Adelaide August 2016

We arrived in Adelaide on the 15 th August.

Glen was at the airport to met us and take us to see Judith then onto his place we we are staying for two weeks in Gawler.

16th August brought a lovel sunny day so it was time to remove the cover off the caravan and check the inside of the caravan . They had a few dust storms in Gawler when we were in NZ . Yes a lot of dust got in so it was clean up time . All good , it was great to do something active by the end of the day it was spick and span . The rest of the week we were busy getting the ute serviced , then found out the clutch needed replacing. $2800.00 yes a lot but it needed doing before we leave Gawler . We don't want a break down on our way to Queensland .

Monday 22nd August 

Today turned out to be a lovely sunny day so we decided to take a train ride into Adelaide from Gawler. 

We visited the Houses of Paraliment and had a good walk around Rundle Mall . The train ride was free due to us having a senior card ( over the age of 60).

       

                                                     Adelaide houses of Paraliment 

                                      

         

         

                                                  Adelaide Railway Station 

25 th August

Today we are taking the caravan to Georgetown to have the axle and springs replaced on it so that the arm can be upgraded so we can be legal while on the road.

Interesting driving up to Georgetown, we passed paddocks that were bright yellow. This is canola oil flowers .

        

After delivering our caravan to Australian Loadmaster trailers we went across to the local Georgetown pub for lunch . We had Chichen hamburgers and chips for $13.00 each 

After lunch we visited the Historic Gladstone Goal.It was constructed between 1879 and 1881.  This was the second largest rural goal in Australia with 125 cells after extensions in 1959. During World War 11, the goal was used as an internment camp for Italian and German internees . In 1979 the goal re opened so a film could been made recreating prison life in the early 1970s for a movie Stir starring Bryan Brown.

The kitchen and dinning room once used by the prisoners under the watchful eye of wardens is now available for hire . Either for self catering or meals prepared to your requirements.

         

        

                                                Woman's section of the prison 

        

                                                         Sleeping area in the goal 

                                        

                                                High security area for the men in the prison 

   

        

         

31st August

Our caravan is ready to pick up from Lyle at Loadmaster Trailers in Georgetown . Lyle did a great job putting new springs on our caravan for us . It is good to have it back and know that we won't be over weight.  We sure do recommend him for any caravan axle etc repairs 

       

       

         

       

With time to spare we visited the place with most history of the area the local cemetery. 

                              

                                   A lovely headstone still in very good condition 1897.

Sadly we did not pick  up the caravan today  Lyle had a few problems whilst doing it so it took another full day's work to complete it . John gave him a hand for 3 hours so we get it done.  Then John and Glen had to meet him on Saturday at Clare half way between Gawler and Georgetown because he had not stamped the metal certificate that is attached to the caravan with enough numbers etc. 

In between this we had to completely empty the caravan of our stuff so John could get a true reading of the tare weight. This took us a hour and half to empty and when  John brought it home it took us the rest  of Friday and Saturday morning to put it all back. Yes we had a chuck out as well. We were both very tired from it. Thank goodness it is all legal now.

        

        

         

                                  Glen babysitting Scoobie   Doo while emptying caravan 

We finally got the ute back on Monday after we had to get a new themostat and gasket . A total of $8,000. We have spent on the caravan and ute for maintance etc since we have been back in Adelaide 

6th September 2016 .

We are finally now travelling to Mount Gambier for a few days with our friends Glen and Judith who kindly looked after our vehicles whislt we were in NZ .

John and I wanted to start our travelling north from the start of the Murray River in South Australia.

We had lunch today at the start of the Murray River, at Goolwa. Finally made it here .

         

                                  Dredging at the entrance to the Murray River and the sea 

      

      

         

         

                                      Glen and Judith at the start of the Murray River 

                                  

                                  

                                     Wild flowers along the rivers edge in the sand dunes 

We had our first night at a place called Parnka Point right on the lake edge. Lots and lots of very large mozzies and sandfly here. Sure  do need the repellent for these big ones .

        

       

7th September

Lunch was at Kingston right next to the big  Lobster sadly the centre was not open .

        

From here we drove to Robe along the coastline . Robe is very much a holiday area. Well known for its 

Sea food and fishing .

          

                                            Robe foreshore and local hotel x

          

                                             Robes Marina for its many visiting yachts etc 

     

9th September

Last night we stayed at Tantanoola after spending a wonderful day sight seeing in Mt Gambier.

We visited the sinkhole gardens in the centre of Town and then went to look at the Blue Lake .

Sadly it started to rain when we did it, but it is still worth visiting. 

We spent an afternoon relaxing in the caravan as it was raining very heavy playing 5 crowns a card game.

When we woke up this morning there was water everywhere. Very large puddles great for the ducks and ducklings which were many.

      

On our way to Penola many farm paddocks were under water due to the rains. We passed many vineyards with the vines now in bud with new growth.

Once we got to Penola we visited the information centre. This is a wonderful centre with lots of information of the area well worth a visit before you go to the Mary MacKillop centre and the staff are very helpful with there knowledge.

