Millaa Millaa Waterfall Circuit.

Millaa Millaa referred to as the "Village in the Mist" is a delightful little village surrounded by some of the most amazing scenery I have ever seen. With all the rolling hills and deep valleys it is no surprise  this area has quite a few waterfalls. Just out of Millaa Millaa we took a left turn to start our short adventure on the Waterfall Curcuit. After an easy walk from the car park the first waterfall we visited was Millaa Millaa Falls which are just over 18 metres high and are quite a spectacle to see.

Millaa Millaa Falls

Then it was back into the car for a short drive through the amazing green rolling hills to Zillie Falls. The walkway took us to the top of these falls and there was a rough track to walk to the base of them but we decided against it. Zillie Falls were not as high as Millaa Millaa Falls but had a lot more rocks at the base that the water thundered down to.

The amazing views over this lush countryside

Zillie Falls

Then it was off to the third and last waterfall on this circuit, Ellinjaa Falls. There was quite a bit of a walk through the rainforest down to the base of the falls. But it certainly a pretty view once I got there.

Ellinjaa Falls

 Next it was onto Mount Hypipamee Crater. After an easy walk we reached this spectacular crater. I certainly didn't expect to see a drop of some 58 metres to the water surface. It is estimated that the waters depth is then something like 73 metres deep.

Mount Hypipamee Crater

Shane decided to take the same track back to the car and I took the more rugged track to have a look at Dinner Falls. Oh my goodness what a walk it was up and down until I reached the falls which consisted of about four different falls. The walk really set my asthma off but it was worth the walk.

One of the falls at Dinner Falls

Our next morning was our last in beautiful Yungaburra and seeing we were on the lake I really wanted to try and get some sunrise photos. As soon as I ventured out of our camper Myrtle I was faced with a literal wall of fog. It was a very eerie feeling standing alone on the waters edge without being able to see anything. As the sun slowly started to rise I was able to get a couple of shots I am very happy with.

I was confronted by a wall of fog

When the sun rose her head I was pretty impressed

Sunrise and the Big Banana

For some reason I woke very early this morning and looking out my window noticed the sun had not yet risen for the day. So up I jumped and walked all of 50 steps to get this beautiful greeting to my Friday. There were about 5 other people walking along the boardwalk but I was the only one with my camera in my hand.

Urunga Boardwalk at sunrise

Good Morning

Looking down in the water I noticed a school of about 30 fish swimming about in the shallows, a couple were a pretty good size. Of course I didn't have my fishing rod with me!!! 

Later in the morning we decided to go for a drive into Coffs Harbour which is only about 20 minutes up the highway. I haven't been to Coffs Harbour since I was in my 20's and it certainly has changed. Australia is known for lots of towns having a big statue/structure of something relevant to the area. Well seeing Coffs Harbour has alway been a banana growing area, what else would be here but the "Big Banana". So yes I had to get a photo of it. After doing some much needed grocery shopping we had a little road trip around the town. 

The Big Banana - Coffs Harbour

While in town we stumbled onto a fishing tackle shop that claims to be the biggest tackle shop in the world. Now I don't know about the world but it certainly is the biggest fishing tackle shop I have ever been in. There were so many fishing rods and other stuff I thought Shane was going to hyperventilate!!!

The biggest tackle shop in the world ??????

We were going to head off from Urunga tomorrow but have decided to have another night here as it is such a lovely spot to spend some time. 

Berri on the River Murray

We have just left our lovely stay in Berri. We stayed at a free camp called "Martins Bend" right on the River Murray. Seeing we didn't have electricity it wasn't possible to update my blog so now I will do a bit of a catch up.

Our Martins Bend campsite

The area is known as "The Riverland" probably because it's where the cool waters of the Murray feed the wetlands and floodplain forest. The result being some very productive land that consists of vineyards and citrus and almond groves. The town of "Berri" was a really nice little river township. The name Berri is taken from the Aboriginal word "Beri Beri", meaning "bend in the river". It is the commercial hub of the Riverland, with lots of fresh produce stalls on the outskirts of town.

