Farewell Janyce

Well today's post is a bit of mixed feelings really as we have put Janyce the Jayco up for sale. It was not really a planned thing -well not at this point anyway. We brought Janyce as a test to see if we still enjoyed caravaning as it was quite a few years since we had done it. And the short answer is yes we loved it and we had planned in the future to upgrade. Well the future caught up with us. We had been looking around at what's out there and developing a strategy about what we would like and what we really need when the time came. We saw an ad for van for sale which sounded pretty good so though it would be a useful exercise to have a look and that would help our future deliberations. Well there are no longer any future deliberations -we brought the van. (Thanks to David and wife the current owners of our new van). A 17ft tandem axle A Van Tayla which Di has already named Abby.

I haven't finished the reno's on Janyce yet so I guess that won't happen and she is not the prettiest or flashed van around but she did reinvigarate us and gave us the thirst for more travel and she served us well. I took a few photo's for the ad and Di rekons Janyce doesn't look all that bad. Pictures are of Janyce and Abby

The end of the road – for now

Well we made it back home safe and sound as did all our fellow travellers with a hard disk full of photos for Di to choose from to scrap book (we still haven’t done last years expedition yet or New Zealand). There is no rush I will just have a look every now and then at our photos. This has been our second trip with Gaz and Shaz and Pete and Robyn’s first(hopefully they enjoyed the trip as much as we enjoyed having them along) and I think everyone enjoyed the company and the sights. Di and I certainly did. The sharing of some of the things we have seen, our thoughts and perceptions makes for interesting conversation (except when alcohol effects the lips then it’s weird). The trip has yet again given us a thirst for more adventures, an insight into the diversity of this great country and an appreciation of how harsh and difficult our predecessors had it to get us where we are today. I have talked endlessly to anyone who shows the slightest interest in our trip with the things we saw and did; hopefully I didn’t bore them too much.  I have been looking for a picture and words to sum up our trip and have selected these.

Quote from Gaz and Shaz  “So, at the end of the day, the driving is over, I've gone as far West as I've ever been, made it to the edge of the outback, and copped a hint of what amazing scenery, history and natural beauty this part of Australia has to offer. Looking forward to tomorrow”

And the picture was a toss up between the wedge tails and Di’s sunrise but the sunrise won by a short half beak.

Next trip is in the planning and may be the Eyre Peninsular but first for us it’s back to work to earn the $$ to head off again.  There are also some more reno’s for the Janyce the Jayco but more of that another time. See ya on the road Di and Dave

Oh by the way for the Dougal watchers there are 14 starting from Day1 Bendigo to Renmark

Day 15 The road home Hawker to Renmark

Well it was up early today we wanted to try and catch the sunrise before we left. We managed this but it wasn’t as spectacular as yesterdays.

Sunrise over Hawker photo 1

Sunrise over Hawker photo 2

We have the packing up down to fine art now and it only takes us about 30 to 45 min to be ready for the road. Breakfast came and went and we rolled out of the Hawker van park about 8am which was the time we wanted to be on the road. First 15 minutes were ok from then on to Renmark we had rain, wind squalls, strong winds and more winds mostly either cross winds, head winds or front quarter. It was a shit of a trip; our little van is quite light so it got thrown around a bit which made my job a little harder. As a consequence there isn’t a lot to tell. We managed a break in the weather as we came into Morgan and got a picture of the “boot tree” which I guess is similar to the thong tree in Qld.

Boot tree north of Hawker

We followed Gaz and Shaz as far as Peterborough. They are heading to Mildura and had a bit further than us to travel so wanted to keep going. Tomorrow will be much of the same I think, we will drive from here (Renmark) to Bendigo. So our trip is all but over and with the weather we have had I can live with today. We have had a fantastic time all round and Gaz, Shaz, Pete and Robyn have been good company and we have shared many things on this journey. We are now starting the planning for the next one, maybe the Eyre Peninsular I have to get the fishing rod in on the next trip. So watch this space and come and join us if you dare. Life is too short to sit and wait. 

Sunset over Murray River Renmark

Day 14 Last Day at Hawker

Sunrise over the camp

Well we woke this morning to our first overcast day (well Di did I was still snoozing). I had been up at 6.30 (toilet stop) and as I was returning to the van noticed the sunrise first one I have seen these holidays if you don’t count the one when we went in the hot air balloon.  It was not cold just overcast.  Pete & Rob left us at about 9.30ish.  We headed of not long after for Quorn it was to be our last shop and I had requested a visit to the drapery for coffee and cake (Emily's Bistro Great Northern Emporium)

Kanyaka Homestead Ruins

On the way home we stopped at the ruins of the Kanyaka Homestead. The old homestead which must have been magnificent in its time and quite large.  There were other out buildings, also men’s kitchen, overseers’ quarters, toilet etc.  Like most other settlements it had its own  cemetery.  By all accounts people did not have a long life back in the 1800’s so we need to be thankful for our lives now and how luxurious and easy our lives are today.  This afternoon we decided where we would be staying on the way home and how long. Gaz & Shaz have decided to go onto Mildura and spend a couple of nights.  We are heading to Renmark and then straight home which will give Dave a couple of nights in Bendigo before heading back to the big smoke.

