Naracoorte & Millicent

The trip to our next stop turned out to be a whole lot longer than we expected. 250km in a little over 5 hours. 

We left the serenity of Dimboola just after 9:30 and made our way South(ish) to Horsham, then hanging a sharp right. In a total of about 45 minutes since leaving base camp, we found ourselves at a quaint little town called Natimuk. There was a fascinating little park on the Main Street that we stopped at to let Taz have his pee that he should have done before we left, and the kids had a play on the equipment. Off to the edge of the park was a massive wooden table with bench seating and a communal free pizza oven, complete with wood to burn. 

40 minutes down the road was our next stop - Edenhope. At one stage of the planning we were going to stay here, but in the end, Dimboola won that tussle. We had also been recommended to stop and look around here by our friend Sandy who grew up here. The lake has been empty for many years apparently, but right now it was full and looked great. 

The kids had a bit of fun with a new version of jetty jumping, expelling their never waning energy, and then we were off again. 

Next leg was the longest with a 90km haul to Naracoorte where we met up with Taz's first human family and their new dog. The wind was ripping through the park we stopped at and made lunchtime a little difficult and uncomfortable with only a handful of food items being blown off the picnic table. Unfortunately Nora (Taz's mum) is on heat at the moment so is not allowed outside of the confines of her house and therefore we didn't get the reunion we had hoped for, but it was good to catch up with Stacey and her 2 kids and Orsen, who is technically Taz's "brother from another mother". 

We finally made the last leg of this trip, and arrived at Millicent at about 3 o'clock.... 5.5 hours later. That is how I like my travels to be. 

Dimboola

It was time to start heading in the rough direction of home. Dimboola had some good reviews on our camping bible - WikiCamps. And it was only about 2.5 hours drive away which is pretty much as far as I want to drive in any one session.

The roads were terrible. Congratulations to the Victorian government for putting up signs telling us to slow down due to the horrendously undulating roads, rather than actually spending money on fixing them. I found myself holding onto the steering wheel tighter than a Scotsman clinging to his wallet at some stages. 

I would also like to thank Google Maps on my iPhone for sending us driving 15km down one of the least travelled roads, other than the local farmers on their tractors. It was just wide enough for us to remain on bitumen, until we found ourselves destined for a head on collision with some other wayward iOS user. 

The sound of the fuel gauge beeping to tell me we only had 40km of diesel left was adding to the comfort of knowing that the next town on the map could be a town with 10 houses and no fuel station. Luckily, I found a place that was pretending to be a caravan park that sold diesel along with some basic supplies that would need you to rob a bank to afford them. 

We got to our destination mid afternoon and discovered the park was exactly as described. Manager was very easy to deal with and we could just pick a spot and pay later. The whole place was green grass with huge sites and only about 5 other people here, giving the kids plenty of space to be bored in and not have anything to do. 

After a cool night, we got ourselves sorted and went for a walk into town. I am sure that the 50 cars in the Main Street must have been owners of the local shops, because there was not a soul to be seen anywhere. We did eventually meet some of the locals at the IGA, who would have had an average age of 85, but all of which were as friendly and polite as could be. 

The main street had some great monuments and old history displays which kept me intrigued in between telling the kids to stop arguing with each other and we ambled back to the park for lunch. 

This caravan park is on the edge of "the Little Desert National Park " which meant I had to bundle everyone into the car for a gander at whatever there was to see, whether they wanted to see it or not. It was kind of weird to see such a great meandering river snaking its way through what was otherwise a dry native bushland area, but the roughly graded tracks just kept on going, vaguely following the river and getting deeper into the bush. We spotted some kangaroos and a solitary emu that appeared to be running faster than my normal towing speed, and finally got to a 4wd only section that forced me to turn back. 

Forecast for tonight is rain, so I suspect we will be packing up wet gear. We are heading to Naracoorte for lunch, where we are meeting up with Taz's birth human mum and two kids, along with one of her dogs. Unfortunately he can't see his Spoodle mum - Nora - as she is on heat at the moment and is not allowed out. We are then heading to Millicent which will be our home for 3-5 days and see what happens from there. 

