Port Macquarie

As we were heading towards port Macquarie it was evident we were starting to get into the tropical part of Australia, the humidity increased as did the palm trees. We came into town and booked into the park in the middle of town, I have said this a few times before but this place was beautiful, possible one of the nicest places we have been to.

  

The reason for stopping in the town was to get my car fixed, it was time to get a new clutch as it had been going for a while and I didn't want to end up on the side of the road having to get a tow. It was a blessing in disguise because it made us walk everywhere, the town itself was a lot larger then first thought and you also don't realise how hilly a place is until your pushing a pram or bike but it was good for the fitness.

It was going to take two days for a new clutch but when it got to 3:30 on Wednesday I was starting to get worried that they may have knocked it off, I gave him a call and asked about it and was told it should be an hour away so I got a lift there and went across the road to BCF and a few other places that I could kill some time at, then at 5 I went back over to the mechanic only to find the car still up in the air, apparently the apprentice undid a wire to the starter motor and forgot to replace it. Anyway got the car back and was ready to go for the morning. 

We are planning to stay a night near Byron bay then head on a ferry to north stradbroke island.

Change of plans

We were a couple of hours out of Canberra when we decided to ring and make sure they had plenty of sites after the third caravan park saying they were full we needed to change plans.  We didn't want to drive too much further as it has been the longest drive of the trip but where were we going to go.

After a few arguments we decided to stay a night somewhere and then head to Newcastle for a few nights, but where was somewhere...... I started looking on Wikicamps and found a few places just off the Hume highway after checking photos and comments on Wikicamps we decided on Gunning.  We pulled up got a great spot along the river, it was beautiful. We sighed with relief that we got a spot, grabbed a drink and took Makenzie to the park.

    

So we headed off the next day toward Newcastle, on the Hume highway I spotted a sign that said Gundagai, and as we were on the road to Gundagai we decided to drive thru and have a peek a boo. It's a nice little town with a lot of history, we drove past the dog in the tucker box and took a photo. 

after a few phone calls realised we needed to change plans once again.  We finally got onto a caravan park about 20 minutes out of Newcastle where we stayed 2 nights. We didn't do much ther as the weather was wet and wild but you could handle it as it was still high 20s and calm. Our next stop is to be port Macquarie where paddy the patrol is to get a new clutch.

The Mighty Murray

The term lazy comes to mind when thinking why I haven't updated this blog for a bit over a week. I guess also the fact we haven't done a lot other then swimming,drinking, eating and relaxing around the  beauty of one of Australia's great natural areas in the Murray river.

      

   We left rapid bay early Monday morning after the weather turned overnight from stifling hot(or on Laura's temp gauge just warm) to blowing a gale and almost wintery condition. Our original plan was to head back up the coast for a night and then onto renmark but with the howling wind we decided it was better to head inland and out of the wind which turned out to be a great choice because when we got there we were greeted by beautiful mid 30 temps and a pool and waterpark that kept us all entertained for hours, it was really more like a resort then a caravan park.

 

As you can imagine we spent a fair whack of time at those two places. One day we did head for a drive around the area which was full of orange treesand grape vines, we went to the town of berri which is home of the fruit juice business of the same name. We saw our second big thing of the trip, the big orange which was closed but got a photo. I found a bit late in the peace that about half an hour out of Renmark was love day 4wd park, set on 8000 acres of bush land it has 4wd for all abilities and campsites set amongst the river it would have been great to stay there a night or two but maybe next time.

  

After Renmark we headed for Robinvale, it was really just a one night stopover before we headed to Swan Hill. We hit Swan Hill on the weekend and also hit some pretty warm temps as we'll with the mercury topping 40 for the weekend Laura finally took her jumper off. We also had Laura's mum and dad stay with us for the weekend and they brought our very first camper trailer with them which gave us a bit of nostalgia as we spent a fair bit of time in that trailer. After a weekend full of eating out and drinking, dot and Barry headed home, a couple of hours after they left we got a phone call from dot saying the trailer had snapped a u bolt and that it was lucky the trailer and car didn't flip. The got home fine minus the trailer but a bit shook up I'm sure, as were we.

