Our caravan trip for October 2024.
Our new tag (CB radio etc) Lost4Good.
Firstly…according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyre_Peninsula
The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north.
Earlier called Eyre's Peninsula, it was named after explorer Edward John Eyre, who explored parts of the peninsula in 1839–41. The coastline was first charted by the expeditions of Matthew Flinders in 1801–02 and French explorer Nicolas Baudin around the same time. Flinders also named the nearby Yorke's Peninsula and Spencer's Gulph on the same voyage.
Narda in italics and Terrell whatever else is left…
If the four individual YouTube clips embedded in this blog do not open due to permission levels then go to https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzv1YGfx_SMxNU3xT3Ahcmajuaq7sj8rt for our Australian videos. Clips 1 - 4 are from this trip.
Secondly…Narda made notes then read those notes into her phone and sent them to me as text. A new way we are trialling our blogs to make travelling easier to note without lugging laptops and various devices around the world. I am still lugging stuff: cameras, computer, and accumulated junk to record memories so I don’t have to remember, and I can keep my few remaining brain cells to do whatever a seventy-seven year needs to keep prodding forward.
30 September Monday
Stop 1
After a short drive, which included 4 doughnuts, I ate three, we turned left for 8 kilometers to the seaside and stayed in what we thought was a free stop.
Nice to be on the road again.
We said goodbye to Billy. (Billy was our 2002 Pajero, that we had taken many trips with including going on a few months trip during covid to Cairns in Queensland. A couple of trips across to Sydney, lots to Melbourne, and many other great caravanning trips) He has moved to St Kilda to fish with his new owner. We now have 2022 Pajero Sport, not yet named because I have not been able to draw him. Though definitely a boy.
Got a late start. We were going to leave yesterday morning and here we are leaving three pm the following day. Go figure. Stayed overnight at Parham Camping Ground a full hour from home. This is how far we got when we are planning a month holiday. Got to take it easy from the get-go.
We have stayed here before – free camping, which is why we chose it. Of course, now they want $15. Something about uploading $ to their website. We were unable to sort it out, so we sort of didn’t pay anything. Had a good sleep, quiet, dark and all that. We made a large quantity of soup so as not to have to make a meal for the first couple of days. Just heat and eat on our gas stove.
01 October Tuesday
Left at seven am - drove to Wallaroo - forgot to check door of fridge - yogurt all over the floor and etc. breakfast - arrived - Lawrie Park - Port Pirie
Stop 2 Lawrie Park
It was a long-convoluted drive North. We first stopped in Wallaroo to check out the ferry, which is expensive. Then we headed to Port Pirie.
Following google in a most confusing road, which included corrugation and seemingly back tracking.
Anyway, it was very nice. We parked the van snug up to the camp kitchen. And head for an afternoon nap on the way when we stopped in Wallaroo, we realized that we had forgotten to pack things away properly. The yoga was all over the floor and some of the stuff fell out of the fridge. Oh dear. Anyway, it's nice now. Beautiful weather and quiet.
OK, now we're at Laurie Park. We found a lovely spot after our eventful drive. Right behind the camp kitchen under some nice large trees, big mistake. The wind blew up during the night and at one o'clock in the middle of the night we drove out and away from the trees and went back to sleep.
Then onto Port Augusta with not enough diesel the third time we have done this we made it with the dial flashing furiously only to find out that we still had five litres left our tank holds 67 to 68 litres and it took 62 Liters to fill it up. Too close!! 😕
Left Lawrie Park - Port Pirie 9 am - low on diesel showed on empty worried got to Pt Agusta 62 litres put in tank holds 68 - so OK - found $20 on ground when filled up car - shopping at Coles - lunch sushi and N sandwich - Whyalla @ Weeroona Bay football club - $10/night soup from home –
Stop 3. Whyalla
Our place where we stopped at Stuart Oval had very friendly caretakers. I had a nice chat with a guy who had who had a Triton. I told him you can't frighten a Triton. Haha.
