history and was well worth a visit; by this stage Luke was a bit bored and happy to stay in the car.

Church at the Seven Hill Winery

 

2012, October 28 - Port Lincoln Nat Park to Port Augusta

Luke trying to catch another squid at Tumby Bay Jetty

Trip Meter Reading Start –  11334
Trip Meter Reading Finish –   11711 (377 kms)

Filled up Tumby Bay
ULP @ $1.629 / litre;  50.95 litres; $83.00

Filled up Whyalla ($116.00)
ULP @ $1.419 (with 10c discount)/litre; 51.35 litres; $72.87
LPG @ $0.687 (with 10c discount)/litre; 62.77 litres; $43.13

Accommodation
Free camp at Lincoln / Eyre Highway junction rest area, 25 km SW of Port Augusta.  Nothing special about this spot; no toilets or water.

Our reliable Westy Port and Ford Mario

Comments – Luke
Today we drove to Tumby Bay and tried to catch a squid off a jetty but didn’t.  After that we drove to Arno Bay and had lunch you could also see tuna farms out in the ocean.  We then had a look around the town of Cowell.  We shortly then went to Whyalla because dad wanted to watch the motorbike races in the pub.  Dad was happy that Casey Stoner won.  We then drove to a free camp just before Port Augusta.

Comments – Mum and Dad

Travelling north along Boston Bay out of Port Lincoln was gorgeous.

We had lunch at Arno Bay on the foreshores; lots of wheat, more wheat....did I say there was lots of wheat????.

Cowell was very pretty, old houses with lots of beautiful rose gardens...lovely foreshore area with jetty; beaches pretty (no waves here though); water clear then goes black due to the sea weed....lots of sea weed.

Whyalla was big and had great community facilities; great foreshore area.  Watched the GP and Casey Stoner ride his last race at Phillip Island at a nice hotel in the CBD.

2012, October 26/27 - Coffin Bay to Port Lincoln Nat Park

Trip Meter Reading Start – 11160

Interim Trip Meter Reading - 11276

We're a social lot us Bakers - We had so much fun at the
Lincoln National Park with the Stedman Family.
Dad and me with Blair, Sharee, Sophia, Phoebe & John.

Trip Meter Reading Finish –  11334 (116 kms)

Filled up Coffin Bay
ULP @ $1.59 / litre; 52.2  litres; $83.00

Accommodation
Port Lincoln National Park – $7 per adult and $2 per child per night.
Lincoln National Park is located 13km south west of Port Lincoln. Access is via Proper Bay Road.  We stayed at Surfleet Cove which has 19 sites and1 of the 13 camping areas available.  Lovely big sites to choose from; the top ones have ocean views where as the lower level (where we set up) were close to the beach.

Comments – Luke

Friday - Today we drove to Almonta beach and had a walk found a shell in the rocks.  After that we drove to Port Lincon and got two new back tyres for the caravan.  We also went into the information centre and got my favourite cowrie called the sieve cowrie.  After that we stayed at a bay in a national park.  We went down on the bay and met some kids and stacked some rocks and knocked them down with some other rocks.

Saturday – Today we explored Port Lincoln national park and walked a couple of beaches looking for whells.  We saw heaps of emus and lots of lizards.  After that we went back to camp and played cards in Blear’s caravan which are the people we met yesterday.  We played sitting ducks where you have to shoot everybodys ducks and the last person to have there ducks wins.

OMG Emus are everywhere Dad

Comments – Mum and Dad

Friday – After a great night’s sleep, we said goodbye to our neighbour Jennie (who’s daughter Nicole died 2 weeks before her 18^th).  I gave her my Big Banana beer cooler with my name on it as a reminder that her daughter would always be with her.  She was very appreciative and humble.  We wished her luck on her travels to her daughter’s in Brisbane; travelling and caring for a husband with Parkinson’s and dementia would not be easy (she was an inspiration to me!).....Hooked up we drove out to Point Avoid in the Coffin Bay National Park and walked along the beach which was so gorgeous landscape and water wise before heading into the national park at Port Lincoln.

