A blood moon at twilight and a squadron of stealth bats fly overhead; thousands of flying foxes out on their nightly raid.
Blood moon over Lake Kununurra
Under the tree canopies smaller bats flit about after insects.
Flying foxes at twilight
We stalk the lake edge with torches in hand looking to catch the red eyes of crocs. We see many. We find one close to the low bank. I take a photo in the moonlight and it flips violently seeking refuge under the water lilies. Hearts beating faster we walk back along the moonlit grassy bank hearing splashes in the dark water, red eyes like traffic warning lights.
Fresh water croc at lake edge
Kununurra is a surprising town. The waterways from the Ord River are significant and provide respite, produce, and a lifestyle. Here just on the outskirts of town they grow sandalwood, mangoes, bananas, corn, sorghum, and other crops.
Ord River Dam at Kununurra
The airport is busy with air traffic on the go daily.
At the moment the Fitzroy Crossing is closed once again so there is no route to Perth. Travellers reassess their travel plans. It is school holidays and families are stuck, so there are caravans everywhere.
Lake Kununurra at twilight
Next week is the annual Kununurra show and there are caravans parked at the overflow site at the Showgrounds and they need to move. But to where?
We drive out to the famous Ivanhoe Crossing for a look. That too is closed to traffic. We knew this and had no plans to cross it anyway just for that IG photo. #ivanhoecrossing
Ivanhoe Crossing
Out on the curved wall stand two aboriginal men fishing with hand lines bracing themselves in the treacherous current. There are supposedly big estuarine crocs here too. We see them catch a good sized fish that they keep. Other people try their luck using rods from the safety of the bank, but no luck there.
Mick tries his luck in the lower Ord River on two mornings. Each day he catches a small Barramundi, too small to keep, but his first. He releases them back to the river so they have a chance to grow.
Mick caught this Barramundi in the Ord River
On our last day we drive out to Molly Spring. There is a small waterfall and a small nice swimming hole. A family is there enjoying the water. We are told there was a snake swimming in the waterhole and had now disappeared into the bank somewhere. After our experiences in the big waterfalls along the Gibb River Road we feel no need to swim here.
The next day we pack up and head towards the Northern Territory border. We have a booking at Katherine in the same caravan park we stayed at last trip in 2020.
Crossing the border into the Northern Territory
We had eaten all of our fruit and vegetables but there is no quarantine stop going this way.
After our sprint across the continent, it didn’t take long to relax into ‘broometime’.
At the Discovery Parks Holiday Park we were lucky to be allocated a beachside campsite that offers uninterrupted views of Roebuck Bay. And it is an ever changing view as the tide gently flows in and then way out every day revealing sand flats.
Beachfront site at Discovery Parks Broome
The first day we drove out to look at the famous Cable Beach. It was Sunday and Little Nippers had just finished. The beach was full of activity, people enjoying the warm winter weather. The very next day the beach was closed due to a three metre saltwater crocodile seen cruising casually in the water heading north. It was only closed to swimmers for 24 hours.
Cable Beach
We felt unhurried about exploring, content to sit in our deck chairs watching the bay. Boats go back and forth, ships, and tenders servicing the moored boats. Jet skis, kayaks, and an Everglades craft whir past.
Close by is the airport and we see all kinds of aircraft, seaplanes, passenger jets small and medium, helicopters, and a military plane.
Mick is periodically tempted by the fish jumping in the shallows in front of us. He spent several days trying to catch one, until the unseen conditions changed and the fish went off the bite.
The pool at this caravan park is resort quality and we have spent some hours lounging, reading, and dipping.
Lazing by the pool at Discovery Parks
We drove north to the Willie Creek Pearl Farm and joined a tour which was well presented and interesting. The things I didn’t know about pearls! During the boat tour of the creek we saw a crocodile lazing on the banks. It slid into the water as we approached, disappearing into the chalky depths.
Willie Creek Pearl Farm tour
By chance some friends are travelling ahead of us in two caravans and we met up in Broome. A mutual friend, Scruff, urged us all to go to Matso’s Brewery to try the Mango Beer and Chilli Beer. Lunch with the group was great, the weird beers not so much. Mick and I went back on another night and had a hot Spicy Margarita.
