Day 30:   Friday 03/10/ Gundagai, NSW  Sydney (Collaroy)   Distance traveled: 405km

Well, we made it back home. 30 days on the road driving around Australia. Pat and I had a great time. We both rate this holiday in our top 5 best ever. 

The drive home was easy and uneventful. Our first stop was Goulburn and when in Goulburn you stop at the Big Marino symbol. It is the Biggest Merino in the world, standing 15.2 meters in height and weighing in at 97 tonne. Pat and I always joke about it when going past. We had brunch there at Trappers Bakery.

We've covered 4 States (NSW, Vic, SA, WA) and 1 Territory (NT) and around 13,500km. I would like to do a very guy thing and say that my car did itself proud on the trip. Not even a hint of a problem. Smooth and comfy ride. Yeah Pat was good to.  Just joking.. She was great.

Pat and I both agree that we will continue doing similar trips. We loved it.

When we got home we found out that a close family friend had just passed away. May you rest in eternal peace Angelo.

Below is a quick summary of our holiday.

·         Most expensive fuel.   Uluru, NT ($2.16  Litre), Hayes Creek, NT ($1.93 Litre) average price in NT and Northern WA was $1.65 Litre.

·         Top 4 places/towns/cities visited:  Adelaide,  Darwin, Coober Pedy, Geraldton

·         Top 3 Tours/ Activities:  Sunset at Uluru, Darwin Military Museum, Taste of the Barossa

·         Top sites visited: Australian Bite lookouts, Cable Beach, Henley Meteorite Craters

·         Most Grateful moment: Cops just outside of Norseman, WA letting me off for speeding.

·         Most annoying moment: The RAC tardy work on my car and Bob Jane Perth taking advantage of my situation and charging me premium price for 2 tyres.

·         Top Food/Places we ate at:  Cucina North Adelaide, Oyster Bay at Ceduna, Homemade cookie at Timber Creek Roadhouse

·         Most Amusing: Many termite mounds throughout SA, NT and a few in WA that other travelers (or locals?) have dressed up

·         Top Winery: Peter Lehmann winery

·         Top Bed slept on (for Pat) City Stay Apartment Hotel Perth

·         Don’t bother doing again: Head of the bite whale centre, Nyngan, NSW

·         Number of times we camped:    Zero.  At the start it sounded like a good idea, but the heat and us liking our creature comforts, Motels/Hotels/Cabins were the go.

·         What to take on a trip like this: This applies to us and the stage in life we are at: I would say that at least 60% of what we took we never used or even unloaded from the car. 

OK, not the most flattering picture of the Marino, but Pat is in it.

Other side

Were home.......

Day 29:   Thursday 02/10/ Mildura, Vic  to  Gundagai, NSW     Distance travelled: 655km

Today was pleasant day to drive. Good roads, weather not too hot.

We arrived in Gundagai around 2:30pm, checked in and went exploring. This is our last day before we head home tomorrow. In some ways we are happy to be going home, but also sad in that this particular adventure is nearly over.

On the way to Gundagai, we stopped in Hay for brunch, then in Wagga Wagga for a quick picture of the RAAF base.

We have driven past Gundagai, numerous times. When going to Wagga Wagga for Michael’s Air force Cadet courses. We, like most, just drove past or had a quick stop to see the Dog on the Tucker Box.

This time we decided to have a close look at the town, and we both were impressed with the beautiful landscape surrounding the town and also the size of it. If you like country living, this would definitely be a candidate. The population of Gundagai is 3747.

Gundagai is one of Country NSW's best-known pioneer towns, immortalized through poems and songs such as Where the Dog Sits on the Tuckerbox and Along the Road to Gundagai.  We went to the scenic lookout (recommend this), Dog on the Tucker Box, and the Prince Alfred bridge, Australia's longest timber viaduct, built in 1866.

Not much more to say, I will complete my blog when we arrive in Sydney.  Only 400km away from home.

