Day 10-11 Coober Pedy, SA

Day 1. We stayed at Port Augusta- a strange, depressing port town that has a great Tourist Information Centre. A lot of people were living in the caravan park while working in town. After a six hour drive we arrived at a dry Coober Pedy (even though they received 65mm last week the most since 1972!).

Coober Pedy is famous for opal mining (the largest in THE WORLD), which has destroyed the landscape covering it in large mounds of dry soil dug up from tunnels. The hokey mining tours, museums, opal shops look like a side show alley or a b-grade hollywood set. I'm expecting Yosemite Sam (gun toting Luney Tunes character) to come walking out of the IGA which apparently sells dynamite.

There are four underground churches in Coober Pedy of which the Visitor Info Rep recommended the Serbian church. The stained glass window had images of the Sturt Desert Pea.

 




Jack wanted to go to the underground bookshop- I can only recommend their tea towels.

The kids had a great time making friends in the sand pit at the BIG 4 caravan park and hope to see them in Uluru.



Day 2.

We visited the Umoona Mine and Museum. The 82 year old Rudi was our guide who has worked the mines since 1962. His wacky humour, accent and limp made the tour of the underground house and mine even more quirky. Great thing about living in a dugout is that it is always 24 degrees c, so no need for heating or cooling.

In the afternoon we went fossicking for opals which is called "noodling"- odd. The kids were trying to strike it rich but only found quartz.

Last stop was a wildlife rescue centre/ art gallery/ opal shop where we fed and kissed the baby kangaroos and viewed the art- love the mixed business. It is a real mixed up, funny town.

Day 8-9 Wilpena Pound, SA

After one of the camp cook's wonderful meals (by AKA Joel Johnson), we slumbered well and Mandy cooked up a father's day breakfast in the Wilpena Pound campground. We rode our bikes halfway up to St Mary's Lookout, walk the rest when it became too rugged and the whinging grew to a crescendo. Then we fanged it down on our bikes, through a creek and loved the adrenaline rush.

We walked up to Wilpena Pound to see spectacular views of the crater-like landscape. In 1855 English doctors William and John Browne financed a doomed sheep station on Wilpena and surrounds. The Manager Henry Strong Price put 120,000 sheep in the crater, many of which perished in the drought of 1864/6. Floods also washed away the road built to transport stock and equipment into the pound. They realised only 20,000 sheep could reasonably be housed in this area. The local first peoples thought they were pretty dumb.

In the afternoon we took a cultural tour to Wilpena Homestead. Our tour guide was an Aboriginal Elder Mick McKenzie from the local Adnyamathanha peoples. He pointed out the many trees and plants first peoples used for cooking, eating and making perfume. He then led us to the Ikara meeting place and told us the dreamtime story of how Wilpena Pound was formed. The bodies of two serpents (akurras) form the walls of Wilpena Pound. This information is not on any sign, you need to speak to the local indigenous peoples to receive this insight due to many reasons.

To continue the Father's Day celebrations we feasted on our national symbols at the resort restaurant. We were lucky to be involved in the welcome to country that night. Terence Senior, Junior and Josephine Coulthard performed the ceremony and asked Ava and Jack to hold up the flag of the Adnyamathanha peoples. This was a great honour.

The following day we visited a local art exhibition in the old wool shed. Realistic landscapes are not my bag but one of the artist in residence, Trevor Hancox, painted two books marks for the kids and wrote a little message- ahhh how cute.

Wilpena was a wonderful experience- I highly recommend it.

On the Stuart Highway before Glendambo SA (Sth of Coober Pedy), kids thought it was Uluru

Wilpena Pound

Elder Mick McKenzie told us the local dreamtime stories- what a privilege to hear him speak in language and translate histories.

You mean we have to do jobs on holidays?

Wilpena Homestead

The Famous Sturt desert pea- you can't pick them but the Council gardeners can mow them down.

Welcome to Country

Day 7 Berri to Wilpena Pound SA

After ditching the camp site at the Murray River NP (gave me the heebie geebies), we lucked out and picked by random the nearest and best caravan park known to humankind- The Berri Riverside Caravan Park. It has the best of everything. The camp kitchen looks like a restaurant with the kids loving the mega large TV on the wall. Met a family of five from Canberra who are finishing their five month trip around Australia. They advised that it took them about a month to settle into a routine- great (sic). They were very nice and gave us a few tips on most do locations.

Stopped at a little heritage town of Burra for lunch and petrol, really quaint with lovely old miners cottages that are now holiday lettings. Great scenery - so green. This region has had the best rainfall in the past 60 years- the farmers must be happy for a change. Long drive to Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges SA. Old Man emus running by.

 

The Big Orange at Berri- kids looked like the just rolled out of bed...

Day 6 Wentworth, NSW

After a night in Mildura we headed for Wentworth to check out the Perry Sandhills and see where the Murray meets the Darling River.

Where the Murray River meets its darlin

Sand hills smash up against green pastures- odd

Ava at the 'God Tree' where the sand has risen above its height at times.

This weird landscape at Wentworth where they have grown the windows into a side of a hill and use the actual roof tops of houses in the street behind to cap them off- obviously too much time on their hands.

Day 4 Hay, NSW

The Hay plains are flat as a pancake. Lots of emus running around and cows sitting in the middle of the road. We  visited the 'Shear Outback'- a museum dedicated to shearers and the sheep industry. It was well done. The usual shearer had the day off, so they dragged one of the Board Directors in to do the sheering demonstration- he knew a lot about classing, wool tensile strength, trade, breeding etc but he cracked a major sweat during a very slow shearing of a poor sheep. The kids freaked out when it suffered a nick. The on-site maze helped the kids shake it off.

The "shearer" aka Director Ian in the background

Day 3 Cowra, NSW

We popped into the Visitor Info Centre to see a great hologram movie about the Cowra Breakout spoken from the perspective of a local girl. This was about the attempted breakout of 1200 Japanese soldiers in 1944 from the POW camp on the outskirts of Cowra. The Japanese felt humiliated they were captured and planned an escape at 2am. Unfortunately about 300 soldiers died, 250 injured and the rest captured during the ill fated breakout.

As part of a reconciliation and remembrance of these WWII atrocities, Japanese memorial Gardens have been lovingly designed nearby with tea houses, waterfalls, and of course relaxing and symbolic elements.

The kids fed the carp and we dodged the oldies on the golf carts.

Site of  POW Camp at Cowra

Day 1-2 Abercrombie Caves - Sth of Bathurst, NSW

First day - the intrepid explorers head off from Maroubra for Abercrombie Caves, sth of Bathurst

We have fires both nights- the kids actually read by campfire- are they real children?

Our campsite- we were the only people camping in the whole NP. It was great. Lots of stars, river running by, kangaroos and blue wrens

Day Two- walking the cave- they built a dance floor in the 1860s- those early settlers really know how to rock! 

The Stable Arch part of Abercrombie caves where the "Ribbon Gang" bush ranges such as Entwistle use to hide their horses from the Police

The suspension bridge to Abercrombie Caves- is that Indiana Jones? 

It was a great place to stay, we really enjoyed it. Lots of stars in the night sky, warm showers and flushing toilets. It was pretty cold , -2 degrees over night, but we were prepared. The drive down and up was a bit hair raising- so narrow that you had to sound your horn around every bend because you could not see on coming cars. Nice introduction to towing a camper trailer. Other than that very noice.