Wednesday 25th March 339 km
We awoke to quite a chill morning with the sun just coming up. We went for a walk in the little park before we left at nine o'clock.
We awoke to quite a chill morning with the sun just coming up. We went for a walk in the little park before we left at nine o'clock.
We stopped in Melton and posted Simon's letter and spent quite a bit of time wandering around - we bought some milk and things and found a place selling platypus T shirts which we thought were very fitting, so we bought one each. We left there about 10 0'clock.
We proceeded past Ballarat and stopped at a little pull off for tea and coffee and Adrian had large custard slice and I had a half of a large Danish pastry. They kept road ballast there and there was a sign that said we were in Pyrenees Shire, We soon came to Buangor, where there was a collection of caravans that Paul Genner [of the Historic Caravan Club] had wanted us to visit. Buangor seemed very tiny, we asked in a garage and they directed us a kilometre up the road and then five kilometres off it. We followed a track, which looked as though it had been resurfaced recently to a farm, where we came across the collection of caravans, but it turned out rather disappointing for us. The place was a sheep farm, run by Kevin Wilde and his wife. They also had this collection of caravans, about 10 of which were old caravans and one was a 1910 folding one, in very bad state of repair. He hadn’t attempted to restore any of the others, he was just keeping them there. We met him, he seemed rather a despondent sort of fellow and was in rather a hurry, going off to a meeting. He and his daughter were both very keen on shooting and travelled around with that, in fact he was leaving for Perth tomorrow. His wife I would describe as a funny lady - a Carol Carthew - strange manner and obviously not at all travelled and hadn't ever stayed in a caravan. The place was all like a bit of a jumble sale. We had a little look around at the caravans, took one or two pictures and now being 1.30 we left.
We proceeded past Ballarat and stopped at a little pull off for tea and coffee and Adrian had large custard slice and I had a half of a large Danish pastry. They kept road ballast there and there was a sign that said we were in Pyrenees Shire, We soon came to Buangor, where there was a collection of caravans that Paul Genner [of the Historic Caravan Club] had wanted us to visit. Buangor seemed very tiny, we asked in a garage and they directed us a kilometre up the road and then five kilometres off it. We followed a track, which looked as though it had been resurfaced recently to a farm, where we came across the collection of caravans, but it turned out rather disappointing for us. The place was a sheep farm, run by Kevin Wilde and his wife. They also had this collection of caravans, about 10 of which were old caravans and one was a 1910 folding one, in very bad state of repair. He hadn’t attempted to restore any of the others, he was just keeping them there. We met him, he seemed rather a despondent sort of fellow and was in rather a hurry, going off to a meeting. He and his daughter were both very keen on shooting and travelled around with that, in fact he was leaving for Perth tomorrow. His wife I would describe as a funny lady - a Carol Carthew - strange manner and obviously not at all travelled and hadn't ever stayed in a caravan. The place was all like a bit of a jumble sale. We had a little look around at the caravans, took one or two pictures and now being 1.30 we left.
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A welcome overnighter at Melton (streetview 2009)
Not far back up the road we stopped in gateway to a field and sat outside to have our lunch. The air was quite cold and it was cloudy, but when the sun came out it was very hot. We now looked forward to going and starting the Great Ocean Road which we'd been planning to do some three weeks ago. We drove back on the Western Highway to Beaufort where we turned off at a badly signposted junction towards Skipton. In the children's playground on this junction was a big steam engine, a real one. We continued towards Geelong on very quiet roads, but made up for it when we got to Geelong as we hit the traffic - plenty of it. We located the road to Torquay and the start of the Great Ocean Road.
Adrian & Kevin Wilde
1910 Trailer tent
When we reached Torquay, we took a road which arrived above a beach with a wonderful view. We realised it is some time since we had views like this of the sea, which of course we loved so much. There were one or two other campervans there and we thought this would be an ideal place to stop, but on our search around for somewhere to actually pitch,we saw a sign saying ‘no camping’.
We continued westwards and came to Anglesey where we were disconcerted to see lots more no camping signs, but we weren't sure what they actually applied to. We found a place saying car parking with lovely views to a lovely bay and out to the sea and very green vegetation. We set ourselves up here, walked down to the beach which was pretty blowy and we were rather disappointed really to find what a cold wind there was here after the hot weather we'd been having earlier, but the views were certainly splendid. I wrote to Maureen. After supper which we had looking out on the fading light over the sea, we got ourselves organised, trying to sort out some of the past leaflets that we'd accumulated.
We continued westwards and came to Anglesey where we were disconcerted to see lots more no camping signs, but we weren't sure what they actually applied to. We found a place saying car parking with lovely views to a lovely bay and out to the sea and very green vegetation. We set ourselves up here, walked down to the beach which was pretty blowy and we were rather disappointed really to find what a cold wind there was here after the hot weather we'd been having earlier, but the views were certainly splendid. I wrote to Maureen. After supper which we had looking out on the fading light over the sea, we got ourselves organised, trying to sort out some of the past leaflets that we'd accumulated.
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The Platybus at the start of the Great Ocean Road
Thursday 26th March. 138 km
Several surfers came down early to try the surf but it wasn't right, so they didn't stay very long. There was a beautiful sky with a rainbow across in front of us. It was partly cloudy with sun shining on the rocks that we were looking across to and on the cliff face as well. So very lovely and we got ourselves organised and left about 9.30.
We followed the road along to Lorne and we had some beautiful views out to sea and another rainbow ending in the sea, but unfortunately, that meant we were in wet sort of weather and by the time we got to Lorne it was drizzling heavily. We were looking for a petrol station but didn't find one that met the needs of gas and air as well. We went into a supermarket and adjacent to that a baker's where we bought a so called Blueberry Danish which I thought was more like a blueberry pie,but which was very pleasant. I bought some coffee, which saved us making some and then we sat in the van looking out in the drizzle, over a playground to the sea. We went into the Tourist Information and picked up one or two leaflets but we were not that impressed with information places here, they have a lot of leaflets on activities, hotels, etc. , but not a great deal of what we want. We then went back to a garage that we had passed and Adrian did lots of things like getting diesel, filling the gas bottle, and filling with water.
All this took quite a while, so I prepared some rolls while he was doing that, and then decided we'd go on one of the many walks out from here. We drove up a winding road, several kilometres into the forest. We couldn't find any walk which was just right for what we wanted, there were no circular walks, they were difficult to follow on the map anyway and so we settled on a walk to the Erskine Falls. There was a very steep road down to the parking for it and therefore would be a steep road to drive back out afterwards. There were then over 300 steps down to the falls which were very high and quite spectacular and then there was a walk which went right down the valley to the sea.
Several surfers came down early to try the surf but it wasn't right, so they didn't stay very long. There was a beautiful sky with a rainbow across in front of us. It was partly cloudy with sun shining on the rocks that we were looking across to and on the cliff face as well. So very lovely and we got ourselves organised and left about 9.30.
