Australia Part 13: The Southwest

Tuedsday, 19 Mar 2024

Before leaving Bromus Dam, Darren changed one of the wheels on the caravan with the kids. The tyre seemed to have a leak of some sort. We had a quick look at the dam and then packed up and headed to Esperance on the coast. We paid for some hot showers, did some laundry, topped up on water and groceries. While we waited for laundry, we met a man that had a pet ferret with him. We chatted to him for a while and got to hold his pet. It was quite cool. The kids enjoyed it too. The town of Esperance was not very helpful for people with caravans, as all the places to go and see said no overnight camping. So, we carried on after our errands were done and stopped at Munglinup Roadhouse for the evening. They had a playground which was really nice. The kids played there before it got dark.

KODAK Digital Still Camera

Wednesday, 20 Mar 2024

In the morning, we took it slow getting ready for the day. Then, we left the caravan behind, and drove to Quagi Beach. Darren did some fishing for a while in the surf. The man we met with the ferret said that a certain type of fish was starting to run through the area so Darren bought a clearance fishing rod to see if he could catch anything. The wind and the tides weren’t quite right though as he didn’t get any bites. The kids and I explored the rockpools around the beach and found a few neat shells and lots of water snails. Then we went back to the vehicle to have our lunch nearby at a picnic table.

KODAK Digital Still Camera

KODAK Digital Still Camera

After lunch we drove farther along the coast on a little goat track through the sand and rocks to a place called Infinity Rock Pool. It really was like an Infinity Pool, right on the edge of the sea! It was beautiful and shallow and calm. And the sea beyond the pool was deep and rugged and would splash the waves so that the mist of the splash could be seen while in the pool. Despite the cold wind, we didn’t want to pass up the opportunity, so we got in and had a swim. Sometimes the drops came in and one time quite a good stream of water came into the pool, filling it with little air bubbles which tingled on your skin. The kids played a little at the edge and Boy did decide to come in and have a little bit of a snorkel. He said he spotted a few little fish. We got cold after about 20 minutes, so got out and warmed up and then headed back to the caravan. The rest of the afternoon, the kids played at the park, and we relaxed. It was a really lovely day after that last week of quite a lot of driving.

Thursday, 21 Mar 2024

In the morning we packed up and moved on quite early so we could get a good spot at the next camp site. We pulled in to the Norman’s beach site around 2pm and it was full. so we tried a few more in that area and they were all either full or closed to fishing. Darren was hoping to spend this day and the next day fishing. We were hoping to find somewhere on the beach on a river estuary but realised that this was not going to work out. So, we kept moving west. We passed through Albany and found a spot along a river but farther away from the beach. It was called Hay River. It was very peaceful, but it filled up quite soon after we got there as well. Darren tried some fishing but didn’t catch anything here either. We did however spot a small black animal that was crashing through the underbrush near our caravan. We didn’t make out was it was, but after dusk it came back and Darren got some photos of it. It is called a bandicoot. It is a very small marsupial and it eats bugs and worms it finds in the soil. It hops like a kangaroo and scurries very fast!

Friday, 22 Mar 2024

We had a been talking it over the last day or so, about how there were quite a few things that needed some TLC on the vehicle. We could tell that those things were getting worse quite noticeably. So, we decided to do one last thing and then head home, which was only about 2.5 hours away. That last thing was a treetop walk through the Valley of the Giants. It was really cool! We walked up a platform into the trees and walked around through the treetops. The walk was 40 meters above the ground. The walkway swayed to and from and we walked just like the trees blowing in the breeze. After the treetop walk, we did the understory walk which took us through the tree trunks of the tingle tree. It is a type of eucalyptus tree only found in this region. We hoped to see some Quokka, which are really cute tiny kangaroo type animals, but we didn’t as they come out at dusk. We bought some souvenirs t-shirts in the gift shop and then drove to our final destination near Bridgetown. We surprised everyone there as they were expecting us a week later. It was a pretty neat end to our trip.

We have more travels planned for the future. We would like to make it all the way around Australia at some point. We have already travelled the whole east coast, so we just need to the west coast and the northern coast now. We’d also like to visit the very middle at some point. But that will have to happen at a later time. I hope to keep posting about how we are getting along here as we settle in and find our new normal here. New adventures are awaiting.

