Across the Spencer Gulf to a Super Loo

From Cowell to Wallaroo, two hours in comfort on the Aurora V or many hours of driving. I chose the ferry for what the captain called a medium to rough crossing. I love to be on the water but this wasn't pleasant. I was pleased I dozed off and the time went quickly. I did get time to ask Carol, who was on the ferry, about the brown dog. She thinks it is an old farming saying which she got from her grandfather. Apparently brown dogs are meant to be the most tenacious and stubborn. When all the other dogs have been blown away in a high wind, they stand their ground. It takes a fierce wind to blow a brown dog off its chain. 

I am now on the Yorke peninsula. This area is called the Copper Coast and was originally settled by Cornish miners and there are many reminders of that heritage. At the moment I am sitting in Cousin Jack's bakery having a Cousin Jack's slice with my morning coffee. I could have had a cornish pasty - and probably should while I am in town.

Another reminder is the Red Hat group I visited yesterday in Moonta. They are called the Cousin Jennies of the Copper Coast. As well as their formal events, they meet each Wednesday for a games afternoon. I joined them at the home of Queen Vee for a hilarious game of Yahtzee.

Helen, Queen Vee (Viv), Queen Mum Robin

There are three towns very close together. After the afternoon with the ladies in Moonta, I stayed the night in Wallaroo and this morning drove the 8km to Kadina. I have a dental appointment at midday. I have either lost part of a filling or chipped a tooth. Either way, it has to be fixed before I move south. Apart from Kadina, there are only two dentists on the peninsula. I was lucky to get an appointment at short notice.

I have just been to an Exe-Loo. I don't usually use public toilets if I can avoid it. However, this was quite an experience. The building was a clean looking aluminium style with a flashing light outside to tell me that it was unoccupied. When I entered I was directed to lock the door and told I had a maximum of ten minutes. Soft music started, What the world needs now, to serenade me and soothe my stay. When I hit the button to unlock the door, I was thanked for using exe-loo. Excellent!

Playing Ladies

Once I settled into the caravan park in Elliston, put up my awning and set out my table and chairs, I had a couple of days just to rest and ramble. Unsurprisingly I wandered around the very small town and checked out the coffee shop and the bakery. Decisions! Decisions!

I had lunch at the cafe one day and shared a table with a couple of the local ladies who were part way through their daily walk for fitness, stopping for sustenance along the day. They said that sometimes there were a whole stack of them walking, six or seven when they were all there and they spread out right across the road. I thought that was a pretty safe place to be most of the time.

Eventually I settled on the bakery where they do a good business and have the people skills to bring their customers back. On my second visit, Ros knew my order and just about had it ready for me. By the third day, I was a regular for brunch. Ilona was interested in my van and talked with me (oh well, listened to me) about my travels. They deserve to have a good business. If they are so friendly with people who will be gone in a few days, they must have a very loyal clientele. And they do have the best vanilla  slices in the southern hemisphere - or maybe in Australia - or at the very least, in South Australia. I am a connoisseur. You can trust me on this!

From the lookout

Sunset, Coffin Bay from Kay's verandah

My hostess Kay in Coffin Bay

Baby Jumpers for Zambia Mission

Still playing ladies, I went on to Coffin Bay where I had arranged to meet Red Hat Queen Kay at her home for coffee. I ended up camping in her driveway when we had talked into the night. I will add Kay to my People of the Journey South Australia which I update regularly with some of the fascinating people I have met along the way. Kay's husband is at a mission in Zambia at the moment so I passed my knitted baby jumpers to Kay. (For those who donated wool to get me started on this project, I have attached a photo of the almost finished products, some needing to be stitched up but the knitting completed.) The big diaappointment with Coffin Bay was to find out that Matthew Flinders named it after his friend Isaac Coffin, a naval officer. I had imagined a more macabre origin to the name of the bay.

Christine, Oriel and another Red Hat doll

As they say, too much of a good thing is never enough. Today I drove across the peninsula, about 70km, to Port Lincoln where I met up with the Lincoln ladies for their Red Hat get-together. It was hosted by Christine who showed her collection of more than 600 dolls, including all her own from her childhood. The photo show Christine with Queen Rose (Oriel) and in the background, the Red Hatter doll that Christine had made.

People of the Journey - South Australia

SA will be about longer term stays so I expect to meet far more fellow travellers.  In the five days at Southend, I had quite a bit to do with Jackie and Paul, and Susan and Natasha and their kids. Once they left, blown away by the Easter storms, I spent some time with Gay and Evelyn. I was sorry not to have met them earlier.

Langhorne Creek was an interesting place. I found it by accident. Driving past, I realised that it was shady and inviting so put down roots for a couple of days. Near me was a family from Western Australia. I was absolutely impressed by the kids, Jennifer aged 14 and Alexander aged 12. Obviously their parents Debbie and Charles were doing the right thing for the kids to be so advanced. They are on the road for a year. Alexander has been accelerated two school classes and Jennifer is working at year 12 level after spending three months in Italy last year. This year of travel is a great opportunity for the kids – though I imagine there are tensions with two generations in a small caravan for months on end. They seem to be managing well.

I spoke to most of the campers over a couple of days there. On the last morning I had to call for help as my battery was almost flat. I could wind down the windows and clean the windscreen but not turn the engine over. I had some offers of help but Ron and Sue had a power pack which they attached to my battery and I was away. Next time I travel long term, I will have one of those. And perhaps next time I won't run so many things without being attached to a power point.