Lunch with friends at Matso’s Brewery
We went to the town market twice, visited Chinatown, climbed around on the colourful rocks at Gantheaume Point, looked with scepticism at the dinosaur footprints, saw the sunset at Cable Beach, and walked beside the iconic camel train.
Exploring the rocks at Gantheaume Point
Broome has provided a welcome easy holiday in warm weather. I feel rested.
Dinosaur footprints at Gantheaume Point
The Gibb River Road beckons. Our friends have gone ahead already and we might catch up with them again somewhere.
Travellers arrive in the caravan park who have obviously just completed the 660 kilometre dirt road, as their vehicles are coated in red dust and their faces have an expression of jubilation and relief. Mick has spoken to a few and feels as prepared as he can be.
Camel train at Cable Beach
The Peninsula Development Road in Cape York of Far North Queensland looms large in our minds, a memory that is clear and holds residual anguish.
Still the rough road is before us, and if we want to experience the vistas, waterfalls, and waterholes of The Kimberley, this is the way.
This landscape heals my soul. The towering gums, bird calls, fast clear rivers, grazing cattle, ducks, blue mountains, and round yellow hills.
Acheron landscape VIC
The walk to Ned’s Peak takes about an hour but is steep. The view is worth it, the valleys stretching out below, rugged Cathedral Peak, with more dark ranges beyond. I see a lyrebird. Mick sees a Red- Breasted Finch of some variety. We hear Currawongs, Kookaburras, Lorikeets, and Cockatoos. The white trunks of river gums stand tall and healthy along the Acheron River.
Mick at Ned’s Peak Cathedral Ranges VIC
At Eildon Weir we drive across the wall, then stop to look down at both sides. While Mick scopes the pondage for fishing spots, I reminisce about my youth spent water-skiing on the flat green expanse of the weir. No luck with catching fish at the pondage or at various spots along the Goulburn River. Mick eventually catches a nice size Rainbow Trout. He sees two platypus swimming in the river, and we both see a large water rat swimming under the bridge. It is the same size as the brown ducks that it chases away.
Goulburn River Acheron VIC
It is Autumn so the days are sunny and warm and the nights are cold. We are snug in our caravan staying at the Breakaway Twin Rivers Caravan Park just metres from the clear and fast flowing Goulburn River. The brown ducks love it here. We walk to where the Goulburn River meets the Acheron River taking in the quiet and looking for platypus and fish.
We drive around the area visiting Alexandra, Thornton, Eildon, Rubicon, and Taggerty. We dream of owning a farm in this area.
Eildon Weir Pondage Eildon VIC
The weekend is busy at the caravan park with big groups of loud Melburnians crowding the space. Unfortunately, they stay an extra day despite it not being a public holiday; do children and teenagers ever go to school nowadays? Our last day is quiet with only six caravans left.
Goulburn River Acheron VIC
This is a beautifully situated caravan park, and very well managed, but the majority of the park is taken over with the ‘permanent’ and scrappy huts that seem to fill most of the caravan parks in Victoria. I realise the economics of the business, but caravanners are not being served adequately in my view. The permanents detract from the ambience and turn away other business. I have seen so many negative comments on Wikicamps about this. It is no wonder that caravanners are seeking the off-grid free camps as a better alternative.
Neighbouring permanent caravan/hut at Welshman’s Reef VIC
We drive the backroads west to Welshman’s Reef which is situated on the banks of the Cairn Curran Reservoir. This caravan park is in total contrast to Breakaway. It is dry. The water level is low and dead trees stand exposed in the lake. Water skiers come here regularly, and the caravan park is managed (very poorly) on a not-for-profit basis by a water-skiing organisation. Again, the permanent shacks fill the park. It is midweek and off-season, so no one is here except for two or three other caravanners. We prop in between two of the permanent shacks. Mick fishes but finds too many snags. Mobs of kangaroos sneak down to the water’s edge in the afternoons but are quick to bound away if they see a person.
Cairn Curran Reservoir Welshman’s Reef VIC
We drive around the region visiting Maldon, Castlemaine, Newstead, Sutton Grange, and Emu Creek. Lunch at Castlemaine is disappointing. The town feels dirty and in great need of cleaning and maintenance.
