Leaving Adelaide we drove down to Onkaparinga NP to camp at
the Pink Gum Campground. This beautiful spot is perched atop a hill and beside
a farm from where we could hear sheep bleating as well as seeing a vineyard in
the distance. We walked the River Trail down to the gorge, sat awhile on the
rocks and then walked our way back up the hill. Even though we talked about the
possibility of staying on an extra night for the peace and quiet and to marvel
at the surroundings we opted to go on as that delay would mean we would have missed
out on seeing other parts of the Fleurieu Peninsula.
We left in reasonable time
to stop at McLaren Vale to do a Freedom parkrun along the Shiraz Trail. It was
an all bitumen track along an old rail corridor and the course was lined by trees
for the most part as it took a dogleg behind the caravan park and then went
through a vineyard. We certainly enjoyed the course as the trees kept us cool.
We had a coffee and then drove down to Aldinga Beach to do another freedom run.
This course reminded both of us so much of Marina at Geraldton as it follows a
wide path along the seashore with houses on the other side of the road. The
main difference, however, was that Marina followed beach whereas at Aldinga
Beach it was beach, rock shelves and cliffs towering above the water. Leaving
Aldinga we headed further down the peninsula towards Rapid Bay through quite hilly sections. But it was so beautiful. We drove into Rapid Bay Campground and
found ourselves a spot. What a campground! It is situated on a beach with
fabulous views of steep hills behind us and water in front of us. We had a long
walk to the end of the beach where there are caves—and I looked longingly at
the hills as a route for trails, but what a struggle they would be! Then it was
to the jetty—actually there are two jetties with the original one that was used
by the limestone mine now unused because of its condition and the newer,
shorter one used by people for fishing and scuba diving to view Seahorses and Leafy Sea-dragons. We walked passed many
unoccupied houses that belong to the mine and then to the little school,
which still operates. It’s a spot where one could stay much longer than just
the one night we can afford this time around.
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| Crimson Rosella |
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| Feral Bees in Gorge |
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| Common Bronzewing |
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| Rapid Bay Camping Ground |
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| Rapid Bay |
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| Rapid Bay beach |
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| Rapid Bay beach |
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| Rapid Bay beach |
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| Rapid Bay beach |
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| Old Rapid Bay jetty |
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| Old and new jetties |
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| Scuba diving and snorkeling steps |
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| New Rapid Bay jetty |
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| Walking the jetty |
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| Old Rapid Bay General Store |
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| Community project to beautify the water tank |
We awoke to overcast skies, but there was no rain. I’m
looking forward to our first good rain so that we can know whether the roof has
been satisfactorily repaired. We left around our normal time and headed up the
hills—hills that looked like giant cupcakes of varying shapes and sizes
squashed together. There was a lot of work through the gears as the automatic
system adjusted to the ups and downs and on a couple of occasions I had to put it into sports mode
because of the steepness we were encountering. Anyway, we handled it all
without hassles as we made our way through farmland that looked like it had had
a very productive year. Even so, by now it was quite dry looking. We pulled
into Victor Harbor and set up. After lunch we drove to the start of the parkrun
course. It was a lovely course between the shores of Encounter Bay and houses
on the other side of the road—most of which were newer two-storey homes. We
faced an atrocious headwind on the way out but on the return it seemed to stop
for about the first half of the return trip before it picked up again. If that
wind is still around tomorrow morning then it will be a real battle out there.
We had a coffee at The Yilki Store, which is where parkrun gathers for their
post-parkrun coffee.
On Saturday we toddled off to Victor Harbor parkrun just after 7:30 am. I was really surprised to
have run my fastest time this year of 23:53. We had a wonderful time with three
others over the post parkrun coffee. After lunch we headed off to walk around
Granite Island.
We had a coffee and a cake on the island and then continued walking up the steps to view the sculptures—some of which were quite strange.
