The Purple Penguin

So someone booked a motel that didn’t have any wifi (may have been me). So no update last night.

Before we left Broken Hill we headed to the local shopping area. We were using Google and it led us up (and by up I mean a very steep road!) a dead end. We could see the shops, but couldn’t get there. So we turned Google off, I managed to back down the very steep hill, and we found a way into the shopping area and Joe spotted the covered parking! We walked along the strip mall checking the shops and headed into Coles to get bits and pieces for the drive as we haven’t been stopping for lunch so thought some crackers in the car would be good. We also picked up some oranges.

The drive from Broken Hill to Auburn was long. At one point though Google informed me it would take a minute longer than calculated due to traffic. I looked and could just see a truck way ahead of me and behind me, I could just make out another car. So much traffic. And we crossed into South Australia, where there was a big sign saying not to bring in fruit or vegetables. So we stopped and ate some oranges, but didn’t manage all of them. The Quarantine Station is about 200 kilometres into South Australia and we had to hand over the rest of our oranges there. At least the trail mix was ok.

The drive was also interesting due to the scenery. It started dry brush and then got hilly and lots of trees. Once into South Australia, we got into huge fields of grain, though most of that had been cut and was being grazed by sheep or cattle. As we got closer to Auburn we got into wine country and it was very green with vineyards.

We checked into our motel, walked down to the local hotel for dinner, and then on the way back to our motel found a bridge (over a dry creek bed) where there a lot of birds coming in to roost. So Joe went and grabbed the binoculars and camera and we watched the wildlife and the very spectacular sunset. As we headed back to the room we saw a huge rainbow across the sky – huge double rainbow though the second rainbow was hard to see. It was against a cloudy sky, dark but shot through with pink and red from the sunset.

Today’s drive wasn’t as long, but we did a lot of detours! We drove to Port Wakefield hoping to see some of the marshes. The main road bypasses the town and was very busy – there are several businesses and a huge petrol station and there were loads of trucks towing boats, but all headed elsewhere because the town was pretty much closed. We did get to the marsh, sort of, and saw a heron, but you can’t really get down there or walk anywhere so we drove on.

We then took a detour along some unsealed roads (dirt or gravel). Saw lots of birds, but the lakes/ponds down there were dried up leaving a salt pan with scrub. However, highlight of the drive, we saw a stump-tailed skink! Really pretty, just making its way over the road. We watched until it disappeared under a bush (probably fed up with Joe taking photos!)

We also went to Port Parham where we walked a bit along the beach, but the tide was way out and we weren’t sure when it was coming in (it’s one of those huge tidal beaches where the tide will come in very quickly) so we didn’t go out too far. Also the locals were coming in so we thought that was a good sign the tide may be about to turn! We also went down to St Kilda and had a look around, before driving on to the motel in Port Noarlunga, just outside Adelaide. We’ve had an excellent Thai meal at Ampika’s Kitchen. I had a curry made with Moreton Bay Bugs which was very good!

Tomorrow will be a car free day I hope!

(K: Joe wants to call this ‘and an emu in a field’ but it doesn’t scan.)

Up early, saw birds, drove a bit and saw more birds, arrived at Broken Hill.

K: <sigh> OK. We were up early, 5:30, which is too early to drive anywhere (I’m avoiding driving at dusk and dawn). So we got ready, had breakfast at the motel, and then drove to the reservoir which had been recommended to us. If you look at that map, you’ll see it’s quite a large bit of water with a couple of islands. Switch to the satellite view and you’ll see what’s actually left, a very small pond. Still there were loads of birds about. And under the trees on the side away from the water there were several kangaroos. So we were there for a bit watching the birds and kangaroos.

Then we got on the road. It was still sort of early, but hot enough that everything was staying under cover. Still we saw a lot of goats. And emus. Three sets of emus. The first we didn’t get a good look at, but the second group were more in the open and hung around a bit. And the third group was an adult with young! (Photos are all on flickr!)

We also stopped at a rest stop with petrol and a cafe, the only place for miles! But they served real coffee which was nice. And it was a chance to stretch our legs, though not for long because of flies and the heat. It is very hot.