We followed the road along to Lorne and we had some beautiful views out to sea and another rainbow ending in the sea, but unfortunately, that meant we were in wet sort of weather and by the time we got to Lorne it was drizzling heavily. We were looking for a petrol station but didn't find one that met the needs of gas and air as well. We went into a supermarket and adjacent to that a baker's where we bought a so called Blueberry Danish which I thought was more like a blueberry pie,but which was very pleasant. I bought some coffee, which saved us making some and then we sat in the van looking out in the drizzle, over a playground to the sea. We went into the Tourist Information and picked up one or two leaflets but we were not that impressed with information places here, they have a lot of leaflets on activities, hotels, etc. , but not a great deal of what we want. We then went back to a garage that we had passed and Adrian did lots of things like getting diesel, filling the gas bottle, and filling with water.
All this took quite a while, so I prepared some rolls while he was doing that, and then decided we'd go on one of the many walks out from here. We drove up a winding road, several kilometres into the forest. We couldn't find any walk which was just right for what we wanted, there were no circular walks, they were difficult to follow on the map anyway and so we settled on a walk to the Erskine Falls. There was a very steep road down to the parking for it and therefore would be a steep road to drive back out afterwards. There were then over 300 steps down to the falls which were very high and quite spectacular and then there was a walk which went right down the valley to the sea.
A bit further along at Separation Creek we stopped and had a walk on the beach along to some honeycomb rocks with flattened tops rather like saltpans and it was now warm and sunny and very pleasant.
We stopped just before Apollo Bay for Adrian to have a snooze and then continued on to Apollo Bay and to the Otway National Park. There we stopped at Mait’s Rest Rainforest Walk - about half an hour to cool temperate rainforest with enormous Myrtle trees. We also saw a mouse like creature with a long pointed snout called a long nosed potoroo. We continued to Melba Gully State Park and in our little book of rest areas, there was one marked here and what we hadn't understood from this book was that these weren't always places you could stay the night. They were just picnic sites which rather negated its use as far as we were concerned. This one had said 'no camping', but we still went and had a trek around this forest trail. Again, lots of trees, lots of tree ferns and as we were approaching the end of it, we'd heard a party of school children arrive, obviously on some sort of outing, but we didn't actually see them. We just saw a coach at the end.
We drove up to the turn off to this rainforest walk as we'd seen a little pull off place, at Lavers Hill and that did for our overnight stop. When it was dark, we had a little walk out there. There was a lot of grass here, real wet English grass. Later that evening, we wrote out the Melbourne saga with regards to the van.
We stopped just before Apollo Bay for Adrian to have a snooze and then continued on to Apollo Bay and to the Otway National Park. There we stopped at Mait’s Rest Rainforest Walk - about half an hour to cool temperate rainforest with enormous Myrtle trees. We also saw a mouse like creature with a long pointed snout called a long nosed potoroo. We continued to Melba Gully State Park and in our little book of rest areas, there was one marked here and what we hadn't understood from this book was that these weren't always places you could stay the night. They were just picnic sites which rather negated its use as far as we were concerned. This one had said 'no camping', but we still went and had a trek around this forest trail. Again, lots of trees, lots of tree ferns and as we were approaching the end of it, we'd heard a party of school children arrive, obviously on some sort of outing, but we didn't actually see them. We just saw a coach at the end.
We drove up to the turn off to this rainforest walk as we'd seen a little pull off place, at Lavers Hill and that did for our overnight stop. When it was dark, we had a little walk out there. There was a lot of grass here, real wet English grass. Later that evening, we wrote out the Melbourne saga with regards to the van.
View from Mount Defiance lookout
We had intended doing some of this, but in fact, it was just a walk down the riverbed meandering from one side to the other across the river. It said not to go on this walk, if the river was high and it was for experienced walkers only. It was very uneven underfoot and it was great boulders we were trekking over all the time, but a beautiful atmosphere and it was quite pleasantly warm. There was the smell of huge eucalyptus trees in the deep gorge. After some distance we came to a bit called Straw Falls with a sprinkly fall coming over steep sides. We sat here and had our lunch and weren't going to go any further but a couple came past, who said how good it was, so we did another 10 minutes. The going got worse and was just like walking up boulders in a riverbed and fearing things like sprained ankles, we decided not to go any further and returned back up the 300 or so steps. We got someone to take a photo of us by the Platybus (our new name for the van) with both of us wearing our platypus T shirts. We drove back up the very steep hill, which we were worried about but all was well and we were soon driving on the road back towards Lorne.
As we came back into Lorne, we took the road along to Teddy's Lookout, the last bit of which was unsurfaced. From the actual lookout you could only see the sea and the sky which was clear blue and looked very beautiful, but on the way up to it and back down, you could see along the coastline where we had come from and looking quite beautiful - white beaches and green forested slopes behind. The lookout was named prior to 1888 and they didn't know who it was named after! It was pleasantly warm by now and we left about 2.15. We stopped at a lookout by Mount Defiance, but unfortunately the place had been used as a pissoir and a rubbish dump, so it wasn't as nice as it should have been.
As we came back into Lorne, we took the road along to Teddy's Lookout, the last bit of which was unsurfaced. From the actual lookout you could only see the sea and the sky which was clear blue and looked very beautiful, but on the way up to it and back down, you could see along the coastline where we had come from and looking quite beautiful - white beaches and green forested slopes behind. The lookout was named prior to 1888 and they didn't know who it was named after! It was pleasantly warm by now and we left about 2.15. We stopped at a lookout by Mount Defiance, but unfortunately the place had been used as a pissoir and a rubbish dump, so it wasn't as nice as it should have been.
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Erskine Falls (streetview 2017)
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Another nice overnighter at Lavers Hill (streetview 2024)
Friday 27th March 121 km
A coolish night snug in our van and awoke to a cloudy, damp grass, an English sort of day. It felt English, by the sort of things growing that we would have in England, such as clover and the weeds - the sort of weeds that we get there. We got ourselves organised and left at about 9.10 and headed down from Lavers Hill where we were staying towards the coast following the so called Great Ocean Road although it was inland at that point. We reached the coast and did our tourist bit of visiting the so called 12 apostles, the lumps of rock sticking out away from the coast. It was setup with a boardwalk and there were lots of tourists, so having viewed the rocks we didn't stay long.
A coolish night snug in our van and awoke to a cloudy, damp grass, an English sort of day. It felt English, by the sort of things growing that we would have in England, such as clover and the weeds - the sort of weeds that we get there. We got ourselves organised and left at about 9.10 and headed down from Lavers Hill where we were staying towards the coast following the so called Great Ocean Road although it was inland at that point. We reached the coast and did our tourist bit of visiting the so called 12 apostles, the lumps of rock sticking out away from the coast. It was setup with a boardwalk and there were lots of tourists, so having viewed the rocks we didn't stay long.
By now it was sunny and warm. A bit further on we stopped at Loch Ard Gorge, an area of indented coastline with lots of stack islands and archways, very picturesque. We had coffee first. It was obviously on the tourist route, but we managed to avoid the coach parties that had arrived, and we actually spent a couple of hours looking around this area. We'd looked across to Mutton Bird island, and seen an inland blowhole. The geology of these stacks and the thing that featured mostly was the shipwreck of the 'Loch Ard' ship, which went down with only two survivors in 1878. It was quite warm and nice to see, particularly as we did keep away from most of the other people.
