Reset search
Making Traxx
  • Tracey Rich
  • Tracey Rich

Making Traxx

We are finally leaving, so excited and stressed...haha Read more
FollowInsightsInsightsCalendarCalendarPhotosPhotosShareShareBucket list
Newest first
  • Trip start
    May 1, 2024
    Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler

    Day 1 - Yeppoon to Carnarvon

    May 1, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    After a failed first attempt we have departed. We left on Saturday 27th, Wayne checked the Ball weight which was good and decided to trim some of the Rubber off the new Mudflap on the car, unfortunately his leg was in the way when he slipped with the Stanley Knife and stabbed himself in the leg. Result being 6 hours at the Hospital with 12 internal stiches in the Muscle and 9 external stitches - I did tell him to be careful !!!!

    Anyway we had to wait 72 hrs to make sure there was no infection etc. Now Wednesday and we have successfully left Yeppoon. Yay us. The temp was running a little high on the Torque Convertor so we stopped at the Oakes, couldn't see anything wrong so continued.(Obviously I was - here we go again).

    Thought we had made a rookie error going the shortest way - Rocky...Westwood...Duaringa...Woorabinda (past)...Bauhinia, Roleston and Carnarvon. 25km of (good) dirt road and narrow one lane sealed road then back onto the Dawson Highway.

    Should have been 4.5 hr drive - took 5.5 hrs. Anyway once we got on the Dawson Hwy we realised that it was a really bad road and we had made the right choice. The Trailer hitch alarm went off every time we hit a bump (which it was a lot) - which was not connected to the car, it was in the draw in back of car - battery will be removed tomorrow haha.

    Arrived at Sandstone Park, lovely Reception staff and clean and tidy camp ground, only has toilets but that's a bonus. Sat and watched the Sunset, had a couple a drinks and relaxed. Dinner already precooked so easy night. Good end to the first day.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler

    Day 2 - Carnarvon

    May 2, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Cool morning to start the day but it was beautiful weather, went for a drive into Carnarvon Gorge which is about 5mins from where we are staying at Sandstone Park.

    Picnic areas and park in general are lovely, well maintained, we checked out the Information Centre, very informative. Looked at all the walks and unfortunately we can't do any with Wayne's injury.

    Went back to camp and played with our 'toys' Go Pro, Mini Drone and Sky Link. All working fine, couldn't hotspot my phone due to very weak internet.

    Planned the next couple of days and had an early night.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler
    1

    Day 3 - Carnarvon to St George

    May 3, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Got into trouble last night - washed my hair (shock horror) used some water. haha ! Easy start, took our time to make sure we got everything safely packed up. Had a quick chat to the Park Manager who comes from Gracemere - small world. Had a cute visitor at our camp before we left Carnarvon. Not the same as cuddles from Harley and Nina.

    Drove through Injune and stopped at Roma for lunch and fuel stop...$1.95 for Diesel. Nice little town seems to have everything you need.

    Some of the roads are a bit rough but it is so nice not having to drive through road works with constant changes to the speed limits and traffic lights. Hardly any other cars/vans/boats/trucks going this way. Winning !!!

    Decided to stay in a Caravan Park with power and internet - just outside St George, Pelican Rest Tourist Park, really nice, clean amenities, well organised, easy drive through site. And no - there were no Pelicans.

    Wayne about to watch Bronco's footy, happy days.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler

    Day 4 - St George to Lightning Ridge

    May 4, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Woke to a rainy day - lucky it was an easy pack up, just the water hose and power cord.
    Wayne wasn't feeling so good yesterday, blurry vision, headache, light headed so we tested his Blood Pressure - not good. 160/90 which is too high. Did some research and found our new diet (Carnivore) is bad for anyone with High Blood Pressure.
    A lot of Cheese & Salt add stress and no exercise (Leg injury) and that's the result.

    Off to the IGA to buy some normal food for Wayne. Left St.George and drove to Lightning Ridge, easy drive, not much traffic and surprisingly not much wildlife....few goats, couple of emu's and cows. Heard some alarms going off at 80 ft intervals as we drove past them on the highway, apparently they are to scare off the wildlife from going onto the roads plus they have fences to keep them off the road. There were no dead roos which was very unusual so they must be working.

    Don't remember anything about LR from when I was here as a kid except the Bottle House and Artesian Water baths. Town has obviously grown as there are plenty of shops now.

    Staying at Big4 which is lovely, bit muddy from all the rain they had yesterday. I had a swim in the 'Pool' whew is was warm- loved it.

    Planning the next few days here to check out a mine etc.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler
    11

    Day 5 - Lightning Ridge

    May 5, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Foggy morning, went to the Tourist Information Centre and bought a map to do the 'Car Door' tours around town. 5 different coloured Car Doors for varying places. We went to a 'Walk In Mine' $20 ea which was really interesting, put on our Hard Hats and only had to go 30 steps down. Had stories, videos and photos throughout the mine, then went back up to a free coffee and video on the workings once they got the dirt above ground for mining Opals. Well done exhibit, small shop at the entrance selling uncut rocks (mixed bag $520) and polished pieces some over $3000 - lucky I don't love Opals.

