Murray River crossing, Mt Gambier 25-29 Nov 2010

dear friends;  Lou here at the helm of Blog LOMA

we are currently in Mount Gambier, south Australia, and its back to being cold! What!?  Summer is meant to start here on December 1st and today its only 18C:  yeah - OK I know that's a heatwave to you poor buggers in England and Scotland, but to us here in the south of the planet, trust me that is a winter temperature...

Mt Gambier is a very interesting town;  it has a couple of extinct volcanoes and sink holes, of which one, the Blue Lake, lives up to its name.  Its a huge sink hole that at certain times of the year i.e - now -  has a lovely blue colour to its very deep waters.  We also took a trek up to look into the crater /caldera of Mt Schank; Matt spoke to one of the locals who said it was only a 10 min walk to the top;  bloody liar!  It was a trek up some very steep steps cut into the rock;  OK if you have legs like Naomi Campbell, but mine were struggling to reach the rise of each step as they appeared to go upwards.  The view at the top was worth it though, I got to look into the extinct bowl of a small volcano...  Covered with trees and grass now it last blew its top 2 million yrs ago, but it was the closest I ever have come to such a geological feature as this, and trust me,  I never want to get that close to a live one...

Once again I have become the fashion police and once again I can report the assault of the Grey Nomads and the 3/4 pants continues...   it got worse when we saw a husband & wife  in a fetching ensemble of matching polo shirts with 3/4 pants and sneakers.  Is there no end to this travesty of the fashion senses?  It appears not, as when in the local shopping centre here in Mt Gambier, we were confronted with racks of the damn things outside the shop I love to hate: Millers!

So what have we been doing since our last blog?  Well, we have come further east into South Australia, if that makes any sense.  We did some bird watching in the Bool Lagoon which has camping also,  a very flat part of the world with a huge wetlands area, and the SA Govt has kindly installed boardwalks into the reeds and shallows so tourists like us can easily walk around and see and hear the birdies... Coool!  Just on another topic they have it really sorted here with the recycling:  10c back refund on all bottles and cans!  We should have the same system across the whole country;  Are you listening Julia Gilard?

So enough of my ramblings;  check out our pics of our latest visit and see what you think...

please leave comments, we love to hear from all our readers...

The Big Lobster - 24.11.10 near Newland Head SA

Here is Matt seated at the edge of Mt Schank SA 28.11.10; the edge of the bowl of an extinct volcano

29.11.10 - the Umpherson Sinkhole; Mt Gambier;  this used to have a lake in the bottom (1900s) but that has gone now and the massive hole has been made into a lovely garden.

Another view of the Umpherson Sink hole; 29.11.10: they have a collection of possums who come out at night to get fed. (we didn't hang around to see that).

Here I am at the Blue Lake,  another extinct volcano sink hole, this one is below the water table, and thus fills up;  its usually NOT this blue, but we are here at the end of November (29th) when the blue colour is most visible;  this was the town's main water supply up until a few years ago.  Yes, it was blowing a gale and bloody cold that wind was too...

Here is the ferry across the Murray River from one part of S.A to another; we are waiting for the barge on the other shore,  its a whole 2 min journey and again my 2nd favourite "F" word : FREE... 27.11.10 - we are on our way to the Bool Lagoon for a 1 night stay.

Adios Amigos;  - -  love from Louise and Matt - - 

we are off to the border, going into Victoria and up to the Grampian National Park.   There is some major flooding in Vic at the moment,  something we hope to avoid if we can... it may be time to change the camper van into a boat?  Let's hope not...

XXX

Adelaide Hills, Adelaide City and Deep Creek park, south australia

Hello chums

Louise here - sorry we have been a bit slack and not got a blog out - the usual reason; no bloody signal yet again;  but we have been camped out in the back boondocks of Deep Creek Conservation park for the past 5 days or so and getting a signal there would be a miracle...

So... we are in a place called Victor Harbour, South Australia state, we are planning to be in this state a bit longer, then we plan to go west into Victoria state,  spend a bit of time there, then catch the ferry to Tasmania to see my pals Sarah and Dom, and spend Christmas with them, and take 4 weeks or so seeing the delights of Tasmania... Phew;  that is the plan anyway.  Fingers crossed;  We had 2 new back tyres put on the van in Tanunda, Barossa Valley, so the van is running very well,  Matt did some work on the engine and so far our  camper van is a star.

