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Marg n Pauls Gap Year 2017
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Marg n Pauls Gap Year 2017

A 353-day adventure by The Shifting Spanners Read more
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  • The Shifting SpannersMarg n Pauls Gap Year 2017The Shifting Spanners

    Streaky Bay

    October 16, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    After stocking up at Ceduna for a couple of nights, (we had to throw out or cook any fruit n veg at the South Australia checkpoint), we headed down the Eyre Peninsula to Streaky Bay. Opted to stay on a 3 night deal at a new caravan park right on the beach. This is one of the best parks I've seen with huge sites, fantastic ablution blocks, camp kitchen and games room.

    We did a few loop drives around the area, visiting secluded beaches, bays and rock pools. Loved Point Labatt where we saw several sea lions sunbaking on the beach below.

    Great to have some warmer weather. 11-31°    Read more

  • The Shifting SpannersMarg n Pauls Gap Year 2017The Shifting Spanners
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    Elliston

    October 19, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Had a very busy week workwise, so stayed at a caravan park at Elliston on the Eyre Peninsula. Not a lot to see here, but managed to finish early one afternoon and did the The Great Ocean Tourist Drive. Lots of bays, beaches and clifftop lookouts with some large sculptures thrown in.

    This area is very exposed, and has large swings in temperatures...maximum of 18° one day, followed by 32° the next when the northerlies swung in.    Read more

  • The Shifting SpannersMarg n Pauls Gap Year 2017The Shifting Spanners
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    Coffin Bay

    October 21, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Very happy to have 4G coverage at Coffin Bay after the very slow 3G at Elliston made working tedious. Finished off some design work, then checked out the beautiful bays around the area.

    Decided to do a tour of an Oyster Farm which turned out to be a great afternoon. Incredible how labour intensive these operations are...no wonder oysters are expensive. Even got a shucking lesson, oyster tasting and of course bought a dozen to take home.

    We said our goodbyes to Robert & Karen with an early 50th birthday lunch for Marg at a nice restaurant overlooking the water. We will miss these guys as our travels take us in different directions, but lifelong friendships have been made.

    Beaut weather 10-22    Read more

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    Port Lincoln

    October 25, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Stayed 4 nights unpowered at a great caravan park on the water at Port Lincoln. Chose a good spot with no neighbours which turned out to be a pretty cool place to work for a couple of days.

    We checked out the sights including Winter Hill lookout, statues of Capt Flinders and his cat and Makybe Diva, and celebrated Marg's 50th birthday (again) at a nice restaurant at the marina.

    Overcast at times 10-21°    Read more

  • The Shifting SpannersMarg n Pauls Gap Year 2017The Shifting Spanners

    Whyalla

    October 26, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Just an overnight stop as we head towards Renmark and all points East. Founded by BHP as a port to ship iron ore from the Iron Knob Mine it's the 3rd most populous town in SA.

    After checking out Hummock's Hill and the foreshore, we ended up having a drink with the managers of the CP who then gave us some King George Whiting fish fillets to take with us...looking forward to trying that in the next couple of days!

    A lot warmer 12-29    Read more

  • The Shifting SpannersMarg n Pauls Gap Year 2017The Shifting Spanners
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    Berri

    October 28, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Stayed a couple of nights at Martin's Bend campground near Berri SA. What a top spot right on the banks of the Murray!

    Checked out the beautiful Riverland district including Berri, Renmark, Barmera, Lake Bonney and Paringa. We were lucky to catch the Paringa Verticle Lift Bridge in operation to let a houseboat travel through...it only operates twice a day if needed. Also checked out Lock 5...one of 13 locks on the Murray River as well as 2 Barrages at the river mouth (which we saw when at Goolwa in April.)

    Called in and said G'day to Brenton's mate Kym at Barmera who put us on to the Woolshed Brewery outside Paringa. Had a couple of beers on the deck overlooking the Murray River...what a spot!

    Spent the afternoons back at camp, sitting in the Murray watching the sun go down...

    Hot one day - 36°...moderate the next - 29°    Read more

  • The Shifting SpannersMarg n Pauls Gap Year 2017The Shifting Spanners

    Hay

    October 30, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We left Berri in SA, drove through Victoria and ended up in Hay NSW all in the same day! Stayed 2 nights free camping at Hay Services Club. Great spot and the only one's here. Had a great chinese dinner at the club and chilled out before we drive towards Canberra.

    Temperature 7-21°    Read more

  • The Shifting SpannersMarg n Pauls Gap Year 2017The Shifting Spanners

    Yass

    November 1, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    We decided to stop at a free camp at Yass so we only had a short drive in to Canberra and could make the most of our first day there. The camp at Yass was so good we ended up staying 2 nights. We had prime position on the river with our own resident duck who Marg hand fed...he even slept under our van.

    Did a bit of shopping in town, washed the car and
    van and generally got ourselves organised for our stay in Canberra.