Main House

Dougal we have to go home

Just in case some of you were wondering what Dougal was up to yesterday we decided he could try the new trend of ‘planking’ in the national park. No Martin he did not have a “wedge tail”.

Day 13 Feral food, wedge tail eagles and rock wallabies.

Wedgie in full flight

Last night we planned today’s trip with Gaz, Shaz, Peter and Robyn and after much discussion it was decided a 9am departure would be good with the prospect of lunch at the Prairie Hotel at Paranchilna a spot in the middle of no where which is, apparently, one of the top 100 restaurants in Australia. Our trip was north on the Leigh Creek road to the Geographic Trail then east to Blinman, back west to the Parachilna, along the Gorge rd then back down the bitumen to Hawker. We figured that we would end up at Parachilna for a late lunch. Wrong!!! We had figured that as we had already done half of the Geographic trail in an earlier drive then that would be a drive through. Wrong!!! About 40 kms into the trip, on the bitumen we came across 2 huge wedge tail eagles feasting on a recent road kill.
They were absolutely magnificent and so majestic our cameras were going off like fire crackers. We spent a bit of time there just watching them. Back into the vehicles and off we head again. Not 20kms on we came across 3 wedgies sitting gracefully in a shrub about 10 mtrs off the road. So we stopped again more photo’s, more watching and the we headed off again. Once we turned east off the Leigh Creek road we had about 8kms of bone jarring, teeth rattling corrugations up to the entrance of the National Park.

From here the next section to the Bunyeroo Gorge road we had not been on so we stopped many times to photograph Brachina Gorge, the hills, wild flowers, trees etc etc. Part of the beauty and intrigue of the Flinders Ranges is that it changes so rapidly and even when you have seen or been to a place and you approach from a different angle its completely different. Consequently we didn’t even make Blinman for morning tea, instead we opted for lunch.

Creek Brachina Gorge

Refreshments concluded we head out of Blinman to the Parachilna Road this would take us west to Angorichina Village then onto Parachilna though Parachilna Gorge. Again the scenery and its variety were amazing changing constantly as we progressed through. We passed and were passed by a fair number of off road campers etc and noticed many had taken up residence in many of the camp areas along the road. At a water crossing we had stopped to photograph, a Subaru and off road camper pulled up to tell us of a couple of emus and chicks were up ahead. The occupants of the car were 2 ladies in there early sixties heading for a free camp site in the gorge. It just shows you the diversity of people you met on these travels. Go ladies! Along this road is where we also came across (we think) 3 yellow footed rock wallabies. Gaz managed a couple of pictures before they took off. Onward through the gorge, back out onto the plains and into Parachilna we went arriving at 3pm. So much for lunch. Here is this amazing pub in the middle of no where with such a reputation.

Prairie Pub Parachilna

At the rear  of the pub a fairly new accommodation area has been constructed, whilst the inside of the old part is adorned with indigenous art and craft. Peter and I tried an antipasta plate of roo, goats cheese and a few other niceties and it was a very pleasant surprise. Di had Belgian waffles and vanilla bean ice cream none of which was left. After that we pumped up the tyres (we had been advised if we didn’t want to destroy another tyre then run 28lbs in them over the rough stuff) and headed back down the bitumen to Hawker. It has been another wonderful day full of surprises and fun with all of us tired. I am truly amazed by this place and this has been a fantastic 2 weeks. Peter and Robyn are heading off tomorrow homeward bound. This is their first outing with us and I think they enjoyed “tagging along”.    

Sign at the approach to Parachilna

Day 12 Walking the streets of Hawker

Hawker has a little book which you can buy for $2.50 which is a self guided tour of the historical points of the Hawker Township so Gaz, Shaz, Di and I headed off on the walkabout. Peter and Rob had other plans for the morning. It was a fair sort of walk with a number of interesting sites and information about the history of the Hawker Township and its surroundings. We, of course needed to be suitably fed and watered before we headed off, so we tried the local general store who served breakfast which we had been told was a beauty. We were not disappointed – nothing flash but very nice and plenty of it and didn’t cost the earth. Followed by a very nice coffee and we were ready to tackle the trek. A couple of the stand out points for us were the old Hawker rail station (now a gallery and bistro), the old Hawker Hotel, a couple of old guest houses and churches. The buildings all have a rich history with some in need of some TLC. One house of interest was built using compressed straw, chicken wire and plaster for Dalgety's, story has it that they had a lot of difficulty building it because the cattle would come and eat it!