Left 8ish - stopped at Whyalla Pier hill top view - nap along foreshore - stopped in Cowell - didn't like caravan place stop there at $15 no toilet - drove to Cleve - to Yeldulknie Weir 4.30 - bit of rain - noodles and sauce -
“The only circular jetty in Southern Hemisphere. The once-in-a-generation circular Jetty is an unmissable feature to Whyalla’s impressive foreshore. The unique design was chosen by the community and has a circle feature which is sure to attract fishers, walkers and sightseers. Beginning construction in September 2019” internet
Here is their image from their webpage https://southaustralia.com/products/eyre-peninsula/attraction/whyalla-circular-jetty
The rest of the images on this site are from us.
Whyalla images from our two days there.
Excuse the 'used for brooms' comments - somehow left over from a previous blog and I didn't notice until done. Too lazy to redo the photos.
Stop 4 Cleve
04 October Friday
Morning walk to WEIR - made fire sat around for brekkie made video and posted on Facebook - door handle broke with us stuck inside - in Cleve - managed to get door open - drove to centre of Cleve at Repco shop didn’t have door handle rang John - in Pt. Lincoln - got there at 4 pm he sold us a door handle - Mobile Chris came and fitted it - total $245 - overnight at John Martin Caravan $5 - secluded spot.
This is off the Lincoln Highway hitting South. A beautiful spot free with donation only two other caravans in a small area overlooking the weir.
[A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of lakes, ponds, and reservoirs.]
The night was totally black. Not a shred of light quite unusual and silent despite the wind in the forecast. And bugger all internet.
Then came the excitement we locked ourselves into the caravan by breaking off the inside handle. We really did have some moments there. Who can we call? How much damage do we have to do to break out? Anyway, eventually using a large flat-head screwdriver we burst out.
We taped the door shut and drove into Cleve central. There we got a recommendation for a good repair guy in Port Lincoln who said he had 60 of these handles in stock. Ok. That should be enough. Two hours later we drove into his yard in Port Lincoln. Unfortunately missing many coastal villages that we had planned to visit.
The repair was painless apart from the cost which was 245 dollars. The guy John Martin said we could stay on his property for five dollars per night. It was really nice. We stayed two nights.
Stop 5
Pt Lincoln two nights A great place to park while exploring Port Lincoln my enjoyment of it was a bit muddled by worrying about Chris in Palestine bombs falling all around him. The first lot was from Iran mostly shot down by Israel. The second time it was a hit 60 miles from where he was it was on a cafe Israel destroyed it killing twenty people. Luckily it was only a week.
Very nice. We took an immediate nap upon arrival. There was quite a community around where we parked. Our interesting neighbour was a woman who had some amazing. She was maybe in her late 50s or early 60s travelling alone volunteering for flying doctor driving through the deserts of Australia with her dog and building and building a boat back home in Tasmania.
We also enjoyed our day at the local show watch the sheep shearing competition, a good band, some great dogs, sheep herding with a minimum of commands. What made a big impression was the friendliness of these country folks. Cummins is not on the coast it is just a farming community and very nice.
Whilst in Cummins Caravan Park we learnt that there was a country show in the near by town of Yallunda.
[The Yallunda Flat show is the Lower Eyre Peninsula's largest country show that occurs annually on the Monday of the October long weekend. As a family focused show, organisers try to incorporate country living and childhood fun, with a push on free activities for kids and showcasing local produce and products with vendors and stall holders from all over the Eyre Peninsula.]
Right now Chris is in the West Bank running a retreat for Christian Palestinians. Problem is there is a war on. He posted photos of bombs from Iran landing on Israel though Israel intercepted most of them. I am anxious though the communication is often. I have to admit it keeps me up at night. As we left we stopped into a very popular bakery for coffee fresh bread and a vanilla slice and also a hedgehog. Yum!
