Port Lincoln SA to Streaky Bay SA 19th January 2009 - 29th January 2009

Marnie hard at work in the car

We had a fantastic time in the Lincoln National park and although the facilities were basic as best - we all had a good time, Kym caught our first fish (King George Whiting), we meet some lovely people and we got to bushcamp for the four nights. The kids now know what a 'drop toilet' is and the boys of course even had a look down it with a torch - gross, very very gross. The weather was perfect, kids great and we really felt like we were on the road.

We needed water after four nights out so we headed off up the West coast of the peninsula through Coffin Bay, stopping at the surprisingly green Elliston Caravan Park. After a couple of issues getting the van onto the site (you will have to ask Kym privately about that one) we set up site, did four loads of washing and enjoyed our first shower in five days. The park was lovely and after sand and dirt the grassed sites were a nice change. They have a bore and use it to keep the park well watered. The park is near the jetty and apparently if you cant catch fish off the Elliston Jetty you cant catch wish. Well we didnt catch anything that we could keep, so i guess we arent the greatest fishing family. If the kids could keep their lines in the water for more than five seconds we might have a chance, but they are all very good and well practiced at casting now. Kym lost DArcys brand new float and that was it for fishing the Elliston Jetty!!

Coastline near Elliston SA

Two nights in the park was lovely and we then headed up the coast further for a few more nights 'free' camping. Free camping can be free or have a small fee or donation attached and is a great way to save money as the Caravan parks average out as $40.00 per night. There are usually fewer people at the free stops and they are usually out of town. From Elliston we travelled up the coast only a short distance to Sceale Bay. Kyms cousins Mary-Jane and Allan live in this very very quiet fishing town. We couldnt get them by phone so we asked some lad who was outside cleaning his boat if he knew where they live, he gave us directions and that was that. We had a quick catch up - the kids were thrilled because they had Austar TV and then we headed off to look at the free stop at Tractor Beach. Easy to find they told us!! As we came out of the driveway we ran into the Gon-Chees from Logan village so together we went in search of the camp. A few missed turns and we found it only to find that we could have gotten in to the park but not out as the space was limited. After a look around and discussion we just made our own spot up on the cliff and it was perfect. Thats what we thought anyway until one of the grumpy locals came to get in his tinny and go and check his crayfish pots and told us we were in the way. We had to move our set up back a bit but that wasnt toooo much of a hassle. Funny what you make of people, but to cut a long story short, the grumpy local was infact the local Streaky Bay Doctor and woke us early the next morning to give us a big crayfish. That was a great lunch.

Kym and the free crayfish Brittany, DArcy, Dylan and Taine

Playtime!

We tried our hand their as well and got a few little fish but again nothing to keep. We also met another one of the other local fishermen up on the cliffs of Tractor Beach. After chatting to him we discovered that he is originally from the SE of SA as is all of Kyms family and that he infact went to school with Kyms mum in Pt McDonnell. Small world i guess. Apparently he is one of the wealthy retired fisherman in the town of Streaky Bay! Two nights at Tractor Beach we head for another free camp 21kms north (along the coast) of Streaky Bay. We stopped in Streaky for a few supplies and decided to stop on the foreshore for lunch before heading out of town. It is beautiful and green so we stopped under a huge tree to eat. A man sitting out on his veranda crossed the road to jokingly tell us it cost $20.00 to interrupt his view of the ocean and bay! You know me always asking questions, and as it turned out he was happy to tell us all about the area and to offer us a giant zuchinni he had just picked from his garden. He said that if we had of been 20 mins earlier he could have given us some fresh fish but that he had already given it away to some other bloke. The other bloke was again the local doctor who had swapped a cray for the fish! I think they must have thought Kym and I looked like we needed a good feed so they gave us some freshly caught fish that they had already filleted ready to eat. That was after they had taken us out the back of their house to show us there collection of fish ponds and plants all cared for on rain water! You have to love the travelling lifestyle.

DArcy and Friend!

