Nicole and Rene's Aussie adventures

01/06/2026

Well, what a day today was. It all started around 4am when the storm front heading to SA and where we are, which is on the York Peninsula, decided to arrive. We were not expecting it until later in the morning! It wasn’t too bad to start with, but enough to keep me awake! We thought we would pack up and head into town before we were able to get into the caravan park, but they rang us quite early and said that our site was ready. We were very impressed and grateful with them to allow us to get in so early. So we arrived and set up so we were ready to ride the storm out. As it was actually sunny we decided to brave the wind and go for a walk into town. We wanted to check out the ocean with the wind conditions. We had a very blowy walk to say the least. Easy walk in as it blew us all the way, but we got a head wind on the way back which made it fun….. not. The difference between yesterday and today was remarkable. Yesterday the waters were very calm and today the swirls came up and it was very chocky out there, full of white-caps. Definitely made for a great hair style🤣🤦🏻‍♀️🤣.
We spent the rest of the day back in the caravan watching the trees blowing like crazy in the wind and the grey clouds rolling in and listening to the rain pelting down onto the roof. I think we are in for a looong night. Might have to get the earplugs out.
Welcome to Winter 🥶 🌧️

31/05/2026

Days 81 and 82: Start of our York Peninsula Adventure.
Saturday morning we were up fairly early so as we could get an early start. The weather was predicted to turn a little nasty later in the morning, so we wanted to get to our next stop before the rain arrived. We grabbed a coffee from the bakery on our way out to keep us going. We stopped at the rest area where the York Peninsula started. Took a few photos and looked at the maps and information board before heading on our way.
We had a good drive down the York Peninsula admiring the ocean. We decided to change our original plan and to stay in town instead of going into a campground due to the weather not looking great. Not many free camps around, but we found a free 48hr one behind the Ardrossan Bowling Club. Just as we arrived it started to rain. Not only did it start to rain, it absolutely BUCKETED down and I had to get out in it to guide Rene into the narrow site. There are only 3 camp sites here so we managed to score one. No sooner had we reversed in it stopped raining! So typical. We had a river literally running past the caravan step and the camping area had heaps of puddles everywhere.
After we set up and had a bite to eat, we drove into town to get some maps from the visitors centre. We then had a drive around and found the war memorial site that had a great view over the peninsula and the main port in the region where all the silos are which are used for the bulk storage of the regionally grown grains, oilseeds, pulses and cotton.
Then we headed up to a small holiday/fishing village called ‘Tiddy Widdy Beach’. The beach itself was full of dried seaweed so we decided it wasn’t going to be a great walk. It was a very sleepy little town with no action and only a handful of locals, so we headed back into Ardrossan. While the weather was ok, we thought we would do the mural art walk and take a few photos etc. Then it was back to the van for the rest of the day and night.
Today (Sunday) we woke up to sunshine!!!!! Yep, hardly any clouds which we were surprised and very happy. Naturally we wanted to make the most of it and spent the day out exploring a few more of the nearby coastal towns.
But first we needed to have a discussion on our next destination.
So we knew there was some bad weather coming this week, but today we needed to take note of several warning notifications on our phones and go to plan B for ‘where to stay next’!! This is what we were both sent on our phones:

Severe weather warning for DAMAGING WINDS!!
A strong cold front will sweep across the state tomorrow bringing isolated damaging wind gusts to much of the state.
Damaging winds averaging 60 to 70 km/h with gusts to 100 km/h become likely about the West Coast, Eyre Peninsula and Yorke Peninsula during Monday afternoon.

Yep, we are in the firing line!!!! So, now we won’t be going down to the planned campground which of course had no power and we would be exposed to all the elements. We didn’t want to take the risk that we would get enough solar to keep our batteries charged. We are very disappointed as we just love to freedom camp, but fingers crossed next week it will clear up. So we booked into the caravan park here in Ardrossan just to be on the safe side and it looked like others had the same thoughts. They had a deal too which was great. Stay for 4 nights and pay for 3 which of course we booked in for.

