It's a Bonus

The sign said “Quarantine Area, Private Property, Entry by Appointment only , No Vehicles past this Point”, the gate was locked and the open entry via the cattle grid did not look suitable for a caravan of our size.  So we continued on a little further hoping to see another entry to Bonus Downs,  a cattle property come farm stay that we had booked for the night.

Found nothing that looked like an entry so we returned to the gate. I checked the lock on the main gates only to find the chains were  just hooked together  so we opened them up and drove in.



The Entrance to Bonus Downs



There’s something about country people – quiet, unassuming , friendly,  that makes you feel instantly at home. Madonna greeted us at the second gate and showed us to our site. Despite the lack of grass due to the drought, we could not have been happier – shady spot, concrete path to an ensuite, a view of the historic homestead, camp kitchen to name a few.

Bonus Downs is a 33,000acre working cattle property about 50km south of Mitchell, along a narrow bitumen road.  Madonna and Lyle have owned it for 25 years saving the 100 year old homestead from being demolished, lovingly restoring it and the surrounding buildings to their former glory.



The Smoke House

Over a glass of wine at happy hour, Madonna and Lyle Connelly enlightened us with the history of Bonus and many stories of their journey as owners of the property – centenary celebrations, drought,  fights with bureaucrats  over the use of the land, the section of Ooline forest on their property which dates back 1.6 million years and tales of interesting people who have come to stay.

It’s a bonus to come across such a wonderful place to set up camp for the night. Bonus Downs has really set the bar high for the rest of our journey. Thank you Madonna and Lyle.  We’ll be back.

www.bonusdowns.webls.net   

Facebook: Bonus Downs



The Homestead



Eagle Hawk Nest in the Ooline Forest

Pete in the Ooline Forest



Succulent growing at the Homestead





Picnic Spot in the Ooline Forest

The Rottie Pup

The breeder

It was Sunday and chaos continued as we prepared to depart for a 6 week trip to the Flinders Ranges via Birdsville. Hilary had arrived to cat sit Ollie, Ari, Claes and Bradley  were still there after the big birthday celebrations of the previous week, and then the Rottie arrived. The breeder delivered her along with her papers, some food and a container for water. We had made a little “kennel”  for the back seat of the car, consisting of some towels in a plastic container and a couple of chewy things. What were we thinking???? But she was so cute. Ari took her for a “wee” walk whilst the last minute check of the van happened, then we gently placed her in her “kennel” and drove off.

The "kennel



To our surprise, she promptly went to sleep, only waking when we stopped near Ipswich to check that all was well with the new tyres on the van. Took the opportunity to give her a “wee” break but nothing happened.    Another “wee” stop about an hour later was also not necessary.  The rottie pup had a little chew on a bone before going back to sleep.

The Pup

We planned to stop in Dalby and had organized with my cousin Ian and his wife Yvonne to park the van at their house for the night. The Rottie pup awoke just as we pulled up. I carefully picked her up out of the “kennel” and delivered her to her new Mum and Dad. Hugs and smiles all round.

 

Lightning Ridge – it’s the jewel of the outback. Who cares about the opals?

The word on the Gray’pe vine  was “You’ll book in for two days and end up staying five.” Right we said. What’s there to see in Lightning Ridge?


Astronomy Shrine

Amigo's Castle

Well , apart from the obvious shops selling opals, opals and more opals there is so   much more to see. Tourism is alive and well here in the Ridge but it’s not the kind of touristy things  that you get anywhere else.



Fred's House

First there is the “Car Door Tours” – 4 self guided, self drive tours each a different colour that takes you to some amazing places in the area. This morning we did the green car door tour. Took about an hour but we saw where  the first mine was dug  in Lightning Ridge (1902), some crazy “houses”, the ridge where the lightning strikes  (hence the name of the town) and a “cultural” landscape that has to be seen to be believed.