Looking east from the lookout
Looking west to the 12 Apostles
We came to Port Campbell, a very pretty little seaside place which made us think of English places like Coombe Martin with a long, narrow harbour, and was very low key. We went into baker's, got some rolls and a cake and then we went down to the beach, where we made up our rolls. It was pleasantly warm, an English sort of warm with blue sky. We walked along the beach and back again. We saw a little toddler who reminded us of Emma, with her grandparents. A very nice little place on this coast. We had thought it might have been developed, but it wasn't at all.
We stopped a bit further on to view the rock formation known as London Bridge, which had fallen down in 1990 [We found later that Adrian's Auntie Vi had a picture of it not ‘fallen down’]. The colour of the golden limestone against the deep blue sea and the pale blue sky was really nice.
We stopped a bit further on to view the rock formation known as London Bridge, which had fallen down in 1990 [We found later that Adrian's Auntie Vi had a picture of it not ‘fallen down’]. The colour of the golden limestone against the deep blue sea and the pale blue sky was really nice.
Around Loch Ard
Soon after, this was a spot called the Bay of Martyrs, and we looked across to an area called the Bay of Islands, a lower lying the bit. We walked down onto the golden sandy beach, the rocks of this were a beautiful golden colour with a vegetation growing on them and the deep blue sky, all very photogenic. It told you to go for a walk along this little bay as if I needed to be told to go for a walk on the beach. We were rather surprised that rocks jutted out into the bay and you wouldn't have been able to walk along it any way some times because of the tide
London Bridge has fallen down
Auntie Vi's photo in 1962 - Not fallen down
Adrian on the beach at the Bay of Islands
. I had just taken a photograph of Adrian and we were just returning and as we got to one of these little headlands, a huge wave came in and rather wetted, me in particular, which I suppose was quite funny. We returned to the van. We stopped once more before we actually reached the Bay of Islands, which was certainly superb because of the coastline and the wonderful colours, particularly on a day with clear blue sky, like today. The road then headed inland.
We continued to Warrnambool. I'd seen that there was a laundrette here and we very much needed doing some washing so we located it and put in 2 loads of washing. We drove down into the quite large town and it went down to a large recreation area/ harbour/ beach with a large bay enclosed by this harbour and looked for place to stop for tonight. We then drove back and put the washing in the tumble dryer, and walked around the block. There was nothing much to see in the town, they were all specialist shops like scuba diving, riding and computer shops. We did buy two little car mats for $1 each which tone in beautifully and saved the little bits by our seats, so we could just shake out the mats. There were no doors on the van, so you couldn't just brush bits out - they were very good purchase.
We then collected the washing, drove back down to this very pretty little place, right by the water and parked there. We had a phone message from both Lyn & Lucy, so we rang and spoke to Lucy. Then we went for a walk along the foreshore, where there was a funny notice about when you could take horses on to the beach.
We continued to Warrnambool. I'd seen that there was a laundrette here and we very much needed doing some washing so we located it and put in 2 loads of washing. We drove down into the quite large town and it went down to a large recreation area/ harbour/ beach with a large bay enclosed by this harbour and looked for place to stop for tonight. We then drove back and put the washing in the tumble dryer, and walked around the block. There was nothing much to see in the town, they were all specialist shops like scuba diving, riding and computer shops. We did buy two little car mats for $1 each which tone in beautifully and saved the little bits by our seats, so we could just shake out the mats. There were no doors on the van, so you couldn't just brush bits out - they were very good purchase.
We then collected the washing, drove back down to this very pretty little place, right by the water and parked there. We had a phone message from both Lyn & Lucy, so we rang and spoke to Lucy. Then we went for a walk along the foreshore, where there was a funny notice about when you could take horses on to the beach.
We walked back along the beach - it was very blowy and came back to the van. We phoned Lyn and John at our house in England and then had supper sitting in our seats at the front of the cab and looking out on Lady Bay, the harbour in front of us which is very pretty in the fading light. The sun had gone down behind us and then we sat for the rest of the evening chatting, eating nuts and had a pleasant evening in a pleasant spot.
Horses may only on beach between 8 & 10 am to swim!
Evening light from our overnighter at Warnambool
Melbourne (Melton) to Perth 25th March to 22nd May 1998
This diary was transcribed from diaries Rosie recorded onto tapes, in 1998
Saturday 28th March 114 km
We were awake early to a grey morning but the sun did rise spectacularly, shining onto the sea making like black and white silhouettes, particularly of the horses in the bay. We'd been amused at a sign about when horses could use the beach for swimming and people did actually take their horses here to swim – we’d never seen that before.
We were awake early to a grey morning but the sun did rise spectacularly, shining onto the sea making like black and white silhouettes, particularly of the horses in the bay. We'd been amused at a sign about when horses could use the beach for swimming and people did actually take their horses here to swim – we’d never seen that before.
We actually saw a willy wagtail and also a large gull, which I thought was a kelp gull. We did a bit of cleaning up and the sky had become quite dramatically grey.
We left at about 9.30 but stopped the other side of this point and walked out on a causeway to a little island and saw two naked men sunbathing in the greyness and by now it was drizzling. We stopped at Safeway, and by the time we left there it was time for coffee, which we had in the carpark with a bun. It was a very damp morning with all the shoppers pouring in and it seemed much like being in England.
Adrian stopped at a Toyota garage and went in and got them to photocopy a list of Toyota dealers around the country. We then headed for Port Fairy and by the time we got there, it was 12.30 and we perhaps foolishly passed by the Tower Hill Reserve, which was an extinct volcano - anyway, we didn't go there. By the time we got to Port Fairy it was blue sky and sunny. It was charming little place, an old whaling port originally, with a river flowing out, making a parallel strip of land opposite it to the sea and a sheltered little harbour on the river for the fishing fleet. We walked down there to the end and on our return we saw a fish and chip shop and a fresh fish place but decided we'd got enough food for the next few days but we decided to go and get some fish and chips. One of the fish was whitting and one was blue grenadier. We weren't sure which was which but some of the freshest fish we'd ever tasted with a very light batter and hot lovely chips but at least twice as much as we needed, so we saved some to hopefully eat for supper. We ate our fish & chips sitting in the van where it was hot and seemed a warm sunny day with a cold wind, but as we drove back out of Port Fairy, it was still pretty cloudy.
We headed out and it now got very windy. We turned off the road to the the sea at a place called The Crags. This was a fossilised forest and quite an exciting place to find. There were craggy bits of roots and trees and hard, hard rocks and we looked out to a flat topped island of volcanic origin with turquoisey blue sea -an attractive find, we thought.
We left at about 9.30 but stopped the other side of this point and walked out on a causeway to a little island and saw two naked men sunbathing in the greyness and by now it was drizzling. We stopped at Safeway, and by the time we left there it was time for coffee, which we had in the carpark with a bun. It was a very damp morning with all the shoppers pouring in and it seemed much like being in England.