After we sorted all that out, we started the rest of the day off with a coffee in town before heading to Port Julia which is where we planned to camp for the next few nights. Had a bit of a look down the jetty after we stopped at the lookout. The Jetty had a couple of interesting characters too (check out the photos). Next stop was Port Vincent where we stopped to get a photo of the water tank mural. We were a bit disappointed as we were unable to drive or walk up to it and see all the of the mural. I could only get part of it so I found a photo of another section online (which I have added to the photos). We finished off with a stop at the Ventnor Hotel in Port Vincent for a beer and wine overlooking the glistening water before heading back home.
Tomorrow we move into the caravan park in Ardrossan before the storm hits us.
Enjoy the photos and stay safe out there if you are travelling especially in WA and SA.

30/05/2026

Day 80 of our adventures to SA/WA.
On Friday we decided to go for a short drive to the small town of Balaklava. Had a bit of a wander around the town learning about its history, checking out the old 1904 built Methodist/Uniting church and other well maintained or restored buildings. We could only appreciate these heritage buildings from the outside.
We had decided we would have lunch in town too. We found the Royal Hotel which was another lovely old building built 1871. A brief history of the hotel for those who are interested.
Originally it was known as the Royal Balaklava Hotel. However, after a Royal visit in 1881 from the then Princes Albert who later became the Duke of Clarence and George who became King George V, stopped at the hotel for breakfast on their way to the Wallaroo mines. The town decided to honor their visit by dropping ‘Balaklava’ from its title to become the Royal Hotel.
It is always interesting what you learn.
Now, as you will see from the photos, Rene chose a goats curry (which was a little ordinary) and I chose, what I thought was a barramundi and prawn dish in a garlic sauce. CRIKY when it came out there were 3 large pieces of fish and a side of prawns!! Needless to say 2 pieces of the fish went home for another meal. But it was delicious 😋.
We then headed out to have a look at the old Dunn’s Bridge. Another fascinating piece of history. This bridge was a single span Bowstring arched bridge built in 1880 with wrought iron. It replaced the original wooden bridge that was built in 1848 which burnt down 30 years later. You can read more about the history in one of the photos. You could also see the remains of the bricked railway bridge on either side of the Wakefield River nearby.
On the way home we decided to top up on our fuel. Nice of them to drop the price again since the morning. Down to $209.9!!! Winning. Still too expensive compared to unleaded.
As we were leaving in the morning, we packed up so as we could head off at a reasonable hour as the rain was predicted to come across late morning.
So, we have had a nice adventurous couple of days in Port Wakefield learning about the local history and sharing a few drinks with lovely locals in the pub. Next stop will be somewhere along the York Peninsula. An area we have been looking forward to exploring, so hoping the rain wont restrict us too much.
Enjoy all the photos about the history of the Port Wakefield and Balaklava regions. Zoom in to read more in-depth information on the history.

29/05/2026

Good evening everyone. Enjoy our update of our stay in Port Wakefield. Lots of photos again.
Day 78: Our trip from Adelaide to Port Wakefield only took a bit over an hour. As we arrived a little early we had to kill a bit of time before we could go to the caravan park. We seen the sign ‘Bakery’!!! Whoohoo, coffee time. As we didn’t have breakfast and it was close enough to lunchtime we thought we owed it to ourselves to sample their pies with our coffee. Rene had a Ned Kelly pie and I had a lamb and rosemary pie. Verdict…… both delicious 😋.
We arrived at the caravan park and set up. The Port Wakefield caravan park is council run and is fairly small but very well maintained, plus we were a bit surprised that they don’t have an actual office with staff on site! That is why you need to book online or ring them, but we felt safe and there were a few others there.
As it had stopped raining, Rene decided to make the most of it and replace both the roof vents in the ensuite as they were brittle and had started to crack. They definitely don’t last long! So up on the roof he went and with a few choice words and a bit of help from yours truly, he managed to get the new ones fitted. I was surprised to see just how filthy they were after our stay in Adelaide (and Rene had washed them last week!). Gum tree sap doesn’t do much for the caravan roof🤦🏻‍♀️!
Then we thought we’d go for a bit of a walk around town. We walked up the main street (well, what we assumed was the main street). One thing we did notice was how quirky the locals are. Most of the houses in this town had lots of ornaments in their yards including things like skeletons! I just loved it. So we admired some of the old houses and buildings before coming up to the Rising Sun Hotel. Never too early for a beer 🍺 and wine 🍷surely?! After all, it was late afternoon, so we just had to go in and join the locals for a bevy.
Day 79. We were lucky with the weather again yesterday so we headed off to explore a bit more of Port Wakefield. There is not a lot to do here, but we managed to fill in the day.
We started off trying to find the ‘Information Bay’ (as per Googles directions) and after going in circles we gave up as it had clearly been removed. So we found yet another bakery instead! Gosh we love our bakery’s 🤦🏻‍♀️. I read that their Cornish Pasty’s were pretty good so we again, owed it to ourselves to try one out. We got ourselves a coffee each and shared a pasty. The verdict on this one was, not too bad at all.
So we again spent the rest of the time exploring the heritage trail, taking lots of photos of murals, old churches and other buildings. It was interesting to read about each ones history and quite a few had been restored close to their original state. We again finished off the day with another drink at the Rising Star Hotel before settling in for the night.
So, if you drive through Port Wakefield, do yourself a favour and stay for a day and take in the local history. Most of us usually just drive through after topping up with fuel and/or grabbing a coffee and a bite to eat without actually stopping and appreciating the town itself.
Enjoy the photos of all the history in Port Wakefield.