Next stop was echuca a couple of hours down the road, we had planned on staying there on the weekend but didn't realise the Southern 80 was on, we could have stayed at the park for $280 per night but ultimately we weren't that interested. Mum and dad were playing a tennis tournament in shepparton so we made the hour drive down there to catch up with them and have some tea, we had a great time catching  for the first time in a month. On Wednesday my car was booked in for a service so we took the chance to ride a paddle steamer and went to a winery for lunch. Next stop is canberra

Rapid bay

When being told about this place I think I may have forgot to tell Laura that there was no showers here. I did tell her there wasn't any power or water but just forgot the little part about the showers. I think things were forgiven when we got there though as this little place was magic, set in a nice peaceful valley amongst Norfolk pines and a nice pebbly beach with crystal clear water we were in paradise.

We planned on staying two nights and had a bit to get stuck into so as we got there and set up early we headed for a drive, we were going to goto cape jervis after haveing read a bit about it I had hoped to see a bit, I was slightly disappointed when all that was there was a general store, a ferry and a lighthouse

So after a peaceful night in near total darkness, with only the stars keeping light we set off again in the morning to deep creek conservation park to do a little 4wding, doing a bit of research led me to a track that took us down to a beach, the track was a little steep for Laura, I'm slowly turning her but it will take time. Makenzie however might be a little 4wdver as she loves daddy's "crazy" driving.

  

After trekking down a fair walking track we stumbled on a beach that was so peaceful and inviting, we swam for an hour or so then decided to head home as the sun was getting a bit strong, but when we got home even there it was getting to hot so we went for another drive till it cooled down. So later when the sun went down the wind started which was great at first to cool things, but as the night wore on the wind grew stronger until the morning came and we were in a rush to pack up before we broke something. With the wind picking up our plans deviate a little as we have now heading north to renmark to follow the warm weather again.

Adelaide

We left victor harbour bound for Adelaide in hope to get our brand spanking new van fixed. Laura's mum was to stay with us for two days which would give us a bit of a break from the kids and a chance to get our new house into order. 

The park we stayed at was great for the kids, the only problem was the lack of shade as the temps the whole week were mid to high thirties so needless to say we all spent a lot of time at the pool or water park. Once again as we have at other parks we met many friendly people that were always keen for a chat and to pass on advice on where to go. Some of it was really handy and we took some advice on board for our next stopover. 

We really didn't do much else in our 5 days there other then go shopping to get out of the heat for a bit. We were very lucky and owe a lot to jayco Adelaide who fitted us in Friday even though they were really busy and now we have a fully operational van again. As I said we got some advice about where to stay next and we were off to rapid bay next, about an hour and a half south east of Adelaide. 

Mt Gambier and Victor Harbour

Well it's been a few days since my last post so I've got to try and piece together what we have done since. We packed up reasonably early on Wednesday morning and said see ya later to a few people that were camped next to us without knowing that see ya later was going to be two days later( I'll get back to that. We were pretty excited as midday we would be picking up our new jayco swan outback that was sitting at the heard for us.

When we got back into Mt Gambier we unpacked all our stuff at the park as quick as we could and I headed of to jayco whilst Laura and the kids stayed and played at the park. After a few hours of tutorial , me with the jayco and the dealer with our camper, I headed home with a brand spankin new jayco. Having never brought anything of value new before we were both excited and frightened to touch anything, we set it up and admired our purchase before quickly realising we had done the right thing. This van will make life so much easier to travel with two small children and I'm sure this will go to every place our old camper would have.

On Friday we had to travel back into Victoria to register the van, Portland was the closest so we made a day of it and took some lunch, I was very surprised by how beautiful Portland was and equally as surprised as to how big it is. After going to Vic roads we past what looked like a. Good quality butcher so went in to get a few days worth of meat. The friendly butcher also gave us some touris advise to go via bridgewater he said that it was one of the best beaches in Australia, he didn't disappoint it was amazing.

