RVCCC Caravan Sarafi (12 – 28 August 2022)
It’s hard to condense over 2 weeks activities into an article that includes all the highlights but does not appear too lengthy to those who were not there, and so to all those who think the article is overly long, I apologise, and to those who think it leaves out too much and is too short, I apologise.
Day 1
The 2022 version of the RVCCC Caravan Safari started with the intrepid travellers meeting in a Morgan car park on a slightly cool and threatening Friday morning, the 12th of August.
Participants were Tim & Judy, Bill & Janet, Joe & Cynthia, Chris & Louisa, Derrick & Julie, Dennis & Betty, Jeff & Chris, Graham & Daphne, Leon (The Lone Ranger), Kay & Brendon and last but certainly not least Tour Guides Desiree & Warren. Unfortunately, Roger & Barb were last minute non-starters due to an unfortunate accident that Barb had that damaged her hip rather badly. We all wish her the very best.
Once all the starters were gathered and introductions were made, radio checks completed etc., the sealed orders were distributed by Warren & Desiree that outlined the following two weeks. Seriously though the detail that went into the road books was terrific and a lot of effort went into this by Desiree & Warren, including driving the route we were to take and checking all the caravan parks, scenery and highlights 12 months in advance.
Day 1 was straightforward. Morgan to Quorn via lunch at Peterborough. Unfortunately, though Jeff & Chris had a problem with a slow leak on one of the caravan tyre valves that had to be attended to in Morgan. Luckily it didn’t take long to fix, and they were soon on their way.
We set off without Bill & Janet and Leon who were to meet us in Quorn. Just out of Morgan we came across an Avan caravan on the side of the road with a very sad looking A frame that was either broken or seriously bent. Not an omen for us we hoped.
The weather deteriorated on the leg to Burra, wind, and rain but we all made it to Peterborough for lunch. Then on to Quorn by mid-afternoon.
Booking into the park took a little while with caravans out of the drive and down the street, but Desiree soon had everything under control. The corner of the park given to us was tight, however we all eventually got organised but not before we were spectators to a piece of precision caravan reversing by Joe and a frustrated Leon having to shift after being told “you can’t park there” by someone official.
A happy hour was soon convened and after a few relaxing drinks I think most of us had dinner and an early night. Being a Friday night there was football on TV though and since Graham was parked under a tree and couldn’t raise his antenna, he was unable to watch. I was very helpful by describing in the morning what a great game he missed.
Day 2
Activity for Day 2 was a sightseeing trip to the Flinders with morning tea taken in a dry creek bed (photo on the front cover) at a property (Gumglen) owned by Dean, who is a friend of Bill’s. A picturesque setting with a very genial host.
We then hit the road and visited several historic and scenic sites, finishing up at Warren Gorge which apart from some great scenery provides a nice off grid camping area.
One thing we found interesting was the optimism that the early settlers to this area had, only to have their dreams shattered by the harsh environment and cruel weather. One good season and then nothing for years, must have been heart breaking.
We returned to camp and after another happy hour we made our way to one of the local hotels for an excellent meal, somehow, they managed to fit in our party of 21 at short notice.
Day 3
Sunday morning and it was time for the Pitchi Ritchi train ride.
We all gathered at the station in plenty of time and Desiree distributed tickets to us all and because of the numbers we had a carriage to ourselves. Our conductor for the trip was former Club President and RVCCC Life Member Richard; he certainly knew his stuff, very knowledgeable and a great asset for the railway.
We stopped at Woolshed Flat for morning tea and then headed back to Quorn, a great trip with some fabulous scenery. The afternoon was then split between a visit to a local gin distillery or a guided tour of the railway workshops. The amount of rolling stock and locos in the workshop was amazing and it’s a real credit to the volunteers who maintain and keep this railway going. If you’re ever in the area, please support it.
Our Quorn stay finished with the first of out “camp kitchen cook-ups” with Kay and Brenton manning the BBQ, and salads and sweets provided by the participants.
Day 4
Monday morning and we were on the road again heading to Whyalla via a couple of stops at Port Augusta, one of which was for lunch at the Arid Lands Botanic Gardens.
During this stop Warren had to attend to an issue with his van where the AC plug and extension cord socket had melted together at some stage for some unknown reason. Warren had sourced replacement parts in town and was attempting to get it repaired during the lunch stop. To make sure this happened approximately 8 volunteers surrounded Warren’s workspace offering valuable advice and assistance which no doubt helped a speedy resolution of the issue. Leon was even kind enough to fire up his generator to test out the new components. So professional was the look of the whole operation that a complete stranger approached the crowd and asked for help sorting out an electrical problem in his camper, which was politely declined.
After lunch we continued to Whyalla through some pretty miserable weather and booked into Foreshore Caravan Park for 3 nights.
This was an opportunity for the kites to come out as we were virtually camped on the beach; Brenton was initially the star performer with his specially imported kite from Thailand at the exorbitant price of $5.00.
We were later hit by a quite furious storm that kept everyone in their vans for the night.