27/05/2026

And just like that, our 6 week stay in Adelaide is over. We have had the most amazing time spending time with my mum and brother plus a bit of exploring too. Our next destination today is Port Wakefield where we will stay for 4 nights. Rain hail or shine we will continue our adventures and hope you continue to enjoy following us.

24/05/2026

Our last week in Adelaide was a little quieter. Spent as much time with our family as we could, including a visit to see my Auntie that I haven’t seen in a very looooong time.
Yep early in the week we had a birthday (mine). Had a lovely day celebrating with my mum and brother, Michael, which was the first time since I was a teenager…. That wasn’t too long ago I’m sure 🤣. I didn’t want anything fancy, so we went down to the Colonist Hotel in Norwood for another fabulous fish and chips lunch, glass of wine/beer and finished off with delicious jelly cakes that mum organised. You know, sometimes the simple things make for a perfect day.
Wednesday, Rene and I went into Norwood to get a few things done ready for leaving next week. You know, exciting things like getting the next few months worth of scripts filled, getting his Samsung tablet fixed (charging port stuffed), oh and stopping in at the local Liquorland for a few bottles of bubbles (as you do🍾). As we were walking down The Parade, we passed Betty’s Burgers and there was a lady handing out free burger tokens. Well…… we were not planning on having lunch in town, but as it was that time of day, we thought why not! I mean, they were free! So we had a choice of 2 proteins, chicken and beef and naturally had one of each. We didn’t cut in halves this time as it was not really possible. You see, these burgers had no bread rolls! They had cos lettuce instead and with all the usual burger ingredients. They had succulent chicken/beef, bacon, egg, tomato and mayonnaise or sauce. They were really delicious! But we checked out the menu and seen the normal prices and thought we probably wouldn’t pay $17 each for these!! Ouch! Totally happy with a freebie though.
Friday was a home day again. When you park under gum trees (not by choice this time though), you don’t always expect your caravan and car to get covered in sap, compliments of the lorikeets. Every day they would have a feast on the berries above our van and drop the sap from them. Made a huge mess, so Rene had to give the caravan a good clean. The roof was really bad and may take a few goes at cleaning it properly. The awning was also a bit of a mess but not too bad.
Yesterday we got our lazy backsides out of bed early so we could do the Pakapakanthi Parkrun again. Missed last week due to the rain forecast. Was disappointed as this one would have been my 50th if I did last week. Oh well, next one will be the milestone. After the parkrun we decided to stop at our local cafe for a cuppa and a bagels. Jeez Louise cafe make a pretty good turkey bagels and salmons bagels. So just had to indulge one last time. We then decided to do the shopping before we went home. Just another exciting activity you do when traveling 🤣🤷‍♀️.
Today was meant to be our last day in Adelaide, but yesterday we decided we would stay an extra 2 nights. Mainly due to the weather and giving ourselves a bit more time get ourselves organised. We had our goodbye lunch today with my mum and my brother at Sfizio’s and enjoyed a pizza with a few bevvies. Goodbyes are always hard but necessary.
So another lovely week here in beautiful Adelaide. Only a few photos this time!