By the time we had finished our walk we arrived back in Victor Harbor to view the Christmas Parade, but we firstly needed toilets and found the the self-explanatory history of Victor Harbor in this mural on the toilet wall.
The churches contribution, immediately after the police car and band, focused on Jesus being God’s Christmas gift to us and the fact that though there were different churches they had one message. I became quite emotional at times as I watched different floats. When the entry from St Louis Home Care came by one of their ladies gave each of us a leaflet about their services—I certainly didn’t think that I was old enough for that.
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| Granite Island Causeway |
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| Clydesdales used to pull the tram. |
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| Granite Island Causeway |
We had a coffee and a cake on the island and then continued walking up the steps to view the sculptures—some of which were quite strange.
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| Fairy Penguins |
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| Sea Lion |
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| The Causeway |
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| From atop Granite Rock |
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| Runner Extraordinaire |
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| Sculpture Encounter |
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| Sculpture Encounter |
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| Sculpture Encounter |
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| Sculpture Encounter |
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| The Causeway |
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| Sculpture Encounter |
By the time we had finished our walk we arrived back in Victor Harbor to view the Christmas Parade, but we firstly needed toilets and found the the self-explanatory history of Victor Harbor in this mural on the toilet wall.
The churches contribution, immediately after the police car and band, focused on Jesus being God’s Christmas gift to us and the fact that though there were different churches they had one message. I became quite emotional at times as I watched different floats. When the entry from St Louis Home Care came by one of their ladies gave each of us a leaflet about their services—I certainly didn’t think that I was old enough for that.
The following day we headed back to Granite Island. We had a
delicious lunch at the cafe there before exploring that part of the island we
had missed yesterday. There are so many sculptures around the island, many of
which I found strange. We did appreciate the breathtaking views up and down
the coast and the wonderful colours of the granite boulders. I learnt that the
200,000 tons of granite that were used in the construction of the breakwater in
1882 were gouged out of the island by human muscle, horse power and primitive
equipment to construct a breakwater 1,000 feet in length, 200 feet wide on the
seabed and 30 feet wide at the top, with no block on the surface weighing less
than 20 tons. The nearby jetty was constructed between 1879 and 1881 with the
hard cap of limestone on the seabed having to be blasted through so that piles could be screwed into position and then cemented in place—hence it is
called the Screw Pile Jetty. The Horse Drawn Tramway, covering the 630 metre
wooden causeway between Victor Harbor (originally called Port Victor) and
Granite Island (Kaiki in the indigenous language), began service in 1894 and
daily hauls up to 50 tourists on each trip the double decker tram takes. There are about 6
Clydesdale horses that operate this system, with two of them used on a daily
basis.
After leaving the island we wandered around town for a bit.
The following day drove out to Waitpinga Beach for a walk, which was hard going on the soft sand.
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| Camel rides |
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| The Causeway |
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| Horse-drawn tram rides |
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| Sculpture |
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| Sculpture |
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| Sculpture |
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| From Granite Island |
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| Sculpture |
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| Sculpture |
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| Sculpture |
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| Sculpture |
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| Horse-drawn tram ride |
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| Amusement park |
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| War Memorial |
The following day drove out to Waitpinga Beach for a walk, which was hard going on the soft sand.
The next day we made our way to Goolwa, where we stopped in
the main street and walked down to the wharf area and checked out where
tomorrow’s cruise leaves from. There were lots of interesting signs and murals
around town, as well as beautiful historic buildings in the classic South
Australian style. We had a coffee at Hector’s on the Wharf and walked back to
the car, dropping into a little shop because they had a loaf of Gluten Free
fruit loaf for $1.99. It might have been Friday’s bread but it will go in the freezer.
We also bought some mushrooms which were at a good price. We drove over the
controversial Hindmarsh Island Bridge and made our way to the caravan park,
where we extended our stay by another day so we had plenty of time in the area.
In the afternoon we drove around the island, stopping at the Murray Mouth
viewing area and bought ourselves some delicious fish and chips from the food
van parked there.