Day 5, 6 & 7
There were a number of places to visit in Whyalla and the first day there saw people doing a bit of site seeing and catching up with family and friends that lived in the area. Wednesday gave us the choice of participating in a morning tea put on by the Whyalla Car Club or joining a guided tour of the local steel works.
Most opted for the morning tea and we enjoyed the hospitality of the car club as well as admiring a range of their members’ vehicles. Warren’s eyes lit up when he saw an immaculate V8, XY station wagon, possibly one model he has yet to acquire? The homemade sausage rolls were worth the trip alone!!
After everyone got together again, we made the trip to Port Lowly where the only known breeding ground of the Giant Australian Cuttlefish is situated.
The weather was cold and windy by this stage, and we headed back to camp via a picturesque coastal 4wd track, although Dennis had no trouble in his 2wd Territory.
Day 8
Thursday at 9.00am we were all hitched up and ready to head off to Port Lincoln.
The trip to Port Lincoln included several stops along the way at Cowell, Arno Bay and Tumby Bay for morning tea, lunch and to admire the amazing silo art along the way.
The first we saw was at Cowell where the subject was local identity Lionel Deer and his camel Diamantina. Lionel was a champion shearer, footballer, and cameleer in his time and as we were admiring the artwork an 88yo Lionel rolled up in his gopher for a chat and a photo opportunity. Always the ladies’ man he would only agree to a photo if the ladies were in the picture with him, he was quite a character. The art was painted by Austin Moncrieff in 2019 from a photo of Lionel when he was in his 50’s.
The other town with some stunning silo art was Tumby Bay where the picture depicts two boys jumping into the ocean from the local jetty. This was painted in 2018 by an Argentine artist Martin Ron.
The trip to Port Lincoln was marred to some extent by some ordinary weather, however, to liven things up Chris, Bill and Warren had lengthy chats over the radios regarding what we could call crop talk, now that’s crop spelt with an “O”. It covered such topics as crop size and quality, fertilizers, harvesting, price of grain and canola etc.
To us none educated in such things it was quite an education. But seriously the crops on the Eyre Peninsula were looking very good and the canola was vibrant in colour. Warren was happy as he were getting updates on the rain he was receiving back in the Riverland and optimism was high for a good season after several poor years.
Mid-afternoon saw us all lined up at the Port Lincoln Tourist Park where to Chris C’s disgust entry was via a keypad and boom gate, for some reason Chris has an aversion to this method of entry, but all went well, and we settled in for a 3-night stay.
Day 9, 10 & 11
We had quite a busy time in port Lincoln and surrounds and the list of activities might not be in the exact order they took place, memories fade with time.
A trip to Pope’s Honey proved to be a very interesting experience. Situated just out of Port Lincoln in a bush setting it is run by the husband-and-wife team Norm & Val Pope. They are extremely knowledgeable and the number of awards they have won is proof of the quality of their product. They explained the whole honey producing process from start to finish, including the different types of bees and the roles they play, how the honey is extracted from the hives and eventually ends up in containers ready to be sold.
One mind boggling point of interest that I’m sure none of us were aware of is the fact that bees can be artificially inseminated, the size of the instruments to conduct such a procedure was the topic of some discussion. After the honey presentation we had a BBQ lunch, ably cooked once again by team Sando, and then conducted a little honey tasting and buying. The creamed honey was particularly nice. We all left with a far greater knowledge of bee’s, honey and the trials and tribulations of conducting such a business.
Luckily for us Jeff has some relatives that live in Port Lincoln, and it was through one of these contacts that we were able to view a backyard shed full of model cars. This wasn’t just any backyard shed full of models, this was very, very impressive. I believe there was upward of 3,000 exhibits covering an incredible range of makes and models, Australian, American, and European, including motor bikes. It kept us busy for a considerable length of time and thanks must go to Jeff and his cousin for organising the visit and letting us peruse this vast collection. These caravan trips certainly unearth some remarkable private collections, and this was definitely a highlight.
Saturday the 20th of August saw most of us head out to Whalers’ Way, privately owned land along the coast approximately 32kms from Port Lincoln. We doubled up in the vehicles as entry was $40 a car. On the way there we stopped off at the fishing boat harbour and were lucky enough to see a recently returned trawler sort and unload the catch after two weeks at sea.
Now a lady supervising the unloading claimed the fish were flathead, however some of our more learned members in the art of fish identification weren’t so sure, whatever the case it was certainly an impressive catch. The drive along Whalers’ Watch produced some impressive scenery and we made several stops to admire the views and consume morning tea and lunch.
Unfortunately, the whales went missing but we did see some intrepid surfers, sea lions, blow holes, caves, sink holes and beaches. The infrastructure was in very poor shape with a lot of rusty “safety fences” and a very dodgy repair that caused a concrete table and benches to topple over, luckily narrowly missing my wife Judy who was one of the occupants at the time, it could have caused serious injury had it come down on top of her, but we all survived and made it back to Port Lincoln unscathed.