Then here are the Artesian Pools – constant 41 degrees, open 24 hours, in the middle of nowhere. Amazing.  Hope we are here long enough to get the chance to spend some time there.

On our bus tour this afternoon, we were given a glimpse into the lives of all of the eccentric people who live or have lived here -the Polish man who built a shrine to astronomy,  Fred the opal miner who lived a very simple life in a tin shack fossicking ( he did find opals worth $40 million in today’s currency)  and the man who has started to build a castle but who will never complete it. Later we went underground into the Black Hand. It’s hard to describe an underground sculpture gallery – you just have to see it for yourself.  All of the tunnels (opal mining tunnels ) have been transformed into sculptures with more being done each day by the artist. Themes from animals to politicians, ancient Egypt to Aboriginal Dreamtime, the last supper and superheroes adorn the walls of the tunnels.  Incredible!  



Is that you Michael?



A hug for the invisible man

Me old mate Bob

Super Man!!

Tribute to the fallen

The Fab Four

 

 



Weight Watchers here I come

The Last Supper

What more could there be?  The Black Queen of course. For $30, you can have a two hour  theatrical performance about the life of the original owner of the house  (The Black Queen) by the current owner of the house, Gale,  and  where each act of the  performance takes place in one of the rooms of her house (hand built using bottles , rocks and cement by the Black Queen herself.) As well, Gale offers an amazing tour of her antique light museum included in the price. Here you can hold a 4 thousand year old lamp in your hand, learn amazing things about lamps and lights throughout  the centuries whilst looking at or holding the lights.  You can’t really explain in words what you see and hear. Her stories are so rich and interesting. Very hard to beat!  Your ticket also includes free entry into the museum and gift shop the next day. 

Antique Light show

Who cares about the opals? They’re probably sourced  from somewhere else  in Australia and set in 10 or 14 carat gold overseas. (Apparently  the carats give them away.)  Lightning Ridge is the only place in the world where black opal is found  so you can be pretty sure that the product is local. But unfortunately,  I can’t afford black opal. However,  the other jewels of the area are well within my budget and worth every cent.

Barbed Wire, Burra, My Brother Jack and the Bucket List

I’ve often wished I collected something. Some people collect owls, others postcards or shot glasses. Pete collects stubby holders although he has stopped due to the fact that he already has too many.   I’ve never really found anything that took my fancy.   And why would anyone  collect Barbed Wire? Don’t know really but the publican at Spalding in South Australia does.

We had heard about the collection from friends and the tourist brochures all said it was worth a look so we ventured to Spalding one rainy morning.  There is little else in the town but the pub so when we discovered that the pub didn’t open until midday there was some dilemma as to what to do for the next hour. Luckily, the Barbed Wire Collection in the Pub was open so we ventured in.  The collection is amazing and the publican tells us that he owns a copy of the Barbed Wire Collectors Encyclopaedia!!! Pete even found a sample of the Barbed Wire that the Germans used in WW1 – the wire that the Aussies couldn’t cut as it was so thick.  I will take much more notice of barbed wire in future. Maybe I’ll start a little collection and see what happens. 

Burra was a much busier place with a few shops, a great bakery that had yummy hot pies and coffee and a drive yourself tour of the Historical Sites – remnants of the late 1900’s when copper was mined there. We managed to dodge the showers and walk around the town for a while before taking  the historical self drive tour.

In the afternoon, we met up with Jack (not my brother but Pete’s cousin Father Jack Otto who is a Jesuit Priest living at Sevenhills. - took a bit of poetic licence there – apologies Jack!)  Sevenhills is an historic winery started by the Jesuits in the late 1800’s and still operates as a winery today.  Jack took us on a tour of the winery and after some tasting, we purchased some wine (how unusual)  and received  the Jesuit discount!!  Jack also took us around the historic grounds, through St Aloysius Church, into the crypt  and the Jesuit Retreat centre (which was previously a boarding school for boys) where Jack now  lives.  Later, after drinking some more wine (courtesy of Brother John who has lived there for over 30 years and was the wine maker for many of those), we ventured down to the Sevenhills Pub for dinner. When we arrived, we were the only ones in the restaurant but by the time we left, the place was packed. Must have been because the food was really good.

