This Adventurous Age

Adventures travelling and working around Australia.

Category Archives: 1999 Travels


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1999 Travels May 5

WEDNESDAY 5 MAY     BURRA TO WILPENA     301kms

Today was a superb day – clear blue sky, and warm.

I walked to the shops while John made breakfast. Bought a paper and posted S’s birthday card and cheque. It is a bit early but we may not have postal facilities again, for a while.

Left the caravan park at 9.15. Stopped to buy diesel – 74cpl – and while that was happening I raced off and bought some more grapefruit. We have taken to eating a half one of these each, for breakfast.

Today’s was another interesting drive, with the Flinders Ranges and, eventually, the rim of Wilpena Pound coming into view in the distance.

From Burra, we travelled north to Terowie, then cut through to Peterborough – a fair sized little town that looked worth exploring at some time. Then it was on to Orroroo, and Carrieton. To this point the country had been slightly undulating grazing and wheat land. After Carrieton there were more low hills, then, from Cradock there was a definite range ahead.

We had encountered gravel road each side of Cradock, but it was good quality.

The approach to Hawker was rather scenic. We stopped here to eat lunch, at a pleasant picnic area and well done Information Centre.  Then took the Wilpena turnoff. The main road continues on towards Leigh Creek and parts north, and we shall pick that up again later.

North of this little town, the ranges ahead became more defined, and around the turnoff to Rawnsley Park Station, we could see the ramparts of the Wilpena Pound, to the left, ahead.

We started to see some stands of cypress pine. I associate these, so much, with Wilpena – on a previous school holiday trip here, in 1992, cypress pine firewood was available, and the whole campground smelled aromatic from it. There were the occasional big old red gums too.

Initially, after Hawker, we’d been heading north through a wide flat valley between low ranges. This gradually narrowed and the ranges got higher. We turned west onto the Wilpena road and the jagged Pound rim was not far ahead.

Reached Wilpena mid afternoon. It has changed greatly in the seven years since our last visit. There is a new Visitor Centre, and shops, and a new powered caravan section in the camp ground. There are also new amenity blocks. It now seems very slanted towards eco tourism and being environmentally sensitive. They now run a shuttle bus to the Pound entrance – no more driving one self – and charge $3 each to ride it!

We took a powered caravan site at $17 a night. But the seventh night is free. Also bought a four-week National Park Pass for $15. Found I can buy a Desert Parks Pass here too, which we will need later in the year.

Our site is firm gravel, big, and well separated from neighbouring sites by treed areas and walkways. Despite it being the designated caravan section, it has more the feel of a bush camp. It has a water tap, too, and a ring of stones making a fireplace. There is no TV, though. Wonderful! The stay here is going to be so good! It is great to be back here again, with time to thoroughly explore, this visit. I am “owed” lots of bush walks, after John’s bowls indulgences – and there are lots of walks to choose from, in these parts!

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Wilpena camp – amongst cypress pines and with a mountain backdrop

After we’d set up for an extended stay, watched by a rather noisy Red Wattlebird, we walked around the “village” and visited the shop, to see what it offered. Basic groceries, tourist items, take away type food and the like. There is a distinct “bush” smell about the place.

We discovered whilst setting up, that there are plenty of mosquitoes here!

Tea was soup, rissoles and vegies.

The night got very cold. With no TV, it was a matter of reading, then getting a fairly early night.

05-05-1999 burra to wilpena


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1999 Travels May 4

TUESDAY 4 MAY   LOXTON TO BURRA   226kms

Today is K’s birthday – his 25th.

John got back after having the five new tyres fitted at 9.15, and we were away at 10.15. John and the tyre man decided to keep the existing tubes in the new tyres, because the tubes seemed in good condition.

We crossed the Murray at Barmera.

It was evident through this morning’s driving, that the new tyres make Truck handle very differently, seeming not to hold on the road so well, so that is something to get used to.

After Waikerie, we had a coffee stop and a bird watch, spotting a Pallid Cuckoo.

Stopped for lunch between Morgan and Burra. Quite a bit of that section was unsealed, but was in pretty good condition.

Overall, it was quite an interesting a varied drive, from the irrigation areas of the Riverland, along the Murray – getting glimpses of it every so often, then through a drier area of saltbush and Mallee scrub; closer to Burra we were into grazing country, with areas of low hills in the distance.

The Army was on the move, as we encountered about twenty big vehicles between Barmera and Burra.

We were amused by a sign – home made – attached to a fence on a sweeping corner on the road between Morgan and Burra – on a newly sealed section. Obviously, the farmer’s fence had been demolished, probably more than once, by drivers failing to take the corner, so he had put up his own warning sign. It read something like “Save my Fence”  “Steady up, you barstards”.

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Plain language signs on the fence

We arrived in Burra mid-afternoon. Booked into the Burra Caravan Park for $13. It is a very pleasant little park on the banks of Burra Creek, where there were Mallard ducks swimming about.

