November | 2021 | This Adventurous Age

November 18, 2021
by wendyviney 1 Comment

2010 Travels April 28

WEDNESDAY 28 APRIL MT IVE

We had been told that the Mt Ive staff were to cater lunch today for sixty visitors – some kind of local fund raiser.

We did not feel like driving anywhere today, but equally did not feel like staying in camp with all those extra people around. So – decided it was time to try a longer walk, and see how John managed that.

We walked a little way back along the road into the homestead complex, to where there were the graves of two young children, that dated from an earlier time and family. Then we left the road and picked our way up the hill side, on rocky ground, and through spinifex clumps, to intersect with the vehicle track to Mt Scott. Doing this was a more direct way than following the road track all the way from the station, as it took a more round about route.

**The station complex from part way up the hillside**

As we walked fairly steadily uphill, toward the rounded summit in the distance, met a 4WD inching its way down. Given the caution he was having to exercise, I was pleased we hadn’t driven. John likes those kinds of adventures. I am not so convinced.

The views from the top of Mt Scott made the effort worthwhile.

In one direction, could see Lake Gairdner in the distance.

**Glimpse of Lake Gairdner in the distance**

A bit closer, looking to the west, was one of the areas of the station where visitors could go and bush camp. Could see that same 4WD. exploring some of the station tracks out that way.

To the south, could see the area of the Wombat Holes, in the distance.

**The lighter coloured ground around the Wombat Holes**

There was a cairn on the peak; we each added a small rock to the structure.

Pottered around on the peak for the best part of an hour, taking photos, studying the surrounding country from the vantage point.

**Entry road to Mt Ive. Gawler Ranges in distance**

Followed the vehicle track back to camp, not fancying a downhill scramble on the rocky hillside, on the more direct way. Even so, the rocky road demanded our full concentration on foot placement. Would have been an easy place to damage an ankle.

It was disgusting to come across a place, right beside the road, where some of the party of bush campers who were here over the long weekend, had emptied their portable toilet tanks. It was not far from the main campground. Some people are just such revolting grubs.

It was a good long walk and John was really pleased with how he did. I estimated we walked about 7kms,

By the time we got back, all signs of the lunch – and the people – were gone. Mission accomplished.

Relaxed at camp for the rest of the afternoon. Were “entertained” by the two men who had come to the rescue the day M’s gears went missing. Today, they were using a digger, near us, for a grey water drain from the new toilet block. Watched them using wires to “detect” the line of the power and other cables, under the ground. No Dial Before You Dig service out here! Obviously it was an inexact science and – twang – they dug up the power and Telstra lines, and just missed the water pipe. They were good humoured about the mishap, and amusing as they made the necessary repairs.

Three new vehicles came into the campground in the late afternoon. We had seen one of them – a 4WD with a Trakmaster-built slide on structure “The Kennel” – around our area at home. Went over and introduced myself. It was a small group of Trakmaster Club members, working out a route for a Club trip. We chatted with them for a while.

Lit the camp fire and had our happy hour.

There were some little critters around the camp ground. I didn’t know enough to tell if they were mice or some sort of little native marsupial. They seemed to be smaller than house mice. Some of them were quite bold. One of them snuck up and tried to nibble on my toenail! A little carnivore?

Tea was leftover fish cakes.

November 17, 2021
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2010 Travels April 27

TUESDAY APRIL 27 MT IVE

We left camp about 9.30am, to have a day out visiting the Gawler Ranges National Park, to the south.

Took the road towards Thurlga Homestead, then went SE for a while on the Kimba road, before turning west onto the Public Access Route to the old Paney Homestead and the Park.

The unsealed roads were reasonable and the scenery interesting. We saw an emu with six chicks, near Thurlga. The PAR to the Park was rougher than the proper tracks, with a few wet patches.

We had to register at the Paney Shearing Shed near the Park entrance. $6.50 a vehicle.

From there, took the 4WD LP Track track to the NW, to the Kolay Hut camp area. That track was pretty good.

Kolay campground was a pleasant camp area, treed, with a toilet and a dry creek. For those looking for a less populated bush camping area, outside of the summer months, this one would be pretty good.

There was an outlook to a low range.

**Outlook from Kolay Hut camp ground. Once was pastoral country.**

In wandering about, exploring, we found what appeared to be a really old lean-to shelter, made of logs, wire netting and dead grasses. I would have loved to know the story of that – person shelter? Doghouse? Chook house?

Followed a vehicle track up a valley across from the camp area, and looked at some small, dry, waterfalls in the gully, thinking these were the Kolay Mirica Falls. Walked up their gully a little way. Notable were the various rock formations. Organ pipe structures seemed plentiful in the Gawler Ranges.