    Temperature 5-20°    Read more

  • The Shifting SpannersMarg n Pauls Gap Year 2017The Shifting Spanners

    Canberra

    November 4, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We had a great few days in Canberra. Parked the van at the Exhibition grounds (best & cheapest in Canberra) and went straight to Parliament House where we did a free tour, followed by a trip up Telstra Tower.

    We found Canberra very easy to drive around. Incredibly good infrastructure and the new light rail will be another great addition to the city.

    Great to catch up with Terry, Stephanie and the boys who were kind enough to spend the day with us showing us the sights. We did a cruise on Lake Burley Griffin, lunch at the National Library, followed by visits to ADFA, RMC and the Aboretum. Finished the day with dinner and drinks at their place...Awesome!

    Spent a whole day at the War Memorial...could have spent another day really... a fantastic memorial! We stayed for the Last Post at 5pm which was very moving...

    Great weather 7-22°    Read more

  • The Shifting SpannersMarg n Pauls Gap Year 2017The Shifting Spanners

    Dubbo

    November 10, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Called in to the Yass free camp again for a couple of nights, on the way through to Dubbo. We were lucky enough to get the same spot on the river...beautiful!.

    Stayed 4 nights at a private property at Dubbo (Donation only). Spent an entire day at the Western Plains Zoo which was fantastic! This one is more like an African Safari where you drive around the 6km circuit in your own car (or golf buggy, bikes etc). Great to see the animals with acres to roam around in.

    Had plenty of work, so didn't get to see much else...

    A lot warmer 11-28°    Read more

  • The Shifting SpannersMarg n Pauls Gap Year 2017The Shifting Spanners

    Narrabri

    November 11, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Just an overnight stop at Narrabri showground on the way back to sunny Qld. Did a slight detour on the way to visit Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran. There's nowhere to park with caravans up there, so we had to detach the van and leave it in a parking area down the road. (complete with hitch lock and wheel clamp).

    Siding Springs is Australia's premier observatory and is located atop a mountain affording beautiful views of the area. Heaps of telescopes up here doing all sorts of research of the southern skies...very interesting.    Read more

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    Millmerran

    November 13, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Had a couple of nights at the Millmerran Showground on the way in to Brisbane Town. Plenty of 4G coverage here, so was able to get some work done.

    Marg was able to get her hair cut & coloured in town whilst I slaved away...not sure I came out in front. 😉Read more

  • The Shifting SpannersMarg n Pauls Gap Year 2017The Shifting Spanners

    Brisbane

    November 16, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    We parked the van up at Maurie's place again (thanks Maurie) and spent a week with Mum, Coral and Yvonne. Had a great birthday lunch at Pacific Golf Club with the family including Kath, Jess and Wil.

    Marg and I had drinks and dinner with Alex and had a great night...just like old times.    Read more

  • The Shifting SpannersMarg n Pauls Gap Year 2017The Shifting Spanners

    Townsville

    November 24, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    We bought a car! I made an offer on this Mazda MX5 from Brisbane, and the owner gave me first option on it until we arrived. Great car! Marg took it for her first drive with the top down and got whistled at! 😂

    Stayed at Riverside Convention Centre ($20) which had a huge open field so plently of room to have both cars with us overnight.    Read more

  • The Shifting SpannersMarg n Pauls Gap Year 2017The Shifting Spanners

    Home

    November 25, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    We made it! Can't believe it's over, but it was the absolute trip of a lifetime. Fantastic to see the family again. We've noticed they've all matured into very capable young ladies.

    Lindsay and Simon moved out of home a few weeks ago, so we had a BBQ at their place which is just around the corner. They look very happy. With Ashleigh and Jay moving into Ashleigh's townhouse in the next few weeks and Georgie moving away to university in February, the house will seem very roomy after 12 months in a caravan!Read more

  • The Shifting SpannersMarg n Pauls Gap Year 2017The Shifting Spanners

    Trip Stats

    November 25, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    We have been asked about costs & budgets for a round Australia trip, so here goes...

    We were able to stick to our budget of $600 per week. Some weeks went way over if we had big ticket expense items like swimming with whale sharks, cruises, tours etc, and some weeks we spent less, but over all it worked out pretty much spot on the $600 pw mark.

    The whole trip cost $30,000 which included fuel, accomodation, food & spending money. We had 122 stops, mostly at low cost farms, stations, showgrounds, free camps, private properties, national parks and the occasional caravan park.

    Breakdown

    Fuel $7045
    Accomodation $6436

    Average accomodation cost $17.20 per night.

    Distance travelled.
    Car 41510 kms
    Van 24969 kms

    Ave fuel consumption 13.5 l/100kms
    Dearest fuel $1.98 Kings Canyon
    Cheapest fuel $1.13 Home Hill

    Favourite Places

    Cape Range National Park - Ningaloo Reef WA
    Karijini National Park WA
    Esperance - Lucky Bay WA
    Sapphire Coast NSW
    Broome - Cable Beach WA
    Flinders Ranges SA
    Adelaide Hills SA
    Great Ocean Road VIC    Read more

    Trip end
    November 25, 2017
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