Moonta Bay

We left Renmark last Saturday 17th March, yes St Patricks Day. I have a couple of photos I forgot to put in the last Blog.
One is of a sign in a park near the opening bridge in Renmark. Enough said about that.

This one was taken when a speed boat raced past on the river towing 3 people on what looked like a three seater blow up lounge. They were having a great time and were being spun around at a great speed.

Next stop after Renmark was Port Germein. We stopped at Burra for lunch and got to Port Germein around 2pm. The usual breeze was blowing and it was a nice day. Ray was going crabbing the next day but apparently it was no good for crabbing as there were only 2 tides on Saturday, one high and one low. This is a phenomenon which happens commonly in the upper Spencer Gulf. All of the daylight hours the tide was out over 1.5km so there was only shallow water off the end of the jetty.

Anyway he went crabbing on Sunday and came back with 6 good crabs which he cooked up and we we enjoyed for lunch on Monday.

The temperature rose quite high on Monday afternoon. It was 41 degrees under the awning at 6pm.We had a magnificent sunset on Monday night as there was a bit of cloud around. The vibrant colour in the western sky was the brightest I have seen.

 Later that night a storm came and by Tuesday morning the temperature had dropped to 17 degrees.
On Wednesday we left for Moonta Bay which is about 140km south of Port Germein. It is on the part of the Yorke Peninsula called the Copper Coast. The area is well known for its Cornish heritage and was home to a large number of mining families back in the late 1800's when copper was discovered. A lot of the miners came over from Burra as the ore was running out there. We visited the Miners Museum today and learnt a lot about those tough cornish miners and their families.

They have left a lot of history in Moonta. Every bakery makes its own version of the traditional cornish pastie, which those old miners used to eat when they were working down the mines.

They even had one which was meat and vegetables at one end and apple or jam at the other separated by a strip of pastry. The pasty had a thick twist of pastry on the top so the miners could hold it without the dirt getting on their food. Then they threw that handle of pastry away when they were finished.
Today, Friday we went for a drive about 10km north on the coast to a town called Wallaroo. Wallaroo was the site of a huge smelting works where copper from Wallaroo and Moonta mines was smelted. Large numbers of Welsh people were employed at the smelting works at Wallaroo.The smelter closed down in 1923. When the jetty was constructed in 1861, Wallaroo was the busiest port in South Australia. Now the ships which pull into Wallaroo are transporting wheat and barley.
There were quite a lot of fishing trawlers anchored in Spencer Gulf at Wallaroo. A large prawn fleet operates in the Gulf and the prawns are very tasty.

The weather is a bit cooler here in Moonta Bay but that is a blessing after the 41 degrees.
We are moving on further down the Yorke peninsula on Sunday, possibly to a place called Point Turton.
Will Blog again soon.

2012 Travels Part 1 South Australia

Friday 9th March 2012

Well, we are on the road again. We have decided to head back to Port Germein in South Australia and catch some more crabs. Then we will tour  around the York Peninsula and have booked into Goolwa for Easter. Goolwa is south of Adelaide where the Murray River runs into the sea. We will then head down around the Coorong and over to Victoria and then home sometime in May.

Our first stop was Bathurst where we spent a couple of nights with Richard and Sarah. Richard and Sarah used to run the pub at Hill End where Ray and Mark used to go every Melbourne Cup. Richard and Sarah now live on the outskirts of Bathurst and have a great caravan spot at the back of their place where we stayed for two nights. We had a great time and thank therm very much for their hospitality.

From Bathurst we intended going towards West Wyalong and then to a free camp about 35km west of West Wyalong, but we only made it as far as Grenfell. The road between Grenfell and Marsden was closed as the road had been washed away by floodwater. All other roads out of Grenfell heading west and north west were closed. We booked into the caravan park for 2 nights and had a look around this really old town. It was the birthplace of Henry Lawson some say Australia's best poet and it was also where Ben Hall, the bushranger hid out in some caves.

