Superman falls in love

Superman writes.....

I have fallen in love….

WOW!  I have found the woman of my dreams… she is of few words, and oh sooooooooo beautiful, sitting quietly on the bench, taking in the sun, I am sure I am  in loooooooooooooooove. I wanted her to come with us, but she would not leave her seat-she loved her wee town soooooooooooo much she was gluuuuuuuuued to promoting her wee village.

We had gone for a drive to Clunes – a small village, about 45 minutes from our campsite in Beremboke. A population of around 1000 people, the shops are housed in the original buildings – the whole street comprising of about 12 shops-of which 3 were open!  We enjoyed the 2^nd hand bookshop – Murray and Brenda bought some more reading material and we had lunch at the café.

Onto Talbot-(where I met the dream of my life), stopping for the antique shop, where my dream girl lives….. Never mind, Murray bought me a hokey pokey ice cream-this did help me forget the blonde bombshell

And onto Maryborough – a large town-shops down the main street and side streets, mainly,-junky, 2^nd hand, then to Avoca and down the Sunraysia Highway where we saw 120 wind turbines on the brown hills at Waubra. These wind turbines produce enough power for 150,000 homes-the size of Ballarat. This is a joint venture with a Spanish company and provides 30 local jobs.

Later in the week we went to Melbourne and watched the Chinese New Year procession through Chinatown. Dragons danced, drums drummed, double happys exploded, while we ate yum cha. Murray and Brenda say the yum chas are not as good as Perth and Auckland.

While in Melbourne we visited Captain Cook’s cottage and in the garden was a storytelling tree.

Perhaps this is what the storytelling tree at the new COP library will look like.

The Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road is a tourist mecca and a local’s nightmare. Although it is spectacular it didn’t have the WOW Factor for Murray and I. The coast road around NZ’s coast is just as spectacular and a safer trip than the Victorian version. Road signs are everywhere reminding the motorist that Australians drive on the left-there are even arrows indicating this.

Also the road doesn’t follow the ocean all the way, it veers away into the hills and we are given a taste of Victorian rolling hills – very green and a fresh look, after the brown of SA and WA.

We started the road from Naringal and turned off at Lorne- A total of 150kms of windy, narrow, crowded beaches and towns. Camping grounds command a fee of $50 per nite for an unpowered site and they were chocker!

The 12 Apostles just out of Port Campbell are very well organised. Parking is provided for all types of vehicles-although the day we visited the caravan parks were taken up by Hino tourist buses carrying most of Asia. We didn’t see many Australians or Kiwis that day. To view the towering rock formations an underpass is provided and fenced walkways. Despite the crowds and being too short in places to see – I did manage to get some photos. Leaving the Apostles we headed to our first free campsite at Johanna Beach – a popular surf beach, 3 paddocks full of campers.

 Big Hill – Otway National Park- we were the first to arrive at 11am and by 9pm there were 19 campers in a space that at Mambry Creek would accommodate 8 campers. From 9pm, 5 more campers arrived and they had to park on the side of the road.

The towns of Lorne and Apollo Bay are extremely picturesque and so postcard perfect with colours of ocean blues, but packed with people ambling across the road-no provision for caravans to park-so $$$ from caravanners are missed. I would imagine the income from the holiday makers is sufficient to keep the towns ticking over for the year.

Currently we are camped on a farm at Beremboke-Murrays friend Charlie and his 3 dogs and a cat live here. We look out through gums to Port Philip – in the distance. The kookaburras, crimson rosellas, sulphur crested cockatoos keep us entertained.

Beremboke is 1 hr from Melbourne and 20minutes from the train line-Melton. There are no shops here.

This will be our base for a few weeks while we explore Ballarat, Geelong, Melbourne and the northern goldfields, have a check-up with the doctor etc.

Mannum-Murray Bridge-Tailem bend-Meningie-Parnka Point (Coorong National Park), - Kingston-Robe-Beachport-Penola-Naracoorte Caves. (8th – 14th January)

Superman writes…

WOW we have been busy travelling-Muz and I have been so good sitting in the back and coming out in the evenings and looking after the gas bottles.

Friday 13^th,  we went on an outing to St Mary Mackillop Centre in Penola-this was so interesting to read the history of St Mary and Father Woods.  Muz and I didn’t pay to enter and the entry fee of $5 each was good value. Brenda took a photo of us in St Mary’s school.

The Mackillop centre borders Petticoat Lane – old cottages are open to the public to wander through-the old herb and vegetable gardens are still in use.

On our way to Penola we stopped at Kingston to see the ‘big lobster’. We also tasted the lobster pate – yummy, Brenda bought some to have later with her wine. Over the last week we have had a drop of temperature – low 20’s, a week ago it was in the late 30’s. At night Muz and I needed our duvet!

Driving along the Limestone Coast – Coorong National Park, we had a head wind and Murray used 40 litres of fuel to 180kms! Diesel costs $151.9 litre.

