Circuit complete

We took the Buchan to Orbost road, a sealed and rather narrow road, but with very little traffic its lack of width wasn’t a problem. Initially we travelled through farmland and had views of the Buchan River that was running brim full after the rain of the previous day. We got a good look at a fox when it crossed the road in front of us. This was our second live fox sighting but we’ve seen many dead ones near the roadsides. Foxes are a big problem in Australia as they prey on animals and birds and in many places there are notices advising that poison baits have been laid for fox eradication. Our view of green paddocks soon changed to views of gum trees and as we neared Orbost we were travelling beside the Snowy River. We followed the Snowy River to its mouth at Marlo, where we had our picnic lunch. We found some steps to take us down to the river and on the way down saw two lyrebirds before they ran off into the scrub. We made another quick stop at Cape Conran, just a few kilometres along the coast before heading back to the main highway and on to Cann River our overnight stopping place. The council runs the only caravan park in this town and unfortunately they pay little attention to cleaning the facilities. We did complain when we paid our camp fees at the local pub and were advised that the council weren’t coming around for another two days. The camp fees for a non-powered site were cheap but it wasn’t a good end to our Victorian camping experience. We found a walking track by the camp and went for a wander and came across our second snake (while out walking) for the trip. It crossed the track in front of us, was black, about 700mm long and was in a big hurry to get across the track and hide in the undergrowth. We have seen a few other snakes on the roadside as we’ve travelled around, some dead and others making a quick retreat as they sense our impending approach.

From Cann River we went to Cooma and on the way we crossed into NSW. There were no signs to mark the occasion, just a line on the map screen of the “Satnav” as we passed over the border. The countryside was quite green in this area as it had seen some decent rain over the past couple of weeks. We had a one night stop in Cooma on our way to Paddys River, a free camp spot recommended to us by friends. We drove through farmland before reaching the Snowy Mountains and Kosciuszko National Park with its bush covered mountains.

We had our morning coffee at Old Adaminaby, a place we had visited a few years ago and we were interested to see if the lake had more water in it. Unfortunately it didn’t look much different (now about 28% full compared 18% when we were there in 2007). Lake Eucumbene was formed in 1958 by damming the Eucumbene River to form a reservoir for the Snowy Mountains Electricity and Irrigation scheme. From there the road carried on climbing up to 1500 metres before we began a long winding descent past the Tumut 2 power station and on to Paddys River where we had a choice of two free camp spots. (photo - wild horses seen along the way) We called in at the first and the friendly folk camping there assured us that this was the better spot and pointed out a nice grassy area by the small river where we could park our van. We took their word and parked by the remains of a tree that had fallen around Christmas time causing some damage to a van parked in our spot. That tree was certainly no threat to us now. A tree falling over isn’t something we had considered when finding a place to park although we were always wary of being under a gum tree that might shed a branch. From the camp we went for a short walk along the river to some small falls before returning for happy hour (a pleasant chat with BYO drinks). The next day we went to Paddys River Falls, the other spot where we could have camped. It is also a nice spot. Nobody was camping there but the falls are much bigger and it is possible to stand behind the curtain of water. (see photo) We carried on into Tumbarumba, the nearest town, and sent and received emails, as there was no phone or internet coverage back at camp. After two nights by the river it was time to move on again. We had swapped a book when we were at Tarra Bulga and a sheet on Weddin Mountains National Park had fallen out of it. We thought it looked interesting so this was our next destination. At many of the camps we have stayed at we have been able to swap books, usually for free or for a donation to the Royal Flying Doctor or other cause, so throughout our travels we have been able to refresh our library. The books on offer vary and we have come across some excellent reading material.