Melting

I spent a few hours contemplating our next move to avoid the forecasted heatwave, but in the end it seemed better to stay where we are with a pool and air conditioning than it was to move to an unknown environment where there may not be a nice pool or grass or other creature comforts that we have. 

The coast is currently about 23 degrees and forecast rain (and we don't have any warm clothes!), and any spots halfway between are much more basic parks without pools that we just don't want to go to right now. 

Yesterday was 36 degrees. We hibernated in and around the van till lunchtime whilst Tracy went and donated once again to the local Woolworths "feed the corporate giant" fund, and then went to the local public swimming pool. Poor old Taz wasn't allowed inside the gates, so we compromised and tied him to the fence in the shade with some towels and water, whilst we sat on the inside of the same fence and gave him regular pats and reassurance that we weren't leaving him. 

It cost a whole $14.50 for the 5 of us to get into this complex, and there was an added $4.50 per kid if they wanted to go on the giant waterslide. Which of course they did. To get this sort of afternoon fun for less than $30 was well worth it. Even I had a go on the high diving board, after I had done some investigating and was reassured that the weight limit would support me. With 4 pools, diving board and slide, it was well worth the cost. (Not sure about the water recovery costs after I jumped in however ).  

We had a tea of cold meats and salads so that neither of us had to cook, and very quickly it had cooled down enough to sit outside and enjoy the evening. 

Today was a stinker. It was forecast for 43 degrees and I reckon it wasn't far off at 9:30am when I finally ventured out of bed. It was back to the pool again this morning, however Tyler wasn't feeling like going after managing a very stinging belly flop on his last jump from the high diving board yesterday afternoon. This actually worked in our favour, so being the responsible parents we are, we left our 12 year old son in the caravan with Taz whilst we forgot about him for a couple of hours and went swimming. 

This afternoon was just horrible. Breathing hot air, drinking hot water, everything I touched felt like it was a branding iron wanting to leave another permanent mark on my body. We went over to the camp kitchen that was beautifully cooled to 22 degrees and played some board games with the kids before retiring back to the caravan for some screen time. 

We are supporting the locals tonight by getting some takeaway, and then heading off to the next leg of our adventure tomorrow, which should be Dimboola. 

It's all about Taz

The weekend was just about perfect with the weather sitting at 28-30 degrees during the day and hovering around 20 during the evening, making it perfect cricket watching weather. 

This gave us time to explore the local area and find places that the kids can exert some energy, such as the local skate park and river frontage area. Taz has spent a fair amount of time off leash now, and is providing a lot of entertainment with his antics and patience with the kids (and maybe a little with me wanting him to pose for photo shoots). 

We have discovered over the last two days that we are actually getting a little bored at times... and enjoying it. It sounds weird, but it is so nice to be bored and have to make a decision between having a nap, going to the pool, reading a book, or just sitting down with the dog and kids on the grass and soaking up the surrounds. It is also giving me way too much time to think about how this can be achieved more often yet still have an income. Career changes can't be that difficult to achieve can they?

Saturday night was my chance to cook up a roast on the Weber, rather than the usual BBQ meat and salads. 

I found a roast pork that would do the job and got myself in the mood for cooking. I am not sure how we managed to get a meal in the end...... absolutely everything that could be against me, was. 

I didn't get home from the shops until nearly 4pm, meaning the meat was still cold when it went in, the wind was blowing and I couldn't get enough of a wind break, therefore it wouldn't get hot (meaning the crackle was never going to work), I ran out of gas halfway through (maybe another reason why it wouldn't get over 200), and my meat thermometer probe was broken, probably from when I squashed it under the lid of the kettle Weber on Xmas day. Other than that, everything was going really well. 

A few more visits to the pool with the dog hidden between a couple of chairs, saw the weekend gone. Forecast for tomorrow and Tuesday is 36 and 43 degrees respectively. We were originally going to head down to the coast to escape the heat, but with zero warm clothes with us, and the expected cool change on Wednesday, we have decided to brave it out here. We have plenty of shade, only 4 other vans on the 30 or so grassy sites around us, a swimming pool that we can all go to with Taz, and a lack of motivation to pack up and move. 

