Aus Day 79 -Adelaide Shopping

Tuesday 7th December    Aus Day 79


Rose at 08.20 this morning, the latest I’ve been during the whole of this trip. Lovely bed but spent half the night chasing a mossie. Showered in my en-suite bathroom then joined Valerie for breakfast.

Spent an hour re-constructing the interior of the van and getting all the bedding etc sorted out. Now it just needs a quick sweep out and refuelling before I hand it in to the depot.

At 11.00 am we left the house to go shopping in Adelaide although we had to stop off in Aldinga as Valerie had an appointment to keep.

We arrived at Adelaide Market at about 12.30 an had a spot of lunch at Lucia’s. Then continued to Rundle Mall on the free tram service just as it was starting to rain. Spent the next 4 hours wandering around the shops up and down the Mall, with some success, before making our way back to the market to pick up the car and join the rush hour traffic back onto the expressway heading for Willunga.

Adelaide Indoor Market

Santa In Rundle Mall

Valerie Posing In Davy Jones Apartment Store

Select Your Christmas Decorations

Valerie cooked us a very nice mushroom omelette which was washed down with another bottle of Shiraz then at about 8.30 pm we took ourselves off to the pub at the top of the main street having a good chat and returning home and off to bed at about 10.45.

Aus Day 78 - Almost There.

Monday 7th December    Aus Day 78


Rose at 07.30 after being woken at 05.00 by about ¾ hour of very gusty wind which abated as quickly as it arrived. Shower and breakfast for the last time in this van. Tonight I will be sleeping in a “proper” bed, courtesy of sister Valerie, assuming I can get t the other side of Adelaide without mishap.

Readied the van for travelling and on my way out of the caravan park, performed the port-a-loo dump routine for the last time. I shan’t miss that particular activity. Set off at about 09.30 with approximately 403 kilometres to go to get to Willunga.

The Road To Adelaide Just South Of Pt Augusta

The Road To Adelaide Just Before Port Wakefield

Traffic Chaos As I Try To Get Into Adelaide

An uneventful journey although traffic density is gradually increasing as I go south. Refuelled at Port Wakefield which will see me through until the final refuel before handing the van back. I had decided to follow the A13 through Adelaide as this leads directly to the M2 Expressway, the quick route to Willunga. Unfortunately, having turned off the A1, I was almost immediately confronted by roadwork chaos. There seemed to be major reconstruction going on with very little in the way of effective traffic management other than ‘let them sort it out for themselves.’ However, I managed to stay calm and ‘go with the flow,’ as slow as it was. Anyway, I eventually got to the expressway just as the southbound flow started and from there it was plain sailing until I arrived at Willunga House at about 2.45.

McLaren Vale Approaching Willunga

The Van Parked Up Safely At Willunga House

I parked the van up and got most of my stuff off-loaded and lodged in my on-suite bedroom which has a lovely double bed covered with crisp white sheets. I shall get the van sorted out tomorrow in readiness for getting it returned to the depot in Adelaide on Wednesday.

Valerie cooked us a very nice Spag Bol for tea which went down very nicely with a bottle of Shiraz, after which I had a wonderful Skype session with Eileen. It won’t be long now before we are back together.

Valerie and I had a good childhood reminiscences session an a general chat about more current things before I set to to get this Blog completed before Zebedee can find out where I am. However, I am now off to my "Proper" bed so Good Night All.

Aus Day 77 - Rain, Lightning and More Rain

Sunday 5th December    Aus Day 77

A dismal night with rain and thunder waking me at frequent intervals. Rose at 07.30 with rain and thunder still at it. Had breakfast and then dashed to the shower during a break in the rain but, it was raining again for the dash back to the van.

It looks as though rain is set in for a while so got quite wet while carrying out the external tasks to get the van ready to move. It isn’t too warm either.

Departed from the caravan park at about 09.30 but a couple of kilometres down the road the battery warning light illuminated. I pulled over and tried re-cycling a couple of times but without success so I turned back into Ceduna looking for a public phone box so that I could phone Apollo and report the problem. However, having got to the phone I tried re-cycling one more time – success! – the battery light remained off so I decided to take the chance and set off on the road to Pt Augusta at about 10.00 am.

It wasn’t long before the rain started up again and at times became quite torrential, along with spectacular displays of lightning. I seemed to be travelling with the weather as torrential rain and lightning continued for the next 150 kms before it finally eased off. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in a position to take photos.

Eventually I refuelled at 13.45 in Kimba which claims to be half way across Australia, and counts a “Big Gulah” amongst its attractions.

Kimba's Big Gulah

I had a second photo opportunity at a place called “Iron Knob” (yes, it is on the map) which is a famous iron ore mining town that appears to be one gigantic slag heap.