We only did the minimal set up for an overnight stop.

It is only a short walk to the shops. We are surrounded by all these brilliant old buildings – what a great place!

Burra began when copper was discovered here, in 1845 – only nine years after SA was settled at all. The development of the colony was greatly aided by the wealth generated from Burra copper, mined from 1845-1877. The mines attracted mostly Cornish workers, expert in this type of mining. Initially, the ore was even shipped to Cornwall for smelting, until smelters were built locally.

After the mine closed, the town became a service centre for the wool and wheat farms of the surrounding area.

We went to the art gallery because I’d seen some tourist information that there was a big exhibition of quilts made by SA quilters – wonderful items, and so much work in them. One day I would like to try that. It was an excellent display of high quality quilts.

Walked around and looked at some of the many old buildings. I was particularly impressed by the row of Cornish miners’ cottages near the caravan park – initially built by a mining company for its workers. Of course, because we initially set out to walk to the Post Office, I had not taken my camera!

We must come back here, in future travel and spend some time exploring the town and the district.

Collected our mail from the PO, where we had asked K to send it. There were Mothers Day cards from my offspring, but nothing else of note.

Tea was soup, cold lamb, mashed potato.

I phoned K from a phone box and wished him happy birthday. He has bought a computer from our friend R.

John phoned daughter R.

It turned into a really chilly night, after a beautiful sunny day.

05-04-1999 loxton to burra


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1999 Travels May 3

MONDAY 3 MAY     LOXTON

It was a lovely sunny day, much warmer than it had been at Mildura.

John decided this morning that he really did not want to worry about the state of the tyres any longer. They are the original Michelins that Truck came with, and are getting quite worn. They have covered 63,000kms – some of this towing, and some on the poor roads and tracks of Cape York, so we are happy with the performance. Back in Melbourne, we had thought they would last until we got to Alice Springs, but given the route there that we are planning, it is prudent to have them replaced now. We think a different type of tyre might now be in order for the desert and outback work we plan. I had done research in 4WD magazines, in 1997, before we started travelling, and from that we selected a tyre that reviews said performed very well on all surfaces except snow and ice – and we did not anticipate needing that! We’d had those tyres fitted to the van wheels when it was built – Olympic Overlanders.

John had gotten a quote for these when we were in Melbourne, but decided against changing over then. He went down the street here and got a local quote. This was better than the one in Lilydale! With a trade-in allowance, he could get five new tyres fitted, balanced and the like, for $790. So the change over was arranged for 8am tomorrow.

We drove to Berri, where there is a Coles and did a big fruit and veg stock up. As well, I bought some nibbly items, for our drinks session this afternoon – dips, olives.

We had a quick drive around Berri, to get an idea of what it is like.

After lunch back at the van, John went to the river to try to catch some yabbies. The yabbies had other ideas.

I cleaned up the van and organized our roast lamb dinner, ready to cook.

J and B arrived about 5.30. J is still teaching, and B has a casual job making wine storage tanks at a local winery.

We had to sit outside with our drinks and nibbles, after they had inspected the rig. They stayed a couple of hours – it eventually got a bit chilly, sitting out there.

Our roast lamb dinner was a late one – it was nearly 8pm when we sat down to eat it.

Another very pleasant day.


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1999 Travels May 2

SUNDAY 2 MAY   MILDURA TO LOXTON   182kms

We were up in reasonable time, and the packing up and departure were routine. There was no great sense of urgency because we were not going that far. I made us a packed lunch of avocado sandwiches, to use up the last of that.

It was a very pleasant day for driving.

All the new fruit and vine developments to the west of Mildura were interesting to see – the whole irrigation area seems to be fast expanding.

We stopped and had a final fruit eat-up, just before the border. The inspector at the Yamba check point was very pleasant. I asked him if I could take garlic into SA – and had to hand it over! He checked inside the van – but only a visual check over what he could see, and inside the fridge. I’d hoped they would not want to go through every storage area, because we carry all the loose stuff, including the TV, on the bed when we travel – and moving all of that off to access the big storage area under the bed would have been a real pest!

While we were stopped at the checkpoint, another traveller came up to ask John about the Trakmaster, as he is considering buying one. They are still very much an unusual van to see out and about, with still less than a hundred having been made, to date.

We did not go as far as Renmark, but turned off the highway, onto a road that runs direct to Loxton.

We reached Loxton about lunch time. Booked into the Riverfront Caravan Park – $13.50 a night. The caravan park has, as the name suggests, a frontage to the Murray River, but with a public camping area next to it, so it is a bit open and “public”. But the sites are nice and grassy. We were told not to drink the local water – there are rainwater tanks for drinking water.

We did not put up the awning roof, as we are only staying a couple of nights, and the weather forecast is for fine weather.

We drove to J and B’s about 4.30pm. We’d changed time zones at the border, so it felt a bit later, to us.

