Saturday, 10th January 2010

After being "up North" for so long, coming to South Australia was quite a shock.
The people we met could not be classed as friendly as those up north. Shopping was certainly not a pleasure with most shop assistants just near the point of being rude. And the thing that really got under our skin and made us so angry was the lack of service and shopping bags. The whole state had been infested with unthinking, slogan shouting, greenies. It seemed like every second add on TV was from the state, brainwashing the population into following their latest crack-pot scheme. It appeared now to be a criminal offence to possess a plastic shopping bag! Pity the poor tourist that went to stock up their supplies, only to be left standing at the checkout with a pile of groceries and no way of getting them home. Every time we went shopping, we left annoyed and keen to get out of South Australia as soon as practical.

While we were in Mount Gambier we did some work on the underneath of the van, fixing one of the waste control valves, and trying to sort out the fresh water system that had not been 100%.

We took a trip down to Port McDonnell, and stopped off at the Little Blue Lake.

What a poor sight! Murky green instead of the crystal clear blue it used to be. Just shows how damaged the water table in the area has become.

After two weeks there, we shifted to Lyn's home town, Casterton, and set up for the week in the Island Lagoon Caravan Park.

In the afternoon the temp touched 45 degrees, and did not get below 40 till around 8.00pm.

Lyn spent part of each day catching up with her mum.

Saturday, 23rd January 2010

We've been back in Mount Gambier for a week. We have had a problem with the truck sorted out under warranty. Seemed like a injector had decided to malfunction.

I had been looking for casual work, and had registered for some work on the rape seed crop, but nothing so far.

I kept searching the internet for suitable work, then on Friday saw a new advertisement for a forklift driver in a place called Nildottie in South Australia. After looking it up on the map, I rang the number and was told to be at the induction at 8.00am Monday morning. It was a potato processing plant, and it seemed like I had the job!

We decided to leave Saturday morning, so we would have Sunday to find a good place to stay. We had not planned on moving so soon, so it was a bit of a rush to finalize everything and tidy up the things we had planned to auction. Some things were just forgotten for now, like getting new belts for the truck, and also stocking up on our food.

Nildottie was past Mannum, and we had travelled most of that route many times before, so it was a straightforward trip to Murray Bridge. The plan, thought up on the way, was to stop the night in Murray Bridge, stock up with food, and continue the rest of the trip on Sunday Morning. Well this plan was not entirely followed, as we drove right through the outskirts of Murray Bridge and headed toward Mannum.

In some quick internet research, I had found a caravan park that took pets just out of Mannum, on the right side of the river for us, so we kept heading for it, arriving about 5pm outside the entrance. It did not look too promising. Our van dwarfed the small park. Walking around, I could find no one to ask, and only one vacant site, that we might have got into with a squeeze. We decided to give it a miss.

Mannum itself was across the river by ferry, so we were not keen in going there, so instead, we headed back out of town to find a roadside park for the night. It was not too far before we found a good site just over a hill to stay. The road was quiet and the only problem we found was that we had initially parked over a big black ant nest.

The surroundings were pretty much what we had seen all the last parts of the day. Very dry and dusty ground with a scattering of stunted trees.

Sunday, 24th January 2010

We started looking around the area this morning. It was all mostly the same dry desert looking, with the Murray River down the deep channel. You would not know there was a river in most cases until you got to the edge of the cliffs.

We drove down the road to Walkers Flat. As we got to the bottom, we expected to be able to turn around, but no! There was no area for us to turn the whole rig around, so the only option was to go on the ferry. With great caution we drove on. the whole rig fitted OK, and so we had our first free river cruise.

One the other side, we decided to keep going and drive to Swan Reach that way.

When we came to the right road, it was not sealed, just white metal. It looked Ok, and it was only 29Km, so we set off very slowly. It was a very long 29Km with some steep descents and climbs. Several vehicles passed us at high speed, but we just kept crawling along.

After ages, the dirt road ended, and we were back in civilization.

It was another ferry cruise to get across the river to Swan Reach itself, and the caravan park was right nearby.

It was still the long weekend time, so they had a lot of holiday people in, but they had a site for us. Just this morning, a van had left. He was a forklift driver and had had a disagreement with someone a work and had just left. One out - One in.

The park was quite an education. After being in the NT outback for a while, we actually expected this to be a little better, being so close to civilization, but not so. The water supply consisted of the owner coming round of a morning and filling the van tank. There was power, but TV reception was from the ark. Analog only and then only if the wind was in the right direction. Site fees had to be paid in cash as they had no card facilities. Shopping was at the general store, providing you weren't working, for they closed at 5.30pm.

We had left Mount Gambier without stocking up our food, expecting to get things on the way. Here we were, with practically nothing for Lyn's diet, and nowhere around to get some things.

Monday, 25th January 2010

Before eight, I was at the Oakville Potato factory ready for induction. There was a total of four there. Two forklift drivers and two women for the sorting lines.

