We were thankful this morning that we had made such inroads on our trek into Adelaide yesterday, staying where we did only 60 kilometres short of todays target. All in all, we had found the camping area to be perfectly suitable to our needs, with the free barbeques, bathrooms and even access to running water had we required it. While the unexpectedly extended drive might have made for a long day yesterday, sitting on our numb behinds, watching the scenery fly past at a great rate of knots from the lofty pews of ‘The Beast’, it also meant that there was no need to be governed by the clock today.

Therefore, we were able to sleep in until such time as our bodies rather than our need to hustle decided otherwise. This turned out to be sometime just after 10:00AM, not that we were looking of course since time was of no concern. Even awakening at that late hour, there was still no need to rush to get out of the campground, so we settled in for a leisurely breakfast.

It was almost 11:00AM by the time we finally made tracks, finding today the sealed, but still bumpy access road that would lead us back to the highway without requiring us to negotiate the loose gravel dirt road we came in on yesterday. In rally parlance today could be described as a ‘transport stage’. Our only aim was to make the 60 odd kilometre drive to the caravan park. Anything past that point had yet to be decided, although we had mooted a much loved idea of doing very little. Nothing even, if it came to it.

As we began our final slog toward the big smoke, we commented that you could tell that we were nearing the city, as the wide open spaces gave way to built up communities and the occasional passing car morphed into a continuous stream of speeding, hurrying traffic. With our caravan park located about 20 kilometres to the north of the Adelaide city centre, we didn’t even have to pass all the way into town. ‘Shazza’ still managed to give us a final bum steer for the day though, as we approached our parking spot, she sent us down a maze of suburban streets and cul-de-sacs before bringing us back out to the intersection at which we could have simply made a quick right hand turn to enter the park. Sure, I would have had to have crossed three or four lanes of traffic, but it would have been easier than doing it ‘Shazzas’ way.

Checking in at the park, the lady behind the desk gave an audible gasp when she saw the van plonked on the driveway just outside of the office. Bec had mentioned the length when we booked, but there was still a flurry of activity as bookings were rearranged to put us on a different site than what had already been allocated. Apparently those sites are for somewhat smaller rigs than our colossal circus wagon. As a result, we got a choice of a couple of sites, taking up the offer of a plot that was towards the rear of the park and as far away as possible from the rumbling road noise of the main highway directly out the front.

This was both a blessing and a curse as we were soon to find out. A blessing in that it was much quieter, only a pebbles throw from the bathrooms and a drive through site to boot. A curse it was on the other hand, as it had only been vacated yesterday by an undesirable long term tenant, who had left it a mess. You might ask how a plain sod of earth can be left a mess, but when picking up after pets is not a part of your daily routine, you can only imagine what we faced. Add that to the scattered, tyre punching screws and rivets, and we had a bit of a chore on our hands to get the site up to our demanding standards.

We did make the staff aware of our predicament, who then wanted to see us move to another site. Having already set up and decided that this site would be perfect for our weeks stay here, we declined. Instead, one of the grounds keepers came over to give it a bit of a spruce up. It’s now better than it was, but still not perfect.

As for our planned afternoon of doing zilch, we soon found ourselves busy setting up, tidying up and cleaning. Well, to be honest, Bec found herself doing the cleaning. I just felt bad for looking on idly, so thought I’d better join in the fun and games. Floors were vacuumed, benches were scrubbed, beds were changed and windows were wiped. We even commandeered two of the enormous caravan park washing machines to supplement our little clothes shaker. At $3.00 a pop, we thought it was good value to get everything done in one fell swoop rather than numerous miniature loads in the van. Although we did get ripped off for $3.00 when one of the machines happily took our money, but failed to do anything in the way of washing our bedding. Shaking, hitting and kicking the machine might have released some pent up anger, but did nothing in the way of getting the instrument functioning. Taking potluck, we manhandled the load of laundry across to the next machine, fed it a further $3.00, twiddled the dial and hey presto, we had flashing lights and rocking action.

Coming back from the laundry, we noticed that the cute little dog that has been chained to the jockey wheel of the camper on the site next to ours has been all day without water. There has been no sign of the owner, so we took a platter of water over for it. No sooner had Bec placed the water down, we were berated from within the camper by a woman who had obviously been sleeping off a big night all afternoon. We managed to placate her quickly enough thankfully, and she later moved the poor little puppy to an area that at least provided some shade from the hot sun.

The much needed spring clean then continued, taking us clean through the afternoon, until a bit after 4:00PM when we decided enough was enough. Since we had also decided that we couldn’t be bothered fending for ourselves on the dinner front tonight, we chose instead to dine out. On the way to the ‘Fasta Pasta’ restaurant, which we always find provides a decent feed for a decent price, we popped into a shop we know, love and always find time to visit when in Adelaide. A veritable barn of country and western accoutrements, it stocks all things country. And western. From big hats and checked shirts to tall boots and plate sized buckles, I was in my element. So much so, I might yet go back again tomorrow, and the day after that. And the few days after that too, just for good measure!

Dinner was exactly what we have come to expect of the ‘Fasta Pasta’ franchise. A decent serving of pasta, covered with a tender flavoured creamy white sauce, speckled with pine nuts, baby spinach leaves and chunks of pumpkin for me, while Bec took in the savory delights of a grilled chicken breast accompanied by a sauce similarly tasty to mine.

Ready to tuck in, almost. Oh, fork in hell!

Back at the van, with no need to think about cooking or cleaning, we were finally able to sit back and relax, as we poured over a ream of brochures, searching for things to fill in our next few days with.

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.