Farmsitting on the magnificent Kangaroo Island

We spent 11 days, starting from November 5, minding Linda's property in Bomb Alley.  She had 2 dogs - a rotweiller and a great dane (pic above), 2 cats, 3 horses and about 15 sheep.  She lived in a caravan & shed and kindly gave us the use of her yellow toyota ute for the duration.
It was zippy as hell and we covered much of the island in it, Indigo smiling in the back and Fuggles happily asleep in the front. 
On the night we arrived, we met some of Linda's friends and their Helpxers at a welcome home party for Tina, his fiancee, at Bill's place. 
We were enchanted by the island and it's pristine beaches, natural wonders and hidden fishing spots.  Cape Borda with it's lighthouse and fur seals playing in the rockpools below was magnificent and Flinders Chase and the Remarkable Rock was just that. 
The cutest walk to a beach through a tunnel of caves was at Stokes Beach and a highlight for me was the Rare Breeds Farm nearby. It had minature asian cows which I loved (pic below) , highland cattle, curly coat sheep which were breed for carpets and native pigs.  We also stopped in at Emu Bay (fishing with no luck from the jetty) and the Lavender Farm (which turns out is owned by the nephew of my friend Wendy Buick who was born on the island.

On the Sunday, we went nearby to the Parndana Agricultural Show and re-met Tony from Bill's party, and he envited us to come and have a look at his place at American River.  100 acres on top of a hill with dappled horses (like the American Indian's rode in cowboy movies) and a lovely kelpie x dog.  We said we would come back before we left the island for one of his weekly Wednesday night jams with his band.  Tony steered us towards the best beach I have ever seen, Pennington Bay with massive cliffs and turquoise water.  We checked out American River, a fishing village down the road.  Old fishing shacks and camping on the river front...we would definately come back here before we went.
On the way to the best fishing spot one day, we stopped at an old Wisanger school house and had a look inside at the memorabilia.  Then we found Cape Cassini, down a rough, rocky road and through an old farm, complete with stone house and sheep sheds.  We came back the next day and Danny caught some parrot fish in a deep hole. 
When the tank water ran out at Linda's Place, we went to Brownlow Beach caravan park for the night to refill our tanks.  It was a nice, grassy site and we came across these "2" Kombis side by side.  Then we looked closely at the blue one...
A couple of days were spent in the biggest town, Kingscote, doing washing and internet at the friendly libary. 

We went for the lovely Timber Walk through a fairy glen to wetlands with a myriad of bird life, including black swans.  Every place was so unspoilt, with no rubbish and an end of the earth sort of feel. 
We also went to Penneshaw, where the ferry dropped us off and checked out Antechamber Bay with a gorgeous grove of trees and river fishing.  Again no luck, but a beat spot.  Danny was beginning to think would he ever catch a fish on this island?  Oh, I forgot to mention that I had the potential for sea-sickness on the ferry on the way over with high winds and big waves.  But I went outside on the deck, took lots of deep breaths and got through it.  Phew.

Linda came back on the Friday and I popped in to her partner, Henk's place at Brownlow for a look at his boat, a lovely older style cat.  What an amazing stay and all the animals had played nicely together.  Well, Fuggles wanted to take on the great dane, so we did some separtion playtime which worded well. 
We were sad to give up the yellow ute, but it was time on the Saturday to do some camping.  We had decided to stay an extra few days, so
Hello American River!

Chillin' out at Rapid Bay, SA

Nov 3:  Recapping a bit...
We went to Fisherman's Bay for breakfast in Keith and the fur girls had fun playing in the mounds of seaweed on the beach.

Then we drove through Bute and some other port towns, + Adelaide and onto the Fleurieu Penninsula.  We stopped off in Normanville for coffee and I bought a much needed hoodie (with ipod connection?!)
Coming down the hill to Rapid Bay, the fields were full of purple thistles and old stone buildings...we were going to like this place.
The beach was looked great and we camped right on the front.   Danny had a long awaited swim in the chilly, turquoise water.

 

Nov 4: 
We had a look round at the houses, which the mine own half of and some old single men's quarters.  Then we collected some small stones from the beach and had some beers with Gary, a top bloke (his permanent van to the left) from Adelaide.  
We checked out the jetty for some fishing, but it was windy and the water very clear.  No one seemed to be catching anything.


Nov 5:  Windy...didn't look good for a smooth sail to Kangaroo Island.  We drove to Jervis Bay, only 20 mins away and Keith loaded on the Ferry backwards - ready to unload at the front. 
We went and sat upstairs in the dog seating area inside. 


But the waves were about 5m high and I started to feel a bit unwell...