After a talk about the factory which was now the biggest potato processor in Australia, we were shown the floor and stood around seeing what had to be done. After a while we were set to work on a forklift to see how it was, and ended up leaving at 6pm after doing some work. Nearly all the output of the factory was for Woolworth's, and my main job would be loading the B-doubles that left every day for Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. When not loading trucks, I was to float around the factory and cool store helping out there. All the time, on the forklift. It was not a hard job and not too strenuous for an older codger.

Wednesday, 27th January 2010

I start work at 9.30 each morning, so we go for an early morning walk along the river. With the river being so low, most of the jetties are high and dry like this one in the picnic area.

Near our site in the park, the owner has a pigeon house. Underneath is a galah in a cage. Not sure if he talks, but we haven't heard anything so far.

Every morning, early, a huge flock of corellas come by and nest in the trees around us. They are very destructive and noisy, just stripping the twigs and leaves from the trees.

I finished work at 6.30pm, so when I got home, we decided to try to go grocery shopping in Wakerie. Its about 80km, with good roads, and according to the information I had, Woolworth's closed at 9.00pm.

It was a good, fast trip, and we got to Woollies at 7.55. As we went inside, they were closing. It seems that 8pm is their close, so we raced around trying to get what we wanted. Got some things, but not the main stuff. Wakerie seemed a nice place, just need to get there early.

Thursday, 28th January 2010

Payday! The only Magic Money Machine was in the pub, so we decided to treat ourselves to tea out. It was just a short walk up to the Swan Reach hotel, and we had a rather nice meal overlooking the river. Was not real cheap, but then again it was not so expensive we would not do it again.

Saturday, 30th January 2010

The plant was not working today, so we decided to head in to Adelaide to do some real shopping and stock up the larder.

First we called at the other caravan park on the other side of the river. It is up 7km of dirt road, and has much better facilities, however it has very poor access for our van, and I feel it is too risky to try to get in there. Far too many low tree limbs.

We then continued on to Adelaide via the Barossa Valley. Angaston was partly as I remember, but I could not remember most of the rest of the valley. The roads were terrible and it was a slow, bumpy trip. We stopped at a farmers market out of Angaston. There was not much there for us, however we did buy some dried fruits.

At Lyndoch we stopped at a German bakery to check for german cake. I bought some of their version and some snacks that we ate at the picnic area out of town.

When we finally got into Adelaide, We headed for the Parafield Bunnings to get some bits for our water supply in the van. When we finished there, we went to Tea Tree Plaza shopping centre for our groceries and some clothes. The shopping centre was very busy but we found room to have dinner before we looked for the shops we wanted. We got underwear, and groceries. The final bill was more than we expected, but we really stocked up so we would not have to shop again in a hurry. The checkout chick at Coles was not very impressed when I plonked my tie of new plastic bags on the counter and proceeded to pack our groceries in them. Its a crime for them to pack plastic bags! What a state.

We came home a different way, through Birdwood. The road was much better, and worth considering for our next trip into Adelaide. It was a very exhausting day.

Sunday, 7th February 2010

Yesterday I worked until 2.15pm, and then we went into Murray Bridge for our weekly shopping. The trip in was via the Mannum shortcut, and we were pleasantly surprised by the town of Mannum. We did not take the camera, but will be go back again for a good look. It was more like we thought Swan Reach might be. A very nice riverside place.

The shopping at Murray Bridge was the best we have had. Really great produce, and great service. Definitely a place to go back to.

Caught Zebbie resting with her head on my pillow.

This morning the task was to assemble Lyn's new plant palace.

We had bought a folding dog pen from Ebay, and I lined six sides with plastic panels to keep the wind out, and a couple of wooden struts across the top to support the shadecloth roof.

The whole thing will fold down to a flat pack for transport.

So far it is working well, which is more than can be said for the new TV aerial I ordered. Just no better than what we had which is pretty bad, so made the phone call to order a gold card for the satellite. We will temporally use it instead of the SelecTV. At least that will give Lyn good reception of the channels she likes.

The day turned out quite warm - 39.2C now - so we just caught up with things in the van.

Saturday, 13th February 2010

Today was for a bit of sightseeing in the Barossa Valley.

First stop was Angaston, where we wandered the main street, looking into some shops and second hand places. The photo is from the park near the centre of town.

Then in was on to Nuriootpa where we had been told there was a large Foodland store.

The main town was off the normal road we had taken before, so we were quite surprised at how large it was. We called into the shopping mall and went through the Foodland store. The shop itself was fine, but the customers there were not very friendly. We bought a few things, but left our main shopping for tomorrow.

Stopped at a food place there for dinner, and were quite disappointed. Paid good money for very average fare. Should have gone to a pub or something like that.

Had a look in a couple of shops on the main street, then headed toward Tanunda. On the way, we stopped at a small roadside market, where we got some fruit and veggies.

