We arrive in Tassie

Overnight the coldest it got in the car was 34.2, so there was no much sleep. We packed up got a Macca’s breakfast and drove down to the wharf. A quick inspection by the security and we were in the line to get our vehicle on. This took quite while but once we finally moved it was quick to get on board.

We had a look around the ship, and after sometime watching the goings on the wharf , finally the ship sailed. We both tried to sleep a little but it was not very comfortable, it was bloody hot on the top deck even on the water, down stairs in the aircon was nice but uncomfortable enough to sleep and all the corner lounges were taken, later on in the day it cooled a little upstairs and we finally got a few winks in.
The ferry finally reached the heads at Port Philip Bay which is quite narrow considering what a large bay it is. Once in the open ocean the temperature really cooled down to 35 which was just great. We slept a bit ate a bit and had a couple of beers and next thing it was there Davenport harbour. We got off and another quarantine inspection this time with Police sniffer dogs. Once clear we were finally in Tassie on a barmy still night with no Wind at all.
We had Pizza for tea and a couple of Boag draughts and then settled in at the caravan park. It will be a good sleep tonight and the temp is already down to 24.

We packed up and it was hot early over 30 by 10.00am and there were records being broken all over Tassie. In to the town centre and filling up with supplies and tourist information.
We have decided to start on the North West while the weather is good. We headed off to Burnie along the coast passing some beautiful little towns as well as the stop at the Cherry farm for a nice cold cherry ice cream. At Burnie we stopped at the Paper mill where they make paper out of anything even Roo Poo.

We stopped at another couple of places for beer and then off to Stanley which has the oldest Wharf in Tassie, it was a very beautiful town, this has been my favourite town by far, well so far anyway! We drove around and finally spotted a place to camp after seeing a track. Not really the best campsite but we were hot and buggered so this was it. An inlet with a narrow opening, the current was strong each way of the tide. We had a canoe around; it is beautiful with some deep holes and the appearance that someone had tried to build a wall across it in the past.


We cooked some tea and sat around soaking in the cooler sea breeze, and listening to the Aussies loose another game to South Africa. Fingers crossed for them we they end up on South Africa’s home turf.
The sound of 100 cows greeted us in the morning, and what a sound some of the old girls need some mooing lesson, gee I can moo better them. After a while of getting motivated having brekkie & talking to the locals we headed off in the canoes for a fish. One of the locals had told us that there are Flathead and Salmon here. We canoed across to the other side and fished off some rocks for a while with no luck. We move around to the inlet opening as the tide had started to come in .I hooked a Salmon while canoeing over but lost him before I could get him in the canoe. We were not getting any bites so we decided to canoe across the other side of the inlet opening where more locals had come to fish. On the way across I hooked another Salmon and this time managed to get him in the canoe. We didn’t catch anything else so headed back. None off the locals caught anything so at least we out fished the locals.

Heathcotte, Melbourne & Beyond

Monday we were up and after many tears and long goodbyes we went to say a final goodbye to the kids and picked up the van. We drove off waving goodbye to Adelaide. It was hot and slow going up the freeway with the fully loaded van in tow.
Tina and I were both a little worse for ware after 3 nights of drinking not to mention Tina was also emotionally tired as well. It got so hot and we were so tired we slept on the side of the road in the afternoon and headed off again after 5.00pm when it had cooled down a little. After all these years driving long distances this was our first powernap. We drove until nearly dark and stayed at a community park at Jack Emmett Billabong in Rupanyup.
We drove the last 200 odd k’s to Joe’s house and arrived just after lunch when it was already 40+. The afternoon was spent talking about our Tojo stories as well now. (The Tojo was Joe’s car for 15 years and it had seen a lot of Australia before us) As usual a beautiful spread of food and fabulous hospitality. It finally got under 40 at about 8.00pm so we started to pack but lost interested very quickly.
Up early and only our clothes left to pack. So off we went leaving the van behind for our trip to Tassie. We drove down to Melbourne to check out where the boat leaves from and it was hot, really hot over 40 by 10.00am. We followed the Esplanade in search of a caravan park for the night. Finally we found one near Frankston and got a nice shady spot. We needed a beer so off to the Pub where the beer was well nearly cold and the air conditioner nearly worked. After not enough beers we headed back and had a swim in the pool which was bloody great. We cooked the least remaining bits of food we had on the BBQ so that the fridge was empty.

