Ceduna - Day 5

Fletcher
Hi Everybody, we had a nice time today.  We went to a couple of factories- salt, grain, gypsum and mineral sands. We saw a big ship getting loaded at the port for export. We went into town and mum went to the post office.  We went to the bakery for lunch and dad and I got a pie.  Dads flavour was savoury and mine was beef.  Then we went to the fish shop and got fresh fish that they just caught.  one was called king george whiting and the other was flake, it was yummy.  we had it with salad and mini toasts.

                                                           the ship being loaded

                                        the sign about how much goes on the ships each year
Mackenzie
hi its Mackenzie.  Today we went into town and we went to a surf shop and I got a hat.  We saw a teenager get arrested in the street, i dont know what he did wrong, i think he was back chatting.  It was a sunny day so we walked around for a while.  We played at the caravan for a while and got a ice cream at the office.  We had flake for tea, i loved it but now i know its shark i dont think i want to eat it again.  And now we are going to watch a movie together.

                                       my mum took this photo today it is my favorite photo

                                     us at the lookout near where the ship was being loaded
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We spent the day looking around Ceduna and seeing the sights.  We went out to see the ship being loaded and saw the tug waiting to guide him out.   Ceduna is a natural deep sea port and exports alot of commodities, the statistics (on Fletcher's photo) are amazing.  We went to the fresh fish market and got our tea, it didnt matter what happened for the rest of the day - I was happy!  Mackenzie and Dan got a hat at the surf store, Dan actually got 3 and some tshirts!?  I spoke too soon yesterday about there being no bakery stops yet, Daniel and Fletcher got pies!!  The views are amazing out to the ocean and there is a pub built in 2007 on the foreshore that is not only huge but looks amazing.  The facilities are outstanding, the food is fine dining style and it has 57 hotel rooms.  We spent most of the day walking around and Bentley is exhausted but the kids have got their second wind and want to watch a movie.  They have been so good with doing their school work, today while we were in the fish shop they got their maths out and had done 3 pages before we came out.  We worked out a cheap & easy washing machine too.  Although the park washing machines are convenient, i have had problems in the past with oil like stains from them on our clothes and at $3 a load they are expensive too.  We have a bucket with a lid in the front boot of the van - we have had the bucket for ages, we got it off dad when the gas strikes were on in Victoria-maybe Dan's right I'm a hoarder but its come in handy! So we put the clothes in at Port Augusta, put washing powder in & half filled it with water and drove, by the time we got to Ceduna, the clothes were clean & the water was filthy, best wash they have had I would say.  $3 saved for Dan's service station coffee in the morning!  A great dinner,  a late night walk & Dan watched the footy until half time in the TV room.  Well a movie is calling, not sure if we will have internet the next few days so we will catch you up with photos and stories when we get internet.

                                           our washing machine - aka white bucket

                                                Road trains at Ceduna roadhouse

our site at Ceduna Big 4

Ceduna - Day 4

The kids have gone to bed tonight so its just me and they will add theirs in the morning.  We survived the hot day only to have the same temperatures through the night, we had such a restless sleep and we had the air con going most of the night.  We got up about 7am today only to realise it was already 30degrees.  Dan swore we were in for a storm but nothing, not even the weatherman showed any signs of that.  Well you wont believe that not even 20minutes into our day it poured down and it didnt stop the whole way to Ceduna.  The temperature dropped to 22 almost instantly, it was bizzare, and everyone makes fun of Melbourne's 4 seasons in 1 day!  It was a pretty uneventful day, another long drive.  The kids did some school work & diaries along the way and e readers, dont think there was any reading going on just watching shows! 
We got to Ceduna around 3pm & did a lap of the town as there is 4 or 5 caravan parks so we thought we would do a drive by to look what they were like.  The top tourist was right on the water but couldnt fit us in for 2 nights so we are in the Big 4, which is so well looked after & ran by such friendly helpfull people.  We set up & the kids got some toys out to have a play & coloring in before we walked into town.  We were both surprised how big the town is & that they have a large range of stores.  Dan is doing well so far and hasnt given into any bakeries but his service station coffee is an expensive habit but he so far has driven the whole time so a small price to pay for an alert (well coffee high) driver.  We walked down to the pier and the wind blowing off the southern ocean was icy, they have whales in the cooler months which would be amazing to see.  Im looking forward to tomorrow as we have a few things to see & do including going to the fish factories which sell the fresh fish direct, seafood for tea tomorrow I'm hoping. 
We had our first "griswolds" moment today while trying to cook tea, we had our portable oven, cooktop & car fridge running off the same power board, all going well till it decided enough was enough and it cut the trip switch on the powerboard- all good we thought- nope blew the lights in the van too!  Dan to the rescue to fix the van and a few changes of leads & the oven running on an extension from the bathroom, the fridge back off the dual battery set up in the car & the  cooktop up and running we were back in business.  We either looked like we knew what we were doing or complete morons with leads coming from every direction.  This was all after already having to change our cooking setup around after setting of our smoke alrms 10 minutes earlier!  Tea was fantastic though, potatoes done as wedges in the oven, a chicken dish with rice & whatever vegies we had put in it -  as we hit the quarantine check point this friday at the Western Australian border and they check your van & car for banned items, which is basically all fresh fruit, vegies, some nuts, honey, seeds, soil etc.