We arrived in Broken Hill around 1pm but decided to stop as the next stretch is about as long again. Which reminds me, when we left Copar, Joe put the Google Directions on to get us through the back roads. But he really put it on so he could hear: “Turn left on Barrier Highway. Continue on Barrier Highway for 456 kilometres.”

(K: I wanted to call this The Dish, but Joe said no.)

Because Joe wanted to start . . . The second day of our road trip and we went via Parkes famous for its Elvis Festival. And a dish. Now when I say dish I do not mean the more than we could eat breakfast we had at the Roasted Kombi cafe, I mean the radio telescope used to relay the TV pictures during the first moon landing in 1969. And they made a film about that called The Dish.

The Observatory is still an active part of CSIRO’s Australia Telescope National Facility. So you can’t go and see the telescope itself, but there is a small visitor’s centre about the work they are doing and the work with NASA including with the Apollo programme (they didn’t just do Apollo 11). (K: all this was very nifty! And you could go out and get a good look at the dish, as well as information about it and a look inside an old focus cabin.) (K: oh and we took lots and lots of photos)

From Parkes we started our route to Broken Hill with the full expectation of stopping at some of the small wildlife areas and looking for Australian critters. However, the first one we pulled into had a sign saying ‘closed due to the weather’ as did the second one we looked at. The next one we didn’t even turn as the main sign on the road told us it was closed. So the only critters we saw were the dead ones at the side of the road. It was far too hot for any to be out during the day.

We did see quite a few birds, including a lot of galahs around Parkes, but mainly we saw the Christmas art of the outback farmsteads. These involved sometimes humorous things, mostly wrapped in tinsel, at the end of their driveways. Some examples included: a stack of three tyres in a pyramid, painted green with tinsel hanging on; Father Christmas mannequin in an old beat-up junked car, pulled by metal kangaroos; green painted tractor tyres with tinsel; an old shed with a Father Christmas mannequin, though this one seemed a bit drunk and in his bathrobe; and pretty much anything you could wrap tinsel around.

The scenery did change from thickish trees to red brush. Lots of farms and a train line that stopped at the farm depots. We followed one train line with lemons or potatoes heaped alongside every so often – not sure if the train would have had anything left on it! We went through many towns and it changed from mainly farming to, by the time we got to Cobar, mining.

Just before we stopped in Cobar, Kathleen took us to the viewpoint. It was a mine. (K: Joe said not to go, but it was a brown sign and looked close so I took the turn. Each road I turned down got smaller and Joe was looking worried, but I carried on. There was a short walk to what looked like a shipping container with the walls cut open, a metal walkway covered in fencing attached to it, out over the mine. In the end, Joe said it was worth it.)

Spending the night in Cobar at the motel and decided to have dinner at the motel. Ended up mingling with the locals having their Christmas get together dinners! Pretty sure we were the only non-locals in there! When we checked in we got a map to a turtle pond that we’ll probably check out tomorrow. On the way to Broken Hill tomorrow, but probably still won’t see much as it’s forecast to be 44C!

Woke up in Sydney and started our road trip by going in the wrong direction. Google let us down. Once we found the correct place to rent our car from, we left the city heading for adventure, the Outback, and an Australian Road Trip! Reality set in as we worked our way around the motorways – M4, M7 (with delays) M5 and finally to the Blue Mountains.

We stopped at the tourist information in Glenbrook and they basically told us that the Blue Mountains were shut due to the fires. (K: Not completely, we could go to the lookouts – more on that later.) We got a map with highlighted routes and bits to see and crosses over bits that were closed. And we got a coffee.

So we decided to stop at the bits highlighted but pretty much they were empty apart from smoke, obscured views, and very little water. So the waterfalls were trickles that you could barely see through the smoke and the paths down were definitely closed. The highlight was seeing a Crimson Rosella (actually a pair of them but one didn’t like to come out). Got some nice photos.

We decided to leave the smoke (K: sore throats, painful sinuses and burning eyes!) and head for Parkes. Headed up the A32 for quite a while before we managed to leave most of the smoke behind. Decided to find somewhere to sleep around Orange and do a bit of restocking. Had a wander around at Bunnings, but they didn’t have what we needed (K: we didn’t need to build a house or have a huge barbecue with hundreds of people.) Found a small car parts place that had exactly what we were looking for – car sunshades! (K: Got one in purple, of course.)