Adrian stopped at a Toyota garage and went in and got them to photocopy a list of Toyota dealers around the country. We then headed for Port Fairy and by the time we got there, it was 12.30 and we perhaps foolishly passed by the Tower Hill Reserve, which was an extinct volcano - anyway, we didn't go there. By the time we got to Port Fairy it was blue sky and sunny. It was charming little place, an old whaling port originally, with a river flowing out, making a parallel strip of land opposite it to the sea and a sheltered little harbour on the river for the fishing fleet. We walked down there to the end and on our return we saw a fish and chip shop and a fresh fish place but decided we'd got enough food for the next few days but we decided to go and get some fish and chips. One of the fish was whitting and one was blue grenadier. We weren't sure which was which but some of the freshest fish we'd ever tasted with a very light batter and hot lovely chips but at least twice as much as we needed, so we saved some to hopefully eat for supper. We ate our fish & chips sitting in the van where it was hot and seemed a warm sunny day with a cold wind, but as we drove back out of Port Fairy, it was still pretty cloudy.
We headed out and it now got very windy. We turned off the road to the the sea at a place called The Crags. This was a fossilised forest and quite an exciting place to find. There were craggy bits of roots and trees and hard, hard rocks and we looked out to a flat topped island of volcanic origin with turquoisey blue sea -an attractive find, we thought.
A horse having a swim at Warnambool
We stopped in a picnic site for Adrian's snooze and then investigated another one a bit further on, just very pleasant and well away from the road but it was only 3.30. We continued on and at Narrawong, Adrian photographed a derelict vintage car which was a Chevrolet.
Petrified beach at The Craggs near Port Fairy
Petrified tree at The Craggs near Port Fairy
We continued into Portland and Adrian was to see more vintage cars, because having sussed out somewhere we thought we could stay for the night along the front, we then went to a vintage car museum which was very pleasant, for Adrian particularly. We chatted to the people there, the man who was on the counter as you went in owned a steam engine and we chatted to another couple who'd just taken a little truck out for a ride. We left here and then went along to the swimming pool, which was very nearby, and had a swim in an excellent indoor pool - there were indoor and outdoor pools with virtually nobody outside and just one or two children indoor. The water went down over the sides and the end of the pool which was pretty good but it did mean that you couldn't see the end of the pool and when you got there, it was difficult to get out of it as it sloped slightly [an infinity pool]. It was very pleasant and we had an excellent time. We were also able to have a shower and hair wash so that was good and just along from here were the Botanic Gardens, so we had a short walk around - nothing remarkable in there but very pleasant. We then found a place down on the front to empty the loo.
We returned to the place we had found earlier, along the end of the town on a road that didn't go any further, with parking for a very pleasant sandy beach so a lovely outlook again. We walked out along the beach and back, it was quite a chill sort of evening. We then came in and had egg and chips in the van. Then the ongoing thing of keeping up to date with all the brochures and throwing away those we didn't need.
We returned to the place we had found earlier, along the end of the town on a road that didn't go any further, with parking for a very pleasant sandy beach so a lovely outlook again. We walked out along the beach and back, it was quite a chill sort of evening. We then came in and had egg and chips in the van. Then the ongoing thing of keeping up to date with all the brochures and throwing away those we didn't need.
Old Chevrolet at Narrawong near Portland
Sunday 29th March 225 km
A late start and a grey sort of day but the sun did shine down onto the water at one point and we left at 10 o'clock.
A late start and a grey sort of day but the sun did shine down onto the water at one point and we left at 10 o'clock.
Adrian had been busy putting some wire to the fridge which has been an ongoing job. We came to Bridgewater Bay, a large sweeping bay of fine sand but we didn't stop there, not being a day for sunbathing or swimming and we didn't go any further along that road to the blow holes or the petrified forest having seen things like that before and it would have meant returning back along the road.
We turned off towards the Bridgewater Lakes and came to Tarragal caves at the side of the road with stalagtites and stalagmites and we climbed up to these and wondered whether people had lived in them in the past, they looked quite big beside the road.
We turned off towards the Bridgewater Lakes and came to Tarragal caves at the side of the road with stalagtites and stalagmites and we climbed up to these and wondered whether people had lived in them in the past, they looked quite big beside the road.
View from our overnighter at Portland
We then took a little road down the other side to the Bridgewater Lakes. There we had morning coffee and bun by the lake and then went on a delightful three quarters of a mile walk to the Discovery Coast, this was again a National Park. It was pleasantly warm but the weather was quite erratic, and it had drizzled on us very lightly once. There was a little sandy path to this fabulous bit of wild coast and lots of wildlife and quite a lot of wildflowers, particularly a magenta coloured michelmas daisy.
Adrian in the Bridgewater Caves near Portland
We could hear a lot of birdsong and saw a few birds, and butterflies and little lizards. Altogether very pleasant, and we returned to the van at about 12.15 and then set off.
We stopped for lunch in a little picnic area a few miles before Nelson. There was a windpump behind us making a clattering noise.
We stopped for lunch in a little picnic area a few miles before Nelson. There was a windpump behind us making a clattering noise.
Rosie on the beach at Discovery Bay
It was alternating between sun and big deep grey clouds. We sat outside at the picnic table but it wasn't the most pleasurable because the wind was quite cold and it wasn't as warm as it could have been. We stopped in Nelson to fill up with diesel and to get some gas and soon after that we crossed the border into South Australia and turned off to the Piccaninnie Ponds. These ponds are very deep and have very clear cold water, but we decided we weren't birdwatchers enough to get a benefit on a windy day like this.
We soon found ourselves in Mount Gambier and would have gone straight through the city, it's quite large, but now being in South Australia we'd got very few leaflets or anything about the area. I had seen at Mount Gambia there was a blue lake and as we turned towards the town centre thinking we ought to see a bit of it, we saw a sign to the Blue Lake, so we followed this not sure where we were going or how far it would be, but eventually we did come to a viewpoint over the Blue Lake, which in fact is a crater lake of an ancient volcano. This was actually one of the newer volcanoes and the water was a glorious vivid blue, but apparently we were very lucky to see it blue because normally at the end of March it goes to grey and it stays grey until November, during the winter. It was really lovely to see and also some autumn colours of trees in an adjacent crater. We went up to an even higher viewpoint, the Stephen Henty viewpoint and looked right down into this crater with its vivid blue water, particularly when the sun shone on it - it was very intermittent sunny and cloudy English type weather.
We soon found ourselves in Mount Gambier and would have gone straight through the city, it's quite large, but now being in South Australia we'd got very few leaflets or anything about the area. I had seen at Mount Gambia there was a blue lake and as we turned towards the town centre thinking we ought to see a bit of it, we saw a sign to the Blue Lake, so we followed this not sure where we were going or how far it would be, but eventually we did come to a viewpoint over the Blue Lake, which in fact is a crater lake of an ancient volcano. This was actually one of the newer volcanoes and the water was a glorious vivid blue, but apparently we were very lucky to see it blue because normally at the end of March it goes to grey and it stays grey until November, during the winter. It was really lovely to see and also some autumn colours of trees in an adjacent crater. We went up to an even higher viewpoint, the Stephen Henty viewpoint and looked right down into this crater with its vivid blue water, particularly when the sun shone on it - it was very intermittent sunny and cloudy English type weather.
