Heading South to Melrose

The time had come to move on and slowly make our way down towards Adelaide.  Again it was only a shortish drive so we were in no rush and we had to wait for the washing to dry after the rain the night before.  Before we knew it though it was time to go so we said goodbye to Bert and Eli and swapped e-mail addresses so we could keep in contact as we travel.  We had decided on Melrose for a few nights as there was a cheap showground where you could get power and water for only twenty dollars a night.  We tried to look for free camps but there were only ones that were on the side of the road, so great for an overnighter but not really where you would unhitch and go off exploring. 

To get to Melrose we had to go back through the lovely town of Quorn so we decided to stop and check the place out and grab some morning tea.  After all we had done a huge sixty or so kilometres and only had another sixty or so to go so a great half way point.  We had been worried about the morning storms that were around but we missed them all and only got a little bit of rain.  These short trips are so much easier and in those few kilometres there is a lot to see.  We even thought we saw another emu but as we drove past it ended up being an Ostrich.  It certainly had us puzzled as to what one was doing randomly out in a paddock.

Quorn is a pretty little town so we parked the van and went off exploring.  As soon as we got to the main street we were lured into this small coffee shop by the amazing smell that was coming from it.  So we placed our order and sat down and relaxed.  The best thing was that they had three pet dogs and so my two were just fascinated with them and kept going out to look at them.  Every now and then I would go and rescue the dogs and give them a bit of a break.  The locals were also very friendly, stopping for a chat and introducing themselves.  We ended up ordering two big breakfasts and my gosh, they were delicious and we promptly polished them off in silence (even the kids).   Unfortunately I didn’t take a picture of the name of the café to remember it, but trust me if you do go to Quorn, you will know it by the fantastic aroma of their food.

The old railway station

From there it was back on the road through the countryside which by now was just an odd shower or two just passing over.  We pulled into the showgrounds and were the only ones there, so we had the pick of places to park.  For some reason though we decided not to park under the massive big trees and selected a more open spot.  We had a bit of trouble unhitching which has happened before when we had the car on the levellers.  I don’t think the levellers are the problem as we did get it last time, more our attitude of just trying to do it all too fast.  We eventually just moved the van to a more flat surface and we were off first go.

It was an idyllic setting for someone like me who loves the view of rolling hills rather than the beach.  We had a massive mountain in the background and there were sheep just roaming the grounds.  We promised the kids we would walk over to them later but for now I needed to get my washing line up so I could finish drying the towels that hadn’t fully dried before I packed them away.   Then we just chilled for a while.  Our tummies were still full from that big meal in Quorn before making our way into town.  Melrose is certainly not a big place, but we stopped for a while in the park for the kids to have a play.

My two trying to pat the sheep.

The sheep are happy now they are left in peace and quiet.

 

Before we knew it we were making our way across the road to the coffee shop for afternoon tea.  I would later regret having another coffee this late in the afternoon as I could not get to sleep at night, but it was a great coffee shop that gave us some Christmas chocolate.   I got talking to the owner and they are originally from Victoria but had moved there quite a number of years ago.  The building is currently half coffee/gift shop and half B&B and he is looking to get council approval to build up.  I am assuming he will have a few hoops to jump through being such an old building but I am sure it will blend in nicely.  We were lucky they were still open actually as they said it was getting too hot so they were going to shut the doors for five weeks and go on holidays.  Personally I don’t think it would get that hot here, but why not in off peak season.  Take the time to relax and holiday.

Now we had been told by the caretaker at the showgrounds to go and check out the old Police museum, so we thought we should find where it is and do it the next day as it was getting a bit late now.  Being a small town we thought it would be easy, and realistically it would have been if we just looked across the road and to the right.  But no we jumped in the car and headed left, going up and down every little street, we even found an old brewery.  Eventually common sense caught up to us and we thought surely it would have to be on the main road so we headed back down and low and behold there it was only about one hundred metres from where we started our search.  At least we could laugh about it and we headed back to the van for dinner.

On our return we discovered we no longer had the place to ourselves.  In fact four other vans had turned up, though one obviously didn’t want to be social and headed way up the back into the bushland.  We did question one vans location as instead of parking out under the shade or more in the open to take in the view they parked right up against two sheds.  We later found out that he was the President of the Land Rover 4WD club and the club comes to the showgrounds every Easter and go off road.  We also learnt that having been here before he has obviously learnt a thing or two and when the winds picked up really strong during the night, he was nicely protected by the two sheds!  Whilst we didn’t have afternoon shade from the trees, we were just glad in the strong wind that we weren’t under them!

As the sun doesn’t set until so late now, we had a game of soccer on the oval with the kids and Jason also pulled out the boomerang that Hamish had been given.  It was all fun and games until the boomerang broke!  One of the other couples that had pulled up came over for a chat as they too had travelled when their kids were young (over twenty five years ago).  It would have been great to chat to them longer but Hamish slammed our screen door shut, pushing in the top of it, and locking us out temporarily.  This has now happened a few times and just requires a thin knife or screwdriver to slot in and push it back open but it is just a temporary pain and made worse by the fact that I had food on the stovetop. 

So after that disaster we decided to go for a walk down to the creek which was dry but looked like a cool place for kids and adults to explore.  Only about two hundred metres in, Hamish fell over and skinned his knee and elbow and that was the end of the walk.  We had to go back, clean them up and put some band aids on.  He was quite brave and even said his skinned knee looked like a map of Australia.  He then apparently couldn’t walk, but once the water bombs came out he was running around like a mad man, so one miraculous recovery there.

Sort of looks like Australia.

All patched up and ready to go.

 

The next day was a slow morning for me.  I couldn’t sleep the night before which I believe was a combination of things.  Firstly way too much coffee the day before, the wind howling most of the night making us bring in the awning and finally the fact that we watched the Kimberley Killer documentary that night.  For some reason in my lack of sleep I also started to worry about Prep next year with Hamish and if he was ready and how we would cope.  Sometimes I wish I could just switch off my brain.

We decided to just have a day of leisure and not push ourselves by going out and seeing too much.  So I caught up on all my washing (not my idea of leisure), did a bit of learning time with Hamish (so I could sleep that night without worrying) and overall just chilled out around the van.  Getting closer to lunch we headed back in town and to the local pub for a meal.  It is a very pretty pub on the outside and inside is certainly well kept and done up.  They even had a box of toys for the kids which is always a welcome distraction.  The meals were delicious and best of all there was no washing up to do.

The roof was lined with what looked like old wool bales.

The main bar area.

Out the front of the pub.

 

In the afternoon we filled up some more water bombs for the kids and let them have a bit of fun.  We even joined in for a bit as I managed to get Jason quite soaked!  I noticed then that he had a keen interest to suddenly fill up the water bombs, so knowing what was coming next I filled up a jug of water inside.  However being the good wife I am, I added a tray of ice cubes to it and let it sit for a few minutes.  As soon as Jason got me, I pulled it out and got my revenge!  Always have to be one step ahead!  It was great to relax, with the only down side being Kayla falling asleep just before dinner.  She woke after only one hour and was up so late!  If that is the worst part of our day, then in our opinion we are still winning by a long way!