20/05/2026

Good evening everyone. Under one week to go here in Adelaide, so here is a bit of a long update (and lots of photos).
Over the last couple of weeks we have done some exploring, lots of eating out (again, not good for the hips) 🤦🏻‍♀️ and lots of reminiscing.
We ventured down to Glenelg again in time to see a fabulous vintage car display. Just love admiring these old vehicles after they have been restored.
One of the days we took mum for a drive up to Woodside where we just had to visit to the Melba’s Chocolates and of course we indulged in a few delicious samples. Oh and naturally we just had to buy a few to take home, I mean, who wouldn’t? Take note though, it was Rene who had the shopping basket!!! We then went next door to the cheese factory but we were not nearly as impressed. They mostly offered goats cheeses which were ok but not delicious. After the cheese factory we went for a drive into the town of Lobethal where we had a wander around, followed by a delicious lunch at the Lobethal Hotel.
On the Saturday, we did another enjoyable parkrun and then afterwards we watched some really cool pedal racing vehicles. These were represented from local high schools and colleges in the area and were part of a monthly Pedal Prix Racing day. These are Velomobiles which are powered by people featuring an aerodynamic fully enclosed shell.
We also shared a lovely Mother’s Day with my mum which was very special to me as we haven’t had a Mother’s Day together since I was a teenager! Yep….. that was just a few years ago 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣 (not giving away how many). As we were going out the following weekend with my brother to celebrate (this is what they do each year), I bought a nice quiche and made a salad for lunch and brought a fancy red wine for lunch. It was a perfect way to celebrate a special day.
Last week on Monday we decided to head up to Mount Lofty and walk around the Botanical Gardens there. My brother recommended it especially at this time of the year with the autumn leaves changing colours. We arrived and parked up and checked out the map of walking tracks. We decided to do the Rhododendron walk and back up a different track. We could not believe how steep decent it was and we were getting concerned about the trek back up! With Rene’s dicky ankle and my stuffed hips it didn’t look like it was going to be pleasant. And we were soooo right. It was hard enough going down to the Duck Pond, but that was nothing compared to the return section. It definitely got the heart rate going thats for sure, but we had no choice but to soldier on. On the bright side, it was definitely a beautiful walk and the colors of the trees were worth the effort.
On our way back home we stopped up at the Mount Lofty Summit to admire the views of Adelaide while enjoying a well earned coffee. The drive home was also pretty good taking us through the Clevand National Park.
Another day we took mum down to Henley Beach for lunch. With the weather being warm and sunny, we were able to have a lovely walk down the jetty before having a coffee and then fish and chips for lunch.
Sometimes you just need to have a ‘downtime’ day too. We made the most of one day by doing some cooking, getting ready for our departure next week. Rene made his delicious chicken and veggie soup and I made a lamb slow cook. It was also haircut day for me as it had been 14 weeks since my last one and it was extremely long! Found a fabulous hairdresser who did a great job. Yep, it’s short but it was needed.
Friday last week we were expecting the start of some pretty nasty weather with a storm front coming across. The morning was ok so we thought we would take the chance and head up to Blackwood and Belair in the Adelaide Hills. We were told that the Banana Boogie Bakery had award winning vanilla slices so we thought we needed to investigate this claim. So we all grabbed one and a cup of coffee. The verdict…. Slices were very sweet so we removed the icing which made it so much nicer. Still worth checking it out though. Then my mum took us to show where I was Baptised at the Blackwood Uniting Church. Another lovely old 1921 built church with all its charms (no, I wasn’t born in 1921! 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣). Shame we couldn’t go inside which would have been amazing. Then we went off to find my grandparents old house that my grandfather helped build. We were expecting it to have been demolished and replaced with a modern house. But to our surprise, it was still in its original state including the original window awnings! The only thing that was new was a water tank, new front fencing and solar panels. It was lovely to see though. When I was born we lived in Belair/Glenalta, just up from my grandparents place. So off we went to see if it was still there too. And yep, it was there and a new paint job was really all that had changed that we could see. We also drove past my old kindy and my brother’s primary school. So it was a great day out exploring our own family history from where we used to live.
Until next week, enjoy the photos (sorry, tried to only do a few, but those that know me, that’s not possible 🤣).

