Deb and Weg's BIG Adventure: March 2014

March 2014

Jayco Heritage ... Our New Home

We absolutely love our new home and we are very fortunate to have a customised version of the Jayco 30th Anniversary Heritage model. Our Jayco is 21 foot in length and is a full size caravan which is great as I can easily stand up inside. Most Jayco caravans have an additional lounge opposite the club lounge where as with ours, the original owners had the floor plan customised when it was built. Instead of the extra lounge, our cupboard and bench top has been extended with a full size fridge and full size pantry cupboard which gives us great storage and extra space.

The van also has a full ensuite which includes a toilet and shower, a queen size bed with storage under the bed, "L" shaped lounge area and digital TV.

Looking through the door, the gas stove is on the left as is the sink in a large bench top which continues around where the TV and Nespresso machine are. A full size fridge with a small freezer below the microwave. There is a stereo installed in the cupboard above the TV along with a couple of the LED down lights. In this picture, you can see the dining table and the "L" shaped couch to the right and the reverse cycle air conditioner on the roof. The window is at the foot of the bed and these rooms can be sectioned off if needed by a concertina door.

This is looking down the van towards the full ensuite through the bedroom and these rooms can be sectioned off too if needed by a concertina door. There is a roof hatch above the bed which can be opened to see out of as well as a night shade too. There is heaps of storage in the van and the bed lifts up on gas struts for additional storage too.

This is the view from the bedroom back into the kitchen area.

The previous owners had taken meticulous care of the van both inside and out and had even updated the most of the internal and external lights to LED.

We really love our new home, it is very comfortable and a lot easier to tow than I imagined.

Adelaide, SA

We left Adelaide on the Sunday of the Clipsal 500 races and as we were loaded up with all of our belongings and in our new van, we bypassed the city and headed for the freeway on route to Bordertown.

The journey up the freeway from the toll gate was slow and at points I was lucky to maintain 40km/h up the steepest sections but the Jayco van was easier to tow than the old Millard.

Deb and I were really pleased with how Blade and young Griswold were getting on, even travelling long hours in the car didn't seem to phase either of them. Gris had even taken a likening for cuddles with Deb at times as we drive along!

Our route took us past a couple of "Big Australian" icons being "Scotty" on Nottage Terrace in Prospect and another being the "Big Olives" at Tailem Bend which we have now added to our Big Australian icons list. "Scotty" has been an Adelaide landmark for decades, however I'm not sure of the significance of the Big Olives at Tailem Bend, I think it is more a marketing gimmick for the olive business that is there.

Bordertown, SA

When we arrived at Bordertown, we were keen to unpack our excess luggage and get that into our storage shed and set up our new home. We spent quite sometime putting up the annexe but the extra room it provided made all the effort worth while. The extra room doubles our living area and with an external power point, we were able to spend a lot of time in the annexe which also has windows and doors sewn in.

Here we are all set up in Bordertown.

I had removed the 2x deep cycle batteries and the battery charger from the Millard and had them installed into the Jayco by an Auto Electrician. The van already had been wired for free camping with 1x battery (black one) and an Inverter which draws the power from the batteries and converts it to 240v to allow appliances such as lap tops and phones to be recharged. These batteries along with our 2x 90 litre water tanks for fresh water will enable us to 'free camp' (be away from power) for sometime, perhaps even days if we decide to do so.

When we were in Bordertown, we had the opportunity to catch up with Glenn who was the Oak Valley truck driver that took Deb up to Oak Valley back in October 2013. Glenn was working with a road maintenance team from Victoria over in eastern SA repairing some of our roads and was in Bordertown at the same time as us and we caught up at the motel where he was staying for dinner. It was great to see Glenn again and reflect on our experiences at Oak Valley and it was Glenn that gave me a few lessons on heavy vehicle training and fork lift driving when I was in Oak Valley.

In the week or so we spent in Bordertown, we went for a drive with Jas, Brad and Cruze down to Kingston, Robe and Beachport. We had been to Kingston before but it had been many years since I had been down to Robe and I had never been into the town of Beachport.