    Then off to Amigo's Castle - took a bit to find as someone had stolen the Red Car Door. Amigo built the whole place by himself with rocks he picked up along the roads, no plan, no council approvals, just kept adding as he went. Had a couple of shafts for mining out the back to get an income, he doesn't live there now but the last piece he built he was 73 which was a 60ft well. He obviously had a great sense on humour judging by the plaques around the property and was a hoarder of old equipment.

    We went to the Bowls Club for Lunch. We had to sign up as Members, (mandatory) which gave us discounts on drinks. Meals were beautiful - too big....doggy bag for dinner, had a couple of James Squires - shouldn't drink during the day - had to go back to the van for nanna nap.

    While we were at lunch we did some planning for the next week. Need to chat to Alex about some of places he went to last year. Will go for another swim in the Artisan Baths later.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler
    11

    Day 6 -Lightning Ridge

    May 6, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Decided to do the Yellow Car Door drive today, didn't get lost today (not many street signs around) drove through 'The Suburbs' which is the active mines, they certainly live rough some of these people. Glad we are here in Autumn, I think the 50+ degrees in summer would be hard to take.

    Drove out to Lunatic Hill which has a lookout into an open cut mine, named by the locals that they were lunatics to dig there, they had to dig 3 times deeper than on the flat. Paid off though, found Halley's Comet in 1986, biggest Black Opal found worth $6 million.

    Went into the 'Big Opal Mine' which is a machine dug mine, sign said Spiral Staircase - didn't mention the 112 stairs haha. God we are unfit, took us both a few minutes to be able to speak once we got back up top. May have been easier going up the air shaft.

    Not sure what the Dinosaur out the front has do with anything out here - no mention of finding them.

    Back to the Hardware store (which has everything) and fuelled up at $2.17 pl....ouch !

    Wayne had a Poppy Nap while I went for another swim at the Artesian Bore - just beautiful. Did our last Car Door drive late today for the sunset. Lovely setting at the Lookout, there is an old cottage made from Beer Cans, someone certainly had a drinking problem and not just with beer.

    Had my first steak in many years for dinner - had it rare of course, was ok.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler

    Day 7 - Lightning Ridge to Dubbo

    May 7, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    I have wanted to go to Dubbo to see the Zoo for so many years...can't wait but I will have to - going tomorrow! Had a good start to the day - on the road by 7.40am at 14deg.

    Just outside Lightning Ridge is a monument called 'Stanley the Emu' made from VW cars and scrap metal, all built by volunteers, was supposed to be going to Birdsville but transport too expensive. My photo doesn't show much detail so borrowed from magazine.

    The last few days driving have been noticeably void of wildlife - today we hit jackpot. Cows, Plain Turkeys, Sheep, Foxes, Horses, Goats, Kangaroos and best of all 35 Emus....all alive and well.

    Just drove into Coonamble and saw a beautifully painted Silo - see photos. Another town was Gulargambone and there were heaps of cut outs along the road of Galah's - took me awhile to tie in the name...derrr

    Into the big smoke of Dubbo, Wow. Traffic lights, road works, saw our first Police Car since leaving home. Not all that happy with the Caravan Park - no room for our car to park next to van and be able to cook or open the back up. Never mind only be here for a couple of days. Amenities are clean.

    Went to Dubbo Gaol which was surprisingly right in the centre of the Main Street. Well presented and really interesting, Wayne was a bit uneasy so we didn't stay too long. Glad I wasn't imprisoned there, some of the stories were horrendous.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler
    1

    Day 8 - Dubbo Zoo

    May 8, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Slept in until 7.30 omg.....unheard of. Probably as it was 11 deg. Off to the Zoo we go, lovely setting, great pens for the animals, obviously well cared for. One Black Rhino on show the other 7 were out the back. Zoo keeper gave a really interesting talk about the Black and White Rhinos.

    The Giraffes were plentiful and their enclosure like most of the others have the fences in a trench so they can't escape but great for photos, giving an uninterrupted view.

    Hippo's were hiding in their pond just saw their snouts sticking out of the water, Meerkats were very cute posing for a photo, 4 Asian Elephants were very active, apparently the Bull was going to mate with the little elephant, there were official photographers waiting to film the event.

    The White Rhinos, Cheetah, Otters, Platypus, African Lion and the Sumatran Tiger, didn't want to be seen today. The Ostriches were surprising huge compared to our Emus. There were 7 different varieties of 'Deer' like animals. Ring Tailed Lemurs were cute running around with their 2 ft long tails in the air. Finally the Galapagos Tortoise - he was big, not sure what he was trying to do but he certain wasn't succeeding climbing up from the side of the smaller Tortoise. Thank goodness we hired the buggy, we parked between 2 or 3 exhibits and walked in between, still limping by the end.

