Arkaroola in the Northern Flinders Ranges

We had heard good things about Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, in the northern Flinders Ranges, but weren't sure what to expect when we pulled into Arkaroola village and found the place all but deserted.  Yes, we had come out of peak season, and we almost had the camp ground to ourselves.  We toyed with the idea of bush camping however with no one else around, it made sense to camp near the amenities block and settle in.

Our beaut camp at Arkaroola

For those who have never heard of Arkaroola, it is a unique geological part of Australia, purchased by the Sprigg family in the 1940s.  Reg Sprigg was one of Australia's best regarded geologists and in these hills found fossils of some of the earliest forms of life found anywhere in the world.  A real pioneer in many fields, he also was the first person to drive (with his family on-board) across the Simpson Desert.  Gresilda Sprigg (his wife) recalled the crossing and many other anecdotes of an extraordinary life in "Dune is a Four Letter Word".

Arkaroola is now run by Doug and his sister Marg, and their property is as much a botanical and wildlife refuge as it is a geological marvel.  After clearing nearly 100 000 feral goats from the place, native plants such as native orange, pines and myrtles are recovering.  Relics from much wetter times, their tenuous existence is incredible to witness in these rugged hills.

All set and ready for our adventure

We were extremely fortunate to have Doug Sprigg take us on the flagship tour of Arkaroola, The Ridge Top Tour.  The tour follows some extremely steep rocky tracks put in by companies seeking to exploit some of the mineral wealth of the area.  Thankfully the mining wasn't profitable enough to go ahead, but the legacy is some unbelievable scenery accessible in the 'comfort' of a 4WD.

Oodnadatta Track and the old Ghan Railway

We departed Coober Pedy early in the morning, hoping to get to Oodnadatta and The Painted Desert.  Unfortunately roads through the Painted Desert were still closed as was the track south from Oodnadatta itself.  Tony at the Desert View offered us a very discounted rate if we wanted to stay another night, but we decided to set off to Oodnadatta via the Kempe Road.  As it turned out, we should have taken Tony up on his kind offer.

Just a bit of water on the road

The road to Oodnadatta was open to 4WD only, and at the first major creek of the track we found out why.  Water was still over the road, and in places the floodways were still very boggy.  More telling was the fuel consumption as we drove on a soft road - getting close to 18L / 100km on the 200km to Oodnadatta.

Oodnadatta Station - the former rail head of the Ghan Line

Damn camera shake - at the iconic Pink Roadhouse - Oodnadatta

Coober Pedy - a magic place to visit

Coober Pedy - what can I say.  Everyone has heard of it, and these days it is as much a tourist town as it is an Opal town.  That said, we loved every minute.

After visiting White Cliffs mid last year, we had decided that Coober Pedy was a must stop town on our adventure this year.  We had been watching the daily maximum temperatures with trepidation leading up to our visit.  Mid 40s was the norm, and frankly we were contemplating bypassing Coober Pedy this time around and coming down to it from Alice Springs later in the year.  The big rainfall that had drenched us in Adelaide also brought the temperatures down inland - so we made tracks to Coober Pedy.

No prizes for guessing where we are

We decided to stay at the Desert View Underground Apartments - and booked into a two bedroom fully self contained apartment.  Our host, Tony, couldn't have done more to make us feel welcome as we made ourselves at home.  The kids were thrilled at sleeping in their own beds for a change.  Ah, joys of space.

Return to Big Sky Country - Adelaide to Coober Pedy

From Kangaroo Island we headed north to Adelaide.  We only allocated a couple of days to this beautiful city in order to resupply and repair a couple of little bits and pieces before heading into the outback.

As we came closer to Adelaide, our wipers were first turned on, and then turned up.  Yes, it was raining, and Adelaide was about to cop it wettest day for over 40 years.  In fact it was about to cop two very wet days - coinciding exactly with our visit.

We stayed the Adelaide City Caravan Park - a claimed 20 minute walk to the city.  We would dearly have loved to have spent a day walking in the beautiful park lands surrounding the city, but it wasn't to be.  Instead we claimed our site by dropping the camper off, and jumped back into the car sodden.  It was no fun outside, so we went shopping, and later caught up with some old friends for dinner.

It was a wet sodden camp in Adelaide as over 75mm fell in 24 hours

Kangaroo Island or should that be Adventure Island

We made our revenge on the party goers of the previous evening and broke camp from Rapid Bay in quick time.  We were back on the main road by 7am, heading down towards Cape Jervis, with Kangaroo Island looming across Backstairs Passage.

Descending down the hill to Cape Jervis with Kangaroo Island in the background

We had breakfast overlooking the ferry terminal and Cape Jervis light, before heading down and taking our seats on the Sealink service to Kangaroo Island.  The crossing took about 45 minutes.  I was the first one to drive on the ferry as I was the only trailer, they put me on first so I could turn around and drive straight off.  Most considerate of them.

