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Published: April 2nd 2023
Tuesday 21st March 2023 Hooray, we’re off! Both of us were happy to leave The Airport Caravan Park. This was one of the worst parks we have stayed at in the 15 years we have been caravanning. Reception was surly, grounds very run down, facilities old and not clean, but as they were the only campground that had any vacancies. They charged like wounded bulls and no paperwork was done! Our advice to others would be to stay away, as we will on our return journey. We put these comments on the net to warn others.
Poochera was our first stop today. Like so many of the small wheatbelt towns there was little there besides the silos and the corner shop. This town did have a small museum, which was closed, plus an outdoor display of the Dinosaur Ant. This extremely rare ant is the worlds most primitive ant, and until 1977 the only two others found were in 1931. This one, ,was found by an entomologist when he went into the scrub at night for a pee!
We continued on to Minnipa where we ‘braved’ 4kms of gravel road to Tcharkulda Rock (Pronounced Charcoaldah). The remains of
a caravan wedged into a tree greeted us at the entrance to the camping area, reinforcing how a little error of judgment, or the careless applying of a parking brake, can have disastrous consequences.
We soon realized that we had been there before but this didn’t stop us climbing to the summit to admire the vast views over the wheat farms.
On our return to Poochera we decided to take the risk and attempt the 15kms of dirt road to the other interesting site there, Pildappa Rock. This monolith has spectacular eroded wave formations and is one of Eyre Peninsula’s most significant attractions.
An uneventful, slow trip was made and we set up camp with another couple of vans not far from the rock.
Together we walked over most of the rock, looked at the gnamma holes, admired the view and took photos. We both agreed it was quite ordinary compared to Uluru, some saying it was a scaled down version.
Back at the camp we met up with the other group who set up near us, one couple from Geelong , the other also from Victoria. Interesting people and we spent a long happy
hour talking about all sorts of things!
Wednesday 22nd March 2023 Neither of us slept very well last night and this was reflected in the short conversations had and the long periods of silence. Rags did manage to book the Jeep in at a dealership in Adelaide, here’s hoping that any work done is covered by warranty.
The first half of the day was just driving, little scenery to enthuse us, just low bush, trees, and more bitumen. We finally reached Kimba, the town that says it is the halfway point between Perth and Sydney. We drove into the town itself and found it surprisingly large and pleasant. The nearby lookout had some interesting sculptures of Eyre and his aboriginal companion.
Port Augusta provided us with fuel for the Jeep and some food for us, and we were off. Our destination was Melrose but we found the road to it closed off. We later found that a semi-trailer had caught on fire and the wreckage blocked the road.
Port Germein Caravan Park was our new destination and after setting up we took a walk out along the jetty. They claim it is the longest wooden
jetty in the Southern Hemisphere, we argue that our Busselton jetty is. Some research needs to be done!
Thursday 23rd March 2023 This morning we found out that Melrose camp area was closed for the next few days for spraying, so we were glad we hadn't risked going there via the steep, winding road from the camp. Instead, we drove the short distance to Port Pirie and unhitched the van at the football oval where we coulf stay for 24 hours.
This gave us an ample opportunity to reacquaint ourselves to this town and more importantly, to go shopping at Aldi! Here we refilled our supply of coffee and managed to buy another wheel chock for the van plus a few other items we missed in Port Augusta.
As we had spent hours there years ago so Judy could do her work using their wifi, we had the usual toasted banana bread and free coffee at McDonalds. Tasted just as good as it did then even if it doesn't really fit into a good diet! The rest of the morning was spent wandering around the beachfront near us and reading about the early Italian fishermen who
immigrated here and settled. At the launching ramp/marina there is a fish shop set up by an Italian family, selling all the local produce. We were given tastes of pickled octopus, scallops and mussels, and the lady there was so generous we could have had even more. We settled on sweet chilli mussels and left with a container full to eat whilst sitting on the lawn outside.
Both of us felt like a rest after this walk and we had a good snooze in the van before catching up with mail and writing this blog.
Friday 24th March 2023 Being on the edge of a city thoroughfare wasn’t the best place to be if you wanted a peaceful night and we both had a restless night and woke up early
Before we left the oval we did fill our water tanks and gave the van a squirt to remove a lot of the dust. Our destination was Greenock in the Barossa, not far from Judy’s cousin Kathy.
About 20kms past Chrystal Brook the car began making even louder noises so we stopped and tried to find the fault. No joy there so we turned around
and headed back to Crystal Brook so that we would at least be in a town if it got worse. No such luck, suddenly noises came from everywhere, Rags pulled over and the motor stopped. Nothing he did could get a response from the starter motor, so on the phone for nearly an hour with our Jeep ‘assist’ insurers. Luckily Rags had upgraded this policy, even so every minute detail was asked for before a help dispatch was sent out. This was said to be up to 4.5 hrs away, luckily it arrived after about 2hrs.
With the car on the back of the truck and the van behind we set off to Adelaide where the nearest Jeep workshop was. On the way Judy rang 4 or 5 caravan parks for a site but there were no vacancies. She finally found one in Port Wakefield about 100kms north of Adelaide. Here we unhitched the van and set up camp, the Jeep continuing the trip to Adelaide. Today being Friday means they won’t even look at the problem before Monday.
Judy was very disappointed that the meeting of the 6 cousins was now in jeopardy but after a call
Church that was converted to a restaurant in Port Pirie.
Beautiful old building and lots of neat signs like “turn water into wine”to Kathy all was solved with Gale and Mark organized to pick us up tomorrow on their way, and us staying the night with Kathy and Harald before being brought back the following day. A big sigh of relief!