 I wish I could say the same about the weather, it was stinking hot (33C) two days ago, (and of course we went bush walking and yes (yawn...) once again I got  touch of heat stroke, but the last 2 days its been 18C and raining;  We even had to put a blanket on the bed last night, as we had packed away the feather and down quilt!   Sorry to bore you all with our sleeping  habits, but after all this time on the road, these things take on mammoth proportions...  We get excited these days to find 20c off a box of teabags at Coles Supermarkets...  Yes, we do drink a LOT of tea;  we are limiting ourselves to a glass of vino only at the weekends...

anyways here are the photos below of our travels...

Here is louise looking out over Adelaide city from the Adelaide Hills; 17.11.10

They even named a street in the palindromic Glenelg after us!   this is a 

very trendy suburb of Adelaide- we loved it...   17.11.10

Here we are 19.11.10 just about to explore the delights of North Adelaide, the

older part of the town, which reminded us of Paddington, Sydney, with a bit

of Subiaco, Perth mixed in;  lots of lovely old houses - which spelt out

one word to us - money!

Here is Matt in the Rundle Mall, Adelaide City with a friend....19.11.10 - there were 2 more of 

these sculptures, one behind was trying to get into a rubbish bin!

Here is matt outside the S.A Art Gallery in Adelaide;  19.11.10;  some great old buildings here.

Aldinga Beach SA- we are on our way to Deep Creek here.20.11.10

Here I am at the beach at Second Valley 20.11.10; the water was so clear!

here is matt walking at Deep Creek Park;  20.11.10

Here we are at the end of the first leg of our walk at Trig Campground, Deep Creek park

we did a 6.4km hike and it was 30C ; going down was no bother to the beach here, But - the going

back up the steep steps was!  Again  I had a touch of heatstroke when we got back; it took us

2 1/2 -3 hrs to complete and we were shattered big time when we made it back to the van; 23.11.10

Barrossa Valley - wine country- south australiao

Hello everyone,  Matt here...

Hope you are all fine and dandy, we are currently sat up in the local library in North Adelaide,   after a really top sightseeing walk through the city today, soaking up all the views of the  wonderful buildings -old and new.

We also visited the Adelaide Art Gallery and caught the free buses that run you all around the city CBD, I must say the Adelaide CBD does resemble the Melbourne CBD, even down to a tram that runs out to Glenelg (a beachside suburb of Adelaide).

We have not had a chance to download the photos from the last couple of days and will endeavour to put them on our next blog, along with our drive through the Adelaide Hills and surrounds.

From our last blog, we drove about 1-2 hours south from Clare to the Barossa Valley.

As you can see from one of the the pics below, we spent our first night smack bang in the middle of the vineyards at an information booth car park! (the Barrossa really lacked any free rest areas)...

We woke up early (6.30am) with the sounds of hot air balloons flying nearby and as we stepped outside the van and into the sun rising over the fields of grapes, we could see in the distance two huge hot air balloons taking people on a scenic ride.

After watching the balloons fade off into the distance we decided to "get the hell outta there" and make a beeline for the nearest cafe (Rumours in Tanunda) to grab some brekkie before hitting the vineyards for some wine tasting.

Barrossa Valley SA 13.11.10 - Hot air balloon = alarm clock!

Barrossa Valley ; Looking out over the valley; cold wind and 17C!

this stretch pink Hummer was parked at one of the wineries  - it takes tour groups around the valley; cool...Louise wanted one of these...

Sun 14.11.10 - this peacock was at Maggie Beer's shop and kitchen; If you watched the show "the cook and the chef" this is where it was filmed (see below).

That painting of Maggie and Simon on the left wall, was in the Archibald Prize 2009 (at the Art Gallery of NSW) and we voted for that one for the peoples choice prize;  Not sure if it won; but its a really great painting of the two of them.   Those stools are for a cooking demo that takes place most days,  we didn't stay to see it as we wanted to get out and about and do some wine tasting.

And speaking of wine tasting we were shocked to find that the Two Hands vineyard and the Seppelts vineyard both wanted to charge us $5.00 each to taste the wine produced there!  We voted with our feet and found other wineries that did NOT charge and made our purchases after our free tastes;  As my old grandad used to say 'they're taking the piss...'

