Into South Australia ( and the fruit police )

Sunday 15th March
Around 7.30 the rain stopped for 5 minutes and we managed to get the tent down. After breakfast we got hold of a password, and as I write this we're waiting to get a connection so that we can do a bit of skyping!! Fingers crossed. Have just seen the news about the oil spillage in Queensland... I (Linda) really wanted to see the sunshine coast and swim on the Great Barrier Reef, but it has really had more than it's fair share of problems since we arrived: first the floods, which left crocodiles attacking babies on the streets and now this dreadful oil problem.
...9.30pm well, we managed to speak to Ruth and to Blanche which was good. We also had a quick chat with David, who was out on a Saturday night. Then we headed off to further explore the Port Campbell NP, which we really liked. After the rainforest of the Otway NP., which was quite beautiful, Port C. reminded us of the Yorkshire (or Lancashire) moors and was equally stunning. Every now and then we came across a lookout point where there were magnificent coastal views of the limestone structures. We would jump out of the car and run to look bracing ourselves against the wind. Fantastic fun!! Arrived in Port Fairy, hoping to celebrate st Patricks day there, as there were Irish named roads all over the place. After setting up the tent we walked into the town. We went into the largest hotel ( these double as pubs in Australia ) where we ordered two pints of Carlton and ended up paying the equivalent of £3.50 a pint, which made me really miserable all night much to Lindas chagrin...( I was well pissed off!!)


Monday 16th March
Headed into Port Fairy town this morning for a better look. Posted some stuff and had coffee. Really liked the little second hand bookshop, where Brent spotted a book on China and I found a couple of novels to keep me going. Travelled inland in overcast weather. Found the landscape quite flat and barren...and brown. Finally arrived in Dunkeld. This was quite a hard sell in all the literature but when we arrived turned out to be little more than a petrol station, cafe and a few shops. We decided to look at the arboretum, which was in the early stages of development, but quite nice. Had we not been so tired we would have moved on, but we decided to look at the campsite. This was run by quite a character. When we arrived he was in the middle of getting the toilet area and tap cemented, so that a lot of the facilities were out of bounds. He lived in a run-down converted bus, which was full of clutter. He also had 2 caravans...needless to say we weren't tempted! I slept ok but Brent had a fitful sleep listening to passing quarry lorries.

Tuesday 17th March
After camping in Dunkeld set off to the Grampians for a walk up Mount Abrupt. This was a 7k walk up a steep escarpment and along the saddle of two hills. I was struck by how precarious the path was when we noticed that some of the boulders had bounced down from the mountain side and landed very close. We even heard one fall later during the walk as it crashed through the trees. The view from the top was very spectacular and gave us a insight into the magical landscape to come.
After we returned to the car we set off towards the highest peak Mount William. This was rather strange and disappointing as most of it was climbed using the car on a tarmac road. The last stretch was also on the road but this time on foot to the top where there was a huge military aviation tower.
Drove on to Halls Gap campsite which was in a gorgeous wooded valley filled with kangaroos feeding at dusk, and lots of cockatoos and other birds.


Wednesday 18th March
Another lovely day in the mountains. We began by having a coffee in Halls Gap, very pleasant. Then we went to the Brambuk Cultural Centre, which was impressive and free! There were 2 emus right outside grazing. They are hugely majestic animals. The centre provided a fascinating background on the history of the area and white european exploitation of the aboriginal community. After lunch we did the Pinnacle walk. This can be as long as 11k but we chose to do the shortest version which was about 4k return... it was absolutely beautiful and after yesterday very easy for us. We climbed huge bizarrely shaped rocks with magnificent views to reach a lookout point, which was terrifyingly balanced over a sheer drop. Brent scared me to death by climbing nearby rocks to get photos... incredible. On the way back to the campsite when Brent was driving we spotted a wallaby right on the edge of the road. As we approached it took flight and bounced along the road ahead of us...magic!

Thursday 19th March
We awoke to yet another glorious morning in the Grampions. Both needed the loo around 8am so got up and on the road. Spent an hour back at the cultural centre using their internet facility. It was my turn to drive today ( ie Lindas) and I really enjoyed the windy roads... I particularly enjoyed Brent's reactions to them, as i knew how he felt having been in the passenger seat myself for a couple of days. We did 'A day in the Grampions', as directed in the tourist info guide....ie. visited Baroko lookout first, then Reed lookout and the Balconies, then Macenzie Falls, which were brilliant...thanks Janine... then on to Horsham, where a country music festival starts tomorrow. Will we stay??? The scenery in the mountains was just brilliant and I did suggest we stay another day, but Brent was ready for a move, so on towards South Australia we went ...and hit the heat!!! By the time we got to Horsham it was well into the top 30s and we couldn't believe it!! We headed off into the town in search of a hammer as the ground was very hard. Had to pay $12 for one,which was a bit steep but set up camp and enjoyed another clean kitchen, a few beers and a chat on skype to Jan and Mags. I also really enjoyed watching most of a chick flick on TV...the one where Catherine Zeta Jones takes on her sister's daughter. All in all a good evening.

Friday 20th March...Happy Birthday Pete!
After quite good night's sleep helped by last night's beer, I (Linda) woke up to discover one of my eyes wouldn't open.. conjunctivitis had struck. Went into Horsham and sorted out some drops...keep your fingers crossed dear readers that this does the trick as i hate not being able to wear my contact lenses! We hung around the town to listen to some of the country music festival, which was interesting. A lot of the more mature members of the community had taken along their folding chairs and enjoyed sitting in the afternoon shade listening to the performers. We enjoyed the first guy, who performed his own stuff which was quite folky, but moved on once the 2nd guy came on with more traditional country music. The drive into South Australia was just as we'd imagined the country... vast prairies of scorched grass with magnificent gum trees along the roadside from time to time. I decided to get a picture of a kangaroo sign and couldn't believe it when as we approached one a mother and her baby were sitting right next to it. Unfortunately it was a bit of a bumpy road, so the photo isn't as good as it could be. Just before we got into SA we saw signs about not entering the state with any fruit or veg...oh no, once again we'd forgotten about this and bought grapes, bananas and tomatoes just yesterday! We stopped and ate as much as we could but still had to throw some stuff away, which really riles us! We finally got to Mount Gambia around 6.30 and found the top ten campsite we'd picked out. It wasn't as good as the last site, but the tent site was very quiet and the kitchen adequate. Met a nice family... the son was with his Belgian girlfriend and had travelled in Europe, including a spell in London. Good to chat.