Port Broughton Bayside Park to Berri

Day91 (Oct 15) Port Broughton Bayside Park to Christies Beach Caravan Park.

Lots of thunder and lightning at 4:30 this morning. Carol pulled the roof down in case it rain heavily but there wasn't much. Got up to find the couple next door in the forward fold had packed up and gone. One of the residents said they'd gone about 4:45 so the storm must have been too much for them. The charger was showing the batteries at 13.4v so that's good, nearly back to full charge. Had breakfast at the camp kitchen so we didn't have to pull the kitchen out. Packed out and called Redarc before we left but they can't do anything with me having access to the unit so I'll have to ring them once we're set up again. On the road by 9:30, the route we had on the tablet wanted to send us down some gravel roads so we had to keep an eye on it. Windy all the way down to Adelaide but very little rain. There's a new motorway system on the western side of Adelaide which threw us a little bit, mainly because there's a flyover built on top of existing roads so we took the wrong exit and had to make a couple of detours to get back on track. Then we took a wrong turn and when trying to go back the way we came found ourselves with no where to go because of a truck in the middle of the road fixing power lines or trimming trees or something. Had to back up a fair way so we could turn around but eventually got to Christies Beach and the caravan park. Set up, had to sit in the car while a shower passed over and called Redarc again. They talked me through a few tests, then told me to bring the unit in. Managed to get it unbolted and pulled out, despite 2 of the bolts being covered by the channel that the draw sliders are fixed to, and dropped it in to them. They said I should hear tomorrow so fingers crossed. Lamb chops with peas and veggies for dinner. 236.2km travelled.

Day92 (Oct 16) Christies Beach Caravan Park.

Crappy day today, rain with wind. Went for a drive and did some some shopping after breakfast in the very nice camp kitchen. Back to camp and spent the day in the camper reading and doing some computer work. No word from Redarc, so we booked in for another night and I'll have t give them a ring in the morning. Planned our next few days, we talked about going to Kangaroo Island but the weather doesn't look too flash so we've decided to follow the Murray River up as far as Renmark. Leftover chilli chicken for dinner. 22Km travelled.

Day93 (Oct 17) Christies Beach Caravan Park.

Another average day although the wind seems to have dropped a bit. Cooked breakfast in the camp kitchen, bacon and eggs. Rang Redarc to find out what is happening with the BMS. They rang me back and said it would be replaced under warranty and there was one waiting at the front desk. Well done Redarc, great to deal with. Drove up and picked it up, then back to the camper and installed it. Working fine, showing amps going in which it wasn't showing before and only took a couple of hours for it to recognise the batteries and give a battery full message. Did some shopping and fuelled up for tomorrow. Steak & salad for dinner in the very good camp kitchen.

23Km travelled.

Day94 (Oct 18) Christies Beach Caravan Park to Frank Potts Reserve Langhorne Creek.

Grey and rainy when we woke up, at least its not too windy. Packed up and on the road by 10. Stopped in Goolwa and went to the information centre and had a wander around the wharf area including a look over the Paddle steamer “Oscar W”. 

Drove over onto Hindemarsh Island and went to the Murray River-mouth lookout. Got chatting to a couple from Tasmania, as you do, so left there a bit later than we planned. Mind you, we don't have far to go today so there's no great rush. 

Stopped along the river bank back in Goolwa for lunch. Had a local guy, although he did have a Scottish accent, stop and tell us about a couple of free camp spots nearby if we were looking for one.

 Called in and had a look at Clayton Bay and Milang, both looked like nice spots but we decided to carry on to the camp at Langhorne Creek.

A really nice camp spot by the road, grassy and lots of trees, there were a few caravans and motor-homes set up already but there was plenty of room. 

We set up then wandered up the road a bit to sample some wines at Winehouse, which had been given several good reviews on Wiki Camps. We tasted quite a few and asked lots of questions bout the wines and area generally. The lady that served us was lovely and we bought 3 bottles of wine, one cost us $40 and we'll be saving that for a special occasion. When she put our bottles in a box for us, she also put 2 bottles from her sampling stock in a bag and said she would have to throw them out because of the time they had been open and we could have them. Wow!! We're really liking South Australians !! Leftover spaghetti bol for dinner, with one of the donated bottles which was extremely nice! 

161Km travelled.

Day95 (Oct 19) Frank Potts Reserve Langhorne Creek to Bolto Reserve Mannum.

Another grey morning, windy still but not as bad as forecast. Packed up and Carol went back to the Winehouse and bought a tee shirt that she'd seen yesterday and liked. They didn't have the size she wanted and gave her the next size up for half price and a free cup of coffee, what a great place !! On the road by 10, got to Wellington (not that Wellington, no beehive) and lined up for our first ferry crossing. One of the ladies at the information centre in Goolwa had told me about the ferries that operated on the Murray in South Australia, go 24hrs a day apparently and they're free. There were a few cars in front of us so we had to wait until it came back which gave us a chance to see how it all worked. 