    Had lunch at the Cafe once we dropped off the Buggy. Did the Tourist Circuit which went past a Winery and Observatory. Did a quick top up at Woolworths, back to Big 4. Will have my shower before 5pm today, yesterday was cool water brrrr.
    Filled up the water tanks and we are good to leave in the morning.

    Wayne's leg is nearly healed, not sore now, but he is limping so the muscle must still be repairing, stitches look clean and dry, should be able to remove them tomorrow.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler

    Day 9 - Dubbo to Lilydale Rest Area

    May 9, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Almost finished packing up and our Cordless Drill decided to die, so off we go to Mitre 10 to buy a new one, Brushless Hammer Drill - $409

    Finally left Dubbo just after 9am. Whilst driving between Narromine and Trangie we went past a paddock with 1000's of Bails of Cotton - amazing to see, couldn't take a photo.

    Fuelled up at Nyngan on the way to Cobar - cheap $1.97.....winning. Currently getting 21.88 ltrs per 100 km

    Saw some Sheep, Cows, Emus, Echidna and Feral Cat - all alive. 1 Dead Bore - no Wayne didn't shoot it. And then there were the Goats....plague proportions, every conceivable size and colour, inside the fences and along the road. Not one had been hit, they must be 'smart ones'

    Decided to go through Cobar onto a free camp at Lilydale Rest Area - level site, picnic table and chairs plus toilet, bitumen parking so all good. Expecting some rain tonight so didn't want to park on the red dirt.

    Special hello to Taj and Kobi - apparently they are reading our notes as bedtime stories. Love and miss you guys.

    Note to selves: don't park in Truck Rest Areas, they leave their generators running all night whilst parked right next to you.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler

    Day 10 - Lilydale R/A to Broken Hill

    May 10, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Thunder Storms during the night and still raining when we left the Rest Area which continued for a few hours. Just past Wilcannia the sun came out to play. Still not much traffic going South/West, roads are good.

    Due to the rain the animals were all hiding so I had to count Caravans heading north....35 over 5 hours. Wayne keeps telling me we are going the wrong way. I think we saw 4 Vans going our direction.

    Arrived at Broken Hill Tourist Park, half the park is under construction but nice quiet area (no generators)haha. Went to the Telstra shop to get some advice on why I couldn't Hotspot Phone to Laptop, smart kid did it minutes !!!!

    Quick shop, Tomatoes are 11.50 pk - lucky we only bought one. Can't take into SA which will be on Sunday. Visit to the Tourist Information Office to find out where and what to see tomorrow. Yes I know...we sound like tourists. Dropped into a Chemist to fill out a Script, we were told it would be 1 .1/2 hrs wait.

    Quiet afternoon in the Van catching up on my posts and planning our big day tomorrow to fit in all the sights. News alert - the stitches are out, he didn't trust me so he did himself, the knots on half of them came undone when poked at. Looks nice and clean but will certainly keep an eye on it.

    This caravan park has the BEST showers I have ever had. And the internet is unlimited and untimed....loving Broken Hill.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler

    Day 11 - Broken Hill/Silverton

    May 11, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    Today is our Tourist day, off to Silverton which is 32km from Broken Hill. Went to a Lookout where you can see across all the open plains surrounding the lookout right up to the hills with Wind Turbines, we were shocked to see them out there.

    Silverton is a lovely mining town preserved beautifully, the town is purely for tourism now - it used to be a thriving Silver Mine. Speaking of mines...we went underground, rough going, luckily we had to wear hardhats as I would be bruised all over my head from hitting the roof. The guide was very informative above ground, some of his talk underground wasn't possible to hear, we had a group of 25 ppl so he couldn't get everyone in the one spot until we entered a cave section near the end. We had to turn all our head lamps off to experience the complete darkness that the miners worked in, including the 8 year old kids who worked down there moving rocks. Average life expectancy was 42.

    After Mine tour went to the Silverton Hotel for lunch, was good atmosphere, run by Irish Backpackers, nice food, authentic old pub, lots of memorabilia around the walls. Then off to the Mad Max Museum, creepy dude to greet us as we walked through the door, his welcoming speach was "no photo's inside, $15 dollars". Once inside we were overwhelmed with photo's from floor to ceiling and then across the ceiling, plus lots of props from the Movies including scripts, private photo's from behind the scenes - unfortunately no photo's so can't remember much....so many photos. Then we went out the back where all the cars, bikes, Stork's Giro Copter, trucks and dummies dressed in theme - here we were allowed to take photo's. Will post some but will send heaps to Alex to show the boys, they were very excited to see the Mad Max stuff.

    Left there and drove to the Gaol, didn't go in but took some photo's of it and other buildings around town. When we were at the mine we asked if they were still mining and he smiled and said they make more money from Tourism than mining these days. Part of that is the admission $33 ea but the rest is the hard sell for Tea and Scones at $8.60 pp for scones only. She was horrified when I told her we didn't want either.