Farewell to Adelaide

Up early to clean the mess and start packing this was going to be a busy week. We found out that the van springs had to go to Willaston to be reset, so we jacked up the van took them off and dropped them off.
We had some dramas during the week with getting warranty claims on the MP3 and fridge but all was resolved and didn’t cost anything but some diesel driving around.
We got the springs back and fitted them to the van. Most of the week was spent packing and making sure we had everything because there is no coming back this time.
Friday night we spent saying our goodbyes to Michael and then Saturday morning our final pack up and we are off, well at least to the city. We left the van at Cheryl’s and went to the cricket games to catch up with some of the boys. Saturday night at the Highway was great and many friends turned up to wish us well. Tina held back the tears well. Sunday Heath & Stephen cooked us a huge breakfast which helped mask the hangover and we headed to Mel & Glen’s for their Australia Day party. This was a chance to catch up with the family.

Streaky Bay and Beyond

We headed off to Streaky Bay for a couple of days of caravan park luxury and there is a Mardigra on in town tonight. We did all the normal shopping, charging of batteries as well as hot showers. Unfortunately when we got to the Mardigra when the last event was finished and the band was a guy and his laptop in the back of a big rig who played some of his music so we headed back to the van for the end of Mary Poppin’s on TV.

I awoke early to head down to the jetty for a fish. They had a fishing comp for the kids there yesterday and I didn’t check to see what could be caught. I should have known when I got there that I was the only person fishing. There were a couple of Kingfish around but they were not interested in the Squid or Tommies I had. There are plenty of Shitties around as usual. We went for a drive around the bay, but it was very windy again in the afternoon. We had a fish at the boat ramp and caught shitties, leather Jackets and one Trevalie that broke Jason’s rod anyway we had a bit of fun with the kids.
We headed off towards Ceduna way and decided to hang near the coast as it was going to be 43 for the next couple of days and decided on Perlubie Beach about 39km north of Streaky. You can take your van on the beach here or in a little in the dunes so we set up there. A beautiful little bay with a pontoon for the kids, nice sheltered beach access and flushing toilets. It was bloody hot but if you stayed at the beach in the nice shallow water it was great. We swum and played in the water.

It was super hot today so we headed down to the beach again in a little bay just around form where we are camping and I headed into the shallow water to fish. First cast and a double header hit. Shame it was a Puffer on one and a leather jacket on the other. The water was the best place to be and it was nice and cool out there. Well I certainly removed plenty of Puffers form that bay. A lot of fishing for just 1 big Tommy.
We had decided to go back for lunch but only after a quick fish off the rocks. Once again we tried this time Tina was after Squid and again first cast lands a beauty, but it was the only one.

Once it got a little cooler we packed up and headed for the Gawler ranges. As we got close the sun set behind the bull trail and the view form the rear view mirror was spectacular. Kirsten asked how far to go and when I said “can you see those mountains in the distance” she said “yes”, well that’s where we are going she did not believe us.
Anyway she went back to sleep and next she awoke we were there. It had luckily cooled down and the sunset of the ranges in the red dust was a change form the ocean setttings we had seen for the past 2 ½ weeks.

We awoke to a cloudy morning and it was nice and cool but it would not be long before the sun burnt off the clouds so we headed off to the Organ Pipes. A 15km 4WD track. They were spectacular and well worth the look.

Back to camp with the kids experiencing there first taste of driving (well steering at least) We packed up before it got to hot and headed off towards Kimba stopping at the Pildappa Rocks which are similar to wave rock. A great camp spot that is not shown in any map or town directions. Obviously they just don’t want anyone to stay there.

One interesting place we saw was another large granite rock near Wudinna. In 1915 they built a concrete gutter around the bottom and used it to collect rain water. It was stored in huge tanks and used to water the local community. Apparently this was done at several sites and supplied water to many local towns. Then they built a pipeline from the Murray and since then these have been left to slowly fall apart. I have read a lot of these types of stories it’s a shame we are not as clever now as they were 100 years ago. We spent the night at Kimba.