**Valley across from Kolay Hut camp ground**

**Looking back to Kolay Hut camp ground, in amongst the trees.**

Continuing further along the LP Track, we found the real Kolay Mirica Falls a bit further on. So it was another little detour up to the parking area, and more walking and exploring. These were bigger and more scenic than what we’d thought were they. But dry, apart from a few rock puddles.

**Pillar formations at Kolay Mirica Falls**

There was no doubt about the overall aridity of this area, however, I suspected it could be really pretty in the spring wildflower period, especially if winter had been reasonably wet.

**Looking down the Kolay Mirica Falls – would be impressive after a real deluge…**

Kept driving on the LP Track. This became much rougher after the Falls. A couple of the dry stream crossings and rougher areas gave M a chance to try out her repaired low range gears – all seemed ok.

Turned to the SE onto the Mattera Track, then stopped by a large, dry, creek bed to eat lunch. There were some very big kangaroos about these parts!

The Mattera Track proceeded down a really pretty valley between the ranges. It joined the Old Paney Scenic Route and we detoured slightly to the west to look at the Old Paney Homestead, and had a walk around there.

The Gawler Ranges region was settled for pastoralism within three decades of the establishment of a colony at Adelaide in the 1830’s. Paney, Yardea and Thurlga were the main large pastoral leases in the area. At times, Paney and Yardea had the same owners. In 2000, the government bought the Paney lease area and turned it into a National Park, possibly due to the unusual rock formations. But now, of course, some of the pastoral history of the area is preserved in structures like the Old Paney Shearing Shed.

Drove back to the east then took a side track to drive the little circuit track around Waukinna Hill – just to see a bit more of the country.

It was about 3pm when we got back to the Shearing Shed at the eastern entrance to the Park. We felt like we’d seen a representative sample of the Park, so retraced our way back to Mt Ive. Stopped to gather some more firewood and got back to camp about 4.30pm.

We had only encountered two other vehicles through the entire day’s outing! One of them was a Kea hire 4WD, with a Swiss couple. We’d met them on the PAR on the way in, this morning; they were departing after camping in the Park. We’d chatted briefly with them then, as you tend to do on encounters in isolated areas. They had wanted to know the state of the track we had just come over. They were at Mt Ive when we got back, and the man came over to have a chat. This was their third visit to Australia and they were enjoying getting away from the standard tourist places.

We sat round a campfire for a while, then had a tea of fishcakes, zucchini and tomato.

Our verdict was that it had been a day worth doing. Also, if we got back into “proper” travel again – and if John could exist for a few days without things that ran on 240v power – then the Gawler Ranges would be an enjoyable place to camp.

We’d had some light rain as we travelled, this morning, but the sky was clear by afternoon. The moon was getting on towards full – lovely to see. It was a cold night, due to the clear sky.

M had decided she had a mouse, somewhere in Bessie! It had been waking her up at night, rustling around. She did not have a trap with her, but I reckoned that was going to be at the top of her shopping list when we hit civilization again!

The big questions were: 1. Where did she pick up the critter? and 2. Was it a rodent mouse or some sort of native critter? Given its behaviour, seemed most likely it was an ordinary variety mouse mouse.

November 16, 2021
by wendyviney 1 Comment

2010 Travels April 26

MONDAY 26 APRIL MT IVE

This morning, we set out to drive the station 4WD track known as the Flight Path, following the station directions and mud map. This mustering track heads off into the hilly country to the east of the homestead. Although only about 30kms, it should take 4-5 hours to drive.

It was stony and quite slow going, in parts, through country that grew more interesting as we left the station structures – like big dams – behind.

**Vantage point along the Flight Path track**

Unfortunately, couldn’t leave signs of humans behind. Some filthy recent camper had emptied a toilet cassette right beside the track.

After about 10 kms, we crawled down a steep, rocky descent, to a little creek gully, with a rise out of it on the other side. We were about 100 metres ahead of M. Then she radioed, to say that “Bessie” was stuck in low range neutral drive, in the gully at the bottom of the steep slope. We reversed back to her. She said she had engaged low range at the top of the hill, but had thought, coming down, that it did not feel like she was really in low range at all – Bessie was going too fast. But, at the bottom, she could not change the gears at all.

John used our snatch strap to tow her a short way – out of the creek bed.

That didn’t help much. She just had no gears. As instructed for those who had issues on the station tracks, M radioed the station and they said they would send a couple of guys out. They arrived, after about half an hour, and were very nice about being called away from normal duties. They decided it was probably a gear selector problem, fiddled about and thought they had fixed it – by getting under the Troopy and poking the selector up, with a screw driver. She had gears again!