    Back to the Van, Wayne having Poppy nap, I went for a walk and took photo's of the lovely Primary School down the street. Chilly night so off for a hot shower and then some planning for tomorrows site seeing around Broken Hill.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler
    1

    Day 12 - Still at Broken Hill

    May 12, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    First stop today was the Line of Lode Memorial which is built on top of the tailings from the mine, in Memory of the 800 Miners who died while working in the mine. There was a wall with every persons name, age and how they died with flowers. It is built looking over the town of Broken Hill.

    Next stop was a Museum which covered the history of the whole area, an attack by 2 Turks on a train, locals gone to war, Mines, Trains, Royal visit, Hospitals and the immigrants that moved to Australia for a better life and helped to build the area. Was really interesting but exhausting.

    Next was the famous Pro Hart Gallery - his art is famous, it is diverse with abstract and story telling. The photo is one painting which covers a whole wall and is amazing telling the history of Australia. He even painted one of his Rolls Royce cars, there were 4 at the gallery. Obviously he became a very wealthy man.

    Back to the Van for some maintenance by Wayne, grease under the Van and Car, checking bearings, topping up air pressure in the tyres. We have developed an annoying squeak - yet to be found. Last job - empty the Devil's Suitcase....again !

    Last tourism stop for the area was sunset at the 'Living Desert State Park' which were sandstone Sculptures on top of a hill 12 kms out of town. Wayne was sure we had missed the sunset because it was quite cloudy, I was sure we would have a magnificent view....guess who was right ? Absolutely stunning.

    Decided to top up the fuel before leaving town, $1.95 per lt. Final hair wash before we go free camps for the next few days.
    Hope everyone had a lovely Mothers Day.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler

    Day 13 - Broken Hill to Peterborough

    May 13, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Quick stop at Repco for some Grease then Total Workwear - Wayne needed another long sleeved shirt and we both needed warm jumpers, yes I am a frog....11 deg and I'm freezing.

    Had a problem with the power plug from car to van, few adjustments and we were on our way. I would like to say it was a nice drive but my god it was boring, as there were no live animals to look at I had to resort to counting Roadkill. So I counted 49 but rule was they had to still have fur or feathers to count, no piles of bones were counted. Sorry had to share the journey accurately.

    Crossed over the South Australian border and went through Quarantine for fruit fly at Oodla Wirra which is 209km from the border, very confusing why it is so far into SA before they check. We had been advised by a few people that they were very strict and check the car and whole caravan. Maybe we were lucky and got a nice man - he didn't look in the car, I went with him to the Van and he asked if I had any fruit or veg, I told him we had some potatoes, he looked at them and said they were fine, looked in the fridge, didn't even open the vegie draw - he closed and locked up the fridge for me. Asked about honey, I had a new bottle purchased at supermarket, he said all good. So while I locked up the Van he went and chatted to Wayne about where we were headed, weather, road kill etc. Very chilled guy.

    Quick drive into Peterborough and headed to our off grid camp for the night which is opposite the Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre, we are going tonight for a Sound and Light show. The show was well organised and very interesting, kind of sad that the Steam trains died but that's progress I guess. You will be glad to know we are done looking at Trains 🤣

    Apparently we had a 3.0 Earthquake around here, but we slept through it.

    Booked the next 5 nights at Turton Point Van park so we can check out Yorke Peninsular from a central spot.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler
    111

    Day 14 - Peterborough to Port Turton

    May 14, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Slow start this morning, had a late night with the Train Show. Quick stop at Chemist for Script, couple of things from Food Works and we left Peterborough.

    The most notable thing is how dry it is, I was talking to a lady last night and she mentioned how worried the farmers are that they have had no rain for months. The lady I spoke to is married to Bill Sauers brother, we had a lovely chat after the show, for those that don't know - Bill was my Plant Manager for 10 years (he employed me when I joined JBS) he is a lovely man and a good boss.

    We took a few back roads down the Peninsular (much to Wayne's annoyance) went through heaps of Wheat fields that are just stubble. Not what we expected, Wayne thought it would be timbered, I thought it would be green. Both wrong, very dry and desolate landscape. I was surprised that the Peninsular was so wide, I had a picture of driving down the middle and having water on both sides....very wrong. It was great to sea the ocean after being away from it for 2 weeks....we do love our water.

    Every mountain range has rows of Wind Turbines, not expecting to see these, there are a lot of properties covered with Solar Panels also, so they are obviously trying different ways to create/save electricity.

    We arrived at around 3.30 to the most awesome place to stay - Port Turton...what a surprise. Love it, tidy little caravan park right on the water, good amenities, grass sites and 2 minutes from a jetty which looks great for fishing. Walked down there as soon as we had set up camp (15 mins after arriving), talked to a few fishermen, and a local who gave us a couple of tips on places to see while we were here. A lady was swimming laps next to the jetty, said she does it most days (her time away from the kids), I told her I would probably join her tomorrow afternoon.