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| Sharp-tailed Sandpiper |
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| Dredging the sand build up at Murray Mouth is a 365 day a year job. |
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| Murray Mouth dredging. |
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| Ducks |
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| Murray Mouth |
Having driven around most of the island and seeing the new
marina for which the building of the bridge was necessary we found the
Hindmarsh Island Cemetery, which I explored.
The following day was the Coorong Adventure Cruise. At one point I found just being on the cruise hard t enjoy but, having walked an older man back to the vessel on the first walk because he couldn’t take any more I found it much easier. It was an incredible cruise, learning about the barrages which were put in place around 1935 to separate the fresh water of the river and lakes system from the salt water from the Southern Ocean.
Following periods of drought the Murray Mouth silted up and there is now a 24-hour a day, 365 days a year dredging of sand that is continually brought into the Mouth by the tides. That there is insufficient water flow from upstream due to droughts and the extraction of water for irrigation and towns means that the barrages hardly ever let out water and there is the need for environmental flows to retain the integrity of the ecosystem. At Barkers Knoll we walked to the Southern Ocean with most people paddling in the water.
Joel explained the use of various plants by the Ngarridjeri people. Back on board, Bain gave us a rundown on the various spots along the river—the early settlers; the farms; the fishermen; the birdlife; the state of the river and how the Murray Mouth has changed over recorded history. We ate a wonderful salad lunch and then arrived at Cattle Point where, those wanting to, disembarked to walk up a sand dune as Bain showed us a site that had been settled by the Ngarridjeri people because of fresh water soaks and the resultant abundance of food.
Bain dug in the sand near the top of a dune to reach fresh water, which we were able to drink.
The water table was so high in that area that it is no wonder bushes are able to survive but rain is needed to enable to the water table to be retained. I am full of admiration for the indigenous people and their ability to thrive in such tough conditions. After our cruise in really hot weather, during which we were handed free bottles of water rather than having to buy them, we went for a coffee and I was given the last doughnut because it was the end of the day.
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| Hindmarsh Island Cemetery |
The following day was the Coorong Adventure Cruise. At one point I found just being on the cruise hard t enjoy but, having walked an older man back to the vessel on the first walk because he couldn’t take any more I found it much easier. It was an incredible cruise, learning about the barrages which were put in place around 1935 to separate the fresh water of the river and lakes system from the salt water from the Southern Ocean.
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| Lock on Murray River at Goolwa Barrage |
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| Great Egret |
Following periods of drought the Murray Mouth silted up and there is now a 24-hour a day, 365 days a year dredging of sand that is continually brought into the Mouth by the tides. That there is insufficient water flow from upstream due to droughts and the extraction of water for irrigation and towns means that the barrages hardly ever let out water and there is the need for environmental flows to retain the integrity of the ecosystem. At Barkers Knoll we walked to the Southern Ocean with most people paddling in the water.
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| Midden |
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| Southern Ocean after walk from Barkers Knoll |
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| Beach Beauty paddling in Southern Ocean |
Joel explained the use of various plants by the Ngarridjeri people. Back on board, Bain gave us a rundown on the various spots along the river—the early settlers; the farms; the fishermen; the birdlife; the state of the river and how the Murray Mouth has changed over recorded history. We ate a wonderful salad lunch and then arrived at Cattle Point where, those wanting to, disembarked to walk up a sand dune as Bain showed us a site that had been settled by the Ngarridjeri people because of fresh water soaks and the resultant abundance of food.
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| Cattle Point |
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| Remains of trees cut down by Ngarridjeri people for fuel |
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| Cooking area |
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| Burial site |
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| Midden |
Bain dug in the sand near the top of a dune to reach fresh water, which we were able to drink.