They confirmed what it looked like on the map, that the Flight Path track intersected the Peters Pillars track, up ahead, so we could bail out of doing the full Flight Path route, and go back an easier way on the main tracks, also easier going than returning the way we’d come. This seemed prudent, with a suspect vehicle, though it was a pity to miss out on seeing the rougher parts. They left to go back the way they’d come out, and we continued on. Then, M realized that, in fact, she now only had low range gears, so it was a slow trip back to camp!

The country we went through was varied and interesting. Where M had broken down, there were lots of spiders – big spiders – on the ground. I was not going to get close enough to those things to take a photo of them, though.

When we crawled back into camp, a man from the RAA was there, fixing our neighbour’s vehicle. That was fortunate, in more than one way. He’d thought he’d fixed their yesterday’s problem, packed up to go, then found it wasn’t right after all. I guess his error saved him a second trip back out here, and us some time hanging about waiting for him. He said he would tackle the Troopy when he’d finished the first job.

Last year, on her way back from the Canning Stock Route trip, M had a gearbox selector seal replaced, in Alice Springs. It seemed that mechanic had not replaced the selector arm properly. Today had been the first time, since then, that she’d tried to use the lowest gears and hence the problem showed up. Bit scary, really – that work had been done at a proper Toyota place.

While the repair work was happening, John and I went for a walk part-way up the hill behind the camp area, on a road track.

The place was almost empty again – lovely!

Tea was pasta and bottled pesto. We’d had the usual happy hour before hand. During this, John decided to set up our van TV in M’s living tent, in order to watch a film. I said I preferred the quiet of the bush, not damned TV, but he persisted. I guess it made a change for M, from just reading and doing crosswords.

I left them to it, and went early to bed. After a while, rain started. Then it got so heavy they couldn’t hear the film, so abandoned it. Karma……

November 15, 2021
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2010 Travels April 25

SUNDAY APRIL 25 MT IVE

Again, John did not sleep too late. When we travelled with M, knowing that she would want to be out and about, doing things, tended to spur him into getting up at a reasonable time.

Today, we drove a different station track, to the Organ Pipes and Peters Pillars. These are formed from volcanic origin, rhyolite rock, that weathers into columnar formations.

From the parking area, we walked up the valley, following a track beside the dry creek.

Next stop on our driving explorations was to the south of the Nonning Road – the Wombat Holes. There were extensive views over the mostly flat country here, as we drove into the that area.

The Wombat Holes were much more impressive than I had expected. They are the domain of the Hairy-nosed Wombat. We didn’t see any of the animals, though – just the entrances to their homes.

Very impressive digging abilities, these critters have!

The country here was different to the stony, hilly sections we’d been exploring previously. It was a calcareous type of soft ground – those wombats are not dumb. The ground extended out in long tongues, between depressions that might occasionally fill with water.

It was different and strangely attractive country.

We walked around, exploring, for a couple of hours. Looked at wombat holes. I really wondered how big they were under the ground – how far they extended into the hillsides. Although many of the entrances were big enough for a person to fit, none of us was tempted to play wombat. I reckoned, given the size of their holes, they would be very big wombats. And there might be other creatures in there too, like snakes or spiders.

Walked across a valley to a low, mesa-like hill.

For most of our time out there, we were the only people there.

Drove back to the Mt Ive entry and had lunch at the submarine.

Then, back to camp. M and I were conscious not to let John get too tired.

There were now lots of people in the campground, and in the cabin accommodations. There was a fly-in too.

Our intrusive neighbours arrived back from somewhere, being towed by the station grader. I hoped that did not mean they were here for a long stay!

Happy hour by the campfire – with background noises.

Tea was lamb backstrap, mushrooms, beans, tomato.

Afterwards the three of us sat round the fire, reminiscing about past adventures.

November 13, 2021
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2010 Travels April 24

SATURDAY 24 APRIL MT IVE

The skies today were a mix of cloud and clear, but rather stormy looking.

John was not permitted to sleep too late. After breakfast, we paid a fee, collected mud map and the key that would allow us access to the Lake Gairdner Track, and set off to drive the 30kms there.

The track was not too bad. Apart from tourists, who could only get the track key from the station, this track was used by the Dry Lakes Racing Association to access their club house beside the lake. Once a year, a race event is held here and racers use the bush camp area around the club house. So, essentially the track is little used.