DArcy skimboarding on a board he and friends made out of scrap melamine he found at Perlubie Beach

We headed out to Perlubie Beach meeting up with the Gon-Chees again and setting up camp for a couple of nights. The beach was nice but it was very busy as it was fast approaching the Australia Day weekend and the locals were out for one last break before school went back. They had tractors to get their vans and boats down of the beach so we had to stay up top but that suited us just fine. Again the facilities were basic but they were clean. We spent the time fishing and swimming and had some nice walks on the beach. This time we actually caught some fish with DArcy being the main man! They were all Tommy Ruffs but as long as you are catching something, anything, it is fun. We spent 2 hours in the water and Kym was flat out trying to keep the bait up to the hooks. The kids and Gon-Chees had found a stack of Cockles earlier so it was a great day. After four nights out we needed to come back into town again to get water and some 240v power. The radio reported that some hot weather, infact very very hot weather was on its way so it was time for us to go.Our original plan was to head onto Ceduna, but everyone said that if it is going to be hot in Streaky Bay it was going to be even hotter in Ceduna, so we travelled the 21kms back into town (it was Australia Day so we stopped at the local park for our free Bacon and Egg breakfast) then onto a park right on the waters edge. We set up, got the air conditioner going, did the washing and got ready to sit out the heat wave.

Australia Day breakfast - Streaky Bay SA
January 26th 2009

Well two nights in Streaky Bay have turned into four and then five as we still sit out the heat wave here. It is hot but bareable although Wednesday night the AC couldnt cope with the heat and really was ineffective to say the least. One of the Grey Nomads (Bob) had a look for us and said that it could be the compressor so while Kym and i organised the refrigeration guy to have a look, the kids went next door and sat in the cool with Joan and Bob, played boards and ate chocolate biscuits! They didnt even notice it was hot. Tuesday 27th saw our first day of school for us on the road. They have been keeping a Journal but it was a shock to us all - except Riley - that school was back in and the holidays were over. Day one was terrible with DArcy cracking it more than once and Taine complaining about having to read the same reader twice! Day two was better and three (today) was ok. We have been up and ready to start by 8.30 and finish at about 10.30, which has worked for three days as we have been staying but things will have to be different on the days we have to move on and travel. I have to not stress (its hard not to ) as what is the worst thing that can happen if they dont get every single piece of work done! I think i expect alot of them and now that they can do good work and expect them to do it. I guess that will be on of the biggest difficulties of Mum being teacher?!! They are good kids so im sure we will make it work!

Tonight we had Tommy Ruff for tea on the BBQ which were the ones we caught a few days ago in Perlubie Beach. They were lovely served with a salad and wedges from the Caravan Park Kiosk. DArcy was chuffed that we ate what he supplied (caught) for tea.

DArcy Taine and Kym and the Tommy Ruff catch.

The AC man should be here first thing, i really hope it is something simple to fix, and then on Saturday we head off to Ceduna where we hope to catch up with an old High School friend of mine. Rumour has it that he hasnt changed a bit and is still running around playing A grade Aussie Rules football! That should be fun as Rodney moved to Ceduna with the Westpac Bank in 1998, and there he has stayed!!

Although we are over two weeks into our trip we really have covered a huge distance, we are having a great time as we are all still finding our feet and enjoying the process. Kyms great, Riley, DArcy and Taine are great, so life is good!

Adelaide to Port Lincoln - 12th January 2009 - 19th January 2009

Finally we hit the road January 12th 2008 after may goodbyes and catch ups with family and friends at the Marion Caravan Park. I think we were all happy and excited to finally on the road and to get our adventure started.





Riley DArcy and Taine in Clare SA












We were keen to have a bushcamp the first night so headed out of Adelaide via Clare for lunch and Port Germein - we walked the famous jetty, to stay at the Mount Remarkable National Park. Dry but beautiful with emus, kangaroos and flies! We had a few sites to ourselves so we left the van hitched, had chicken on the gas BBQ for dinner then had beautiful hot showers in the solar heated facilities and slept like logs. I think however that the facilities put us into a false sense of what is still to come. They were clean, well kept and had running drinking water. Kids did well on the first day as did the car and van.





Up and on the road by 7.30am (not sure why but i think Kym was keen to get started) and on the road towards Eyre Peninusla. Kym had looked in the Camp 4 camping book. (it tells you about the free and cheap camping spots, including rest areas, national parks and others as well as what facilities are available ie drinking water, shade, toilets etc.) He had chosen the Yeldulknie Weir, near Cleve. We headed there via Port Augusta, Whyalla and Cowell all of which we did just quick drive through. It was hot. Very hot that day and the bush fires were burning in Port Lincoln just South of where we were so we stopped to make camp by 12.30. The kids were excited as they had loved the idea of swimming in the weir etc. BUT of course there was no water and it was so so hot that all we could do was sit and follow the shade and have cooling outside showers.