At the Weddin Mountains we were back to a more arid landscape. Agricultural land surrounds the National Park and the mountains are tree studded craggy outcrops of rocks. This ruggedness saved it from being turned into farmland. During the gold era of 1850’s the mountains were a refuge for a band of outlaws who used the caves for shelter and the rocky gullies made their pursuit by the authorities difficult. It was a short walk from the camp to a cave used by the outlaw Ben Hall. Included in the National Park is Seaton’s farm, a small block of land purchased in 1936 by Jim Seaton. It was only 150 acres so was never going to be economic but Jim and his wife farmed there for 28 years, making use of everything they could find. Jim also worked on the neighbouring farms to supplement his farm income. Times were hard during the depression and Jim and his wife turned every bit of old wire into something useful. Jim hand made 3km of kangaroo proof fence by hand, with posts of local Cyprus saplings, which are rot and vermin proof. The sheds have walls made from flattened corrugated iron so that it stretched further. The house was far from what I was expecting as it is a simple 4 room corrugated iron shack. One room had timber flooring the others just bare dirt; the internal walls were lined with mud. (photos - inside and outside of the house)
The many sheds on the farm were also made of recycled iron and a lot of old machinery is sitting in and around the sheds. It is a reminder of how tough life can be and an insight to the courage of two determined people who made it work and amazing to think that they lived there until 1964.




We had an overnight stop at Carcoar Dam, a free camp beside a dam built in 1970 for town water and irrigation. If there had been more water in the dam it would have been a picturesque place to stop. On the hill behind the reservoir were several wind turbines. Before leaving the area we paid a visit to the town of Carcoar, a town of 300 people nestled in a valley beside a small river. Like so many of the country towns we have passed through it had buildings dating back to the beginning of the town in the mid 1800’s; a post office, bank, court house, several churches and pub (or 2). Carcoar also had an old railway station (photo) (no longer used), school convent and several buildings that housed businesses or were residences. It was quite a collection of historical buildings for such as small town.

Our last camp on our trip was at Dunns Swamp in Wollemi National Park. Our friends Tom and Mary stayed here early last year when they were starting out on their trip and recommended it to us (thanks Mary & Tom it is a great spot). Dunns Swamp is not swampy, as the name suggests, but is a backwater formed by trapped waters of Kandos Weir, that was established in the 1920s when the Cudgegong River was dammed to provide water for the Kandos Cement Works (about 25km away). Like all of the National Park camping areas we have been to our campsite was placed a good distance away from the next one and was set amongst the natural vegetation (gum trees). Not far away was a fireplace where we could light a campfire and to stop people clearing the deadfall firewood was provided. We were told the river had platypus and turtles but we didn’t manage to spot either of them. We went on a few walks that took us along the waterway and through the bush as well as up to the sandstone rock formations known as pagodas. From on top of these we had great views of the picturesque surroundings. (see photo) At the area known as Long Cave we saw a Lyrebird as well as many other different species of birds. We have been very lucky to see several Lyrebirds as they are very shy and quickly move into the trees and disappear as soon as they spot you coming. Around our campsite there wasn’t much wildlife but that is probably because the place is very popular and the wildlife has moved to somewhere less busy. We were there mid week so there were only a handful of other campers. We did spot a couple of brush tail possums one night while we were tending our campfire. Another evening we went on a walk as dark fell hoping to see some nighttime creatures but found nothing until we got back to our caravan and spotted a couple of possums.
(photos - the last camp and a possum)








From Dunns Swamp it was just a few hours and we were back in Sydney and back where we started. While the holiday is over we are satisfied that we completed what we set out to do – circumnavigate the big island. It has been a fantastic 45 weeks, not once did we ask “why are we doing this”. We have seen some fantastic scenery, learnt lots about Australia, met some wonderful people and generally just had a great time. We have thousands of photos to sort through to remind us of our trip.

We now look forward to going home and catching up with family and friends. Our house in Auckland is in need of redecoration so this will give us something to do before we start planning another adventure.

Some statistics –
37,827 kilometres travelled, 26,435 of these towing the van.
315 days on the road
145 different camp sites
143 day stretch without seeing any rain
29 days with precipitation

The Adventure Continues

With smiles on our faces we headed out of the city, now longing for some wide-open spaces and it was also nice not to have to worry about traffic anymore. With Mary and Tom’s claim that Wilsons Promontory was one of their favourite places we were off to experience it for ourselves. We expected the National Park camp at the “Prom to be almost empty now that school holidays were over so were very surprised to find most of the camp sites nearest the beach taken. After driving around and going for a walk (it took a while as there are 480 sites in the camp!) we found a nice site with some shade and no immediate neighbours. By the time the day was over, from our campsite we had seen fairy wrens, kookaburra, lapwings, ducks sea gulls, galahs, crimson rosellas and yellow tailed black cockatoos. At night we went wombat hunting and saw two the first night and three the following night as well as two brush tailed possums (the same kind as we have in NZ). We also saw rabbits but these are not on our list of wildlife that we want to encounter.