 Prince Alfred bridge

 Me and the Dog

 Dad and Dave and Mum and Mabel

A very popular radio serial. I can still remember it. By today’s standards it was slow and corny, but I loved it. The connection to Gundagai was the theme song “Road to Gundagai”

Gundagai in the background and the rolling hills

Day 28:   Wednesday 01/10/ Adelaide, SA to Mildura, Vic    Distance travelled: 405km

The good news is that the crack on the windscreen has not gotten any bigger. We just might make it to Sydney. Touch wood.

This was a short easy drive today. Getting out of Adelaide was easy and traffic was light.

Another time change here in Vic. At least we are now in the same time zone as home. Ha, Pat just reminded me that this weekend we set our clocks forward 1 hour for daylight savings! We won’t notice it.

We arrived in Mildura and headed straight for the Tourist information centre. They located a good hotel for us and gave us information on some of the attractions here. It also happens to be the Mildura Country Music Festival and the town is buzzing.  Entertainers from all over Australia come here to perform and most of it is free.   We saw a number of acts at the Langtree Mall, in the town centre.    Link to the festival.   http://www.milduracountrymusic.com.au/index.php/artists

We also drove around town looking at some of the old historical site. We had read about a place called Woodsies Gem shop. It showcases a huge assortment of jewelery with both precious and semi-precious stones from Australia, with over 6,000 pieces of gemstones. No, I did not buy anything. It is definitely a good place to go if you enjoy gemstones and other interesting rocks.  Pat said she liked it.

For dinner we went to the RSL, would you believe it? They had a waiting for dinner queue at 2 hrs. So off to the workers club we went. No waiting there. I also can understand why.

For our last stop on the road, we were going to stay in Wagga Wagga tomorrow, but since we had both been there a few times, we have opted for Gundagai.

 Welcome to Victoria. I think the sign needs a little improvement.

 I took this picture at Woodsies Gem shop. This is how they polish their gems. The gems are in the tyres. Great idea.

Had a rocking time. Well at least I fit in the crowd with my gray beard.

Day 27 : 30/9/2014   Adelaide, SA

Mario has been to Adelaide many times but this is my first time, so I am writing this today to give my first impressions.  

The past couple days we have stuck mainly to the North Adelaide area where we are staying, and of course, our trip up into the Barossa.  Today was our chance to look around in the CBD area.   We started by taking a bus from near our hotel, into the city.  At the bus stop we struck up a conversation with a mother and daughter that were here from Mount Gambier.  They own a hotel there and were here in the city both to see a medical specialist and also for the daughter to attend a year 12 revision course (prep for whatever the SA equivalent is to the HSC).   It was really nice talking to them. 

We took the free bus into the city to get to Rundle Mall.  Along the way I was really impressed by the wide streets, lots of green space and all the University buildings – both USA and U of A, along with the Library and Museum buildings.  The architecture is really interesting – showing the strong influence from the early German and English settlers.  

We got some breakfast and did a bit of shopping.   At one point we were standing on a corner looking at a map, just deciding where we wanted to go next, and had a couple people stop to ask us if we needed help or directions. It really made you feel very welcome.  In one shop we heard another customer talking to the shopkeeper, with a very definite American accent, so we struck up a conversation with her as well, and found that she is an ex-schoolteacher from Texas who had actually lived here in Adelaide on an exchange program several years ago, and was now back and housesitting for a friend.  We heard a lot about her experiences both while she was living here, and now while she was back and taking advantage of the trip to play tourist and visit some of the places that she hadn’t managed to see when she was living here.  She even showed us some of the photos from her trip.

We found all the locals to be quite friendly and helpful, and it is certainly an easy city to find your way around.

Then, just to see a bit more of the city, we took the other free bus loop route and just stayed on for the full circuit.  We got to see Victoria Square and Whitmore Square, and the Adelaide Central Market – a large fresh food market with dozens of stalls selling every type of produce.  After that, Mario went back to the hotel to chill out, and I went to the Botanic Gardens.

