From Mt Clay to Wrights Bay

Dearne doing her patchwork amongst the gumtrees at Mt Clay

As suggested in our last blog update, our stay in the Mt Clay State Forest ended up a two-day stopover. We were a wee bit nervous on the first day as temperatures were quite high and we were surrounded by the ‘bush’. Our minds were eased however when we discovered a manned fire tower approximately 600 metres from us and the ranger was visiting our site twice a day to let us know of any fire danger. The horrific stories we hear from people who have experienced the fires make us very wary.

A visiting kookaburra at Mt Clay

For everyplace we are visiting in Australia, there is always something ‘different’ that helps us remember the area. In the Mt Clay State Forest it was the kookaburra. While we have heard and seen the bird in many places in our travels, this was the first area where they were in abundance and had no fear about coming down to the van and settling within a metre of us. There were both adult and young birds and they seemed quite happy to sit close and listen to us talk. In some of these remote areas the wildlife have very little fear of humans.

We departed the State Forest on Thursday morning and made our way along the Princess Highway toward Mt Gambier.  The pantry was looking a little sparse so a stop at the local Woolworths was essential. From Mt Gambier we continued along the highway to our next stop at Wrights Bay Bush camp, about 24km north of Robe and directly beside the beach. We decided to head for the coast as temperatures are forecast to be above 40C for the next four days and we thought a sea breeze might be a lifesaver.  It is 2pm at the moment and 28C so I think we made the best decision.

Dearne’s latest shot for her new book

When we started our journey in Australia, Dearne decided she was going to photograph ‘old’ buildings along the way and when we get back home produce a book of historic Australian buildings, homes and abodes. The number of these types of buildings makes it easy to accumulate photographs. The most difficult part will be at the end when she has to select the best photographs. She is loving the challenge of the project.

We have said many a time in the blog that the customer service ethic over here leaves much to be desired at times.  However where bouquets are due, we feel we must give it. You will recall that a week or so ago we punctured the dome over the satellite dish on top of the motorhome. A low branch skewered it while we were searching for koala in the wild at the Cape Otway National Park. Last Friday night (the long weekend) we emailed Majestic, the makers of our dish, and asked them if they could provide us with a new dome. We were not expecting a reply until Tuesday. Our email was answered the next day (Saturday) by Majestic’s Australian CEO who arranged to have a new dome couriered to us from New Zealand to our next city stop  – Adelaide.  The new dome will be in Adelaide before the end of the coming week.  Brilliant service!

We also arranged for the Australian Caravan Company, a motorhome and caravan repair business in Adelaide to receive the dome on our behalf. They have also offered to fit the new one for us. Again, brilliant service!

To Majestic, especially Tony Munro, Australia’s CEO and to Jocie Haggett of the Australian Caravan Company, many thanks for all your help and advice. We promise we will pay more attention to ‘hanging branches’ in the future.

Our plan is to stay at Wrights Bay until Monday and take the jeep out over the weekend to visit Robe and a number of very popular vineyards in the area. Shouldn’t be too hard.

Have a great weekend everyone.