Lonely Planet City Guide

Arrived well and tired. Flying Lauda Air was a good experience, transfer stops at airports were kept to a minimum.

Sydney welcomed us with sunny and warm weather. The taxi driver didn’t find the hotel, finally dropped us off in a small street opposite the hotel. We stumbled into a home for the aged, but noticed our mistake before they assigned us a room. After the long flight and the ensuing fatigue one could well have mistaken us for inmates.

We changed our hotel room fairly quickly, our new room is larger, nicer and we can smoke, too. In Sydney, smoking in pubs and restaurants is no longer legal. We passed by a restaurant where they had arranged for a nice smokers’ corner in front, including cosy chairs, a table and ashtrays.

After a copious breakfast from the hotel’s well assorted buffet we decided to stretch our legs and walked down to Sydney Harbour. It’s only 30 minutes from our hotel to Circular Quay. There, we immediately booked a harbour cruise with Captain Cook Cruises (AU$ 20/person) and spent the waiting time looking at the souvenir shops and lazing in the sun.

When we could finally board the ship, we went straight to the upper deck to get as much sun as possible. The tour lasted one hour and took us through Sydney and Darling Harbours. We briefly considered taking a stopover at Sydney Aquarium, but couldn’t be bothered after all. We were too lazy and sitting on the upper deck was too cosy. The harbour tour is very informative and to be recommended. Afterwards we strolled through the Rocks, had a burger and then slowly made our way back to the hotel. On the way we both acquired a mobile phone. Vodafone had a special offer which we just couldn’t resist.

Dinner was, as the night before, at the HRC. The ribs are excellent!

Our timing for breakfast was impeccable, as the big Japanese group, who had arrived the day before, had just finished theirs. The young lady at the dining room reception looked a bit exhausted. The room itself looked as if a bomb had hit – tables and the floor were adorned with crumbs, cutlery and napkins. The buffet was depleted. To bridge the time till refills (it only took about 5 minutes), we had a coffee.

The taxi driver who took us to the airport, where Evie and Trevor would meet us, was a very nice bloke. An immigrant Lebanese, with family in Germany.

Evie and Trevor were waiting for us at a café in front of the departure terminal. After big hellos and a round of hugs, we were off to Narooma, a small coastal town about 350 km south of Sydney. We took our time getting there, and drove along the coastline, putting in numerous stops to take pics and – of course – lunch. The weather was still sunny and mild. We saw pretty sandy beaches and stretches of rough rocky coast. All in all, this part of the NSW coast is very scenic. Some of it reminded us of Europe. We took a longer break at some blowholes.

In Narooma, Trevor and Evie had to move their stuff to the holiday unit where the four of us would spend the next couple of days. Before our arrival, they had shared a unit with Lyn, Keith and Dot. Lyn and Dot had prepared our dinner, which they brought over later.

Our holiday unit is quite nice, with two bedrooms, a big kitchen, a TV nook, bathroom (with washing machine) and a balcony.

Trevor, Keith, Dot and ourselves rose early to set of on a boating adventure. Destination was Montague Island, off the Narooma coast. Montague Island is a nature reserve. Hundreds of seals can be found on the island from the end of winter to December, as well as serving as a breeding ground for birds – including penguins, which we unfortunately did not see.

So, hopes were high as we took off early in the morning. The way out of Narooma harbour (and back in) is a bit tricky, as the channel is quite narrow and one has to know when exactly to enter or leave it. No problem for Trevor though, as he’s known those waters for over 18 years. That day, the sea was pretty rough, with winds of 30 knots (about 60 kph) and increasing. The ride was just as rough, with Claudia sitting in the back for the whole way. But, although she got a thorough soaking by the time we returned to Narooma, the shaking, rattling and bumping in the back of the boat wasn’t as bad as up front. Due to those rough seas, we decided to turn back before reaching the rocky shores of the island – mooring there would have been impossible. All we saw were some dolphins. The weather forecast spoke of increasing winds and even gale force winds.