 

So then on our way back we stopped past a gas supplies place to ask about a fitting for the webber q to connect to the jayco and who do we see, the couple that camped next to us, they were picking up a Webber q themselves, the chances of that happening are slim so had a quick chat and then set back up at camp for the night.

The next morning we packed back up again and we were off to Victor Harbour, not really realising that it was a 5 hour drive, the longest of our trip so far, the kids were great for the drive. We got into Victor harbour and once again were blown away by the scenery, the town to me is a cross between lakes entrance, Inverloch and Mornington Peninusla just the beaches are a bit more wow. 

Now is where things become a bit more painful and at times they would have been a little more then pg rated with the thoughts crossing my mind, we had got to the van park and unhooked the new machinery when all of a sudden snap, as I was winding up the pop top the wire broke, I walked around and not that I'm blaming her but Laura forgot to unclip one of the hold down latches. Well I think we did pretty well to not come out of it in divorce an dime sure in a week or so we will laugh a this but at the time I was fuming and Laura was ready to end it all. After a nights stay at an apartment at a cost I won't disclose but at 5pm on a long weekend in a tourist town you can imagine what it cost to stay.

Google has now overtaken a dog as mans best friend because after an hour or two I was able to figure out that it's useable in a limited capacity until we get it fixed, so this morning we set it up at the park again to some prying eyes and with the weather turning on a gem off to the beach it was. Australia Day was great, we were out and about and forgot about yesterday's mishap. After going to Port Elliot for a swim we went into Victor harbour and over to what's called Granite island for some sightseeing and an ice cream. On the way back we spotted some dolphins, then sat in the park for an hour until we head back for a feed. The day was finished off with a few frothies, some snags and shazlicks while listening to the hottest one hundred.

Tomorrow we head into Adelaide for a few days of scorching temps and the who knows from there.

Beachport

You know the saying don't judge a book by its cover, well beachport is a perfect example. When planning this trip I only put beachport in because i was told that they had a beach 4wd track to and from Robe so I thought why not, I knew nothing else about the place I will definitely be putting this on a must do again list.

    

When we entered the town the first thing you noticed was the beautiful colour of the water behind the old style shops and buildings. We set up camp and wandered into town for a walk, sometimes you get a feel for a place just walking down the street, and this place  had a holiday feel about it. Walking past the 750m long jetty Laura asked if we wanted to walk down it, I think we made it 50 meters down before the wind tried blowing us off it so Makenzie decided it was a good time for ice cream. I was almost going to say no until we walked past the shop and I realised that it was a licenced venue so Laura and Makenzie had ice creams while Luke had a couple of beers, win win if you ask me.

I was told by a couple of seasoned travellers next to us that the beach drive from beachport to robe drive was a bit chopped up as it has been busy the last month or so and to drive down to cacunda national park. I asked him how to get there from where we are staying and he told me to just drive on the beach and follow the coast then you will hit the park. I was so excited and I think Laura was the exact opposite.

   

I got to the spot  where old mate told me and got out and aired down the tires and put the car into high range 4wd. I still couldn't believe you could just jump on a beach and drive 20 Kms to the next town, you just can't do that in Victoria. We started driving along the beach and I think with each kilometer passed Laura became more comfortable. Getting to a little town called Southend we had to head off the beach and into the national park, the terrain became ruffer and Laura became a bit more tense, the kids loved the bumpiness though and Makenzie was even asking me to drive crazier.

We almost got to the next beach and all I had to do was get up a dune that was on a slight lean, well I took it a little easy and got Paddy bogged, Laura's pupils started to dialate and I thought she was going to flip. I reassured her that once I dug the wheels out we would be fine, which I did and we were, we then proceeded to drive along the beach until we had to turn off and come back home. All in all today was a great day driving with some great scenery and I think now Laura is more comfortable going off road.