It’s time for happy hour. I shall pour myself a drink and think about what I might collect. Wine Glasses – yes, I already have a considerable collection at home and can now add one from Sevenhills Winery to the two that I bought from Bonus Downs  earlier in the trip. Done! Of course I’ll also have to start collecting wine to go in the glasses. Shouldn’t be too much of a problem. 

Bucket List

Big Red  -Tick

Birdsville Track  -Tick

Wilpena Pound  -Tick

Flinders Ranges  - Tick

Sky Trek - Tick

Coober Pedy  - Opals Purchased - Tick

Broken Hill  - Tick

Wine Glass Collection  - TBA

 

Pets in the Port

There are only two caravan parks in Port Augusta and naturally we chose the one with water views. We thought it would be nice to sit out and admire the view. It’s a pet friendly park which is not unusual these days. There are many people travelling with dogs, both big and small.  ( A couple we met in Coober Pedy were heading up to a dog show in Alice.)

Our lovely site!

Our site is probably the worst site we have had all trip even though the proprietor told Pete when he booked in that it was a nice shady site. There is not a skerrick of grass and we overlook a couple of permanent looking rather derelict looking caravans. Nothing unusual about that. Except that, the air conditioning goes all day in both vans. The door is only opened when someone goes in or out. The windows are all blocked out. Rarely does anyone go in or out.

The van on the left has the snake, the
one on the right has cats!

In one lives a man and a boy and a large snake. Yes- a snake which the man had draped around his neck this morning giving it some sun.  Later in the morning he was seen draining some liquid through a tube out of the door of the caravan and into a bucket. He took that back inside and repeated the process. What the! In the other lives another man and his cats. This afternoon they were let out to eat. About 5pm the two men headed off with fishing rods together. The boy has remained inside the van all day.

Under the blue tarp is the mobility scooter. We had a sprinkle of rain so it was covered when I went to photograph it!
 

Then there are the two guys who live in a tent over the back from us. One has pink hair, the other drives a mobility scooter  which is parked near the door of the tent. Both appear to be aged  in their  mid twenties.  No vehicle – guessing they are permanents too.

Who needs water views when you have such interesting characters to watch?

In fairness to Port Augusta, there were some awesome water views especially from Matthew Flinders' Lookout

It’s a Gem of a place – Coober Pedy

After the spectacular beauty of Wilpena Pound, the stunning scenery of Sky Trek and the Flinders Ranges in general, I thought the trip from Woomera to Coober Pedy would be a little boring. However, we have been very fortunate that there has been significant rain here in the Coober Pedy  area and whilst the landscape is relatively flat, there is green everywhere.  The lakes are full and the water very blue-a truly unusual sight for this part of Australia at this time of the year. The shopkeepers in Coober Pedy  tell us that they had 5 inches of rain in one day and some of the mines had 2 metres of water in them. No wonder the Oodnadatta track was closed, and many of the dirt roads around here still are.

Coober Pedy Moonscape

Woomera was a bit of a non-event. Apart from a few pieces of memorabilia in the main street from the past Rocket Range activities of the 1950’s , there was little else to see. Roxby Downs was interesting – a young mining town, planned and well  laid out. It was a little disappointing that we were unable to take a tour of the mine (booked out) as it seems to be very different from other mines and its size would have been something to see. Security is tight in Roxby so you are not even able to drive close enough to get a bird’s eye view.

Pete at The Breakaways

Coober Pedy, on the other hand, is a real gem. So many different facets to the town. There’s the moonscape on the way in to the town where the land is littered with stockpiles of  dirt from small individual opal diggings to the larger mines where machinery reigns. Then there’s the myriad of shops all selling opal jewelry, each offering much the same stock. Op shops are situated throughout the town along with a few “greasy Joe” type eateries.  All this is set in a backdrop of sculptured hills underneath which you will find the underground homes, motels, restaurants, opal retailers and churches.