There is one other way to access the shores of the lake, via the unsealed road that comes south from Kingoonya to the Eyre Highway at Kimba. A track leads off that, to the Waltumba Tank, where there is a little National Parks campground on the western side of the lake, just a bit further north from our access on the eastern side.

When we came down this way, first, in ’99, it was from Kingoonya. Lake Gairdner was, then, a real surprise to us. Australians almost universally know about Lake Eyre, but this one was still so little known. Yet, according to National Parks, it is the third largest salt lake in Australia, after Lakes Eyre and Torrens.

**Lake Gairdner (Google Earth). Marker shows our access point.**

It doesn’t have water in it very often. Unlike Lake Eyre, which has stream systems entering it which sometimes bring water from storm events in NW Qld.

Lake Gairdner is very irregular in shape, but is roughly 160kms long and up to nearly 50kms wide, in parts. The access track from Mt Ive goes in to the southern end, where it is quite narrow, and it is possible to see the other shore.

The beauty of Lake Gairdner lies in its brilliant white salt surface, contrasting with the red earth of the surrounding hills, with their low, sparse shrubbery. It was this spectacle that so amazed us on our first visit.

Because the salt surface of the lake is over a metre thick in parts, it has been the location for land speed world record attempts, and it is why the DLRA has a facility here.

**Mud stained salt at the edge of the lake**

The lake was as brilliant as I had remembered.

**Out on the lake –** **looking to the north**

There were some patches of water on the surface of the salt – must have been a bit of rain not too long ago. These reflected the clouds – wonderful!

It was a great day for photos and we wandered about, taking heaps. Thank heavens for digital!

**Salt encrusted debris** **– wind blown twigs**

The stormy, dark sky was a great contrast.

**One could imagine themselves at sea….**

We had been told that the salt adversely affects the soles of shoes, so I’d worn thongs, not wanting to damage my hugely expensive walking shoes. The other two had worn their walking footwear and were probably a lot more comfortable than I was, as we walked across the salt surface, towards the other side, for about half an hour. Grainy salt between the toes – not nice. It was hard to tell what progress we made in that time, but probably got over half-way across, before we turned back.

**The other side was further than it looked**

The sun began to come through the clouds, and made interesting lines of light across the salt surface.

**Animals had been out on the salty surface…**

Ate our pre-packed lunches back at the vehicles.

Heading back towards camp, we turned off to visit the Embankment. This was a dam wall, built in 1892 across a small valley. In such an arid environment all means of gathering water were tried by the early settlers.

The dam wall featured beautiful stonework and real craftsmanship.

There was no water trapped behind it on this visit, just a few puddles drying out, but it would be really pretty on the rare occasions it filled.

**The valley behind the Embankment could hold a considerable amount of water…**

We walked quite a way up the valley behind the wall. There was a very strong smell of goat!

The block/pillar like rock formations that are characteristic of this area make it dramatic, added to by the tortured shapes of dead bushes.

Back to camp, after a great day out.

We were rather cross to find that a camper trailer had been set up immediately behind us, on the other side of the screen. What is it, that with heaps of space all around, some people feel compelled to set up virtually on top of others? So rude. To make it worse, this couple had a handicapped adult son with them, who made loud animal-like noises for much of the time. It was very intrusive and ruined the ambience of the place. Full marks to them for travelling with him, but perhaps they should have been more cognizant of his impact on others, given that there was plenty of room to camp.

More campers had come in today – it was a long weekend.

John tried to install the new CB aerial. No go! He should have had it done in Port Augusta, after all.

Had happy hour around our campfire, to the background grunts and groans coming from behind us.

Tonight we had an entree of avocado dip, with vegie sticks to dip in it, followed by baked potatoes with coleslaw and grated cheese on top.

John watched a film, inside the van – A Man called Horse. It was all grunts and Indian dialect. I very uncharitably hoped the very near neighbours enjoyed it! I went to bed, with earplugs.

November 12, 2021
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2010 Travels April 23

FRIDAY 23 APRIL PETERBOROUGH TO MT IVE 330kms

The usual morning routine was uneventful.

From Peterborough, went through Orroroo, Wilmington and via Horrocks Pass to Port Augusta.

I always found this section depressing. There were too many abandoned old stone buildings that were once farm homes. There was a sense of desperation and failure, to me. Tricked by a series of good years, would-be settlers had ignored Goyder’s Line and tried their luck out here. In the 1860’s, the Surveyor General, Goyder, had separated SA into two sections: the better watered part where agriculture was feasible, and the drier parts suited only to open grazing, if anything. The division between these on the maps became known as Goyder’s Line. Unfortunately, when there were a few unusually good seasons in a row, it was too easy for people to think he was wrong. Hence the abandoned ruins we were passing.