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Australia Part 9: Big Desert, Pink Lakes and The Flinders Ranges

Sunday 3 Mar, 2024

In the morning, we packed up and left Lonsdale Lake and headed northwest. We stopped at a few towns to do some grocery shopping and laundry, and to take some showers. Then, we carried on North to Big Desert. The landscape got dryer and dryer along the way, and it marvelled us to think what the farms in these parts actually farmed, with it just looking like mostly bare land. Then we entered the protected desert area of Big Desert. We drove for an hour or so until we were truly in the middle of nowhere, at Big Billy Bore’s campground. We settled in for the evening.

Monday 4 Mar, 2024

Next day, we played it easy at our campsite in the morning. We took a walk to the lookout nearby and then did some schoolwork. After lunch we decided to leave the caravan behind and have a drive on one of the nearby tracks through the desert. These tracks have no gravel or anything on them, so we let some of the air out of our tyres to help with driving on the sand and then had a good time, for about 3 hours we enjoyed the sites of the desert. The plants changed subtly along the drive, in many places, they were made of lots of small shrubs and plants and in other places it was with a few short trees thrown in for variety. All ranged from a varied array of muted colours. Greens, reds, purples, orange, and yellows all from the desert and then the big blue sky. It was beautiful. Some things we saw were, a large kangaroo taking a nap, a huge sand dune that we were not able to drive over, and some footprints that looked to be made by a dingo. The kids really enjoyed the ride, bouncing down the sandy track. They giggled and laughed much of the way. Then, it was back to camp for a quick meal and then bedtime. I had hoped we would see some more animals, but even the birds were really scarce here. We weren’t sure if they were actually not there, or if they were just hiding.

Tuesday 5 Mar, 2024

In the morning Darren spotted a long line of caterpillars marching across the path to the toilets. We looked them up and they are called, ‘Processionary Caterpillars’ and are the larva of the Shelter Bag Moth. If you touch their hairs, it makes you sick. We are glad that we didn’t touch them. They move together as a group to look for a new food source when they finish stripping a choice tree. We watched for a while and saw how at one point the group leader switched places with the caterpiller behind him, and then the group split into 3 separate groups and carried on in different directions. It was fascinating to watch! After that, we up and left Big Desert and headed to Murray Sunset National Park.

We had plans to stay at Murray Sunset until Friday to do some of the tracks there, but when we arrived a sign said the park was closed to overnight campers. So, we decided to look around at the pink lakes for a short while and then just carry on west into South Australia earlier than planned. The pink lakes used to be mined for salt. Each winter salty water comes up from under the lake as the water table rises. Then when it dries out in the summer it leaves a think later of salt in the summer. The pink colour comes from a bacterium that live in the salt which make beta carotene. After moving on, we entered South Australia, had some showers at Loxton then found our campsite at Wiggly Flat on the Murray River. As we drove into our campsite, we came across an Echidna crossing the road. We all got out and got a good look at him.

Looking at some salt from the stockpiles that were left here from the mining days.

The pink colour is darker and lighter depending on the sunlight and other factors.

Walking on the salt felt a little bit like walking on snow.

Echidna

Wednesday 6 Mar, 2024

In the morning, we had a better look around. The river was beautiful and it was quite peaceful, but the bugs were not very nice by the river, and it was very humid. I had a look around at the local bird life and saw a whole flock of spoonbills, some pelicans, and some herons. When they saw me looking at them, then flew up into these huge dead trees and looked down at me. Then we packed up and headed north to Jamestown, where we had some showers, then Peterborough, where we did laundry. There was a neat steam train to look at in this town.

Spoonbills

Next, we carried on to Yunta, then turned left onto Tea Tree Road which led us to the Wakaringa Ghost Town where they used to mine gold. We arrived after dark and made our way to the top of a hill next to a stone chimney. We settled in for the night.

Thursday 7 Mar, 2024

It turned very windy during the night and in the morning, we knew we didn’t want to stay here for another night. We had a look around the old town and the ruins and searched to ground for anything interesting. We didn’t find any gold, but we did find some neat clear crystals.

We continued on Tea Tree Road. That was an adventure in itself trying to drive it. We had 4 river crossings, one of which we had to drive up the river, and 2 bog drive arounds while towing the caravan. It was a treat for Darren.

Then came out of the dirt roads near Hawker, then carried on north through Flinders Ranges National Par The views on this drive were marvellous! We had dinner along here, then found our campsite in the Parachilna Gorge.

