Don't know where we're going, Got no way of knowing, Driving on the road to nowhere…
Jonathan spent a day fishing with Mahi Mahi Fishing Charter. The sea was pretty choppy and they almost cancelled the trip. I think Jonathan wished they had as he had a terrible bout of sea sickness but managed an impressive catch anyway. The Red Emperor sells for $80 a kilo so I think you get your money’s worth. Any fish recipes gratefully received.
My boat trip was much calmer as I went out in a glass bottom boat for an hour’s bob over Ningaloo Reef.
We finally discovered where all the dog owners go to watch the sunset – the beach just North of Gantheaume Point.
A bit of general travel info:
Broome Shire Council don’t allow pets in any of the caravan parks but they have three sites that are for pet owners only. The oval at Town Beach has no shade and dogs aren’t allowed on Town Beach. The Seventh Day Adventist Church site is a small car park in the middle of nowhere. We decided the best of the three was the Pistol Club which has nice shady sites in a quiet bushland setting (apart from Thursdays and Saturdays when people are shooting).
At least they are considerably cheaper than the caravan parks and a few people have said they are squashed in like sardines at the parks.
Broome sits on the Indian Ocean which is a beautiful turquoise colour. We started out at Entrance Point where dogs are allowed on the beach and Winston was cock-a-hoop.
We were looking forward to a seafood lunch at the nearby Wharf Restaurant but fish and chips cost $38.50 so we gave that a miss. The main issue with the ocean here are the stingers – box jellyfish and Irukandji, which are most prevalent in the wet season. As we saw up in Cairns, there are bottles of vinegar along the beach which is used to treat the stings.
We’re looking forward to many beautiful sunsets as we drive down the Western Coast. One of the most famous places to watch a sunset is on Broome’s Cable Beach, where four wheel drives line up along the beach and tourists can have camel rides.
We spent ages trying to access the section to the North that allowed dogs but kept getting blocked by private properties. In the end we decided we would have to walk along the main beach to get there and risk getting thrown off. The part before the dog beach is a nudist beach but there was only one brave man letting it all hang out at that time of the evening amongst all the people watching the sun go down.
What a journey it’s been, all the way up the Stuart Highway from Adelaide to Darwin, with a detour to Uluru.
We arrived in Darwin on Tuesday and are staying at a Barramundi fishing and conservation park on the outskirts. It has everything to keep the 2 ½ Bradshaws happy. Winston can run around off leash with the owners’ two corgis and have a cooling dip in the lake. There’s a tinnie for campers’ use which Jonathan takes out to try and catch a Barra for supper. It’s lovely and peaceful and I can sit reading, watching the birdlife and taking photographs.
Darwin’s year round temperature is consistently around 32 degrees C and the seasons in the Top End are referred to as Wet and Dry. May to October is the peak visitor time during the dry season when the night time temperature can drop to a cool 20 degrees. We’re also now in croc country. The crocodylus porosus or saltwater crocodile is known as a ‘saltie’ in the Top End and it’s definitely at the top of the food chain. The highest concentration in Australia is around Darwin and the river systems to the south. After being hunted nearly to extinction, they are now a protected species in Australia and there is estimated to be 200,000 of them in the wild.
We saw possibly the most famous saltie of all – a 5 metre male called Sweetheart who is stuffed and on display at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.
Whilst I can’t say I’m a fan of salties, I did feel sorry for old ‘Sweetheart’. He terrorised boaties in the 1970s, and in 1979, it was decided to catch him and keep him in captivity. They gave him a sedative but thought it hadn’t worked as he was still active. What they didn’t realise was, it had shut down the system which prevents crocs from drowning. Sweetheart became tangled underwater and slowly drowned.
The taxidermist given the task of stuffing Sweetheart actually took home some of the meat for dinner. Here’s a link to this very interesting story: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-04/the-darwin-sweetheart-crocodile-taxidermy-story/7587666
Sweetheart then went on a tour of Australia to promote the Northern Territory, though I’m not sure how telling people you’ve got dangerous saltwater crocodiles persuades them to visit!
The other particularly interesting exhibit at the museum tells the story of Cyclone Tracy which devastated Darwin on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 1974. The cyclone reached wind speeds of over 200 km/hr and destroyed over 70% of buildings in the city. Seventy-one people lost their lives. They have a dark, sound proof booth where you can hear a recording of the cyclone at its height.
Jonathan flew to Australia with his mum in January 1975 and can remember their plane being diverted to Darwin to pick up evacuees.
… in Coober Pedy, Outback South Australia.