Monday night I went to a Toastmasters meeting of a club called More than Words. The club had formed initially to support speakers with a stutter or stammer. Since then it has broadened. I was lucky enough to get a Table Topic and to evaluate a speech. The photo shows several members and Fiona who was a guest at the meeting. There were a couple of members that I would love to mentor, long distance by email or phone or uTube. I like their attitude and they have a lot to offer and to gain from Toastmasters. I can’t help myself, can I? I must have a messiah complex. If I am approached, I will do it.

Adriana Michalickova
I don't usually use surnames
but with a name like that.....

This evening I spent a couple of hours talking to Adriana from Slovakia, living and working in Prague. She and her boyfriend are cycling across Australia, from Sydney to Perth in three months. They are a bit behind schedule as she has had to stay in Adelaide for medical problems so they are getting the train on Thursday to Kalgoorlie. From there they will cycle the south west corner and be on a plane home in less than a month from now. Impressive!

In Coffin Bay I had arranged to meet Red Hatter Kay. She left me reeling. Tiny and turbo charged! In her working life, she was in a position where she not only had to be extremely organised but also had to organise a busy business - and that takes hard work. Now in retirement she and her husband Tony are involved with a Uniting Church mission in Mwandi, Zambia. Tony is working there at the moment on a project to bring a safe and healthy water supply to the community. They are working with over 720 orphans  (of an estimated 1500 in the district) and other vulnerable children. The emphasis is on feeding them and providing health care and education. The educational opportunities stretch from primary to tertiary schooling with 8 at university and 12 at college. What a difference that mission is making! It gets support from several countries but it is the people of Port Lincoln area who collect donations and pack goods. When enough is gathered, they pack and send a 40ft container to Zambia with everything from clothes to school material and medical supplies. The variety must be incredible - and the work of packing to use every skerrick of space in the container sounds like a nightmare to organise. I am humbled, Kay.

Tess stood guard, Kay's fearless hunter

I Feel Like a Giant with Petite Kay

Some of the Port Lincoln Red Hatters
Who Welcomed me to Their Meeting

My time in South Australia was cut short so there aren't as many people featured here as I had expected. However, those who are here, provide an example of the diversity of my contacts along the way.

People of the Journey - Tasmania

Last year our book club read ‘The People of the Book’ which inspired the title of this blog.

There is a wonderful welcoming spirit among the people you meet on the road. Generally you get to know for a brief time those who are parked near you at night. Sometimes that may be for a few days but often there is just a chat at happy hour. I try to do a quick circuit of the campground when I arrive and introduce myself briefly to everyone. I usually get an invitation to join at least one group for drinks, but I consider it sensible for people to know I am there alone if I need help. (I have had a couple of propositions from fellows also travelling alone - or who would like to be, though most are like me and are alone because they want to be. I haven’t been tempted at all, though it is good for the ego to get an occasional offer.)

Just to keep them fresh in my mind, I will try to recall some of my fellow travellers and a memory-jogger from what I know about them. As I did with my 365 project last year, I will use only first names – but if you recognise yourself and want to be removed from the blog, or to correct my story, just get in touch. The email address is at the top of my home page of the blog.

On my first night in Tasmania, I parked at Sulphur Creek next to Joyce, maybe ten years older than me. She is from Melbourne, originally from Malta. In her van, she has complete freedom. When she stops, she has to use a walker to get around. She must appreciate having the gumption to get up and go when she could be sitting at home feeling sorry for herself. She travels in a pop top, using a small generator to power her TV so that she doesn’t miss all her favourite soaps.  I think she exemplifies rhe spirit of travel. On that same night, Paul came over from another van with a plate of curry for me – insisting that his wife had cooked far too much.

Helen and Chris
Wynyard

I was fortunate to have some time with Helen and Chris, future in-laws who share a grandson, Cooper, with me. I stayed with them on the way over to the north-west coast and on the way back. Right at the end of my trip, I landed back in again.  Chris loaded me up with potatoes which lasted for at least six weeks. He fancies himself (and rightly so) as a cook of chips and showed me the finer points of a good hot chip. Helen works in Wynyard as a carer.  I am sure she is a whirlwind in someone’s house because I have never seen anyone peel veges, clean up etc as fast as she does. If you don’t move, you’ll be washed, dusted or dropped in the bin!

Zudi

In Longford, I met with a group of Red Hat ladies from Burnie, Launceston and Hobart. Zudi invited me to stay when I got to Hobart and I based myself there, coming and going a few times. I feel as though I have known her forever and hope she will visit me later in the year.

Many times along the way, I met people just for an hour or so. Jenny and Blue from Montague Bay gave me fish to see me on my way. I ate that for two days, eventually sharing the last of it with a couple from Hobart, who provided veges to go with the fish and we sat down to a feast, fifty metres from thundering surf!

Red Hatter Merlene, Burnie
with a Mad Hatter

David, Vivienne and Kirra
over the water from Bruny Island

 

David and Judith
Salamanca Markets, Hobart

Marie and Bill at Bay of Fires
Our paths had crossed  in Scottsdale too

In the south west corner, I met up with John from SA and Eric from Queensland, Both were travelling alone and we all stayed at the showgrounds in Queenstown. John was at the same camp in Strahan and both were on the Gordon River cruise that I took. In Queenstown I caught up again with Marilyn and Paul and Nancy and Geoff and their friends Jane and Lindsay. Marilyn and I swapped family news over a couple of days - and a couple of wines.