For those of a certain age, myself included, the phrase "follow the bouncing ball" had to do with learning music and it wasn't very easy, at least in my case. I feel like the bouncing ball and following us has not been easy for all of you. So, without further ado, here is a recap of our travel itinerary:
Byron Bay to Wooli to Grafton to Glen Innes to Moree to Narrabri to Coonabarabran to Gilgandra to Nyngan to Cobar to Wilcannia to Broken Hill (all in New South Wales) to Peterborough to Hawker to Blinman to Port Augusta to Marla (all South Australia) to Uluru (Ayers Rock) to Kings Canyon to Alice Springs to Glen Helen (back to Alice Springs) to Devil's Marbles (just past Wycliffe Wells) to Katherine to Katherine Gorge to Jabiru (in Kakadu Nation Park) to Darwin to Mataranka to Alice Springs (all in Northern Territory to Coober Pedy to Port Germein to Clare to Adelaide to Cape Jervis to Kingscote (Kangaroo Island) to Middleton (by Goolwa) to our current location, Mount Gambier (all in South Australia).
We are here for three days to see the local sights. We have found that the best thing for us is to find a central location and explore from there. That way, we only have to set up Snappa once every three days and it sure helps at the end of a long touring day to have a nice and snug home to return to. What we have found is that Australian caravan parks (campgrounds in the States) are by and large very clean, well run and very affordable. Most have laundries, all have showers and kitchens (of varying levels), and most are close to where we want to be. Traffic noise can be a nuisance, but that's the case with motels too.
I am a bit obsessive when it comes to weather as I hate camping in the pouring rain so on the days when the forecast is for heavy rain we get to splurge on a hotel/motel for the duration of the storms. So far, in 45 days on the road, we have camped in Snappa for 32 nights and in a motel for 12. Not a bad percentage, if you ask me. When we get to Tasmania, that ratio could flip, but that is fine. We are here to enjoy our time in Australia, not to endure it.
For those who have been following our tale to date, we have spent a wonderful four days on Kangaroo Island, Australia's fourth icon after Sydney Harbour, The Great Barrier Reef, and Uluru. The place is huge, 150 km long by 50 km wide and 90 percent of the roads are dirt. A very unspoiled place and that is one of its charms. The Remarkable Rocks are truly remarkable, the beaches pristine, and the people very friendly.
After KI, we went across the Fleurieu (pronounced 'floory-o' by the locals) Peninsula to the charming seaside town of Goolwa, which was having a Lions convention so there was no room at the proverbial inn or caravan park, so we backtracked to Middleton and stayed in the cleanest caravan park to date! We had a ball in Goolwa and Port Victor and could have stayed longer but we wanted to keep moving and see more.
We drove through Strathalbyn, a crossroads town known for its antique shops, and continued to Wellington and crossed the mighty Murray River on a small ferry, which was great fun. Then we continued south along the Coorong National Park, which is very much like the North Carolina barrier islands and then headed inland at Kingston S.E. (for South East to differentiate it from other Kingstons) to Mt Gambier.
There is a blue crater lake just over the hill from the caravan park along with two other crater lakes in the vicinity. Other than that, there are caves and other attractions in easy driving distance. From Mt. Gambier, we plan to tackling the Grampians in Victoria, probably basing ourselves near Horsham on the northern end of them. Then down to the Great Ocean Road and our favorite little town on the southern coast, Port Fairy. But that's a tale for another day.
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