Hawke Rail Station

There is an interesting anomaly in this region and it centres on maps. It seems to us that they struggle to actually get them right. On the tour at one of the sites the map was half a block and a street out, this was not an isolated incident we have had the problem our whole time up here and on the occasions we tried to proof them using the topo maps, well that did our head in. (editors note; on this occasion the problem did not appear to be the map but someone who is geographically challenged)  On our travels we picked up the Paj all fixed now with all its wheel studs in place and not too big a hole in the pocket. I must say the people have been very friendly, down to earth and helpfully. Chris from Chris’s Automotive was easy to deal with and given the amount of work in and out of the shop provided a pretty prompt service. He seems to attract RV’s in trouble like bees to pollen.

Compressed straw house

After lunch (well not really as after breakfast no one was all that hungry) we headed back into town for a look at the emporium and the art gallery to see Jeff Morgan’s panorama of the Wilpena Pound. Jeff’s gallery, and particular, his panorama and “Outback on Canvas” are phenomenal. Words are really not capable of describing the images you see. The panorama is 30 mtrs in circumference and 4 mtrs high. It took 4000 hrs (or about 13 months) to complete. It is housed in a circular building and you view it from a raised platform in the centre, not unlike going up to a lookout. It is a fantastic assault on your senses and the visual impact stunning. From there we went into the “Outback on Canvas” paintings. These are 3 large individual paintings of various locations in the Flinders Ranges. One in particular titled “Ron’s Creek” took 3000 hrs to complete and is 15mts x 5mtrs, but the most astounding part is the way the landscape changes as you walk along in front of it. These words do not in any way do justice to the works if you come here then you must have a look at it.

Part of Jeff Morgan's Panorama

Day 11 Jarvis Lookout and 5 Ways

This morning we had our first real look around Hawker when everything was open. We all went to the general store, had coffee, brought a few trinkets then meandered around a couple of streets to get our bearings. We decided to purchase a self guided tour of Hawker for the princely sum of $2.50 which we have decided to do tomorrow while the car is being fixed. Next stop was the “I” centre (information centre) to check out a couple of 4by tours and also a couple of other spots we wanted to check out. This was on the recommendation of the dweller of the art gallery. We haven’t done the artist studio yet but its on the list as we believe the panoramic painting of the Flinders Ranges is fantastic. We did however meet the resident who habituated at the gallery, an incredible bubbly person. I don’t know what she was breathing but I want some and she was very helpful to boot. As was the lady at the “I” centre which Gaz and I had headed for while the girls ordered coffee. They also were pretty helpful only problem we encountered here was the lady helping us didn’t have an on/off switch so by the time we extracted ourselves, politely, our coffee was nearly the iced variety.

With our booty in hand we headed back to the van for a powwow to decide what we would do. The six of us decided we would head for Javis lookout then from there to a place called 5 ways.

Jarvis lookout looking east

Jarvis lookout is about 6kms west of town on a relatively easy stretch of dirt into private property. The owners have allowed tourist’s access at no charge in conjunction with the local council.. From the car park its is about 250 mtr assent, along a very difficult, steep and rocky track. The trip and the destination offer some fantastic views back along the plain into Hawker and west into the ranges. From the summit we decided that we would take the easier path back (so the sign said). Now the path up was not all that well marked but was a 4 lane highway compared to the return, which after descending about 100 mtrs we were llost completely. So we became mountain goats and forged our own path across the slope until we came to the original track. Robyn and Peter elected to come back the way they went up and nearly beat us to the car park having started their decent 10 min after us.

Cairn at lookout

From there we headed back out on the Tenant Creek road to a place called 5 ways( because 5 roads meet). They are all dirt and the area was supposed to have some very interesting scenery where creeks had gouged huge tracks through the country side. It was a real good drive and again presented us with a different perspective on the land and life in these parts. The group shot was taken at 5 ways the dray in the back ground was just sitting in the scrub. We also came across a cemetery in the middle of nowhere with a few headstones in it. On reflection, looking at the head stones and the country, we have it pretty easy. A number of the graves contained children of varying ages but all were very young.

The merry band of travelers at 5 ways

On a lighter note the bearded dragons were everywhere to day and quite cheeky too.

Cheeky dragon

Head stone at 5 ways