Disaster has well and truly struck, and on so many different levels;
Disaster 1. The air conditioning has broken
Disaster 2. The fuel pump will cost $1000 to fix
Disaster 3. Still can’t fix the water leak
Disaster 4. We have a rodent hitchhiker!
The first couple of problems we are going to ignore and hope that the leaks get no worse, and to combat the fact that we have no AC traveling in the car on hot days will now be done only in underwear to prevent us dying from heat exhaustion.
The mouse problem is more serious, in fact I’ve decided there is far, far too much wildlife in Australia. This decision was reached after a few days in the Flinders Rangers facing spiders with heads the size of tennis balls and kangaroos helping themselves to our food. One particular roo actually rose up on its hind legs and went into the food cupboard! I had to wrestle it out, so yes, I have wrestled a kangaroo and managed to tick that off my all time top ten list of things to do. If only Megan could have taken a picture.
On the mouse front; we managed to get the little free loader out a few days ago but when we noticed the tell tale ‘presents’ and holes in pasta bags once again the poison went down I’m afraid to say. Such is the sate of our finances that when we find the body he or she will be served up on a bed of rice with a few courgettes and a nice little Sauvignon-Blanc.
The Flinders Ranges proved to be a very picturesque area and well worth the detour to go and see them. We stayed at a place called Wilpena Pound and if you google aerial photos of the place you will be able to see better than I can describe why it’s such an impressive spot.
Other than the close encounters of the roo kind we did a lot of walking in the area, as it was nice to do a bit of exercise after all that sitting in the car, and although my legs complained the entire time I’m sure they, and my waist line will thank me in the long run.
From the highlands to the…… ummmm…..Midlands I suppose. On our way to Adelaide we broke up the journey by stopping at a place called Burra. We chose Burra because it was described in the book as a mini Cornish village and being from such a place I wanted to see it. It wasn’t really Cornish but very pretty all the same and I did get to eat a pasty!
The ugly side of Burra came in the form of locusts, a squadron of locusts (which is slightly less than a plague) that came flying down the main street throughout the day. Due to all the wet and warm weather in this area of Australia the bugs have been breeding in record numbers. In fact, whilst driving towards Burra I thought someone was shooting at the car but it actually turned out to be locusts exploding on the windows and bonnet! We are pretty sure one of the buggers is responsible for the hole in my condenser, leading to the lack of air con and me driving in my pants.
When we arrived in Oz a month or so ago we got a message from David, inviting us to stay at his vineyard if we were passing through Adelaide. Never one to pass up a free night’s accommodation, the possibility of a free meal and the chance to download more episodes of Grand Designs, (man I love that program) we rocked up on Friday afternoon, not knowing quite what to expect. Pulling up we counted four Land Rovers in his drive, so clearly a good guy. Quite how good was made immediately apparent when he offered us a bed to sleep in for four nights, food, wine and help in fixing the many, many issues we have with our beloved car.
Later that afternoon we met his partner Becky, who was equally as friendly and, judging by the Sunday roast we had possibly the best cook in the world. Again and again we have been amazed by the trusting and friendly nature of the total strangers that have offered us a bed, sustenance and help. We can’t thank David and Becky enough for their generosity, hospitality and wine! We spent a really nice relaxing three days on their amazing farm in the Adelaide hills and I am writing this just before we leave to go camping again. This might become a very, very long blog as I try and drag out our stay out for another week……
Trek to Oz 