Our last night saw us all head to the Boston Hotel for a very nice meal and a few drinks. Several of us ordered the seafood platter which seemed to take an inordinate length of time to prepare, in fact we thought they has forgotten about us but after talking to someone with influence, Bill soon had things sped up and when they did arrive it was certainly worth the wait, it was one heck of a feed!! Nice hotel, nice meal and if you order a gin and tonic, you had a choice of 27 gins, so be prepared.
Day 12
The next stop on the itinerary was Elliston via Cummins. We made good time and arrived in Elliston with plenty of time left to traverse the coastal cliff drive and check out the many and varied sculptures along that drive. We then proceeded to the local golf club for their schnitzel night which was surprisingly good.
Day 13 & 14
The next morning saw us all hitched up and we headed off to Streaky Bay, but not before stopping at the local Op Shop where some of us picked up some bits and pieces and were very impressed by the murals surrounding the buildings, including the public toilets! Unfortunately, the weather had taken a bit of a turn and presented us with some cold, wet and windy conditions for the drive up the coast. We all managed to arrive safely at Streaky Bay, and we all found our sites at the very nice caravan park and settled in for a couple of nights stay.
Highlights of the Streaky Bay stay included a drive to Point Labatt and the Cape Bauer Coastal Drive. Again, these drives highlight the magnificent and sometimes rugged coastline along the east side of the Eyre Peninsula. A large colony of seas lions and blowholes were impressive.
However, the main highlight for many of us was Murphy’s Haystacks. The huge rocks protruding from the landscape provided a spectacular site, well worth a visit.
We were able to take over a very nice, warm room at the caravan park for our happy hours as well as a BBQ dinner where we were able to pay tribute to Desiree and Warren for the stirling job they did in organising the whole trip.
Day 15 & 16
Next leg was Streaky Bay to Kimba. Leon left a little earlier to fill up in town and then head to Kimba, the rest of the convoy thought Leon had filled up and was ahead of us and so were trying to catch up to him, meanwhile Leon thought he was behind us and was pedal to the metal trying to catch up.
Eventually radio contact was made and we sorted out where we all were.
The only problem on this drive was a flat tyre on our President’s tow vehicle. Graham and Tim were in close proximity and between them had the tyre changed in relatively quick time (for a trio of old age pensioners!!).
We decided to camp at the Kimba free camp site, no power but coin operated showers. This turned out to be a very nice apart from the fact that those who did not have diesel heaters in their vans had a couple of chilly nights.
We had a very interesting drive around the local area taking in some silos, old railway line a lookout and some lovely canola crops, doesn’t sound great but it was an interesting couple of hours. Back at the site the kites came out again as we seemed to have a never ending supply of wind.
Unfortunately, Joe & Cynthia were having an issue with the lock on their caravan door which at times locked Cynthia in the van or made getting back in the van difficult. Dennis offered the use of his rather large Makita reciprocating saw to make suitable adjustments; however, this suggestion was respectfully declined, and more delicate tools were sourced.
A few of the group decided to go car spotting, i.e., cars in backyards that needed a little work, and it was Warren that found a couple of Falcon models that he didn’t already own and negotiated a deal. They are probably back at the Warren’s auto museum by now! Another point of interest in Kimba was the silo art, especially when lit up at night.
Day 17 & 18
Last leg was Kimba to Wilmington via Iron Knob and Port Augusta.
The Wilmington caravan park was a typical country park, very scenic and giving us the ability to set up in a close group.
The highlight was definitely Alligator Gorge which a probably half the group ventured into, led by Warren and Desiree. It was a lovely day for it, just warm enough with plenty of sun for photography and enough water in the gorge to make it interesting. We took the 2km walk which was challenging at times but presented no real issues for us. This is a definite if you’re in the area.
The road in is a beauty, undulating, winding and with a million spoon drains, when we eventually reached the car park there was a definite smell of hot brakes, coming mainly from Tim’s DMax.
I suspect this may have been due to trying to keep up with Warren’s mighty V8 Cruiser. All good fun.
Others in the group visited the puppet museum and thoroughly enjoyed it and even purchased some of the puppets that were for sale.
We had two great meals during our stay, the first was a pizza night. Wilmington has a great pizza shop, with funds coming from money that was left over in the kitty, some of which was donated by Roger & Barb who were unable to participate but in a very generous move donated their funds to the group.
The last meal was a camp oven prepared in the fire pits at the caravan park. We had lamb, beef, chicken, silverside, and vegetables expertly cooked in camp ovens heated in the fire pits by several talented members of the group, although it was Derrick who seemed to be the main organiser, a great effort by everyone involved. Desserts were great too.
This was certainly a fitting way to end a great trip, everyone gathered around the camp fire enjoying a lovely meal a few drinks and each other’s company.
Day 19
Next morning, we all slowly packed up and made our way home after enjoying another terrific RVCCC Caravan Safari, with special thanks to the whole crew that made it so enjoyable. Roll on the next one.
Photos
