HAPPY NEW YEAR

Wishing all our blog readers a Very Happy New Year and may 2011 be a GREAT year for you all!

Graeme and Marie-Louise

Yorke Peninsula and Christmas 2010

We were traveling along enormous grain fields as we rode up and down the Eyre Peninsula and then down the Yorke Peninsula. It is the middle of harvesting and millions of tonnes of grain are filling up trucks, trains, and big silos. It is so interesting to see and ponder that this is the start of the bread loaves we buy in the supermarket. I wouldn't like to be a farmer here, the fields are so big. Driving a big harvester day in and day out, you still wouldn't feel you are getting anywhere! 

 

 We arrived at Marion Bay on 22nd Dec, where Heather and Bill where waiting and welcomed us into their beautiful home, which became our "home away from home" over Christmas. 

We had some great fellowship together before they took off to Adeleide to celebrate Christmas with family for a few days and they returned on the 26th Dec.


Kylie arrived from Melbourne on Christmas Eve in her hire car from Adelaide airport and kept us entertained for the next few days. We had a Swedish style Christmas dinner with Christmas carols from the Sydney Music Bowl in Melbourne, compliments of Channel 9.

 

We explored the Peninsula and the Innes National Park 
and enjoyed more breathtaking views. We have become so spoilt and have seen so much. We are never taking it for granted, we are very thankful every day for the privilege of traveling around like this.

 All good things come to an end and soon the time came for us to move on so we could make it to Horsham and the Salmela family for New Years celebrations. We traveled to the German township of Hanhdorf in the Adelaide Hills, which was an easy distance of about 300 km. We had booked into a really nice motel right on the main street. The place was filled with holiday makers and cafés and shops of all kinds

However the main memory of Handorf would be our visits to Gale and Jim who's residence was no 85 on the main street. At the back of the house was the biggest surprise, a farm in the middle of this busy town. 

On the 30th Dec we continue our journey towards Horsham and we are getting closer and closer to home. We will have a very busy month in January with Tamworth Country festival and our soon upcoming wedding!!

Crossing the Nullabor

This is what crossing the Nullabor is like. Endless plains, no wildlife, desert and Road Trains on a straight road. We knew we had a couple of tough days ahead of us and we weren't wrong. Up early and ride all day, check in at a room in a Road House, have dinner, sleep and up early again and continue the process.

Our headphones have also gradually broken down, from two to one ear and then to nothing so we couldn't speak to each other. It was brain numbing to travel like this, hour after hour with the same scenery and it was also freezing cold, where did the summer go? We rugged up with all the clothes we could. We used our ipods as well as we could to have some entertainment and finally we are on the other side.

 

Graeme is doing a fantastic job driving all the time.  

Some pictures from the Nullabor Road House, the yard is massive. We saw sheep being reloaded from one Road Train to another, four levels on each train. They were going to new pastures and not to the slaughter house.

We arrived at Streaky Bay last night and today we traveled down the beautiful Eyre Peninsula to Port Lincoln where we are staying the night in a big comfortable self contained unit . Could easily stay here for a few days but we have to get to Marion Bay where Heather and Bill are waiting for us so we keep traveling for two more days before we are stopping for Christmas.

We so enjoyed our stay at the lovely Yardarm B&B, Ken and Judy made us so welcome.

Add  to this the beautiful self contained room with magnificent views and all for $99.
Stay with them if you are ever in this part of the world 08 8683 0984 (International Code +61886830984)
www.yardarmpress.com/yardarm/bedandbreakfast.htm

Eire Peninsula

Australia is a massive continent, and we will have soon ridden all around it, 19600 km so far. Now we are traveling east and towards home!

Together 24/7 and it is magic!

Margaret River and Albany

Albany is a beautiful town, very spread out over the hills and along the seashore. 
We didn't have much opportunity to explore it as we from time to time have to attend to the normal businesses of life, but thankfully we can attend to most things from a distance due to the internet and with Frances' assistance.


We did  run our business affairs from a most beautiful B&B, Finders Park Lodge. The surrounding park lands with silver birches reminded me of Sweden in summer. The temperatures did too, we have gone from hot to cold and very cold. 

We enjoyed the nice rooms, good service and rested a bit as we will not have this luxury for the next week, crossing the Nullabor, with many km to cover every day.

Our bedroom

 We visited the whale museum, which is the real site from which whaling took place between 1952-1978 before it stopped in all of Australia. It was very interesting and if you come here in the right season and are lucky, you can spot whales from the shore.

Skeleton of a blue pygmy whale, 22m long

Blue whale much bigger than the pygmy up to 29 m

Sperm whale

 

We visited Margaret River for a couple of days prior to Albany and met up with John and Anne from our Hog Chapter which was really enjoyable. We took a tour to Xanadu Winery where there is going to be an international HOG rally between 17th-19th Nov 2011.

We will be back in Nov 2011

 

Pemberton photos & the Gloucester Tree

This Gloucester Tree is the highest working fire lookout tree in the World .
Guess who climbed the 153 rungs to a height of over 60 metres?
I was rewarded with a commanding view of the surrounding Gloucester National park, forests and farmlands and the magnificent bird life.

Guess who was chicken !!!!!!!!
Can you believe she jumps out of a plane but won't climb a little old tree.

The story below was in a coffee shop down the road - God was not ready for them on this day.