Shop in Maldon VIC
Our next stop is at Maryborough and we book a week. https://micksuesaussieadventure.home.blog/2020/01/18/the-golden-triangle/ This is one of the first towns of our big trip of Australia. We were here in January of 2020 before the virus invaded and made us change our route. It feels like a full circle heading back to this location in Victoria.
Was it wishful thinking by William Baker when he named this area Eldorado back in 1840? Gold was found here ten or so years later. We visit the disappearing town that nestles nicely against a rough ridge line, seeing the mounds of discarded rocks where mining took place. There is nothing to keep us here, and the caravan park is closed indefinitely, so we drive across to Milawa to sample some wine at the Brown Brothers estate. We enjoy lunch and buy some liquid gold to take with us.
Myrtleford is a perfect central location for exploring this area and there is a lot to see and do. The pretty Ovens River flows through the town and valley, with plenty of fishing and picnic spots along the old rail trail, now a popular bike trail.
Mount Buffalo can be seen in the distance, grey rocks beckoning. We drive to Porepunkah, then another thirty kilometres winding up the mountain. It is a popular route for keen cyclists, and you need to be wary on every bend.
At the top we drive on to The Hump and The Cathedral. We have walked this trail in recent years. It is one kilometre up along a nice rocky path to the granite eyrie where you can prop to look at the 360-degree view, Mt Bogong in the alps nearby. The Cathedral is a solitary monolith that is popular with abseilers. Once on the top they stand unsupported with nothing to hold on to.
Mount Buffalo VIC
Mount Buffalo Chalet has passed its Hey Day, what was once a beautiful luxurious accommodation place, now houses ghosts. Peeking through the windows reveals beautiful original furnishings, as if you could just go on in and sign in to stay awhile. It is heritage listed and now a museum relic unfortunately.
Mount Buffalo Chalet
The carpark is full of daytrippers, teens learning how to abseil, lots of leather-clad motorcyclists, a few lycra-clad cyclists, and emergency service crews practicing rescue drills off the edge of a cliff.
At Bright we stop for coffee. It is a popular and busy place at the base of the ski mountains. Autumn is its busiest season as the leaves on the trees turn to red and yellow and people flock from Melbourne to see this. We drive over the mountain to Mt Beauty and walk out to the Gorge. It is an easy and pretty walk with a clear stream running over rocks that are easy to traverse. At the gorge there is a swimming hole, and someone has cleverly stacked river stones into a tower.
Mount Beauty Gorge
Mount Beauty is a sleepy town that snuggles at the feet of the alps, but unlike Bright it was not busy or bustling with tourists. We try to have a counter lunch at a pub, but the pub isn’t serving meals. This region has too many European Wasps and an infestation of blackberry bushes. Where are the environmentalists?
Yackandandah VIC
We drive back via Yackandandah. There is family history for Mick here too but we are tired of the fruitless search, and instead enjoy afternoon tea in a charming shop full of olde worlde charm.
Samplings the beverages of the region
Back in Myrtleford we walk around the town. The Big Tree was a very big tree once. We walk along the trails of Reform Hill where gold mining ran its course back in the 1850’s. Mick tries his luck fishing in the Ovens River, seeing some big fish but not catching any.
It is quiet; too quiet! At night you can hear your heart beating. During the daylight, the birds talk all day. Meanwhile the brown water sweeps silently westward.
The Murray River is Australia’s longest river at 2,520 kilometres, and the third longest navigable river in the world, after the Amazon and the Nile. It is unique in that there are no major cities situated along the route. Although Albury Wodonga is a growing city.
We wake at midnight startled, sitting straining to hear anything unusual; like cats with fur standing on end, our senses are heightened. Nothing, but we are spooked. There is no one else about and it’s too quiet. Eventually we settle back to sleep until daylight.
We are camped alone at Masters Landing on the Murray River. It looks well used and has fire pits, some firewood, and drop toilets. There is a rope tied to a high branch so people must swing out from the high banks into the river. Water skiers must love this spot on the weekends and during the summer holidays.
