From there I headed south to the town of Port Augusta, population 15,000, making it the 5th largest city in the state. It is located at the head of the Spencer Gulf. I needed some supplies, a shower and a plan for the rest of the trip. I had spent time in the desert, the mountains and now was looking for a little beach to inhabit. Entering town I stopped in the information centre to make my inquiries. There are 3 peninsulas in the area, The Eyre (air), the Yorke, and the Fleurieu (no idea how to say this one), all with national parks at their tips. The Eyre being to the west and fairly large was going to take me farther away from home and I was on the back leg headed towards home so that one was out. The Fleurieu was south of Adelaide, another 322km (200 miles) south of Port Augusta and too far to go for the day. This left the Yorke Peninsula and Innes National park. After grilling the nice lady at the information centre. I went back to Tommy the Tank and realized I had locked my keys in the truck! Oh My God what do I do! Luckily, I was prepared for just such a brain fart! Having done this particular brain fart several times in my life! I had taken my extra set of keys from Michael before leaving Melbourne and vowed to always keep them in my pocket just in case. 5 days into the trip “just in case” happened and I needed that extra set of keys. So I hopped back in Tommy being sure to place the extra keys back in my pocket should I be so forgetful again and headed to the local truck stop for a shower before doing some shopping. 2 hours later, clean, stocked (one purchase being a hand air pump for my mattress) and fueled up I head south once more with my new destination in mind.
The day itself was showery and windy. Not particularly good for anything but driving and listening to the radio anyway. The highway (a real 4 lane separated highway) hugged the flat
coast line for a about 100kms before the Yorke Peninsula jutted out westerly. I hooked a right turn and started down the road past slightly rolling farm lands and through several tiny towns, like so many others I had passed on this trip already. I came up on this truck pulling a motor home and realized I had seen this vehicle before. Actually I have seen it about 5 times before in the last 5 days. The picture is a little fuzzy,(click on it to enlarge) because I was driving when I took it. But as you can see Carol and Graeme are out there to do as much as they can before the good lord make it impossible for them to do so.I stopped in the last town, Marion Bay, to fill up on petrol again, before entering into the park about 5pm. I was tired and ready to call it a day. I
had left the Flinders Ranges at 7:30am that morning and driven almost 600km (375m). Doing the typical cruise of the camping areas I settled in at Shell Beach campground with no one else in sight. The solitude lasted about 20 minutes before a bogan (redneck) in a car pulled up. He had been fishing all day and was going to sleep outside next to his car in a make shift tent of sorts. It was really just a canvass tarp slid over a pole and propped up at one end on the fence. It didn’t seem like much, defiantly not as warm, cushy and secure as the bed in the back of Tommy. I don’t remember this guy’s name but since I was well supplied I invited him over to my campfire and was chatted the evening away. Talking about nothing really but keeping each other company, around 10pm most of the fire wood was gone and it was time to hit the hay. I climbed in to Tommy and he wandered off to his campsite. The next morning I fixed my hot chocolate and scrambled eggs. I had the intentions of spending the day at this park near the beach. After breakfast I took a long walk along the beach snapping these photos. I found a spot to sit and 
watch the waves crash on the rocks until a rain shower came through and made me head back to camp for some shelter. By this point in the trip I had unpacking and packing of the vehicle down to a science. My neighbour had left and as I was bored with this spot. Still only being about 10am I decided to drive back out and find another place to spend my Thursday evening. On my way out of the park I found a view point by a light house at West Cape Headland. Always looking for that picturesque spot to play my sax I stopped and carried it the 1km (0.67m) out to the tip and set up. The wind was at gale force, playing was going to be difficult and my hopes of setting up the camera on a tripod to get pictures didn’t look good. But as luck would have it an older couple came along just in time to help me out. The lovely lady snapped this picture of me while I stood bracing myself against the wind and trying to blow air out of the saxophone while mother nature tried to blow it back into my lungs.I rolled into Adelaide about 2pm. I had spent 5 nights out mostly by myself and was ready for some social interaction with other gay people, and see what Adelaide