Our target today was at least Port Augusta and we passed there and stayed at a place called Chinaman’s creek a tidal outlet south of Port Augusta. We went for a walk on the tidal creek and tried a shortcut through the Mangrove Swamp which only resulted in 4 very smelly and Muddy people. Of all the places this was the windiest of all.
With only a couple of days before the kids head home the routine of packing up is going really well, although there is sadness as we will soon be off to Tassie and only seeing the kids in Holidays.
We drove to Port Pirie had some lunch and headed over to Lee & Brian’s place. It was good to sit down and have a chat with them and talk about all of their adventures. They have certainly seen a lot of Australia. They have really transformed their place and the gardens, sheds and stuff look just great. Their neighbour is fairly paranoid about the locals was really concerned that we did not want top put the Tojo in his yard. This was also fairly creeping out Kirsten. We had a beautiful BBQ and watched Australia lose the cricket again. Tina & I got to sleep in a real bed which feels very strange but I spread out like a starfish all night.


Today we are off to Rob’s at Moonta and it is our last night with the kids. SO we packed up said goodbye and promised to try to catch up with Lee & Brian in Tassie.
Tina and the kids are cooking a feast for Rob tonight as every time we come here he always cooks up a feast so we wanted to give him a night off.
Its quite warm again today so we headed down to Port Hughes for a swim and play on the beach. Once we got back Tina and the kids started on tea. It certainly was a feast Weber Chickens, Potato Bake and the biggest salad you have ever seen. The kids also baked a beautiful cake for desert. I hope the caravan can take all that extra weight form our bellies. We had a great night and it covered some of the sadness we are all feeling about heading off around Aus because up until now after each trip we have come back home.

Coodlie Park

We are off today so the pack up routine which is quite smooth now was started.
Overnight we think someone stole Tina’s Bikini bottoms of the annex. I hope he chokes on them. The coastline and ocean is so remarkable along here and we have stopped at Sheringa Beach where it is quite large surf and cool arctic breezes. Still no big fish caught.

It is very open and large waves roll into shore non stop. We went for a bit of a 4WD on some sand dune type tracks.
We are heading off towards Streaky Bay our last costal town before we head inland. We are staying at Coodlie Park a farm style stay just before Venus Bay, Port Kenny. A cheap bush camp with flushing toilet. The kids really love the flushing toilet sites.

A quite still morning with no wind which is great. The weather is really blessing us at the moment with around 22-25° each day and not many flies at all.

We went and looked at the Tub & Talia caves which have been formed by the non stop pounding surf along the coast. The views clear blue water and cliffs and are just so beautiful. It is a shame the fish don’t appreciate them more form the shoreline. Venus Bay jetty had lot of little fish around the jetty and the tide was really sucking the water out of the large bay.

We went to Mount Camel beach to try our luck but once again it was Tommies or nothing. We are starting to get a little fish depressed again but it is hard to tell because we are not really putting the time in so it is not surprising we are not having much success.

Coffin Bay

Another beautiful morning in paradise, we went for a walk around Surfleet Cove a mix of recovering mallee type scrub after the bad fires they had just a few years back and the sand flats in shallow bays. There is a good view of the fish farms and one was being harvested while we walked. A 5km walk and back just in time for some cold beers, lunch and packing up.

We drove to Coffin Bay and drove out to the National Park and camped at Yangie bay a little bay of weedy sand flats with no fishing. We had a quite night watching Camp Rock with the kids, the night are cool but not cold and we had no native animals attack our site today.

It’s hard to describe each morning by not just saying another beautiful day but it is true. I’m sure during our travels there will come some times when we whinge everyday instead. Kind of like we do about the fishing. We headed back to Coffin Bay and checked into the caravan park. Pretty busy but it is school holidays. We checked out the local town and bought some supplies, and checked out the foreshore. The Kids had a swim and snorkel.