Mick fishes and catches an 80 centimetre Murray Cod. He calls to me from the bank so that I can take a photo, but I don’t hear him. The cod does a lazy flip, shakes the hook free, and swims away casually. Mick intended to release the fish anyway, but we have no photo proof of the catch. At least he knows. I go for a swim, reliving days of my youth when I swam in the river at Tocumwal. Once I squelch through the thick mud I glide out into the strong current, not game to venture out too far from the edge. As a teenager I would have swam across and back without thinking twice.
There is an old hut here. It is leaning sideways but remarkably intact considering it was built in 1860 by Frederick Masters using red gum and grey box eucalypts. He married Emma Taylor and they had thirteen children. Frederick worked as a deckhand on the paddle steamers, as well as selling fish he caught. It must have been a hard life here back then. Three of the children died, Charlotte drowned in the river when she was just two. Walking through the hut is creepy as old furniture remains. Apparently, descendants of the family lived here until 2010. It really needs to be cleaned up (inside at least) by Parks Victoria.
Masters Hut Murrary River VIC
We have camped at three places along this stretch of the Murray. First at Pental Island caravan park which is tucked away on a private cattle station. The grass is a thick green carpet and luxurious to walk barefoot. The bend in the river is a perfect spot for fishing and we walk under the river gums during the hot days. There are a few other campers here but not many and birdsong fills the air.
Pental Island Murray River VIC
The next stop is near Koondrook beside the Gunbower Creek. We camp off-grid alone right next to the full creek, although we can see other caravans nearby. Mick fishes from dawn to dusk. He catches shrimp and yabbies for bait. He catches and dispatches more carp. They are an introduced species and a pest in this environment. We see a turtle. The wind is strong, and we decide that we won’t light a campfire even though there are no fire restrictions at this time.
Gunbower Creek VIC
Our next stop is at the country town of Cohuna and we stay at the free off-grid 72-hour RV park in the town. There are about four other campers here. We go for a swim at the local pool. There is a caravan park nearby beside the lake, but the reviews on Wikicamps are enough to keep us away. We head off the next day.
Murrary River VIC
Driving through the Gunbower State Forest with our caravan is a bit of a mistake. In search of the perfect riverside spot, we negotiate dirt roads with long deep ruts. In wet weather this would be a bog. We get our first pinstripes on the caravan trying not to get wedged between scraggly trees. Eventually we find Masters Landing near a boat-ramp not far from the small town of Gunbower. After our spooky night we head into town and book into the Gunbower Caravan Park. Here we wash the beige dust from the caravan and car. There is a nice swimming pool, relief for the hot days.
Murray River VIC
But then Victoria goes into a snap lockdown for the third time due to an outbreak of the virus at Melbourne Airport. The caravan park will close. We discuss our options: stay put; return to the farm at Horsham; or cross the border into New South Wales. After discussions with the caravan park owners, they allow us to stay because we are self-contained. Next Wednesday we will reassess the situation, hoping to move on.
The vessel rocks. I hear the soft lapping of the waves and I look up from my writing to see blue water to the horizon. Seagulls and pelicans carouse in the gusty wind. I am not on a boat but sitting inside our caravan that is parked near the water’s edge at Port Albert in South Gippsland of Victoria.
Port Albert VIC
The apocalyptic bushfires of last year tore through large forests and small towns of the Gippsland region and one year on the new growth appears bright green against the blackened trunks. Our first stop is at Mallacoota, which became famous last year as the place where people were rescued from the beach and taken to safety in navy ships, while the sky glowed dark and as red as hell. Fortunately, the town of Mallacoota was not damaged and is thriving now with the second virus lockdown over.
East Gippsland VIC
We camped beachside looking out across the blue inlet where a flotilla of pelicans perched and drifted. Mick fished but had no luck. We enjoyed dinner at the pub with a couple we had met at Eden. All of us confused about the mask-wearing protocol, but we did our best. A koala strolled across the campground then up a tree; the first we have seen on this trip around Australia.
It is cold and windy and so we now wear long-sleeved tops and have the extra blanket on the bed.
Further south we stay at Lake Tyers Beach so that Mick can catch up with a golfing buddy who has moved here recently. The beach nearby is the northern tip of the 90 Mile Beach with beautiful sand stretching on forever and clear cold turquoise waters crashing onto the beach. I see a large echidna snuffling around in the beach scrub.