had to offer. I was greeted by a traffic jam, a car on its roof and a rainbow. Once again the information centre helped me locate an Internet cafe. Where I could locate some gay bars, Adelaide had 3 according to the web. I wanted to find a hostel or backpackers place within walking distance of one of them. So I typed in the address of the first one into my GPS and set off to find it. Turns out is was no longer a gay bar. Off to the second I go, this place was closed for remodelling. 3rd time is a charm right! I found “The Mars Bar” closed and not opening until 10pm. But I did meet a queen on the street that told me about Sunny’s backpacker accommodations around the corner and a location of a launderette (that’s what they call a laundry mat here) I was in need of clean clothes for which to go out in, so that was my first stop. While my clothes spun through the cycles of machine land. I did what any aspiring musician would do and practiced the sax right there in the laundry mat. Luckily, there was no one around to be critical of my playing. I did get many stares as people walked by on the street and at one point some lady came in and emptied all the change from the machines. But no one ever said a word to me. With my clothes clean the next stop was Sunny’s for another shower. $20 for a bunk style bed and a hot shower is not bad at all. But I have to admit a well filled air mattress in the back of Tommy was more comfortable. I made myself some dinner in the communal kitchen with a bunch of students from various places in the world, keeping to myself mostly. Many of them spoke in their native tongues (not English), had groups of friends with them, all were half my age. After dinner I sat to watch a little TV. A Caucasian woman had the remote and she kept laughing a strangely eerie laugh every minute or so. It was really weird like she had voices in her head and they we’re telling her funny scary things. I don’t recall what it was that we were watching but it wasn’t a comedy that’s for sure. After about 30 minutes, not knowing if she was going to completely flip out any second or not, I decided I’d wander the streets until the bar opened. That seemed much safer anyway.I made my way towards the bar and about 9:30 noticed a group of 3 other gay men standing outside waiting for it to open. In all my years of going to gay bars and we’re talking 20 of them! I’ve never been to a town with only 1 bar that doesn’t open until 10pm on a Thursday and that people would actually be waiting outside for it to open. But here I was making small talk with the locals. One guy was a native of Adelaide but now lived in Melbourne and was home visiting family. He was really skinny, had really bad teeth and an attitude like he was god’s gift to gay men with the look of a meth addict. The other 2 lived there and I think were a couple. One of them was already pretty drunk and not making much sense. When the doors opened at 10, we took up our places at a small table near the dance floor. A group of kids came in a played pool at the one lonely pool table. But otherwise at 11pm there was no one else there. The drunken guy was moving on to his 5th beer and starting to make moves on me. The meth head hadn’t stopped talking the entire time, the bartender looked bored out of his mind and I was right there with him. I finished my 2nd vodka and left my new friends to party on without me. As I walked the street back to Sunny’s I passed a pub with pokies (slot machines). Unable to resist the urge for SOME excitement, even if it was electronic and mostly likely to cost me some money, I went in and found a penny machine to sit at for a little while. Much to my amazement I actually won $40 which that paid for my accommodations and drinks at the bar. To this point Adelaide was a bust and the most exciting thing had been the car accident and rainbow. I went back to the hostel with plans of getting out of town as quickly as possible in the morning.
