Dags'n'Dogs Outback Adventure - Week 1

All set, ready to roll

Time to Go -

So it's finally June and it's time to hit the road on our Outback Adventure. As usual, we had a rough idea of where we wanted go and what we wanted to see but nothing was final or booked. Our rough plan was to leave Melbourne and head west to Stawell, follow the silo art trail north to Mildura and then cut across into the Clare Valley in SA before again heading north to Marree. From there take the Birdsville track to Birdsville and then across to Innaminka, Camerons Corner and back down to Broken hill before heading east to Wilcannia, Cobar and back up to Bourke. If there was time left, we would try and get to Lightning Ridge otherwise we would start our trek south and our way home for the end of August. The plan was to free camp at least 50% of the time using stops at caravan parks to wash, recharge and top up water and supplies when required.

Night 1 - Lake Lonsdale

With the van packed and the car loaded, we (Denise, i and the three dogs) piled in to the cruiser and got ourselves settled in to what would become a familiar routine for the next 7 weeks. Dogs in the travel box on the back seat, Denise in the co pilots seat and me in the drivers seat. Knowing we had a few hundred kilometres to do, we set off mid morning and hit the Western highway out of Melbourne, straight into a blowing headwind and deteriorating weather. I hadn't bothered to fill the cruiser in Melbourne so our first stop was just outside Ballarat, the temperature had dropped from 12 to 9 degrees and standing at the pump with the wind chill, it was feeling more like 2 or 3. The cruiser so far was averaging fuel consumption of 30lt per 100km into the solid headwind but it was day 1, uphill and weather would get better the further north we went (at least we hoped). We made a quick stop at Beaufort and had a quick look around. Lovely little town with a few antique shops, a supermarket and cafe but the weather was so icy cold that even the dogs couldn't wait to get back in the car.

We continued on to Ararat but due to the weather only managed a drive-by of the main street before continuing on to Great Western where we let the dogs out for a stretch and a quick rest stop.

We travelled on to Stawell and headed into town driving past the iconic oval where the Stawell gift is run, we cruised the main street and stopped at the Supermarket to pick up last minute supplies for dinner that night. By now it was getting close to 4 pm so we decided it was time to find our camp for the night and we headed out of town to the shores of lake Lonsdale.

Despite the overcast and cool conditions, we managed to find a nice spot tucked in along the sand dune and get a fire going. Despite the heavy overcast conditions, the rain held off and thankfully, the wind also dropped off late in the day.

With Day one over, we had our dinner, sat by the fire and hoped for better weather tomorrow.

Day 2 - Silo Art Trail

After a good nights sleep, we packed up camp and headed towards Rupanyup and the start of the Silo Art Trail. The weather was pretty much the same as the day before, overcast, occasional showers and very windy which again played havoc with the fuel economy but the silo art was amazing and well worth the trip.

The first silo we stopped at was in Rupanyup, a black and white piece on metal silos on the egde of town with an information station nearby containing details on this and the rest of the Silo art trail. The second was in Sheep hill, big, colourful display off the main road and really out on it's own along the train line. We continued on to Warracknabeal and had a look around, finding a large and very interesting secondhand/collectables shop where we were able to find a few small items for use in the van. Unfortunately the weather was against us so after a bite of lunch we moved on to the silo art locations at Brim, Rosebery and Lascelles. By this time, it was already heading towards 4pm and we were only half way to Mildura so we topped up the fuel up in Ouyen, checked Wikicamps for a dog friendly caravan park in Mildura and headed for the Big 4 caravan park on the banks of the Murray River. The beauty of having a caravan is that arriving in the dark is no big deal, level the van and drop the stabilisers (easy on a flat level caravan park site), turn on the gas, plug in the power and connect the water and sullage, done!

More details on the Silo Art trail can found on their website http://siloarttrail.com/home/

Nights 2 & 3 - Mildura.

We love Mildura, it is easy to spend a few days here and this trip was no exception. We cruised the shopping strip and did a little shopping, spent some time on the banks of the river, visited the dog park, footy oval and other dog friendly parks as well as a little driving through the country side around Redcliffes and the like, after all, we were on holiday, no need to rush.

