Pru's & Bob's Great Australian Adventure

This will be the last travel log from Australia though I plan to do a summary episode giving a facts, figures and highlights including a few handy hints for those that are interested. You may need to forward me an "Expression of Interest". I felt I should throw in a few business terms to get the brain into the corporate mode again.

We decided to hit the black top and head straight for the Flinders National Park though the weather forecast of high 30s temperatures didn't do much for us. We expected it to be hot when we planned this sector of the trip. The day was hot and the warm wind continued to blow peaking to 39 degrees during the evening and through the night. The gorges in the ranges were interesting with the rock tilted and exposed. We didn't climb up to Wilpena Pound as I thought I would wilt and even a team of Sherpas waving fans wouldn't keep me happy, on we drove around the 4wd tracks looking and occasionally getting out of the truck to take photos and exercise the arm chasing off flies.

From the Flinders we drove over an old paved road to Port Germein on the way to the Yorke Peninsula. It was a bit bumpy, with 5 tonne of Dyna leaping in the air occasionaly, but very scenic. The 39 degrees of hot wind carried on and made for an uncomfortable night in the tent, oh for "aircon". The little fan heater set on cool helped some what. Finally the rain came and cooled the air so we decided to stay another night at Port Germein after no sleep the night before. Moonta, Wallaroo and Kaldino on a Cornish Heritage Trail which took us to old copper mining sites and old brick/block buildings was worth exploring, finally getting to taste some lovely Cornish Pasties that were nearly as good as the ones we had tried in Cornwall in 1992.

The Barossa Valley wine district becond, though the roads around the wheat farms on the way were in lumpy bumpy condition from the weight of the heavy wheat trucks. Staying at Nuriootpa the night we were awoken at dawn with the sound of a hot air balloon rising out of the adjoining park. The eyes wouldn't focus that early so photo opportunities took a back seat. In Truro SA, a visit to a winery that was housed in an old fire station was a must. The village has more of a reputation from the "Truro murders" than anything else, though since Craneford Wines set up in the town it is now on the wine trail. The Wine maker took us through the brewing shed that had an old cottage in the middle that they were doing up to become the tasting room. Nice touch. They make a nice drop of wine so after several tastings, a coffee and a great chat we set off for the Keg Factory to purchase a 14 litre wooden keg to mature port at home. We are under the impression we are allowed to bring home 'a reasonable cellar' being returning kiwis as we have been away for longer than 21 months, though not sure what reasonable is but we hope it covers the wine.

We made a flying visit to Adelaide, the city of churches, and stayed with Alan and Jean who we had met last year in Queensland, while doing the Cape York leg of the trip. Alan was going to meet us by driving on the main street through the middle of Adelaide in his 4WD sporting a pink ribbon on his UF aerial. So sure enough as we sped through the traffic at rush hour we spotted him and then followed him to his place. Its amazing where that pink ribbon pops up.

Leaving Adelaide, Bob visited the Transport museum just out of town at Birdwood and saw one of the original trucks of "Tom Cruse", who did the Birdsville mail run. He also managed to pick up a video showing the re-enactment of his mailrun. While walking in the Coorong NP to visit a bird hide becide a salt estuary, Bob got into a conversation with a local bloke that told him about a huge drainage system that has been built in the local area to drain salt laden water (4 times higher than the sea) from the farms and send it down to the Coorong. The turn off was by Salt Creek and the associated mud map we had made said 'turn here and go 5km, turn right go 5km, turn left and travel on about another 1-2km. Well on arrival the drainage channel took our breathe away. It contained a significant flow of water and where it continued through a cutting that was about 30-40 metres deep the scale of the earthworks became apparent.

We were a bit puzzled that it was called a flood control channel, funded by many public groups including the Heritage trust, to the tune of $10 million. The story told to Bob mention that a state politician seeking votes from farmers had made it possible. The shire just up the road prided themselves on their wetland area and we wondered how long those wetlands would stay wet with the extensive 400km drainage system set up in this nearby marshland. Where is the independent land management resource consent process. Some locals didn't seem to happy about the impact it is having on the local environment. The excursion through this wetland ended with Bob lifting a gate off its hinges to exit back onto the road, as the alternative 50km return drive back wasn't too inviting late in the day. The track we drove showed nothing about being a "No Through Road" and our GPS showed we would come out on the main road, so on we went only to be met with a locked gate. Those tools came in handy again. [canal cutting]

Taking an inland sweep we visited the Arapiles and the Grampians. Bob had to fit in one more eroded 4WD track through the Grampians, I was not amused as it climbed steeply up the mountain then down to the water courses. It was nothing to the hussy fit Bob threw when we got to a locked gate that prevented us going to the summit of Mt William.

Arriving at Warrnambool we joined the coast to drive the beautiful Great Ocean Road visiting some magnificent rocky outcrops and eroded cliff faces. Some of the arches have succumbed to the rough seas but the Arch island and the Twelve Apostles were truly magnificent. There were hundreds of tourists and bus-loads of people milling around all the popular viewing points.

This last part of the trip was a whirlwind tour, having settled into homeward bound mode, so we didn't linger to immerse ourselves and become one with nature. These areas did not really require a 4WD, so we thought that on a future trip back to Australia we could pick up a rental and venture around the lower part of Victoria and South Australia without major dramas.

The drive to Nathalia was fairly uneventful though we were entertained by the sounds of bagpipes practicing for the Xmas parade in the nearby botanic gardens in Castlemaine. It was great to get back to Leigh and Leanne and catch up with them. Now for the great clean-up, having allowed two weeks for scrubbing and cleaning our gear and Dyna for the trip home and meeting the nice customs and quarantine people.

The clean-up of Dyna went almost drama free. Bob removed the back pod and had it suspended from a hoist in Leighs garage while he scrubbed and water blasted the wooden deck. But when it came time to put it back on, he overenthusiastically backed Dyna towards the pod and had her positioned about 5cm out of line. Thinking he could do better, only to knock it off the hoist and land it squew-wiff onto the tray. After some cursing and swearing we managed to re-position it back on and bolt it down. Phew that was close. After days of scrubbing, water blasting and using an air compressor, vacuum cleaner we managed to extract the dust and dirt out of all the nocks and crannies. It was amazing how much red dirt had got into the door skins. All went well with the clean-up and she got her final clean in Melbourne just before we delivered her to the wharf. Dyna sat at the wharf for 6 days before sailing back to NZ. We wondered how much invasion was going to go on from marauding spiders and shitting seagulls (the roof racks were potential perches) while she sat waiting.

We got the customs people to check all the papers and sign off the Carnet so that we could apply for the return of our bond when we got home.

Nearly 62,000 kilometre in total distance travelled, 28,000 on any other surface than bitumen, nearly 10,000 litres of fuel, 1.5 sets of tyres, over 320 campsite set ups/pack downs. This is a sample of the demands of our adventure, it has challenged us like nothing else before, extending comfort zones in all directions.

Yes there are many other ways we could have tackled this whole project and each would have changed the end result. Looking back over the photos and video footage in the future will help us to reflect upon this amazing period in our lives, to have made the decision in 1994, planned and worked steadily towards our arrival in 2001 and then experienced 22 months of the Australian wonderland has added an incredible chapter to our lives.

Thankyou   Thankyou   Thankyou   to all the people that helped us along the way, you encouraged us when things got tuff, offering help and advice that we could then share with other travellers along the way.
We treasure the special moments spent around campfires, on riverbanks, under tall gums and starry nights. The flowers, bugs, birds and critters have been amazing in many ways. So it's now back to New Zealand and many more adventures, though none will come close to this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bob and Pru saying bye for now.