We've survived our first week in the van without any domestic violence! It stopped raining as we left Adelaide (it was fortunate that we'd visited the city previously & seen it in a more attractive light.) As we began the 288km to Port Augusta, we noticed that the green countryside reflected the recent ample rainfall. Olive groves became prevalent, as well as market gardening (tomatoes, onions, etc.) Familiar names, such as Dublin, Windsor & Wakefield cropped up among more local ones like Mallala & Walleroo. A leprachaun & an advert for a "Sausage Sizzle" heralded our entry into Dublin, but no Guinness!
No "road-kill", as Charlie calls dead animals at the roadside, so I guess this wasn't kangaroo country. We began to climb out of the flat lands & passed a lake at Lochiel with a monster on the sign & a "Nessie" made from old tyres, buried in the sand!
About 108km from Port Augusta, we entered the Southern Flinders Ranges &, when we were 80km from the city, we saw the sea. It was a beautiful turquoise colour but didn't tempt Bob as the temperature never rose above 14C. A Pacific National train passed us & seemed to go on for ever - we couldn't even guess how long it was.
We settled at our caravan park in bright sunshine, had lunch, did the washing & swept the van out - you can't escape housework, even on an outback adventure!
Tuesday 26 June 2012
Monday 25 June 2012
20/06/2012 - Mildura to Adelaide
After 3 nights in Mildura, we set out for Adelaide along the Sturt Highway, We had bright sunshine & a cloudless sky but it was quite cold. The fields were enormous & stretched into the distance as far as the eye could see. Fruit fly warnings cropped up regularly & I had to forfeit a grapefruit & an onion at a checkpoint as we crossed the border into South Australia!
We drove alongside the River Murray, which afforded some lovely views as it cut its way through the landscape. We crossed the river at Paringa & continued on into Renmark, which had lovely wide streets & an attractive riverside position. Oranges grew everywhere & vineyards abounded - the whole area looked lush! How life-giving water is - "scrub" soon became prevalent whenever we moved away from the river. We saw numerous stalls selling pumpkins, oranges, mandarins, etc.. The river also supported tourism & we came across several holiday complexes close to the Murray. Kingston-upon-Murray was reminiscent of Kingston-upon-Thames, but in name only!
A road sign with the warning, "Stop Creeping" intrigued us & we thought that "Ollo for sale" was an amusing way to advertise olive oil.
Huge trucks shook us up as they passed, forerunners of the enormous road trains that we'll meet later in our travels. A strong head wind also blew us about & created huge clouds of dust.
After much flat terrain, "Accommodation Hill" made a dramatic change as we laboured up it into higher country. We entered the Barossa region & passed the Wolf Blass winery. Vast wheat fields appeared again before we drove into Adelaide. On arrival at our chosen caravan park, it was pouring!
Border crossing between Victoria & South Australia
We drove alongside the River Murray, which afforded some lovely views as it cut its way through the landscape. We crossed the river at Paringa & continued on into Renmark, which had lovely wide streets & an attractive riverside position. Oranges grew everywhere & vineyards abounded - the whole area looked lush! How life-giving water is - "scrub" soon became prevalent whenever we moved away from the river. We saw numerous stalls selling pumpkins, oranges, mandarins, etc.. The river also supported tourism & we came across several holiday complexes close to the Murray. Kingston-upon-Murray was reminiscent of Kingston-upon-Thames, but in name only!
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| View overlooking the River Murray |
A road sign with the warning, "Stop Creeping" intrigued us & we thought that "Ollo for sale" was an amusing way to advertise olive oil.
Huge trucks shook us up as they passed, forerunners of the enormous road trains that we'll meet later in our travels. A strong head wind also blew us about & created huge clouds of dust.
After much flat terrain, "Accommodation Hill" made a dramatic change as we laboured up it into higher country. We entered the Barossa region & passed the Wolf Blass winery. Vast wheat fields appeared again before we drove into Adelaide. On arrival at our chosen caravan park, it was pouring!
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| Our flooded camp site! |
We spent 3 nights in Adelaide so that Judy & Charlie could get their fridge checked over & we could get our air-conditioner attended to (in our case, it transpired that someone had inadvertently driven a screw through two cables!) It rained for the whole time that we were in Adelaide - huge puddles lay around & several roads were semi-flooded. We accepted that they needed the rain but did they have to wait until we arrived!! We had intended to visit the attractive suburb of Glenelg, but the weather deterred us & we later heard that they'd had hail. I left Adelaide Beachfront Park without ever seeing the beach & decided that the best parts of the visit were my cosy "Ug" slippers & our very comfy bed!
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