The camp is set alongside Tidal River, a small tannin stained creek and Norman Bay, a large sheltered bay with huge granite scrub covered hills protruding out into the sea. It is a delightful spot and popular with families as both the river and sea are safe for swimming. It is also popular for school groups and over the three days we were there we saw students heading off to go surfing, hiking, canoeing, biking and abseiling.

We went on several walks that took us through bush and over hills to several lovely beaches. The summer fires last year burnt some of the forest and in the areas we went little of this appears to have recovered. Hopefully there are seeds in the ground that will germinate and over the next few years the blackened trucks will be hidden by new growth coming through.

Unfortunately we came across “march flies” at the beaches and a couple of times there were so many of them we didn’t linger there for long. March flies are large flies that bite! They have quite a nip and those who are susceptible to bites may end up with the same reaction as from a mosquito or sandfly bite. Thank goodness we don’t have these back home – I prefer our sandflies! Fortunately there were very few of these pests at the camp and at the nearest beach. One day we took a short walk to Cotter beach and all along the track there were millions of small grasshoppers (locusts?). As we walked along they pinged up and sometimes they hit against our legs. I am sure they would be good food for the birds but we only saw three magpies making a meal of them.

As we left the “Prom” it had become very humid and at 28C it was what you might call sticky weather. Our next destination was Tarra-Bulga National Park, a place recommended to us by friends. There aren't any camp spots in the park, but there are a few places to stay just outside. We stayed at the Tarra Valley Tourist Park "Fernholme". It is quite a small park under tall eucalypts right beside the Tarra river. It is a really nice spot but our site got a bit muddy after torrential rain (with thunder and lightning) on our first night. In the National Park we found a cool moist forest with lovely tree ferns in the under story and towering mountain ash trees (a eucalypt), myrtle beech (a relative of the NZ south island beech trees) and sassafras with it’s lovely scented leaves and we heard lots of bird song in the trees. We took a few short walks through the forest and spotted a lyrebird scratching in the undergrowth. It was a male so had a lyre shaped tail. It was really nice to walk in a forest that was cool, green and soft as opposed to the usual gum forests that tend to be greyish and dry with prickly shrubs in the undergrowth. This forest reminded us of the Fiordland bush.

For the past couple of days we have been at the Buchan Caves Reserve, a lovely spot with park like surrounds. The reserve was created back in the 1930s when reserves were made to a different plan. Lots of English Oak, Ash, Sycamore, Walnut etc trees have been planted and there are grassy lawns set amongst a sprinkling of native trees. At the moment it is really quiet. We had about 4 other groups here last night, but tonight there is only one other couple in a camper van. We see and hear a variety of birds in the trees and have the odd kangaroo wandering around. Today we went for a walk and saw a lyrebird, a female so it didn’t have such nice tail feathers. We heard another one doing amazing mimics of other birds including a very passable kookaburra. We went on two cave tours where we saw many lovely formations; stalagmites, stalactites, shawls, flowstones, rim pools to name a few of the wonderful creations made by droplets of water seeping through the limestone.

We are now making our way back to Sydney, by an indirect route as we plan to be there in a couple of weeks time. This will give us time to sell the caravan and get much of the accumulated dirt off the truck before it goes for shipping to NZ, in mid March. Like when we sent it over the authorities in both Aus and NZ will no doubt clean it, but we figure that if we can get rid of all the dirt we can find the authorities cleaning charge will be less.

the Victorian experience

We spent our last day in Edithburgh in our caravan hiding from the heat. Thank goodness for air conditioning! There was a strong breeze blowing and with the temperature getting around 40C stepping outside was like standing in front of a big fan heater. We have experienced 40C before but that was without wind so under the shade of a tree we were able to get some impression of being cooler. We purposely delayed our departure so we could avoid travelling into the northerly wind and because the “fire danger” was raised that day. By 5pm it was down to a comfortable 29C and the rain that was predicted for 11pm arrived right on time and this continued all night.