Mick caught a big flathead at Lake Tyers VIC
We visit Lakes Entrance and walk along the bushy spit to the entrance where fast-flowing waters assist the fishing fleet. I am not a fan of Lakes Entrance and never have been. Something about it disturbs me and makes me anxious. But many other people love it, live here, or come regularly for holidays. We have lunch in a café at nearby Metung, looking out to the lake. Back at Lake Tyers Beach Mick goes fishing and catches a one metre long flathead, and after taking a photo, releases it back into the water. He has a game of golf with his friend and we all have a nice meal at the tavern looking out to the blue Lake Tyers and the beach and sea beyond.
I am happy to move on and we drive further south to Port Albert where we stay at a free RV friendly park next to the water. It is still windy and cold at just 20⁰C in the sunshine. A walk about the town reveals that there is not much here; a general store, a fish and chips shop, a closed and empty pub, and lots of holiday accommodation. The boat ramp and piers are excellent. This little harbour is sheltered by offshore islands from the wild seas of the Tasman Sea and Bass Straits beyond.
East Gippsland VIC
The next day we wind our way through beautiful South Gippsland towards a caravan park we have heard of at Lang Lang foreshore. The weather is bleak and cold typical of this region. We park on a waterfront site between some permanent shacks. The afternoon is calm and still with the low tide revealing mud flats. French Island is beyond sitting in the middle of Western Port Bay.
Western Port Bay Lang Lang VIC
The forecast storm hits like a freight train in the evening. Our caravan is unprotected and rocks and creaks in the gale force winds. At daybreak, the wind has not abated, and now with the high tide, waves are crashing over our caravan! The sea is as high as the rock wall and water gushes across the ground into the main caravan park. The high tide level is beyond the front wheels of our car that is still hitched to the caravan. Waves drench us as we leave the inside of the caravan and get ready to leave. It is ridiculous and something we have not experienced in this trip. What a way to spend the last night.
Lang Lang Foreshore Caravan Park VIC
We drive in windy conditions towards Melbourne heading for Horsham. The motorways have light traffic, and we make it across the Westgate Bridge and through Melbourne in good time.
The Sapphire Coast of New South Wales is well named as the seas sparkle dark blue across the bays and out to the Tasman Sea. With so many rivers, lakes, bays, and inlets, this is a fisherman’s paradise.
Tathra Beach NSW
So, Mick finally gets a tiny bit serious about his fishing forays and tries his luck, taking note of the local tricks. He is happy to catch a lovely plate-sized pair of black flatheads in the Moruya River. At Tathra he has no luck at the Bega River inlet, or from the famous Wharf. He catches a Southern Green Moray Eel from the rocky headland and returns that to the water lifeless after struggling to release his hook. He watches at the wharf as another fisherman fights to land a 1.2 metre Kingfish. At Eden he fishes from the banks of the shallow saltwater lake and then later from the beach. He was elated to catch a good size Australian Salmon. He sees a two-metre-long Mako Shark come into the shallows chasing the salmon. Later we hear that this bay is a nursery for Mako Sharks. The fresh fish van visits the caravan park ringing the bell, so we buy and enjoy fresh oysters and fresh flathead.
Mick is happy with his catches Sapphire Coast NSW
We swim in the cold seas. Kianinny Bay is a beautiful little cove with clear green waters. We see a large black stingray drifting for scraps near the boat ramp. With snorkels and fins adjusted we edge in. It is freezing!! I glide off across the pool, but Mick is out already, stunned by the cold water. Later we swim in the rolling surf at Tathra across the road from the caravan park. It is refreshing in the white frothing surf. We get out and only then notice many blue-bottle jellyfish stranded above the tideline. We need to be on the lookout as we don’t want to get tangled up with those poisonous tendrils. The pool at the caravan park is warmed with a solar system; this will do nicely. At Eden the clear green waves beckon enticingly, masking their underwater power.
Sapphire Coast NSW
At Moruya I become familiar with the gentle flap sound high above as skydivers unfurl their chutes. Blue, crimson, orange, green, yellow; colourful pops that appear suddenly, then the skydivers steer through the air back to the yellow flags on the runway nearby. A couple of tandem rides land on the soft sand at the beach. It is an awesome sight however I am not tempted to do it myself.