Lunch stop near Nelson
We then headed for the town and again, that would have been it but Adrian said, let's go to the tourist information, a sign to which we had seen, and it was open although it was Sunday - three o'clock ish. We'd changed our watches half an hour because we'd come in to South Australia today, so we'd gone back half an hour. We had worked out that this was just simultaneous with England, changing to summer time, but what we hadn't known before talking to people in the tourist information, when she said "have you remembered to change your watch?" and I said yes, that Australia was finishing summer time today also. That meant that instead of being 11 hours different from the time in Britain we had suddenly gone to being eight and a half hours different, all in one fell swoop, which was a bit much to think about. Anyway, the woman herself had got the time wrong on her clock so we had a chat to her, picked up some leaflets and as a result of that, we went to visit two sinkholes in this limestone area. The first was called Umpherston, just for a funny name, and it was very deep. It didn't say how many feet deep, but it had ivy growing from the top making a huge curtain right down to the bottom where there were gardens that were formed at the bottom - it had been a lake when a family owned it 100 or so years ago.
Blue Pool at Mt Gambier
We had a walk around there and then made our way to a second one called the Cave Gardens right in the centre of the town, we had driven right past it and we couldn't be blamed for not knowing it was there, because behind what was just a few little rose bushes it went down to another great hole, rather devoid of flowers, but interesting to see nevertheless.
Hence, it was almost four o'clock by our new time when we drove out from Mount Gambier heading for Millicent. That would have been half past five this morning had we not known, so we thought we got up later today but in fact we got up quite early. We passed Millicent with the big Kimberly-Clark paper mills looking not very attractive and continued to the coast reaching it at Beachport a very small town which didn't seem to welcome campers. It had several campsites, but just at the border of the town, right on the sandy beach, we found a little spot. It was beside a channel going out to the sea which was a bit smelly, but we decided we'd soon have the window shut and wouldn't smell it. It was about 5.10 and when we'd arrived there, which would have been 6.40 going by the time of this morning, so we were well ready to stop.
There were lovely pastel shades of cloudy sky in the pastel sea - a nice spot. There were lots of little boats harboured out from Beach Port and a very long jetty. We could see the coastline south going a long way around the low headland. We watched the night lights from the cab window for a long time.
Hence, it was almost four o'clock by our new time when we drove out from Mount Gambier heading for Millicent. That would have been half past five this morning had we not known, so we thought we got up later today but in fact we got up quite early. We passed Millicent with the big Kimberly-Clark paper mills looking not very attractive and continued to the coast reaching it at Beachport a very small town which didn't seem to welcome campers. It had several campsites, but just at the border of the town, right on the sandy beach, we found a little spot. It was beside a channel going out to the sea which was a bit smelly, but we decided we'd soon have the window shut and wouldn't smell it. It was about 5.10 and when we'd arrived there, which would have been 6.40 going by the time of this morning, so we were well ready to stop.
There were lovely pastel shades of cloudy sky in the pastel sea - a nice spot. There were lots of little boats harboured out from Beach Port and a very long jetty. We could see the coastline south going a long way around the low headland. We watched the night lights from the cab window for a long time.
Umpherston Sinkhole, Mount Gambier (streetview 2021)
Monday 30th March 305 km
We actually left at 8.15. We'd realised that with the time changing, we were losing an hour and a half of daylight in the evening and we would now have to get going early in the morning, which is what we did. There was a lovely mixed sky with wonderful lighting on the water. We stopped off at the very pretty little fishing village of Robe beside lovely Guichen Bay and walked around the harbour a bit and then located the tourist information but we were in fact too early, it was only 9.20 and the place didn't open until 10.00.
After a look out across the lovely bay we headed towards Kingston, through rather flat and uninteresting country. Kingston itself was very pleasant and we located a tourist information but they didn't have anything about Kangaroo Island - just a few leaflets. We went down to the front and had our morning coffee by a long jetty. We continued north and came to Coorong National Park, which looks from the map like a series of lakes between the road and the coast, but in fact they were all dried up salt lakes. We turned off at 42 mile crossing, supposedly 42 miles north of Kingston and drove for three kilometres on a rough track and parked at a very barren picnic spot to have our lunch but there were a great variety of bushes around and lots of bird life. From here it said there was a one and a half kilometre track to the beach which could be either for walking or four wheel drive, so we decided to walk, but in fact it was sand the whole way, very heavy going up and over a hill initially and a mile or so of walking just on sand.
We actually left at 8.15. We'd realised that with the time changing, we were losing an hour and a half of daylight in the evening and we would now have to get going early in the morning, which is what we did. There was a lovely mixed sky with wonderful lighting on the water. We stopped off at the very pretty little fishing village of Robe beside lovely Guichen Bay and walked around the harbour a bit and then located the tourist information but we were in fact too early, it was only 9.20 and the place didn't open until 10.00.
After a look out across the lovely bay we headed towards Kingston, through rather flat and uninteresting country. Kingston itself was very pleasant and we located a tourist information but they didn't have anything about Kangaroo Island - just a few leaflets. We went down to the front and had our morning coffee by a long jetty. We continued north and came to Coorong National Park, which looks from the map like a series of lakes between the road and the coast, but in fact they were all dried up salt lakes. We turned off at 42 mile crossing, supposedly 42 miles north of Kingston and drove for three kilometres on a rough track and parked at a very barren picnic spot to have our lunch but there were a great variety of bushes around and lots of bird life. From here it said there was a one and a half kilometre track to the beach which could be either for walking or four wheel drive, so we decided to walk, but in fact it was sand the whole way, very heavy going up and over a hill initially and a mile or so of walking just on sand.
We got to the beach, it was just a wild beach like any other and not much actual width of it there anyway. At least on the return the wind was behind us, I was in vest and shorts but it was a very warm walk back to the van.
Just after this we turned down another unsurfaced track for a kilometre or so, to the Chinaman's Well. This was supposedly where Chinese men in the middle of the last century had dug a well, there were several in the area but this seems to be the only one that has survived.
Just after this we turned down another unsurfaced track for a kilometre or so, to the Chinaman's Well. This was supposedly where Chinese men in the middle of the last century had dug a well, there were several in the area but this seems to be the only one that has survived.
Rosie on the long trek to the sea at Coorong Nat Park
They apparently grew vegetables and there was meeting house and it served the road which went past on its way to the goldmines. During the time of the gold rush the Chinamen had come into the ports of South Australia as there was no taxes on them whereas there were on the other ports - a little bit of history. We passed through the salt lakes of which there were many in this area, and from one, limestone was quarried apparently to make a well - we saw that and the indentations where the stone had come out and one on the other side of the track with sandstone which the lid had to be made from. The well itself was under a protective wire, which was a shame as we couldn't photograph it, but as we approached it and peered in half a dozen little green birds flew out.