For a change from wheat fields and coastal scenery we went to Gawler on the edge of the Barossa valley. We had rain showers for all of the 220km to Gawler, so it was fortunate we hadn’t intended to do much sightseeing along the way. The wheat fields followed us all the way there but a green scene awaited us when we started travelling amongst the vineyards. Gawler is another town with many 100+ year-old quarried stone houses. The stonemasons who built them must have been good craftsmen as their work has stood the test of time.

It was a nice drive from Gawler to Goolwa at the mouth of the Murray River. We passed by many vineyards, through the rolling hills to the east of Adelaide and stopped at the town of Hahndorf. Here the main street has retained its old buildings and they provide a variety of places to eat and many places to buy local produce. It is a busy and pretty little town. At Goolwa the Murray river still has enough water to float the boats due to the barrages and locks that holdback some of the water. At the mouth of the Murray a dredge works full time to keep the mouth open.

We drove to Milang on Lake Alexandrina and saw the effect of the drought and upstream use of the Murray water. In 1998 a boat ramp was built with jetties each side and these are now 100 metres from the water. It was sad to see the little shacks here with their dinghies forlornly sitting out front, high and dry [photo].

While in the Coorong area we went to a lookout to an island where pelicans breed. Although the nesting season is over, with binoculars, we spotted hundreds of pelicans on a small island. We were also treated to displays of groups of pelicans flying in a V formation. Chinese people settled in this area in the 1850s and provided supplies and accommodation to travellers making their way to the Victorian gold fields. We saw a well-preserved circular stone well and saw the areas in the lakebed where the rock had been cut out to build the sides of the well. The tops of the wells were capped with a circular piece of rock that was cut from the lakebed in one piece - quite a feat of engineering. We had hoped to go fishing while we were camped here but it was too windy. We did walk to the beach and there were a couple of fishermen sheltering in the lea of their 4WD, while keeping a watch on their four rods that were cast out into the sea. I think they had been there for quite a while without much success. We celebrated Al’s birthday while camped here and were able to produce roast chicken and birthday cake for a dinner to mark the occasion.

Next we headed inland making for the Grampians, an area we had been to before but with its spectacular rocky escarpments and gum forest it was worth another visit. On the way there we stopped at an informal camping ground for a couple of nights. Here there were lots of sulphur crested cockatoos in the trees, some crimson rosellas as well as magpies and galahs. While we were on a bush walk we came across an Echidna using its nose to dig up the track while looking for food. We were able to get quite close to it and with its impressive spines I guess it doesn't have many enemies so wasn’t worried by our presence.



After crossing the border from South Australia to Victoria we soon noticed that there were no more quarried stone buildings, red brick now a common construction material. We camped for two nights at a camp within the Grampians National Park and spent a day looking at the scenery from the various lookouts in the area. We took a drive along a 4WD gravel road and had more great views from rocky escarpments. We did intend to spend another night camped there but as we were washing up our dinner dishes we heard a report on the radio of a fire in the Grampians that was out of control. It was burning in an area about 10 kilometres away and with a wind change due wasn't heading in our direction. We wanted a restful sleep and were heading off the next day anyway so we decided to pack up that night and move on. We spent that night in a roadside rest area near Horsham and had an undisturbed sleep. The fire made it’s way out of the National Park and when it got to grassland it could be contained. As we were driving out of the park we saw huge plumes of smoke lit up fiery red by the flames.

We carried on in an easterly direction and ended up in the Kooyoora National Park. The National Park was recommended to us when we filled up for petrol and we remembered it to be a nice area from when we orienteered near there in 2002. We walked one of the tracks by our camping area and explored an area with huge granite boulders with some of the groups of boulders being butted and stacked together to form caves.

