Day 99 (25 October) – Coober Pedy Big 4 Caravan & Tourist Park to Port Augusta Big 4 Caravan Park
We had decided that there wasn’t much South of Cobber Pedy – certainly not to stay for the night and so had tentatively decided on Woomera as a destination for the night. Down the highway and our first stop was at the Lake Hart lookout. Lake Hart appears to be a dried salt lake just North of Pimba which is the turn off on the highway to Woomera. An interesting view of the lake with the Darwin to Adelaide railway passing between the highway and the dried-up lake.
We continued on to Pimba then on to Woomera. Woomera is renowned for the rockets and nuclear tests that were carried out last century. It is now a ghost town, albeit very well built. We saw blocks of apartment buildings with no native life (a couple of caravans passing through and a couple of vehicles in the driveways only). We decided not to stay in Woomera, headed back to Pimba for fuel then continued on down to Port Augusta.
The Flinders ranges were a stunning backdrop as we travelled along the highway with a couple of stops to admire the scenery. We booked, and then checked in, to the Big 4 at Port Augusta where we were told on the phone that the site was very narrow and we couldn’t put out our awning. On arrival, we were allocated a very large site with enough room for 3 vehicles/caravans. Taking around 15 minutes to set up, we then jumped in the Jimny and looked around Port Augusta. It is a very old town that has expanded significantly (like just about every other town we have re-visited on this trip). We went to the golf club and checked out arrangements for the following morning then back for dinner at the local pub near our caravan park.
Day 100 (26 October) – Port Augusta Big 4 Caravan Park to Christies Beach Caravan Park
A slow start as Lyn had a sore throat and bad neck the night before, so I updated the blog and did some administration before heading off to the golf club for a round of golf.
We went in to the clubrooms and registered for the daily competition. As we started, we noticed that it was stroke – not one of our favourite events. I started really badly and I think it pulled Lyn’s golf down. I finished 7 over my handicap which was better than I expected after the bad start. As we were starting the second nine, one of the locals came over, asked where we were from and if we were in the comp then went in and came out with 2 golf balls – they give a ball each to visitors who enter the competition. I managed to get nearest the pin on the 11th hole and had a birdie on that hole but we were not able to stay for the presentations around 15:30. If you look carefully, you’ll see an emu on the course as Lyn was playing her shots.
I’d noticed a cheap Ampol fuel station near the golf club so we went there, the pumps weren’t running properly and it took around 10 minutes to get 30 litres of fuel. Still, it was 20c/litre cheaper than town. In to town where we stopped for lunch at the Western Hotel where we’d had dinner the night before.
Next, we headed South towards Adelaide with the mandatory stop at Lake Bumbunga where, on a previous trip, James had helped Wren have a bush wee on the dried lake bed. This time there was water in the lake, so after the mandatory photo of the monster, we headed South again. Lyn made some calls about staying near Gawler but found all the caravan parks full. We finally found that Christies Beach Caravan Park (around 25 km South of Adelaide) had room, so we booked in there.
We arrived at Christies Beach, set up, then walked to the Christies Beach Hotel for a meal before heading back to the caravan park for an early night – I was still getting over the COVID and was aching after the golf.
Day 101 (27 October) – Christies Beach Caravan Park
A bit of a lie in then a look around as we decided to try to stay another night here.
Off to the South along Christies Beach, Port Noarlunga, (out for a walk along the pier where a bride and groom were going to do an underwater bridal shot), Seaford, then we decided to head over to Victor Harbour for the afternoon.
At Victor Harbour we changed into warmer clothes then took the horse drawn tram across the bridge to Granite Island. We both had a coffee and a bite of lunch, back across the bridge on the horse drawn tram, a brief stop at the museum for some postcards for Wren and Luna, then back to Christies Beach.
I wrote up the postcards and reconciled our Visa bill, Lyn headed to the beach (but decided against swimming as the wind had increased significantly). I posted the postcards then back to the Christies Beach Hotel for dinner before an early night again after planning our shopping and travel trip the next day.
Day 102 (28 October) – Christies Beach Caravan Park to Tanunda Discovery Holiday Park
Not an early start as I had worked out what we wanted to do the night before. First stop was at Seaford for fuel – I think the cheapest we’ve seen $162.9 per litre. Next to BCF in Marion where I bought a new water filter (having left the last one at Alice Springs).
Next, I called Toro (the owners of the Pope flexible caravan hose I’d bought at Bunnings) and was assured that we’d be able to change it at Bunnings if I had the receipt. Then on to Great Southern RV in St Mary’s to get the remaining two BMPro TPMS gauges for the Jimny.
As we headed North, Lyn contacted Maggie Beers and we were able to get a 13:45 lunch booking so Lyn also called the Tanunda Holiday Park where we booked in for the night. Hopefully we’ll be able to play golf at the golf club in the morning.
Settled in at the caravan park, Lyn went for a swim in the warm pool while I updated the blog and prepared to head off to Maggie Beers.
Magie Beers was fantastic! We had a look around then started lunch at 13:45 – very late for us. We decided to have the feast with 7 courses – each one really great. I also decided to have the 4 local wines in 90 ml glasses to compliment the meal. After having a pinot gris before the meal, I was getting pretty ‘tired’ by the end of the meal. Fortunately, Lyn isn’t drinking alcohol at the moment so she was able to drive back to the camp site. We were served by Troy and Maggie’s daughter Ellie. We had some interesting talks with Ellie who mentioned that her parents ‘exploited child labour’ with a grin. We asked her about a good golf course and she mentioned Tanunda Pines and that her son had played at Sandy Creek a few days before and said it was good.
