October Update.
DSLH=18700miles
Melbourne was its usual busy place and the roads out of the city were heavily packed with traffic. Unlike in Tasmania the lumbering old Commer received little tolerance or patience from the city dwelling motorists and after a couple of hours it was great to be back on country roads again.
 |
| Gumsan |
First stop over on the mainland was Ararat 150klm north west of Melbourne. Here we visited Gum San the Chinese Heritage Center and learned about how the Chinese had first discovered gold on the site that is now Ararat and of the hardships they experienced during the gold rush.
 |
| Confucius |
Confucius say,
He who drive old Commer across
Australia "is looney tunes!"
 |
| The sign read "Bus Parking only" We are a bus really, honest! |
 |
| Big Koala between Ararat and Horsham. |
We arrived in Horsham in time to relax and enjoy the towns annual agricultural show.
Great fun was had by the crew, especially Amelia.
Great fun was had by the crew, especially Amelia.
 |
| Check out that fairy floss WOW! and the sugar high smile. |
 |
| Pony mad. |
 |
| Yeah! Show Bags! more toys for the Commer to haul. |
 |
| White Kangaroo at Renmark |
 |
| Camp site on the Murray River near Renmark |
 |
| Paddle Steamer 'Industry' at Renmark. |
During our stay on the Murray River we boarded the Paddle Steamer 'Industry' for a lunchtime cruise and it was great to see this grand old ship still in operation for tourists to enjoy.
Built in 1911 this ship still uses its original steam engines and still gets along at a surprisingly fast pace.
From Renmark we moved on to Crystal Brook and then Port Augusta. We stayed in Pt Augusta for 5 days so that we could take the Pichi Richi Steam Railway tour of the Flinders Ranges.
We had also originally planned to head north from here but the hot season had started early and day time temps north of Pt Augusta were already hitting the 40'C+ mark. So after Pt Augusta we decided to explore the Eyre Peninsular and find some cooler weather.
The Pichi Richi Railway is the oldest surviving section of the original Ghan Railway that connects Adelaide with Darwin.
The train takes tourists on a trip From Pt Augusta to Quorn approx 50 klm away and after a two hour stop over returns to Pt Augusta. The trip takes approx 5 hours.
 |
| Under steam |
 |
| Enjoying the view |
Next we headed around the Eyre Peninsular and visited a few towns on route.
First we spent a night camped near the lighthouse at Port Lowley then another night at Port Gibbon and Lipson Cove. The scenery on the peninsular is spectacular and there are many great free camping spots. Unfortunately the insects were at their worst this time of year and swarms of flies and biting insects kept us moving on the following days.
 |
| Camp, Pt Lowly |
 |
| Camp, Lipson Cove |
 |
| Dolphins playing meters from our camp Lipson Cove. Another night was spent at Pt Lincoln and Coffin Bay before making our way to Ceduna in preparation to cross the Nullarbor Plain for the second time this year. We are a little nervous about chancing the Nullarbor in our old Commer for a second time as she is now a lot heavier with all the extra bits we have collected during the trip. We also need to load her up with extra water and fuel. So the 43 year old little 1.7L motor is working very hard. Fingers crossed we will make it back to WA OK. |
Did you know?
Commer designed and built its own diesel engine for their commercial vehicles.
The engine was a two stroke diesel 3 cylinder engine with six pistons horizontally opposed.
This engine had a unique knocking sound which gave it the nick name "Commer Knocker".
Click below to listen to a Commer TS3 "knocker" Diesel engine.