About 50% of residents live underground in Coober Pedy to escape the heat and their houses are a constant 25 degrees. You can see the air vents poking out of the hillsides. Staying in an underground hotel was listed as a must do experience and there were a couple of underground motels that allowed dogs. So we decided to have a break from the van for a couple of nights and booked into the Comfort Inn. The ceilings have upside down umbrellas suspended below the air shafts to catch any debris falling through. Winston couldn’t believe his luck when he was allowed in to the motel. The owners have a Cavoodle called Winston too and they were instantly great mates.
Most of the residents of Coober Pedy are opal miners which comes in handy for digging an underground house. The Old Timer’s Mine had a great tour and a museum. I also bought a pair of beautiful opal earrings from one of the many jewellers in the town.
All in all an amazing town to experience but not live in!
As you can see the Murray River is a better colour here in Mildura and there’s a lot less mud.
The tourist park across the river at Buronga (NSW side) was very busy as it’s the Easter holidays but it had some of the best facilities we’ve seen in a park – roomy grassy sites, a car washing facility, a dog washing facility, a free pet laundry, nightly movies to keep kids amused/quiet and plenty of room to sit and relax along the riverside.
Tomorrow we’re saying goodbye to the Murray and heading north to spend Easter at Broken Hill. Tonight we’re watching ‘Mad Max’ in preparation for a visit to the Mad Max Museum at Silverton.
Thank you to Kim and Peter for having us to stay for a couple of nights at your lovely house in Bunbartha. Winston especially says thank you for letting him have some sofa time and also to Oscar for letting him play with his toys.
We headed North to Echuca/Moama on the Murray River. There are a few of these twin towns either side of the Murray, as it forms the border between NSW and Victoria. Echuca is a large modern town but it feels as though you’ve stepped back in time when you walk through the Port of Echuca Precinct.
The main attraction though are the paddle steamers which cruise up and down the Murray all day.
Winston has learned to be a bit more careful when running down to the river for a dip after he sunk into some thick oozing mud and had to have a bath!
Melbourne is often described as having four seasons in one day and Monday lived up to that with strong winds, then pouring rain and then sunshine.
Less than an hour’s drive south of Melbourne, we could see why the Mornington Peninsula is a popular getaway for people in the city. We stayed at the Marina View Caravan Park in Hastings on the East Coast as this was the only place we could find that allowed dogs. The coastal walks starting at the camp site were dog friendly.
Luckily Tuesday was gloriously sunny all day and we couldn’t have had better weather for a drive around the Peninsula. It was a morning of sculptures. First up was the McLelland Sculpture Park which gave us the opportunity for lots of photography and it also allowed dogs which was great.
The park was bustling with visitors and school groups. The park has a mixture of sculptures from quirky pieces to interactive installations.
The coastal drive from Mornington to Rosebud was very scenic and we bought some local mussels from a fishmonger along the way. There are several vineyards on the peninsula and the region mainly produces Pinot Grigio. We picked up a bottle from the T’Gallant vineyard to go with the mussels. A rustic baguette from the excellent Red Hill Bakery finished off our dinner plans.
We couldn’t leave this part of the world without heading west to the Snowy Mountains. As we drove through the town of Adaminaby, we crossed ‘The Big Trout’ off our list. Not the usual tacky looking big thing, but a high quality sculpture.
We camped up by Lake Eucumbene which is a very scenic and relaxing place. The weather is still good, although cooling down at night. I was able to sit and read peacefully, Jonathan went fishing and Winston loved chasing the rabbits. The only downside for poor Winston was trying to shake off Betty, the manager’s blue heeler who took a shine to him. She finally resorted to hiding underneath the van and jumping out at him.
This is the only photographic evidence of a catch – apparently the big ones kept taking Jonathan unawares and escaping the fly!
We were thwarted at the final stop on our oyster tour as Tathra Oysters were closed for the weekend. However, there is plenty more gourmet produce in the area and we’re now in dairy farming country. We stopped off at the National Trust village of Central Tilba and visited the ABC Cheese Factory which makes a wide variety of cheeses from its own Jersey cow milk. Being a cheese connoisseur, Winston was a little put out that he wasn’t allowed inside to sample some of the award winning cheeses.
Incidentally, Central Tilba lies on the slopes of Mount Dromedary which was named by Captain Cook who thought it had a camel-like shape.
Winston soon cheered up with another beach stop though.
Our next stop was the Bega Cheese Heritage Centre where you can explore the world of Bega cheese. Bega (for our overseas blog readers) is a major cheddar cheese brand in Australia. The name ‘cheddar’ is not often used here though and it is sold by strength – mild, tasty, extra tasty, sharp, strong and bitey. Bega cheese toasties were a must for lunch and delicious.
It was a lovely warm sunny day and we set up camp at the Bega showgrounds and were soon relaxing with a glass of white wine and some 3 Udders Brie from Tilba. To round off the cheesy day, we had a fondue with locally made ‘Swiss’ cheese.