Poor Keith fell of the pier into the water when jumping ashore, but took it in good humour. While he went back to the unit to change clothes, we drove across the harbour to meet him at another pier. Some tourists and a pelican watched the men pull the boat out of the water onto the trailer.

On returning to the holiday units, Claudia beat everybody to the bathroom to take a hot shower. Yet, despite the weather, we thoroughly enjoyed the ride!

Today was sunny and warm. We decided to take it easy and visit the Mogo Zoo. Somehow, we all managed to squeeze into the Landcruiser and off we went. The zoo is fairly small, but quite nice. The main attraction are three juvenile white lions, one male and two lionesses.

We had dinner at the local golf club. This may sound posh, but isn’t really (as opposed to Europe..). Local golf clubs in Australia like this one are usually cosy and familial. The golf club in Narooma not only offers a-la-carte food, but also has special dinner offers, also for non-members. All you do is sign in for the night and enjoy. Today’s special was a buffet dinner for AU$ 10/head plus drinks. That included tombola tickets, but none of us won anything. After dinner, Evie, Lyn and Dot retired to the pokies (slot machines), while Claudia and the blokes retired to the bar.

With the sea being a bit calmer today, and no rain threatening to spoil the ride, the brave five again took the boat out to Montague Island. On the way there, we saw dolphins (who were a lot faster than the boat), a whale blowing (not the whale itself, though), many seabirds (most of them unknown to us), flying fishes and hunting seals.

Just a few yards off the rocky shore of Montague Island, we took our time to watch, film and photograph the seal colony, whilst the sea gently rocked our boat to the sounds of the sonar (many rocks under the water, too, better be safe than sorry). You can’t miss the seal colony: you’ll hear and smell them before you see them. It was a great experience, seals on the rocks sunbathing, seals gently lolling in the waves, seals swimming around our boat….. we also saw cormorants, pelicans, the odd albatross, and terns.

After lunch we took the car to drive along the coast. In Bermagui we stopped and descended the rocky cliffs to swimming pools hewn into the rocks. It was marvellous, blue skies, sunshine, the steep coastline, waves breaking on the cliffs, the cries of the seagulls – and the cool wind. The latter forced us to retreat after a short while.

Tilba, a nice small village in the hills a bit off the coast, was our shopping stop for the day. There, you’ll find lots of nice, small shops with art and craft and – of course – the typical souvenirs. We couldn’t get enough of one shop selling woodwork. From spoons to bowls to tables and chairs, you’ll find everything there. And all is made of solid, Australian wood. If we’d only had enough money, we’d have bought half of their stock. It was Keith’s idea to check that shop out, as he loves wood, and it was sure worth the visit!

Again, we had dinner at the golf club – tonight’s 10 AU$-special was a seafood buffet, and Lyn won seafood in the tombola. She, Keith and Torsten ate the shrimps that same evening, the rest was stored in the fridge for later use.

Everybody left Narooma today – Lyn and Keith headed straight home (Bendigo), while Dot joined the four of us to go to Port Albert to Trevor’s and Evie’s holiday house. The weather was as fine as can be – warm and sunny. The landscape we passed through reminded us of Switzerland – green hills dotted with grazing milch cows. We took our time, stopping at Lakes Entrance for a longer break. We walked down to the beach. Claudia and Dot took off their shoes and walked in the shallow waters gently lolling onto the beach, when a not so gentle, unexpected wave wet them from the midriff down…. The others almost collapsed on the beach laughing and asked them to do it again, for “funniest home videos”… The two took it with a smile, after all, it was warm, and their pants dried quickly on the way back to the car (although some people did give them funny glances…).

We arrived in Port Albert after dark. After unloading the car we went to the local pub for a counter dinner. Local pubs are the place for good, cheap, home-cooked, plentiful meals. Nothing for vegetarians, though, a traditional Aussie meal comes with lots of meat. The one in Port Albert offers full and half serves of each plate. Claudia had a half serve of the mixed meat plate, which still included two sausages, a small steak, a lamb chop, chips (fries) and vegies. Torsten and Trevor had full serves and doggedly ate their way through the huge heaps on their plates. Pool billiard sure gives you a healthy appetite!

