Albury, New South Wales {Caravan Park}

We have changed states, we are finally in New South Wales and Justin tried to tell me it was already warmer {he has a thing about it being freezing all the time in Victoria}.  The caravan park we picked was right on the back side of Lake Hume, it wasn't close to town but it was perfect for us.

Great Aussie Holiday Park turned out to be an amazing spot and I can tell that during school holidays it would be packed as they have so many activities for the children to choose from, not to mention the play ground & water park.  We got a spot right next to the camp kitchen and they had the spot next to us saved for when my Dad arrived.

With no real plans other than catching up with some friends we pottered around and then headed into to town to have dinner with said friends.  It was a lovely evening, even if Lillie did sook at the door because she wasn't near any of us.  We made plans to catch up and have Phil as our tour guide before they joined us for dinner over the weekend at our place.

The next day, while we waited for Dad to arrive {and not knowing when to expect him} we decided to head back to Victoria and have a walk around Beechworth.  WOW what a lovely spot and I can see that it is another popular place. A spot of lunch and a look around the lolly shop {with a purchase or two} before heading back to the caravan park to see Dad.

Sunday was our 'Phil' day and Dad came along for the ride {our car was very full}.  We headed to meet Phil mid morning and he took us out for a look around Yackandada.  A lovely little town not far from Wodonga {yes Victoria again}.  We wander through the antique stores, the art shop and generally took in the buildings.

   

After exploring here we headed back to NSW to take a look at Hume Dam.  We walked along the wall and took in the town that was moved {it is right on the edge of the Dam even now, back then it would've been under it} and how well the dam was made in the 1930's/40's.  We all headed home before Phil, Jax and Hana joined us for dinner.

All too quickly it was time to move on and say goodbye to Dad.  It was lovely to have him with us for a few days.

x

Adelaide {Caravan Park}

The city of churches.

 

I've been to Adelaide before, to visit a friend.  That was a flying visit and really so was this but it was lovely to be able to explore it with my family.  We stayed at the Discovery Beachfront Caravan Park for two nights.  Monday afternoon was spent finding some shops so that we could get the kids new shoes, darn they just keep growing!

We explored some of the streets around the caravan park, which is near Port Adelaide {which is an amazing place}.  Tuesday morning was spend doing school work while we waiting for Dan & Ant to arrive.

Once our friends arrived we decided to head into the city to explore the fresh food markets.  A lunch at the hotel across the road first before we filled our senses with an array of fresh produce from around South Australia.

We still had plenty of time left on our parking so we popped the goods into the car and heading for a walk into the city.  Ant and I honestly spent the entire time looking up, I'm surprised we didn't want into anything {or anyone}.  We saw some street performers on Rundle Mall {as part of the Adelaide Fringe Festival}, saw loads of old buildings and discovered a little lolly shop down a back street.  Our Victorian friends even went for a swim {CRAZY}!

 

To keep the kids happy & entertained we headed to the Adelaide Zoo, which is a great zoo for kids.  We saw heaps of things that they don't have at Perth Zoo and it was definitely easier to see things for the small people.

 

  

 

.We rounded off the day with a stop at the markets again for some amazing local cheese, fresh fruit and of course ice-cream for the kids {alright and me too}

Clare Valley {Caravan Park}

Our drive from Whylla took us along the coast for a short while, meaning we could stop in and take a quick look around Port Augusta, Port Pirie and a lovely town called Crystal Brook {Justin found 'the house' in this lovely little place}.

We eventually arrived in Clare at the Discovery Caravan Park just before 2pm.  It was great to be able to surprise our friends Dan & Ant by coming a few days early {actually Ant didn't even recognize us}.  Our original plan was to stay for two nights, giving us a full day to explore but after our first day out we decided we would need one more, so extended our stay to three nights.

Saturday morning we did a little school work, the kids had a play with some other children and we headed into Clare to have a look around at all of the historical buildings.  What a building main street they've got but disappointingly so the visitors centre didn't really share that much information {or provide that much more}.  Thankfully, through our research we got to take the kids the the history museum that was set up in the old goal.  Kaleb was pretty happy to explore around in there and also the grounds too!

 

   

  

After that we headed out to a little town called Mintaro.  It is what they refer to as a historical town and after our look around I can see why.  The history that they have and have maintained is amazing.  We had lunch at Riley's Winery which was in a quaint little building that was made in the early 1800 {as were many others within the town ship}.  Given how hot is was, we only walked a little before hopping the car to finish off the rest.
 

 

 

 

We all needed the swim when we headed back to the caravan park and we meet a lovely family from Gwaler who we spent the rest of the afternoon with.  The kids even hired one of those driving carts to share with their new friends. A love;y dinner with Dan & Ant before we went back to prepare for our exploring tomorrow.

Sunday we had a slow start to the day and after a little school we packed up and headed out to Burra. Yet another town in this region filled with history and thankfully for us the people are working hard to maintain it, they are proud of where they live.  We started at the visitors centre, where they gave us the map and key to take off on our Historical tour of Burra.

 

  

            

            

 

My most favourite part, well the stand out parts would be the cellars in the cider house and the 'homes' in the creek beds.  Hundreds of people lived in the creek beds, in make shift houses due to the shortage in housing in the area.  Sadly many died due to the poor living conditions they faced.

Perlubie Beach {Camping}

Saying Ceduna at just after 10am with a night stop planned for Perlubie Beach {on advice from Amanda & John} we decided to make a detour to Smoky Bay for a look.

What a lovely little sea side town it is, another oyster town and another jetty.  The jetty was teaming with sea life, people fishing & crabbing and a shark safe swimming are {I really had no idea how bad sharks are in South Australia}.

 

We arrived at Perlubie Beach at noon and WOW!  It was amazing, the camping is right on the beach and there are also lovely little shelters scattered along the beach.

 

Our chosen camp spot was right next to another lovely family from NSW.  Sadly this time I forgot to exchange details with them {how silly am I} but if by chance anyone else happens to bump into Tina, Paul & their two daughters in their travels let me know {they're traveling in the opposite direction to us}. We had a great afternoon watching the tides, chatting, fishing, swimming, crafting and simply relaxing.

 

  

The sunset was beautiful, if not weird to be facing directly west to watch it!  The only downfall was the field mice, that for some strange reason moved to the beach after the sun went down.  A cheeky one snuck in the camper at 530am when I took Kaleb to the look, which didn't make for much sleep before it was time to get up for the day.

 

  

At $5 a night we could easily have stayed here for a few nights but there was a wedding planned for Saturday {which we knew prior to arriving} and they had hoped for a free beach for it.  The set up for it looked beautiful, so hopefully the couple had a great day.