We enjoyed an excellent meal with them, and a really good catching up session, as it is years since I have seen them. J is still really fit and active – though she is no longer teaching Phys Ed. B is on long service leave but will not return to teaching. They suggested we look up other former colleagues – J and U – who live at Hawker. Apparently, they are very involved in the life of the town and also do lots of outback travel – and play bowls! So that sounds like a good idea.

We made arrangements for J and B to come round tomorrow afternoon and see the rig.

A most pleasant evening – it is good to meet up with old friends again.

05-02-1999 mildura to loxton 2


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1999 Travels May 1

SATURDAY 1 MAY      MILDURA

I went to the shops for the papers while John had some sleep in time.

Today was a day of organizing travel stuff.

John changed a wheel on Truck. The tyre on it was quite worn, so he switched it with the spare. He did assorted other Truck things. He was very pleased that he was able to fix the dead switches on the back spotlight we have mounted there, and on the air compressor. He painted up some of the black bits too.

I did some oddments of washing, including the most recently used bowls gear.

Read the papers for a while. Cooked up a vegie soup and stewed apple and rhubarb, to use up the remaining stocks, since we will go through the quarantine check point tomorrow.

We did a final short walk along the river at dusk and admired the sunset colours on the water.

04-25-1999 03 Murray R sunset Mildura.jpg

Sunset light, Murray River

Tea was smoked fish, salads and fruit.


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1999 Travels April 30

FRIDAY 30 APRIL     MILDURA

More bowls. We went through the same morning transport routine.

Today was triples games.

I planned the meals for a month and then went and bought much of the requirements for same – all except the fresh produce that can’t be taken over the border. I spent $230! Packed it all away and now have the little freezebox full of meats.

I bought a Keno ticket for a month.

I filled Truck – 68cpl.

Collected John from bowls. He came home happy because they won the Triples! He collected another $30. He is not going to play any more – has actually had enough of bowling for the time being! I didn’t think it could happen!

Tea was fish and chips.


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1999 Travels April 29

THURSDAY 29 APRIL     MILDURA

More bowls. We went through the same morning transport routine.

Today they were playing more Pairs.

I went and picked up my photos, and mailed them home, along with a poster we’d gotten from the bowls club that had a good photo of the place. We want that kept at home for us for a keepsake.

Had my hair cut. Checked at the Post Office in case there was mail – nothing. Bought a new battery for my watch. Bought a few food items.

We have decided on our next moves from here, so I phoned Wilpena Pound, in the Flinders Ranges, and booked us into their camping ground for a week.

Read for a couple of hours. Made soup.

Collected John from bowls. He had a better day – they won two of the three games, but did not make the finals. So, he is happier, but is getting tired.

Tea: vegie and barley soup, sausages and gravy and mashed potato.


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1999 Travels April 28

WEDNESDAY 28 APRIL     MILDURA

John had to be at bowls at 8.30 again, and I took him and kept Truck.

Today was the Pairs event.

I did some final thinking about shares, then phoned my broker, sold some Telstra shares that I thought were a really high price, and bought some in four other companies. I do not want to have all my shares in one basket, so to speak! I retained a respectable number of Telstra ones.

Went to Spotlight to buy some knitting wool to last me for this year’s travels. Got a couple more books from the library. Put film into the shop so I could get copies of the photos of us with the Smith Cup, to send to the offspring.

I went to the Post Office and paid the phone bill.

Collected John from bowls. He was really down. He did not play well and they lost both games.

Tea was pizza from Pizza Hut – they have a special deal going.

I phoned friend J who lives in Loxton. She seemed really thrilled to hear from me. She wanted us to stay there! But we do prefer our independence, and we arranged instead to have tea there on Sunday.


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1999 Travels April 27

TUESDAY 27 APRIL     MILDURA

John went off to bowls again, in the morning. He took Truck today.

Despite the blue skies, it is windcheater and long trouser weather.

I read and sewed, and went for a walk along the river track.

04-25-1999 02 Murray R Mildura.jpg

The Murray River at Mildura

Booked us in here for four more nights.

John’s team came third in the finals of the 4’s and he won $30.

Tea was soft burritos with spinach and ricotta filling – very yummy.

I phoned home and had a chat with P. K was out shooting with her father and brother. She tells me they are giving up smoking! Hope they can manage it, but I will be surprised.


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1999 Travels April 26

MONDAY 26 APRIL     MILDURA

Today was the first day of the big bowls tournament.

John had to be at bowls by 8.30am. I drove him there and kept Truck.

I did the washing, cleaned the van, went to the shops for a few things, and read.

In the afternoon, big clouds came across and there was dust around. There was no rain, though I wondered for a while if we were in for a big storm.

At 5pm I drove back to the Bowls Club to collect John. Had to wait almost an hour for him; I’d taken a book, for such a thing, and sat in Truck and read.

The 4’s team John was playing second for, have gotten into tomorrow’s finals, so he was happy.

Tea was soup, lamb chops and vegies.