Keith meets the Ocean: SA Ports

Nov 1:  And a windy day for driving.  We ran out of petrol 7km from Glendambo.  Danny rang the servo and a nice man came out with 20ltrs in his cool ute.

Lake Hart was the next surprise, but a good one.  The dogs enjoyed running across the salt expanse and I took some for my sea salt shaker.

Then we saw the sea for the first time in 4 mths!  Very exciting at Port Augusta.  We stayed overnight by the inlet at the Shoreline Caravan Park and Fuggles had her first look at a beach.  She seemed to like it.

Next day we had a look round Port Augusta - noice and then to Port Germein with ONE of the longest jetties in the southern hemisphere. 
We settled down the road at the Port Broughton Caravan Park after having a look round the cutest fishing village - Fisherman's Bay with many colourful shacks with sandy roads.

On the 3rd Nov, we went back to Fisherman's Bay for breakfast and the dogs played in the large mounds of dried seaweed.  Then we drove through Bute, which once was probably beaut but not so much any more.  A few more port towns and through Adelaide (where I gave us a bum steer and we had to back track...sorry Dan).   We fueled up in Normanville and I bought a much needed hoodie...with ipod fittings.  Weird. 
Then we headed for Rapid Bay - our stopover before the ferry to KI. 
No idea what Rapid Bay would be like, but it sounded like a good spot. 

Uluru to Coober Pedy - the long, hot road!

We spent the 29th at the Heritage Caravan Park, Alice Springs.  I
knew they meant 'dog friendly' when I walked into the park office and there was a dog sitting on the chair and other on the floor. 
We hung out for the arvo and then went into town for the Desert Music Club jam night.  I put our name on the board first and we did 4 of our original songs.  A nice helpx lady host came up to us afterwards with some kind words, which was cool.

Next day, we left at 6am for The Big Rock.  We saw in the distance a big rock, but it was Mt Connell.  Lovely in it's own right.

And then I saw it...and it was big and majestic and more than I had hoped for.  We went to our campground at the Ayres Rock Resort and had a bit of a rest from the heat.  The park man mentioned a dog sitting service and so we rang them and dropped off the Girls for the arvo. 
We had a bit of a drive towards The Olgas / Katja Juta, but there was not enough time to explore...next time, in Winter! 


So we headed for Uluru.  I had waited for over 20 years to meet the big fella and I was not disappointed.
It was nearing sunset, so we did the small walk to the gorge and saws some caves and wall paintings. 
Then we parked Keith in the Sunset Viewing carpark and sat on the roof cage with a glass of wine and watched the sun depart.  It was a lovely finale to a long, hot day in the red center.
We collected Indigo and Fuggles who had been for a walk with their 2 young carers, made our dinner and went to bed. 

Oct  31st at 5am, we left for the 9 hr drive to Coober Pedy.  It started to heat up at about 9:30am and with no aircon in Keith, it got a bit nasty.  The opal mines lined the highway in with their mounds of dirt and trucks and make shift camp sites.  We stayed at a caravan park in town and had a look at the underground Catholic Church which was very peaceful ( I was sure there was an underground caravan park too, but it was not to be.... )

We had 2 great Sri Lankan curries at the pub and then chatted with an interesting fellow who was staying at our caravan park. He was from Melbourne and writes a column for the Sunday Age, but has been hitchhiking around, most recently to Darwin.  He sat in Keith and had a cup of tea and told some tales about lifts with mostly friendly, but some dubious strangers.  The kind he knew he shouldn't get in the car with! 
After a 40 degrees day, we went to sleep with the sound of the hot wind still blowing across the merciless desert. 

But we dreamed of tomorrow when, after 4 long, months...we would see the ocean again.

We Got Some Country - last month in the Desert

OCT:  Well, the last month at Hamilton Downs.  Lots of tidying up and cleaning in preparation for the New Caretakers including finishing the vege garden with garden hose on the edges and clearing rocks from the 12km rough part of the driveway.  I dressed up in my best work shorts and glow vest for the occasion.   

It was getting hot, 40 degrees a couple of days, but luckily cooled down into the 20's for the arrival of the lovely Jennifer and Rob from the near the  NSW central coast.                                                     

And in case you missed it, here is the music clip we shot on the property of our song:  Get Some Country.

Indigo and Fuggles did some climbing up the hill bonding...

And Danny photographed a long jet stream and noticed a bright, shiningball of light underneath.  Weather balloon, U.F.O ? 





Danny, with a bit of help from Sammy, made a new access road for the tip truck and fire trailer with salvaged double gate.

 Monday, Oct 29 and it was time to leave Hamilton Downs Youth Camp.  It was in interesting 3 months with beautiful sunsets and views of the Namatjira-style landscape on our doorstep. 

We took it very slowly going out the 25km driveway and said our Goodbyes at the gate.