We changed our plans for the day, which said fishing for the blokes, shopping for the sheilas. The sea was too rough and no improvement in sight. Trevor took us on a short tour of the immediate surroundings, showed us the indigenous beer-bottle-bush (sorry, only for insiders), and had a look at one of the beaches. Except ourselves, there were only a fisherman – an immigrated Greek – and his wife. He proudly displayed his catch of the day. Trevor looked like he’d love to cast a line or two, too, but he had left his fishing gear at the house. Some multi-legged beach inhabitants, namely march flies, were so naughty that we had to use Aerogard spray to keep them away.

We bought the best ever meat pies for lunch. After lunch, we re-loaded the car, left the boat in the shed and hit the road again. It led us back to Bendigo via Philipp Island to see the Penguin Parade. The parade is on private grounds. Entry fee for adults is 16 AU$ (cheapest rate). What you get is a concrete seat on the beach and the strictly enforced interdiction to take pictures or tape the parade. Staff ensures compliance with those rules. For a few dollars more, you can watch the parade from wooden tribunes closer to the penguins’ paths up into the hills.

The penguins, fairy penguins to be precise, are small, numerous and extremely cute. Each night, they come ashore in the same place to waddle up the hills to their homes.

Back at the visitors’ centre, you can buy computerized photos of yourself and the penguins, as well as snacks and souvenirs.

We had dinner in the village and then headed home, arriving in Bendigo at 1 a.m.

Bendigo was and continues to be a gold mining town with a current population of approx. 90,000. In the town centre you’ll find some beautiful Victorian houses and churches. Worth seeing!

We saw the Central Deborah Mine on a guided tour, taking us deep down into the bowels of the mine. Before you descend, they’ll give you a torch and a helmet. Down under (couldn’t resist) the tour will give you a pretty good impression of working conditions and methods over the decades. Sadly enough, we didn’t find any gold. But you can buy some in the souvenir shop up above. Above the ground, the mine offers a self-guided tour around the miners’ quarters such as showers, changing-rooms, infirmary, etc.

The rest of the time in Bendigo was spent pretty much relaxed, visiting, shopping, eating and so on.

On one of our visiting rounds we saw Eastern grey kangaroos on suburb pastures, where they come to feed each evening.

Our biggest outing was a trip to Echuca on the Murray River. It’s the place where the TV show “All the Rivers Run” was made. We had a look at the former film setting, today occupied by shops of all kinds, before we boarded the “Canberra”, a small paddle wheel steamer for a short tour up the Murray and back. The “Canberra” is a nice little steamer, that choo-choos its way around bends in the river and gives you a very relaxed impression of the Murray, although it’s pretty noisy next to the engine, which is why we sat on the upper deck. At Echuca, the Murray is about 20 meters wide. We saw lots of small boats and a few house boats which you can rent for holidays. Certainly a great way to spend a few days! Don’t forget your fishing equipment. In Echuca, a bridge over the river separates Victoria and New South Wales. This bridge was never inaugurated, as the mayors of the two towns on either side of the Murray quarrelled about who should do it, as it was also a question of different states. After a while, the people on both sides had had enough and started to use the bridge. Thus, it was never formally opened for public use.

In the morning, Trevor took us to Melbourne to pick up our rental 4WD, and led us back home. A short, unplanned detour took us to a koala reserve. We didn’t see any, but weren’t sure whether to be sad or happy, as we hadn’t brought our cameras anyway.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent packing and stacking odds and ends and food in the cars for our trip.

After leaving Bendigo, we split up to meet again in Mildura. The landscape wasn’t spectacular, but beautiful. We turned off at a salt lake and enjoyed the sun and the view from the wooden viewing platform. We could have driven right up to the shore of the lake, but didn’t want to waste too much time, either, as our trip would total almost 700 km.

On approaching Mildura, the highway was lined with vineyards on both sides, the least thing we expected in this dry country. We passed one vintage after the other, i.a. the Lindemans Estate.