 

     Old stone building in Penola where many homes and industrial buildings are built like this 

We visited the Mary MacKillop Interpretive Centre in Penola. This was a very interesting centre well worth a visit. As you wonder around the centre you can read  what Mary did for Australian children.

  

       

Mary MacKillop is widely referred to as a Saint for all Australians .

In 1860 at the age of 18 Mary left Melbourne to work in Penola as a governess for her Uncle Alexander Cameron. Alexander was widely known as the King of Penola. Mary met a priest Father Julian Tenison Woods who changed her life . He encouraged Mary to educate all children and the lessons were held in a small cottage. Mary converted the stable into a school room which would accomodate up to 40 students. It was here that The Cradle of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart began. 

For more information you can go to www.visitmarymackillop.com.au.

                                   

                                 

                        Lead Windows that have been used in the centre from the 1870s

We had a lovely Beef and Gunness pie from the local bread shop for lunch and brought a fresh  loaf of bread.

We have found that parking on truck site or rest areas to be great surprisingly we have found them to be very quiet at night , just what you need when you have been driving all day and sight seeing.

Glen found these 3 adult echidna in the bush and called us over to take photos of them   They move very quickly when disturbed.

 

      

We followed the Murray river to Haythorpe reserve in Mannum . We had to take a vehicle ferry to go across the river to the reserve. 

        

        

Once on the ferry we were told the Murray River Princess paddle steamer would be leaving the wharf at 5.00pm and going up the river . Wow what a sight it is. There is a tour you can take on it and travel up the Murray River for 3 days returning to Mannum.

We stayed 2 night at the reserve costing us $10.00 per night . We thought it was good value having toilets and a dump station there. 

I tried to catch a fish but sadly no luck they enjoyed my bait though . It was very relaxing here. A good time to catch up with doing the laundry etc. 

Monday 12 th August time to move on to another spot  on the river. This time we are going to            

180 k from Mannum 

       

        

        

        

                  Dusky Moorhen lives on the Wetlands in south-west and eastern Australia 

        

             Eurasian Coot along the Murray. Lives throughout mainland Australia and Tasmania 

 

This is one look out we stopped at on our way to Waikerie where our next stop for the night will be.

         

       

                                      

Here are a few facts that we found interesting about the Murray River. 

The Murray is the third longest navigated river in the world behind the Amazon and the Nile. 

Total length 2756 kilometres from it source in the Upper Murray to Kosciusko National Park.

The Murray is continuously navigatable for 1986 kilometres from Goolwa to Yarrawonga.

It spans 3 states Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.

The river has 4 major dams,16 storage weirs and 15 navigatable locks.

It is the major domestic water supply for over 1.5 million households.

Along with its tributaries, the Murray is the third largest water catchment on earth.

                           

   

We stopped at Blanchetown for lunch were I decided to make some savoury scones for lunch for us all. Yummy there were. While parked up a wonderful thunderstorm and lightening passed over, it gave the ute and caravan a good wash .

        

Another Murray River crossing by ferry at Morgan.

       

       

We are parked up at Hogwash Reserve. Sadly it is raining and the Murray is getting higher.

Due to the rain forecast it is time for us to move to higher ground namely a caravan park in Renmark .

We came across a small park called Riverbend caravan it cost $34.00 a night very friendy staff and good ablutions . Sadly it has rained the two days we have been here with just the odd blue sky showing . 

      

                        The caravan park from the bridge going into Paringa 

  

      

           The view from the caravan park looking at some houseboats across the Murray river .

Sadly we say goodbye to Glen and Judith and hopefully will return to Adelaide another time to visit them. We have had a lovely time traveling around with them thank you Glen and Judith we will miss our  game of cards in the evenings with you .

15 th September 

Today we drove from Renmark to Hay . We travelled 460 k today 

We are staying at the Hay show grounds $20.00 a night. It is cold here and yes we have the heater on.

Fruit fly inspection station at Yamba S.A. just before crossing into Victoria

Tania's Body Building Competition and Adelaide here we come.

13 th August 2016

Tania has been training very hard for Wellington Body Building Comps. It was up at 5 am to take her to get the makeup and hair all done , then be in at the Wellington High School for registration by 9 am. 

At 10.00 am the show started, wow there were some fantastic Men,s and Woman's body's displayed.

A lot of effort and hard work building up all the abbs etc.

Tania came 6 th in her event. So very proud of her we are. So she can now go to the Wellington National competitions in October. Sadly we will not be here to see it. But I'm sure she will do well.

                                         

                                                       Tania aged 31

14 th August

Today it was pack up time for the bus and sort out all our gear, and park it up under our carport till we return from Aussie next time. While we were here John built a frame to cover the back of the bus to protect it from the southerly winds and hopefully stop the rust .

       

   

Our friend Brian and Natasha have been looking after our home for the last 5 years which has been wonderful . Brian told us they had just brought a house last week and hopefully move in in the middle of September.  After a few phone calls we were lucky to find a  friend Jill that is happy to come and look after our  place for a few more years whilst we live in Aussie. 

