Our mark II blog is now alive with pics on more trips

Yes indeedy, we thought that it was time to get blogging again and to share some pix from more adventures in the caravan - check them out on http://www.s-r-m-c-oz-2.blogspot.com/

To 18-Dec-06 (Yackandandah Vic to Cherrybrook NSW)

THE LAST MAP
Well, we’ve finally made it home and praise God for keeping us safe and getting us home OK. We’ve had a wonderful adventure, met some great people, seen some amazing places and driven heaps. Here is some info for those (like Spencer) who like a few details - we’ve been on the road for 305 days, driven 41,500k in the Pajero, towed the van 25,500k, averaged 18.2 L/100k (that’s 15.5 mpg for us older set) and stayed in 129 different places – phew! Here’s the final route map:



Another pretty neat version is the following mud map (courtesy of friends Ross & Barbara):




GUNDAGAI (Gundagai Tourist Park)



Some roadworks and a new service station made this little fella a bit hard to find – but not for us!! He also looks a bit more like a pig than a dog from this angle. He looks OK in real life though. A little booklet about the dog suggested that he may have done more than just sit on the tucker box and this might account more for his fame – who knows?






YASS (Yass Caravan Park)
We enjoyed our 3 nights here and did some serious checking out of Yass. A nice place (hot though). We also raced back to Sydney for an overnight visit so that we could attend Troy’s graduation. A great and wonderful night. We are very proud of Troy.



QUEANBEYAN (Queanbeyan Riverside Caravan Park)
It was great to check out old haunts and to discover just how much things had changed since we had lived in Canberra during the early 80’s. The mandatory check of our old house showed it to be in good repair and looking OK. We also caught up with good friends Angus and Joan, checked out the National Gallery (didn’t find a real lot of hope there!), drove around the lake and did heaps of other stuff.


BATEHAVEN (Pleasurelea Tourist Park)



This is Pooh Bear’s Corner on the way to Batemans Bay - a place our boys really liked many years ago. We thought we would stay a few nights at the Bay, one of the favourite holiday places for the Canberra set. It was great and a delight to stroll along the beaches – a bit too cool for swimming though.









We also took time to visit the Mogo Zoo and the only white lions in Australia – they are not albino as we’d originally thought, they are just missing the “lion-colour” gene. There were two 3 month old cubs and this is one of the beautiful lionesses.









KIAMA (Easts Van Park)
We stayed our last 4 nights here and did some serious relaxation. We also enjoyed a very pleasant evening with friends Ben, Natalie and Cameron in Dapto.



The big blowhole was pumping and brought back many memories. A short stroll from the van park brought us to the Little Blowhole which was also sending huge spouts of water skywards.









CHERRYBROOK (Home)
Phew, by the time we wrote this, we’d managed to move all our furniture back into the house, Rhonda has put everything away and the place looks pretty much as though we’ve never left. However, the big white box in the driveway and Rhonda’s 7,500 photos are great reminders that we’ve really been right around Oz.

It’s been a little sad to come to the end of our big adventure and to realise that return to suburban and working life means that we won’t be able to be together 24 x 7. However, it has been marvelous to see family and to catch up with friends in person. It has also been great to admire how little Alesha has grown (she is now 11 months old - a delightful age). We’re very impressed with how Alesha can wave, clap, stand (well, when she is holding onto something) and dance. She is also trying to talk and sing. Sound like doting grandparents?? You bet!!

This is our last planned entry in this blog series. Thank you to everyone who has joined in our adventures via the blog and for your encouraging feedback. Who knows, we might even do another one if we succumb to the temptation to hook up the caravan and take off again.



AND NOW FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL
We received this poem out on the track and Spencer really liked it so we thought it was worth sharing (the author is unknown and wouldn’t mind we’re sure). “Caravanning Bliss” might just bring back a memory or two for anyone who’s sampled the delights of caravanning:

There was movement at the Station
So wrote a famous man –
But how did Banjo know this?
P’haps he towed a caravan.

Perhaps Banjo had been woken
In a ‘van park’ from his sleep
Some two hours before sunrise
By strange noises from the deep.

All the ‘erk, erk, erk’ of van legs
Being screwed up in the dark,
As the first nocturnal trav’ler
Starts to wake the sleeping ‘park’.

