The Northern Territory

 

The Barkley table lands

Needs no explanation !!

My first Barra



The campsite at K.A.B

Sunset at K.A.B



Dennis with his Queenfish

Chris relaxing with Muffie





What a place to be when you need to get away from the winter in South Australia. The NorthernTerritory dry season has daytime temperatures anywhere between 22-30 degrees, cooling down to a very comfortable 14–18 degrees in the evening.We headed there early in June
and after six days driving and nearly 3000km later arrived at King  Ash bay fishing club camp ground in the Gulf of Carpentaria on the banks of the Mc Arthur river system.
The club has many facilities you would get at a caravan park, and is very popular most of the year round.

One of the locals

King Ash bay is 1000 km from Darwin (the nearest city) and 700 km from Katherine (the nearest town), so when travelling to this area you have to make sure you have as many essential supplies as possible eg: beer and wine and spirits!!!!!!
During the ten weeks we were there I was able to get out on the river system with a friend in his tinny. The fishing was the best I have ever encountered anywhere and as well as shark, Golden Trevalla, Queen Fish, Barracuda and Salmon I also added an 85 cm and 83 cm Barramundi to the list. The Barramundi is the most sought after fish in the northern part of Australia due to its fighting and eating qualities. However due to the very large salt water crocodiles that inhabit the river you have to be very careful whenever you are on or near the river.

Bitter springs

Daly waters pub

How clear is that

Leaving King Ash bay we travelled
towards Darwin, stopping off at Cape Crawford, Daly waters (a great out back pub), Mataranka (swimming in the warm thermal pools of Bitter springs) Katherine,(cruising the Katherine gorge) and Adelaide River (once the frontline for Australian forces during
world war two).
A seven day stay in Darwin enabled us to stock up for the trip south and for me to attach two 60 watt solar panels to the roof of the caravan which would then power the satellite TV which we brought in Katherine. Oh, the joys of having TV reception in the middle of nowhere!!!!!
While there we also visited Litchfield national park just south of Darwin, to see some of the largest termite mounds in Australia.

Aboriginal rock art

Termite mound,5 meter high and over fifty years old

Instead of heading straight back to Adelaide we spent four days in the Kakadu national park area. This World heritage area has some of the oldest rock art paintings in the world.
After a four day stop over at the Daly River and then the Douglas Daly area it was time to get back on the Stuart highway for the trip south This time it was completed in 3 ½ days.
Staying at Port Julia on the York peninsular (only $30.00 per week) for three weeks we will then be house sitting for two weeks before going back to the Barossa valley in preparation for next years vintage at Seppeltsfield winery. Then it’s back to King Ash bay to stock up the freezer with fish. Except this time we will be going up with a new 4x4 and a tinny on the roof J

86 wheeled road train

Campsite at Finke river

 

New Zealand May 2012

Chris,Ali and myself

Chris and i with Mum

The time spent in New Zealand went very quickly. For the first week we were in Auckland staying with my sister and her family. Although we have been there many times before it is always a lovely part of New Zealand to visit and Auckland is one of the easiest cities to get

around in.

Church of the good shepard

While there we also caught up with my Mum. Over the last twenty six years she had been living in Tauranga but with her health not being what it used to be she is now in a nursing home just up the road from my sister’s house.

From the north island it was a short flight to Christchurch located on the east coast of the south island. After picking up the hire car we headed to Ashburton for the first night. The following day we made our way to Twizel (Mt Cook region) via the small town of Lake Tekapo which has the most beautiful church we have ever seen. Called ‘the church of the good shepherd’ it was built on the shore of the lake with the main window having stunning views overlooking it.

The view from the window

After checking in at Twizel we got to Mt Cook forty five minutes later in perfect weather to view the scenery, lucky for us, because the following day was overcast and drizzly.

The drive to Queenstown was partly obscured by a heavy fog that slowed us down considerably, until we got to Lindis pass when it slowly began to burn off (at -1 describing it as ‘burning off’ might be slightly incorrect !!!! )

Mt Cook/Aorki

Arriving at Cromwell which is on the 45 th parallel we caught up with Nick, a friend we made when working at Seppeltsfield winery in South Australia.

The next three days were spent in Queenstown which also included a trip to Arrowtown which has a gold mining history and a drive to Glenorchy, located at the top of the lake Queenstown is situated on.