We found Robe to be very yuppish – no-one spoke to us, but at Beachport – people were very friendly.

Over the last week we have stayed in various campsites; on the side of the road, a camping ground and National Parks.

Saturday 14^th January, we drove to Naracoorte Caves. On the way we came across a dead fox hanging from a sign outside the local Penola Pub. It had been shot!

We found the caves not as interesting or spectacular as Margaret River caves. We explored 4 caves-the most interesting was the Bat Cave-described as an interactive experience-“observe the bats as they fly and feed in their cave”- this was achieved by putting us into a small room and we watched TV monitors that were fed pictures via an infra red camera from inside the bat cave. It was fascinating but 30 minutes of this was enough. We did not see any bats in real life, although we did touch a dead bat! We also watched footage of baby bats – they look like mice-hairless and blind!

Brenda said she felt like she was back at the COP Police Post!

Tomorrow we head to Victoria!

STH Australia - photos

Murray's Darling

Dropped a piece on a lamp post on the Murray River bank at Mannum. I knitted it for the Murray Darlings - the red hatter group from Mannum. When I grow old I will wear purple etc.

Fishing on the Murray and other stuff on the Riverlands, SA

On entering the ‘Riverlands’, fruit/vegetable quarantine signs greet you-advising you to place all in bins. However if you have a receipt to prove that you have bought the goods in SA, you can continue to carry these – we continued driving. There are random checkpoints along the highway, with instant 200-400$ fines.

Fishing on the Murray requires patience…

·         No commercial bait is required

·         3 cooked sweetcorn kernals are mounted on a #2 hook

·         Or bacon rind or

·         Shrimps – freshly caught in your net or

·         Red meat or

·         Fresh carp

DO NOT THROW the shit fish back, (carp or red fin) – you can be liable for on the spot fines from the marine police who patrol the river in their yellow fizz boats. Just throw the carp up onto  the river bank or give to other fisher people who keep them for crab bait. Fresh meat is no longer a ‘safe’ bait to use for crabbing – apparently it is a shark attractant. There is no bag or size limit for carp.

Apart from fishing there is a lot of nautical entertainment;

·         Houseboats driven by inexperienced skippers who try to come alongside the pontoon to expel or refill. The expelling of effulent is very well organised with huge sunction hoses that suck the stuff from your tank and deposit in huge sullage tanks.

·         The vehicle  ferry/punt 24/7, takes 2-3 minutes and is free.

·         Jetboating

·         Waveboarding

·         Stunt jet ski riders/drivers

·         Paddlesteamer

·         Flocks of white lorrikets sweeping just above the water

·         Turtle and lizard spotting

The majority of campsites are free and can accommodate up to 15 tents/vans. Rubbish bins and flush toilets are provided. No fresh water. Fortunately we have been lucky to secure a riverside site each time we have stopped. And the pleasant aspect is there are no flies, mozzies, mice or gowonas!

CLARE -library photos

FRESH GENTS FOR SALE

Yes, at your local dairy you can buy fresh gents-as you can imagine I was most intrigued and asked the lady “how much an hour does she charge? She looked at me blankly, so I showed her the signage and asked again “how much does she charge for the fresh gents – by this stage Murray was cracking up!!!

“Oh that” – oh she blushed……

“Gents are maggot”s! “Really”, I replied,” Maggots, I have never heard men being described as Maggots”, oh she said – maggots are fishing bait!

So, are SAustralians any different to the Tasmanians???!!!

We have had a great time camping at the Mt Remarkable National Park, but the heat became too much for us so we have moved to the Clare Camping Ground, where we can use our air con, swim, and have a very cold middie. (I am really getting into this Ozzie slang…)

Small towns in the Southern Flinders struggle to survive, I feel due to false advertising found in the  tourist brochures describing the town as the art centre gallery mecca, after an hr drive we discover another ‘dead’ town, or agurably the prettiest jetty in SA, not sure who is arguring with whom on that one, it was certainly a long rickety jetty with a flakily lighthouse in need of a good paint. To save fuel why not put a sign up on the main road TOWN CLOSED!

Our faith in small town/country food was replenished after visiting Hickory’s Run, between Stone Hut and Wirrabbara. What beautiful, yummy, fresh food and sooooo cheap. The smoked pork chops melted in the mouth.

There were some lovely sights eg the sunflowers, the jandal….

Superman and Muz continue to make friends wherever they go, many people taking photos of them-Muz suggested putting out a money pot..

Here are 2 special Kiwi friends; Kiara and her brother Henry, both now living in Australia.

We had Xmas day lunch at the local pub, meeting some fellow campers and ended up spending the rest of the evening with them.

New Years Eve, was an extremely hot day – we blobbed, ate dinner at 9pm, then sat in the chair star gazing….

See photo below for the 'bush telegraph'...