Day Eighty Seven - October 1st, 2013
Adelaide to Robe

We had a pretty restless night as winds reached 50 kilometres an hour, and the rain pelted down at us. In a tent everything is magnified; when it's hot outside, the tent is like a furnace. When the wind is blowing, it sounds like you're in a jet engine. However, the tent is now much cleaner than it has been - we are still suffering owner's shame from the evidence of camping under a possum, bat and bird filled tree back in Darwin.

We checked out and headed over to Windsor Gardens to visit two of my favourite people in Australia, and most definitely the most knowledgable. Angus's parents Kay and Lindsay have travelled all around and across Australia by various means, and who's tales make our trip seem positively tame! We spent a very happy afternoon swapping stories and catching up face to face, rather than on Skype or on Facebook for a change which was lovely. K&L had another relative, Katherine, staying from Brisbane, who showed us pictures of a snake she saw recently. Not doing much for my very rational fear!

I've grown up hearing about Angus's childhood days spent in his dad's workshop at the bottom of the garden, building and fixing cars and motorbikes until they were fit to race or rally. We were lucky enough to get a guided tour from Lindsay, and I know Elliot could have spent weeks in there. As a mechanic by trade, Lindsay would be a great person to take with us on the rest of our trip. If we had two spare seats in the Landy we'd definitely be trying to persuade them both to accompany us - that way we couldn't possibly miss anything good!
We had a lovely lunch and all too soon had to pack up and leave. I wish we could have stayed longer in Adelaide and the surrounding area, but time and money are of the essence and we had to press on.

We headed in the direction of Mount Gambier, taking Dukes Highway (my granddad comes with me everywhere, even though he hates travelling!), and peacefully wound our way through the stunning South Australian landscape, full of lush green fields full of contentedly grazing horses, cows and sheep with their young in springtime. It's wonderful to see the land come alive again, especially after the barren land of the red centre. We don't need to have the windows rolled down anymore, and I even had a blanket on me as the sun dipped down below the horizon. We're definitely out of the desert!
We didn't make it to Mt Gambier but found a wonderful Discovery Park ($36 unpowered) for the night in Robe, clinging to the rugged ocean. We arrived just after 6.30pm, but called the after hours number and a helpful chap came straight out to help us. We'll pay in the morning as the office was shut on arrival. We just about managed to pitch the tent in the dark and windy weather before exploring the campground. The bathrooms are private toilet and shower rooms which is luxury after sharing for so long. There's even an indoor swimming pool! We ate up our eggs and made fried rice before rushing into the tent to settle in for another blustery night.