I wondered if, with current climatic change, a 21st century Goyder’s Line would shrink even closer to Adelaide?

John was very pleased with the performance of the van brakes through Horrocks Pass. That made a change. Maybe Trakmaster did something at the recent service that had actually worked.

As we were driving into Port Augusta, saw a Trakmaster van pulled up at an auto electrician place. After the trials of last year’s travel, I could sympathize.

We went to the Woolworths supermarket, easily finding a parking place for the rig in the large car park between the shopping complex and the sea front. Did a food shop, mostly for fresh provisions. We did not plan to be near shops again for a week or so.

Drove to an auto parts place, where John bought a new CB aerial. We were picking up M’s calls to us alright, but she couldn’t hear us transmit. John did not want to wait around for someone to install it, and said he would do it himself, later.

Headed out of town, on the highway west. At Iron Knob, turned off onto the unsealed Nonning Road that goes for about 120kms, through the Siam Station, to Mt Ive Homestead.

The road surface was not too bad, but in parts there were little humps, and dips, which necessitated great concentration. John missed seeing one such and we did a huge bounce – instant rearrangement of the contents of the van’s cupboards!

Stopped by the road side to eat lunch. A bit further on, there were glimpses of Lake Gilles, to the south – another salt lake. Gathered some wood for possible campfires.

The entrance to the Station approach road was marked, very distinctively and incongruously, by a submarine apparently rising out of the red earth. This had been built by some local volunteers, utilizing an old boiler. Why, I’d never been able to find out. Maybe because they could? Anyway, it certainly made for a very unusual mail box.

Mount Ive campground had been developed more, since our last visit in ’99. The camp area was more attractive, with tree plantings and a roofed sort of camp kitchen structure.

Our powered site cost $22 a night, with the seventh night free. Very reasonable we thought, for out here. There were two power poles, a distance apart, with eight outlet sockets on each. We chose an area by one pole where shelter screens kind of defined the camp spots, and we hoped would prevent any neighbours from becoming too intrusive.

We were not too far from the amenities, which were housed in one end of an ex-Woomera building that also housed a kitchen and recreation room – for users of the cabin accommodation only!

Woomera, further to the east, was the site of a military rocket launching and testing facility, from 1947 until 1982, a joint British and Australian facility. After 1982, the off limits Woomera village area was opened to the travelling public, though only official government staff can live there. As the facility was wound back somewhat, after 1982, some buildings that were not needed were sold off and re-located. Hence the one at Mt Ive.

We set up, with M putting her “living” tent at an angle to the back of the van. I re-packed the van cupboards. They were not quite as bad as I’d expected.

Had a wander around the campground and buildings. There were some excellent photos on display in the rec. room, many taken by a lady from nearby Thurlga Station. There was one photo of a bird delicately picking the nose of a sheep – a once-ever photo!

John was really absorbed by some Major Mitchell Cockatoos in scrub in the area.

A twin engine plane – identity VH ZUM – also featured in a photo that was obviously taken here. I wondered if that was taken before our one-time boss bought it for his aviation company, back in 2005. However, later, I saw some brochures set out, for his company, so then assumed that he had added Mt Ive to his aerial tour routes and destinations.

There were only a couple of other lots of campers here.

There had been cloud build up during the day, and it was quite overcast by sunset. Hoped it would not rain. The tracks in this area would not be pleasant, wet!

We had the usual happy hour, sitting outside, around a campfire we’d built. Our tea was salt and pepper squid rings, and salad.

The night was wonderfully quiet – back in the bush again…..

November 10, 2021
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2010 Travels April 22

THURSDAY 22 APRIL MILDURA TO PETERBOROUGH 425kms

Another hot day – got into the 30’s.

A routine drive again today. I worked out that this was the fourth time we had travelled west, via this route. And we’d come east across it, five times. That was nine. Probably, by the end of this trip it would be ten. No wonder it seemed less than interesting.

There was the usual inspection at the SA border quarantine point. We had passed through this too many times to be even slightly tempted to carry something we shouldn’t. The van fridge and some cupboards were checked, and the Chescold fridge in the back of Truck as well. My greatest fear was that, one time, the inspector would ask to check the storage area under the bed. Not because of any contraband hidden there, but because everything loose in the van traveled on that bed: TV, electric frypan, books, empty fruit bowls, toiletries bags, radio, washing basket, and so on. The extra storage on top of the cupboards in a poptop was great when parked up, but everything that normally lived up there had to come off for travel. Clearing off the bed, to lift it up for inspection, would be a real pain.