We stopped in Meningie and went into the tourist information, but again, there was only one set of leaflets - on Canberra and not to take away! so we haven't got any further with finding about Kangaroo Island. Beside the tourist information was a very neatly organised nursery garden with blue plants in particular, all very attractively laid out. A bit further on we did phone Landbase to send our post to Adelaide. It was clear blue sky by now, as we drove north, beside Lake Albert initially, a huge lake which led into Lake Alexandrina, both at the mouth of the Murray and at Wellington Ferry, we turned off left to cross the free 24 hour ferry. The lady was ready to go but she waited for us and then zoom, we were across the end of the Murray River. We remembered back many many weeks ago, to the trip on the Murray with Hil and Doug. We then we drove westwards along the north of Lake Alexandrina, it was just a long straight road, flat and nowhere at all to pull of. We took a little road off to the left and came down beside the lake and just stopped beside the road. There were cows besides the water, very flat, very picturesque, rather English - Essex we thought.
We stopped in Meningie and went into the tourist information, but again, there was only one set of leaflets - on Canberra and not to take away! so we haven't got any further with finding about Kangaroo Island. Beside the tourist information was a very neatly organised nursery garden with blue plants in particular, all very attractively laid out. A bit further on we did phone Landbase to send our post to Adelaide. It was clear blue sky by now, as we drove north, beside Lake Albert initially, a huge lake which led into Lake Alexandrina, both at the mouth of the Murray and at Wellington Ferry, we turned off left to cross the free 24 hour ferry. The lady was ready to go but she waited for us and then zoom, we were across the end of the Murray River. We remembered back many many weeks ago, to the trip on the Murray with Hil and Doug. We then we drove westwards along the north of Lake Alexandrina, it was just a long straight road, flat and nowhere at all to pull of. We took a little road off to the left and came down beside the lake and just stopped beside the road. There were cows besides the water, very flat, very picturesque, rather English - Essex we thought.
Rosie near Chinamans well at Coorong Nat Park
The sun was setting gloriously, a lovely pinkie sky there and the water of the lake was quite wonderful too. There were lots and lots of bird life, ducks, swans, a large white heron, egrets, some type of cormorant and lots of ducks flew over and landed in the water, it would have been a paradise for real bird watchers. We just enjoyed watching the fading light. Adrian phoned about a trip to Kangaroo Island which we've booked for three days later this week, so that seemed to be highly successful. We then enjoyed getting supper and watching the light fade and the small crescent moon on which we could see almost like an eclipse, the complete circle of the moon a bit like a patch of paper stuck over a full moon. We then got maps out of Kangaroo Island and generally got our thoughts in that direction.
A pastoral scene at Lake Alexandrina
Tuesday 31st March 150 km
We left our peaceful setting at about 8.30. Cows were looking at us all the time. We stopped in the historic town of Strathalbyn for diesel and drove down the high street which had some nice old buildings and then out on the road towards Victor Harbor. We stopped briefly at Currency Creek to view an Aboriginal canoe tree, which we didn't understand the significance of, and just afterwards we saw two people on a tandem obviously going for a long distance ride with panniers etc.
We stopped at Goolwa, but unfortunately, it had become rather overcast and drizzly here. This was a nice historic town, a port, almost on the mouth of the Murray River and we went into the information centre and got drizzled on heavily, crossing the road to come back to the van. We then drove along a peninsula, called Sir Richard Peninsula, looking inland over to Hindmarsh Island where there was a barrage across. [there are actually 5 barrages, constructed in the late 1930's to stop the sea flowing back up the Murray and making Lake Alexandrina saline - the water was required for irrigation].
We left our peaceful setting at about 8.30. Cows were looking at us all the time. We stopped in the historic town of Strathalbyn for diesel and drove down the high street which had some nice old buildings and then out on the road towards Victor Harbor. We stopped briefly at Currency Creek to view an Aboriginal canoe tree, which we didn't understand the significance of, and just afterwards we saw two people on a tandem obviously going for a long distance ride with panniers etc.
We stopped at Goolwa, but unfortunately, it had become rather overcast and drizzly here. This was a nice historic town, a port, almost on the mouth of the Murray River and we went into the information centre and got drizzled on heavily, crossing the road to come back to the van. We then drove along a peninsula, called Sir Richard Peninsula, looking inland over to Hindmarsh Island where there was a barrage across. [there are actually 5 barrages, constructed in the late 1930's to stop the sea flowing back up the Murray and making Lake Alexandrina saline - the water was required for irrigation].
There were lots of wetlands and lots of water birds in this area. It rained rather heavily for a time, then brightened up and this was our morning coffee stop, looking at various leaflets that we've picked up and Adrian looking at a book on feral animals which he'd bought - for children, like him. We looked out from a bird hide and saw numerous water birds pelicans, stilts, blacks swans.
We stopped briefly by the rolling ocean waves at Middleton. The next place was Port Elliot a pretty little place where we parked and walked along by the beach and round a little headland then back along the beach, and decided that was so nice we'd have our lunch there. We sat on a seat overlooking the beach, it was a bit blowy when the sun went in, it had been warm and pleasant, but now it wasn't so pleasant, though there were some kids swimming below. We returned to the van. We went on to Victor Harbor which was a pleasant little tourist town. There was a paying car park, but we parked just beyond it and walked back and went into tourist information where they tried to tell us all the things we should be seeing, as they all do.
Adjacent to Victor Harbour, 250 metres away is Granite Island joined by a causeway along which a horse drawn tram goes. We jollied ourselves onto this horse tram and were taken along to the island, another place where little penguins come and we thought they only came to Phillip Island. We only stayed a few minutes at the end on Granite Island and returned again. It was pretty blowy and annoyingly, my camera had taken picture number three and then wound itself back, so after we had returned Adrian dashed back to the van and got his camera plus a new film for mine.
We stopped briefly by the rolling ocean waves at Middleton. The next place was Port Elliot a pretty little place where we parked and walked along by the beach and round a little headland then back along the beach, and decided that was so nice we'd have our lunch there. We sat on a seat overlooking the beach, it was a bit blowy when the sun went in, it had been warm and pleasant, but now it wasn't so pleasant, though there were some kids swimming below. We returned to the van. We went on to Victor Harbor which was a pleasant little tourist town. There was a paying car park, but we parked just beyond it and walked back and went into tourist information where they tried to tell us all the things we should be seeing, as they all do.
Adjacent to Victor Harbour, 250 metres away is Granite Island joined by a causeway along which a horse drawn tram goes. We jollied ourselves onto this horse tram and were taken along to the island, another place where little penguins come and we thought they only came to Phillip Island. We only stayed a few minutes at the end on Granite Island and returned again. It was pretty blowy and annoyingly, my camera had taken picture number three and then wound itself back, so after we had returned Adrian dashed back to the van and got his camera plus a new film for mine.