The Adelaide Botanic Gardens are fantastic, I would definitely recommend  a few hour visit there!  There are great displays both of Native Australian plants, and also plants from around the world, grouped in a number of different themed gardens.  There are a few different places that you can get something to eat, I saw a number of picnics and some children’s activities (it is school holidays), but also plenty of quiet corners where you can just sit on a bench and enjoy the view.  It was starting to rain, so I thought I better start the walk back to the hotel, but just as I was leaving the Gardens, the rain was coming down heavier so I decided to duck into conveniently nearby Australian Wine Centre.  Really, I was just thinking they might have a gift shop where I could buy an umbrella!   They did not have umbrellas, so I just had to stay a while until the rain stopped.  I resisted the temptation to try some wine, but did check out some of the exhibits that were really interesting too – especially after our tour yesterday.  

I have really enjoyed my first visit to Adelaide, and hope to be back again on future trips.

For dinner we revisited a restaurant called Cucina. We had been there on our first night in Adelaide. We got in the car and noticed a horizontal crack on the right hand side of our windscreen. The crack is around 15cm long. We just need to roll the dice and continue with our trip. How it happened, who knows. Somewhere along the way we must have had a piece of gravel it us and now that the temp as dramatically gone down (14 degrees) I hope it can last until Sydney.

Cheers, Pat

King Edward VII of england 1901 - 1910

Day 26: Monday 29/9/2014   Adelaide, SA (Visited Barossa Valley)

We booked a tour of the Barossa with a tour operator called Taste the Barossa. The tour guide was Dallas Coull, who also happens to own the company. I would vote him as one of the best tour commentators I have been on. Very articulate, knowledgeable, and a great sense of humour.

Our first stop was at a dam called the "whispering wall". Dallas, said that if you had one person at each end and if they faced the wall and whispered to hit, you could hear them on the other side. I had to put this to the test. Well you could not believe how clear you could hear. It felt like they were standing next to you. The secret is in its curvature. The wall is 140 meters long and was build 112 years ago. You have to experience it to believe it.

I have been to the Barossa before, but this tour really gave me a much better feel for the history and development of the region.  The tour started with a drive up through the Adelaide hills, that was really lovely, picturesque countryside.  Once in the Barossa, we went to 4 different wineries for tasting, also enjoying lunch at the second winery, Peter Lehmann’s – which we also thought was the best of the four we went to.

Among the interesting stories we heard was about the Seppelt Family’s winery.   As the story goes, along with the vine cuttings that Joseph Seppelt brought to Australia, he had also picked up two date palm seedlings which had grown two large date palms on the family grounds.   Later, during the Depression of the 1920’s when most of the wineries closed down and many people were out of work, the Seppelts had managed to keep things going and provided basic housing and food for their workers and their families, even though no wine was being sold.   In appreciation, the workers took seeds from the date palms to the Botanical Gardens in Adelaide, and managed to propagate many more palms, and planted them along the roads leading to the vineyards.   Now, these corridors of palms look really majestic and are a very distinguishing feature of the Seppelt estate.

We also had a stop in Tanunda, a nice village where we had time for a short stroll to pick up a coffee or have a peak in the shops.  There was also a stop at a scenic outlook, where we could see the whole Barossa Valley before us.  It was really a great day, and would highly recommend this tour to anyone coming to Adelaide. 

 The incredible whispering wall.

 Enjoying a drink or 3

 There vines were planted over 140 years ago.

 In memory of those that created an industry

Incredible view of the palms. I got the tip on how to best photograph them.

Day 25: Sunday 28/9/2014   Ceduna, SA  to Adelaide, SA    Distance travelled: 770km

First, for those using the tracker to see where we are, please be assured that there was no magic wand, to get us from Port Augusta to Adelaide.  I wish it were possible, but the battery just ran out  on the tracker, and I did not notice. All good now.

Another long day at the wheel, but fortunately, that was our last ( I hope) long day driving. It took us about  9 hrs on the road with a long stopover in Port Augusta.

Again, I can’t say it enough that without 2 drivers, the driving would be very tiresome. Pat and I have a good system going and we change driving duties frequently.

