Catching Up

The past week has been busy visiting some of the sites important in the story of the Kelly Outbreak in North East Victoria and into Jerilderie in New South Wales. I did promise to post more about that, but will leave that for later.

While we were free camping at Oxley, near Wangaratta in Victoria, the reception for the modem was a little patchy, so things have got a little bit behind. We have also travelled significant distances in the past couple of days, and there have been lots of photographs to process, which has also delayed the publishing of posts.

So for this post I will include a couple of maps to show the route taken over the last couple of days, with a photo or two.

Oxley to Jerilderie:

On the way to Jerilderie

Jerilderie To Ariah Park

Where is Ariah Park? Never heard of it? Neither had I until today. We found this place in the Bible for Free Campers, Camps 6. It’s not strictly Free Camping for us, because we chose to connect to the available power and water. However this community has decided to attract visitors by keeping the costs down, and also offer Free (with a small donation) to campers who want to be self sufficient.

There are several things to check out in Ariah Park, and day trips to Wagga, Junee and some other towns are also possible.

Free Camping.

After completing our stay near Melbourne we have moved north, and found a delightful camping spot just out of Bendigo. It means that we have been off the electricity grid, and the learning curve for Free Camping has been re-invigorated.

One factor that we have been struggling with is the lack of power for recharging things like the laptop, the modem, my iPhone, etc. The cloudy weather has not helped, although it is surprising just how much recharging of the caravan battery can be achieved with just a short burst of sunshine.

Battery Problems.

Things were not helped when we discovered on the first night at the free campsite that the battery was not powering even the lights, and especially not the water pump. A night spent reading by candlelight was our re-introduction to life off the grid. That was solved when I bought a new battery. Since then we have saved enough money from not paying caravan park fees to pay for the new battery.

Recharging Appliances.

The modern Grey Nomad lifestyle almost requires that there will be a range of appliances that will have batteries that need recharging. The laptop that I am using to write this post, has been idle for a few days while we worked out the best way to organise ways to recharge it. I almost ran the battery right down on the iPhone, which is not a smart thing to do.

New Friends and Old.

The atmosphere at this free camping site is a lot more friendly than that in caravan parks, as everyone tends to spend some time sharing experiences and plans with each other. It is a time to pick up  few more hints and discover new places to visit and stay at.

You meet some interesting new people, such as Pat and Dave with their 3 dogs, who were waiting to move on after the sad experience of have to part with a fourth dog whose age and illness meant that she could not complete this trip.

And then just when it looked like we were going to have the site to ourselves tonight, who should arrive but a couple that we knew several years ago when we were working as volunteers on a community playground construction project. Australia is a big country, and it is surprising to be able to reconnect with people such a long way from home base.

The 12V Experience.

Our first experience of Free Camping, completely of the grid, has pointed out that for a reasonable stay we will have to find ways to make sure that we have power for all of those appliances that are essential.

I guess the first thing to consider is just what is essential and what are un-necessary luxuries.

Since we are living in the caravan full time, with the occasional house-sit, most of the appliances are necessary.

Currently we have both 12V DC and 240V AC powered appliances. The 240V ones are the  Microwave, Washing Machine and Airconditioner. 240V power is also provided to the power points for things like the toaster, frying pan, grill, computer and modem. While free camping, at unpowered sites these are not useable. Read the rest of this entry »

Surfleet Cove

is one of the designated camping sites in the Lincoln National Park, on the southern tip of Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.

It has more than 15 sites that are available on a first in, best dressed basis. At this time of the year, mid-winter, there are not likely to be problems with finding a site.  Access is very easy, with a sealed road for trip from Port Lincoln.

Park Permit Fees

Free camping in South Australia’s National Parks is not free, because there is usually an Entry fee and a daily Camping fee. Permits are required for entry and camping, and these can be purchased at designated stations in each park, at many local Information Centres and from the DENR offices or their website. An annual pass for camping will soon pay for itself with just a few days camping and visits. In our short stay we used nearly half of the yearly permit, and we have more than 350 days left to use the rest.

The Surfleet Cove campsite is situated, as the name suggests at a cove with as narrow sandy beach. At this time of year it is not likely to be used for swimming, too cold! But in summer I am sure this would be a great family holiday spot.

The inhabitants of the beach at this time of year were a pair of Pied Oystercatchers, with many cormorants hanging around between fishing expeditions, on the rocky outcrops at each end of the beach.

The Investigator Trail passes through Surfleet Cove camp site, with a loop that takes walkers to Stamford Hill and other beaches in the Park.

We shared the campsite with kangaroos, emus, a variety of small and larger birds and 2 other camping groups. Photos of some of these are below.

Click a photo to view full size.

 The wrens came to visit almost as soon as we arrived, and were regulars, even hopping around under our chairs as we sat in the sunshine catching up some reading.