Our destination was just out of Tanunda up a gravel road. It was "Norm's Coolies". A working sheepdog show that we had been recommended.

We arrived before the appointed hour, and got ready. It was $10 each and started at 2.00pm. Just before that time, Norm arrived with a ute full of dogs. He told us to wait a few minutes while he prepared the show, and off him and the dogs went.

Just after two, Norm came back, collected our money and we arranged ourselves on the seats inside, ready for the show.

The start of the show was some sheep herding by a pack of dogs that he called out from one of the old utes scattered around the grounds.

Then he arranged most of the dogs in a circle, and had another dog herd the sheep into that circle.

Throughout all this he had a lot of trouble with "possum". That dog would not do anything right, and in the end went and hid behind another old ute.

It was very homely and entertaining.

Next, he had the dogs come in the yard with us, and showed us a couple that walked on their hind legs.

Then he had almost all of the dogs "go to sleep on the ground in front of us. Most, but not all, because they seemed to be enjoying themselves awake!

We stayed after the show talking to Norm. It was really good entertainment. Highly recommended.

After a visit to the Lyndock German Bakery, we set off home back along the very poor roads.

It was a good day out.

Sunday, 14th February 2010

This morning we set of early to Murray Bridge to complete our shopping.

This is the view from the cliffs overlooking Walkers Flat where we caught the ferry to Mannum.

We went looking for some good photos of Mannum, and just near the lookout, Lyn spotted this house.

In Murray Bridge we finally found the famous Bunyip display. I had originally seen it as a youngster, and Lyn had not seen it at all.

Lyn put a $1 in the slot and we were treated to the full Bunyip sound and sight show with the growling Bunyip rising twice from the murky water in its cave.

Here's me outside the Bunyip Lair.

After all this excitement, we completed our shopping and headed home for a bit of a rest.

Saturday, 20th February 2010

We set off early this morning to go shopping in Berri. Its about the same distance as Murray Bridge from here. One thing about this place is that is very central to many places, but nothing is close!

Halfway there, in the middle of nowhere, we came across a long nativity and Christmas display.

It stretched along a fenceline with many different scenes. There were no houses in sight, but it looked like one was off in the area behind, over the rise.

The road was good until we got near Loxton. Loxton had a Woolies as well as an IGA and Foodland.

We called into Lock 4 for a look.

At Berri we found a farmers market and bought some fruit including some of the best peaches I've had in a long while.

The shopping at Coles was OK, but Murray Bridge was better.

On the way back we bought some tomatoes from a roadside stall, and then had lunch at Loxton.

Half way back we saw this very cute sheep mail box outside a property.

We did not stay out for long as it looked very stormy over our way, and it was getting hot. Later in the afternoon it got to 40 degrees.

The park had filled up while we were away. There is a fishing competition on this weekend, and people have come for it.

Saturday, 27th February 2010

Went for a drive to the Nildottie general store and took this photo of the Murray River from the lookout near town.

Sunday, 28th February 2010

There was the first cat show of the year on in Adelaide today, so we left camp early heading for the big smoke.

On the way I stopped near Sudan to take photos of some old buildings in the area. There are many of them scattered around.

There is a lot of history around the area, but not much happening now. The lack of water has turned the area into a wasteland of sorts.

On the way through Gumeracha we stopped at the big rocking horse. It was open, but we did not go in. Just had a quick look at the wildlife in the park and took a few pictures.

The Adelaide trip was not a great success. Our first stop was Ikea. Never again. Trapped in that store with no way out except following their path is not my idea of shopping.

Then we went to the Brickworks Market where we used to go for meals before. Now it was half empty, and what was there was dirty and very unappealing.

Next we got our photos done and had dinner at Munno Parra shopping centre. It was not too bad there, and Lyn found some photo albums she was looking for.

The cat show was in Gawler, and turned out to be very dissapointing. Hardly any pretty shorthair cats. Seems they are out of fashion these days. Got our groceries at coles there as we were leaving.

Came back home through the Barrossa Valley, and stopped for a german cake again. Even this was not as fresh as the others.

It was a long and tiring day, made worse by being pretty unsuccessful, except for the photos we had printed which came out very good.

Tuesday, 2nd March 2010

Lyn has been playing with the park managers dog - Missy. Now Missy has found that we have a cat, so Zebbie gets to hiss at the dog through the wire door.

We are thinking of leaving here quite soon. There are not the hours at work now, and the atmosphere there is pretty bad. At the moment we are not getting enough to save any, so there is not much point being here. Looking around the country for suitable work, there is not a lot listed. We know about good work around Bowen, but it will not start for another two months.

There are some good jobs advertised in Darwin, but none of them would pay great amounts, and we have been there for two years before.

Alice Springs is showing a few interesting ones, and might be worth a try. If we do no good there, we can go either North or East from there.

Our stay in Swan Reach continues - click here to follow.

Return to previous page - click here for our trip from Darwin South.