Goolwa Barrage (Streetview 2021)
We then left for Cape Jervis, the only thing was the weather descended in on us and visibility was very bad and it rained quite hard on us through the hills, real sort of English type weather. By the time we got to Cape Jervis everywhere was dry as a bone and didn't look as though it rained at all. Cape Jervis was rather bleak, a small village set above the harbour. We went down to see where the boat leaves from and after a little while of looking around this rather bleak point we went back to a place called Bumper to Bumper where we can stay for the night on the forecourt and leave the van while we were on Kangaroo Island, so we positioned ourselves in there and got organised for going to Kangaroo Island tomorrow. [I am now not sure why, but probably the high cost of the ferry for a large vehicle and the fact that there were no tarmacked roads on the Island, but we decided to leave the Platybus at 'Bumper to Bumper' cross on the ferry as foot passengers, hire a car the other side, and stay at two B&B's]
Adrian on the horse drawn tram at VictorIsland
Wednesday 1st April. 159 km in hire car
It was not a very good night as the gates made a noisy clatter during the night. We were awake early and got ready for our trip to Kangaroo Island. The wife, presumably, of the chap gave us a lift down to the ferry. We had an hour long ferry crossing, the boat didn't have much inside accommodation and it was actually cold and grey today. We sat during the journey with two delightful Japanese girls, one of whom was teaching English at Victor Harbor and the other had come to visit her. She was very outgoing and vivacious young woman who had studied in Stuttgart for six months and was going on to Basle for three years to study mentally handicapped children. She had also spent a year in America and spoke good English. She was very interested in us and what we were doing.
The crossing was okay. We were met at Penneshaw by the Budget Car person who took us in a car to where our car and the office was and were duly signed up. I had some coffee and pecan tart while Adrian went around the corner and sorted out the accommodation part. We then headed for tourist information which didn't have anything in it and then started our tour off, by stopping first to look at American Beach and then at Brown's beach. The noticeable thing was how quiet it was everywhere and white sandy beaches but we wish the sun was shining. We took the unsurfaced road down to D'Estrees Bay and I drove for short distance. When we stopped at the bay, we found it not as pleasant as we thought as there was a lot of seaweed washed up along the beach. We stopped at two points and looked at it and decided not to stay there for a walk or for lunch.
We retraced our steps and then carried on towards the Murray Lagoon. Along the way there we passed a snake on the road which must have been run over and as far as we could see was completely black. After having difficulty in finding a place to stop by Murray Lagoon, we eventually stopped, sitting in the car looking down towards the lagoon and saw what must be harriers in the sky. We drove down to Seal Bay which is now a sealed road and found that the tour had gone 10 minutes before and the next one was another three quarters of an hour. So we decided to do what's called ‘the boardwalk’ where you can walk on boardwalks and see the Sea Lions on your own. There were 600 in this colony and a good few of them were lying on the beach looking rather like large slugs, and we could walk around at our leisure on the boardwalks and watch them. We saw one come out of the water.
It was not a very good night as the gates made a noisy clatter during the night. We were awake early and got ready for our trip to Kangaroo Island. The wife, presumably, of the chap gave us a lift down to the ferry. We had an hour long ferry crossing, the boat didn't have much inside accommodation and it was actually cold and grey today. We sat during the journey with two delightful Japanese girls, one of whom was teaching English at Victor Harbor and the other had come to visit her. She was very outgoing and vivacious young woman who had studied in Stuttgart for six months and was going on to Basle for three years to study mentally handicapped children. She had also spent a year in America and spoke good English. She was very interested in us and what we were doing.
The crossing was okay. We were met at Penneshaw by the Budget Car person who took us in a car to where our car and the office was and were duly signed up. I had some coffee and pecan tart while Adrian went around the corner and sorted out the accommodation part. We then headed for tourist information which didn't have anything in it and then started our tour off, by stopping first to look at American Beach and then at Brown's beach. The noticeable thing was how quiet it was everywhere and white sandy beaches but we wish the sun was shining. We took the unsurfaced road down to D'Estrees Bay and I drove for short distance. When we stopped at the bay, we found it not as pleasant as we thought as there was a lot of seaweed washed up along the beach. We stopped at two points and looked at it and decided not to stay there for a walk or for lunch.
We retraced our steps and then carried on towards the Murray Lagoon. Along the way there we passed a snake on the road which must have been run over and as far as we could see was completely black. After having difficulty in finding a place to stop by Murray Lagoon, we eventually stopped, sitting in the car looking down towards the lagoon and saw what must be harriers in the sky. We drove down to Seal Bay which is now a sealed road and found that the tour had gone 10 minutes before and the next one was another three quarters of an hour. So we decided to do what's called ‘the boardwalk’ where you can walk on boardwalks and see the Sea Lions on your own. There were 600 in this colony and a good few of them were lying on the beach looking rather like large slugs, and we could walk around at our leisure on the boardwalks and watch them. We saw one come out of the water.
We returned to the car and in doing so a little wallaby was right beside it. It stayed there whilst I was talking, close enough for us to photograph and didn't rush off at all.
Australian sea lions at Seal Bay
Whale Skeleton, Seal Bay
We stopped by Little Sahara and climbed up some sand dunes, but we didn't go too far, knowing how hard it is on the legs and as soon as you got to the top of one there would probably be another. It was a lovely feeling of wilderness, just the sounds of birds, probably bellbirds. A bit further on we went down to Vivonne Bay where we saw a white bellied sea eagle, but it was still a very cold wind and was not as inviting as it would have been on a hot sunny day. We went down to the far side of Vivonne Bay and parked and walked to Point Ellen. This bay was quite spectacular, in that it was horseshoe shaped and consisted of white sand and lots of low white cliffs all the way around, covered in green vegetation and a turquoise blue sea, unfortunately with a grey mottled sky, but even so the colouring was quite exquisite. On the walk to the end of this little point it was like a large rock garden. It would have been very pretty in the springtime, but still very attractive now. Huge waves. were buffeting it.
Tamar Wallaby, Seal Bay
We soon found Attarack Farm where we were staying tonight with Roger and Val, who welcomed us and we had a very enjoyable time with them. Roger is a sheep farmer, he's got 3000 sheep plus all sorts of other animals. The farm is two miles by one mile, which we thought big and he thought average. He had been a sheep shearer and was obviously a very interesting man and had lots of stories to tell in a quiet and unassuming way and with the usual Aussie sense of humour.
Rough waves at Point Ellen, Vivonne Bay
Our little car on a 'normal' road, Kangaroo Island
We soon had a meal with them and then sat by the fire although Roger was tired and soon went to bed and then Val went to bed quite early, so we had a relatively early night.
, Kangaroo Island, South Australia.jpg)
Adrian chatting to Roger at Attarak Farm
Thursday 2nd April 226 km in hire car
We slept very well and woke up to hear the cocks crowing. We had a shower and then breakfast and chatted quite a bit to Roger as he was such an interesting person and left about 8.30. We stopped at Kelly Hill Cave, not to visit the cave, but we thought we'd have a little a walk in the forest around while it was quiet and not many people about. We spoke to the Ranger and then went on a half hour walk through the forest. This was very pleasant open forest with a lot of bird song. We saw little superb fairy wrens and went to the old entrance to the cave and then on coming back towards the visitor centre we saw a young Echidna and a young kangaroo and the bushranger came and spoke to us told us the kangaroo was called Kelly. They had hand reared it but were now trying to get it to go back into the wild as they were leaving to go and work in the Flinders Ranges. He said the baby Echidnas were bolder than the older ones and they stayed around for us to photograph both the echidna and the kangaroo.