Wentworth is known as the city of roses. Rosebushes are everywhere, in any colour you could imagine. Amazing.

After meeting up with Trevor and Evie in Mildura, and re-filling ourselves and our cars, we took the road to Broken Hill (alas, bitumen…). We passed through dry country, with little vegetation exceeding the height of a bush, and mostly flat but for a few small hills. A road sign warns of crossing kangaroos for the next 300 km. We didn’t see any, but sheep, birds of prey, some donkeys and goats. Driving this road is – uneventful. Shortly before reaching Broken Hill, we had to stop for a short while at a road construction site, as we had to wait for a lead car to guide us through.

The campground in B.H. is nice, clean and spacious. As we wanted adjoining sites, we had to contend ourselves with gravel, there were only a few single sites left on the grass. Evie didn’t mind, but we did, as the small gravel kept lodging in the profile of the soles of our shoes.

Nights were cold and clear, but we were well equipped with thermal fleece shirts. Across the aisle from our sites was the swimming pool. The first night, two teenage girls actually went for a swim – while the wimps across the road watched in amazement and in thick thermal sweaters.

At the Visitors’ Centre, they recommended the Sculptures in the Desert Site. Sounds a bit strange, but actually it is quite fitting. The stone sculptures (most of which rather modern ones) are on a hill a few kilometres outside of Broken Hill. You can choose the long way up or the short way. Both from different parking lots. We chose the short one. The view over the surrounding arid country and to Broken Hill is magnificent. The sculptures somehow fit into the landscape. There are different styles and forms, from esoteric ones to aboriginal motives to a wonderful horse head.

Up on that windy hill, we saw our first shingleback lizard. They reminded us of the American gila monsters, but aren’t poisonous. But their bite is said to be rather painful. The two we saw slowly, but steadily moved out of sight under large rocks.

Two art galleries are worth seeing: the Pro Hart Gallery, that not only shows Hart’s own painting, but also a good variety of other artists’ painting. A real eye catcher is the Cadillac in front of the house, which Hart painted all over.

The Jack Absolom Gallery is not too far away. Absolom’s landscape painting are beautiful, and we bought four prints – the originals being too expensive for us. We were lucky, too, the man himself was there that day and hand-signed our four prints.

After lunch we drove the some 20 kilometres to Silverton, the ghost town. There are only a few buildings left, now housing small shops. And, of course, the famous Silverton Pub. You may think you don’t know it, but you may be wrong. This pub is a rather popular location for films and commercials. For that purpose, its shape and name has been temporarily changed, fake buildings erected alongside or opposite. The most famous film made there is most certainly Mad Max II. Max’s car, the black Mustang, is parked in front of the pub.

The old jail is also worth a visit. You can visit old cells, the tiny courtyard in which female prisoners could ‘take a walk’, on exhibition are all kinds of machines and implements of daily life of the 19^th and 20^th century. In the inner yard, we saw two more shingleback lizards.

Last stop was the Peter Browne Art Gallery. Browne is famous for his stick figure outback drawings.

The road to Yunta took us along 192 km of bitumen. At the roadhouse we acquired a small map of the dirt roads and a couple of sandwiches.

Those small dirt roads would take us to Craddock, and back onto bitumen again. But first, we’d enjoy driving on dirt again. Planned meeting point was the crossroads between dirt and bitumen in Craddock….

The road is marked as a “major road”, we passed the grader on the way in. Dry creek crossings were narrow, with steep banks, but presented no problem. We saw a couple of emus and stopped at an Agave to admire it’s three meter high blossom. Trevor and Evie pulled up and we had a chat before driving on. We lost them fairly quickly, as they were slowed down by their trailer. A few gates were to open and close, but otherwise the drive was nice, quiet and easy.

At the end of the road, we stopped our car a few feet short of the bitumen highway, switched off the engine and waited for Trevor and Evie. It was hot and we got out of the car. Within about two seconds, we were surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of bush flies! We jumped back inside the car and left the windows up. After a while, Torsten had to step outside to meet a natural need and was engulfed in a huge black cloud within seconds.

