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
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.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
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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