Then, just like a feral mating call
Some others answer back,
With their ‘erk, erk’ flaming chorus
As the first start down the track.

Now, it’s best to warm the motor
If you’re leaving in the dark,
Especially if it’s diesel
And jackhammers all the ‘park’.

Because now it’s time to hook on
And you hear the circus start –
‘Move left, NOT right, I said THIS way
You pig-headed, deaf old fart”!

And ‘how dare you call me brainless,
You ungrateful, senile drone –
If you don’t want my directions
Do it on your bloody own”!

Because now it’s almost daylight
And the ‘camp’ picks up the pace
As these geriatric gypsies
All begin their morning race.

For the next ‘park’ is their target
Where like metal ants they flock,
For the first in gets the best shade
And close to the ‘ablution block’.

You can’t beat ‘em so you join ‘em
In this hyperactive spree
For the laundry’s now in full swingThrobbing like a DC-3!!!



With best wishes & may God richly bless each person reading this. May you have a safe, happy new year and a marvelous 2007.


Spencer & Rhonda


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The Eagles have Landed

This is a very quick note to let you know that we arrived home safely late on Mon 18-Dec and have been totally immersed since then in moving our furniture and belongings back into the house. Whew, what a huge task!

We will post the next (and possibly final) update next week with some more info on the last leg of our big round-Oz adventure.

Best wishes to all for a happy and joyful Christmas.



Spencer & Rhonda

Prov 3: 5&6

To 4-Dec-06 (Melbourne Vic to Yackandandah Vic)

MELBOURNE Vic (Apollo Gardens Caravan Park)
We enjoyed touring the City, checking out the Yarra Valley (where Rhonda found some excellent cheese) and caught up with friends Paul and Murray & Christina and Ken & Tricia. We also found time for some warranty work on the van and a little good, old-fashioned resting.



We saw a promo picture of these natty beach boxes at Brighton and just had so see them in person – they took some tracking down! But as the old saying goes, they can run but they can’t hide!!.








BALLARAT Vic (Shady Acres Caravan Park)
Ballarat must have been an impressive & wealthy town back in them old gold-rush days because there are still heaps of grand old buildings in the town centre. We checked out the Eureka Centre – those were tough times!



The drought is sure evident here! This is the (dry) Lake Windouree where they held the rowing events for the Melbourne Olympics (yes, those are boat sheds!). Would have a few problems running rowing events at the moment and might even need to adopt some rules from the Todd River Regatta to get a result.

We also went to a delightfully old-fashioned church on Sunday morning – it took us back years.



BENDIGO Vic (Robinley Caravan Park)
A short drive took us to Bendigo, which seemed to have a more modern feel than Ballarat. We enjoyed our time here and found a really impressive cathedral. A local told us that the cathedral had no cracks (unlike some more modern buildings in the town) – because they really knew how to build in the “good old days”. We also discovered that the van needed to go back to Melbourne for a little extra work and so we travelled to Seymour via Epping, Melbourne.



SEYMOUR Vic (Highland Caravan Park)
This was a delightful park owned by Hughie (a former Qantas aircraft engineer) and his wife Marie. Hughie had had enough of the rat-race and decided to try something different. We enjoyed a long chat.



Plenty of water here in the Goulburn River. Spencer discovered this park on an early morning run - which included meeting and then following a huge sheep along a bush track.












Here is Spencer doing his “let’s clean up Australia a bit at a time” thing while Rhonda made some delicious morning tea.









SHEPPARTON Vic (Big 4 Shepparton East Caravan Park)
Wow! Factory outlets are everywhere here in Shepp (that’s what the locals call it) - SPC-Ardmona, Pentel Soaps, Campbells Soups and the Nut Man to name but a few. We had a great time cruising for bargains (and still managed to squeeze our treasures into the van). We also really enjoyed catching up with friends Ken and Ruth – the almost three years since we had last met seemed to vanish into nothing.



This is the Ovens River at Bright (on the way to Mount Beauty). There seemed to be plenty of water flowing here and it looked cool and beautiful.









