Mallala, South Australia

Tuesday August 16th saw us get a good start from Melrose heading towards Adelaide. The drive was a good one again with lots of beautiful green fields and vineyards. We stopped at Laura for morning tea and a few shops the girls were interested in. Had a lovely French Vanilla slice from the bakery. Mmmmm!

From there we carried on through Clare which is quite a large wine growing region. Beautiful old buildings, green fields, and vineyards. Maybe another trip. We left the highway at Auburn and cut over to Balaklava. From there we carried on to Mallala which is a small town near Gawler. We pulled into a free camp at the Mallala Sport Grounds. Nice setup with good toilet block. There is also a shower which you pay $5/day for and collect the key from the local IGA. Not a lot of room and we were lucky we got there when we did. Seems to be a number of people taking advantage of the free camp setup to live long term. I would suggest the council bring in a maximum stay of a week to move along some of the long term residents and free up for new tourists. The Ransleys arranged for shower access but we didn't require as are pretty much self contained. I'll give the amenity blocks a 3 Star rating as were good and clean especially for a free camp.

We enjoyed a somewhat relaxing afternoon around the camp. The weather was not bad but cool and a bit windy. We didn't put the awning out. Both the Ransleys and ourselves arranged for car services during our Adelaide stay as well.

Wednesday morning was sunny but cool. We jumped in with the Ransleys for a trip to Adelaide. Stephen ended up dropping the 3 of us downtown and taking the car back to the Entertainment Centre to park and take the free tram back into the city. The girls and I did a quick exploration of the Adelaide River area. Lots of construction taking place and was quite pretty.

Rans had a bit of difficulty with the parking as he didn't take any money with him. Eventually he got it sorted and caught the tram back to City Centre where we joined him on the Tram heading to Glenelg. We had arranged to meet our friends Phil and Donna at the Glenelg Jetty for lunch. We had met them on our last trip and keep in touch with them. We had a wonderful visit and lunch with them. They haven't changed a bit and we enjoyed lots of laughs. We took the tram back the the Entertainment Centre and then drove back to Mallala in the late afternoon.

Thursday morning the Ransleys had their Ranger in for service at Elizabeth. We picked them up at the car dealer and headed off to explore the Barossa Valley for the day. We stopped at the Visitor Centre in Gawler to prepare for our day. The guide there was very informative. Our first stops were a couple of Chateaus just before Lyndoch including Chateau Barossa. The girls bought a few gifts and Rans purchased a few bottles of wine. The buildings were fairly impressive.

We traveled through Lyndoch to Tununda where Rans and I enjoyed a meat pie at the local baker. Best one I've ever had to be honest! A quick visit to the Tununda Chateau which again was a beautiful building with a lot of history.

Next stop was Mengler Hill Lookout and Sculpture Park. We got a nice view of the valley but was a bit hazy and quite cold with the wind blowing. We had planned for our picnic lunch there but decided to find somewhere a bit warmer.

We headed back down the hill and on to the historic Seppeltsfield Vineyard. This is a a huge vineyard with a number of shops etc to explore. We enjoyed our lunch in a private picnic area which was quite sheltered from the wind. This is one of the most famous Barossa Vineyards but we felt it was a bit touristy and expensive.

Our last stop of our tour was the Barossa Valley Cheese company in Angaston. Mostly soft cheeses are their specialty and Sandra and I purchased some nice Brie. Back in the car for our return trip. We dropped the Ransleys off at the Ford Dealer before heading back to Mallala via Gawler. We enjoyed our day but would probably do an organized tour next time. Also we didn't find the area as nice as the Hunter Valley or Margaret River. A bit more history than either of the above though.

Friday was our turn to have our Jeep in for service at Salisbury Park. We dropped it off in the morning and jumped in with the Ransleys to do a bit of shopping. From there we returned to Mallala for an easy afternoon. Rans gave me a ride back in to pick up the Jeep about 3PM. All was good with the service and it actually cost a bit less than what they had originally quoted. Good news! The day was rainy and cold and more was promised for the night and following day.

We enjoyed Adelaide so I think Sandra and I will make a return trip sometime to have a better look around the city itself.

Melrose, South Australia

After a delayed start from Port Augusta due to caravan repairs we set off for Melrose on Monday August 15th. The drive was a short one at only 60 some Km. We drove up through Horrocks Pass first which was lovely although a slow climb with lots of turns. The countryside was very scenic with beautiful green & yellow fields, rolling hills, huge gum trees, and sheep.

We arrived at Goyder Line Memorial park just before lunch. This is a free camp area only a few kilometres from Melrose. There are no facilities other than rubbish bins but has a nice view of the mountains and farm fields. We found a good flat area to set up the two vans with views.