It was a glorious day, with a fresh south westerly blowing

As soon as we were off the ferry, we called at the visitor information centre and decided that Vivonne Bay would be our best campsite for the next three or four nights.  centrally located on the south coast, it seemed like the ideal place to base ourselves - and it was.

All set up at Vivonne Bay

Mount Gambier to Cape Jervis via the Coorong

We left our camp at Dry Creek in record time, and headed directly for Mount Gambier.  The objective was to walk around Blue Lake before it became too hot, and we caught some great vistas on our 3.7km jaunt.

Blue Lake

Blue Lake is an old volcanic crater, and is fed by ground water from the Mount Gambia basin in the limestone bedrock.  

Mount Gamber is one of the few towns in Australia that feeds its storm water not into rivers or creeks, but rather into sinkholes or drainage bores.  

It also draws its watersupply from the Blue Lake - its level determined by the ground water.  The third largest freshwater storage in South Australia, a little part of me wonders how long it took them to realise what went down the drains eventually filtered into their water supply!  

Craters, Cones, Lakes and a Peacock

We left the Great Ocean Road at Port Campbell and headed inland looking for a quiet camp, and found a sheltered spot on the edge of Lake Elingamite.   There was a playground for the kids, nice shady trees to protect us from the wind, and not too many other people around.  It slowly dawned on us though that we were sitting in what very much felt like a crater, and indeed it was.  More correctly termed a Maar Crater, meaning it was formed when upwelling lava met groundwater and caused an explosion of steam and rock. It doesn't have the classic cone shape that you would expect a volcano to have.  Needless to say, we were surprised, having grown up thinking Australia was a geologically very stable country, and here we were in a recent (of sorts) volcanic landscape.

Our camp at Lake Elingamite

We explored further and visited Mount Leura near Camperdown.  A classic cone and maar system, it also had fantastic views across the surrounding plains.  Some of the lakes were simply beautiful, however most are on private property and you cannot access them.

Great Ocean Road Victoria

With temperatures set to soar again in Victoria, we decided to head for somewhere where the air was cooler - and of course this meant a run to the coast.  So with the Air Conditioner working overtime, we pointed our bonnet southerly and headed for Queenscliff.

I know we missed seeing a heap of stuff at Ballarat - and heaps of stuff at Geelong too, but we live less than a days drive from here - and we will be back - one school holidays - to explore this area further.

Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale stand at the western side of the notorious entrance to Port Phillip.  And having seen the lights - indeed used them for safe navigation previously, it was great to visit the lights up close.

One of the leading lights at Queenscliff

These lights watch over the entrance and the notorious and aptly named 'Rip' that swirls the tidal waters like a washing machine.  To have felt the power of those currents from a ship - it was much more pleasant to watch them from the safety of the beach.

Point Lonsdale Light and former signal station

We continued along the coast, and enjoyed a camp at Ocean Grove near the heads of the Barwon River.  It was a wonderful evening for a stroll after dinner - and we tried a new form of selfie!

On the road again to Ballarat and Gold at Sovereign Hill

The first thing we noticed getting back on the mainland was how hot it was.  Yes, Melbourne turned on a fine day for our arrival.  We caught up with the Queensland grandparents for breakfast - down especially for our arrival - oh and to catch a spot of tennis.  Apparently the Australian Open was on.

After brekky, we hit the road - to the shops.  I had come to the conclusion that the problem with the fridge in Matilda was nothing to do with the fridge at all, but that the five year old deep cycle batteries in Matilda had started to fail.  A few phone calls didn't instill me with much confidence - until I struck Battery World Lillydale.  Not only could they supply me with two new batteries - but they could also fit them for me... Sold. The team there helped me out - much more than some of their similarly branded brethren closer to the city seemed interested in doing - and thankfully the new batteries seemed to have fixed all my other problems electrically.

After resupplying we then headed east, to our friend's wonderful property near Cann River.  We spent four nights on their delightful block, doing a little bit of bushwalking, little bit of fishing, and for the boys a complete novelty - a little bit of Wii and Movie time!  It was wonderful to catch up with our friends, and for the boys to catch up with their friends.  

We bade farewell after the Australia Day long weekend started to draw to a close, and headed west, towards a little place called Blue Water Holes, near Briagolong.  The natural rock pool was so refreshing after a hot day travelling - and we even snuck down after dinner for another swim... and another after brekky the following morning.

The Blue Waterholes - a lovely place for a dip

And the camp at Blue Waterholes wasn't bad either

We then had a big day in the car - catching up with friends in Melbourne for a cuppa before heading back on the freeway to Ballarat.  The car's thermometer indicated an outside air temperature of 43 degrees as we headed west, and we took it a little more gently than usual - but Rocky handled it all with aplomb.