                                              Sunrise at the caravan park in Port Augusta

                                     The Pier at Ceduna - looking out to the Southern Ocean

Dan at Kimba- the halfway point across Australia

Port Augusta - Day 3

Fletcher -

 

 Hi to all, Today we had pancakes in the morning, then went shopping for bread.  Then we went up a big water tower,I was scared because it was so high, mum was too and she only went half way.  The scenery was great though.  Next we went back to the caravan park and had lunch, rested and then went to the pool, it was freezing.  Then we went to the airport to watch the Royal Flying Doctor Service.  We saw a plane land and one fuel up.  We went for a little drive to Hungry Jacks and got a slushie.  The temperature was 41 degrees.  We went to my mums favorite resteraunt for take away, its name was Barnicle Bills. The name might sound weird but the food is great.  We ate at the beach.  Mackenzie and I played in the playground for a while and then went to the beach.  We didnt go in the water but we made sandcastles and collected shells.  We climbed the rocks and saw a shipwreck.


                     

Mackenzie - Today we went out into town.  We got bread and chicken for lunch.  Mum went to the library to print something off so me and Fletcher went to the playground.  Then we went back to the caravan and had some lunch.  We had a rest and went to the pool.  In the pool I practised doing handstands and walking on my hands while i was doing a handstand.  We went back to the caravan but it was too hot so we went for a drive to Hungry Jacks to get a slurpee and to Barnicle Bills for take away.  We went to the beach to eat our tea and then made sandcastles and collected shells.

As you will notice, after day one the kids have decided to try to add to the blog daily too, we are letting them write whatever they think of and add whatever photos they chose.  I totally agree with their thinking that their friends would like to hear what they did not our grown up boring stuff!

                                                                        "A selfie"

The view from the old water tower lookout of Port Augusta

 

 So what can i say about today........HOT.  It was so hot, even with air conditioning in the caravan it was unbearable, we had to go for a few unscheduled drives to get some relief.  We went to an amazing lookout, which Bentley and I proudly made it half way up, the others made it to the top and got some great photos.  We did all the boring stuff, post office, library & supermarket.  The kids had a bit of a swim but the pool was so cold.  Bentley is like one of the kids and comes everywhere with us but it is days like today that you would love to spend the day in a cinema or shopping centre air conditioned building that you cant.  My suggestion of sitting in the library & reading magazines because it had a great kids section & internet access - came with a quick reminder from Dan that Libraries dont allow dogs!  Bentley is the reason most people strike up a conversation with us and he didnt let us down today with making friends of all ages, 2 gorgeous aboriginal kids in the park who asked to play with him and a lovely older man & lady out for dinner who are visiting family in Port Augusta and missing their own little dog.  We had a great day despite the heat.  We went out to the airport and saw the Royal Flying Doctors, one came into land while we were there, waiting for the perfect photo the plane was coming straight for us, I told the kids that if it didnt turn soon I was running and suggested they do the same, it did turn of course but it was one of those situations you were thinking "turn turn turn turn - am i going to be on the news tonight?!  We both love Port Augusta and it is a lovely compromise as I love the beach and Daniel loves the outback.  I had my fix of my much loved and very missed Barnacle Bills and cooled down at the beach with a great sea breeze.  We have had the luxury of an ensuite site the last 2 nights, which will be few & far between on this trip.  3 days without  tv so far,  so I had to get my fix with an episode of Dawsons Creek- yep I've gone old school and yep its still as corny as it was when i was younger.  Dan is in his element with the road trains here, i should have kept a register and counted how many times he has said "road train", "oohhh a double" or " wait till you see a triple"  Well I'm probably looking more forward to seeing a triple than i am to seeing the next episode of Dawsons Creek actually. Tomorrow we are off to Ceduna so just under 500kms to travel.