Point Avoid - Coffin Bay National Park

Saturday – Enjoyed exploring parts of the park including September Beach; Memory Cove and Stamford Hill.  The  park offered white sandy beaches and an extensive network of walking trails that pass through native scrub including a short but steep walk to Stamford Hill where there were spectacular 360 degree views of the coastline and surrounds. Luke and I trekked from Stamford Hill back to camp which took about 2 hours around the beach and rocks.  It was a long but beautiful walk.  I was bloody shafted when I got back...nothing that a couple of drinks in Rick’s bus couldn’t fix.

Beautiful beaches at Port Lincoln NP

 

A wine well earned after a long walk in Rick's converted bus....Cheers big ears!

 

 

2012, October 25- Streaky Bay to Coffin Bay Nat Park (Yangi Crek)

Luke and one of the many scuptures along the
Great Ocean Drive heading toward Elliston

Trip Meter Reading Start –  10787
Trip Meter Reading Finish –  11160 (373 kms)

Filled up Elliston Roadhouse
LPG @ $1.02 / litre;  64.84 litres; $66.14

Accommodation
Yangi Creek, Coffin Bay National Park
$10 per car and camping for up to 8 people per night.
Private spot on a water way / lake – not really suitable for swimming; drop toilets were clean; water was available from a tank (not suitable for drinking).  Plenty of wildlife – roos and emus here.

Comments – Luke

Today we went to a seal colony and watched seals from a small cliff this is were they breed I saw one calling so I called back and it tried to get up the small cliff but couldn’t. After that we drove to Venus Bay and met some people that were travelling in a large bus and whoed us inside we also walked on the beach there were heaps of pelicans.  We then did a drive along the cliffs looking over the water near Elliston and saw some cool sculptures my favourite one was the guy riding a push bike.  After that we went to Coffin Bay and camped near Yangi.


More of the scuptures along the Great Ocean Drive - Elliston

Comments – Mum and Dad

Sea Lion Colony overlooking Searcy Bay – located 17km (one way) along Sceale Bay Road South to Point Labatt we observed the only permanent Australian sea lion colony from a 50 metre high viewing platform.  The sea lions are one of the most endangered marine mammals and the world’s rarest sea lions as they cohabitate with New Zealand fur seals.  We saw approximately about 50 of them lazing and swimming around the shoreline. 

Looking 50 metres down to the seals

Murphys Haystacks – located east on Calca Road toward Flinders Highway.  The stacks are a 1,500 million year old pink granite boulders that had previously been buried by dune sand approximately 30,000 years ago.

The Haystacks

Venus Bay - Gorgeous little seaside village; we saw a mass of pelicans lazing on the beach and met a beautiful family from Benalla (Alan, Freda and their gorgeous son Stephen)...Alan had spent a full year converting his beloved bus into the most amazing holiday home on wheels we have ever seen.  The set out was really functional and we couldn't believe the view through the windows; just that little bit of extra height you get in a bus makes such a difference.  Stephen was so proud to show us his Lions collection and even his bed was kitted out with his Lions doona cover.  Good on ya mate!  What a great supporter he is! 


Luke, Freda, Alan, Stephen and Mark in front of their house on wheels! 
It's meeting people like this that make travelling even more wonderful!

 

Elliston – Is a picturesque seaside town nestled along the shores of Waterloo Bay.  We took a drive along the Great Ocean Tourist Drive where we found sculptures dotted along the coastline and popular surf spots off of Blackfellows Point...magic on a sunny day (we were blessed again!)

.

 

 

Heading south we drove through Coffin Bay which was a gorgeous village bound by Kellidie, Mount Dutton and Port Douglas Bays.  We set up camp at Yangie Bay which is part of the Coffin Bay National Park.  We met and spoke to an amazing woman from Perth, Jennie.  Jennie was travelling from Perth to Brisbane so her daughter could sell her camper trailer as her husband who is 62 has dementia and Parkinsons.  She was driving the entire trip herself; setting up camp and caring for her husband – what a woman! She deserves a medal because she is also her father’s carer (he is 92!).