We did not find the actual town of Yallunda, but we did find the show. There was sheep shearing – see our YouTube clip -
We even made it into the local newspaper - of course we did not say we were from Adelaide. Who would? I mean it is a great city - top in the world we have ready in some lists, but...we were only a few hours away so of course we say where we are originally from. Wouldn't you?
Stop 7 Elliston Oct 8 2024
We are perched on the top of a hill with an amazing view the coast here is very rugged and there have historically been many shipwrecks on the sharp jagged rock formations we visited the local library/upshot / information centre. Nice folks.
I borrowed another Tess Gerritsen book called “Girl Missing” just finished her later book body double quite the fast-moving thrillers.
There is a heart more warming story based in this town it is called “duct tape surfer". A couple of surfers, her son and his friend, duct taped his mother who was quadriplegic, dying of cancer, (she had always loved surfing) to her son's back and took her surfing which was her dying wish.
Stop 8 Streaky Bay
In 1802 the explorer Matthew Flinders was examining the South Australian Coast and rediscovered and named Streaky Bay. He named it because of the streaks in the water caused by the reflection of light and seaweed.
We pulled into an RV park opposite the beach caravan park $15 per night instead of 45 dollars full stop the first night.
We went to the jetty, watched little kids jump into the pool which was in deep water fenced against the jetty. It was amazing, small boys with fathers encouraging them to dive into deep water.
Streaky Bay has a nice downtown. A couple of supermarkets some shops and Op shops we had a really good meal at the pub. I had the schnitzel huge I ate it all. Terrell had seafood/noodles/vegetables.
The houses are also nice. Lots of history there. We went on one of the loops and saw the crashing waves. It is a really rugged coast. One the paths (loops) was called whistling waves so as they came in, the air ahead of them was forced through holes in the rocks making a really loud sound. There's also a blowhole which was not at capacity.
Lots of fishing - but fish meals were quite expensive - maybe should stick to imported farm fish from polluted rivers in Vietnam for cheap fish.
Stop 9. Poochera. One night
We stayed at POOCHERA HOTEL & CARAVAN PARK, Poochera. Two others there. A powered site behind a pub in a tiny scruffy town off air Highway. Time to fill up with water, make more yogurt, wash our hair, recharge stuff. Terrell makes smoothies when we have power.
Hurricane Milton has made all the news in Florida. This is a very relaxing trip. We drive about 100 kilometers per day and then stay somewhere preferably at free sites. The new TV is working well. Just chews up my data but I have plenty.
Chris has just returned from a week in the West Bank offering retreat and encouragement to the Palestinian Christians. He was right in the middle of a significant danger Israel firing at Lebanon, Iran firing at Israel. I must say I supported what he did but it was an anxious time.
Stop 10
Scrubby Peak, Gawler Ranges
We experienced the worst corrugations I've ever seen on the dirt road to this spot. The first part was fine, properly graded but then suddenly it changed. Over a line the other side was horrible.
The actual camp site was a strange experience for us. We were on our own, nice spots with toilet, but it looked deathly. Not a single animal, no birds, burned trees, just a strange silence. We slept well as you do when it is super quiet. Terrell made a nice fire in the morning. There was ready cut up wood for us.
PS the damage was limited to our radio falling about of its cubby and we lost the connection of power between the car and the caravan.
Of course, these signs around the place were a bit of a worry - someone said along one of our stops that they can be a bit nasty, a bit territorial, a bit unfriendly. The other possible concern was that we could not get phone reception for days or wifi. The last big fires to sweep through here were doing to lightening strikes - of course their was lightening whilst we were camping - such is life. We could have been toast.
Pildappa Rock is an impressive granite outcrop formed by a short series of volcanic eruptions about 1,600 million years ago. It is a wave rock though it doesn't really wave. One warning - the flies here are beyond belief - we lasted only a few moments out in the open.
The next day we bought fly masks.