After 45 minutes we decided to backtrack a bit to have a better view of the dirt road beyond a bend. A big gumtree provided shade. After another 15 minutes we started to worry, though. They couldn’t have been that far behind. We went back to the bitumen road to drive into town ….. and saw Trevor and Evie standing on the side of the highway, in the shade. Next to a pub. They had been waiting for us for a little over an hour, after having taken the wrong turn on the dirt road and meeting the bitumen highway a bit further south than we had. They must have driven past ‘our’ junction only minutes before we arrived. All’s well that ends well, we had only lost an hour, everybody was alright (if hot) and after all, we were on holidays! We could have done without the flies, though.

On to Wilpena Pound. At the entrance to the Flinders Ranges NP, you pay the fees applicable for the length of your stay by yourself. Envelopes are provided, just put the appropriate amount of money in, add your address and plate number, keep part of the slip for yourself and put it on your dashboard and drop the envelope in the letterbox.

The campground at Wilpena Pound is very good, lots of shady trees, gas BBQs, hot showers, toilets. We had unpowered sites, and our own faucet. The sites are spacious, not too close together and have a nice level surface. Ours were at the brink of the camp, which meant an unobstructed view to a hill. After setting up camp, we relaxed in our chairs, watching the sun slowly set behind that hill, on which a kangaroo was grazing peacefully. It wasn’t even disturbed by hikers walking down the hill. Parrots and parakeets were all over in the trees, and to our surprise and immense joy, a ringneck parakeet landed next to our car to feed on greens. It was more or less oblivious to us, and we could take a few good pictures and film it, too.

After breakfast, geared up with boots, water and cameras, we hiked to the abandoned Hills Homestead in the pound. Nick, who we had met the night before, joined us with his guitar. It was quite hot, and lots of flies around, but after having taken a good look at the homestead (you can’t go inside, unfortunately), we climbed onto the lookout halfway up the crater rim. The view is magnificent, you can see the whole crater! Plus, there’s a light breeze and no flies. We didn’t really want to leave, but returned to the campground after about half an hour lazing around on the lookout’s wooden platform.

On the way back, we picked up two lovely old ladies. Their tour group was on the way into the crater, and the had decided to turn back. Nobody, though, had thought of giving them water for the return hike. They were glad to see us. Trevor and Evie still had water, and gave it to them. They walked the exhausted ladies back to the bus at the visitors’ centre, while we walked ahead to do some shopping for dinner.

When we all returned to our sites, Evie and Trevor were in for a bad surprise. Somehow, they had accidentally left the car lights on. As their fridge was also hitched up, the car’s starter battery was completely drained. We gave them a jump start, and drove to the Sacred Canyon in the early afternoon. The roads within the park are all unsealed.

Our plan was: drive to the canyon, leave the cars in the parking lot there and walk into the canyon. Luckily enough, we had taken both cars, as Trevor’s battery only made it to the canyon’s parking lot, where it died again. This time, a blown fuse was the culprit. Another jump-start later, we returned to the campground, where Trevor bought a new fuse. He and Evie then took their car for a ride down the bitumen highway, while we waited for them at our site. All went well, they came back half an hour later and just in time for dinner. 

The unsealed roads in the park are easy to drive. It was a windy day, but the drive through the different gorges (Banyeroo, Brachina, Parachilna) is beautiful and offers some breathtaking vistas. Brachina Gorge is the most scenic of all. Very narrow and winding in stretches; the road follows an only partly water-bearing creek. Every now and then we had to drive through a puddle of water to cross the creek.

Angorichina Tourist Village is pretty basic, with no shady sites yet, as the trees are still too young. The sites (powered and unpowered) are well-sized, no grass, but gravel. The view to the ranges is beautiful!