A snow fall during the first night gave us a chance to drive up Coronet peak the following morning and see what the area would look like in the middle of winter.

The gondola ride to the top of the hill overlooking Queenstown should not be missed and would not be complete without lunch and a glass of red.

Leaving Queenstown at around ten in the morning the drive to Te Anau follows the lake for around eighty km. After an area which consists mainly of farm land you once again see the Southern Alps.



Mirror ponds near Milford sound

Mitre Peak,Milford sound

Te Anau is the closest town to Milford sound which is where we did the four hour cruise that takes you out to the Tasman Sea and gives magnificent views of Mitre peak and cliffs that tower 700 metres above you. On the way back we left the cruise to spent an hour or so in an underwater observatory that gives you the chance to observe rare black coral in its natural state. Here there are two different types of living organisms, fresh and salt water, due to large amounts of fresh water (11 degrees) cascading off the towering peaks, accumulating on top of the salt water (15 degrees). This area also has seven to eight metres of rain per year.

The drive there takes you through the Homer tunnel (1.2 km long) which is the only access to the sound.

On leaving Te Anua we decided to take the scenic route to Dunedin which incorporates Invercargill and Slope point which is the southern most point of the South island.

Arriving at Dunedin around 4.00 pm it was time to hunt down a good pub for a beer and a meal which ended up a convenient ten minute walk from our motel.

The following day we drove into town to see the beautiful Dunedin railway station. Not being one to generally admire railway stations I was really impressed in what I saw.

Later that morning a drive along the Otago peninsular was well worth it and especially the pub at Portabello where we both indulged in a few Speight’s beers and a chicken wrap each.

Moeraki boulders

Then it was off to conquer the steepest in the world located back in Dunedin. Now that was a climb to remember. Before the day was through we drove north to see the Moeraki boulders. Virtually perfectly rounded and of varying sizes they are a must see when in the area.



Chris standing straight



Next destination was Wanaka which again saw us heading west towards the alps. One of the most beautiful areas of the south island, surrounded by snow capped peaks with Lake Wanaka laid out before you. This was also where Puzzle world is located. Optical illusions at their best.

With only one night at Wanaka we drove on to Fox glacier on the West coast which also takes you through Haast pass and the Knights point lookout which has great views of the Tasman sea.

The two days at Fox glacier were mostly overcast and drizzly except for the time we spent walking on the glacier on an organised tour. Another must do when in the area.

Entering the Moulon (Fox Glacier)

The Fox glacier is thirteen km long from the top (Neve) to the bottom (terminal face). The hike required the fitting of crampons to our boot to get a grip on the ice. We were also able to crawl through a Moulon, which is an area on the ice where water has penetrated it and formed a tunnel.

Once again the evening meal was at the Cook saddle café for a Speight’s and a meal near a raging fire, very cosy !!!

With petrol costing NZ $ 2.50 a litre in Frans Josef which is a short drive from Fox, we decide on a very small top up before heading to Christchurch the next day via Hottitika and Arthurs pass.



Fox Glacier

An overnight stop over in Christchurch was the end of two weeks on the south island. Unfortunately we were unable to see the northern areas but will have to do that another time when visiting the ‘Land of the long white cloud’

2012 vintage at Seppeltsfield.

The crossing of Bass Strait from Tasmania on 3^rd December was smooth. We had a cabin as it was an evening crossing and were woken up at 5.45 am to prepare for our arrival into Melbourne. After a week staying at a friend’s house we left Melbourne for Adelaide, taking the alternative route via Mildura. Over the Christmas period we caught up with our boys and Declan our grandson. On 2^nd January we moved to Tanunda caravan park where we started looking for vintage work that was just about to start in the Barossa valley, one of Australia’s premier wine regions.

We secured work at Selleltsfield winery. It was established in 1851 by the Seppelts family and has won many awards over the years for its different wines and fortified wines both locally and abroad

The road to Seppelstfield

Chris was employed in the modern section on the crusher unit and weigh bridge and I ended up at the gravity fed section that was revamped after being neglected for many years. This was its third vintage since becoming operational again. It consists of 120  8 tonne open fermenters that were dug into the hillside and originally relied on gravity to get the fermented wine from the tanks to holding barrels for storage. Pumps are now used to accomplish that task.

