We left home on Tuesday, 8th March, heading to the Australian Motorhome Tourist Park, located just north of Raymond Terrace. We experienced issues with our HF radio. We needed to get it fixed at Lake Macquarie Communications in Newcastle. Fortunately, it was just a loose connection.
Wednesday, 9th March, saw us start at 09:30, heading through Maitland with a morning tea stop at Jerry's Plains, which also features a lovely free camp. We had lunch at Cassilis before arriving at Mendooran for a free camp on the banks of the Castlereagh River, east of Gilgandra.
Thursday, 10th March, we left Mendooran in light rain. We stopped at Warren for morning tea and to empty our toilet cassette before proceeding through Nyngan and Cobar. Tonight's camp was beside the Emmdale Roadhouse, about 100 kilometres east of Wilcannia.
On Friday, 11th March, we set off at 08:30, after a boisterous night, with our sleep interrupted many times by the constant arrival and departure of trucks. About 15 kilometres east of Wilcannia, the normally dry floodplains were flooded, with large flocks of waterbirds. The biggest surprise was the fast-flowing Darling River at Wilcannia, just below the bridge level. We stopped briefly to refuel the 4WD with expensive fuel, then continued to a rest area 16 kilometres west for morning tea. We had planned to stay at Penrose Park in Silverton, about 25 kilometres from Broken Hill. This park was established in 1937 as a recreational reserve for miners and their families working in the Broken Hill area.
Saturday, 12th March, started at 08:30. We went into Broken Hill to shop before heading to the caravan park at Peterborough to do laundry and fill the van's water tanks.
On Sunday, 13th March, we left at 09:00 and passed through Orroroo, then stopped at Wilmington for morning tea and to empty the cassette. After that, we enjoyed the lovely drive through Horrocks Pass and onwards to Port Augusta to refuel. We had planned to stay at Mt Ive station, but due to recent rains, the road was now closed. We continued further west to stay at Pildappa Rock, located 15 kilometres north of Minnipa. The rock is the largest wave formation on the Eyre Peninsula, offering stunning views from the top of the surrounding countryside.
On Sunday, 13th March, we left at 09:00 and passed through Orroroo, then stopped at Wilmington for morning tea and to empty the cassette. After that, we enjoyed the lovely drive through Horrocks Pass and onwards to Port Augusta to refuel. We had planned to stay at Mt Ive station, but due to recent rains, the road was now closed. We continued further west to stay at Pildappa Rock, located 15 kilometres north of Minnipa. The rock is the largest wave formation on the Eyre Peninsula, offering stunning views from the top of the surrounding countryside.
On Monday, 14th March, with overcast skies, we set off for the drive to Streaky Bay. We had intended to stay at the caravan park, but it was fully booked for the following week, so we drove to Haslam and stayed at the free camp behind the jetty.
Tuesday 15th March turned out to be a beautiful day. We drove to Streaky Bay, where we shopped and filled water tanks, had a coffee, then went to view Murphy's Haystacks before camping at Coodlie Park. We left the van here and drove to see the Talia Caves, passing a Bushtracker on the road in. Unfortunately, they had their UHF turned off.
Wednesday 16th March to Sunday 20th March was spent camping at Surfleet Cove in Lincoln National Park, about 30-odd kilometres south of Port Lincoln.
Even the locals were exceptionally friendly.
Unfortunately, the weather was cool and overcast for most days, but we had a beautiful day when we drove along the "Whalers Way." This is private property, with a fee to obtain the key for access. The scenery was simply spectacular.
Monday 21st March, again windy and cool, as we drove along the Eyre Peninsula into Louth Bay for a look. We then stopped at Tumby Bay and enjoyed morning tea by the water. Afterwards, we drove to Lipson Cove and took the 8-kilometre dirt road from the highway. Another Bushtracker was already camped here, and we introduced ourselves on our way to the campsite. A lovely couple with the handle of "Maitland Bushies."
What a difference a day’s weather makes.
We spent two nights camping at Lipson Cove before heading north and camping at Lowly Point, about 20 kilometres north-east of Whyalla. The next morning, we headed to Whyalla and, with the help of the Nuvi 1490T, found a laundromat within a shopping centre, so we killed two birds with one stone. We had checked online, and the road to Mount Ive was now open to 4wd and heavy vehicles, so we drove north to Iron Knob before stopping to reduce tyre pressures.