The big wet

It was cloudy, humid and still *%^# hot this morning. No rain, just hot.

Bacon, eggs and toast on the WeberQ as per most other mornings was the standard request, so I assumed the role of Jamie Oliver and cooked to order. And cooked perfectly once again, I might add. 

I took Taz for a walk to the local park whilst Tracy took the kids to the pool this morning. The rain drops started appearing whilst I was out, but not enough to actually wet anything so I kept walking and exploring. 

Just as I got back to the pool, the kids announced they were over it and wanted to go back to the van. Just as we got back to the van, we heard the familiar toot of the local Paddle Steamer tour boat so we went to the river edge to check it out. 

The rain was now actually wetting the ground, yet still not enough to be even called rain - or showers for that matter either - so we stayed for a while whilst Taz plucked the courage to venture into the water and try to catch himself a duck. Obviously they were much smarter and kept their distance. 

After lunch we clambered into the car and went further South to a place called Lake Boga. Such a tiny little town but an amazing history of using their local lake as an inland refuge for WWII plane boats to land and be serviced/repaired. There was up to 1000 Service Personnel in the surrounding areas that worked on the planes who built a heap of local buildings, yet didn't actually live there. When the war was over, they dismantled it all again. 

This is the first place we have found that actually caters for people travelling with dogs. Sort of. If Taz could talk, he would probably describe it more like being unjustly jailed in a 1m x .75m jail cell with a bowl of water that he would rather tip over in protest than give us the satisfaction of actually drinking any of it. The place took us about 40 minutes to wonder through and learn about the operations and history, and Taz made sure he let us know he had done nothing to deserve being imprisoned, by yelping and barking and whimpering for the entire time.... so much so that one of the local residents actually came over thinking that a dog was stuck somewhere or caught up in a barbed wire fence. 

We soldiered on though and tried our hardest to not go and see him and give him false hope that he may be paroled early. 

There was also an old (but restored) communications bunker with some fascinating old equipment, especially an old plug cord telephone exchange, which I actually remember seeing a very similar unit when I first started work all those years ago. 

Finally we finished up and bailed out Taz. The excitement and joy of being together again was a great feeling - I think Taz was excited to see me too. 

The trip back saw the showers get heavy enough that I actually had to put the wipers on the intermittent setting. Apparently the weather forecasters got it completely wrong again and SA only got 20mm of rain with no wind, so the 1mm we got over the last 4 hours looks like it is as good as it is going to get. 

The night ended with more swimming, another Weber for tea, and more cricket - this time the One Day match. I am getting really used to this camping life. 

Heading south

Tomorrow arrived and we left as planned. An estimated 2.5 hours travel to Swan Hill for our second stop. We didn't quite make the full distance without needing a bathroom visit so I careered off the bitumen into a pot-hole riddled dirt rest area at Bounday Bend, with some fashionably smelly and unmaintained toilets. With the relief of empty bladders, we had a bit of a look around at the mighty River Murray flowing right past the parking bay which allowed the kids to go scooting down the hill to have a closer look at the muddy water.

It was still horribly hot and humid, so I bundled everyone into the car to try and make the last leg of our journey without another stop. 

On arriving at the Riverside Big4 park, the kids eyes lit up at the sight of the pool and were already planning on how to get out of helping set up and get themselves into the pool. 

Luckily I am just an all round nice guy and after getting the basics unpacked, I unleashed everyone whilst Taz and I finished. The forecast is for heavy rain tomorrow which will be the lagging tail of SA's "one in 10 year January storm" so I feverishly set up the annex ready to keep everything dry in the expected downpour.

The rest of the afternoon was spent "cooling off" in the heated 30 degree pool, with Taz once again hidden amongst the chairs in the shade on the wrong side of the pool fence. 

I spend a lot of my days contemplating all the stories for this blog but tonight I chose to settle in front of the TV instead watching one of the most amazing BBL matches of the season with what seemed to be a record number of sixes. 