11/05/2026

Yesterday marked 4 years since we packed up and headed off on an adventure of a lifetime.
Originally started off as a 12 month trip. Only a few months into our trip we knew we didn’t want to stop. So we just kept going! Yes, we have been back to our home town a few times to catch up with family and friends, but honestly, we just love this lifestyle so much we kept on exploring.
I worked out our total kilometers traveled and have attached a few maps to show where we have been. The totals on the maps are only the stops we put on our WikiCamps app, but we have done a lot more. Our total kilometers for the 4 years is: 77,150!!! Pretty impressive and we have a lot more to go.
We have met so many wonderful people along the way, been to so many memorable places and upgraded both our caravan and car, just to name a few things. Our favorite place is a question we get asked all the time. We simply say…. We can’t single out just one place as we love it all. We have said though, that if we had to choose a favorite state/territory, Tasmania would have to be the one. I would go back in a heartbeat.
So, our adventure continues and we hope you continue to follow and enjoy the journey with us.
“Life Is Good”

09/05/2026

Well….. haven’t I been slack with putting up posts! Oh well, here goes what I hope is not a loooong one. Maybe grab a cuppa, wine, beer or what ever beverage that takes your fancy, just in case lol.
Our 2nd and 3rd weeks in Adelaide were fairly quiet with a few outings. We both had our flu vaccines and Rene got new glasses. See, very exciting stuff.

We were definitely spoilt with the weather over these 2 weeks averaging in the high 20’s which meant it was a great time to explore a little. We tackled the city/Rundle Mall one of the days but instead of driving in and trying to find a carpark (which is not easy with our car), we decided to catch a bus! Yep, a BUS 🚍! We haven’t caught a bus in years so I was a little nervous. But we conquered it and realised this was probably a good option of transportation with the fuel costs etc. We went to the visitors to get some maps etc and they gave us both a concession card that gives us free bus, train and tram rides which we were very impressed with. We wandered down Rundle Mall which hasn’t changed one bit since last time. We took the usual photos of me in front of the mirror balls and Rene with the pig statues. We get these photos each visit just for a bit of fun.
On Friday the weather was another gorgeous day so we decided to make the most of it. We had a lovely day at the Adelaide Botanical Gardens, enjoying the walk and all the stunning flowers on show. Stopped for a cuppa before continuing on where we admired all the cactus plants and the environmental garden. We were amazed that the banana trees actually had bananas growing on it, especially considering the time of the year. But Adelaide is experiencing warmer than normal temperatures, so it shouldn’t be a surprise.
Saturday we did our first parkrun in quite a few months at the Drage Reserve. We did suffer for the next few days though🤦🏻‍♀️.
On Tuesday 28th, we had a great day in Harndorf with mum today. This is a ritual of ours each time we visit Adelaide. We had a lovely time walking up the street popping into the various shops to check out their products and trying not to be tempted. We stopped for a coffee at the Vine and Essen which was a lovely restaurant/cafe where we sat outside and people watched. We then went into one of my favorite shops, the German Cuckoo Clocks. Just love checking out all the clocks. Lots of other cool bits and pieces to tempt you too and I only walked out with a hat pin 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣🤦🏻‍♀️. If I had my way, we would have got a clock for the caravan!
We found our usual lunch spot, the German Inn and ordered the Duo Wurst meal consisting of, Weiss wurst, bratwurst, and sauerkraut served with mash potato and mustard gravy, which was delicious. Naturally we washed it down with a red wine 🍷 and Rene with a German beer 🍺. You have to pay a deposit for the 500ml beer glass so as it gets returned. They used to get heaps of them walking out the door as a souvenir.
Saturday we did another parkrun at the Lochiel parkrun. This was another great walk with some wonderful volunteers and fellow walkers. Not so sore this time, thankfully.

So over the few weeks we kept busy, had a few downtime days as well as having lots of lunches out and coffees with my mum (doesn’t do the waistlines any good though).
We also decided to extended our stay here and will be here for a total of 6 weeks before we head off again. Just gives us a bit more time with family here. So thats a wrap for now. Meanwhile, enjoy the photos.

01/05/2026