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| Digging in the sand dune for water |
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| Great tasting water from the hole dug by Bain |
The water table was so high in that area that it is no wonder bushes are able to survive but rain is needed to enable to the water table to be retained. I am full of admiration for the indigenous people and their ability to thrive in such tough conditions. After our cruise in really hot weather, during which we were handed free bottles of water rather than having to buy them, we went for a coffee and I was given the last doughnut because it was the end of the day.
The following day we headed into Goolwa for a Freedom Run.
The course was easy to find and follow, being a simple out-and-back course
along the banks of the Murray River. It was scenically very beautiful even with
the two-storey houses over the road. Pelicans glided effortlessly over the
river or sat on pylons. Water birds abounded and Reed warblers could be heard
even if not seen. There wasn’t a great deal of shade and what we had was most
welcome seeing we didn’t start until 10:00 am. After completing our Freedom Run
we headed over the road for a coffee—the same spot used as a venue for the
post-parkrun coffee on a Saturday morning. From there we drove out along
Barrage Road until we reached the end and were pleasantly surprised at being
able to walk out to the lock, though we couldn’t go over to the other side.
There were a lot of water birds around.
We continued our walk by going up and over the sand dune along duck board and walked along the beach for quite some time.
A lot of people were on the beach, having driven along it.
There were so
many “balls” that had been washed up—both smooth ones from sea grasses and
larger, rougher ones—among the seaweed.
We headed back to the car and to the
new supermarket complex that is on the road into town. We had lunch at a cafe,
did some shopping, topped up the tank and headed back out to the Goolwa Barrage
just in time to see our cruise vessel enter the lock on its way back to the
jetty.
From there it was back to the van for a cuppa and to sit outside in the
shade to escape the heat that was inside, even with the air con running. After
dinner we went for another walk along our road.
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| Duck |
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| Australian Pelican |
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| Great Egret |
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| Rock Dove |
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| Shipwreck |
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| Tern |
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| Australian Pelican |
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| Australian Pelican |
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| Australian Pelican |
We continued our walk by going up and over the sand dune along duck board and walked along the beach for quite some time.
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| Succulent |
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| Track to Southern Ocean |
A lot of people were on the beach, having driven along it.
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| Beach driving |
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| Beach driving |
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| "Ball" |
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| Fishing for Pipi |
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| Black-tailed Native-hen |
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| Royal Spoonbill |
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| Red-kneed Dotterel |
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| Red-kneed Dotterel |
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| Spirit of the Coorong in the lock |
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| Jet ski |
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| Tern |
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| Spirit of the Coorong leaving the lock |
Friday, 20th December was hot—very hot by the
time we drove out of Hindmarsh Island Caravan Park and the wind was strong as
well. We took it slowly going up and over the Hindmarsh Island Bridge because
of the blustery conditions and from there all the way to Wellington where we
caught the ferry across the Murray River we had strong head and cross winds. We
preferred to use roads that were more back roads, even if it meant going on a
couple of single lane bridges. We just missed the ferry as it was heading back
to pick up a number of vehicles that wanted to come across, but it wasn’t a
long wait. All the time we kept the engine running because of the heat and soon
we were onto the ferry and then off and running again. The temperature gauge in the car reached 49o
and the car seemed to struggle going down to third gear even though the wind
was now behind us and it was rather flat. I put that down to the heat. We
arrived in Meningie and found the caravan park. Luke and Sam Schroder pulled up
just as we did so we were finally able to meet them. After setting up the van,
having lunch and a cuppa we were preparing to go into town when we had a visit
from Ian from the local Lions Club. He was after a couple of volunteers to act
as judges for the Christmas lights competition, so we agreed to help them out.
After he had gone we drove into town and found the start of the Meningie
parkrun course.
With the temperature still in the low 40’s and the skies filled
with smoke we opted not to walk the parkrun course but rather go to the local bakery for a
coffee—which we reached just before closing time, meaning I could get two large
doughnuts for $2! We also went to the local butcher for some meat and then
drove out to the local lookout, but there wasn’t much to see as the trees have
been growing up and blocking the views.