On Monday an old fellow in the park told us that we could get out by going south to Young. On Tuesday we left Grenfell and headed to Young and then on to Temora. At Temora we stopped at the Tourist Information and the lady told us we couldn't get direct to Griffith due to flooding, so we headed west to Ardlethan and then to Barellan, where the road was closed due to flooding. We were detoured south towards Narranderra and then had to turn west as the roads into Narranderra were closed.......yes you are right, due to flooding. So we went to Leeton and found out from the Tourist Information that the road to Griffith had been reopened that morning. Leeton had just been declared a disaster area as the irrigation channels which normally overflow into the Murrumbidgee River were overflowing onto surrounding land and had flooded it. We had some lunch and then went to Griffith. On the way to Griffith  we passed the flooded irrigation channels. There was so much water in them that they looked like rivers.

Flooded irrigation channel at Leeton

Water alongside the road

From Griffith we went north to Goolgowi and then turned west onto the Mid Western Highway to Hay. Travelling across the Hay plains there was a lot of water along the side of the highway, which is normally very dry.

Another view of water from the car

Water in channels along the Hay plains. This is very unusual

Watery Hay plains

Hay and surrounds was being sand bagged and the levee banks were being built up to 9.5 meters. The river was expected to peak at 9.1.metres by this weekend and all were hoping the levees held.

From Hay we travelled through Balranald and on to Renmark with no more issues. We are at the Riverfront Caravan park and our site is right on the banks of the Murray River.

Looking acoss the Murray from our van

Renmark Hotel down the Murray from our caravan site

It is now Thursday and we got a big storm last night with rain, thunder and lightening. But when we woke up this morning it was a beautiful day with a lovely breeze blowing. We are staying here until Saturday when we will head to Port Germein.

Mildura

We left Port Germein on Sunday and stopped at Morgan overnight. Morgan is a lovely little town on the Murray not far from the Victorian border. It is very popular with skiers and a ferry goes back and forwards from one side of the river to the other.
We got to Mildura on Monday and booked into the Buronga Riverside Caravan Park which is on the NSW side of the Murray River. We have a site right on the river opposite Mildura Wharf.

The paddlesteamers and house boats go back an forth all day so there is a lot going on, on the river. We have booked in for 5 nights so we can get our Xmas shopping done as I couldn't face it when we get home.
There are water birds everywhere, black swans, wood ducks, waterhens, eurasian coots, brown ducks, egrets. It is a really beautiful spot.

On Thursday we went on a river cruise on an authentic paddle steamer which was built in 1912. We turned around right in front of our caravan park and had a great view of our van from the river.

Our van from the river

 We then cruised downstream and through Lock 11. On the upside the water is 3 metres higher as they use a series of weirs to control the water in the river. Without the weirs the Murray would run dry each year. We entered Lock 11 and the water was removed to drop us 3 metres and then we went downstream for about 20 minutes and then came back to the Lock and the process was reversed bringing us back up 3 metres again.

Approaching Lock 11

Locked into the Lock

Down side gates about to open

Guess who with Lock 11 in background

The cruise was great in the old paddle steamer.

It was very hot when we got back and we stayed outside until bed time. The caravan park has a very over the top Xmas display which they have entered in the Bunnings competition in Mildura, so we went around to have a look and take some photos.

High 5 with Santa

The  next day, Friday was extremely hot, 40 degrees and no wind. We watched the paddle steamer party boats going out for the night and then we watched them come back about 10.30pm with all of the party people yelling and laughing. It was nice and quiet after this.

Party Boats

Today, Saturday we are in Hay. When we were here in November last year the Murrumbidgee River was at 6.4 metres, near flood level. This year it was a bit lower. Some people were waterskiing..

 Tomorrow we will go to Gundagai and will probably get home on Monday.

If I don't see you, please have a very Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year. Our travels are nearly over for 2011 and I hope you have enjoyed our Blog. I will continue it next trip in 2012. Our 2012 trips will be a bit shorter.

See you all soon.

Port Germein

When we left Streaky Bay we headed to Kimba. On the way to Kimba we stopped for morning tea at a place called Minnipa, a wheat town and also the home of Australia's Concrete Crapper. Now I don't know if the concrete crapper was invented there or what, but it was worth a photo.