Interstate again….for a while this year it looked like that would be an impossibility in 2010.

We stopped at a supermarket in Renmark to get some vegetables for tonight’s meal, and fruit for lunches.

There was another stop at Morgan, in the large parking area by the punt that took vehicles across the Murray River.

**Vehicle punt across the Murray River at Morgan**

We had morning smoko there and watched the punt travel back and forth across the river.

**Smoko. Thermos and mugs on the Defender’s front “table”.**

Obviously, we didn’t know it at this time, but the slope behind the vehicles, in the photo above, was where – a few years later – M would slip, sit down on her ankle and injure same. Despite the injury and pain, she managed to drive Bessie to Mildura, where she was found to have broken the ankle!

Although there had been fewer locusts since Mildura, we still needed to clean the windscreen again.

On the gradual uphill stretches to Burra, the engine temperature seemed to be a bit higher than usual. This might just have been an effect of all the replaced bits of the engine. It might not behave quite as it used to. We certainly hoped that was the explanation, anyway!

Lunch was had parked by the creek in Burra, watching the ducks on the water. It was a pleasant spot for a break, with its heritage buildings. As usual we said we must actually stay here for few days, sometime.

We pressed on, to Peterborough, arriving there mid-afternoon. Again, this was quite a long enough drive for John.

The Peterborough Caravan Park was a really pleasant little one. We paid $24 for our powered site, and had adjacent drive through sites, not intending to unhitch. Just passing through on the way to elsewhere.

**Peterborough Caravan Park. Vehicle cleaning needed a supervisor!**

After the minimal set up, we walked to the town centre. Had a bit of a wander around town. Posted a couple of birthday cards, timed to arrive at destinations early next week.

The Information Centre was shut – a pity, because a browse would have been interesting.

The way back to the caravan park was uphill, which made it all a rather hefty walk for John, but he managed.

Another clean of the vehicles was required. The insect carcasses made it look as if someone had thrown eggs at them!

Some cloud had built up through the day, and it helped make for some interesting dusk photos.

After happy hour, our dinner was potatoes cooked in foil in the electric frypan, bacon, eggs, tomatoes. M did her own catering, mostly, on such trips.

The night was warm.

November 8, 2021
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2010 Travels April 21

WEDNESDAY 21 APRIL BENDIGO TO MILDURA 390kms

Had the usual early visitor to the van – it makes his day! This time, we took him back inside to his breakfast, to wish daughter a happy birthday for today.

We left Bendigo about 9am. I’d texted M, who had left Melbourne at 7am. The plan was that she would catch up with us today, probably somewhere before Mildura.

The country through to Sea Lake was very green, which was great to see. The long drought that had finally broken earlier this year, had brought lots of good rains.

We fuelled up at Sea Lake, then pulled into the park there to eat the lunch I’d packed this morning.

After Sea Lake, we encountered the prevailing locust plague, that we’d been hearing about. It was really bad, the thickest hordes I’d ever experienced. Guess that was the down side of the lush, green countryside. The nasty yellow splats of expired locusts built up and made the windscreen almost impossible to see out of.

In places, there were thick swarms on the road. We slowed to about 65kmh – they didn’t seem to splat quite so badly then! Truck was “wearing” John’s home made shade cloth bug screen across the radiator grille, because we’d known in advance the pests were up this way. The hope was that this would prevent the build up of dead insects in the radiator body – which if bad enough can wreck the radiator. This one was new – like much of Truck now.

I hoped M had remembered to fit her shade cloth, too.

We stopped at Mittyack to clean the windscreen, then went on to Ouyen. By now, there was a strong smell of cooked locust – yuk! At Ouyen, pulled into the excellent rest stop area. Cleaned the windscreen again.

The bowls club was next to the rest area, and there were locusts all over the green there. Trying to bowl on that would have been a rather unpleasant experience.

**Bowling green Ouyen – with wild life…**

We hadn’t been there long, when M pulled in beside us. The Troopy was wearing its screen, and like us, lots of locusts.

The bugs did not seem quite so bad after Ouyen.

We decided to overnight at Mildura. It was enough for the day for John, and for M too, who had come further than us.

We pulled into one of the conveniently located caravan parks on the stretch just before the Sturt Highway intersection. The person on the reception desk was engaged in a personal phone call, and kept on having it for the best part of ten minutes, while I stood there waiting. I was about to walk out, when she decided to deal with me. I really wanted a drive through site, so we did not have to unhitch, but she said they were all occupied. So they were – mostly by unhitched rigs! Some people just do not want to back onto a site.