A early night for us tonight as we fly out at 6 am for Adelaide . Hope it's warmer there and not raining . 

 

April 2016

27 th April 

They are finally going to operate on my right knee today. Once I came out of the recovery I was told that they only did a repair job. They found that the spacer between my top and lower knee had broken , this part is made of plastic. The surgeon said it was most unusual for that to happen. They dismantled a good set to get the part. At least if was finally repaired. I am so looking forward to being able to walk without pain.

                                   

                                       Yah so ready for this operation to get it over with 

 

                                             

I came out of hospital on the 1st May after spending 5 days recovering. We went and stayed at Tania's home in Upper Hutt as It was easier for me to get around there . Her landlord kindly offered us the use of his rental property next door so it would be easier for me to use a bed instead of the bus. This sure was appreciated. We came over to Tania's home and stayed here during the day and watched Netflix, a great way too  fill in the day . John found a tv programme he watched in Oz called Longmine. So we ended up watching the whole 4 seasons of it. Very enjoyable . 

There have been some good days and bad days since coming out of hospital , but each day is progress. We are spending another week here at Tania's just so I can start to move around a bit better then It's back to Waikanae to see the doctor and John wants to do some more painting for Gary .

In between resting we are starting to look at homes to buy as Tania is now looking for her own home. Good on you love another adventure for you to begin. Dad and I wish you well and we are sure the right one will be there for you , just the usual waiting game . 

      

20 th June 2016

Time for a update on the blog lol.

Since my operation we have been visiting friends in Hastings  Levin, Wanganui , Taranaki and having a great time  catching up with all the news. 

John has finished helping Gary with is painting etc until next time we visit from Ozzie lol.

We had to see the surgeon last week for Margs 6 week check up. This went good.  She told him that at night and odd times during the day her inner left knee got very painful. He just smiled and said yes it will do for sometime. They had to cut her tendons and ligaments so they could get into her knee and do the repair work on it. They found that the spacer between the two pieces of titanium had broken due to been put in incorrectly when it was manufactured in USA 6 years ago. The surgeon said he had never seen it before but had heard about it before, just her luck. But now on the  mend and that most important . We see the doctor again in 6 weeks just to make sure everything is going ok before we fly back to Adelaide on the 15 th August.

Tonight we are parked up at Te Awanga beach rest area . It is lovely hearing the gentle waves hitting the shore and seeing the lovely full moon so clear . 

As we have now had the clearance from the doctor for 6 weeks we have decide to go and visit friends in Havelock North Julia and Richard  Butler, and spend at night at Te Awanga beach, also catching up with Wayne O Donnell another friend .

 

      

                                Fish and chips at Te Awanga beach with Richard and Julia

     

  Whilst staying with Richard and Julia we visited a miniature railway near their home in Havelock North. 

A great way to spend a few hours with kids. Only $2.00 a ride .

      

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

         

Then from here to Taupo to see Barb and Peter Arthurs. Then up to Rotorua to met some lovely people we met at the NZMCA Agm in Levin Ken & Doreen Bunn . 

       

             Beautiful view from Ken & Doreen's home looking over to the township of Rotorua 

Ken took us to Reporoa 51 k out of Rotorua to a beautiful relaxing free outdoors hot pool. It was lovely sitting there with the rain gently wetting our hair.  Both John and I got out of the hot pool looking like a lobster.  Then from here we went too Whangarei to visit Irwin & Jill Wilson Johns dear friends from 40 years ago when he first came to New Zealand , and at the same time had a coffee with Grant & Jan Harrison from Whangarei. Then we visited Steve & Heidi Pope at Maungaturoto whom John also met 40 years ago, so great catching up with every one as it has been around 4 years since we saw everyone up in this area.

As we drove from Whangarei we seem to follow some beautiful large Rainbows.

      

                 This is the area of Pirongia township the whole town is under the rainbow 

On our way back we called in to Mokia to visit Jack & June on there farm for another two days. It is so wonderful being able to just get up and go and visit friends and not worry about booking into motels etc , just roll into there drive ways in our Motorhome life is great.

We then visited Larry & Sue Kavanagh in Wanganui for a cuppa on our way to Levin where we stopped for the night at our dear friends Jan & Val Windleburn who are also members of the NZMCA and the Ulysses .

Now back to reality in Waikanae, time to sort out a cover for the bus and build a frame to protect  it from the southerly winds when we go back to Aussie.

8th July 

Tania found a lovely 3 bedroom home and moved in today. It is so wonderful to see her in her own home and not having to pay dead money on rent .

Her dad and I have been busy stripping wall paper and plastering, then painting her bedroom . So it's got her mark on it .

    

                                  

Time is going very quick for us now with only 3 weeks till Tania is in her body building competition on the 13 th August and then we fly out on the 15th for Adelaide where we will be visiting friends for  a few weeks then drive up to Queensland.