Thursday 24th to Saturday 26th March at Mt Ive Station
The road into Mt Ive station was quite muddy in places, requiring 4wd to navigate some of the longer patches, and we were surprised to see the submarine just outside the station entrance.
Land speed records are held each year on Lake Gairdner, which forms the northern boundary of the station. We had hoped to be there for these and also to meet up with some friends who were there for the same reason, but unfortunately they had already moved on because the races had been cancelled. The rains received earlier in the month were now covering part of the lake. The lake measures 160 kilometres long and 48 kilometres wide, with salt 1.2 metres thick in places, and is the fourth largest salt lake in Australia.
We were again surprised to find that we were the only ones camping at the station. We bought a mud map of the property showing the tracks and points of interest, and while we were there, we managed to see most of these.
The highlight of being at Mt Ive is having access to Lake Gairdner. You cannot appreciate just how stunning it looks up close. Here are a selection of intimate shots:
On Sunday, 27th March, we left Mt. Ive and stopped for morning tea at Iron Knob, where I re-inflated the tyres before heading off to have lunch by the water at Port Germein. We then took the very scenic drive through Germien Pass on our way to Melrose. We spent two lovely nights camped here at the showgrounds.
On Tuesday, 29th March, we left on our way to Maitland on the Yorke Peninsula. We based ourselves at the showgrounds and took trips to see the surrounding towns.
Our next few nights were spent camped at Stenhouse Bay in Innes National Park. Again, the weather left a lot to be desired. We checked out Corny Point and many of the other sites around the coast for future reference, cause we shall return and spend much more time here.
Little Emu beach:
We were now on our way to Tanunda, stopping at Ardrossan for morning tea, which included cakes from the local bakery. We have stayed at the caravan park in Tanunda on numerous occasions. It's one of those parks with grassed sites instead of the unsightly ones with cement pads. We were interested in visiting the Barossa wineries again and buying some wine. Some of the wineries we visited included Peter Lehmann, Saltram, Chateau Tanunda, Chateau Yaldara, and, of course, Grant Burge. We purchased some lovely 2001 Holy Trinity wine here, and they arranged free delivery to our home.
Mamre Brook House, the original home of William Salter, the founder of Saltram Wines.
We spent six days camping at Tanunda. Our next overnight stop was Camp 1149, "Bunnerungee Bridge," as listed in the Camps 6 book. This site is situated 198 kilometres south of Broken Hill. It’s a rather nice area about 500 metres from the road. Not sure if there is always water here or if it's from recent rains in the area.
Off to Broken Hill the next morning to shop and refuel before heading north to camp at the Packsaddle rest area just north of the roadhouse.
The next morning saw us continuing north to Milparinka. It's been 17 years since our last visit, and unfortunately, the place looked better then. The pub has now closed, and the whole area appears quite sad. We paid a gold coin donation to view the police station and courthouse before leaving. Volunteers from Broken Hill come to man these buildings, some staying for several weeks to help maintain the facilities. We thought about camping at Evelyn Creek but decided against it and continued towards Tibooburra. The only change at Tibooburra since our last visit in 1994 is a new roadhouse with a store.
Our plan was to take the Wanaaring road to Bourke the next day, so we camped overnight in Sturt National Park. The "Dead Horse Gully" campground is several kilometres north of Tibooburra, yet again another campground we had to ourselves.
During the night, the wind picked up and became strong enough to sway the van. It also started to rain, and it continued for most of the night. We drove to the roadhouse and refuelled the next morning, asking about road conditions. Staff suggested we would face no problems, so we headed to Wanaaring. After about 7 kilometres, the road became very slippery, with both 4wd and van sliding sideways. All our tyres had become slicks, and we were unable to clear the mud from them. We found an area on higher ground where I carefully turned the vehicle around and headed back to Tibooburra. Note the mud stuck above the wheels.
A quite strong breeze had now arisen, so we decided to stop for several hours. Instead of heading to Bourke, we chose to retrace our steps and return to Broken Hill. The breeze, combined with the sunshine, helped to dry out the road sufficiently for us to continue. We checked into a van park for the night.
We spent two nights in Broken Hill, and after hearing the forecasts for the week ahead, we decided to head east and return home. We stopped in Cobar and Warrumbungle National Park before spending our last night at Aspley Falls just east of Walcha.