On the road we didn’t see brilliant landscapes like we did on the Nullarbor, we did see The Australian Farmer (also known as the Big Farmer) it is a statue located in Wudinna, South Australia. Regarded as one of Australia's Big Things, the granite sculpture stands at 8 metres (26 ft) in height, and weighs in the vicinity of 70 tonnes. It took 17 years to produce from initial proposal to the final unveiling in 2009.

Of course you can’t go past seeing the Big Galah in Kimba and the pink lake (Lake Bumbunga)  in Lochiel, SA. This is a salt water lake that has been mined for salt since 1912. The lake covers 3,530 acres and changes colour from blue in fine weather to a vivid pink, which indicates a change is on the way. There is a local myth that the lake is home to the Loch Ness Monster’s cousin ‘Loch Eel’ Today is was bright pink.

Lake Bumbunga, was on the money about the weather. From about 200km before Port August to Adelaide (about 500km in all) it was heavy wind and you could see the dust storms. Adelaide had a severe weather warning saying it would have winds of up to 100km. Luckily it had died down by the time we got here. It was so windy that at one stage we saw 4  bikes on the road just trying to stay up. They were riding at a tilt of at least 15 degrees just to go straight. Lucky we had a big heavy car.

We are staying at a hotel in Adelaide called Adelaide Meridien Hotel, a very nice hotel.

Tomorrow we booked a tour of the Barossa Valley vineyards. That should be nice. Tuesday is a rest day, sightseeing Adelaide. We start our journey home on Wednesday.

 The Australian Farmer ,Wudinna, South Australia

 The Big Galah in Kimba

Lake Bumbunga,  in Lochiel, SA. The picture does not do justice to how pink the lake was. My excuse is that it was very windy and I was tired.

Day 24: 27/9/2014   Eucla, WA to Ceduna, SA  (still Crossing the Nullarbor)    Distance travelled:  530km

Today’s drive wasn’t too long – compared to recent drives, just 5 ½ hours.  We crossed into South Australia 12 km East of Eucla, but the road and terrain remained much the same for a while after that… long straight stretches of road and desert scrub all around.  But, a bit further into SA, the highway comes closer to the coast and there a number of designated scenic outlook points – easily identified with a sign of a camera.  They are not exaggerating – the views are amazing.  It is a dramatic landscape, where the desert comes up to the coast, ending in tall sandstone cliffs down to the water.   

We finished crossing the Nullarbor, and also found that it came from the latin ‘nullus-arbor’’ referring to the vast treeless plain.  The Nullarbor live up to its name. I also must say that the shrubs were plentiful and very green. I made a comment to Pat that it looked like a green shag carpet. The weather has continued to be quite hot – mid-30s C – but also very windy.

When we were in Norseman, we met some travellers coming in the opposite direction and they had given us a few tips about where to stop – including the ‘Oyster Bar’ just as you come into Ceduna from the west (just after the quarantine inspection point).   It was a great tip. We have learned that Ceduna is the Oyster capital of Australia.  We got some oysters, cooked, for lunch, and also picked up a dozen fresh ones that we can enjoy this evening.

We are staying at the Ceduna Motor Inn, a basic but nice motel.  Although I am a dedicated NRL fan, and normally don’t want to even hear about AFL, today is the grand final, and Sydney is playing, so I decided to watch the game, which was starting just as we checked into the motel.  Unfortunately there was a problem with the TV satellite hoo-kup and the station kept cutting out.   The staff were very helpful, trying to fix the problem and when they couldn’t do it quickly, they moved us to a room in another wing of the motel so that we didn’t miss much of the game.  Unfortunately, after all that – the Swans have not been able to match the Hawks.  Oh well, that’s my AFL fix for another year. i also watched the NRL Penrith vs Canterbury semi final. Canterbury won. So the grand final next Sunday is South Sydney vs Canterbury. I really hope South Sydney win.   

I also did manage to get my car washed as I must have collected all the insect population along the drive.

 As we entered SA from Eucla

 One of the spectacular views along the Nullabor

Pat enjoying the views

Beaches just past Eucla

Yep another brilliant view