On to Adelaide was the call. We stayed at Windsor Gardens campsite for two nights as we knew it from our previous trip. We spent a day in the city (bit more difficult with Fido ). Kate wandered round the market for a couple of hours as I wandered round the outside of the market with Keeva !
At the campsite we ended up having a chat with two couples . The two men told of their current /previous challenges. One was just finished chemo and about to start radiation treatment for pancreatic cancer having not that long recovered from prostate cancer. Warren looked amazing and he had already planned a simpson desert trips with his mates post radiation. Noel told a story of how he fell into a glass table and had nine glass shards in and around his spinal column. He was expected to be a paraplegic but was lucky and got an amazing surgeon and dollop of good fortune. He made a full recovery . As with all these sort of heartfelt stories it makes you put your own silly gripes firmly into perspective.
Whilst in Adelaide I progressed two niggling items with our set up . Firstly the van suspension was becoming even more squeaky. Some moisture on the shock absorber made we suspect it had failed. Off to Dave Bensons caravans to have a look see. The shocks hadn’t failed but as we were planning on doing some off road stuff on the trip I decided to replace them . They can only be bought from G&S suspension (part of Alko )in Melbourne. After 30 phone calls and a very frustrating week dealing with them they were finally in the post . Couldnt pay online , needed to create email invoice which took 4 days . It was like going back 20 years.
The second niggle was the battery charger for the dual set up in the car . It had developed a fault where it wouldnt switch over from solar to alternator or vice versa. The manufacturers Projecta (owned by Brown and Davis ) were amazing . Replied to emails within a couple of hours. Gave simple clear instructions of how to check some voltages. Then they said they would check the unit . It got to them day one , they checked it and phoned me day 2 with a replacement unit in the post day three . Now thats service !
We stayed at Port Parham for 10 days as we waited for parts. Its a free site with close access to the beach and fresh water and toilets – perfect. Port Parham is tiny , a small collection of buildings from shacks to nice big homes all set on gravel tracks. The campsite was also a mixture of holiday travellers like us , permanent travellers and locals in their caravans on “holiday “.
I soon got into raking for crabs which is a new activity for me . At low tide you walk the kilometre or so to get to the waters edge then find some soft sand and gently start raking. The crabs bury themselves just under the sand as the tide recedes and or when the sun goes down. Went crabbing 3 days caught about 30 or so but only 6 were of a size you can keep . But how tasty were these Blue swimmer crabs !!!
The local club in the village is more like a social hub with a bar and kitchen attached. Opened 4 days a week. Whiting , mulloway and calamari were on the menu all caught by Port Parham boats. We had the whiting and mulloway and it would be fair to say they were the best fish and chips we have had for years.
Port Parham also has homemade vehicles called Jinkers to get their boats in and out of the water. They take the boats out with these jinkers then leave the jinker and trailer in the water until they return. I absolutley loved watching in and around the town
We also had a few visits into Gawler to stock up on bits and pieces . Very nice market town and i loved some of the shop names !
Never heard of mulloway fish? Is it unique to Aussie?