Night 4 - Waikerie

Heading out of Mildura, we headed towards the SA border with no fixed destination in mind. Our Hema map book suggested there was a BIG Orange to be seen in Berri so that was our target with plans to find a camp somewhere along the Murray near by. Crossing the border and fruit fly inspection we drove into Berri only to drive right pass where the Big Orange should have been without even seeing it. Turns out it is closed so there was nothing to see anyway. Stopping in Berri, we stocked up our fruit and veg, topped up the fuel and continued heading west towards the Clare valley.

Around 3pm, Wikicamps came out again and we decided to investigate a couple of free camp options on the Murray around Waikerie. This proved to be a good choice as we found a lovely spot right on the river and had the place all to ourselves, the benefit of travelling off season.

A quick fire wood hunt and the fire going, fishing rods in, it was time for a BBQ dinner and a couple of beers as we settled in for a lovely evening albeit a little cool once you moved away from the fire. Having the place to ourselves meant the dogs could have free run of the place but trying to keep track of three dogs, all going in different directions proved challenging.

Night 5 - Hawker

Day 5 - Saturday morning, we woke to a lovely sunny morning with plans to stop in the Clare Valley and enjoy a winery or two for lunch while spending the afternoon exploring the Valley area. On the way we pass through the town of Truro and just had to stop at the Old Bank of Adelaide Antiques and collectables store. This place had an amazing collection of Uranium glass but with equally amazing prices so we left empty handed. Unfortunately, the further west we travelled, the more the weather deteriorated and by lunchtime the headwinds were back and the rain had rolled in. As we drove through through the Clare Valley in the rain, it was agreed that we would push on North and try and find the better weather. (leaving another reason to come back again someday)

As we drove north, we learned a funny thing about country SA on a Saturday afternoon during footy season.... Nothing is open after lunch time. With headwinds again playing havoc on the fuel consumption and having just passed through the little town of Jamestown on R.M Williams Way, we were faced with an option to either divert to Peterborough for a fuel stop or continue on to Orroroo and fuel up there. Yours truly decided that we would continue in Orroroo, however, as we pulled into town and noticed the crowds at the footy oval, it became obvious that town was deserted and even the only servo was closed. A quick google suggested that fuel might be available in Carrieton, about 40km up the road and Hawker was only 110km so we decided to push on with the fuel gauge already well below the 1/4 mark.

Thanks to the continuing headwinds, we pulled into Carrieton with the fuel gauge hovering on E and the Carrieton Petrol Station/Post office/Bank closed. As luck would have it, there was a contact number on window for an out of hours service and we managed to get hold of the only person in town and not at the footy. It was luck because she had been at the footy earlier but came home because it was "too bloody cold and windy". The out of hours service included a small fee along with a minimum purchase, neither of these were a problem to us. The really surprising thing was that fuel out here was only 5 cpl more expensive that buying it in Melbourne? How does that work?

With 50 litres of fuel on board, we pushed on to Hawker and checked in to the Hawker Caravan park for the night.

Night 6 - Farina Ruins

Sunday morning, filled up the Cruiser in Hawker and with plans made to spend the night at the Farina camp grounds, we set off. It was a nice leisurely drive stopping in Leigh Creek for a rest stop and to let the dogs have a run at school oval before continuing on to Lyndhurst. This is where the bitumen ends and the dirt road begins so we aired down the tyres and prepared for the next 800 or so kilometres of unsealed road.

Arriving at the Farina ruins, we stopped at the underground bakery hoping to pick up some fresh bread only to find out they had sold out.

We headed into the camp ground which was already reasonably busy and managed to find a spot out the back with enough room to let the dogs out off the lead. The flys were bad early so some chose to wear fly nets while the dog made first use of their fly tent. Later that afternoon as the sun was setting, we headed off to investigate the camp ground, the war memorial and to buy some firewood from the homestead. That night we had a cracking fire and the stars were amazing, finally it felt like we were well and truely in the outback.

Night 7 - Marree

Day 7 started early with a 7.30am visit to the bakery to pick up some fresh bread for breakfast and a wander around the ruins. The Farina cemetery is a few kilometres out from the camp ground so we before we hooked up the van, we took a drive to check it out.

Marree is only 57km from Farina so we were on the road and rolling into Marree well before lunch time. We found a site at the Marree Oasis caravan park and decide to leave the van and head out to check out Lake Eyre. This was about a 160km round trip on some pretty rough corrugated track but not having the caravan meant we could move a little quicker and the weather was near perfect. As our first week came to a close, we headed to the Marree hotel for dinner and a few drinks and prepared for week two and the Birdsville track.