Then it was back to the van with the air
con struggling to cool the van down much. We had an interesting time being
driven around Meningie by Ian and May to see the lights. We were very much
agreed on who would get our first two and decided that we would share the third
place between two other entrants. It was a late, but enjoyable night and we
were given two boxes of chocolates and a bottle of Shiraz as a thank you for
judging.
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| Lake Albert, Meningie |
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| Lake Albert from Meningie Lions Club Lookout |
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| Farmland from Meningie Lions Club Lookout |
After completing Meningie parkrun we had a great morning
over coffee and breakfast with Luke and Sam in the Meningie Bakery, as well as with Patrick who had driven down from Adelaide for parkrun.
It was such a friendly setting with many others taking the time to talk with
us. That afternoon Luke and Sam came down to spend time with us, following
which we had a walk up to the Sailing Club jetty before tea and bed.
On Sunday we left the caravan park around our normal time but
had some shopping to do, so we were a bit later in getting away. Our first stop
was Coonalpyn to view their silo art—but there was far more than just the silo.
The pedestrian tunnel under the railway lines had a multitude of murals and there was a great mosaic in front of the toilet block.
The local Uniting
Church, even though there was no notice board with service time details, had a
simple manger scene in front of its hall.
We spent time wandering part of the street taking in these sights and were continually drawn back to the silo art, the theme of which was “Hope for the Future”, with five children, whose photo was on a notice board, painted with simplicity and charm.
We had a coffee in the Coonalpyn Silo Cafe.
From there we headed towards Keith where we intended to get fuel but the
Liberty servo had signs on each of their diesel pumps that they were
unavailable. So we continued onwards, bypassing Keith itself until we stopped
at Willalooka outside the community hall where Val made our salad lunch using
spicy smoked salmon—and it had a bite to it. Along the way we had seen
Santa—Santa on a tractor; Santa on a penny-farthing; Santa face planted into a
power pole when his sleigh crashed; Santa outside a winery holding
noticeboards; Santa on a jet ski. And everywhere there were red bows tied
around trees, which must be a fad in South Australia. It wasn’t long before we reached
our destination for the night in the tiny community of Padthaway. We found the
caravan park out of town and set up.
Once we’d had our cuppa we went for a walk along the Orchid Track to the Currawong Loop of the Padthaway Conservation Park. The Orchid Track went through some unnerving bush as trees were down and there was the occasional rustling in the grasses. Once we reached the boundary and were into the Conservation Park we had a much better kept road to follow—even if it was quite sandy and hard to walk on. The bush we passed through, even though there were numbered posts describing what was around, wasn’t much to write home about. Once back at the Orchid Track we followed the vastly improved return section and were home before it was too dark.
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| Sunset over Lake Albert |
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| Coonalpyn Silo Art |
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| Coonalpyn Silo Art |
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| Coonalpyn Silo Art |
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| Coonalpyn Silo Art |
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| Coonalpyn Silo Art |
The pedestrian tunnel under the railway lines had a multitude of murals and there was a great mosaic in front of the toilet block.
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| Tunnel Mural |
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| Tunnel Mural |
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| Tunnel Mural |
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| Tunnel Mural |
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| Tunnel Mural |
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| Tunnel Mural |
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| Tunnel Mural |
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| Tunnel Mural |
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| Toilet block mural |
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| UCA Church |
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| UCA manger scene |
We spent time wandering part of the street taking in these sights and were continually drawn back to the silo art, the theme of which was “Hope for the Future”, with five children, whose photo was on a notice board, painted with simplicity and charm.
