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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Housebus Travels Part 10: Tolaga Bay

December 2, 2020

We hit the road early and drove past Paua beach and it’s many permanent campers and went to Loisels Beach at Waihau Bay. We were the only souls there, yet the campsite had 22 empty caravans parked there. It was a little weird. Kind of like a ghost town.

The beach was really quite nice, but no good for fishing, despite the picture of a man fishing there on our map. We thought it was a bit too shallow for fish. We stayed there for lunch, Darren and Boy had a swim and then I washed my hair in the sea. After that, we drove back out  and onward to Tolaga Bay.

At Tolaga Bay we had a look at the town and marveled at how such a tiny grocery store could have almost everything you would need. It had a general store feel to it. We bought some milk. Then we drove to the campsite and called it a night. We were almost the only ones there, and no campervans littering the lawn.

December 3, 2020

In the morning I did a lot of meal prep, then we packed a lunch and walked the 600 m out to the end of the warf. It was windy out there! But we managed to keep our hats… And our plates with only one mishap. Darren then tried fishing but sad to say, didn’t even get a bite.

The kids and I walked back to get some coats and met Darren back at the end, where we took some photos and then gathered up our things and went back to the bus. We drove to a little park so the kids could play. The town was quite friendly. Some kids gave Boy and Girl a lolly each. Girl fell and scraped her knee, but Darren saved the day by buying popsicles. Back at our camp site, we had dinner and then I did some laundry by hand before calling it a night.

December r 4, 2020

We just did some ‘housework’ today. I hung laundry in the sun, cooked and tidied up for the weekend. We lazed around our campsite and enjoyed the nice weather.

December 5, 2020

On this day I did some crafts in the morning with the kids and then after lunch we took a walk up to the top of the Tatarakahe Cliff walk, which was a short walk up to the top of the cliffs that line Tolaga Bay. At the top, we were surprised to notice how the cliffs decend almost as quickly on the other side. We had 360° views from the top except for a tree that was in the way. It was a short and steep climb, but we all did well. It was fun to spot our bus far below, and to look at all the things look so tiny.

December 6, 2020

I packed a lunch and we drove to the trailhead of the Cooks Cove walkway. Darren went fishing and the kids and I walked up steep farmland to a tall lookout over the Cove where Captain Cook came and restocked on firewood, water and food. It was one of the first places he visited on his first trip to New Zealand. The locals here were very friendly upon his arrival. After 6 days he continued around the coast of New Zealand.

This walk was really quite neat for me. Mostly because 8 years ago, plus just a few days, I did this walk as my first ever bush walk in New Zealand. Little did I know then, that I would come back and do it again with my then unborn children. Back then, I had thoughts of staying but really only dreamed of staying maybe 3 years. A couple months ago I recieved citizenship in New Zealand. I am really glad I was able to come back to this place.

After the lookout, the trail literally plunged down, down, down, into the bush, made of twisted and whimsical trees, until we came to the very bottom at near sea level and a short walk to Cook’s Cove. My phone didn’t charge the previous night, so I wasn’t able to get a photo of the kids in front of it… I’m really sad about that, but I’ve included a photo I found online. The kids had a realy good time. They ran and played on the down and flat parts, and didn’t complain much on the ups.

After climbing back up through the trees and back down the farmland, we met Darren at the bus. He didn’t catch any fish, but did see a ‘captain cooker’ down at the river. That is, a wild boar initially brought over by Captain Cook himself. Darren said it was unusually friendly, and we wondered if it was someone’s pet. After a short rest, we drove to Tokomaru Bay for the night. The kids played in the sand and Darren fished some more before bedtime, catching a small kahawai.

Cooks Cove. Click photo to see the original.