The one interesting thing we meant to take a photo of in the town of Tununda was outside the police station;  No, not a cop looking for drunk drivers, but instead of having an A frame sign reading 'Cellar door open' which are everywhere outside wineries here, the local cops, having a sense of humour, had one reading  'Cell door open' complete with the police insignia!   I assume this was to deter people from being over the limit?  It gave us a good laugh anyway...

time to end now as Louise wants to get going and find somewhere to bunker down for tonight;  More of our adventures soon;

Love to all;  Louise & Matt xxx

please feel free to leave comments; we value all and everyone we receive!

quick update - Adelaide S.A.

dear pals - Lou here

we are currently in Adelaide S.A.  after spending some time in the Barossa Valley and in the Adelaide Hills,  we are hoping to get to the free Wi Fi InerNet spot at the library of S.A in town tomorrow to get out a proper blog; we are running out of our Big Pond 3G MBs and we get another 6GB on the 23rd!  Damn Telstra!  You all know my feelings about that particular company eh?

Just to let you know -  we spent last night at the rear of the sports centre in Hahndorf  in the Adelaide Hills and it is actually sunny today after having crap weather (rain and cold winds) the last few days... We took in Glenelg today; that wonderful palindromic suburb of Adelaide - and very trendy the place was too...  Worth a look; we liked it heaps.

We are currently parked up in a marina near Port Adelaide;  not salubrious but hey - its free; and as we are on a tight budget of sorts, that word is our favourite.

Anyways dear readers - enough of my ramblings,  we shall get our bums to the library and another blog of literary and photographic splendour will be soon dispatched....we hope...

Love to all;  Louise and matt

Port Julia and Redbanks Conservation Park S.A. ; 9-11th Nov 2010

Hello All,  matt here again;

We are currently camped up at Redbanks Conservation Park where it is wonderfully quiet (you can hear yourself breathe) but... it is damn 'HOT' (33C) but it was cool in the night (10C).

We took it upon ourselves this morning to take a 5km trail walk around the area and apart from the great views of nothing but vast plains and rolling hills, we got caught out by the heat.

Poor Louise was suffering from light heat exhaustion and I was not too far off myself, luckily we had enough water and we managed to stumble out way back to the van to recover while taking in lots of fluids and cooling ourselves down with a damp cloth placed over our heads and under our armpits.  Not a pretty site; especially with faces red as beetroots...

I also hooked up the generator and turned on the airconditioner for an extra measure.

As you can see by the pics, Port Julia was quite a nice quaint town, most of the towns along the east and west coast of the Yorke Penninsula are holiday homes for people from as far as Broken Hill, NSW; most places only have tank water but do have electricity.

For anyone wishing to snap up a slice of real estate on the Yorke, a nice 3 bedder house will set you back anywhere in the vicinity of $120K-250K.

On our way to Redbanks C.P.  we passed through a town called Balaklava, which was named after the battle of Balaklava from the Crimean war in Russia.  When I first saw the name I though it read Baklava, which is a wonderful sweet eaten by those from the middle eastern countries  - mmmmmm Baklava.

We then passed through another place called Clare (a place known for its wine produce) and we will be returning there tomorrow to use the laundromat and library (to download some DVDs), then heading onto the Barrosa Valley for some wine tasting.  

We have discovered on this trip that most libraries have free internet and DVDs can be lent if a deposit is forthcoming (we have no permanent address of course) and we copy these movies to watch at night on the Mac, and return next day back to the library and get our deposit back.  But thank God for the ABC's IView service which means that when we can get the Net up, we can watch shows that have been recently broadcast.  We were enthralled last night to watch the BBC show 'Spooks' which is back on but I can also recommend the new Aussie drama on the ABC, with Richard Roxburgh as a barrister; it's called 'Rake' which is also very good;  sorry to ramble on about TV shows but our entertainment options on the road are quite limited...  But we are also getting through the bag of books Louise brought along too.

At every town we have stopped at along our journey, we have made it a habit to buy 2 x $1 scratchies in the hope that we strike it rich and trade in our little van for a massive winnebago LOL...

I managed to scratch up $11 yesterday in a town called Burra, so of course I bought 11 more in the hope of that big win.  From the 11 scratchies I purchased, I won another $4 and will be returning tomorrow to Burra on the way to Clare to purchase 4 more.   

We will try to keep you all posted within the next few days of our drunken journey through the Barrosa and beyond.

We hope you are all well and are enjoying our photos and blogs.

Matt and Louise xoxoxoxox 

(Julia Port camp spot 9/11/10) We had a nice little spot at Port Julia S.A. with loads of birds flying around.

(Redbank Park walking trail  - Thurs 11/10/10) Louise strutting her stuff during our 5km walk along the trial, as you can see it was quite "VAST" and heat exhaustion set in later on...