We drove back to the National park today. We hadn’t travelled far before encountering our first casualty, A bogged Nissan patrol and camper trailer. It was our first chance to use the winch and it worked fine. He had let down the tyres on his car but not the trailer. Once it they were let down all was fine. There were 4 cars banked up waiting.

We carried on the track which was mostly not to bad with the odd really sandy section. Then onto 7 mile beach which we drove down no worries, with massive sand dunes on the left and beautiful ocean on the right.


We headed across the other side of the park to S???? beach for a spot of fishing. Just some little tommies and mullet. We drove back to 7 mile beach and had lunch, snorkelling and some sand dune climbing.
We drove back with another winch rescue and later a jump start. All these are great when they are not your vehicle. Tina drove back and we are both now becoming more experienced and confident in ourselves and the Tojo.

Port Lincoln & Beyond

We had packed up at Arno Bay and drove down the Peninsula to Port Lincoln passing through Port Neil & Tumby Bay. We made it to Port Lincoln by lunch time and did the normal re-stocking of food, beer & Diesel. It is quite a large place and the foreshore area is beautiful. We drove out to Lincoln National park passing a not quite dead roo which had just been hit.
We are staying at Surfleet cove campsite which is right on the beach. Had a bit of a fish but no luck once again I’m no orphan. Tina is making satay meatballs for tea, and we have a good tide in the morning. We are going to stay here for a couple of days so lets hope we can catch some fish here.
After breakfast we headed of to explore the park by 4WD. The tracks here are not sandy at all but very rocky. There are some beautiful beaches here and we stopped at McIntyre Point for lunch and a spot of fishing. We headed out onto the rocks where some other people were fishing. They had caught the odd gar and Tommy. Well I know they always say that when the Dolphins are around there a no fish and a family of at least 10 arrived and swam close by. Next thing a big seal swam past us in the water not more than 2 metres away as well as a big sting ray. Anyway we didn’t give up hope and with the other people burlying up the water we were hopeful. Just some small Tommies and leather jackets to begin with, but the kind people gave us some cockles and then I landed 3 nice garfish. I also lost my rig to some big fish that I faught for a good 5 minutes until he finally managed to get me under a rock I hope it wasn’t the sting ray but if it was no wonder I couldn’t pull him in.

We headed back to camp and had our fish for entrée, while we were at the beach the local kangaroo who had eaten our burly the night before was in a pot of water we had left there right next to the open van door and he was not going to move no mater how much we tried. Obviously being a little cautious not to upset him to much.
Each night Jason, Kirsten and Tina have been reading us a short story which has been great. The bumpy tracks did a great load of washing for us on the roof rack.

Pt Douglas - Pt Gibbon & Arno Bay

A beautiful morning greeted us and we spend the day walking along the edge of the army explosive range and along the beach. We had another fish and the kids tried out there snorkels. The bait fish attacked me during my attempt to fish but no fish here. We played some soccer & Football.

We packed up and drove the short drive the Port Gibbon. There is a donation camping site there with toilets and water as well as a short walk to the beach. Once again just Shitties and small tommies and a couple of under size whiting. It has been quite windy and hard to fish. All the 12volt gear is working great and we fixed the fridge as it was not lighting on gas properly.
Off early again and off to Arno Bay today. Not a big drive mostly on Bitumen.
We are staying at the caravan park for a couple of days and the showers are a welcome site for all. We are off fishing again just after the locals told us there we no fish here at the moment, it is still windy. We went for a walk on the mangrove, tidal creek boardwalk.
Had a fish using worms that Jason found on the beach his input to our fishing. It was great and Arno Bay has great facilities for visitors. Kirsten caught a mullet and I got a whiting but not much on and small fish again. We spent new Years at the van drinking singing and dancing it was a good night but a couple to many beers.

Well I’m not sure I’m in any condition to write this today. They have new years day events every year here and the kids got to do egg & spoon, vortex throwing, sand castles comps and other great stuff. Everything was free and food and drinks were cheap.
This is a nice place and really into improving their facilities. We had a great day weather is nice but still windy. Tina entered the Stein holding competition but didn’t win the forst price your weight in Beer.