We stopped at an old homestead, Old Paney, and felt knowledgeable after and so could you read on...of course, one needs to pause to read...and dwell on what once was and because AI will swallow us all in five years it is good to have these moments to reflect on the way it was before AI ate us all.
Stop 11 Wudinna ( pronounced wood’na 😆)
The drive there was also terribly corrugated. When we arrived we were greeted by a pair of friendly ladies who lived in an old caravan on site. The site was a showground, complete with oval, toilets and a shower.
We slept well. The forecast was for a hot day up to 35 degrees which is early for hot weather. Then we started to survey the injury suffered by our van in on all of the off-road corrugations.
Our corner drop down food basket finally became unusable it dropped down and out taking the bottle of sweet and sour sauce and our favourite orange slice cookies with it this was quite the mop up.
We rang about the electrical issues. She called a local guy, a friendly Indian with a soft spot for Pakistan.
He was in charge of the laundromat, and busy washing a large truck. I wonder if he might also be the mayor of the town I asked him if he was Pakistani and he said no but he loved Lahore.
Anyway, the RAA sent us to an auto repair place where a guy told us he had no time for us but he did make a phone call to a retired sparky who came to our rescue.
He proceeded to repair the connections including the loose ones which Terrell discovered under the caravan. He was busy for about an hour. All done for $40 we gave him 60 still cheap blimey! An interesting guy.
Stop 12. Kimba 2 nights
Hitched up and drove a very modest 100 km to Kimba. This town has some nice features. The big galah and an amazing free camp which fills up to about 60 caravans during the evening and by midday and the following day empties out completely.
There is a giant camp kitchen, some nice coffee places, we spent an hour and a half in the library will stop the library was part of Kimber areas school. We had lots of chats with filo campers. All easy and pleasant. The guy next to us just ran his generator for several hours but that's as bad as it got.
Project of artists Bev Hogg and Elizabeth Patterson, the Galahs mark the entrance to a modern planned community, and represent the concept of new families nesting in the area. This ridiculous thing is 8-metre (26 ft) high. It is in front of the Halfway Across Australia Gem Shop on the Eyre Highway. The Gem Shop is a bit of a rip off. For example, magnets, which I have hundreds of from around the world, were ten bucks. I went to the post office and got one for three dollars. And I am not sure if this is really the exact halfway point from Sydney to Perth. It is all a bit of a scam or hustle or my not knowing what I am on about.
Stop 13 Iron Knob
A strange place. It looks like something from a movie about the end of the world. Corrugated iron buildings which have collapsed.
The area for caravans is good with new toilets, for which they fund raised for five years according to the local guy. We had hoped to take a tour but when we turned up punctually at 9:00 a.m. at the museum we were told that the tour guide does not do his shopping on Fridays oh well. The museum was interesting though the minds are ending or at least moving to a new site in the coming years.
We saw the Super Moon. Pretty spectacular. The whole view with a dark blue with shadows full stop the moon was incredibly bright even behind clouds.
Then a thunderstorm swept over the whole of Australia bringing lots of lightning it was also spectacular and a little scary.
Oh and there was a semi-trailer who came into the compound and caught the overhead wire bringing the whole shed down. Blimey! The local guy was not impressed.
Those hills are from all the dirt or whatever thrown up to dig out the iron. We went to the local museum talked to a few people, not a very inviting group of folks. Mostly they complained about someone else in town. If you plan to move here it is good to know the age and sex (no woke folks here just him and her) of those here: What is the population of Iron Knob, SA?
Iron Knob
| People | 110 |
|---|---|
| Male | 47.6% |
| Female | 52.4% |
| Median age | 57 |
We met about ten folks and at least seven were grouchy. However, that wasn't in the above stats. I am sure I took a bunch of photos around town and in the museum too. Can't find them. Perhaps AI on behalf of the grouchy folks in Iron Knob dissolved them.
Stop 14. Pt Augusta
An overnight stay in a caravan park so that we could wash our hair. Then caught up with some shopping and drove out after sunset to see a comet which we did not see. Comet C/2023 (the year it was discovered).
