Days 31 to 37 and home

 My apologies for the lateness of this post. It was my intention to update newsfromjude as soon as we arrived home, but life got a|"little" busy with unpacking, cleaning, washing and Christmas preparations which was only a week after getting home. And then it was Christmas and now it's Boxing Day, so here I am, before it gets to be New Years Day, which is just around the corner.

We left Fowler's Bay on the morning of December 9th, which was Day 31 of our trip. We woke to strong winds and rain, which had been forecast. We did wonder about staying at Fowler's Bay for another day or 2, but the forecast for the next day at Fowlers Bay, was heavy rains also. The decision was made to leave and see how far we would get. It wasn't much fun for Barry to pack up the cords, and water hoses etc in the rain, and to put down the pop top. By the time we left, the wind had eased slightly but it was still raining. There was some gravel road to get back onto the highway, and you can see how muddy it was getting..............

We had planned to head to Darke Peak and stay at my brother's farm for a couple of nights, but the rain kept falling, and we decided we did not want to drive with the van on their gravel roads. We decided to stay at Kimba for the night, and they would drive up to meet us for the evening.

We had to stop at Ceduna for the quarantine station checkpoint, and it was still raining!!

The next 2 photos give you an idea of how wet things were.............

.......we decided not to use this dump point as we had no rubber boots, and wasn't going to get wet using it!!

We set up the van at the free camp at the Kimba Oval, which was amazing. The facilities were outstanding, and there was a camp kitchen, and dump point all for free. A donation would be appreciated and we were very happy to do so. Their was no power, but we had a generator and gas for cooking. You can see below how wet the camp was, but it was all gravel, so not muddy.

We dined at the local hotel and enjoyed a catchup. I had not seen my brother or his wife for a couple of years and Barry had not met them before, so it was good to chat with them. Perhaps there will be a trip to their farm another time when it is not so wet. Kimba scored a total rainfall of 4 inches during a couple of days!! I know the rain continued for 2 days and 2 nights without stopping. We did not see blue sky for several days after crossing the border from WA.

These are the painted silos at Kimba.

A problem had developed with the van brakes while we were driving in the wet. A bit of detective work by Barry showed him where the problem could be, and he would have liked to get under the van to check out some things, but it was so wet, and there was no way he could get under. The mysterious part was it turned out to be an intermittent problem. We thought to get to Pt Augusta and find a repair place to check out some things.

When we arrived at Pt Augusta the next day (Day 32), we decided to keep going and hoped to sort out the issue in Adelaide.  We had a quick stop at the supermarket before heading further south.

It was still raining..............

It was late afternoon by the time we stopped at Crystal Brook. I have a nephew living and working at the Brook and tried to catch up with him, but it turned out he was away. Perhaps next time?? I had lived at Crystal Brook for the first year of my married life and was interested to see the house we lived in 50 years ago.

We stayed at the caravan park which was set among the gum trees lining the Crystal Brook creek. We were woken the next morning with very loud thunder and lightening, and still more rain, before packing up again and heading south to the city. We planned to catchup with many friends and family for a few days before heading home. 

Day 33..............This is the house were I lived in 1973, although it has undergone some changes since then.

The brakes were still an intermittent issue and Barry was hoping for the rain to stop so he could get underneath the van and check out the wiring. We were invited to park the van at the front of our friends house and here is our home for the next 4 nights.

Thankyou Ruth and Ashley for your hospitality, we enjoyed an evening out for dinner one night.

                                           

The rain stopped for a little while so that Barry was able to get under the van to check things out. He has eliminated a few possible things, (except one) that may have caused the problem, and is hoping things are fixed, but won't know until we get back on the road again.

                                                         

Day 34, 35 and 36...........

We caught up with many people over the next few days, including an evening with my family.........

Sorry, no photos, but we enjoyed time with some of Barry's family and work colleagues and Barry also had another work day in the van.

Day 37...............

This was departure for home day, (insert sad face here). After a late evening prior, we were off to a late start and did not get away until almost midday. We travelled north and east through the hills and stopped at Gumeracha for lunch in the van at a pretty park.

It was a lovely sunny day for travelling and all the rain, thunder and lightening had gone. The next few photos were taken as we headed through the Palmer Hills and down the plains towards to Murray Bridge.............

At Murray Bridge we stopped to visit with Mum, and then headed south east towards home. The sky was very pretty with the blue and the fluffy clouds. We had not seen much blue sky since leaving WA.

The sign posts showed that home was getting closer!!...........

..until we arrived at the town entrance..................

It had been 37 days, since leaving home, and we had travelled 7,973 km in that time. We left on November 9th and arrived home on December 15th.

It was an amazing experience, and I am very thankful and very blessed to have been able to go. We loved our time away, saw lots of this great vast country of ours and also had a relaxing, unrushed holiday. 

I was sad to come home after having such a good time, and it did not take long before reality hit and the unpacking, cleaning and washing took over. But the van is packed and still out the front of the house, ready for another little trip very soon. 

I will be back with another post of the week after coming home, which includes Christmas.

Blessings, From Jude