MOUNT BEAUTY Vic (with friends Jan & Don)
What a beautiful place (like the name says) – although the Tawonga Pass road from Bright to Mount Beauty was very steep (both up and down) – the car was very glad to arrive at Don & Jan’s.



This is Lake Guy with the mountains near Falls Creek in the background. It’s just below the little township of Bogong and a really pretty place.











YACKANDANDAH Vic (Yackandandah Holiday Park)
A short 63k drive brought us to this delightful place and a peaceful, friendly van park. We enjoyed another delicious meal at the Star Hotel and it was as good as our previous meal there over 2 years ago.



This is our own private seat just behind our van and beside the flowing creek. There were birds singing and playing around the water – it was very pleasant.










With best wishes & may God richly bless each person reading this,




Spencer & Rhonda

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To 20-Nov-06 (Adelaide SA to Melbourne Vic)

MURRAY BRIDGE SA (Long Island Caravan Park & Marina)
Spencer was in his element here with a marina, boats and yes, even a place to park the van. We happened to see some guys building a huge houseboat and just had to stop to check their progress. We also checked out some other boats at their moorings nearby.


ROBE SA (Sea-Vu Caravan Park)
What a great place with beautiful buildings, boutique shops and good variety – we could ease right in to the lifestyle here. We enjoyed a delish fish & chips feed, walked along the beach and did the tourist drive – saw heaps!




How’s this for a lunch-time view from under the van’s awning? The sharp-eyed reader will notice that we decided to lash out and invest in 2 bananas (just to see whether they still taste the same – they do!).









We found this to be a rugged, interesting coastline and even scored some beautiful weather for photos too!











MT GAMBIER SA (Central Caravan Park)
“Central” in the van park’s name is correct – it’s almost right in the middle of town. We were entertained by a few boy-racers with great sounding cars. They were very considerate and were gone well before our bedtime.


There is so much to see and do here. We checked out the Blue Lake (which provides Mt Gambier’s water supply - lucky people). It was sparkling and we thoroughly enjoyed a tour of the pumping station, including a lift ride almost to water level.

We enjoyed fellowshipping at Mt Gambier Presbyterian Church, a delightful, progressive congregation with a beautiful new building. We were made most welcome.




This is the Umpherston Sinkhole (where a cave roof collapsed to create a huge hole). This is a very big area and we spent ages wandering around in these most beautiful gardens way below ground level. We also met a very friendly possum who thought that we should have had a piece of apple for him at least.









An Agricultural Show was on in Casterton Vic while we were in Mt Gambier (it was only 70k from Mt Gambier and just down the road in country terms). We wanted to go because we had seen the ads on TV and just had to see the Sheepdog Trials. Boy, sheep are dumb! And any that aren’t so dumb are plain obstinate! These are Australia’s best working kelpies and they are amazing. We spent much of the day watching them in action.



PORT CAMPBELL Vic (Port Campbell Caravan Park)
Wild, windy and awesome are good descriptors for our time here. Fortunately, our van was nestled between 2 other vans and we were somewhat protected from the very strong cross-winds. We marveled afresh at this amazing coastline and visited The Bay of Islands, Thunder Cave, The Blowhole, The Grotto, Loch Ard Gorge, the Twelve Apostles and more. Even though it was raining at most places, we were amazed how God provided breaks in the rain long enough for our photos.



This is London Bridge (which really did fall down in 1990). We remember walking over the now missing span 28 years ago on our first big family adventure to Perth.










Recognise the Twelve Apostles (well a few of them anyway)? This photo was taken in rain and with very heavy winds – well done to Rhonda!











LORNE Vic (Lorne Foreshore Caravan Park)
This was a beautiful park on the banks of the Erskine River and with lots of ducks and ducklings just outside our van. Spencer knew he was in Victoria when he started cooking some steaks in the late afternoon sunshine, and then rain and then hail – thankfully the umbrella was nearby to keep the BBQ dry until they were done (not needed at the end because it was sunny again!).


MELBOURNE Vic (Sylvan Caravan Park, Campbellfield and then Apollo Gardens Tourist Park, Craigieburn)
All these cars, trucks and traffic lights – busy, busy, busy, rush, rush, rush! Rhonda says that she is definitely now a country girl and Spencer, after some adjustment, reckons that he is now in the zone (traffic-wise at least).