The showers – three each for women and men – are clean, the toilets right next to them, small but also clean. They have one washing machine, that Claudia used straight away. Hanging the laundry on the clothes line proved to be a resilience test – resilience against hundreds of bush flies! We were told that this year, bush flies were extremely bad. Trevor and Evie had mosquito nets to pull over their heads. They don’t really enhance your appearance, but are very useful! We regretted not having any, and Claudia took refuge in the car for a while. The Australian bush fly does not carry diseases, but is an extremely persistent little bugger with the unique ability to fly straight up your nostrils, into your eyes, your ears and to any moist, uncovered place on your body. We felt like Hollywood or rock stars surrounded by hordes of screeching fans.

We took a walk along the almost dry creek, meandering its way through a beautiful valley (not as many flies as up above, either). We did not walk all the way to the Blinman pools, that’s a trip for a whole day. Besides, it was far too hot. Trevor tried to catch a couple of yabbies, but they were too quick for his hand. We had steak for dinner instead.

A family with three children was settling onto the neighbouring site when we returned. We spent that evening together, doggedly followed around by their four year old son, Dillon. Dillon’s arm was broken, and he shared the story with us. One of many stories he shared with us that afternoon and night. He was a right little philosopher, and his ability to talk without breathing amazed us. A talkative, but nice little boy, as was the whole family. Nice, that is!

In the course of that evening we learned that "Aus-trah-li-ah is the most beautiful country in the whole wooorld", its snakes the most poisonous and its crocs the most dangerous. A croc tooth is even bigger than that of a tiger, according to little Dillon's tales!

That morning, we broke camp in world record time and before the flies woke up.

A pity, really – being in such a nice place in the year with the biggest fly pest ever.

Through Parachilna Gorge, into Parachilna, then on to Leigh Creek (shop stop), then on to Maree. In Maree, a picturesque village in the middle of the desert, we had huge burgers for lunch. After all, the Oodnadatta Track loomed ahead! It starts in Maree, but we wouldn’t drive it all the way. The Oodnadatta was easy to drive, leading us up and down gently rolling, dry hills, here and there dotted with a few small trees. One of the highlights of the trip were the statues in the desert. Vertically mounted, painted planes, a huge water tank that looks like a dog (head and tail and all!), a minibus cut lengthwise and painted, and a lot more. Well worth seeing and a good opportunity to stretch one’s legs.

At one point, the Oodnadatta gets pretty close to Lake Eyre, a huge salt lake. We stopped to take pics. A few years ago, an Austrian tourist perished there. She and her husband were driving around in a rental 4WD and got stuck in the sand. He stayed with the car, she took some water and started to walk to get help. She only managed about eight kilometres before she died of thirst. Her husband was saved. They could have driven themselves out if they had just deflated the tires a bit…. One vital rule for survival in the outback: if your car breaks down, stay with it. And always – always – carry enough drinking water!

A short detour to the left took us to the “bubbler”, an inconspicuous small hill in the desert. Walking up that hill, you’ll be surprised to see a small rivulet flowing downstream and, on top of the hill, to find a pool of crystal clear water. The water bubbles up from the sandy bottom, which gave the pool its name. The water is cold, and grass grows around the pool and the tiny creek it spawns. Without doubt, this must be the favourite spot of the local wildlife. A sign asks visitors not to bathe in the pool – as tempting as it may be – as not to soil the water.

A friend of Trevor’s had recommended that we stay at Coward Springs bush camp. We found shady sites, cold showers, clean dunnies and a natural spa! No kidding, the bush camp lies along small wetlands, and the owners have deviated part of the creek to form a natural, lukewarm, slightly bubbling spa. A rare treat! You can also hop in while just passing by, but are requested to pay a fee. The camp was very quiet, all we could hear was the wind in the trees and the grass, and the numerous galahs, corellas and crows. After nightfall, a heron settled down in the trees at our site. Huge moths (wingspan approx. 15 cm) called in to have a sip of whatever liquid was available – water, coke, beer.

Before nightfall, hundreds of flies fell upon us, but we were all prepared – Claudia and Torsten had bought mosquito nets in Maree.

Last afternoon’s pest has a name: sandflies. Torsten has over a hundred bites (we call them bites, because it sounds nicer than what it actually is – sandflies pooping on you!) on one half of his face. Evie and Claudia didn’t receive any bites, apparently.