Since we really wanted to stay hooked up – John was tired enough without having to go through the unhitch routine – the helpful woman suggested we just back onto part of the site behind us – the occupied site behind us! She seemed to have no comprehension that this might not suit the occupants of that site. For this level of customer service, we paid $24.30, after chain discount. This was already mentally tagged as one caravan park we would not be returning to.

WE asked the people on the site behind us if they would mind if we intruded onto their patch, explaining what we’d been told. They were very nice and said it was alright. We actually did not have to go very far onto their site. It was a mixed blessing as they were smokers, so we had to keep the back window closed.

**Occupying a site and a bit at Mildura**

Set up was thus minimal. The clean up of locust carcasses took a lot more time.

We walked across to the nearby shopping complex, as I needed to buy some vegetable matter for tea. As we’d come into the fruit fly quarantine zone, I hadn’t brought any with me. We also need a new dishwashing brush, as the old one had been commandeered for locust removal.

The walk was good for all of us, after the day of driving.

It had been a hot day, in the low 30’s. There was some cloud build up as we drove through the day, and it became quite humid.

We sat outside our van, the three of us, having happy hour. It was great to be travelling together again – the last time had been 2007.

Tea was scotch fillet steak, mushrooms, salad.

John was happy with the new, small, flat screen TV he’d bought before we left, for the van. It replaced the one we’d travelled with since 1997. That had lasted well, considering that it was shifted every time we moved on, from bench to bed and then back to bench, plus the sometimes extreme conditions we’d been in. But it was old technology and John wanted a flat screen.

We were tired though and did not stay up late, TV or not.

November 7, 2021
by wendyviney Leave a comment

2010 Travels April 20

TUESDAY 20 APRIL HOME TO BENDIGO 225kms

John had a 7.30am appointment at the ECRU unit at Box Hill – the place that was running the drug trial. We were very optimistic that all would be well, that he would have a month or so until the next appointment, and we would be able to leave on the trip today, as we were planning. All was indeed well, and he was given a five week break until the next visit. Bonus!

Back at home, there was still much packing of Truck to be done. John had tired yesterday, so not achieved as much as he’d intended. I watered the plants in pots on the terrace, fed the goldfish in the pond, cleared perishables out of the fridge and packed the last minute van stuff. Our unit tenant was going to keep an eye on things in our absence, so I briefed her.

Hitching up the van was harder than usual. John was not yet really used to the new clutch that had been recently put in Truck, and found it difficult to achieve the very small backwards movements needed to line up the Treg hitch. Our block slopes downhill, so he was backing uphill. On flat ground, I could always manoeuvre the van to line up with Truck, but if I took off the van brake and tried to do that on this slope, the result would be very messy indeed.

We eventually pulled out of the driveway at midday. It had already been a long day for John, who’d had to leave home this morning at around 6am, and battle the Melbourne peak time traffic to get to his appointment on time.

It was the usual trip, that we had done so often before, to daughter’s place at Bendigo. But this time, we were not embarking on the long trip to North Queensland that we had, so optimistically, planned for this year. After last year’s failure to get there, too, I was starting to think there was something doomed about us and Far North Queensland…..

There was much more regrowth now, in the bushfire ravaged areas along the Melba Highway. Looking more hopeful. We had a short break in Yea. Arrived at daughter’s at 3.30pm. The Truck and van combo was no speed machine over the Great Divide!

Daughter and grandson arrived home after we’d set up the van in their driveway – but without unhitching!

I went with them to the boy’s swimming lesson – he was doing very well. John stayed behind for a sleep. On the way back, we bought fish and chips for tea. Daughter’s partner’s mother came to tea as well, for a visit with us.

After tea, John helped daughter work on a resume for a new position she was applying for, within the Commonwealth Government organization for which she worked.

Grandson enjoyed our brief visit. He hadn’t seen John since they came down for a day to visit him in hospital, back in March – and the injuries had looked pretty fearsome then, for a kid to see. I think grandson was relieved to see him “normal” again. John promised him $50 if he achieved 150 nights of reading, this year – plus $20 that I’d already committed to. Cash is a great incentive!

From 5pm on, there were thunderstorms and quite heavy rain. I hoped that was not an omen for the coming travels.

Back in the van, we talked, watched a little TV, then it was bed at 9.30pm.

November 6, 2021
by wendyviney 3 Comments

2010 Travels Before April

BEFORE APRIL…..

Late in 2009, John underwent the much needed second hip replacement. The other hip had been replaced in 1997 and was followed by major blood clotting events that, at the time, threatened to derail our plans for retirement and long-term travel, and maybe even kill him.