After a brief stop in Ballarat we headed south to Lake Colac, west of Geelong, where there is a small town. We camped at a free camp spot on the shores of Lake Colac.
A shortage of water is obvious as we travel through Victoria. The roadside rest area we camped at near Horsham was by what was once a lake. There was a sailing club building, boat ramp, sandy shore and signs about swimming but the lake bed was well grassed so has been dry for some time. In Ballarat the lake that was a feature of the city is now almost dry. Certainly no boating now but there is still a little water for the birds. Lake Colac had 100 metres or so of dry lake bed around its edge and the rowing club rooms are now the rooms for the local band.

We took a day trip and drove through the Otway Ranges, which are between Colac and the Great Ocean road. We found some lovely spots in the forest and even places with gullies filled with tree ferns. As we got closer to the coast there was green grass and we saw animals in the paddocks. We had planned to spend a couple of nights on the Bellarine Peninsula, just across Port Phillip Bay from Melbourne but weren’t prepared to pay $46 per night to park our caravan (or $30 for an unpowered site!!) so stopped in Geelong instead. It was then a short drive to Melbourne where we stayed with Tom and Mary.

We had several days in Melbourne when we explored different parts of the city. We saw the bustle and vibe of the CBD, the quiet grandeur of the State Library, the cool trees of the many parks. Out Williamstown way we watched people swimming at the beach and ate fish & chips under the shade of a tree in the park. We rode the city trains, buses and trams. We were left with the impression of a city with lots of trees, lovely architecture, many parks and a vibrant downtown area.

Our next day’s travel didn’t take us far as we only moved to the eastern side of the city where we had arranged to meet up with old friends. They were travelling for work and were going in the opposite direction so for a while it seemed that we would miss each other, but as our plans are flexible we changed course so we could meet up. We spent an enjoyable couple of days camped beside each other and catching up on the missing years. We took a day trip though the Dandenong ranges and out to Marysville, which was the scene of tragic devastation by fire a year ago. Today Marysville looks like a brand new subdivision as only about two buildings survived the fire. There are many new houses being built and it’s the presence of established roads that give a hint that something was here before. In many cases we saw a front fence and a mailbox with little more than an old concrete foundation on the section behind, a sobering reminder of the tragedy of a year ago. The bush around Marysville shows signs of recovery, as there are lots of tree ferns in the under-story and many gum trees are covered in green fuzz where new branches sprout out from the trunks. Amongst all this are blackened trunks, dead trees and trees with dead branches so many more years are needed before the forest returns to it’s former glory.

last of 2009 and beginning of 2010

We had a very enjoyable Christmas Day at Coffin Bay, a little seaside town at the southern tip of the Eyre Peninsula, SA. The town is known for Pacific oysters, which are farmed in the bay. We sampled some of these on Christmas day along with many other treats. (photo - the main course) We were with Steve and our friends Tom and Mary who have rejoined us, after having left us at the end of August when we were in Darwin. Steve travelled with us for a few days and Mary and Tom will be with us for about the next month. It's great to have them along again as travelling companions.

While at Coffin Bay we went to the nearby National Park where there was a little bit of sealed road from which we went to a couple of lookouts. The sea here is very clear and with the blue sky of a sunny day the water is a deep blue colour. We also tackled one 4WD track, which took us into some large sand dunes before we got to the beach. (photo - the track we took is on the RHS) There were a lot of people fishing from the beach but as it was a bit breezy and as we didn't have surf casting rods we just looked at the view and carried on.

Before we put Steve on the plane at Whyalla (on the western side of the peninsula) we spent a couple of nights at Cowell. While here we visited a wind farm with 35 turbines but as it was a calm day they were only just ticking over, but still quite impressive with the huge blades approx 35 metres long.

We spent 3 nights at Wilpena Pound and thoroughly enjoyed the Flinders ranges area. One day we went on a long (63km) 4WD trip, which took nearly 7 hours. We were on Willow Springs station, which has a pastoral lease and runs sheep. To avoid over stocking the lease limits the farmer to 4000 head but due to 8 years of drought they are only carrying 1200 sheep on the 70,000 acres. Many of the stations in the area are turning to tourism for their income and this station had accommodation available. We also paid a fee to use the track. We saw some fantastic country and got great views from the highest point about 960m above sea level. (photo - Flinders ranges with Wilpena Pound in the background) We tend to think of Australia of having nothing but gum trees but in the Flinders there are many stands of Cypress pines.

