Week 2 (3rd - 9th April)

Skiv roared into life with the first touch of the key, giving forth the beautiful throaty chuckle which I have always loved about diesel engines, and before long we were heading for the South Australia border travelling on the Coastal Explorer’s Highway. To add to my delight Lea discovered a temperature / humidity gauge in Skiv’s cab … so I am in my element. En route we played Sacky’s caravan hits that she had selected for us but at full volume the speakers make a shocking clacking noise! We have learnt to wave at oncoming caravans as we are now one of Australia’s caravan family!


On loop road through Coorong National Park

Temperature at 8.00hrs these mornings are a chilly 5.9°C- so much for leaving England for warmer climes! Ever since reading “Storm Boy” we have been keen to visit the Coorong National Park – a massive elongated coastal lagoon (Ramsar site) lying immediately behind a narrow dune-field comprised of sediments from Australia’s largest river, the Murray. Travelling on corrugated roads brought forth little problems to be rectified once we get to Perth. The more trials we subject the van to in the interim the better.


Campsite below Bowhill Lookout


Murray River at Big Bend

Our guide book Camps Australia Wide is proving a most useful reference and we have slept over in pretty rest areas along the Princes Highway enabling us to reach Adelaide on schedule for our first guests from the UK Joe and Mona Skehel (ex Kariba) en route back from a holiday in New Zealand. We’d planned to explore a bit of South Australia together.This gave us a chance to test out Skiv’s bed in the back of the Cruiser. We have been as snug as a bug on these cold wet nights. We met up on top of Mount Lofty lookout and spent the next two nights in Murray Bridge. Not to be beaten by the weather we spent an afternoon visiting an historic village (Old Tailem Town) set up in 1982 to replicate how pioneers lived in the colony. All this revived many recollections for the four of us - some reminiscent of earlier days in Rhodesia!


Sundowners at our campsite

We had every intention to visit Kangaroo Island. However, the cost of crossing on the ferry was prohibitive and we still had to consider Park and camping fees so those plans went out the window! Similarly, we discovered that boat trips on the Murray River were either on uninteresting stretches of the waterway or required a good few days away. We made do by driving upstream to a point 200 km from the mouth, stopping at the lookouts that provided good views of the river. This enabled us to locate a nice spot between the river and a set of steep cliffs for a private camp of our own. Flocks of colourful galahs to entertain us, kookaburras calling at sunset and, during supper a steady drone alerted us to an enormous paddle steamer (4 decks high, all lit up) passing by.As the week drew to a close we set off for the Fleurieu Peninsula (south of Adelaide) and the town of Goolwa to see the barrages that have been built across the estuary to prevent the ingress of sea water. At Victor Harbour we walked out on the 600m causeway that leads to Granite Island – a small nature reserve renown for the colony of Little Penguins. While camping in Deep Creek Conservation Park we discovered that the fittings on the barbeque did not fit the external gas outlet on the caravan – so Lea had to do the sausages under the grill.So far, she has excelled herself as the camp cook.This, our second bulletin, is prepared in a small caravan park in a sleepy little village called Second Valley. Enabling us to get laundry done, catch up on correspondence and have a day off in the sun.YES! The sun…