Back to the camping ground where I slept for an hour or so then we struck up a conversation with Malcolm and Terry from Wanneroo. They were in a Jayco Ultimate but didn’t know how to work all the sophisticated electronics. Their van had the Winegard WiFi extender which I had ordered but not received by the time we left and they weren’t using WiFi or the TV.
No dinner as lunch was pretty late and enormous. We got the doona down as the temperature was getting lower and lower and Lyn was beginning to feel the cold. (I may have felt it a bit also).
Day 103 (29 October) – Tanunda Discovery Holiday Park to Robe Lakeside Tourist Park
We packed up and headed to the Sandy Creek Golf Club where we managed to fit in 18 holes of golf. A really nice club but the guys in front were very slow.
We decided to go into Gawler for lunch and found a pub in town that looked closed but had some small signs of life. We went in to the Exchange Hotel and were surprised at the number of people in there, Lyn had the Salmon and I had 2 entrees – corn chips and 3 dips and Cajun prawns – the meals were excellent!
We decided to drive on to Robe – a four-and-a-half-hour drive which would get us there around 19:00. So, down to Murray Bridge, Tailem Bend and then South towards Robe. Lyn had called a couple of caravan parks and we finally made a booking at the Robe Lakeside Tourist Park.
We found a cheap service station at Meringie and continued towards Robe. For some reason the AEBS system in the motorhome continued to flag a fault with the Jimny lights – rotating between stop lights, right turn light and left turn light. It meant we couldn’t use the cruise control with the faults coming on. We stopped a number of times to reseat the 7-pin plugs as I also tried several other solutions which didn’t work. Finally, around 100 km before Robe I found that turning the headlights off for the motorhome, eliminated the error repeating and I was able to use cruise control into Robe.
We pulled into the caravan park, set up and then put our warm clothes on – this was the coldest we’d been for some time – 11 degrees! A light snack meal then off to bed with the doona being used!
Day 104 (30 October) – Robe Lakeside Tourist Park
A late start, I got the bikes off the Jimny roof and prepared for a ride into town.
We set off on the bikes and went down the main road to the marina looking for a place that sells seafood. Nothing doing, so back down the main road for breakfast at Union Cafe – a very popular venue. We then headed back and out to the Obelisk and around some of the walk/bike paths across the top of the cliffs and the main cape area.
Back to the campground then a brief lunch while I paid all the bills and researched how to get our Pope hose replaced (it seems a really good hose but it split at Christies Beach). I called Bunnings and they were able to send me a copy of the receipt – so we could call in at either Mt. Gambier or Hamilton on the way home as both stores had the hose in stock. I also called Joe Hazelwood and got an update on what’s been happening with the Cessna 310 – just a couple of small items but nothing major completed yet. I said we’d be back that weekend and would have a look at the plane around a week later.
We went for a 4WD drive down long beach and then through the Little Dip Conservation Park, I had to do that for James, Charlotte, Wren and Luna. Lyn took a video of me driving down the beach and returning to pick her up before exiting the beach area. As we headed to Little Dip, we stopped and bought some seafood, to be consumed at a later date. Then, a relaxing time at the motorhome where I re-loaded the bikes onto the Jimny in preparation for the trip tomorrow.
Lyn booked us into Sails restaurant for a meal that night – it’s meant to be the best in town!! And it was pretty good!
Back to the camping ground and preparations for a departure in the morning.
Day 105 (31 October) – Robe Lakeside Tourist Park to Home
We had most of the pre-departure preparations completed the previous night so only a few final items: disconnect water & power; turn on the inverter for the Starlink; remove the window shades; get rid of the rubbish and empty the cassette; set up the Jimny steering lock; lift the self-levelling; and close all the windows. It only took around 10 minutes to complete.
The first stop was the Foodland supermarket in Robe where Lyn got the basic supplies for our meal with James, Charlotte, Wren and Luna later that afternoon. Then off we headed towards home.
As Lyn was due to have a Telehealth call at 11:00, we drove close to Hamilton. Just before 11:00 we stopped at Wannon Falls to make sure the reception was OK. No luck with the call so we headed on towards Hamilton as I’d seen that the BP station just short of town had the best diesel price. We filled up there, then headed into town for lunch and a break. On the way, Lyn got a message that her client couldn’t make the call. We had lunch at a small cafe in town – first time I’d had a toasted sandwich for weeks.
We had a couple of chores on the way home as we were due at Charlotte and James just before 17:00. First to Bunnings in Ballarat to change over the flexible hose that had burst at Christies Beach. It took a while as the items were still in the cardboard boxes and it took some time to locate them.
Next, I wanted to weigh the vehicle combination so, we headed to the Rockbank BP station that had a GoWeigh weighbridge. We weighed the complete set up and found we had been marginally over on the motorhome but under with the Jimny. We refuelled at the service station then headed towards Charlotte and James’. The traffic at that time of night was very busy and a couple of times I had to turn left instead of right (because of the Jimny on the back and so I could get out of the traffic). We finally made Charlotte and James at 16:45, when Charlotte went to pick up the girls from day care.
What a delight to see them all again – James arrived home around 17:30 and we had all the Halloween activities taking place. I even went with James and Wren up and down their street. Time for dinner with them all then back to Bellavista Rd.
A fair bit of fun re-arranging all the vehicles but finally we managed to get the Jimny in first then I managed to back the motorhome in (around 20mm spare on each side) in the fading light.
Home at last and time to unpack after a fantastic few weeks.
And time to wrap up this blog!!
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