    There were about 10 different types of Stingrays in the water where she had been swimming and one huge one about 2m across, the lady jumped back in the water to steer it in my direction so I could get a photo, (which doesn't do it justice) Wayne said it is the biggest, fattest ray he has ever seen. The local man mentioned to us that it was the same Ray that killed Steve Irwin - Wayne of course replied with 'Gee it was come a long way' - the guy didn't get it.

    So excited to be back at the water and the Peninsular looks beautiful, can't wait to explore over the next four days. Forgot to mention I have solved the problem of trying to navigate on my phone (reading glasses) and see where we are actually driving (distance glasses) - see photo of how clever I am.....looks silly but it works.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler
    1

    Day 15 - Point Turton

    May 15, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    This place is beautiful, we had a big day driving around the 'bottom of the boot' hopefully you can see from the map what I am talking about. Every place we stopped was a little different in landscape and even the rocks in the ocean changed from sharp jagged rocks to smooth boulders. I will post a few places we stopped at so we remember their names:

    Point Souttar, Corny Point Lighthouse, Berry Bay, Gleesons Landing, Daly Head, Gym Beach, Pondalowie Surf Break, Cape Spencer Lighhouse, West Cape Lighthouse, Innes National Park, Rhino Head, Stenhouse Bay, Marion Bay.

    We had to walk about 2km to the Surf Break...Wayne complained all the way about how far it was, worth the walk and the complaints. After all he had a stab wound to he leg.....

    I filmed with the Go Pro today again and I got up the courage to use the Drone, filmed a huge pod of dolphins swimming up the coast. I will work on getting some footage posted, forgot how...sorry Alex.

    Heaps of Lighthouses, sandy beaches, Emu's, rocky beaches and sandstone cliffs. Really hard to sort out which photo's to post, only allowed to post 10 per day. I will try to get them in order - no promises though.

    Went to the Tavern (which overlooks the Caravan Park) for dinner, nice easy night.

    Forgot the highlight of the day - there is a Alert out for Feral Bees - of course one landed on Wayne in the car and tried to crawl down his chest into his shirt, I flicked it off him - unfortunately it landed in his lap. To say he jumped out of the car like lightning is an understatement. I am devo that I wasn't filming....gold !    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler

    Day 16 - Point Turton

    May 16, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Got up early with the sun 7.30 haha - strange place. Washing everything as its a beautiful day. Wayne connected the greywater pipe into the system, we usually just have a bucket. Jobs done now off to explore.

    Warooka was a small country town, then into Yorketown which was surprisingly big, picked up a couple of things from the bottle shop, Foodworks & Chemist.

    I asked for directions to the Pink Lakes, got sent to the Tourist Information Centre as the lady couldn't tell me. Anyway we checked out a couple but they aren't Pink - just salt. Nevermind, I'm sure we will find some along the way.

    Then off to Edithburgh, interesting sign as you come into town, There is an amazing horse made from bits and pieces - she is called 'Edith the Draughthorse'. The Wind Turbines around the town are crazy, so many. Bought Fish n Chips to have at the Jetty (Wayne is going fishing tomorrow). Really impressed with King George Whiting. Then drove around 'the Heal of the foot' see yesterday's map.

    The road wound around the edge of the coast which went from flat beaches to high cliffs, very clear water and still no wind (fingers crossed it stays that way). Not sure if I'm happy that is only 22 deg so too cold to swim as there are the White Pointer Sharks down here so the temptation isn't that bad.

    Saw a couple of Painted Silos, the second one was especially bright. Lots of dirt roads around this beautiful coastline but in good condition. Saw a pod of Dolphins herding some bait and something bigger, maybe salmon, onto the rocks and having a good feed.

    We are blown away by the Seagulls down here, they are huge compared to ours at home, Wayne recons they are threatening him, 'either feed me or we will attack'.

    Went to a Tackle shop as Wayne forgot is Filleting Knife - good vibes for tomorrows fishing day. Also got some bait, covering all his bases with bait and lures.

    Nearly back to Point Turton and noticed a massive fire in the distance, hope it is just a farmer burning off. Fuelled up at Yorketown $1.95    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler

    Day 17 - Point Turton

    May 17, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Dragged myself out of bed for the sunrise which happened at 7.10...yes I know its very late. The days are short here - sunset is 5.20pm. Anyway it was stunning, quite cool, I had a hot cuppa, trackies plus a scarf, just taking some awesome photo's when along comes a group of ladies, then another group - total of 11 of these insane ladies who all jumped into the water and started walking around, not swimming briskly which I would have done....crazy.

    Went back to the Van to get Wayne out of bed, we were going exploring again, he was so excited...not ! Stopped at a few beaches travelling north up the Western side of the leg (see map). Flaherty Beach was the first one, which we had been told was beautiful. Driving along behind the houses, I saw more Furgie Tractors than I had seen my whole life. Every house has their own Tractor to launch their boats, just like the old Emu Park days.

    Unfortunately, it was low tide, so the beaches were very shallow, so decided to drive all the way up to Port Hughes, which is outside Yorke Peninsular, then work our way back down.