The grape hopper

The gravity building

The work for both of us was very physical, working seven days a week from seven in the morning to seven in the evening during the vintage period which went for around six weeks.  After vintage I was asked to stay on to assist in the post vintage clean up. So after ten weeks and only five days off it is now all over.

From an empty fermenter

Filling the 8 tonne fermenter from the crusher

To a full one

One row of open fermenters

Standing on the Cap

The modern section

Storage barrels

We leave for New Zealand shortly to catch up with my sister and her family and my Mum for a week, then we head to the South Island for two weeks where we will be hiring a car and touring around. When arriving back in Adelaide we will go north to the Northern Territory where we are catching up with friends at a camp site on the Gulf of Carpentaria near the small outback town of Boroloola. The aim is to be there for at least five to six weeks just relaxing and fishing. From there we plan to go to Darwin for a few more months before heading back to Adelaide for the Christmas period and start next years vintage all over again at Seppeltsfield.

The end of eleven months in Tasmania.

Lake Burbury

The drive from New Norfolk reminds you that you are in Tasmania and not on the mainland, driving over the central highlands towing a large caravan means negotiating steep mountain roads that slow you down to around 20 km.

 Polluted Queen River (Queenstown)

After a night at Brady’s Lake and three at Lake Burbury and a quick stop over at Queenstown (nothing much to see there apart from the polluted river and barren landscape caused by the mining in the area) we arrived at Macquarie heads campsite 11 km out from Strahan. At $8.00 per night and set amongst tall tree ferns why would you want to stay at a caravan park!!!! While there Chris and I went on the Gordon river cruise which apart from cruising up the majestic Gordon river also takes you into Macquarie harbour and through Hells Gate (the name given by the convicts being sent to the Sarah Island penal settlement in the harbour).
After eight days in the Strahan area we travelled north to Wynyard via Hellyer Gorge.
Wynyard is a beautiful town which is over looked by Table Cape and Fossil Bluff.

Campsite at Macquarie Heads (Strahn)

Table Cape is famous for the tulip farm which exports tulips to the Netherlands and Fossil Bluff for the fossils found of giant marsupials.
The whole area is covered in rich volcanic soil that in turn supports a large agricultural community.

 Gordon River

After two days in Wynyard it was time to get to Arthur River on the rugged West coast via Stanley which also has a large land mark recognisable from a distance, ‘The Nut’ is the remains of a giant volcanic plug. The walk to the top is very steep but well worth it for the views of the surrounding area. A visit to Digg falls and the very old Digg tree (which is 62 m tall and has a circumference of 16m) was also not to be missed. The tree has been aged at around 400 years.

Tree Fern

Arthur River is very remote and seemed to always get the westerly winds blowing onto the mainland. The mouth of the Arthur River is also the area named by the locals as ‘The Edge of the World’ because if you were to travel from there in a westerly direction you would not come across another land mass until reaching South America approximately 8000 km away. Camp sites there are well managed by Parks and Wildlife which include flush toilets and water taps. While there I managed to catch two trout in the river mouth which soon became an evening meal.
Leaving Arthur River we back tracked along the Bass highway towards Burnie. As we found Wynyard so nice the first time we spent another two nights there to refill the water tanks and then made our way to a quaint little seaside town called Penguin, named after the little Fairy penguins that inhabit the area.

Hmmmmm

Our last campsite was 13 km south from Penguin at Riana, the best site we have come across while in Tasmania. The Pioneer Park was established by the locals and is meticulously maintained by them, with hot showers, BBQ’s, flush toilets and rubbish removal, all for only $8.00 per night. Just down the road you can visit the Wings wild life park (where we eventually got to see a Tasmanian devil), and Leven Canyon.
After 16 days there it was time to get to Devonport to catch the Spirit on Tasmania back to Melbourne.

 Stream near Montzuma falls

Our 11 month visit to Tasmania was an experience we will not forget. The people are the friendliest in Australia and could never do enough for you and with so little traffic it was easy to get from one point to another (if you don’t mind the mountain roads).
One day we will get back again to catch up with the friends we made while over there, but now it is time to move on and see the mainland for ‘Howeverlongittakes’.

The Nut

 Tulips on Table Cape

Digg tree

Edge of the world

Penguin

 Pioneer park

Leven Canyon

Tassie devil

 Sandy and Doug