Skydivers at Moruya North Head NSW
The campground at Moruya North Head is awful, only surpassed by the dreadful camps of the Rosebud Foreshore. The amenities here are to be avoided. “Permanents” hide in tent hovels, obviously homeless. Despite the campground, there is a lot to do here and explore. So, people are out making their own fun: fishing, surfing, boating, kayaking, skydiving, cycling, walking, swimming, building huts on the beaches using the driftwood from the nearby Moruya River.
Sapphire Coast NSW
Tathra is busy on the weekend with lots of families enjoying some much-needed travel in this year of restrictions due to the virus. There are lots of mountain bike trails nearby and it is obviously the thing to do because everyone has their bike and they set off along the paths. It is noisy with people having fun, laughing, and talking. The small town of Tathra struggles to cope with visitors. I wonder how things go in the busy summer holiday periods. We have a nice lunch at the iconic Tathra Hotel. We walk a lot up and down the paths looking out across the beautiful views beside the ocean. Bushfires went through this town about three years ago and you can see where the damage was done. It appears to be recovering well. The lush green fields of the Bega Valley still feed contented cows. It is an idyllic landscape.
Trip routes in New South Wales – avoiding virus hotspots
Further south at Eden we camp at a lovely park-like caravan park situated between the sea and the lake; green grass, tall shady trees, lots of birds, and you can hear the waves breaking on the sand from our caravan. We walk to town several times. We climb the rocks near the ocean pool, too cold for swimming. We take a dip in the sea. We explore some local towns; Boydtown and Wonboyn. The forests are black from last year’s catastrophic bushfires, but once again the forest is regenerating with new green growth up the trunks and new green undergrowth. The cicadas must love these environmental conditions because they call out loudly from the charred wood. We see a large goanna scurry up a tree.
Finally, with 24 days free of COVID-19 cases in Victoria, New South Wales opens the border on Monday 23 November just after midnight. Eden is the first major town along the Princes Highway into New South Wales, and we see an influx of Victorian vehicles with caravans and camper vans. It is easy to tell the difference between the new travellers and others. The Victorians still wear their long pants and long-sleeved tops, and a stunned look on their faces. Others like us still wear shorts and t-shirts and have brown skin and relaxed smiles. I think some kindness, care, and good listening is in order. Lots of people have had it hard this year.
We get new tyres for the caravan at Eden, have them balanced and checked. While we wait, we visit the Killer Whale Museum where we learn about the infamous whale Old Tom who behaved like a cattle dog, befriending the fisherman and rounding up the larger whales and herding them into the bays for slaughter.
Skeleton of Old Tom and life size model of a Mako Shark at Eden Killer Whale Museum NSW
Finally, we head south into Victoria. It has been over five months since we left our home state. There are still some restrictions in place, and we will need to get used to wearing face masks at certain times.
Grandma Tingle is 400 years old at least, and you can see from her knobby features that this is true. She stands surrounded by her extended family of Tingle trees in the Southern Forests region of Western Australia.
Rain fell lightly as we steadied ourselves on the swaying structure of the treetop walk at the Valley of the Giants near Walpole. It was stunning up in the canopy of these awesome trees. Then we wove our way at ground level along the track with a joyous chorus of wet frogs calling the way.
We stayed at the caravan park on the Denmark River next to the large lake of Wilson Inlet, which unfortunately had a pervading putrid smell that we could not escape. The pretty pictures belie the unfortunate experience of other senses.
Valley of the Giants Treetop Walk WA
It was indeed pretty, with pelicans, ducks, wildflowers, and stunning beaches. We took a day trip to Albany and had a look at the port and not much else.
Denmark WA
Keen for some fresh clean air we went to Windy Harbour. This is another location Mick had pinpointed on the map as perhaps a good fishing location. Situated in the D’Entrecasteaux National Park the drive was beautiful through the Southern Forests full of giant trees like nothing I have seen before. Their trunks are straight, solid and do not decrease much in diameter as the tree reaches skyward.