We spent the night at Kimba and the less said about that the better. Australia has got a fixation about big concrete symbols. The Big Prawn, The Big Banana, The Big Cow, The Big Sheep. Well Kimba has one of these landmarks also, a Big Galah. I didn't take a photo as it was very faded and a bit sad looking but that is probably the best thing to see in Kimba.
We then headed through Port Augusta and into Port Germein.
You are probably wondering where in the hell is Port Germein. It is about 60km south of Port Augusta, on the Spencer Gulf in South Australia. If you look on a map it is nearly opposite Whyalla. It is a small fishing village, with the longest wooden jetty in Australia. The jetty is over a mile long. In town there are only about 150 people, one general store and a pub. It is a lovely little place, very quiet. The weather is sunny but a bit windy as we are right on the water. I had read about Port Germein in a magazine and while we were in Streaky Bay we were told the crabs were running so we came.
Well today is the 4th day that Ray has been out crabbing. On the other 3 days he brought back 12 each time. He could have got more, but after the first day we realised that was enough for the two of us. So Ray cooked and we ate the first 12. Ray cooked and de fleshed the second 12 and froze them. Ray cooked and defleshed yesterdays catch and we made crab cakes out of them. They are lovely and sweet.

The jetty is so long that you can hire little wheeled carts to carry your fishing gear out to the end of the jetty. So Ray has one of those. Actually everyone has a little trolley of some sort. I saw a local yesterday and he had a motorised scooter with a shopping trolley attached to the back. Some people even take 2 huge eskies, one for the beer and one for the crabs I suppose.
We haven't really done much else. We drove into Port Pirie, which is only about 27km south. That is where Woolies is to do your main shopping.
While Ray has been crabbing (I did go the first day but got pretty burnt) I have been making Xmas cards so I will be able to send them out soon.
We have ended up staying here for a little longer as the crabbing was so good. Ray has caught 75 crabs altogether. It is a big job though, 3 hours out on the jetty, then you have to come back and cook the catch and then it takes 2 hours to get the meat out of 20 crabs. So it is an all day job. But we now have plenty of frozen crab meat in the freezer.
We have met some people from Adelaide, Peter and Rose and Ray goes out crabbing with them and we have happy hour, but they are not Terry and Sue.
There is an unusual way of getting boats into the water here at Port Germein. There is a 1200metre difference between high and low tide, so the boat owners use a contraption called a jinker to put their boats in the water. It is designed to tow a boat trailer and has a motor attached to a platform 2 metres above the ground so the boat can be driven into the water and unloaded. The jinker and trailer is left in the water until the boat returns. They then load the boat back onto the trailer and come back in. This is the link to the webpage to read about the jinkers.
http://www.seamedia.com.au/pdf/previews/RFBDIY59_prev.pdf

Here is a photo which Ray took from the jetty of one of the jinkers waiting for the boat to come back.

You can just see the outline of the trailer under the water.

This is the Port Germein Jetty
Well that is all of the blogging from South Australia. we are heading to Mildura on Sunday so will blog from there.

Streaky Bay

Streaky Bay is a favourite place for Ray and I. We first found it when my sister Fiona was living in Whyalla and we came over for a visit and continued our holiday around the Eyre Peninsula. It is a small town with a great community. When the hotel was going broke, the community got together and bought the hotel. Now it is a great place for a drink and also has a fantastic restaurant.
After crossing the Nullabor we decided to come here for a few days. Terry and Sue came with us. We arrived here last Wednesday and it was pretty windy. We went to the hotel for tea on Thursday night, the courtesy bus came and picked us up and took us home. On Friday we decided to drive out to Point Labatt to the sea lion colony. We stopped at a beautiful lookout on the way overlooking Surfers Beach. We took some photos of the sea lions and then drove out to a place called The Granites and Cape Blanche.

Surfers Beach

Cape Blanche

The Granites

We then came back to camp and had our last happy hour with Terry and Sue as they were heading for home on Saturday. We have had a great time with them especially over the past few weeks. We will definitely catch up with them again in 2012. Thanks guys for your company. We will miss you.

Today is Sunday and it is a lovely day. There is a minimal breeze blowing so we took a run out to Cape Bauer. As the sun was shining the water looked fantastic. There were plenty of boats out fishing and people on wind surfers and jet skis.

Area off Cape Bauer

Bay at Cape Bauer

Cliffs of Cape Bauer

Maura at Cape Bauer

Ray at Cape Bauer

Underwater Blowhole

The Blowhole

We are leaving here tomorrow to head east towards Kimba and then Port Germaine on the eastern side of Spencer Gulf.