This camping life is giving me plenty of hours to think about life too. It has been mentioned a few times by a few different people that perhaps my blog writing should have been my chosen profession. So I am putting it out there, Mr Google. You need to get my blog put in front of someone who has got some money and who will pay me to write. I am ready to throw the towel in and travel - exploring this amazing country and writing to the world about my perception on what everyone could do better (I mean different). It has got to be easier than what I am doing, and definitely has its moments when it is more satisfying. 

The temperature climbs

Having one cool(ish) day yesterday was a bit like having a cold shower before getting in a sauna. It was great whilst it lasted, but we knew it was a very short lived reprieve. 

Yesterday was hovering around 33 degrees, so we spent the day hovering around the pool. Once again we set up our chairs next to the fence and in such a way that we could slip Taz through and let him hide under my seat in the shade. He was constantly trying to get out to see the kids and I had to keep dragging him back under until he finally settled and lay quiet. Thinking about it a bit more after lunch, I started wondering if he was just petrified that my weight was going to come crashing through the chair and squash him  6 foot under, faster than an elephant standing on a mouse. 

More swimming after lunch, and a few board games in the comfort of the air conditioned TV room, saw the day pass and we settled into another hot restless night. 

This morning was exactly how holiday mornings are supposed to be - in my opinion. 

The kids got up and played, Tracy got up and played... and I slept in. Sort of. Between Taz jumping on the bed and trying to resuscitate me by licking my face every 15 minutes, and the kids calling out to me to cook them breakfast (I suspect with a bit of encouragement from Tracy), I think I got a few hours extra kip. 

We then headed into the free Water Park on the other side of Mildura, where I stayed with Taz and Dylan & Kayla, whilst Tracy went to donate to the local Woolies again with Tyler. 

This place is surprising how entertained it kept the two kidlets, considering it was only a maximum of 4" deep, however, it did and it was great to just sit and watch them play so well together. 

After more swimming this afternoon, I cooked up some chicken thigh fillets, wrapped around some ham and mozzarella cheese on the Weber. I have been hanging out to cook something different than just grilling snags and patties, and the Weber never lets us down when roasting something. 

After dinner, I gathered everyone together and went for a walk to the rivers edge. I had done this a few days ago so I knew where to go to catch the best shots. It was amazingly beautiful. Pictures cannot even start to describe how serene it was,however, that wasn't going to stop me from snapping away to try and get the perfect memories. 

Tomorrow we leave. Not because we don't like it here, but because the forecast includes at least 2 days over 36 degrees, with 2 days also over 40 degrees. There is also one of those "cold shower" days of close to 30 degrees just to try and fool us, but I am too clever for that.....

The temperature drops

We finally had a comfortable night. I think we even got to turn the air conditioning off for a few hours.

Tyler got to sleep in his brand new tent for the first time with Taz to protect him, however when Dylan went to the toilet about 6:30am, he came back with Taz in his arms, yet Tyler was still sound asleep in the tent!  Turns out he whined and paced the tent all night and apparently nuzzled his way out of the tent at some stage to go and terrorise anyone else who was silly enough to be awake at that time of the morning. 

Tyler was partly sheepish, indicating that he may have known Taz was gone but couldn't really care less after not getting too much sleep last night. 

Today was a much nicer 25 degrees and was already there at 8am. 

There was a huge sporting field about 2km down the road so we all trundled off with a soccer ball and did some stupid stuff - like running, exercise etc. 

the kids did a great job practicing their foot skills and then setup some goal kicking practice. 

Taz spent nearly an hour chasing a tennis ball at full speed until he finally collapsed on the grass panting faster than me after I ran 50 metres thinking I might actually get to the soccer ball before Tyler or Dylan. 

Next stop was to call into "Orange World" to see what the shop had to sell us and to find out how we were going to do a tour without one of us sitting out with Taz. To my amazement they said we could take Taz on the tour though the citrus orchard on the train ... so we did. 