We drove to Coober Pedy via William Creek. The last meters of the unsealed road led us past opal mines. It looked weird, all those ghostly hills, with no plants at all. The Stuart Hwy finally led us into Coober Pedy, to the Opal Inn Caravan Park. There weren’t many tourists in Coober, and we had the campground almost to ourselves, there were only four or five other parties.

We chose sites along the corrugated iron wall, where not only the wall, but also two gum trees would spend some shade.

We took a walk through town to have a look at the opal shop displays, and a good, rich, cheap meal in the Opal Inn’s Pub ended that day.

That morning Evie woke up scratching herself wildly – sandfly bites! Only Claudia was spared so far.

We visited “Faye’s Dugout”. Faye lived in Coober Pedy from 1961 to 1983. She was a genuine pioneer, and brought some traces of civilization to C.P., such as the Flying Doctors, horse racing, the golf club, to just name a few. She said that living in the desert doesn’t mean one can’t live in a civilized way. Today, she lives in Brisbane. Her dugout (the two first rooms of which she and her friend dug themselves!), is open to tourists and still furnished as she left it. The live-in tourist guides, who have their own living quarters not open to the public, take visitors through the dugout, explain the techniques of how to make one, what it’s like to live in one, and tell a few stories about Faye and the town. We were surprised how comfortable it is in a dugout. Naturally, only the front rooms of a dugout have windows and thus daylight. Faye’s dugout even has an indoor swimming pool (the first pool in Coober), in a semi-subterranean annex to the dugout. That room, because of its large windows, is warmer than the others. Each subterranean and windowless room has a ventilation shaft to provide fresh air. Temperature in a dugout is permanently between 20 and 25 degrees Centigrade.

Together with a second small group, we also visited Faye’s opal mine next door. After the comfy temperatures inside the dugout, the heat outside hit us twice as hard. The air and temperatures inside the opal mine were just as comfy as in the dugout. A small lizard had found its way into the mine to cool off.

The dugout as well as the mine are both a must see!

At our favourite opal shop – the Opal Cutter – we bought a few souvenirs. That shop offers a wide range of souvenirs and jewellery, from 3 AU$ up to thousands of dollars. Anything you’d want – hat pins, letter openers, rings, pendants, necklaces, bracelets with opals in all colours.

Evie cooked us a wonderful dinner that night: braised steak and vegies (stew).

The sandflies didn’t even spare Claudia: this morning, she had about 20 bites on her arms. And they itch like hell!

After two hot days in C.P., temperatures had dropped a bit (from 35 to the high twenties), the skies were overcast and the wind had picked up considerably.

We drove south on the Stuart Hwy, wondering why in the world we had found  that particular part of it fascinating back in 1997……. The country is from flat as a pancake to slightly hilly, with sparse vegetation. The odd rain-shower didn’t help much. Around midday we passed a few wildflower fields that brought some colour to the scenery with their white, yellow and blue blossoms.

By the time we arrived in Port Augusta, it had cooled down considerably, the wind was strong and showers persisted. It was fairly chilly after dark, and we had dinner at the big gas BBQ, partly because of the corrugated iron roof that kept off the rain and wind a bit. We went to bed early that day.

The weather hadn’t improved much. We broke camp quickly and left P.A., heading south for a couple of kilometres, then turned left into the South Flinders Ranges. Once in the ranges, the wind weakened, the sun came out, and temperatures were in the low twenties. We meandered through the ranges, coming back out into the open and passing through farmland. In Burra we met Phil and Allison (from Angorichina), who were also passing through on the way home. There’s a nice picnic spot down by the small river in Burra, with benches next to the riverbank. Reeds softly swayed in the light breeze, and waterbirds (ducks, geese, swans, and swamp hens) came to share our lunch with us.

Renmark is situated on the Murray River. So are the two campgrounds. We checked in on the “Riverbend” campground, and chose a nice, big site on grass. What a nice change after all the dust! The site was about 10 meters from the river. Two pelicans were sunbathing by the riverbank. As we stopped our cars on the grassy site, a brave gander attacked us to protect his harem. Although genuinely impressed by his courage, we didn’t feel threatened, as these geese belonged to a wild geese kind not bigger than the average duck. When he had made his point, he led his harem away from us, and if looks could kill, you wouldn’t be reading this now.