    Wayne is addicted to the King George Whiting (he assures me he is going fishing tomorrow to catch some) after he has done some maintenance. Quick lunch, and we started coming back via every dirt road known to man kind (guess who's comment that was). We went to Port Vincent, which was windy, but I did take a photo of the toilet block.

    We drove down to a few more of the beaches coming back but there isn't a coastal road, so you have to drive in and out from the highway, yes on dirt roads. Went into Wauraltee Beach, which is gorgeous, we are planning to stay there when we leave here on Sunday. Will be our first beach camp...Yay.

    Got back to Turton and drove past the park to Magazine Bay. A lady on the Jetty had told us it's a must to see. She was right. It's protected from wind, lovely pebbly beach, and a cave you can climb up to and enjoy the view. It even has carpet in the cave -we accidently interrupted a young couple....oops. Will be going back tomorrow for a swim.

    We are off to the Tavern for dinner again tonight, slack I know, but it's too easy.

    Happy Birthday for Taj tomorrow, sorry not going to see him.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler

    Day 18 - Still at Point Turton

    May 18, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Taj's 10th Birthday. Missing the boys heaps, big and small. Housework/Maintenance day today for us both. Wayne on the car, fixing the trailer connection (which I may have broken ages ago), tracking down and fixing a squeak under the car and repairing a valve on the water inlet into the Van that has never worked...very productive day.

    Amazing how dusty/sandy the Van gets, so lots to clean, in between calls from the 'Repair Man' get me a screw driver...no not that one the smaller one !!!!

    Wayne needed a part for the trailer connection so we did a quick run into Warooka, only about 10 mins from Turton. I found a painted tank - so of course took a photo.

    Its cold, overcast and windy today, so not a good fishing day, but he tried, only caught some seaweed. We were going to check out tomorrow and go the beach camp but decided to extend another day and see what the wind is going to do.

    Still having problems with our gas bottles, can't run more than one hotplate at a time, when we swap over to the other bottle, its fine. Change back to No.1 bottle the next day and its fine....we are very confused. Any ideas are welcome.

    Wayne thought it was funny that he is sitting watching the footy while I wash and dry up.....he has been very good with his cooking outside and drying up, guess the footy is too hard to resist. All good.

    Sorry, not many photos today 😉    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler

    Day 19 - Extra day at Point Turton

    May 19, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Yucky day again, cold and windy. Did the washing, think we have fixed the Gas bottle problem - time will tell.

    Copied the Go Pro and Drone footage to the Hard drive. Then went and had another practice flight.

    Spent a couple of hours working out where we are headed over the next couple of weeks. We were going over to Eyre Peninsular but the weather isn't great so we will go up to Coober Pedy and check out the underground living instead.

    Sandy will catch up to us during the next week and we will travel together for awhile. Will be nice to have her along for some chats etc.

    Nothing else happened today so making Taco's for dinner and an early night ready to pack up and move. Hopefully the weather will improve.

    There you go - I went out in the rain and took a photo of our camp site so at least there is one piccy today.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler

    Day 20 - Pt.Turton to Port Broughton

    May 20, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Loved Point Turton it was a tidy little Van park and close to the best parts of Yorke Peninsular.

    Anyway,'On the Move' again (no pun intended), went to Moonta and bought another long sleeve shirt...last one was a little snug. Then off to Kadina, which is the biggest town on the Peninsular, parked the Van at the Bowls club and went walking around town. Picked up some filters for the car from Repco, hot chook from Woolies, and decided that it is Port weather, so we bought some to see if it warms us up at night.

    Had to order a part for the air filter in the car, which broke when Wayne was cleaning, but it will take 3 days to get to Kadina. There was a painted Silo here, so of course, another photo.

    The last stop for the day is an RV Park in Port Broughton. It is the best setup camp, and the owner has done heaps of work to make it welcoming. $10 per night but no toilets or showers but has a camp kitchen. You can buy 80 ltrs of water for $4.

    The owner is a painter and has lovely pictures around the park, and he has Palm trees planted to divide the sites. I think it used to have grass between the Palms, but they desperately need rain, so its all dirt. There is only one other van here apart from us, but I assume more will roll in later in the day.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler

    Day 21 - Port Broughton

    May 21, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Well that was a rude awakening this morning....4 degs. Not expecting that so I stayed in bed with my electric blanket (Wayne) until 8 o'clock, yay it was 6 degs by then.

    It was an exciting day when we got up, first time using the Awning since it blew away when we were at Proserpine Dam last year. We had to put it out so we could attach the clothes line to the arms.....only took 21 days to achieve this.

    Then relaxed in the sun until we received a call from Toyota in Kadina telling us our part had arrived a day early. Quick lunch and off to the big smoke, population on 20,000. Doing a big shop at Woolies to get us through until we reach Coober Pedy, pick up a power board from Mitre 10, a tyre gauge from ARB and the part from Toyota.

