Our night could only be described as restless, and that would be being kind to the limited moments of sleep that we managed. Between a loud group of yobos that could be heard thankfully in the distance, a car deciding the camp ground driveway made an opportune spot to lay down some rubber in a screeching early morning burnout, a fidgeting constantly masticating Alvin as he tried fervently to rid himself of imaginary itches and the tip tap toeing of a full bladdered Bethany prancing noisily up and down the linoleum floor of the van, sleep was indeed difficult to come by. To add insult to injury, Bec blamed me for her lack of rest, citing a foul sleep depriving aroma that she conjectured emanated from the vicinity of my rear end. Naturally, the jury is still out on that being a valid reason for not being able to sleep though.

In any case, it was with much discontent that we arose this morning, a full hour earlier than we would have liked, thanks to the commencement of daylight savings. In a way, we had lost an hour before we had even started this morning, which didn’t bode well for our onward journey, although driving was all that featured on our itinerary again today, being as it is another transit day. Our only aim is to safely reach Robe where we can then at least set up and relax for a few days in the company of a couple of friends who are joining us from Melbourne.

As we rolled out of the campground, I set ‘Shazza’ up to take us directly to Robe, a route she decided would involve a cruise along the mighty Murray River. Our option was to drive some distance out of our way to Murray Bridge, where there is an actual bridge across the river, or to take the shorter route via Wellington, where rather than a bridge a flat decked ferry transfers you between opposing banks of the river. My concern was, that since information was most difficult to come by in relation to the capacity of the ferry, that we might arrive only to find that we would still be required to take the detour via Murray Bridge.

The chance was taken though and upon arriving at the ferry terminal, we found that ‘The Beast’ and van would not present an overly difficult circumstance for the ferry. Although ‘terminal’ might be overstating things a little, as we waited on the road at a drawn boom gate, for the twin lane, flat decked punt to convey a barrage of vehicles from the opposite side. Whilst we were to fit, it wasn’t without some consternation from the ferry wrangler, as he directed us on, narrowly past a couple of small trucks, the drivers of which were performing maintenance on the ferry.

Waiting to board.

It is a great service, although I fail to see how the ongoing cost of running a free service such as this could in anyway be more economical than building a bridge. It was the highlight of our day however, as we enjoyed the 90 second cruise on the Murray River, all from the comfort of ‘The Beast’.

Disembarking from the punt on the other side was as carefully negotiated an affair as was the embarkation, before we were rolling along the solid black ribbon of terra firma again. ‘Shazza’ too, must have had a hard night, because she then decided to take a nap after indicating that we ought continue for 223Km, “then reach your destination”.

We would too, have continued those kilometres, had it not been for the allure of yet another den of antiques and craft, eagerly spotted by Bec as we rumbled through the little village of Meningie. We quickly came to a halt, only a little way down the street, within walking distance of the little cottage. The amble back up the hill was somewhat chilly, the sun today being diffused by a layer of thick cloud and the threat of rain hanging coldly in the air.

It wasn’t for too long that we stopped before climbing empty handed back up into ‘The Beast’, this time motoring non-stop towards Robe. We may have even reclaimed some of our lost time, had it not been for getting caught up in a slow moving line of traffic around which there was no way, as each time the group encountered an overtaking opportunity, the front runners gunned their engines, accelerated to a few klicks over the posted speed limit, before dropping back irritatingly to 15 kays under the limit through the gentle twists and turns that even we could have managed while travelling at the highest legal rate of progress. We found it slightly frustrating as we tried to make the best time possible to our caravan park, so as to give us a generous time frame to set up our camp before we welcomed our visitors into our humble abode.

It was spot on 1:00PM as we idled down the tree lined drive of the Lakeside Tourist Park to be confronted with a reception office ensconced within a heritage listed horse stable still with its original wooden end grain cobbled floor intact. We were offered a selection of three sites, one of which overlooks the lake, the other two situated on prime lakefront land. Naturally, we chose one of the lakeside plots on which to park, getting the van quickly and successfully positioned on the site in such a way as to allow us to unfurl the awning. Our aim is to set up the full annex whilst here, not only to give us an entertaining room, but we need the space to store the many extra goodies we bought while in Adelaide.

So, with the sun now shining, we set about the onerous chore of affixing the annex walls to the awning frame. Having now had a few practice runs at this operation, it all went together with relative ease, so we were soon able to sit back in our canvas extension, enjoying a cooling beverage, all the while peering through the window across the lake watching the occasional water skier go zipping past.

Our reverie wasn’t to last though, as we moved our attention to the inside of the van, busying ourselves with the rearranging of all things new, until a surprise knock received our attention. David and Heather, who you might remember as having visited us in Darwin are back to join the party for a few days here in Robe. It was great to see familiar faces and catch up on gossip from home as all thought of any further labour was put aside for the afternoon.

The afternoon passed quickly, but given that we had all spent lengthy hours cooped up in vehicles, trudging down the road, plans were made to reconvene at a reasonable hour tomorrow. Sadly for us, that meant the recommencement of cleaning could take place, to get the van back to a standard in which we can reside.

Don’t forget, the entries to ‘The Kilometre Challenge” have now closed. All entries will be checked and collated soon. A winner will be announced once we arrive back home. Good luck to all that entered.

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