Let there be wind

A few scattered showers came down overnight, barely enough to wet the ground, but enough to keep me wary of what was to come. However, by morning, the sky was still blue and that recently absent heat ball called the Sun was climbing steadily in the East, ready for a new day.
Mother Nature was not content with producing 2 really good days however, and was blowing harder than me after yesterdays 200m dash from the playground to the car.
We contemplated going to some wineries or for another walk to the home of the Killer Bees, all the while watching parts of our vans fly apart in the horrendous winds.
We decided to wait till after lunch before going anywhere, during which time, the Wind Witch ran out of breath and literally stopped blowing completely. It was like being in the eye of a tornado. And according to all the reports on Social Media, that was a pretty accurate description. "Winds easing around mid-day, before pickng up late afternoon, accompanied by possible torrential rainfalls".
Great. Just what you want to hear when out for a long weekend in a region that has already literally closed down due to recent floods.
We all muttered our own profanities, before making an executive decision to call it quits and pack up. The rain wasn't due to stop until Wednesday, and the last thing any of us wanted to do was pack up in the wet, only to have to get it dry when we got home.
So in an unprecedented move, I agreed and started packing up.
To help my mood, the sun was shining, the sky was blue and it was a very comfortable 20 degrees. And the closer we got to home, the nicer the weather appeared to be. At one stage, i couldnt see a cloud in the sky, nor was a tree branch swaying. And that didnt change the whole way home. Or after we got home. I even stood out in the driveway at one stage doing an Indian Rain Dance, trying to get the weather to turn nasty and justify our decision. Next time, maybe I should do it with my clothes on as it appears i may have actually scared the rain away.
There is also no wind. In fact, it is almost perfect camping weather.
The drizzle finally started just after 5, helping me to feel just a little better. I was secretly hoping it was blowing 60km/hr winds and pouring down in Kapunda.
If this weather doesnt turn as foul as predicted soon, I am going to get annoyed. More annoyed.
The only thing to do now is to have a drink, set up a platter and fire up the BBQ.
Finally, it has actually started raining... well heavy showering.. I have never thought I could be happy about getting crap weather.

Let there be Sunlight

After a night of drizzling showers, we woke up to this amazing sight formerly known as sunlight. 

The kids took the dog for his morning walk, I fired up the Weber and the usual "we are camping"  cooked breakfast was started up. 

We all then headed off for a walk into the main street, but didn't get far before the kids found the local playground.

However, today's adventure was about Taz. 

Not to be outdone by the kids, Taz got up on the spinning table and sat there like the good puppy he is. 

We let him jump off before the local Animal Cruelty group saw us. He pottered around the grass chewing on all the flowers, when I saw him shaking his head. I saw a bee fall off the side of his mouth that had obviously stung him as he was getting a little agitated and shaking his head about. 

I really started getting concerned a few minutes later when he just stopped walking and lay down. 

I picked him up and he flopped down in my arms almost lifeless. That's when I really really got concerned and ran back to the Caravan park, got the car and raced into Nuriootpa to the 24hr vet. 

Just as we pulled up he threw up all over Tracy's jeans and the car seat. That gave me something to do whilst she took him inside for an anti-histamine injection and a check to make sure he remained breathing.

It was confirmed that it was in fact the bee sting and not the spinning that caused him to scare the life out of us, although I still feel the playground had a fair bit to do with it. 

Either way, the $100 spent was worth knowing that our little man was ok and that we hadn't caused him a severe case of ever lasting vertigo. 

When we got back, the Hardy's graced us with their presence, and began to set up their van.
Olivia stood there admiring Rob's erection, before Daniel interrupted her to help fix his.

Whilst waiting,a nd not overly interested in other peoples erections, I took Tyler and Darcy for a walk up to the local dis-used copper mine. The council has done a great job providing informative signage and a walking trail, passing numerous mine shafts with some flimsy fencing attempting to stop energetic kids from climbing too close and disappearing for ever. 

We got back just in time for the AFL Grand Final to start on TV, Sydney Swans vs Western Bulldogs. It turned out to be a cracker of a game, with the Doggies coming out victorious with a 22 point win - their first GF win in about 50 years. 

Thanks to a nice bottle of wine or 2, the game was even better to watch. 

Tea time was Chicken Yiros, and was cooked beautifully - must have been the way it was cooked. 

The night was topped off in typical camping fashion with another fire and more wine. I did manage to poke the fire a couple of times when Daniel was off doing something else (Bush camp rule #12 - dont touch another man's fire when he is watching...... right up there with rule#7 - Don't offer to help a man with his camping erection unless he asks.)
Gotta love camping.

Kapunda - Barossa's dry spot

We had planned on spending this October long weekend at the Clare Caravan park for the last 3 months. The trouble with that plan is that SA has just experienced what has been reported as "the worst storm event in 50 years" for the last 2 days. And it hasn't stopped raining for what seems like 3 weeks.

I rang on Wednesday to check if we could have fires, only to be told they were cancelling our booking due to the campground resembling Shrek's mud swamp and a 70m tree falling down due to the floating soil around its roots. 

So I started ringing around looking for alternatives around the Barossa or Clare Valley, seemingly oblivious to the fact the creeks had water levels rising on an average of a metre per hour. We managed to find 3 available sites at Kapunda, and all seemed to be falling perfectly in place. 

Except that all the roads leading to Kapunda were flooded and detours were in place. I was determined however and found that if we took the scenic route through Mt Pleasant, Angaston and Nuriootpa, then the only place we may get stuck is the last 10km. Luckily, my amazing talent in planning and research found us getting to Kapunda without incident, and passing some amazing flowing creeks. 

Another preplanned event meant that Tracy had to turn around and head back home within an hour of arriving, to take Dylan to his specialist soccer training, so I continued to potter and set up the van, all the while trying to mask out this crap weather by drinking a bottle of Red. 

It didn't work. I was so cold, even with a fire going, so I hid in the van with a heater on and watched a Stephen Seagal 3rd time repeat movie topping up with another drink or 2. 

The wind picked up, the showers kept coming, and it was just horribly cold. Hoping the weekend is going to get a whole lot better. 

Meanwhile the rest of the Barossa and Clare Valleys are now 3m under water due to the region being hit with a years rainfall in less than a week. And I am complaining about being cold.

Just as well no-one is listening to me... again.