- January Blog -

 

 

Saturday 30th January 2016

So we’ve had a couple of days exploring Melbourne City, taking in the highlights and awesomeness that is Melbourne: Queen Victoria Markets, State Library, ACIM, enjoying the trams.. It’s always nice to be here!

 

Tuesday 26th January 2016

Happy Australia Day!

Went into the city to watch the Australia Day Parade which was fantastic! Then of course the MAIN EVENT – the 2016 Australian Open at Rod Laver Arena! Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer.. some fantastic games! What a way to celebrate Australia Day today!

Matt: Remember the mission we went on just getting to the tennis. Or maybe you'd rather not..

 

 

Monday 25th January 2016

Arrived in Melbourne! Staying at the Big 4 Holiday Park in Coburn.

 

Saturday 23rd January 2016

We’ve moved up to a new camping spot today - Fitzroy River Reserve, which is quite busy for the long weekend, with few facilities, but a nice spot on the coast right where the Fitzroy River meets the sea. Matt enjoying the fishing, a good 10km walk along the beach was a great opportunity to take in the sights!

Matt: How packed was this place! I've never seen so many people camping so close to one another. Went fishing every day though. Nothing. 3-nil.

 

Wednesday 20th January 2016

Crossed the border into Victoria, staying at Portland for a few days. Bit of fishing down at the harbor, and some friendly local koalas in the Holiday Park!

Matt: I saw the seal twice while you walked a kilometre back to the bathroom. So much for fishing. I snagged a rock. Fish 2, Matt 0.

 

Sunday 17th January 2016

Staying at Allendale East Memorial Park, right next to the Allendale Cave – a famous cave diving cave, although it took us a while to find it – they built the road around the entrance, so it is literally in the centre of the road! This afternoon saw us hiking to the top of Mount Schank Volcano – what an awesome view! Then we treated ourselves with Fish and Chips on the water tonight at Port MacDougall. Lovely day!

Matt: How cool was that penguin dude and what about your tumble on top of Mount Schank Volcano.

 

Saturday 16th January 2016

Mt Gambier is such a special place, geologically incredible and historically interesting! Today we checked out the Unkels Sunken Gardens, Engelbrecht Cave – which we did the tour and can highly recommend! Then of course topped the day off with a visit to Blue Lake. Sure lives up to its name!

Matt: I think the blue water we drank was cordial..

 

Friday 15th January 2016

Moved on to Mt Gambier today – stopped in at Tantanoola Cave, what a little gem of a spot! You can read more about that HERE. Staying at the Show Grounds for something different, and looking forward to exploring this interesting town.

Matt: How cold was that night at the Showground. Wow, just wow.

 

Thursday 14th January 2016

We’re staying at Wright Bay Camping Area for a couple of days, which is lovely quiet spot on the water. Today we drove the short trip to Robe – and enjoyed a little 4WD action at Little Dip Conservation Park. Robe was a lovely historical town, we checked out the Old Gaol remains and did some of the awesome walks along the coast, what magnificent coastline!

Matt: 4WD action!  2 hours later..I still don't know how we got out of there. Maybe I should have taken your advice and got a map..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday 12th January 2016

Another free camp site today, Narung Ferry Rest Area on Lake Alexandrina. Spent the day exploring the island with a drive up to Salt Lagoon Islands Conservation Area.

Matt: I think the woman driving the ferry on the return leg laughed at you holding the Go pro out the window..

 

Monday 11th January 2016

Exploring the Limestone Coast today – Port Elliott and Goolwa, Hindmarsh Island and the Murray Mouth. Tonight we’re staying in a highly recommended free campsite called Landhorne Rest Area, and enjoying dinner at the nearby pub.

Matt: I did some bodyboarding at Goolwa beach in the afternoon. Great surf beach.

 

Sunday 10th January 2016

Today was a very special day for me, as a child growing up in South Australia, Victor Harbor was a regular family day trip for us. Going back today was great, walking across to Granite Island, seeing the horse drawn tram over the jetty, plus lucky enough to spot a little Fairy Penguin amongst the rocks! Such a wonderful personal experience, but also fun to introduce this great area to Matt!

Matt: I swear that rock moved..

 

 

Saturday 9th January 2016

More Mt Compass adventures, highlight being cherry picking at Fleurieu Cherries! What a fun day, our visit coincided with their local CFS Fundraiser, which meant the place was packed with people picking cherries and donating money to this extremely important cause, what a great atmosphere and fun experience! (Although my cherry-belly ache after eating so many cherries wasn’t so much fun 😉 )

Matt: Top day. Did someone say cherry ache..haha

 

 

Friday 8th January 2016

Today we have moved on to Mount Compass, refreshed from our resort break! A highly recommended stop in at Second Valley for some awesome snorkeling, then off to explore Mount Compass, with some of the freshest and yummiest local produce you could want! The blueberries at Mt Compass Blueberry Patch (and their yummy icecream!) topped off a great day!

 

Thursday 7th January 2016

Wirina Cove Resort stop over tonight – YAY! We’ve had a bit of a ‘gale force winds’ problem here for the last few days, which has been a huge test of our new CUB Camper! Matt decided we might try out the local golf resort to get a break from the camper – we’re still getting used to this new life! Top quality Resort, heated spa, fantastic restaurant dinner.. who cares about a little wind!?

Matt: A little wind you say?  The wind would have blown the hinges off a locked door!  No sleep in two nights had my eyes seeing red.

 

Saturday 2nd January 2016

Moved on to Rapid Bay camping site today, a big camping site right on the water. Busy due to the school holidays, but we’ve secured our spot for a few days! Plenty of opportunities around here for fishing off the jetty, and some snorkeling as well.

Matt: Mmmm, watermelon on a hot day. First day of fishing too. Fish 1, Matt 0. 

 

 

 

 

Friday 1st January 2016

Happy New Year! We’re excited for 2016 – our year on the road. We have started the year in Moana, South Australia, having welcomed in the New Year at Elder Park in Adelaide with their annual concert by the River Torrens... after a paddle boat on the river of course! Looking forward to an awesome year of adventure, and off to a cracking start today exploring the Fleurieu Peninsula, and snorkeling at Port Noarlunga.