A ‘captain cooker’

December 7, 2020

We have had a lot of curveballs come to us this past week. We started our trip without an end date in mind. First, we decided to return home early January to get ready for my new job, then Darren got a phone call for an appointment we need to be back for just before Christmas, and then we talked with a lady that may have somewhere for us to stay while I work next year, and she needs to meet us before December 14. So, we’ve decided to accelerate our travels and head home by the end of the week. Because of this, we didn’t stay in Tokomaru Bay another night, but headed off to see the rest of East Cape.

Kawakawa Tree leaves and berries. Also is known as the Pepper Tree. Berries taste tropical, but full of small black seeds that taste like black pepper. Leaves can be used to make soothing lotions.

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Waitahinga Trails

Last week, I took the kids to the Waitahinga Trails. This was about 45 minutes north of Whanganui. It was quite the drive, but I needed to pick something up from Whanganui anyway, so thought I’d find somewhere neat to explore in the area. There were a lot of tracks here, but I decided to do the Chicken Run track because it had a nice spot to stop for a picnic lunch and two lookouts of the mountains. It was a loop track whith was a bonus too.

One thing I was surprised by on this track was the difference in the way the trees looked. You truly did need to pay attention to the blue triangles posted along the way because if you lost site of them, it would be quite easy to lose your way and get lost. The track itself didn’t look that much different to the rest of the bush in many places.

Boy did well, carrying his water and some spare clothes. At the end of our walk, Boy dropped off the painted rock that he found on our last hike. He left it with hopes another little boy would find it like he did. I carried Girl, our lunch and more water. The track was a gentle uphill until half way, then down hill on the way back. We were able to see both mountains and the lookouts. Mt. Ruapehu was the most impressive. Mt Taranaki was a little bit hard to see, perhaps because it was not covered in snow.

When we were about to leave the first lookout, a friendly lady showed up and was able to take our picture. I would like to come back sometime and check out the other trails in this area. The walk took us about 2.5 hours.

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We bought the hiking pack that Girl sits in a month or so ago and used it on our last big hike as well as this one. It’s been really handy being able to carry a little bit more of the essentials because we can go farther, safer. However, I don’t think my back has liked the way the weight has been dispersed on my body with Girl up so high in the back. It’s taken a while to find my normal again after these hikes and I will be selling the pack on to someone else.

I’m a bit dissapointed but I think it will be better to wait until Girl is another 6 months to a year older and walking better on her own to do any longer hikes. I can always take her in my other baby carrier which I have no trouble with and do shorter walks, and I can also push her in the pram (stroller), on flatter, or paved tracks. This will not stop us, just change some of the things we do for a while.

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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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Rangiwahia Hut Track

Besides scheduling to take the kids swimming every other week, I’ve also decided to plan on going on a long walk every other Monday. I’ve found that when I have back pain it is usually remedied by movement. This is a great motivator in addition to wanting the kids to really feel at home in the outdoors. We have been very pleased to discover that Darren can now go on walks again with his new trecking poles. Without them his back hurts too much, but with them, he can go and go! We are so excited to get out and explore New Zealand! New Zealand bush is sprinkled with huts all over the ranges, and mountains, in both North and South Islands.

This past Monday I took the kids to the Rangiwahia Hut Track. We didn’t go all the way to the hut, but we did make it to the famous bridge. With Girl on my back and Boy’s hand in mine, we trecked up and up and up until finally found the bridge. It took us about 1.5 hours. On the way back I was reminded that I should have brought some rain gear. It began to downpour. Boy hates getting water in his face and eyes so he was a little bit upset and I had to carry him as well as Girl back to the car. Girl didn’t mind the rain at all and barely made a peep the whole way back. Our return time was only 1 hour and we made it very thankfully and very drenched. The next day I went out and bought some of those plastic rain ponchos to always have with us, and Darren and I had a talk about the nessecities of what I should have when I go into the bush. We had a good time, but our next times will be better planned for.

Stay tuned as I would like to make a post about each track we do. The plants in the gallery are the Makamako or Wineberry Tree, and Wild Mint! both are edible and apparantly natural remedies for certain ailments.

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