Windy Harbour WA
Nearer Windy Harbour at the coast the forest stopped to reveal low native coastal scrub full of orange wildflowers, kangaroos, and emu. Windy Harbour is off-grid, low cost, and full of old fishing shacks. The long weekend attracted families and so the place was full. We walked to Point D’Entrecasteaux along the coast track and past Cathedral Rock. Nearby Salmon Beach is a popular spot for surf fishing and others told us of seeing sharks just two metres from the shoreline. We didn’t swim there but did have a dip at the sheltered rocky beach at Windy Harbour.
Windy Harbour D’Entrecasteaux National Park WA
Kangaroos hopped about the camp not fearful of the campers. One family of roos had a distinguishing white mark on their brows. Something I have not seen before. One young roo had a trident type marking. I wish I had captured his portrait. Gorgeous little birds flitted about the camp. Some I identified from my bird book as Superb Blue Wrens; the other yellow birds I could not identify as it was hard to see their markings as they darted about. Windy Harbour got windy and it was time to move on. We drove through some gorgeous forest and rural farmland of the region. The road was narrow in places, windy and hilly, so Mick had to concentrate on driving while I took in the forest of green.
If you like to fish then the Yorke Peninsula is a great place to visit. This seems to be one of the main attractions of this place. Situated between the Gulf St. Vincent and Spencer Gulf the possibilities for sea fishing is vast.
We stayed at Stansbury Caravan Park on the east coast. Our campsite was right next to the beach. Stansbury was once named Oyster Bay and when you walk out into the shallows it is obvious why: Razor Clams appear at low tide in the thousands. You need to wear shoes as they are extremely sharp. There are also oyster farms easily seen further out in the bay.
Stansbury Yorke Peninsula South Australia
The thing to do here is to hunt for crabs: Blue Swimmer Crabs. Mick got the tools and technique tips from one of the old regulars and off he went in the dark coming back with enough for a lovely crab salad for two. The next day we both went out in the shallows and found a few more for the old guy and his wife. The smell of boiling crabs is unique and one I can now identify easily.
Kangaroo Island appears and disappears like a ghost on the distant horizon. We went sightseeing down and across the Peninsula to Edithburgh, Yorketown, Point Turton, and Minlaton. Seeing quite enough of the dry barren windswept fields and small quiet towns we opted out of exploring further south to Marion Bay and Innes National Park.
Back at camp Mick tried some fishing at the pier, while I watched pelicans, dolphins, swans, and windsurfers glide by.
The flag flew in the breeze at the Australia Day breakfast held on the banks of the Glenelg River at Bridge Park in Nelson. Free breakfast attracted a crowd of locals and visitors. A local woman was awarded with the Citizen of the Year certificate for her contributions to the town. Among other things, she keeps the town gardens tidy. With typical Aussie humility she stated, “I just love weeding.” The rain held off long enough for the celebration and then it chased us all away for a timely close. Mick won a prize in the raffle – a packet of sausages. We’ve put them in the freezer for our Nullarbor crossing.
Pippy or Cockle
We weren’t as lucky finding pippies for bait though. At the wild ocean beach, we copied the technique of a large Asian family, shuffling our feet in the wet sand, trying to disturb the pippies as the waves rushed out. I found one tiny pippy. Back at home on the Mornington Peninsula they are easy to find. Mick bought bait from the shop for his fishing expeditions, catching a couple of shining Bream in the green river. (In South Australia pippies are called cockles.)
Kywong Caravan Park is set in a quiet bushland area not on the Glenelg River but easy walking distance. Kangaroos and birds live here. It is a great location for family groups and on this long weekend tribes of kids circle the camp on bikes or play a never-ending game of all-in cricket.
Walking along the bush tracks is peaceful and we inevitably disturb kangaroo and wallaby families. I keep an eye out for koalas but haven’t seen one yet. Our eldest grand-daughter turned three this week and I have been drawing a picture at each place and posting it in the mail. This week I drew one of these pelicans.
Pelicans near the boat ramp Glenelg River Nelson
Soon we will cross into South Australia and I need to confirm the rules about what food is prohibited to take across the border. Is it all fruit and vegetables, or just fruit? I’ll check at the Information Centre.
Mick & Sue's Aussie Adventure 