 

Our camp complete with fire place - Coffin Bay National Park

 

2012, 24 October - Laura Bay to Streaky Bay

Trip Meter Reading Start –  10688

Replica of the Great White caught off Streaky Bay...sheesh

Trip Meter Reading Finish –  10787 (99 kms)

Filled up Streaky Bay
ULP @ $1.629 / litre;  60.75 litres; $99.01

Accommodation
Streaky Bay Foreshore Tourist Park, 82 Wells Street, Streaky Bay
Friendly staff; lovely sites and clean facilities.  Located right on Doctors Beach
Powered site was $35 per night for 2 people

Comments – Luke

Today we set up camp at a caravan park at Streaky Bay.  After that we had a look around town and went to a cemetery to find some Baker’s and only found one.  We then went to the memorial and found three Baker’s.  We also went to a petrol station  and had a look of a replica of a great white shark caught on 50 pound line the shark was five metres.  After that dad and I went fishing for squid for our first time and I caught one and had it for dinner.  It was yum.

Luke catches his first squid off the jetty

Comments – Mum and Dad

Local Cemetery and Anzac Memorial – as strange as it may seem we went to the cemetery to see if we could find any long lost relatives that may have been buried there.  We found two ‘Baker’ plaques at the cemetery and three ‘Bakers’ named at the memorial; one being P Baker which could be Mark’s great grandfather Percy that fought and was killed in France in World War 1.
Great White Shark Replica – no charge - located in the service station (see Lukes comments above)

Streaky Bay is a pretty village situated on the Western Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.  A local company in Baird Bay offers swimming with the seals, but for us it was a little expensive ($200-300 for a family of four) and something we would have to save for another time around.


Downtown Streaky Bay looking toward Doctors Beach and Jetty Foreshore area 


 

2012, October 23 - Eucla to Laura Bay (via Ceduna)



Luke standing under all the signs to major cities at the WA/SA Border

Trip Meter Reading Start – 10415

Trip Meter Reading Finish – 10688  (273 kms)

Filled up WA/SA Border
ULP @ $2.001 / litre;  44.85 litres; $90.01

Filled up Nullabor Roadhouse
ULP @ $2.049 / litre; 48.32 litres; $99.00

Filled up Nundroo Hotel
ULP @ $1.629 / litre; 39.9 litres; $65.00

Accommodation
Free camp Fox Creek, Laura Bay – it was marked on the Camps 5 book, but there were no real designated sites for Caravans and a sign saying ‘No Caravans beyond this point’ so we stopped right near the sign off the road.

Comments – Luke

Today we drove to the border of western and south Australia and saw a big sign of how far the other countries are.  We also saw a statue of a big kangaroo.  After that we stopped at the great Australian Bight and saw were the cliffs were 200 metres high.  We also stopped at the Nullabor road house and saw a statue of a whale and saw a old dragstar bike which was the first bike to ride across the Nullabor in 1962.  We then drove to the head of the Bight were we went to two viewing platforms to see if we could see some whales but could not see any after that we went to Ceduna and walked a Jetty and saw people catching crab and squid.  After that we free camped at Laura Bay and had a small walk to Fox Crek the mozzies were bad.

Me and mum at the Head of the Bight - no whales today

Comments – Mum and Dad

I know I might sound like a whinger but this was a bloody long boring drive today and an expensive one at that fuel wise. 
The walk to the Head of the Bight was beautiful.  Cost is $5 per adult and there is a great boardwalk, suitable for prams and wheelchairs to view the bight and southern right whales that come to breed and give birth

Head of Bight looking toward WA

Ceduna was prettier than I remembered when I visited in the 70’s with its greenery and nicely planted gardens along the foreshore and jetty area. We handed over one out of date cucumber at quarantine and this time got to keep our honey.

Jetty looking back to the township of Ceduna - Luke looking for signs of squid