Friday 8 Mar, 2024

We packed up and drove out of the Flinders National Park. The sites were so neat. The colours were reddish brown and light metallic greens and greys. The rocks looked like the skin on a pudding that had been wrinkled up and down over the landscape. We drove through the wrinkles of earth. It made us think of the effects of Noah’s flood, and the power that was present to lift and twist the earth. We marvelled at the power of God. Then we came out on the Outback Highway and headed north towards the Oodnadatta Track.

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Australia Part 3: Goodbye New South Wales, Hello Victoria

Wednesday Feb 14, 2024

One thing I forgot to mention about our stay at our friends house was the flying fruit bats. At night time while we were there, we came outside just after the sun set and watched the sky. Overhead we could see thousands of flying fruit bats flying over the sky from their roosting area over to where ever their feeding places were. They eat fruit and nectar. It seemed like they would never end. The whole sky was full of them. It was such an interesting sight to see!

After our stay in Nowra with our friends, we headed south a few hundred km. One place we stopped along the way was the Bodalla cheese shop. Girl bought an ice-cream with her own money. Boy bought a sweet cream cookie with his own money. Darren bought a cheese sampler, and I bought some free-range eggs. Then we drove on to the Wallaga Lakes Forest. The spot we pulled up for the night was just a spot to park on the side of a quite forest road. In the morning, I took the kids for a short walk down a track that was there.

Thursday Feb 15, 2024

We drove south to our last stop in New South Wales before crossing into Victoria. We took a less traveled road along the coast that later met back up with the highway. It was really neat to see the smaller towns and beach side homes along the way. Before stopping for the night we did a short walk to a place called the Pinnicles. It was some interesting coloured cliff rocks along the beach. We saw a skink here and it was really cute. We stopped for the evening at the Imlay Creek Rest Stop and Rock Pools. It was quite a neat place. A crystal clear river flowed over many large boulders here. A short walk from the parking area led us to a deep pool were we could swim. It wasn’t hot enough for me to swim, but Darren enjoyed a swim while the kids played in the smaller pools.

Pinnacles Walk

Friday Feb 16, 2024

In the morning, we had a short walk along a nearby track and then headed off to find a good spot for the weekend. It proved to take much longer than we thought. We crossed the border from New South Wales into Victoria. It was a lovely drive through state parks and state forests. We drove over 300 kms. We pulled into a campground next to lake Wellington near the town Sale. We soon realized that it was not going to be suitable. It looked quite sketchy and not that safe. So, we drove even farther and finally settled on a beach side campground that was quite nice. It was called Flamingo Beach. Before retiring for the evening, we walked out on the sand for about a kilometre along the beach to see the Trinculo Shipwreck. Below are some photos. This is all that is left of this ship that sunk in 1879. Also shown is what is looked like originally.

Saturday Feb 17, 2024

The next day we relaxed and enjoyed the beach. The kids played in the sand, found shells, played in the waves. We did some Bible study with the kids and sang some songs. We talked to Darren’s Dad on the phone for a little while. It was a nice Sabbath day. Darren kept finding a huntsman spider in his sleeping swag (a tent the size of a sleeping bag). The first night he gave it to me, and I relocated it about 50 meters away. The next night it was back, so he relocated it. Then on the third night of unpacking the swag, he killed it. We all found it amazing, that a spider would keep coming back the same place each night even when relocated it. We never saw it again, so it must have been the same one…!

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Rangiwahia Hut Track Episode 2

Darren and I have been itching to get out to a hut with the kids. So, yesterday morning, after looking for this weeks forcast, we decided that it was time. We got out of bed and packed our bags with spare clothes, food for all meals plus a reserve, water, and sleeping bags. Then we headed out toward Rangiwahia, about an hour drive north. Below is a topographic map of the track we did. The red line is the portion that we did, up to the hut. There is a bigger loop track shown on the map that returns back to the starting point as well as to other huts. We really would like to do these someday when the kids are older and spend several days to complete it.

When the track was first put in, it was a pretty gentle climb up to the bridge, then much steeper up to the hut from there. Since then, a slip has occured and the track has been remade to go up and over the slip. This has almost doubled the length of the track before the bridge and has made it much steeper, since you must go up and over to find a solid, safe path. It’s interesting looking back across the valley to where the slip is, once you have passed over the bridge, because you can see markings of where the original track went.