Front door to an underground home

It took us about  an hour to walk up and down the main street, stopping  to look in a couple of the opal shops, some a cut above the rest and of course those are the ones where I have spied some pieces that I might like to purchase.

Underground Church - Serbian

Tomorrow, we have booked a five hour tour of the town and its surrounds which includes some amazing landscapes such as The Breakaways, a visit to an underground house and church , a mine and of course, the mandatory retailers. Poor me, I’ll just have to suffer the shopping bit.

Pete is looking forward to the break from driving having driven 4000km already. I am looking forward to some fabulous photo opportunities and of course some retail therapy.

Retail Therapy at the same place I bought the opals in 1973
- you will have to guess what I bought!

I last visited Coober Pedy on a College bus tour in 1973. I had only just met Pete and he gave me $25 to spend on the trip. I chose to purchase three opals at an underground shop in the centre of Coober Pedy .  I had originally intended to have the  two blue stones set into earrings and the solid white opal into a ring. However, I changed my mind, and for my 21^st, Pete had the stones set into a ring for me.  Still one of my favourites – the ring that is.  And Pete, well he’s a gem too.

Bustling Blinman- While Shepherds watched....

Bustling Blinman from the top of the mine site.

A shepherd by the name of Blinman was watching his sheep in 1859 when he discovered an outcrop of copper ore. Too poor to pay the ten pounds for the lease, he asked 3 mates to join him and they purchased the lease together. Four years later they sold the lease to a Mining company for 17 thousand pounds.  Now that’s what I call a good investment!



View from our campsite at Alpana Station

Today the town of Blinman is totally run by the 15 people who live there. They don’t belong to any council and everything that happens in the town is determined by the Progress Association which also includes people from the neighbouring stations. To say that these people know how to work together is an understatement. This little town is thriving - can't get a park in the main street. The mine tour is second to none and our tour guide told the history of the mine from the heart. She and the other townsfolk had spent 15 years getting the mine safe and tourist friendly.

Apart from the mine tour, there is much to do in and around Blinman. The hotel, most of which is original, was packed with tourists enjoying lunch and  the Wild Lime Café  (owned by a couple with dreadlocks who would look more at home in Nimbin), where we chose to have coffee was well patronized also.  Scenic drives past historic buildings associated with mining and pastoralists, were everywhere.  A short trip took us out to Brachina Gorge – a geologically significant site here in the Flinders.  

So don’t underestimate the small towns.  Unlike the shepherd Blinman, you could really miss something valuable if you don’t keep your eyes open.

In for a Penny, in for a Pound

 

Well it’s not exactly a penny to camp here at Wilpena , in fact it’s the dearest powered site we’ve had. However, it is Easter and the park is packed with families mostly camping in large groups. It’s the ideal place – plenty of places for kids to ride their bikes, make campfires and generally enjoy the outdoors. For us, it’s also the noisiest campsite but it is happy noise. The excitement of the kids in the park is evident. I can’t wait til the Easter Bunny delivers chocolate to stir them all up some more.

In for a Pound – Wilpena Pound and that’s exactly what we walked for  4 hours this morning to see. The initial part of the walk was an easy stroll along the riverbank to the Hills Cottage. The size of the River Red Gums is very impressive and it’s hard not to photograph every tree that you come across on the walk. The  last 800 metres was a steep climb to Wangarra Lookout which gives you a pretty amazing view of the Pound. I have realized that I am not fit but perhaps more fit than a lot of the people our age who were walking this morning also.

The Old Wilpena Homestead was a little less impressive. Lucky they gave us Senior’s discount to view the Homestead and the old buildings associated with the pastoral activities of the late 19^th Century.  “In for a penny” would be more like it.