(Redbank walking trail) 11.11.10  Matt at the top of the loop and lookout of the trail, it was nice to take a windy break from the heat that crept up upon us.  The flies were bad again so the veils came in handy once more....

Adios amigos; please comment, we love to hear from you.....

louise & matt 

Flinders Rangers National Park, Mt Remarkable Nat Park, Innes Nat Park: 30th Oct - 6th Nov 2010 South Australia

Dear friends; 

 Matt here doing a quick blog to keep you all up 2 date with our adventures;  As you can see from below we are getting out there and seeing the countryside as much as possible, and we have been staying in some absolute fab national parks along the way.  

Mount Remarkable Nat Park near Port Pirie was a gem; (see below); the only thing that would have made that part of the trip more amazing was if our bloody trifecta for the Melbourne Cup had come good... Of course we had 2 of the winners, not the third, but of course there is always next year...

Currently we are in a tiny place called Point Julia on the east side of the Yorke Peninsula, and we shall be slowly making our way to the Clare Valley (wine region) and the Barossa Valley (another wine region) to grab some of the red stuff (vino).  Gotta love those cellar doors.   Such a shame Lou makes me spit it out after tasting...  

Louise taking a pose with the Wilpena Pound in the background on our 10km bush walk around one of the many walks you can do in the Flinders Ranges.  We found out its called 'pound' like in dog pound as the whole circle of hills held sheep in the old days; we did an 8km hike to one of the old houses that remains from the 1880s; life was so hard for people back then; thank the gods we are all born in the 20th century and have an easy time of it...

   31 oct 2010

It was a beautiful day, the birds were singing the temperature was great and the rabbits were - you know what  - and there were plenty of those to be seen...

Matt patting one of the furry creatures that roam the Wilpena Pound campground.  This roo came straight up to us wanting to be fed;  very surreal, but signs say 'do not feed' so we just patted it instead.

We even snuck in a warm shower here at the site where were NOT staying -  he he he...30.10.10

Matt at the lookout over the inside of the Wilpena Pound, early graziers used to hold up to 120,000 sheep in that there pound!  Its massive...    (31 oct 2010)

We hiked in 8km to get the view and it was worth it!

  Yep, it was a bit cold on this big walk - very cold winds here.

Louise with another wonderful pose on our 10km trek.  1.11.10

Not too sure if this tree had been genetically modified?  1.11.10

Our camp spot (and probably my most favorite one on this trip) at the Mount Remarkable Nat. Park.  It even had a water tap at each site and hot showers, I had a few of them each day to make up for the ones I have missed during this trip.  (we have a shower on board the van, but we are using it for storage!) 2.11.10

The stream that run past our van in the Mount Remarkable NP.  Our van is just to the right hand side of the big tree that is blocking it, in the pic. 3.11.10

Another tree we thought may have been genetically modified at the Mount Remarkable NP. 3.11.10

"LAND AHOY DERE CAPT'N" Matt giving it all at the Innes Nat Park.  Captain Pugwash, eat your heart out!  7.11.10

(Corny Point, the most westerly point on the Yorke Peninsula)  One of our lovely camp spots that we happened to find, part being pure luck and part  being a little adventurous.  During sunset, we saw dolphins swim past the point in the background of the pic.  Lovely...  8.11.10

Million dollar views which was Free to us, Louise's second favorite "F" word.

(Corny Point) I could not resist showing off my photographic flare using the macro tool on the camera.

(Corny Point)

 Louise and I decided to take a stroll around the Corny Point area and were amazed at its beauty.  You could take yourself back 200+ years or even further and imagine you were the first people to ever inhabit the land.  8.11.10

You really get a true sense of wellbeing, self independence and feel so far removed from the rest of the world, it just feels like you and nature.

"LIVE FOR THE NOW"

More later; keep checking the site;  we will always get blogs out if the Net is working and we get a signal.... Adios Amigos.... Matt

Yorke Peninsula

Dear Friends

we are currently in the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, having a great time.  I'm just putting out a quick text blog to let all know we are in the land of the living and if we can get coverage on the Net we shall put out a proper blog tonight or tomorrow (weds).

We have just stopped for lunch near Edithburgh SA ; charming little place and it's sunny and 21C, so we are not complaining at all.

We spent last night on the cliffs at Corny Point SA (free camp area) and had the joy of seeing dolphins last night surfing the waves and having a great ol time;  magic it was I tell you !!!