Obviously, with that history, this time lots of precautions were taken – directed by a specialist “blood” professor. The operation went as planned and John’s recovery seemed speedy, compared to 1997, when exercise with the new hip was precluded by being in a hospital bed for a month. For a month after this surgery, he had to inject himself daily with Clexane, an anti-clotting drug.

All was well, for over two months. The man had even resumed bowls! On a morning in mid-February, John collapsed. He’d gone out to do something at the pool, quite normal and routine. I heard what sounded like a faint call, and found him collapsed, face down, on the ground, in a little pool of blood. Ambulance – off to Emergency at Box Hill Hospital with suspected complications of his type 2 diabetes. No – he was found to have blood clots in his lungs and assorted veins, including a solid clot from ankle to abdomen in the operated-upon leg. The fall onto the slate pavers had removed amounts of skin from his face, broken his nose, and his glasses, which had also cut the face – hence the pool of blood.

John was transferred across to Epworth Eastern Hospital and into the care of assorted specialists. Initially, he was not a pretty picture, but that was the least of the worries. The verdict was that he would have ongoing issues with poor circulation in the affected leg, and this time, his lungs would not fully recover. No one could explain why this had occurred, so long after the hip replacement, and with the anti-clotting precautions that had been taken.

I commenced a routine where a goodly part of each day was taken up with driving to Box Hill, visiting John, driving home again, avoiding the morning and afternoon traffic peaks. The Eastern Freeway certainly made it easier, but it could take half an hour to get onto the freeway, from home, depending on traffic. However, it was a breeze, compared to my daily visiting when John was in the private inner suburban surgical hospital, with the hip operation. No freeways to get there – and – hard to believe – no parking provided. The surrounding streets were not very parking friendly, either.

Whilst undergoing treatment at Epworth, John agreed to become part of a clinical trial of a new anti-clotting drug. This had already been approved for use overseas, but was going through the processes required in this country. It would be a vast improvement on the standard Warfarin treatment, with its frequent blood tests, seesawing INR readings, and dose adjustments – all very constraining of a normal life, as we knew from prior experience. John was a prime target for the trial, with his prior history.

After several weeks in hospital, and on the trial drug, John progressed from the initial daily blood tests, to weekly ones. All was going well, and he went onto monthly blood tests and checks. This would continue until the trial ended in late August. Unfortunately, it would then be back onto Warfarin with all its hassles and limitations. As it happened, by year’s end, he was – courtesy of a special arrangement with our lovely GP – back on the new drug, approved for use for a different condition, but not yet for anti-clotting.

All of the above severely limited our travel options, and John’s abilities to do so, through 2010.

Sadly, we cancelled our wonderful house sitters, who had been booked for a five month stay. They had no problems finding a replacement sit – someone else’s good fortune.

On a much more optimistic note, whilst John was in hospital, the prolonged Millenium Drought that had lasted for some thirteen years, finally broke, with massive storms hitting Melbourne. I knew, because I’d been driving the hospital run at the time of the first storms. Quite scary storms….

We had, last year, received some money back related to last year’s botched work on Truck and broken parts. Courtesy of a Land Rover owners’ forum, we’d also found a new mechanic – a Land Rover devotee of many years – who worked not too far away.

This had been precipitated sooner than intended, in January. John had been out somewhere, thought he smelled something strange in the vehicle, but was in a hurry to get home and get to bowls, so did not stop to investigate. When he pulled up into the car port at home, smoke erupted out from under the bonnet. Fortunately, son was visiting at the time, grabbed an appropriate fire extinguisher and put out the fire in the engine. Something had broken and brake fluid had ignited from the hot engine. All quite dramatic at the time, but it meant that a mechanic was rather urgently needed.

Over about three months – and at considerable cost – he re-did the botched work of a year previous, plus a lot more. Truck had done 350,000kms, some of it over challenging terrain, and over 100,000kms of it towing the van. It was in need of a major overhaul.

With John feeling more like himself, and with a month-long window of opportunity between drug trial checks, our thoughts turned to a trip away. Not too ambitious, but still a break from things medical. It would have to be a bit provisional, dependent on how John coped….

Friend M was at a loose end. We cast our eyes towards SA – the Gawler Ranges and Eyre Peninsula. Not too far away for the time available, and destinations where M had not yet visited.

The van had been off for its annual check up at Trakmaster and was back and packed. We hoped Truck was well readied, considering the multiple thousands of dollars outlaid upon it. M and her Troopy were ready……

This Adventurous Age

Adventures travelling and working around Australia.

Monthly Archives: November 2021