Outside shower


We set up the bucket outside the mens toilets, connected the hose to the mains water and there you have it. We even had our night showers outside with the kangaroos and spiders for company. It was a free nights accommodation and we had flushing toilets and water so i guess that was a positive but the flies and the heat were awful.





After two nights in camp we went to drove the short distance south to Tumby Bay Caravan Park (via Arno Bay, Pt Neill etc) and waited for the all clear of the fires before heading further south. Tumby was nice and the kids enjoyed the ocean, road their bikes and played. We left early on the second day as Kym had a two conference call for work between Darwin and Brisbane at 9am and we needed to be out of the park by 10. We parked up on the foreshore at the tourist information Motorhome bay, (it had internet and mobile coverage) Kym worked in his shorts and thongs and the kids and i walked and rode around town and up and down the foreshore keeping ourselves entertained.













Kym hard at work at Tumby Bay information stop

The bushfires had settled down around Port Lincoln so we headed into town planning to have a quick look around, grab a few things then head out to Lincoln National Park. We had noticed that one of the 12v outlets wasnt working in the back of the car so we stopped to have that looked at and a 5 minute job took two hours or waiting so we took the chance to have another look around town, got the car fixed then headed to the park. There was alot of burned and damaged scrub and property as we headed south. We drove the 20 odd kms into the National Park on dirt and had ourselves set up pretty quickly. We sat down and enjoyed the serenity while the kids explored the beach and surrounding area. Another family were camped in the camping bay next to us (The Gon-Chees) but our boys (yes including DArcy) were tooooo shy to talk to the kids. Ours then sat to play their DS so the kid next door went and got his as did his sister - and bang that was it. We didnt see any of them for the next five day!! Their son is 11 (Dylan) and their daughter is 13 (Brittany) and they all hit it off beautifully. They are from Logan village near Brisbane and have been on the road in their 5th wheeler and big Chevy Silverado (Kym is very envious, especially about the car) since August. Another family with three kids also pulled up, and they have been on the road for 2 years! The whole group played so well together, swimming, cricket, fishing and any other game they could think of including murder in the dark in the bush! It was great to chat to other younger families doing the same as us and hearing about the good and bad of schooling on the road. During the five days we were there we headed back into Port Lincoln (20kms on dirt and 20km on road) to catch up with Kyms Uncle David who was in town buying a new Triumph Motorcycle so we caught up with him for breakfast, then he rode off into the sun for the long ride home to Adelaide and we went of another tour of Port Lincoln- including the port to watch them unload Pilchards from the trawler and into storage to be used as food for the Tuna pens in the bay, dropped off some rubbish and refilled our 25 litre container with water from the Yatch club then headed back to the National Park.

Uncle David Riley, DArcy and Taine on the foreshore at Port Lincoln SA

This is our van and car.



The van is a 1991 23 foot Evernew. At the rear of the van is a toolbox, fuel jerry can,two spare caravan wheels and a bike rack for the 3 kids bikes in front of the wheels.

It has a roll out awning on the side.

The rear window, above the bikes is D'Arcy's bed. The 2 small windows on the side are Riley's(bottom) and Taine's (top) beds. The next window is the kitchen table. Across from that is the kitchen.We have a full stovetop and oven, microwave oven, 250 litre fridge, flatscreen TV and airconditioner/heater. The last window is the lounge area. Marnie and Kyms' bed folds down from the side wall onto the lounge.

We can carry 120 litres of water. We have two solar panels and have 12V and gas supplies. We do not have a toilet and shower inside but Kym and Vin (Marnies dad) have rigged up the system for an outside shower and they have a sturdy bucket for the toilet!

Our Landcruiser is a year 2000 100 Series, 4.2 turbo Deisel, 4 speed auto. We have added, bullbar and 10000 lb winch, roof rack, cargo barrier, aux battery, communications (CB radio and mobile), new tyres and wheels, rear airbags and HD shockers. We carry a 60 litre fridge freezer Engle, campfire cooking equiptment and 20 litres of water.

Goodbye Banksia Road

The house is packed. The house is clean. The garden looks great.

The house is on the market!


Well it has finally started after 18 months of preparation we are now officially
"The Mitchells on the Move".

The kids are enrolled in the Open Access College - part of the Department of Education and we have enough stuff to keep them busy for months.

The communication systems are all in place, and the business is now also on the road.

The car is all decked out with new suspension, cargo barrier, tyres, roof rack, bullbar, extra batteries and accessories.

The van has new wheels, solar panals, bike rakes and batteries and is packed full with our things.