After we enjoyed some lunch we jumped in the Ransley's car for some sightseeing. We drove into Melrose where the girls did some shopping and Rans & I grabbed a beer in the old pub. The Pub is a beautiful old building nicely restored. The girls loved the unique bar stool furniture when they arrived. The town itself is the oldest settlement in the Flinders Ranges and very quaint. Well set out for attracting tourism to the town with some lovely campgrounds and parks.

Once we finished our tour of Melrose we retraced our steps to Wilmington as the girls had seen an interesting antique/op shop store there when we drove through in the morning. While they checked out the shop, Rans & I had another beer at the local pub. Not nearly as nice as the Melrose one and we won't be returning to this one. The girls shop was a disappointment as well. The town was the opposite of Melrose in that they didn't seem to be trying very hard to draw tourists.

We returned to the campground for a nice afternoon enjoying a few drinks appreciating our view. We had originally planned to spend two days here but as the weather was predicted to change we decided to move onto our next stop near Adelaide a day sooner. Melrose is a beautiful little town and one we will most likely return to some day.

Tuesday saw us up in good time and we enjoyed some lovely colour on the hills at Sunrise.

Sterling North Caravan Park, Port Augusta, South Australia

Friday August 12th saw us continue our travel East to Port Augusta. The road was good with not a lot of traffic, although the wind had picked up again and was against us. We arrived in Port Augusta before lunch and checked into the Sterling North Caravan Park. This is a fairly old park but the price was right at $20/night for a powered site. The park is in a good location and could be quite nice with a bit of renovation and maintenance. That being said we are self contained so really the older facilities didn't bother us. The amenity block needed a good clean so will only give 2 Stars for this one.

We got settled in before heading out our separate ways to do some shopping. We attempted to find an inlet valve for the caravan as the flow has become poor again. No luck but we were given a place that sold caravan parts that might have them. We did a bit of grocery shopping at Woolworths and some women's clothing stores. Returned to the van for an easy evening.

By Saturday morning the plumbing situation was worse so I headed out again to search for the part. The recommended place knew exactly what I needed but unfortunately hadn't picked up their order from their supplier on Friday. As luck would have it the supplier was closed over the weekend so we decided to wait in Port Augusta till Monday. Sandra kept busy with several loads of laundry using our tanks and pump to get enough water supply. I needed to fill the tanks a few times to keep them full.

Sunday morning we took a trip out to the Arid Botanical Gardens. Quite different as focuses on plants that thrive in the outback. The gardens were very nice but needed some weeding and maintenance. We were disappointed that there weren't any Sturt Dessert Peas out in bloom.  Sandra found a few souvenirs at the Gift Shop there. On the way back we stopped off for lunch. The restaurant had quite a few Gluten Free options and the girls enjoyed some nice meals. Rans and I did OK as well with the standard offerings. We spent the afternoon doing some more cleaning and computer work with a bit of relaxation thrown in.

Monday morning I was up early to fill up with Diesel and be at the caravan place when it opened. They were really helpful and went over to the supplier first thing to pick up the part. I bought a new sullage hose as well as ours was falling apart. Returned to the caravan park to replace the valve only to find out that the non return function didn't work. Back to the caravan place where they confirmed that the part the supplier had given them was different than their last order and not non return. After some to and fro with the supplier they came up with a solution where I purchased a separate inline non return value. This solution worked a treat and solved our problems. A big shout out to Port Augusta Caravan for their help. We were delayed a bit by the whole process but luckily we were only planning to travel some 60 Km to our next destination.

Kimba, South Australia

Thursday August 11th saw us travel East some 150 Km to the town of Kimba. We enjoyed a walk on top and around Pildappa Rock in the morning so had a bit of a late start for our trip. That being said we still arrived in the early afternoon after an easy drive through beautiful green fields and rolling hills. We found another free camp at the Kimba Recreation Reserve. This was a beautiful free camp with a lovely flat area to set up your caravans for up to 5 days. Good quality amenities that were nice and clean. Shower was separate and was coin operated but reasonable at 2 minutes for $1. I'll give 4 Stars for a free camp amenity offering. The campsite also boasted taps with Potable water and a Dump Point. Another nice touch and quite smart was a box containing brochures of the local town and area. Highly recommended free camp!

Once we were setup we hopped in with the Ransleys for a tour around the sites of Kimba with our guidebook from the camp. We were only here for a one night stay so only really looked at the features right in town. Our first stop was White Knob Lookout. Located on a small hill near town and looking over the local golf course which looks lovely and green. A couple of interesting metal statues are a feature of the lookout.

We did a short walk near our campground that would have eventually ended up back at the lookout. It was drizzling rain so we didn't complete. Found an interesting Metal Emu statue along the way that Sandra wanted to bring home. There are more apparently along the pathway which we would have seen in better weather.