Port Augusta - Day 2

FLETCHER

Today we left very early from Tailem Bend all the way to Port Augusta. We drove through Adelaide.  We stopped for petrol along the way and stopped a few times for a break and at Snowtown.  It took until 2 oclock to get to Port Augusta.  We saw heaps of trains go past.  We went to the beach and walked along the esplanade which is a old train track on top of  the beach.  I went in the water and swam with a school of fish, dad said I didnt learn anything at that school, it was funny.  We had fajitas for tea.  It is going to be 38 and hot tomorrow. 

                               Me and Mackenzie on the train line over the water at Port Augusta

 

Mackenzie

We went to the beach today at Port Augusta and I found a crab.  We went to the park and it had exercise equiptment at it too.  Also we did school work, we have got a book we do our work in, it has reading, spelling and math.  I have been coloring in lots in my top model book and been writing in my diary about everyday.  I am watching my e reader in the car and drawing mooshlings.

                                                      Us on the exercise equipment

  Today we woke at about 7 and left Tailem Bend at around 8:30 for the drive into Adelaide which is a bit of fun coming down the Adelaide Hills with the van on the back. Got into Adelaide at about 9:30 and could not believe how easy it was traffic wise on a Monday morning to get from one side to the other. I think we were in and out in under half an hour, just a bit different to Melbourne. Heading north the weather started to turn very overcast and we had patches of rain right through to Port Augusta. Stopped at Snowtown along the way for a toilet break and saw that infamous bank that sadly everyone now remembers that place for. Arriving in Port Augusta at around 2pm we set up at the Shoreline Tourist Park then headed down to the Esplanade so the kids could find some shells. They have done alot of work down here and the place is looking really good. Was a hot day with the temp at around 32c but with the rain it made it really humid. When we checked in the lady in the office said it will be worse than being in Darwin tomorrow with the temp to reach 38c and humidity levels high. Something to look forward to I guess!!!

                                                   Me outside the bank at Snowtown

Tailem Bend - Day 1

We started the day off a little later than expected and then got stuck in road closures in the city.  So what should have been a 45 minute trip to the west gate bridge, turned out to be well over 2 hours.  Everywhere we turned there were road closures, thank goodness Daniel is a walking melways and although a little frustrating, we made it through eventually. 
We have filled up with petrol twice today, after fighting with the city traffic and terrible crosswinds for most the day our fuel economy has been shocking. We even noticed how much better the roads were once we had crossed the border into South Australia, although road works was the general theme in both states.
The kids travelled really well today, with a few treats each this morning to play with in the car and their e-readers to keep them busy we had very few  "are we nearly there"  Well....... who are we kidding, we actually lost count of how many times Mackenzie said it but she was asking while we were still in the city!  Bentley was a bit sad to be in the back today, very comfy & secure but for a dog who thinks he is a human it was  a very undignified way to travel.
We had planned to stop at the border today but decided to keep going to make tomorrow less travel.  We arrived at Tailem Bend about 7pm, the caravan park is on the Murray River so some old faithful views tonight.   Great drive through sites so we could stay hooked up.
Lunch was sandwiches on the side of the road in Horsham & we have stocked up on a bit of meat from our local Beacy butcher so we could cook up some burgers tonight when we got here.  We also gained half an hour so arriving in day light to set up was a big bonus.  Tomorrow we will head to Port Augusta for a few days, we did a day trip there last year & had a great time on the beach and met some lovely locals so it will be nice to have a few days to explore. 

10 Days to go

Mackenzie

Hi it's Mackenzie - I'm 9.  I can't wait until the trip, it is only 10 days away.  I have packed some books, toys and computer games and my clothes, I just need to pack my shoes now.  We still have to do school work but for only about an hour a day so we still have time to look around places.  I'm saving my money to buy things that you can't get here in Victoria.  I'm going to miss my friends.




Fletcher

Hi its Fletcher - I am 10.  It is only 10 days to go until we go away.  My grade at school will be following me around on a map.  I still have heaps of things to fit into school before I go, like my speech night, bike ed and house sports.  The 1st place we go is Adelaide, I think it will take about 9 hours to get there. It will be my birthday while we are away, I hope we will be in Darwin. It will be lots of fun.