24 June 2011 - 30 June 2011

24 June 2011

It was 2 degrees overnight - brrr - you would think we would be getting used to the cold by now and I'm sure we have acclimatised a little but it sure is hard to get out of a nice warm bed of a morning when it's that cold! 

We went and had a look at the toy museum, the boys were much more interested that us girls were but it was interesting and the guy there had the biggest model collection of Land Rovers in Australia so they had a bit in common! 

We also went and checked out the big garage sale and it turns out it was a big deceased estate auction with HEAPS of antiques and there was a huge crowd there - apparently antique collectors from all over the place were attending. 

We then headed off to Mirrabura - Ross and I had been there before which means we have finally made it all the way around Australia!  It took us a few years but we made it eventually! 

We had a breif stop in Mirrabura and then we headed off to the forest as there was a tree arboretum that we went and looked at last time that we found fascinating and we wanted to visit again as well as show The Oldies.  We would also love to come back to this area one day when Boris has moved onto a better place and check out Mount Remarkable as there are heaps of walking tracks and it looks like a very interesting place. 

We went and had a look at the arboretum, had some lunch, went and had a look at the King Tree and then headed for Terwowie (a nearly ghost town) with the thought of going to Peterborough tomorrow where we have also been before and loved and wanted to go back again. 

25 June 2011

0.1°  overnight! The Oldies headed off early as Lester wanted to have a look at the train museum and we weren't interested so we stayed behind and finished packing up camp and met them in Peterborough.  We then headed to Meldonfield which is absolutely fascinating and so is the guy who runs it - you could stay there a whole day. Unfortunately he is getting on in years and wants to start winding things down and having more time to himself so if anyone has been thinking of going there - best go sooner rather than later! 

After lunch we headed back towards Terwowie but took a slight detour to go and have a look at Lancelot - on old ghost town that doesn't have much left except ruins but we found it fascinating. 

On our way back to Terowie we stopped to have a look at the sculptures in the yard of one of the locals there - he obviously has quite an imagination but it was fun to go visit. 

The Oldies have had enough of the tent so we have decided to buy them a little camper trailer for the rest of the trip.  We found one that we are going to go and have a look at in the Adelaide Hills tomorrow for $700 so we started heading that way looking for a campsite.  For that price we are not expecting anything flash but we won't need it for long and as long as it will hold together for the rest of the trip and we think we can get our money back we will buy it. 

We drove through heaps of lovely little towns with beautiful old buildings, if we had the time we would have loved to have stopped at lots of them for a look around but we had to keep going unfortunately.  We originally picked Hanson Rest Area but the toilets had been removed so we pushed on and ended up at Saddleworth Rest Area instead.  At first glance it wasn't much, especially as the parking area was TINY.  Once we looked around though, it was actually quite a beautiul little spot. The caravan was set up in the parking area and we set up the tent on the grass.  There was a little stream on the other side of the BBQ/shelter and I went for a walk and came back with heaps of firewood so we did vegies in the coals and a BBQ for dinner - yummo. 

26 June 2011

We didn't get on the road until about 9:30 after a leisurely breakfast.  We went through Tarlee - another beautiful town and then through Gawler and then up through the Adelaide Hills to Summertown where we were looking at the camper.  It was a great drive up to Summertown and when we arrived and had a look at the camper we knew straight away it was the one for us, in fact, we couldn't work out why he was only asking $700 for it - there was absolutely nothing wrong with it!  The only thing was he said that it needed waterproofing - no sweat so we hooked it up and off we went.  We headed back into Adelaide to pick up some waterproofing as well as a couple of other things that we needed, including an adaptor for the lights for the trailer - actually, they ended up buying a whole new wiring thing and rewired the trailer in the carpark of SuperCheap while us gals got lunch ready.  It was starting to get late but we had to drop in at Bunnings for a couple of things and right next to Bunnings was Anaconda so Ross went in there while I went to Bunnings and then he called us from next door saying to get over there as they were having a big sale that was just about to end so we all trooped over there and Ross bought a new chair and a few other things that we had been wanting for a while, waiting for a sale to come on.  It was getting really late by then and Ross had previously rung up a guy that he had talked to on the Land Rover forums who offered for us to hole up at his place for a couple of days to do a few things on the camper and the blue Land Rover that needed doing. We all thought it was a lovely gesture as we had never met the guy before and he was offering for us to use his yard and his shower and toilet, etc while we did the work that needed doing.  As we put the address in the GPS we realised that the place was only a few kms from where we picked up the trailer from - aagh - back up the mountain again!  We got there late and set up - we were all pretty bushed so we crashed. 