Mario was our guide and was extremely friendly and funny(ish). I think he was the owner and was very interactive with everyone on the train, especially the kids. He invited Dylan and Kayla up front to drive the tractor which they were extremely chuffed at. 

On the way home I detoured to follow a sign to the Botanic Gardens. Not sure if we have missed something, but it looked just like the rest of the scrub around the Murray, but with fencing. 

Obviously we need to brush up on our fauna appreciation skills - just not on this trip. 

Before we knew it, tea time arrived. Tonight was pizza on the Weber. Yummo. 

After dinner, I took Taz for a walk to the river. A magnificent stretch of river greeted us, with dead calm water, fish feeding on the surface and birds chirping away without a worry in the world. 

This is my favourite part of camping. Being by the water, enjoying nature. 

Keeping cool

The heat may have slowed us down, but it definitely hasn't stopped us enjoying not being at work. 

As soon as the traditional bacon and eggs cooked breakfast was over, we went for a walk to the river edge then I sneaked over to the pool with the kids before too many other people saw me and called the RSPCA to get me out of the water. 

One of the things we were forced to learn on this holiday, is that taking a dog away with us poses a whole lot more restrictions than we actually ever thought of. Like - how can we all go to Woolworths together and race trolleys down the aisle?  How do we all go to the park pool together and sun bake like a Walrus searching for the sun?  Luckily I am not one to obey every rule to the exact meaning, and I tied Taz up to the outside of the fence knowing full well he could fit between the rails and sit between our chairs without too many people noticing. We still had to have one of us sitting with him to stop him whining and drawing attention to us (as if me sitting there without a top on wasn't enough...). 

After lunch was the mandatory Woolworths visit for a few essentials, and this was modified with Tyler and myself wandering the streets with Taz, whilst Tracy took Dylan and Kayla to do the spending. 

Some parts of Mildura are actually quite scenic... it certainly helped that it was 38 degrees on a Sunday and all the smart people were at home sitting in front of their air conditioners. 

We then headed off to the local splash park where the kids managed to spend a good hour running around in 3 inches of water. It would be great to have their imagination and maybe even nicer to have half their energy. 

It doesn't look like the temperature is going to get to an amazing low of about 30 degrees again. If I keep sweating at this rate, the Murray is potentially going to flood again, and with a bit of luck I might actually drop a notch on the scales .... unless my rehydration habits after dinner put a stop to that thought. 

Another sweltering night ahead. But we are on holidays so I don't care. 

Hot. Hot. Hot

Today is the day we leave for 3 weeks on the road. There is nothing quite as enjoyable as packing a caravan in 40 degree heat with 3 kids doing everything they can to make it as difficult as they can. 

We left home at 2pm after Tracy finished work, and for the first time in forever we got past Tailem Bend without the need for a toilet stop. I am not sure that the temperature fell below 43 for the entire trip, but thankfully the car didn't skip a beat and we arrived safely. 

Setting up was a little slower, thanks to the oppressive heat and a quick interlude where we all went to the pool for a while.

I pottered around for the next hour or so setting up the last bits and pieces so that the morning would be a relaxed affair without the need to set anything more up. 

True to forecast, it was a sweltering night. Didn't get below 30 all night, and therefore our little air conditioner also ran all night. Until it woke me up at around 5:30 making all sorts of funny noises. I turned it off, only to start cooking again 39 minutes later, at which time Tracy turned it back on. All seemed good again, so it began another 3 hours of keeping the van cool. 

Totally unprepared - January 2017

In 1 day, we are heading off for our next adventure. 3 weeks of travelling what is potentially one of the hottest parts of the country in one of the hottest months of the year.
First leg of the journey is home to Mildura. The forecast currently sits at 41 degrees Saturday whilst we are travelling, 37 degrees Sunday and a cooler 33 degrees on Monday before ramping up to 37 again on Tuesday.
Looks like I am going to need to squeeze this over-sized frame of mine into a pair of Budgie Smugglers and scare the locals at the Caravan Park Pool. Better also fore-warn them to let some water out so that they don't think the Murray is breaking its banks again.

Still. ..... I could be at work.......  Nuf said. 

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.