Yowie Bay to Perlubie Beach - 28 April to 5 May
Heading off
Alexis flew to Broome the day before we departed. That morning we packed Stormy up and got him on his flight. It was all a bit stressful, even though Stormy is certainly a Frequent Flyer. It doesn't mean he likes being put in his crate though, and it's certainly not First Class.
Packing the car and caravan in the rain was certainly different. Thankfully the rain eased and we were able to get things in without being drenched.
The build-up to this trip was certainly long. It felt like we've been ready to hit the road for ages. We had an excellent lead-up to leaving, being away with our friends at Shoalhaven Heads and then Easter with our kids in the Hunter Valley. It was a lovely family time together, especially for Alexis to spend time with Casper and Dash.
Gunning Showgrounds
Our first night was the free camp at Gunning Showgrounds. Always a favorite spot for us, either the first or last night as it's an easy 238kms from home.
Gunning Showgrounds. A nice foggy morning
Darlington Point
Our 2nd night was at The Punt Hotel, Darlington Point. Certainly one of the best pub camping areas with your own personalised camping bay!
Some silo art in Hay
We stopped in Balranald for lunch and found a really nice place for lunch alongside the Murrumbidgee River. Beautiful river red gums and green grass which we had all to ourselves.
Mildura Victoria (Buronga)
We headed to Mildura, Victoria. Buronga Riverside Caravan Park is actually in NSW, with the Murray River bordering NSW and Victoria. Here you look at Victoria across the Murray River. We reflected to when we were last here during Covid, where in NSW you didn't have to wear a mask and in Victoria you did. Across the river we could see all the Victorians walking alongside the riverside with masks on while we were mask free in NSW! Back then we went for a bike ride which meant crossing the bridge into Victoria and to have a coffee. Unfortunately we forgot to take face masks with us and we weren't allowed off our bikes so had to cycle back into NSW for our coffee.
We always try for a riverfront site, which we were again lucky to get.
Watching the Paddle Steamers paddling past
House boats moored opposite us
Enjoying a nice sunset by the Murray River
Mildura across the river at night
Coffee in Victoria, looking across the river at our campsite
We have our mountain bikes with us, not eBikes as they just don't fit in our setup. So Jayne and I rode our bikes interstate to go and have morning coffee. We were pleasantly surprised that we could still ride these unpowered bikes! Certainly you get spoilt on the eBikes.
We managed fine with just pedal power.
It was surprising to us as veteran travelers to get pulled up at the border between Victoria and South Australia for having fruit with us. Being as diligent as we are, while we were in Mildura we made sure that we only had fruit and vegetables with us that we were allowed to bring into SA. This isn't anything new or unusual for us, but it falls into the "we should have known better" category. Here is a warning sign entering South Australia.
Looks clear enough
Jayne summarised it:
We just stopped at the quarantine station going into
SA where they check the car and inside the caravan for illegal fruit and
vegetables.
We finished eating the grapes pulling into the quarantine bay, had tomato on toast for brekkie and froze the capsicum and zucchini. But I completely looked past the lemon and lime in the fridge, which the Inspector saw as soon as she opened the door.
I had to go into the office and make a statement about why I had these 2 forbidden fruits onboard. The interview was recorded and photos taken of my licence, 1 lemon and 1 lime together on the table. I was shown many pictures of roadside signs forbidding fruit/veggies coming into the state and asked if I understood. I was most upset that the lime was from our tree at home - and there were only 2 this year. So no lemon for a fish dinner, or lime to go with the margaritas.
My information is being passed on to Head Office where they’ll determine if my case will go any further, and hopefully I won't get a fine.
Thankfully she was a very nice inspector and realised the error of our ways. We were laughing together at the end of the interview, so I'm sure she'll put in a good word for us in her report.
Justin called us a pair of heinous criminals and Alexis reminded us how silly we were. Boy that was telling us :)
Port Augusta SA
From Mildura we spent a long day (540 kms) driving to Port Augusta and stayed at the excellent RV Park connected with the local Sports Club ($10).
We wandered into the club for dinner, and other than 5 bar staff and 4 kitchen staff and a DJ setting up, we were the only ones there rattling around in this huge area. We wondered how they could justify so many staff, but 30 minutes later the place was crawling with babies, kids, teenagers and parents there to enjoy a schnitty (schnitzel) (choice of beef or chicken) after a full day of sport. Suddenly it was a very busy place with everyone having a great time, and the DJ ready to start up at 8:00 pm. Everyone was super friendly and the teenages were very well behaved. A great overnight stay with a surprisingly delicious dinner.
Port Augusta Motorhome Park
On our drive into Kimba we came across a dust storm - it was like driving into the abyss
So we weren't at all surprised by this sign at the local hardware store.
The caption at the bottom states "Discount for those that dust while browsing"
Perlubie Beach SA
We'd normally stay at Streaky Bay before hitting the Nullarbor, but always wondered if we should visit Perlubie Beach, which is 21 kms north of Streaky Bay. Alan has always wanted to stay there, with Jayne preferring the Streaky Bay option. She'd always worried it would be a second cousin to the beautiful and stunning Ningaloo Station, but we booked in for 3 nights to give it a go.
It's beach camping, and the sand is really hard, so no need to even let the tyre pressures down, or at least those were our thoughts. However trying to do a U-turn in a tight space on sand towing a fully loaded 4+ tonne caravan is kind of tricky.
We nearly got stuck, but were again amazed at the off-road capabilities of the Landcruiser. Even with us digging ourselves into quite a deep hole, the Landcruiser came good and were got out. No need to even lower the tyre pressures. We also didn't have our MaxTrax with us as our thoughts were "we won't be going anywhere where we need them!". Famous last words.
The following morning we watched the new arrivals coming in, and almost everyone got bogged trying to do a U-turn to get into their camping spot. The entertainment didn't stop until everyone had arrived, dug themselves out of their holes, and settled into their spot. On our morning walk we helped a couple who got bogged getting out of their site. He had MaxTrax but the car had buried them so far into the sand we couldn't find them until he got his shovel out and dug around until he retrieved it.
The next morning, Alan raked the beach, hiding the evidence of us being nearly stuck!
It was worth the effort!
It was blowing a gale the whole day driving here, so the drive was pretty tough with this side wind. The Landcruiser certainly likes a drink in those conditions.
The wind on the beach was strong when we arrived. The flies were swarming when we got there, and according to our nearest neighbour they had only just arrived. Thankfully the wind did a reasonable job of keeping them down to an acceptable level! Each camping site was 25 metres wide, so plenty of room to spread out.
This morning we were had a mild wind, but this soon died to nothing. What a stunner of a place this is.
Just magical
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