Our first visit was out to Loxton to have a look at the "Tree of Knowledge". The Tree of Knowledge is a weather chart with a difference. This magnificent old river red gum provides historical dates of the high river levels over the years.

The Tree of Knowledge - get a look at the 1956 flood level!!

Then it was off to the historic pub the "Overland Corner Hotel" built in 1859.

Due to it's historic significance it is now owned by the South Australian National Trust.

Historic Overland Corner Hotel

We have done quite a bit of fishing in this beautiful river and I was lucky enough to catch a good size "Yellow Belly". We were also treated to some beautiful skies at sunset.

Sunset in the bush

One morning we woke up to an amazing sunrise over the river.

Good Morning beautiful Murray

Under the bridge in Berri is a mural that depicts the Aboriginal heritage of the area and is a tribute to Australia's famous Aboriginal tracker, Jimmy James.

Berri's Mural

One of the totems surrounding the mural

Today we drove through the tiny township of Karoonda, which is an important cereal and sheep farming district, hence the big Merino ram that sits in the towns railway reserve.

Yep he's a RAM!!

Good Morning Monday

Today is our last day in Adrossan and as usual we intend to have a very lazy day. I woke early (5.30am) and as I looked out my window I could see what looked to be the beginning of a very nice sunrise. So up I jumped camera in hand and headed down to the wharf to get some shots. Oh, I did put clothes on, I didn't head down in my PJ's! I couldn't believe how many people were on the wharf fishing already. But I was not there for any fish today I was there for the beauty of a new day.

Ardrossan certainly has outdone my expectations

I don't think any of the fishermen there even noticed the sunrise!

Even though this shot isn't of the sunrise it's my favourite.
I love the way the sun lit up the wharf

Smokey Bay, South Australia

The Nullabor greeted us with a beautiful sunrise as we said goodbye.

Well we survived the Nullabor and as we drove into the first town, Ceduna the outside temperature (according to the cars dashboard) was 46c (114F) yes you read right!! All I could think of was how hot we were going to be putting Myrtle (our camper) up!!.

It's hard to see but it really does say 46c!!!

We drove on through Ceduna and finally arrived at our destination for the next few days which is Smokey Bay. Yeah the temperature had dropped to 44c !!!!!! We have booked a total of four nights here, we actually wanted more but they are booked out. Apparently all along this coastline it gets very busy at this time of year with all the people who like fishing coming here. Anyone who knows me know I just love oysters and I am very excited this peninsula is a popular oyster breeding area. So my first stop was at the local oyster sales. Now I love oysters but nothing beats a freshly opened one. I was in heaven.

Mmmmmmm Oysters

The last few days have been fairly warm, but certainly not as hot as the day we arrived. Yesterday was a hot windy one and we spent the day on the Smokey Bay wharf doing some crabbing. This is the first time I have tried to catch crabs! We had our nets ready, bait which was fish carcasses from the local fishermen and of we headed down the wharf for a new experience.

Smokey Bay wharf

We were told to check the nets every five minutes or so but I just wanted to keep pulling it up to check. They have to be a certain size and you cannot keep the girls as the all have eggs. It wasn't long before I pulled up my net and low and behold I have a pretty good sized crab in there. OK now how do we get this thing with big claws out of the net? Between the two of us we managed. By the end of our session we had 10 blue swimmer crabs for dinner. I was a bit concerned how I would know what the girls looked like but after getting a couple it was easy to distinguish them apart. The boys are bigger and a beautiful blue colour and the poor girls are brown and really not that attractive.
So dinner last night was chilli crabs and they were oh so yummy. Seeing I had never cooked crabs before I was pretty happy with how they tasted.

I was pretty pleased with my first attempt of Chilli Blue Swimmer Crab

Then just as we were finishing up the rain started and didn't stop all night. Quite a lot of areas in the caravan park got a bit flooded, it was a bit amusing watching all the older ladies wading through the puddles to get into the toilets. The rain has stopped now, but we are just going to have a lazy day at the camp as we are moving on tomorrow.