We had lunch down at the beach at Robe and then went and drove onto Long Beach at Robe which stretches for miles and you can drive along most of it.

We toured around Robe and aw the sights such as the old gaol ruins and the famous obelisk which were both erected in the 1800's and then we continued our drive down to Beachport. Beachport has a jetty so we we threw our lines in and it was freezing cold ... perhaps even too cold for the fish as we didn't catch anything in the short time we braved the weather. It was a great day and as we drove back to Bordertown that evening.

Deb and I were amazed with how much Cruze had grown over the last few months so as it will be some time before we see him again, I thought I would post this recent picture of him in our Blog ...

Robe, SA

Deb and I were keen to return to Robe in the van so when it was time to leave Bordertown, we headed off back down there and we stayed in the Bushland Holiday Park in Robe.

The Bushland Holiday Park was beautiful ... and lush green grass and trees (a far cry from the outback of recent months).

The park was very quiet so we were able to pick this great site which was faced the bush within the park. The park remained relatively quiet for our stay which was really nice and a peaceful place, unlike the other caravan parks in Robe which seem to be busy places with vans packed in tightly.

Just outside the park was Bream Lake, a local fishing spot so Deb and I tried our luck for one afternoon without success.

We also went fishing off the Robe jetty ... and again the fish weren't biting.

Jas, Brad and Cruze came down to Robe over a weekend and stayed in an apartment and we tried our luck at the Cape Jaffa Marina which is half way between Kingston and Robe. It was another cold, wet and windy day, but at least this time we caught some fish including Tommy Ruffs and what we think were small Silver Trevally.

I was last in Cape Jaffa in around 2004 and it only had a few shacks and a small caravan park which was being managed by an old mate, Lindsay Gilchrist who I had worked with at Ctel in around 2000/2001. Lindsay now manages the Cape Jaffa Marina and unfortunately was not in town when we were.

On another day, we journeyed back down to Beachport and tried our luck at the Salmon Pool which is a deep sea pool where salmon are known to be but as they are a long way out from shore, we had to cast out as far as we could. The steep angle of the sand into the water made it interesting to get as far down the sand before the waves got you. A few locals were there too and they had waders on and were casting from waist deep water. Unfortunately, we didn't catch any salmon but it was fun trying ... especially to not get wet in the process unlike Deb that stumbled and got caught by an incoming wave!

The locals said that the conditions have to be exactly right to catch them and today the conditions were not.

As our plans are to head east to Ballarat and then over to Bendigo and from there to head north, we decided to stay at Port MacDonnell which is a seaside town approximately 30kms south of Mt Gambier.

Port MacDonnell, SA

Our drive from Robe took us right through the centre of Millicent and again through the centre of Mt Gambier, up and around the Blue Lake (which is so amazingly Blue!) and down to the coast to Port MacDonnell.

Port MacDonnell is only a few kms from Cape Northumberland, South Australia's most southern land point and only 30kms from the SA/VIC border.

It is a small town known to be the home of the "Southern Rock Lobster" and we stayed at the Foreshore Tourist park which is only a few metres off the beach.

Access to the park was a bit daunting as the path to the sites is one way which means you cannot drive around it and the sites were not deep enough nor was there much room to reverse the car about when getting the van into the site. After many attempts we finally got in and set up ... all to the sounds of the ocean waves breaking on the shore just behind the trees in front of us ... Awesome!

We took the dogs for a walk along the beach and Gris was not too sure what the sea was all about but if Blade could run in there ... he was going to try ... until he got wet from the wash of a wave and then he wasn't so sure!

I had my 47th Birthday here in Port MacDonnell and unfortunately, it was cold, wet and windy so Deb and I stayed in the van and watched movies all day.

Once again we had most of the park to ourselves most of the time which is very nice as we enjoy the peace and quiet.

We drove over to Cape Northumberland and took these amazing pictures of the limestone coast that has been continuously battered by the sea and we followed a road which lead us down to a nearby beach. Cape Northumberland is South Australia's most southern land point and it has a lighthouse / weather station way back from the coast from where the original lighthouse and keepers residence was ... right on the cliff top! You can see why there were so many shipwrecks along this coast, the reefs and rocks would make any successful rescue near impossible.