Anyway, like our last hike, Boy carried his own water in his new pack, and this time he also carried his own clothes, and plate. It was about 4.4 km to the hut, which was projected to take 2 hours. It took us 5 hours and we were so glad to finally see the hut come into view. My favourite part of the journey was seeing the change in foilage as you get higher in elevation. Boy needed a bit of encouragment, such as a promised meusli bar at the bridge and at the hut, but overall he did great! He was all along looking forward to getting to pick out his bed when we got there. We enjoyed speculating what colour the mattresses would be. Girl did get a little grumpy near the end as she wanted to get out and play, but did well too. She enjoyed waving leaves and bits of grass we found along the way.

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We were the only people to stay in the hut that night, with one other man camping outside the hut as he didn’t make a booking. He had a lovely Weimaraner dog along with him to the delight of Girl, who loves any animal. We enjoyed a nice fire before bed as well as a meal of noodles with peas, and tuna. In the morning, we had some meusli with coconut milk and hot water, then cleaned up and headed back down. Boy was a little apprehensive and said, ‘My legs are going to hurt again…’ So, we told him all about how sometimes pain is a good thing, like when your muscles are working hard and getting stronger.

Going down was faster, and we arrived back at the car in 3.5 hours. Just before the bridge, we took Girl out and she walked over the bridge with us. She thought this was so much fun. She kept walking for about 100 m, then was happy to return to my pack. The clouds covered the mountain quite a good way down so much of our journey out was amidst fog. This gave things a whimsical and magical feeling. It was really quite cool.

All in all, it was a great first hut experience for the family. We look forward to doing more, and also to taking what we learned and making the next trip better. Some things we would do differently: Bring soap, rubbish bags, ziplock bags, more meusli bars for snacks, and a sheet for Girls bed. (she slept in her sleep sack, and didn’t like the cold plastic mattress on her face).

Oh, and an interesting side note are these alpine daisies. Aparrently, they were used by the Maori people to make weatherproof cloaks. Also, the early mountaineers in the early 1900s would pick the leaves and stuff them into the legs of their pants for insulation. Quite cool!

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Bus progress

I’ve been sewing curtains for the bus. One of the first things we need finished before we can start using the bus even for camping in, is the curtains. This will provide a bit of insulation, but mostly privacy. We are planning to take the bus to Rotorua for Darren’s Nana’s 90th birthday party which is at the end of August, so I’m very busy trying to finish the sewing.

I got some quotes for how much it would cost to pay someone to make them for us and the total was going to come to over $1000. Even buying curtain fabric and making them from that would be near the same price. So, I found a great deal on thermal curtain backing fabric online and bought some flat sheets and am sewing them up into our curtains. It should cost just over $300, which is more in our budget. I didn’t have many colours to choose from, but liked the royal blue best. I’d love any suggestion for an upholstery colour to pair them with when we make our couch. So far I’ve finished four curtains with eight more to go! Three are up in the picture below.

Darren has also put in the couch frame. We just need to put proper cushions on it now.

In other news, on Tuesday I left a pot of beans on the stove and forgot about it for probably 2 hours. I came back to the bus we are living in and found dark smoke thickly filling the inside. I cleared it out as quickly as I could, but despite washing nearly every article of cloth, and wiping the walls with vinegar and sprinkling baking soda all over, the horid smell of smoke remains, and it has been making me feel quite sick. The day it happened Boy started coughing, with me starting the next few days. We have cold like symptoms and I’m note sure if we just picked up a bug at the same time, or if its been caused by breathing the smoke fumes. 

Anyway, after three nights of hoping the smell would get better and realizing its going to take weeks to really leave, I’ve moved us into the new bus. I’m really very disappointed, because the new bus isn’t home yet, and the other one was. I feel a bit like we’ve actually had a house fire, suddenly kicked out of our home. But, I’m very thankful nothing was actually severely ruined and that we have somewhere to go.

I’ve had many people express their surprise and confusion at how burned beans could hang around so long and so strong. I did some research and found that smoke from a fire is much harder to remove than cigarette smoke, and that it is very damaging in how it clings to materials. It’s not just burned beans that I had in that pot, but a mini fire. Those beans had reduced to charcoal and ash when I found them. If you could be here and smell it, you would agree it stinks…regardless of the why.

So, here we are camping in our bus!

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