Up and over Mt Baker towards the town of Murray Bridge (named so because is near a crossing of the Murray River, very original) and Coorong National Park, a long sliver of sand arching slightly, facing the Indian Ocean. My hope was to be able to drive along the beast from the town of Salt Creek to Tilley Point about 42km (26m) and take a walk or play the sax somewhere. As soon as I could I got off the main paved roads and dart on to the dirt tracks again. My reference guides told me the “42 Mile Crossing” was the best one to take across the slough in winter. So I put Tommy into four wheel mode and followed the soft sand road towards the ocean. No real mud puddles here but the sand did make for interesting driving. I did lots of little fish tails and high revs of the engine to keep my forward momentum going. Cresting the final 
dune to the beach I soon found out it was the peak of high tide and with tonight’s moon being full it was a VERY high tide. What this means for those not accustom to beach driving is your stuck way up on the beach in very soft sand. Not down below the tide line where the sand is more firmly packed. It also means as I found out on my first trip to Australia in 2004 on Fraser Island that you run a good chance of getting stuck between the ocean and a non-drive able hill side. That lesson taught me not to take my own vehicle out there to be washed away. So I sat for a few minutes listening to the sounds of the sea and enjoying the view before making me way back through along the crossing road. When life gives you lemons you make lemonade right! So I 
found my joy in doing as many of the crossing roads as I could find. All were 2 to 4km long (1.2 to 2.5m), clearly defined albeit very narrow at times through the brush, full of fun soft sand that I was unlikely to get stuck or washed away in. The was Tea Tree Crossing, 32 Mile Crossing, Wreck Crossing, 28 Mile Crossing all along the Old Coorong Road. At each time I made it to the beach I’d st oped to walk for a few minutes, taking in the sights, sounds and smells or these beautiful spots. Snapping pictures of the interesting and strange things I found washed up on the way. Once I had gone past the park my next plan was to spend my last night on the road at the Lower Glenlg National Park in the far south western corner of my home state, Victoria. But First I had t few more towns to drive through. The most notable being Kingston South Australia. It is notable for this giant crayfish on the edge of town. This big red guy is featured in an Australian tourism commercial and stands about 30’ high. So I had to stop along with several others to snap my photo. From there I pushed on once more past Millicent and Mount Gambier into Victoria. A strange thing happened to me as I crossed the state line. I wanted to be home! I had driven 550km (341m) so far today but Melbourne and my own bed were calling me. The GPS was telling me it was another 450km (280m) to home and about 4 more hours of driving. So I resupplied the front of the truck with snack food and redbull. Put the pedal down and headed for home. Just as the sun was setting, the full moon began to rise and I got this great photo. (those are sheep in the foreground) It seemed a perfect ending to a GREAT trip. 3250km (2020m) in 7 days, 6 national parks, miles and miles of 4x4 tracks, peace, solitude and oneness with nature that always seems to bring some peace to my soul. Mission accomplished!
Something I did since returning was to go to a bar called Chillon here in town. My friends Jeff
and Phil, fellow Americans from Texas and I had been talking about this place for several weeks. So I finally got off my duff and made the reservation. It’s a bar made in a large freezer with everything of ice. It cost $40 for a warm coat, gloves and 2 drinks in a 30 minute period. It was cool and interesting, good place to go with a group of friends. A fun thing but not something you ever need to do twice in your life. Here are some of the pictures we took that night. The rest of the evening was spent at a couple warm places and Melbourne’s rooftop bars.
It’s also Grand Final weekend now, Victoria’s league of rugby. The St Kilda Saints against last years losing team The Geelong Cats. I had just arrived last year and the weather was nice to I went to Fed Square and people watched the crazed fans. This year the weather is crappy. A high of 15 C (59F) is forecasted with lots of wind and rain. You can look at my old postings for more information on the game. I have a few more friends this time and we’re going to a local gay sports bar, DT’s to watch the hunky men chase a ball in the mud.
Plans for the coming weeks are a camping trip to the Grampians National Park for Melbourne Cup weekend. A horse racing event the first weekend in November and it’s a 4days off work! Then another Thanksgiving dinner here at home with friends, later in November. Not much is really planned for October so there probably won’t be another update.
Happy Birthday goes out to my brother Mark who turns 43 on the 28th and my friend Ed who will be 51 on October 7th. Ruth is having a birthday on the 17th, Laure Wrobleski's is on the 28th (maybe the 29th) of October too.
No comments:
Post a Comment