Judy and Rags are now resigned to staying in Port Wakefield for the next week. From the quick walk around they did this evening, they feel it may not be all too bad.
Saturday 25th March 2023 Wonderful what a good night's sleep does. We packed an overnight bag each, locked the bikes in the van and at 11am Mark and Gale arrived right on time. Great of them to travel the extra 100kms or so to collect us.
Kathy and Harald greeted us warmly on our arrival, we settled into our room and from then until late in the afternoon we talked, laughed ate and drank. Just after lunch we were joined by Ruth and Ian, as Ruth is about to go to Tasmania tomorrow. The four cousins (the ladies) reflected on the past with more than 50 years since they were all together. The guys mainly listened and threw in a bit now and again.
The group shrunk as each group of couples left at various intervals until by early evening it was only Kathy and Harald and us. As no-one was hungry we shared a cheeseboard whilst watching the news and a movie. It was an early night, all of us tired after the busy afternoon.
Sunday 26th March 2023 Harald and Kathy drove us back to the van in the morning, although not able to spend a time with us in Port Wakefield as they had commitments for the rest of the day.
We spent some time reorganising ourselves in the van and having some lunch. An easy afternoon followed with Rags going for a ride around town, Judy continuing her family research. The weather was quite gloomy with overcast skies and the threat of rain. We discussed what to do next, which is dependent on when the car can be repaired. We'll find out tomorrow.
Monday 27th March 2023 We contacted Adelaide City Jeep mid-morning to find that the car hadn’t been delivered to them on Friday, instead to the new car section on Saturday morning. So much for the urgency intimated by the truck driver.
On the tow truck
We had a few problems getting it out of park so it could be shifted but Judy solved the problem by googling and finding a video to show Rags and the tow truck driver where the over-ride was hidden. He just wanted to get away! No mechanic had looked at the car at this stage and was unlikely to before tomorrow.
The rest of the day was spent checking out Port Wakefield, it’s history being a port for the wheat farmers nearby as well as a fishing port. Now, the town consists of four roadhouses, an hotel, post office and a chemist, besides a couple of mechanics and an Indian restaurant. There wasn’t even a grocery store to refresh our supplies but this didn’t bother us too much as we have plenty in the van.
Tuesday 28th March 2023 Today was our 24
th Wedding Anniversary, and not exactly celebrated in an expected way! Another caravanning couple we had met yesterday took us to the nearest town, Balaclava, about 35kms away, to buy some groceries and on our return to Port Wakefield, to a house where fish was sold. We bought a few packets of fish and a 1kg bag of frozen prawn meat.
We celebrated the day with a delicious meal of garlic prawns in a salsa with rice, accompanied by a bottle of cab-sav. The prawns were really fresh and juicy! No-one can say
we don’t have an interesting life.
Wednesday 29th March 2023 The Jeep service manager finally contacted us to say the Jeep had dropped a big-end bearing and that the motor was destroyed. As the car is still under warranty until early May he felt it would be covered. However, we have to wait for Jeep Australia to authorize the repair, then to wait for a motor to come from Melbourne, before it can be installed. Three to four weeks is the expected time-line!
Thursday 30th March 2023 As it is very difficult to get anywhere from Port Wakefield without a vehicle the plan was to have the van taken to Gawler, about 80kms away, so that we would be able to get to Adelaide by train and be closer to Kathy and Harald.
The insurance company we have with Jeep Assist was unhelpful, they insistied they fulfilled their contract by moving the van to Wakefield and the car to Adelaide. They would not now move us to Gawler. This omission will be followed up when we return to Perth. Quotes for the tow ranged from $660 to $480 to finally $250 cash. Guess which quote
we took?
The rest of the day was one of waiting, and trying to be patient. This was only interrupted by several calls and messages from Adelaide Jeep wanting more information on past services and work done on the Jeep. Luckily we had this information with us as well as getting the support of our service company Jeep Kraft.
Hopefully Jeep Aust won’t be able to wriggle out of the warranty.
Friday 31st March 2023 We had a very nervous morning waiting for our tow into Gawler. Would he turn up or would we have got a better paying offer? He did turn up, in a Ford Ranger, but without the correct electrical connections. We thought for a moment that the tow wouldn’t eventuate but in the end the owner took us without lights or electric brakes. He drove rather briskly to Judy’s dismay, but we arrived, without any problem, at the Gawler Caravan Park.
Here we are now set up very comfortably for at least a couple of weeks. A walk to the town and some information gathering at the tourist bureau followed. We left equipped with a range of maps and info, as
well as some public transport passes which are valid for 2 weeks.
Saturday 1st April 2023 We spent the day in Adelaide today, travelling on our Senior’s Passes by train, revisiting the Adelaide Markets for a delayed breakfast, then to Glenelg, by tram, where we found an Aldi, before returning to the markets for a dumpling lunch. This re-created the Saturday activity of quite a few previous visits to Adelaide.
By the time we returned to Gawler we really felt we deserved putting our feet up to rest.
Sunday 2nd April 2023 After a reasonable bike ride along almost deserted bike paths we returned to the town centre of Gawler where we had the
compulsory after ride coffee.
The rest of the day was spent at
home, Judy working as she has taken on some Curtin work to keep herself busy, Rags fiddling around with
stuff and writing this blog.
Click on
Photos below to see more.
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vera
non-member comment
time to give caravanning
well is take to give up camping and try and look at 5 stars in the sky call hotel to get some good rest take care safe travelling