OK have to go; battery low on the Mac

Love louise and matt

Woomera, Coober Pedy, South Australia

Hello everyone,

Matt here, well it has been over a week since our last blog,  so here it goes...

After making our way up the Eyre Peninsular and into the outback again to Woomera and Coober Pedy via port Port Augusta, we are currently in Port Pirie -  soaking up the lovely sun where we are camped up for the night at the local boat ramp (they are great places to stay in towns without paying to stay in a caravan park) -  then off tomorrow down the Yorke Peninsula.

This blog is mainly about Woomera and Coober Pedy,  and we will endeavour to get our next blog out very soon after this one to follow up to keep you all up to date with our journeys.

Woomera:  Well, the view on the drive out from Port Augusta was very sparse and made you realise just how big this beautiful country of ours really is, there was nothing (no trees) as far as the eye could see for 500km,  and I even think this was a better drive than the Nullabor.

As you can see in the pics, we passed many a great salt lake/s and the sheer size of them just left your jaw dropping to the ground.   

Woomera was a most fascinating place in a sense that you could almost feel the place buzzing from when it was full of workers and its families during the 50's and 60's.  I would like to know what will happen to all the old buildings now that they are not used.  For those who do not know, this was the place the Brits stuffed up the desert here, especially at Maralinga doing A Bomb tests in the 1950s.  The place is of course off limits but the highway runs through part of the area;  go figure...

The canteen, where we had a cup of tea, had all these old photos of the days when the place was chockers with people, they even had photos of beauty pageants being held and the social scene of the old days which gave you a real feel for the place and what it use to be like.

It would make make a great place for all the grey nomads to retire to.  (you read it here first...)

Coober Pedy,  well, three words spring to mind about this place,  IT'S A HOLE!

We were really disappointed with how the place was going and that was one direction, backwards....

Everything was run down, even the super market had hardly any food on the shelves, it appeared to be a real struggle town, a shadow of probably what it use to be like.  After driving 500km and 2 days later, we only ended up looking around for a couple of hours and GOT THE HELL OUTTA THERE!!!

Unfortunately, I can not say anything else about Coober Pedy except, we felt we had to visit the place being quite famous and all. 

Hope everyone is doing really well.

Lots of hugs and kisses

Matt xoxoxox

(Stony Point just outside of Whyalla) 

Lovely rest area, our van was just down the road on the side of the water.  It was quite windy and there was not a great deal in Whyalla to report on. But the photo looks nice!

(On the way out toWoomera and Coober Pedy)

The journey was a 1000km journey (500km each way) just to get to Coober Pedi and this basically what we saw the whole way, but nevertheless it was a spectacular of absolutely nothing.  I guess it is one of those experiences where you have to be there to really know what it feels like (photo does it no justice)

(Woomera Rocket park) 

A really facinating place to visit  and strange at the same time.  It is where the Brits tested loads of warfare rockets from 1950s - 1960s, the place had loads of accommodation blocks and houses and was like driving onto a millitary base. 

It reminded me of my old RAAF days.  

The place was like a ghost town and was quite creepy, you could almost feel the prescence of the 1960s when the place would have been buzzing with families and workers. 

Up until 1982 it was shut to the public and the road to Woomera/Coober Pedy was only sealed in 1987 from Port Augusta where we left to make this journey.

Louise with one of many a rocket that was developed here.

Boys and their toys!

I had to get a photo with this big daddy!

(Lake Hart)

One of many salt lakes along the way, this object somehow made its way way out onto the lake.  (railway nearby??)

The lake lake nearby (Lake Gairdner) was used on a number of occasions to break the land speed record.

(Lake Hart)

Another wheel stuck on the salt lake and an old one at that...

(Lake Hart)

We had to put our names in the salty sand!

(Lake Hart)

In the middle of nowhere....

(Lake Hart)

Louise with a chunk of salt left over from what we think was a disused salt mine?

(Coober Pedy)

They had the same truck set up in Lightning ridge if I remember correctly?

(Coober Pedy main drag)

Well what can I say....

That is Coober Pedy!

Not much to say about the place really, except its urban structure was faling apart, loads of shops were vacant and for lease, it just did impress us after driving 500km and two days to get there.

White Cliffs get my vote for first place then Lightning Ridge and followed way at the back by Coober Pedy.  (all opal mining towns...)

However, at least we can say we have been there and I think it is a place you have to visit when you are travelling around Australia.