We found a motel and sorted out a few bits and pieces, along with a cup of tea, before going out for dinner. We had a very nice Indian dinner. Did a bit of late night shopping at Coles and on our way back we saw our first lit up Australian Christmas decorated House.

Slept in a bit (K: we are on holiday!), then up and breakfast before cycling to the little solar powered train to take us into town. The whole trip is about five minutes but real cool to see the old train redone with solar panels (K: and a nice view on the ride!). Walk through town, did a bit of shopping, then walked back along the coast a bit, and hopped on the train back to the bikes. We then cycled up to the beach for a quick look then back to the house.

Plan was to get to the lighthouse, so cycling part way then walking up the steep bits (where we discovered bikes weren’t allowed anyway!). So we cycled into town getting used to the borrowed bikes. We reached the Byron Bay weekend market and pushed the bikes though the market looking at the stalls. Stopped to buy a new wallet as well! Then once we passed the marked we cycled to the bottom of the lighthouse walk and locked the bikes up at the bike rack. The walk up was quite tiring and steep with stairs, but we made it! (K: The path goes up making you believe you’re on your way to the lighthouse, then it goes down! To the next bay and beach and you just have to climb up again! And keep climbing. Mark kept saying ‘last bit up’ but he was lying. We got the most easterly point of Australia and stopped for photos, then pushed up – up- to the lighthouse). On the way down from the lighthouse, Mark spotted turtle in the sea, way below us as we were up on the cliffs. Then back to bikes via a bush walk where more birds were seen (K: We went up along the coast, then went back via the inland route. Saw birds, but not many. Very sandy walk but very few people. And still up and down! But also got to see the hang gliding launch pad). Then back to the house a serious pool floating and relaxing before going out to the Treehouse for pizza (though we ended up not really getting pizza – Joe had Nachos and I had curry).

Got up washed and out to the terminal. Arrived too early, as usual, but as we were already checked in we just got the bag checked onto the flight and walked around the airport, had breakfast and then on our way to Brisbane. The fight was short with a free coffee half way through. Arrived and got picked up by Mark (after a little confusion of where everyone was – top tip – Brisbane airport gives different collection point directions to car divers and arriving passengers!) who drove us down the Gold Coast, and through Surfer Paradise. We stopped for lunch at a beach life saving club overlooking the beach, nice food and a view of the lifeguard huts which have christmas decorations and tinsel on them. Arrive at Mark’s place and had a drink and a chat before heading out to a friend’s house for a small get together.

Went to work, tried to make it a short day, but as usual on a last day everyone wants you before you go.

Meat up with Kathlenn at the library (I think she has done Sydney). I wanted a last look at Darling Harbour and suggested an early lunch overlooking the harbour. We found a restaurant with a balcony and had a good slow meal, before making our way back to the hotel room, packing up and getting the train to the airport. Plan was to drop of the bag in left luggage and work out where the hotel is. As per usual we ended up taking the long route round. Finally get to the hotel and it’s definitely a budget hotel as the lift is held together with gaffer tape, the lift button didn’t work (had to use the other panel), and the door handle/lock took a bit of wiggling. So settled in the room, I went down to the machines to get beer and ginger beer. The drinks machines, once I could make it work, was nifty). Drink then sleep!

J: My day, I had an egg and bacon sandwich and went to work.

K: I found a library! A Darling Library even! But first I saw where Joe has been working (nice offices), walked down to the fish market (but didn’t really go in), walked back to Darling Harbour and had a poke about, and went to the aquarium. It looks quite small but is actually larger inside. Still feel sorry for the fish though. But they do a lot of conservation work.

Then I went to the library where Joe was working last week (his meetings were held at the Darling Square Library). It was a blustery chilly day and suppose to rain so I decided to say inside. I grabbed a book and found a seat and read until Joe left the office. He’d found the building I’d wanted to see, Dr Chau Chak Wing Building part of the University of Technology Sydney, so we went past it on the way back to the hotel.

We headed back to Crown Street for dinner and found an interesting little Balkan restaurant with very good food! Tomorrow is our last full day in Sydney!