We did enjoy a look at the arid land museum featuring plants and shops nice coffee and a nice gift shop. The view was lovely.
Stop 15. Pt Pirie
Lawrie Park….again. I listen to a full playlist on this journey. My new favorite singer Randy Newman. I love his songs and the words. Such a great songwriter.
[Need to add that twelve-year old Maggie insisted we listen to her mix of Taylor Swift and tell her which song we liked best. We did listen but couldn't tell much of a difference in them. I found she had sung the American National Anthem at a football game so I told Maggie I liked that one best]
We turned up at the recommended free site “behind Coles”. There were 2 people waving their arms at us. I thought “that looks like a nice welcome. It turned out that they were trying to stop us. They wanted to make sure that we were “self-contained….. no bucket under the caravan” Then they wanted 15 dollars for a site which was flooded, had no toilets and no dump point. Charming. In the end they said we could not stay because we were not self-contained. We said see-ya and drove off to a lovely free site where we had stayed on our earlier drive.
So much nicer.
Test driving our fly nets! (see photos above with us in our groovy and workable fly masks)
We slept very well. In the morning we set up tables and chairs. No flies yet. We met a couple of French girls Camille and Hanon. We offered them our driveway if they needed somewhere to leave their car they were on a working visa in Australia for a year.
Stop 16 Bundeleer Forest Reserve
We followed Google Maps - of course, which took us off road through one lane dirt roads - scenic but crap roads. When we got to Bundeleer Forest Reserve we saw there was a sealed wonderful road on the other side of the forest that we should have taken from Pt Pirie across. Here are our images of that stupid direction - thanks google you're the best - not.
This reserve is reached from Gladstone and Google maps put us on a long journey of dirt roads some corrugated. Anyway we later found out from our Co-campers to caravans were ready there that it's a 10-minute drive from Jamestown on sealed roads. It took us a great deal longer.
This was one of my favourite stays. Very quiet and dark at night. Nice forest walks. Unfortunately, Narda twisted her knee a while back getting out of the caravan too quickly. So we didn't go for too many walks (Just got her knee almost fixed by getting a cortisone injection three months later. Just in time for those squat toilets in India in two months).
It's a beautiful place worth another visit. Apparently, it has quite a history, including being the first Forest to be deliberately planted in Australia for stop we walked through the forest yesterday. Unfortunately, my left leg is still painful so my walking is not up to par.
see our video at
Stop 17. Burra
We stayed in the oval manned by a grumpy caretaker. The site was pretty boring. The town however is beautiful. Lovely old houses, a charming main street and interesting ruins of the copper mines.
We went to the tourist information center to get some info. The best they could do was offer us a key rental for 25 dollars each plus a deposit so that we could do a self-guided tour and open gates to drive up in into the mines area. Naturally we did not do that. Too expensive but we still drove to the place to check it out. It We were able to enter and walked up to the mines.
It was interesting that the car could go to the lookout points which were spectacular. We also enjoyed morning tea in a the town. The highlight for me was an old train station which was closed but we learned a lot from the displays.
SA was full of passenger railways even as recently as the 1970s. Such a shame that it has been all closed.
Our drive home was easy. We stopped for a bit at Saddleworth for coffee and a visit to the op shop …our usual. I found a nice long skirt
And that was that little trip. Our next caravan trip we are planning to embark on will be across the country to Perth - spending two - three months. That will probably be June - August 2025, then we are off to Holland for October and November and perhaps back to the states for December if it is at all intact anymore. Our next blogging thingy for sure will be January 2025 Vietnam, India February 2025 and Penang Malaysia for March 2025. We leave January 8th right after Narda's son, grandson, daughter-in-law head back to Lahore Pakistan after their Christmas visit. For me, the once-were Yank, we will be leaving on inauguration day USA and I do not want to see or hear anything in English for months. Or after we get, anything to do with American politics ever again in my life.
cheers
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