As Mt Gambier is only 30kms away, we drove up there to have a look at the Blue Lake and the other lakes in the craters and had dinner at an old pub in the town.

As Port MacDonnell is known as the "Southern Rock Lobster" capital, we went to the local cray monger and bought ourselves lunch ... only $25 each too!!!

After a relaxing week in Port MacDonnell it was time to back up and move on to Ballarat to see Deb's friend Nicki and her family.

Our route to Ballarat took us back into the heart of Mt Gambier and then east towards Hamilton. We found a beautiful rest area at Casterton on the Glenelg River for lunch. We drove past the "Big Wool Bales" in Hamilton which was not as impressive as we had thought so we didn't stop but we will add to our Big Australian Icon list anyway. The Big Wool Bales was built in recognition of the extensive wool industry in the Hamilton area.

I was impressed in just how big an area the Grampians cover as I had not seen them from the south before, only from the highway when travelling to Melbourne.

Lake Bolac, VIC

We decided to stay over night at the Lake Bolac caravan park on the lake instead of pushing through to Ballarat. The park was opposite the lake and it would have to easily be the worst caravan park we had stayed at to date ... it was really bad. The park was small, full of run down facilities like their cabins that blocked any view of the lake, the van sites were squeezed in between large trees and were on a steep angle, the amenities were disgusting and to top it all off, when night time fell, millions of midgees came out. All of us including the dogs were forced to seek refuge in the van and it was impossible to go outside ... at all! Morning could not come quick enough and then we made the short drive to Ballarat.

Ballarat, VIC

Our base in Ballarat was the Big 4 Windmills Caravan Park which was only minutes away from Nicki's place but unfortunately, they do not allow dogs so Blade and Gris had a holiday too staying at Nicki's with her and her kids. Nicki's place has a large and secure back yard with a big pergola and the dogs had the freedom to run around off their leads for a change.

www.ballaratwindmill.com.au

The park was very nice although expensive compared to what we have paid to date but the facilities including the huge heated indoor pool and spa area made it worthwhile ... so we extended our stay and ended up staying 6 nights. The park also has a playground and jumping pillow so Nicki's kids were able to use them too. We had a BBQ in the camp kitchen one night and met Nicki's parents who too are seasoned travellers and it was great to hear Mike's stories and advice too on his many years of experience on the road.

The weather was surprisingly warm and sunny in a place well known to be typically cold and wet which made our time in Ballarat all the better and as the park was not busy, it was a nice to have a swim and enjoy a park with good facilities without the crowds.

One afternoon we went over to the North Ballarat Football Club, now one of the most successful VFL clubs and home of some of the AFL's most famous players including Tony Lockett, Michael Malthouse, Dale Lewis and marathon runner Steve Moneghetti.

Before we left Ballarat, we went out onto the highway to Melbourne to see the "Big Miner" that is a tribute to all the gold mining heritage of Ballarat and added him to our Big Australian Icons list.

Ballarat is a beautiful place and a lot bigger than I had thought it was and Deb and I drove around having a look at many of the places Deb remembers from many years ago when she lived and worked here such as the Ballarat Base Hospital.

So far, our list of sited "Big" Australian icons is now 12 ...

the Big Blade at Snowtown SA
the Big Merino at Goulburn NSW
the Big Ned Kelly at Glenrowan VIC
the Big Lobster at Kingston SA
the Big Pelican at Loxton SA
the Big Orange at Renmark SA
the Big Galah at Kimba SA
the Big Oyster at Ceduna NSW
the Big Scotsman (Scotty's Corner) in Adelaide SA
the Big Olives at Tailem Bend SA
the Big Wool Bales at Hamilton VIC
the Big Miner at Ballarat VIC

As we have stayed at quite a few caravan parks so far, we thought it would be good to start to review and rank them.

We decided on our criteria over 8 key areas and then we rate each criteria out of 5 and this then provides us with their own "5 Caravan" (star) rating.

In March, we stayed and rated the following Caravan Parks ...

Bordertown