Speaking of ducks: two drakes, of a duck breed about 1.5 times the size of our brave gander, didn’t mind our neighbourhood at all. On the contrary: they immediately demanded compensation of lost space by extensive feeding. A pacific black duck mum brought her three ducklings around and chased away any other birds coming closer than two meters, regardless of her opponent’s size.

Darkness fell, and we sat down for tea (after feeding the ducks, of course). Then the possums came. The ones we had met in Darwin the year before were shy. These were not at all. They wanted fruit. And they climbed all over the place – the tables, the chairs, up Torsten’s back and up Trevor’s legs. We made sure to always have enough fruit, and one night, a possum mum came with a tiny baby on her back. We couldn’t film them, but took pictures with our digicam. The possums didn’t mind the flashlight at all, but we had to focus into a void, as the view finder was completely black.

Our two ducks also called in every night between 10 and 11 p.m. to fetch their bedtime snack.

Swamp hens also wanted their share of the food. It looks too funny when they hold it with their long toes! Mynah birds came by, too, not even waiting for the food to hit the ground, but flying directly to the feeder’s hands.

We visited Bredl’s Reptile Park. Not Rob Bredl, the “Barefoot Bushman” (who has his own wildlife park in Airlie Beach, Qld), but his brother. Nobody was to be seen when we arrived, only a note at the entrance saying that he was busy in the park, and to please enter, he’d find us. So we did.

The enclosures are spread over a fairly big site with unpaved paths between them. You can see monkeys and many Australian species: goannas, lizards, snakes, kangaroos and wallabies, parrots, parakeets, waterbirds, dingos…. Mr Bredl was busy cleaning the constrictor snakes’ enclosure and had taken out a three-meter python. We chatted with him and petted the snake, that tried to crawl underneath the pick-up. We were just through looking at the other animals, when a school class arrived. Another python was taken out for the children to have a close look at and watch, as the snake was busy eating a (dead) rat. We were allowed to join and could take some close-up pics of the python.

When we left the park, a young girl was at the cash desk and we paid her.

A short drive through town, a short stop at the shopping centre, and we went back to the campground.

A young woman had just started to put up her tent next to us when we came back. Trevor went over with his spade to clear her site of the ever present duck and geese droppings. Deirdre was not only from Bendigo, but her mother lived next door to Trevor’s mum. I mean, is this unbelievable or what? We were already used to Evie and Trevor meeting people from Bendigo wherever we went, but meeting a neighbour? Deirdre and Trevor hadn’t recognized each other right away because they hadn’t seen each other in a while. Deirdre came over for tea, and we spent a nice evening.

The drive was uneventful. We had only one stop for lunch on the banks of the Murray. In Bendigo, Trevor and Evie prepared a farewell Aussie BBQ for us with sausages, steaks, lamb chops, grilled potatoes and pumpkin and cold beer. 

For breakfast, Trevor went to the baker’s to buy sweet pastry for us. He had meant it as a surprise, and didn’t tell anybody, including Evie. So, unknowing, we had already had scrambled eggs and bacon when he came back. Torsten did eat his pastry, but Claudia saved hers as a treat on the plane.

We drove to KEA's, arrived only seconds before they closed, dropped off the car and Trevor and Evie took us to the airport. They stayed with us until boarding time.

Another surprise waited for Claudia: she had bought letter openers in Coober Pedy for friends, and had forgotten to put them in her bag. You’re not allowed to carry any weapons or weapon-like items in your carry-on luggage. The security officer kept the letter openers, and Claudia had to run to buy an envelope and stamps in an airport book shop to send the letter openers to our home address. We received them ten days later.

In 2005, there’ll be no vacation Down Under. Evie and Trevor are coming to Europe!

This was a very special vacation for us, which we enjoyed very much! Many many thanks to Evie and Trevor.