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| Children on Coonalpyn Art Silo |
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| Crimson Rosella, Padthaway Caravan Park |
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| White-browed Babbler, Padthaway Caravan Park |
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| Christmas Caravan, Padthaway |
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| Reindeer powered Christmas Caravan, Padthaway |
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| Elves sleeping, Padthaway |
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| Santa's cuppa, Padthaway |
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| Padthaway Caravan Park |
Once we’d had our cuppa we went for a walk along the Orchid Track to the Currawong Loop of the Padthaway Conservation Park. The Orchid Track went through some unnerving bush as trees were down and there was the occasional rustling in the grasses. Once we reached the boundary and were into the Conservation Park we had a much better kept road to follow—even if it was quite sandy and hard to walk on. The bush we passed through, even though there were numbered posts describing what was around, wasn’t much to write home about. Once back at the Orchid Track we followed the vastly improved return section and were home before it was too dark.
On Monday we made our way directly to Naracoorte where our
first priority was to refuel. Then it was down to the Naracoorte Swimming Lake
so we could do a Freedom Run. The course is in a great setting as it begins
beside Naracoorte Creek under majestic gums before leaving the compacted gravel
and continuing on bitumen. Unfortunately, we won’t be there for next Saturday
as we both loved the course with its couple of gentle hills, which Val ran. Leaving Naracoorte
we found a wayside stop beside a pine plantation and had our lunch before
continuing on to Mount Gambier. We called into Reception at the Pine Country
Caravan Park and paid the remainder of our camping fees, and getting our G’Day
Rewards discount that hadn’t been automatically taken into account when I booked
online. We were also given a number of discount vouchers for local shops. We
set up our site, had a cuppa and went to Freedom Run the course. What a brute
of a course—when it is not going downhill it is going uphill. What a contrast
between our time at Naracoorte and here, for the weather has turned and it
became quite cool.
Christmas Eve was a deliberately quiet day. We did some
shopping—the local butcher just around the corner where we used our 10%
discount voucher and the next door general store/Community Postal Office where
we had a coffee. At both places people were happy just to talk as well. Late in
the afternoon we drove to the Umpherston Sinkhole. Developed by James
Umpherston on his property in the 1890’s as a refuge from the heat of summer it
had a varied history of care and neglect. Originally there was a lake at the
bottom with a small rowing boat but the decline of the water level meant that
that has long since disappeared. While the abundance of ivy isn’t to my liking
it does provide an important place for birds. Feral bees had their hives in a few
spots on the limestone overhangs and water dripped down onto paths. It is very
well cared for now by the Mount Gambier City Council since taking over
ownership.
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| European 'Goldfinch, Umpherston Sinkhole |
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| Feral bees drinking from moss, Umpherston Sinkhole |
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| Feral bees drinking, Umpherston Sinkhole |
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| Feral bee hive, Umpherston Sinkhole |
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| Feral bee hive, Umpherston Sinkhole |
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| Starling, Umpherston Sinkhole |
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| Starling chick, Umpherston Sinkhole |
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| Feral bee hive, Umpherston Sinkhole |
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| Thornbill, Umpherston Sinkhole |
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| Thornbill, Umpherston Sinkhole |
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| Spotted Pardalote, Umpherston Sinkhole |
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| Spotted Pardalote, Umpherston Sinkhole |
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| Umpherston Sinkhole |
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| Umpherston Sinkhole |
On Christmas Day we attended Mount Gambier parkrun at 8:00
am. We raced back to the van, popped into the shower and made our way to the
Presbyterian Church for their 9:30 am service. We had a wonderful, even if
late, lunch of roast pickled pork and roast vegies. I again had a nap after
lunch and then we just lazed around for the rest of the day.
Leaving Mount Gambier on Boxing Day we made our way across
the border to Dartmoor, where we found the Fort O’Hare Camping Ground, made
famous and named by Major Mitchell. We were very impressed with the carvings in
the main street. One old cypress tree had carvings of characters from nursery
rhymes and children’s stories; there were a number down the other side of the
street with various scenes depicting war service; and numerous birds and animals
as well. There was an historic watering trough with a wooden plume from the
spring. It’s a little timber town that has certainly seen better days ... but I'll leave it here for Val to better describe in the next episode of our travels.