Next stops were a couple of tourist sites. The first is a sign denoting Kimba as the halfway mark when crossing Australia in an East to West direction. The second was a Giant Gallah. Got our tourist pictures at both before setting off again.

Stopped in town for a bit of shopping. The girls checked out some gift shops while Rans and I slipped into the local Hotel for a cold drink. The hotel was a lovely old building and very well kept. The same could be said for the whole town really. We picked up a few grocery essentials before heading home for the day.

We enjoyed a relaxing drink sitting in the sun and watching net ball training on the adjacent courts. Kimba is hosting a major netball competition shortly and the quality of play seemed quite high.

We enjoyed a peaceful night and would like to commend Kimba (and other small rural towns) for the friendly welcoming way in which they treat Grey Nomads. The free campsites and reasonably priced caravan parks are such a pleasant change from the touristy areas along the coast. We will be back this way sometime and look forward to spending a few days relaxing in the friendly environment.

Pildappa Rock, Minnipa, South Australia

Tuesday August 9th, saw us head East towards Port Augusta. We stopped briefly for fuel at Poochera before continuing on through Wudinna. We arrived at Minnipa late in the morning and continued some 20 Km North to Pildappa Rock. The road was unsealed for most of the way but in excellent condition.

The camp at Pildappa Rock is a free camp with a donation box. There is a one way loop around the base of the rock with one large camping/day use area and a few private areas. Not a huge amount of sites but we found a nice private area for the two of our vans to set up. There is a couple of basic but clean drop toilets and a few tanks of water. Very nice camp as you are parked right at the base of the rock itself. The weather was windy with rain threatening so we didn't tackle the rock on day one.

Wednesday morning we loaded the four of us into the Jeep and took a day trip to Gawler Ranges National Park. Once again the 30 Km was unsealed but excellent. Beautiful green fields everywhere during our drive. There is a self registration station at the gate to the park with information pamphlets. We paid our day fee and headed off towards Organ Pipes which we were led to believe was one of the Park's highlights. About a 10 Km 4WD track that lived up to it's rating. Luckily the numerous wet/muddy areas usually had a high/dry detour around them. We took the easy route around most of them but was an enjoyable drive. We saw several very large Kangaroos along the way.

Once we reached the end of the road there was a short walk into the Organ Pipes. Fairly easy walk but a bit of rock climbing and a few wet areas. The drive and walk were well worth it as the Organ Pipes were really interesting. Unlike anything we had seen previously on our trip(s). Row after row of Vertical rock pillars. I'll let the pictures do the explanation as they are really unique. We got lots of pictures and enjoyed a few peaceful minutes at the beginning of the gorge where small waterfalls were trickling water. Beautiful!

Back into the car we retraced our route on the 4WD track. We met a couple of vehicles this time which meant some backing up and getting off the track but we negotiated with no problems. We then took a short drive to a camping area called Yandinga. Some nice areas for camping but no facilities that we could see. There was a walk to some falls but not clearly marked for direction or distance so we gave it a miss.

Next stop was the Old Paney Homestead. The homestead is still standing and you can walk through it although it is mostly empty. There was a lovely old stone water tank amongst beautiful yellow fields near the homestead. We drove to the beginning of the walk to Policeman's Point but again there were no markings or distances displayed. We enjoyed our picnic lunch in the car overlooking the ranges and the homestead. The park is quite nice but they don't seem to be investing the monies they collect for day passes and camping fees into maintaining or improving it. One would think that basic toilet facilities and picnic tables would be located at the various camping areas. Also if they want people to enjoy the park and experience the walks they need to display ratings and distances as is common practice in other National/State Parks. Most people don't mind paying to access these special areas but do expect basic services in return.

We returned to our campground for the afternoon. The weather once again took a turn for the worse with winds and rain. We put off the tackling the rock again. We did however get some neat pictures of the rain pouring off the rock in waterfalls! Once again it is difficult to describe the rock but is like a smaller version of Uluru with a a bit of Wave Rock around the base. Hopefully the pictures do it some justice and give you an idea of what it looks like.

Thursday morning was moving day but as we were only going 150 Km we enjoyed a leisurely morning before finally tackling the walk to the summit of Pildappa Rock. The walk is quite easy as there are gently sloped areas on either side of the rock. The rock itself is quite rough textured that allows for good grip. Because of the abundant rainfall there is lichen or moss growing on much of the surface as well. The view from the top was magnificent with green/yellow fields everywhere. The top surface of the rock was also very interesting with lots of holes where water pooled and plants thrived. I'll let the pictures try and describe the experience. Quite amazing and even more so given that one never hears about this natural tourist attraction. Great morning and campsite. We gladly left a donation for our stay and would recommend highly to fellow campers.