We had a quiet New Years Eve, with drinks and lots of nibbles for tea followed by pancakes with raspberry jam and ice cream for dessert. The next morning Tom and Mary went on a 30min flight around the pound and environs and when they returned we all had eggs Benedict for breakfast, cooked and eaten outside under our awning. This gave us some spare egg whites so Mary made a pavlova, in the gas oven in her van. As you can see, although we are camping we are eating well.


We had a couple of hot days, getting into mid thirties, but there was a swimming pool nearby so we were able to cool off there. We spent another afternoon on a drive through a couple of gorges, (non 4WD) and saw some yellow footed rock wallabies. (see photo) They are endangered but we had been told where to find a small colony. On the way back to our camp we saw a thunderstorm over the pound and saw several good lightning spikes.

While on the Eyre Peninsula, in the Flinders area and also here on the Yorke Peninsula we have seen many quarried stone houses that probably date back to the late 1880's to early 1900’s. Some of these houses are now just a pile of rubble, some have just a few walls and chimneys still standing and some are being lived in.

We have seen some ruins that once were pastoral stations that were set up on Government leases in the 1850's and onwards to run mostly sheep. The government charged a fee based on what it thought the land could carry, rather than the actual stock and this lead to heavy overstocking. There were bad droughts from 1864 to 1867 and this in combination with over stocking meant that many people just walked off the land when their stock died through lack of water and feed. (photo - Kanyaka station ruins)

On the way from the Flinders to the Yorke Peninsula we stayed at the country town of Melrose, which was surveyed in 1853 so is one of the first towns in the area. Here there are many old buildings including a couple of pubs 1860 & 1865, flour mill built in 1878 then used as a brewery from 1893 to 1933 and now disused. (see photo)

There is a lot of grain grown on Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas so many of the towns have big grain silos and also grain stored outside in covered heaps until the grain is exported out through various ports in the area. On the west side of the Yorke Peninsula there are many small towns with sandy bays. We were camped at Wallaroo beside a nice beach, where we went for a paddle while we watched the sunset.

From Marion Bay at the southern end of the Peninsula we went on a day’s excursion into the Innes National Park. Here we found natural vegetation of mainly low scrub over sand dunes and a few salt lakes. The coastline has high rocky cliffs with numerous sandy bays. From one vantage point above the sea we saw a dark circular shape in the sea that was a school of salmon making it’s way along the beach. We went fishing at a couple of beaches and ended up with five fish – a silver trevally, a king George whiting, a flathead and two mullet. The takeable size for all these is quite small so the five fish ended up being a large entrée for four of us. Also in the National Park are the remains of Inneston, a gypsum mining town of around 150 people, in the early 1900’s until 1930. There is a walking trail with signboards pointing out various things of historical interest. The gypsum was dug out from a nearby salt lake, crushed and the finished plaster put into 160lb bags. The bags were loaded onto railway trucks that were hauled by teams of Clydesdale horses for 6km to a jetty at Stenhouse Bay. Some of the town’s buildings have been restored and are available for accommodation.
(photo restored cottage and ruins)

On the eastern side of the Peninsula we stayed at Edithburgh, a small town by the sea. The town has places for swimming and jetties for fishing. The swimming has been great but the fishing hopeless with a total of two fish caught over two nights and four rods! We found a lovely swimming beach near Troubridge Point and only minutes after we came out of the water four dolphins swam into the bay, but unfortunately they only did a quick pass by so we didn’t get a chance to swim with them. While snorkelling near the town’s tidal swimming pool we came across shark egg cases. Only some sharks lay eggs and the ones we saw were spiral shaped, probably from the Port Jackson shark, which is harmless.

We have come across many wind farms while on our travels. (photo - the old and the new)



Photo - swimming beach near Edithburg.