Week 18 | All The Rivers Run

SNAPSHOT

We are desperately trying to engage the "Ostrich".....you know, when something is inevitable, you can see it coming but just want to run away screaming? So with plastered smiles on our faces masking melancholy feelings, I ordered everyone to enjoy every last minute of fun and sunshine over the next week!

This week I would liken us to ducks....calm and serene above water but a teensy bit frantic underneath! Normality" is tapping us on the shoulders so in true Stollery style we will sift in and around the Murray River Region for as long as possible before we turn the Kookaburra for home.....

We are all worried about coming home.....will we fit back in? More importantly do we even want to? It's taken 5 months for us to find our groove and we could easily call in home for a Max cuddle and to reset the go button again! But we probably won't hah hah

Enjoy!!

WHERE ON EARTH ARE WE?

Fitzgerald Bay | South Australia

We farewelled Coffin Bay with a promise to return very soon and without a firm plan in place, started our drive toward Adelaide via Whyalla! Our good friend Wiki directed us toward Fitzgerald Bay and for a paltry $10 stay we set up camp 20 ft from the bay and sheltered from the wind that was to torment us for the next week! It was very relaxing though and we learnt that there is a particular type of oyster here that arrived in on the bottom of ships and many a pearl has been shucked ..... the tides of course were all wrong for us to go on a pearl hunt so won't cancel my Paspaley order just yet lol (I wish!)......anyone coming past this area should stop!

Port Pirie (Lawrie Park) | South Australia

Bloody hell its hot again! Woo hoo! We didn't expect much warmth across the Nullabor but the weather gods have looked after us for the majority of the trip and don't look like stopping now! We are officially over Caravan Parks so shopped around for a free camp and landed ourselves at Lawrie Park, just out of Port Pirie, located at the base of the ranges and overlooking the bay, this takes free camping to a whole new level and we all loved watching the incredible sunset with our happy hour vino (might need an intervention to stop this habit when we get home 😂)

St Kilda Beach | South Australia

Sometimes free camping is a gamble....you can try and control the circumstances and then give up and just take the option with the least concerning bad comments on WikiCamps 😂 St Kilda was one of those places - we couldn't get into a park in Adelaide so had to fill in a night along the way....the comments on this car park near the marina were bad. A local hoon spot only slightly improved by an apparently amazing playground 🙄, people had complained left right and centre.....but we had no choice and once the girls spied the ABSOLUTELY amazing playground we caved and set up "camp"........fish and chips by the marina were probably the best we have had so far, it was a bit eery with the howling wind and I couldn't help but wonder if that had put off the hoons but accepted it for what it was and moved on 😂

Adelaide | South Australia

I wasnt very fussed about going to Adelaide....i feel like we have spent far too much time on this trip in cities, it doesn't interest me in the slightest but I was outvoted! Unfortunately due to school holidays (and football finals) we were struggling to find accommodation in Adelaide - about 40 billionty years ago Leigh and his mates stayed at the Adelaide Caravan Park and he desperately wanted to stay there again.....I sighed and grumbled and somehow managed to get us in, muttering about his stubbornness .....AND then I had to do what every partner despises....yup I had to eat my words.

Adelaide is quite possibly the most beautiful city in Australia, it reminds me of Christchurch - the gardens and historical buildings captivating. We did the whole "Tiki Tour" thing and wound our way around the Adelaide Hills to the Whispering Wall (a dam wall constructed in such a way you can talk at one end and 140 metres away at the other end, can be heard)......we visited "The Big Rockinghorse" toyshop and wiped away a few hours in Hahndorpf, bratwurst and beer consumed we arrived back at the park feeling like we had seen enough of Adelaide city ....to know we will have to come back!! - lucky its close to home ah?

Mannum (Bolto Reserve)| South Australia

Thanks to a previous blog by the Giles family we rode on their coat tails and packed up the van (yes, I am getting sick of it!!) and made our way to Mannum, this has honestly been one of my most favourite places.....we stayed at the Bolto Reserve on the other side of the river but only a short FREE ferry ride into the cute little town. At only $10 per night we decided to park up for two nights. We visited the Museum which is to be commended for its interactiveness for kids and adults - Its not always easy to keep two kids happy and engaged at a small rural museum for two hours! Meals out have been few and far between but we treated ourselves to dinner at the Pretoria Hotel and it was lovely to have a break from cooking and dishes! Ps - I'll add dishwasher to my list of things I'm looking forward to reacquainting myself with (trying to find the positives people!)

BEST PART vs WORST PART

🐣Liv

Best part: Hahndorpf - I felt like I could live there!

Worst Part: Knowing our trip is nearly over but trying not to think about it!

🐴 Maggie

Best Part: I loved meeting little Charlie the dog - I miss Max soooo much and can't wait to see him and cuddle him!

Worst part: Having to leave Charlie the dog, she was just sooooo cute!

🏌️Leigh

Best part: Adelaide. I was right, Rana was DEFINITELY wrong.

Worst part: I've got a condition called "The Dreads", it's a horrific and severe condition that will only be fixed by winning tattslotto and not having to go home...

🌺 Rana

Best part: Sigh.....Adelaide was okay I guess 😜 but my favourite place so far was Mannum! It was just so laid back and allowed us some much needed downtime and reflection time!

Worst part: "The Dreads" is contagious 😷

LESSONS LEARNT:

📝 Every now and again. Leigh is right and I am not-so-right 😂

NEXT DESTINATION:

Robinvale, Swan Hill and Moama....and then gulp....home 😭