    Not liking the man at ARB, so rude, I mentioned to him that I had Googled ARB in Kadina and it was temporarily closed, obviously the shop was open. He went on to lecture me that the shop isn't ARB but they sell ARB parts, "The shop is the same name as on his shirt"....haha the only thing on his shirt was ARB. Not impressed with his attitude.

    Couple of hundred at Woolies then fuelled up @ $1.94 for Diesel. So embarrassed at Ampol, I forgot my pin number for my card and had to use my Credit Card which didn't need a pin. Stupid thing is I had just used it at Woolies and the number was gone....old age or not using my brain enough !!!

    Back to Van to put shopping away then went into Port Broughton with fishing rods loaded, ready to check out the Jetty. Drove down to the Boat Ramp first, SA do their ramps well, floating pontoon in the middle of the ramp, heaps of parking, toilets, very impressive compared to ours in Yeppoon.

    Walked out to the end of the Jetty and chatted to the old guys fishing...they caught a couple of fish while we watched. Mmmm....tiny little Salmon, Harley would inhale them for a quick snack, not something we would fillet, they were excited and kept them though. No fishing for us today. There was a boat moored to the Jetty with heaps of Crab Pots and tubs heading to Sydney Fish Market, apparently they catch heaps of Blue Swimmer Crabs here.

    Port Broughton is a pretty little town of around 1100 ppl, lovely foreshore. Beautiful old Pub too. Nice sunset back at the Van. Sandy is travelling well and expect to see her tomorrow.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler

    Day 22 - Pt Broughton to Rawnsley Stat

    May 22, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Well another 4 deg start to the day, my weather app advised that it felt like 1 deg....I agreed and stayed in my warm bed.

    I packed up the inside while Wayne battled the cold outside, thanks honey. All done ready to top up our water which was $4 for 80 ltrs at the RV Park, of course it didn't work so waited for the owner to come and fix, all good, got the water filled, power was fully charged so ready for the dreaded 'Devils Suitcase' - again, thanks honey.

    On the road to Rawnsley Park Station in the Flinders Rangers, what a beautiful drive, after days of flat dead paddocks of wheat and barley there were mountains, trees, and lots of animals (alive and dead) but heaps to see.

    Driving up the West side of Yorke Peninsular you look across to Eyre Peninsular, check out the clouds.

    After having no wildlife for days we had 2 Emus who tried to die, and 2 cars that were also trying to kill themselves and us, definitely got our hearts racing.

    Went through Port Pirie, Quorn, Pitchi Richi Railway, Hawker then into the Park. Pretty disappointed here, charged us $32 per night for Bush Camp with no amenities or power, no level sites and too many trees to navigate through safely.

    It took us 2 hours to finally find a spot that we could live with, just finished setting up camp and Sandy arrived, she was easy, found a spot, locked the door and came over for a glass of bubbly to celebrate.

    I had prebooked dinner at 'The Woolshed' which has a great reputation, it was good food and good service, expensive but with the afternoon we had endured, we didn't care....nearly had our first fight trying the find a campsite.

    Back to camp but took us half an hour to find our caravan, a lovely lady that was camped near us finally ran out and asked us if we had lost our camp....how embarrassing, she told us where we were situated. Really shit set up with roads running in every direction and no way to tell the difference. Will probably be clear enough in the day light though.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler
    1

    Day 23 - Rawnsley Park Station

    May 23, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    The Flinders Rangers are definitely spectacular, when you think that millions of years ago this whole area was seabed and now it is majestic mountain ranges.

    The 3 of us had a leisurely start, sat in the sun with our morning tea,. Lovely to relax and chat, while the sun was charging up our batteries.

    We had our map and off we went to various lookouts, some of which were certainly 4WD only, well worth the hill climbs though. There were so many different directions to take photo's and all showing totally new layers of rock formations which the forces of nature have produced. Very hard to capture the vast area on the phones.

    Talked to a couple at Stokes Lookout who came from Cairns and regularly holiday in Yeppoon and Emu Park....small world. Saw lots of Emu's today wandering around, loads of tracks through the mountains which we believe are made by sheep, but we didn't see more than a few the whole day.

    Back to the camp, bought a bag of firewood. While we were in the shop Sandy asked the lady all the questions we had about the area. Like where are the Sheep? She advised that they move them to different paddocks plus the goats also make the tracks...they have just culled them which is why we saw none. She said they are really good at hiding, guess that's necessary if you don't want to get shot. The area looks really dry but she said they have had 3 good lots of rain in the last 7 months and when it rains the creeks fill very quickly and people get stranded while waiting for the water to subside. At the moment every creek is dry as a bone so its hard to imagine what it would be like flooded.

    Sandy had to work for a couple of hours, so I put dinner on in the Ecopot (slow cooker) while Wayne prepared the fire. All came together perfectly, was lovely sitting around the fire to keep warm while eating in the moonlight.