We will catch up with friends while we’re in Melbourne and check out the local sights. We will also have a little warranty work done on the van while we’re here.



With best wishes & may God richly bless each person reading this,




Spencer & Rhonda

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To 6-Nov-06 (Kulgera NT to Adelaide SA)

SOME MORE DETAILS AND A MAP
Phew! The Paj has now travelled 35,400k and dragged the van 22,300k – naturally, all with style and aplomb. The car tows the van very well – although it does seem to prefer travelling alone and leaps away like a gazelle when freed from its shackles.





COOBER PEDY SA (Stuart Range Caravan Park)
Our second visit here confirmed our first impression – Coober Pedy is indeed HOT and DUSTY! The air-conditioner is definitely our friend!!



Just as we stopped to take this pic of the “Big Truck”, a huge cattle train drove into the big dirt parking area to turn around. It raised its own dust-screen in no time at all – gosh this IS a dusty place!








WOOMERA SA (Woomera Travellers Village)
Woomera is a fascinating place. There is much evidence of boom times here and they could be here again if plans for a space-port facility eventuate (push on Richard Branson). There are some great museums and displays here too – Spencer spent ages checking out rockets, engines, guidance systems, etc., etc. while Rhonda graciously found plenty to enjoy too. Most of the locals are connected with the nearby (in outback terms) Roxby Downs mine.



This is Lake Hart. It is huge but sadly, it is just salt with no water at all! Lake Hart would look beautiful brimming with H2O.

Also, after driving so far on sometimes pretty raggedy roads, we were surprised to score our first broken windscreen (ever) south of Woomera on the bitumen Stuart Highway. Spencer had pulled over as a huge road train passed the other way and BAM, there was suddenly a huge hole in the outer layer of glass plus a crack which started snaking right through the driver’s line of vision (of course).


WILPENA POUND SA (Rawnsley Park)
These Flinders Ranges sure are a beautiful place. Even with the countryside so dry, they are awesome. We would like to come back here after some rain. We had intended to stay just 2 nights and ended up staying 4. There is so much to see that we were tempted to stay even more.

On the way to Wilpena, we visited a panorama in Hawker. This amazing place was created by local Christian artist Jeff Morgan who has painted the Wilpena Pound panorama as seen from St Mary’s Peak. We were delighted to meet and get to know him.



How is this for beautiful country? We did enjoy driving down this road in the Flinders Ranges, through some awesome gorges and to some great lookouts.











We particularly liked the red gums in river beds – Rhonda is getting pretty good at nature photography don’t you think.

We also met Chris and Barbie from Scotland at Rawnsley Park and enjoyed their company heaps. A delightful retired couple travelling in a “Wicked” van - the ones with sometimes awful artwork on them. Chris & Barbie had many stories of arriving to shocked expressions, then relief (these vans are usually hired by young & sometimes rowdy backpackers) and then “Do you mind if we take a photo of you and your van?”. The response “We’re British you know!” seemed to fit perfectly here!


MELROSE SA (Melrose Caravan Park)
We stopped one night in this lovely town and caught up with Chris & Barbie again. Lovely place and delightful couple.


We liked the novelty of these cabins – built on the back of trucks. This one even looked as though it had collided with a tree and was still attached. We’re told that these cabins are very comfortable.








CLARE SA (Clare Caravan Park)
This is one town Rhonda really liked – it had a peaceful and prosperous feel, some beautiful stone houses, enough shops to keep the dedicate happy (it’s pretty impressive when Spencer wants to go grocery shopping with Rhonda – to a store with more than one aisle!).


ADELAIDE SA (Adelaide Beachfront Tourist Park, Semaphore Park)
Great to be here and to have the windscreen fixed. Good too to be rid of that pesky, eye-level crack which seemed to catch the slightest bit of sunlight and from any angle.

We caught up with Rhonda’s good friend and bridesmaid Narelle, her mum, and friends Ilona, Karen and Di. We also saw some of the Christmas Pageant in Adelaide City (many floats - some with only a pretty tenuous connection to Christmas).



Here is a live steam train which ran right beside our caravan park – our van is about 40 metres @ 2:30 to the engine (see if you can work that out!).