They take about 10 or 12 cars at a time, less if there's caravans or trailers, or trucks and they're very easy to drive on and off. There are steel cables across the river that they pull themselves over on.

Stopped at Murray Bridge and did some shopping, parked in a nice riverside park that among other things had a 12 grass court tennis complex. Got to Mannum and Bolto reserve was across the river, so another river crossing on the ferry. A bit bigger place and there were 2 operating side by side. 

The reserve was a good set up, $10 per night and you pay at a machine and get a ticket to display, much like a parking ticket. There's a toilet block but no showers and nice big sites. Set up by 2:30 and we did some planning for our next stop, we'll need to do some washing in the near future, so we'll have to book into a caravan park at some stage. Also looked at river cruises and booked a dinner cruise in Mildura, for Thursday night which is the night before Carol's birthday. Hopefully the parcels we are waiting for will get to Renmark before then, if not we'll just have to drive back to get them. 

The wind changed direction about 4 and blew straight at us off the river, we were reasonably sheltered but others weren't so lucky and one group a few sites down were hanging onto their tents at one stage. They may have had a pole break because once it calmed down they packed up one of their tents and put it away. Moroccan spicy chicken salad for dinner. 108.6km travelled.

Day96 (Oct 20) Bolto Reserve Mannum to Cadell Recreation reserve.

A much calmer morning, packed up after breakfast and crossed back over on the ferry. Drove back the way we had come yesterday for 10km or so and did the Mannum Falls walk. No particularly challenging and no water flowing so no falls but a nice walk all the same. 

Stopped and bought a bag of firewood on our way back through Mannum and further north. We had to stop roadside and have an early lunch, eating as much of our fruit and veg as possible because we were going into the fruit fly exclusion zone which is a quarantine area. 

Got as far as Walker Flat and the route had us on a gravel road. When we checked, all the roads were gravel except for the one heading back to Adelaide, so we did a U turn and headed back to the ferry crossing and continued up the other side of the river. The difference between the irrigated and non irrigated areas is quite marked, if it wasn't for the Murray, some of the towns we went through wouldn't be there, or at least, would be much smaller.

Got to Cadell and set up by 2. We stayed at the recreation ground and there are 8 or so powered sites and a few other non powered ones. $15 per night that you pay to an on-site caretaker, no parking on the oval but plenty of room and spotless amenities which have toilets and showers so great value. Also only $2 to do a load of washing so we did a fairly large load. A pretty chilly night so it was early to bed after dinner of butter chicken. 188Km travelled.

Day97 (Oct 21) Cadell Recreation reserve to Martins Bend Berri.

Lovely fine morning, if somewhat fresh. Carol got up early and washed the sheets. It warmed up nicely once the sun was up over the trees and the sheets were virtually dry by the time we hit the road about 10. We stayed on the same side of the river, so no ferry crossings today. Got to Berri by 12 and found Martins Bend camping area. Lovely spot, lots of shade and set up where you like. $5 per night and has a toilet block but no showers. We set up and had lunch, then carried our chairs over to the river and relaxed in the shade. It's such a nice spot that we decided to stay a few nights. 

Pizza on the Ziggy for dinner. 

110Km travelled.

Day98 (Oct 22) Martins Bend Berri.

Drove in to town after breakfast and did some shopping. We'd passed Berri Wines on the way in yesterday and they had a sign out for Cleanskin wines for $54/doz so we went back to investigate. Stopped at a roadside stall on the way and bought some fruit. We didn't want to get much because we are crossing into Victoria in a few days and I don't think we can take fruit and veg in with us. Ended up with more than we planned, the lady was a good sales person and assured us that it would be fine to take the fruit with us …..... ummmm ...we'll see. Also got a doz Shiraz cleanskins from the winery. It's a huge operation and has the capacity to store something like 2 million litres of wine! Back to the camp for lunch and then more time spent by the river. Roast lamb on the Ziggy for dinner. Cleanskin wine is OK too. We were a bit late starting everything and didn't get the dishes finished until 9:30 or so. 18.8km travelled.

Day99 (Oct 23) Martins Bend Berri.

Slept in until 8 this morning, must be because of the tree cover we have. Walked into town and back after breakfast. Berri seems a nice town and a lot of work a been done on the river frontage, including exercise stations. 

Got back to camp to find the freezer switched off and the temperature up to -5. The battery hasn't been getting fully charged because of the short distances we have been travelling each day lately. We decided to go for a drive to Renmark and check to see if our packages had come in. They both have so that's good. We'd brought some lunch with us and we had it in a nice park by the river. Carol couldn't find her car keys when we came to leave, hopefully she left them back at the camper. Went back to camp via Monash, Carol had found a butcher there, online, that may have black pudding! Unfortunately he didn't have any but he had some white pudding so we bought some of that as well as some sausages. Bacon and egg pie on the Ziggy for dinner. 57.7km travelled.