    Wayne captured a perfect photo of the slipstream from a jet flying over in the moonlight and discovered a setting on the phone for night photo's which highlights our campfire and Van.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler

    Day 24 - Friday - Rawnsley to Marree

    May 24, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    So glad to be out of Rawnsley Park Station, just not user friendly, however the Flinders Rangers are stunning. Sandy left to go South to Yorke Peninsular and we have gone North to Marree, then onto the Oodnadatta Track.

    The first photo today shows where the water cuts through when in flood, hard to imagine when it is so dry now.

    The drive north was beautiful until the Rangers ended, then it was flat open plains of nothing except roadkill for the most part (Roos, Calves, Emu's and sheep). We did see a lot of Emu's running around in the paddocks and on the road, just missed 2 young ones. Also 4 Brumbies trotting up the road.

    Went through Leigh Creek which was a strange little town, obviously had money but every house and property had high fences. Next was Copley only 5 km away which was very different, no fences and very run down little place.

    Kept driving and realised why Leigh Creek had money, came across acres and acres of land which has been Mined for Coal, all open cut, no rejuvenation in site. Apparently they have closed down the mine in January because the Power Station in Port Augusta was closed and it was the only customer. SA seems to rely heavily on Wind Turbines and Solar Panels.

    Arrived at Marree, wow we are now in the outback, no-one inside the office with at the broken door, rang the number taped to the door, he said just go over to the Roadhouse (2 bousers and little shop - 2 blocks away) and they will fix you up. Luckily a man came over and explained to just park anywhere, plug in and go pay later, we parked next to him and chatted for a couple of hours.

    The only reason we came to the park was to do some washing and so I could wash my hair as the Water/Power Meany (Wayne) has banned me from hair washing. The 'Park' has no working washing machines, the 'Amenities' are Unisex with no doors, the power connection only works every second site.

    There is a train carriage in the middle of town with a for sale sign on it, Diesel is $2.90. I walked over to the Roadhouse and on the way there was a mum and her son playing on a Tennis Court.... the language from the child was colourful to say the least. Very odd little community. Thank goodness we will be out of here first thing in the morning.

    So good to wash my hair...in our Van.    Read more

  • Tracey RichMaking TraxxTraveler

    Day 25 - Marree to William Creek

    May 25, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Glad to leave that Park also, that is 2 in a row that were shit. New day fresh start, had a chat to Tony & Paula who are going in our direction and their Daughter and Son in Law own the property surrounding 80 Mile Beach in WA, so we are probably going to run into them a lot.

    Had only driven for 15 minutes and there was a Van pulled over so we stopped to check they were ok...no they weren't. They had slashed a tyre on their brand new car and didn't have the correct equipment to change the tyre, really bad set up for the spare. Anyway, we helped them change it and then chatted for an hour an a half, lovely couple, Chris and Judy from Streaky Bay in Eyre Peninsular.

    On our way again, stopped at a Lookout over Lake Eyre, couldn't see a great deal other than salt but further out there was water from the rain in Qld which has flown all the way down here. The couple that had broken down had done a Flight over the Lake, had a swim at Dalhousie Springs, landed at Mt Dare Station and had lunch at Oodnadatta Pub, a full days adventure for $1400 each.

    Drove to Coward Springs which was an Oasis in the middle of no-where, $3 ea to enter, looked at the Spring which was a Spa big enough for 2 people, checked out the little Museum (built from Sandstone - could feel the temp difference when you entered...so cool) they grow date palms and sell all sorts of food, Date Ice cream, Date scones, Chocolate Coated Dates, Date Slice etc etc. We didn't have a dip as it was occupied but bought some Date stuff.

    The landscape was really flat except for the occasional mound rising from a paddock and then the sand dunes started, just like when we crossed the Simpson Desert. The only animals we saw were four Cows being rounded up by a Gyrocopter and two lads on motor bikes.

    When we arrived at William Creek we found a caravan park and a pub, checked in next to Tony and Paula. They were on their way to fly over Lake Eyre for $400, they loved it and took some great photo's.

    Unfortunately they didn't fare so well travelling on the Oodnadatta Track - their freezer door opened and all the food spread everywhere, plus the front of the fridge broke, a draw got stuck and they couldn't put back or remove.

    We had a couple of issues also, 2 of the plugs from Van to car broke off and dragged along, only cables left, lucky Wayne was prepared with spare plugs and the knowhow to fix. The kettle fell apart, the plug in the sink unscrewed itself and part is missing in the tank somewhere, couple of the buttons on the draws fell off. Not too bad with the corrugation, our dust system worked a treat, no dust at all in the Van.

    Pauline and I sat chatting while the boys removed the draw in Tony's van, then Wayne and I went to the Pub for dinner, it was packed, standing room only in the bar. Really interesting country pub, heaps of history. Had to wait for a table so found a spare corner and sat in the bar to have a drink. In walks Charles Wooley from 60 Minutes and his film crew. It is a big deal that there is water in the Lake, it only filled up last Thursday and has already started to evaporate so wont last long.

    Nice meal, back to park for shower.    Read more

  • 2025© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Help Center
  • Legal notice