We have really enjoyed our time here and will move on tomorrow towards Mt Gambier and then on to Melbourne.






With best wishes & may God richly bless each person reading this,



Spencer & Rhonda


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To 23-Oct-06 (Port Augusta SA to Kulgera SA)

Almost there!
Hasn’t this year flown by - it’s almost over! We have seen so much of this wonderful country and met so many great people on the way. It has been great for us to spend so much time together too.


GLENDAMBO SA (Glendambo North Rest Area Free-Camp)
Population 2 (us)! Very, very quiet and the stars were truly awesome. Spencer has even discovered how to find south using the Southern Cross (and has shared this with Rhonda a number of times already). We also saw 3 huge red kangaroos in the distance via binoculars.


COOBER PEDY SA (Oasis Caravan Park)
Deja-vu really set in as we reversed the van into a site 3 along from where we stayed with the boys 17 years ago. This place is HOT even in “spring” – 40deg days! Our van site had shade cloth above and behind (17 years ago it was just above) – woohoo! It makes a big difference. We really enjoyed a town tour and saw an underground church, an opal mine and a dugout home. We also spent an awesome afternoon in The Breakaways taking in more spectacular scenery and checked out the Moon Plains where Mad Max and other movies were shot.



This is Spencer pointing to where Glenn found an opal (this pool was still being built when we were last here).










These are “blowers” which are just like giant vacuum cleaners – they suck up dirt from down in the mine and then dump it into mullock piles. These piles are everywhere around Coober Pedy. It has to be the dustiest place we’ve been to so far.

Did you know that “Coober Pedy” means “White Man’s Burrows”?





KULGERA NT (Kulgera Roadhouse Caravan Park)
Very hot here too and so we decided to go for some 240 volts to cool down a bit (the air-conditioner is our friend). It was a quiet place and very reasonable at $20. We also met another man named Spencer who was also travelling around Oz.


ALICE SPRINGS NT (McDonnell Range Caravan Park)
We met Sam & Keren and their daughters here 17 years ago (we had a delightful stay with them for a few days on their sugar cane farm at Ingham last April). This caravan park has also grown just a bit.

We visited the Old Telegraph Station (they really did it tough in those days), Simpsons Gap, Standley Chasm, Ormiston Gorge and Glen Helen plus heaps more. The scenery is awesome - look out . . . that dreaded slide-show is growing bigger & bigger!!



We were delighted to find this Sturt’s Desert Pea growing beside the van park’s games room.

















Standley Chasm is one beautiful place – very difficult to photograph though.
















KINGS CANYON NT (Kings Canyon Resort Caravan Park)
This was our first visit here as a 4WD had been required 17 years ago. The road is all tar now so getting there is a breeze. This canyon is an amazing place!


This is the “Rim Walk” – truly spectacular! It’s about 6.5k and starts with a huge climb and ends with a very welcome descent. The sign suggested 3.5 hours and we thought that’s very slow for 6.5k. However, the climb, rough terrain and many, many photo & video stops meant that we went over-time. Rhonda managed the exercise with style & panache – her heel problem seems to like retirement and holidays.

There were no safety rails here – just little signs saying “Be Careful” and graphics of people falling over cliffs. The signs worked!


YULARA NT (Ayres Rock Campground)
This is one huge boulder! We had decided to respect the locals’ preference that people not to climb the Rock and had intended to keep our feet on the ground this time. As it happened, the climb was closed while we were in Yulara because of high winds (guess the rangers get tired of rescuing dumb tourists in dangerous conditions).



Here is a sunset shot. The colours change so marvelously and are a challenge to capture – we have at least 100 or so photos of the Rock at different times of the day . . . so look out!









We also visited The Olgas (Kata Tjuta = “many heads”) for the first time because a 4WD had been required on our last visit due to rain. We did the ‘Valley of the Winds’ walk to the second lookout (5.2k). We were truly amazed and felt dwarfed by these huge rocks. How amazing is God! We were also treated to a show by zebra finches and other birds meeting around a puddle of water – very special.




KULGERA NT (Kulgera Roadhouse Caravan Park)
A quick overnight stop here on our way back to Port Augusta.




With best wishes & God bless,





Spencer & Rhonda

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