27 June 2011

David and Becky are their names and they have a huge Doberman called Asha, but he's absolutely lovely but Boris is sh** scared of him!  We were up early taking photos of the farm - he grows grapes and has sheep and deer and alpacas - lovely spot.  It was 0° overnight. 

Ross headed into town to buy parts for the blue car while we waterproofed the canvas on the trailer and did a few other things.  David and Becky have another house down in town and Becky has gone there for a few days so she left last night and is not due back for a few days so it left just David and us.  David cooked us a beautiful meal - a stirfry and we all had a lovely night - what a great guy!! 

We got all the things done we wanted to so we were planning to head off in the morning but after we went to bed I got another bad pain in my bladder but this time it was much worse and I was in total agony so Ross took me to the hospital.  It was quite late so we didn't want to wake David up to ask which hospital to go to so we looked in the GPS and it said the closest hospital was Stirling so we headed for it.  It was a horrible night - so foggy we could hardly see and the roads are so windy through the mountains.  We finally got to Stirling Hospital only to find there is no Emergency Department!  Crap - now what?  We tossed up whether to go further into Adelaide or closer to where we were camped and we chose closer to where we were camped and headed for Mt Barker, thinking that it is a much bigger town and should have an Emergency Department but no - it doesn't have one either!  By this time we were desperate and I rang 1234 and they put me through to the reception at Mt Barker Hospital and I explained my situation and they told me to come in.  By this time the pain was so bad I couldn't even walk so they had to take me in in a wheelchair.  Apparently in SA in the country towns there are no Emergency Departments open at night but they do have a couple of nurses on and they can call a doctor in if it's needed.  The nurses were great and they took a urine sample and told me there was blood in it so I must have a urinary tract infection - they gave me some Panadeine Forte and sent me home and told me if it didn't settle down to go to the doctor and get some antibiotics. 

28 June 2011

I was still in agony in the morning so David rang up the local doctor and got me in to see him first thing in the morning.  He took another urine sample but the results wouldn't be back until the following day so he gave me antibiotics and Panadeine Forte and sent me home.  I went back to bed for most of the rest of the day and was feeling a bit better by the night - David graciously let us stay another day - what a guy!  Everyone else was wonderful too - The Oldies went out and bought me all sorts of things to make me feel better and Ross looked after me - I was feeling rather spoiled by the end of the day! 

29 June 2011

Still in pain but the drugs are keeping it under control so we packed up and headed off.  We went to Murray Bridge and had lunch, did a bit of shopping and then went to have a look at Mannum. We found a great lookout on the way there but it wasn't really near any town so I can't even tell you where it is but it was wonderful to see The Murray at its best, full of water and life - last time we were here it was quite a different story with drought taking it's toll on the beautiul river.  I rang the doctor to get the results of my urine test and they said that there was blood in my urine but there was no infection so they weren't sure what caused the pain and suggested I go see a doctor when we get to Wentworth which is where my cousin, Graham and his missus, Margaret live.  We will be looking after their farm for a few months while they go on holidays.  We weren't planning on going to their place for a few weeks yet as we were planning on doing the Great Ocean Road but the weather has turned a bit nasty so we thought we would head there, take stock and then decide what to do from there. 

We stayed in Mannum overnight - another great spot. 

30 June 2011

We packed up camp and headed towards Berri/Renmark.  We stopped at Swan Reach for a short time to look around and then we saw Banrock Station which is a brand we know so we stopped in there but didn't buy anything in the end. 

We headed into Kingston on Murray for a look around and had lunch before heading into Berri where we stopped briefly for a look around too. 

We camped the night in Renmark at Plush's Bend which had a tick in the camps book so we were looking forward to stopping there.  Unfortunately the floods had been through it and all the grass was dead and, although we didn't realise it when we were packing up, the toilets had been flooded and were locked up - bugger!  Lucky we have the portapottie!