Iron Knob From The Eyre Highway



A Closer View of Iron Knob

The rain restarted as I as approaching Pt Augusta but, I arrived at the caravan park where I had stayed when I was starting my trip at about 3.30 pm.

I parked up and got my laundry on before getting started on drafting this Blog. There was not much else to do before my scheduled Skype contact with Eileen so made myself some tea and watched the News on TV until the appointed time. Made my day, as usual, and afterwards I sat down to complete the Blog before relaxing for the remainder of the evening.

Zebedee finally caught up with me at about 11.00pm and sent me straight to bed. Good Night All.

Aus Day 76 - Time For A Change?

Saturday 4th December    Aus Day 76

Rose at 06.30 to a cloudy, windy day. Shower, breakfast, published yesterday’s Blog and then prepped the van for departure.

Left the caravan park at 08.10 local time and headed east towards the SA Border which I crossed some 12 kms later. It seems that the fruit-fly quarantine checks will not be carried out until just before Ceduna some 493 kms further east. However, having crossed the border, I am now in the South Australia time zone which means that I am now 10½ hours ahead of UK time and have gained another 1¾ hours on Western Central time so that I am 2½ hours ahead of WA Time. Confusing isn’t it?

Pushing on, I am now travelling very close to the south coast and I stopped off for a quick photo shoot from the Nullarbor Cliffs although the weather is very overcast and the visibility is not good.

View From The Nullarbor Cliffs Looking Back Towards Eucla

View From The Nullarbor Cliffs Looking Out Over The Great Australian Bight

Stopped to refuel at the Nullarbor Roadhouse, simply because it had to be done, then plodded on at a steady 90 kph, stopping every now and then to stretch my legs before arriving at the Ceduna Foreshore caravan park at about 4.30 pm local time. Having checked in and parked the van, I wandered up to the local supermarket to obtain a fresh supply of bananas, since I had to finish the last lot before getting to the fruit-fly quarantine check point.

Travelling The Nullarbor Road

Nullarbor Roadhouse Welcome Sign

The Nullarbor Roadhouse

As I got back, there seemed to be a storm gathering so grabbed my camera and headed for the beach for a few photos. The storm was still quite away out to sea but rolling in fast. I hadn’t long been back at the van when it hit. Not too much rain to start with but severe lightning and thunder with one lightning strike seeming to be just outside the caravan park.

Storm Gathering Over Ceduna Beach

Closer View of the Gathering Storm

Lightning Strike

 At about 6.00 pm I decided to get myself some tea so that I would be ready for the scheduled Skype contact with Eileen at 7.00 pm. As usual, this made my day but had to limit the duration to 45 minutes as I desperately need to get on with completing today’s Blog in readiness for getting it on-line first thing in the morning. The Thunder and rain are still at it intermitently through the rest of the evening and television reception is not good so once finished with the Blog I got myself ready for bed without waitin for Zebedee although I did read for a bit to the sound of the rain on the van roof. Good Night All.

Aus Day 75 - Another Time Zone Surprise

Friday 3rd December    Aus Day 75


Rose at 07.00, shower, breakfast and then spent a bit of time finalizing the Blog so that I can get it on-line as soon as I have Internet connection which may prove not to be possible until I get to Ceduna on Saturday. However, only time will tell.

Prior to leaving the site this morning I had a quick whiz round to take a couple of photos of the roadhouse.

The Camper Van Parked Up At Balladonia

The Balladonia Roadhouse

The "You Are Here" Map At Balladonia

I left the site at 08.30 and set off at a Sunday Driver pace. However, it wasn’t long before I came to the “90 Mile Straight”, the longest straight road in Australia, although it does have remarkable similarities to others I have travelled. I refuelled at Caiguna which is where I suddenly found myself loosing 45 minutes, as from here to the SA Border Western Central Time is in operation. I therefore had to abandon the Sunday Driving and put my foot down a bit in order to get to Eucla in reasonable time.

The Start Of "The 90 Mile Straight"

The Nullarbor Road

Refuelled again at Mundrabilla, as they seemed to be offering very competitive rates, then finally arrived at Eucla at 4.00 pm. This would have been 3.15 pm on WA time. There will be a further time change tomorrow as I cross into SA on m way to Ceduna.

Having checked into the caravan park I was delighted to find good Internet access available although there is no mobile phone signal. I had a bit of time to spare now so, took a wander around the site which is situated on the edge of the Eucla Pass on the Eyre Highway.

The View From The Eucla Caravan Park Towards The Coast

The Eucla Memorial Site

The Eucla Whale Outside The Hotel

Made myself some tea and continued drafting this Blog before eventually establishing Skype contact with Eileen which absolutely made my day for me.

Spent the rest of the evening with a few games of Majong and a bit of reading as well as dealing with a few emails. Amazing how you can continue to conduct business even when on the opposite side of the World. However, Zebedee final caught up with me and dispatched me to bed at 11.00 pm. So, Good Night All.