We slept very well and woke up to hear the cocks crowing. We had a shower and then breakfast and chatted quite a bit to Roger as he was such an interesting person and left about 8.30. We stopped at Kelly Hill Cave, not to visit the cave, but we thought we'd have a little a walk in the forest around while it was quiet and not many people about. We spoke to the Ranger and then went on a half hour walk through the forest. This was very pleasant open forest with a lot of bird song. We saw little superb fairy wrens and went to the old entrance to the cave and then on coming back towards the visitor centre we saw a young Echidna and a young kangaroo and the bushranger came and spoke to us told us the kangaroo was called Kelly. They had hand reared it but were now trying to get it to go back into the wild as they were leaving to go and work in the Flinders Ranges. He said the baby Echidnas were bolder than the older ones and they stayed around for us to photograph both the echidna and the kangaroo.
We then set off into the Flinders Chase National Park and stopped at the Visitor Centre here and I had a cup of coffee and we had one of the little cakes from our packed lunch made up from Val and Roger's place - $15 for the evening meal and a packed lunch each.
Adrian with Kelly the Kangaroo
A baby echidna
We drove down to Remarkable Rocks, which were quite remarkable, like huge sculptures placed on a large rock at the end of a one way sand track through wilderness forest. It was much stiller and milder today which we were pleased about.
Our Car on the road through Flinders Chase NP
We then retraced our steps from there and drove on down to Weirs Cove a historic site and is where they pulled all the materials and supplies up for the lighthouse at Cape du Couedic, which we then visited. We viewed the lighthouse at and the cottages, that the lighthouse keepers and their families lived in.
Remarkable Rocks
We then we went on to Admirals Arch and viewed a colony of New Zealand fur seals. These were darker than the Australian sea lions we'd been watching yesterday and again they looked like slugs lying around on the rocks, but we did watch some of their antics from this feat of nature called Admirals Arch. We then walked over and then down some steps under the arch to the very rough seas around this bit of wild coast.
Cape du Couedic Lighthouse (walkingSA.org)
We drove on to Snake Lagoon which was dry and from here there was a walk, supposedly an hour and a half, which went down to join the Rocky River and go down to a little cove. The beginning of the river was pleasant enough, sandy tracks through the trees and we stopped after about half an hour by the river. There was a little bit of water in it and we sat and had our packed up lunch. From there the path deteriorated suddenly and it was a rocky river - great sheets of rock all the way down continuously, very jagged, and sticking up out the water, and often you couldn't see whether the path was beside it or through it. Eventually, just as we caught a glimpse of the little cove, we came to what appeared in wet weather to be a waterfall, but a shear drop and we weren't sure how we were supposed to manoeuvre ourselves over this. As we'd already taken a long time getting this far through hazardous conditions we decided reluctantly to turn around and we got back at the car at 3 o'clock - not the most famous of walks.
We returned to the north across Flinders Chase on the Shackle Road, there was miles and miles through wilderness and then turned eastwards on the Playford Highway. We hadn't been going long along this road which has a better surface than most, when we saw what we think was a large goanna in the middle of the road.
We returned to the north across Flinders Chase on the Shackle Road, there was miles and miles through wilderness and then turned eastwards on the Playford Highway. We hadn't been going long along this road which has a better surface than most, when we saw what we think was a large goanna in the middle of the road.
New Zealand Fur on the rocks (very small), Admirals Arch, Flinders Chase NP
Then we suddenly had beautiful views of the north coast of Kangaroo Island, and we drove down the long Constitution Hill and came to Snelling Bay where we had a quick walk onto the beautiful white beach. We came down to Stokes Bay, a little bay of sand and rock, but then you could climb through a sort of natural tunnel though rocks to another beach where people were in swimming, very pleasant in the late afternoon sunshine.
We now drove along the north coast towards Emu Bay and we located the cottage that we were staying in for tonight and we were met by Beth, the person who lived in their adjoining house and owned it. It was a large cottage, it slept 6 and we worked out later how we would have liked to be there with our children in days gone by. Beth and her husband had lived in Plymouth for a while, in Western Samoa, in Christchurch New Zealand and now they we're here - they loved the fishing.
We very quickly set off to Kingscote as we had no evening meal for tonight. We found a fish and chip shop where we got some fish and chips, whiting. Adrian bought a bottle of wine, we had to wait quite a while for the fish and chips, came back and it was just about dark by then. We worked out where the house was, because there was just the one house along this long stretch of road but it was still
quite hard to find. We settled in immediately with the fish and chips, which weren’t the most famous, nothing like those we had the other day but they fitted a need at the time.
We now drove along the north coast towards Emu Bay and we located the cottage that we were staying in for tonight and we were met by Beth, the person who lived in their adjoining house and owned it. It was a large cottage, it slept 6 and we worked out later how we would have liked to be there with our children in days gone by. Beth and her husband had lived in Plymouth for a while, in Western Samoa, in Christchurch New Zealand and now they we're here - they loved the fishing.
We very quickly set off to Kingscote as we had no evening meal for tonight. We found a fish and chip shop where we got some fish and chips, whiting. Adrian bought a bottle of wine, we had to wait quite a while for the fish and chips, came back and it was just about dark by then. We worked out where the house was, because there was just the one house along this long stretch of road but it was still
quite hard to find. We settled in immediately with the fish and chips, which weren’t the most famous, nothing like those we had the other day but they fitted a need at the time.
Adrian on the walk at Rocky River
A goanna on the road
Lillies by the road
Friday 3rd April 176 km in hire car
We Finally left at 9.15, having chatted for quite a while to the owner of the cottage who seemed to have lived in lots of different places in the world, we set off for Emu Bay. Our first stop was Shoals Bay, which was incredibly peaceful, just a few birds and a heron, until a small plane above us destroyed the peace.
We stopped to look at White lagoon which we didn't think had any water in, it certainly looked very white. We went on to Emu Bay, another lovely large bay with white sand, white hills covered in green undergrowth very peaceful, just a lot of bees visiting flowers on the sand. We presume these to be the Ligurian bees, the bees which are on Kangaroo Island, disease free - no honey products are allowed onto the island to avoid contaminating these bees. Our next stop was Duck Lagoon, we saw a variety of bird life here, I particularly liked the little swifts,with bluey black backs, and white fronts with an orange bit on the head and onto the beak, two galahs, lots of ducks, a large white bird, which had a long black beak and flew up into the trees. We didn't see any koalas. What Adrian liked was some old rusting vehicles and the original still, where they used to make eucalyptus oil.
We Finally left at 9.15, having chatted for quite a while to the owner of the cottage who seemed to have lived in lots of different places in the world, we set off for Emu Bay. Our first stop was Shoals Bay, which was incredibly peaceful, just a few birds and a heron, until a small plane above us destroyed the peace.
We stopped to look at White lagoon which we didn't think had any water in, it certainly looked very white. We went on to Emu Bay, another lovely large bay with white sand, white hills covered in green undergrowth very peaceful, just a lot of bees visiting flowers on the sand. We presume these to be the Ligurian bees, the bees which are on Kangaroo Island, disease free - no honey products are allowed onto the island to avoid contaminating these bees. Our next stop was Duck Lagoon, we saw a variety of bird life here, I particularly liked the little swifts,with bluey black backs, and white fronts with an orange bit on the head and onto the beak, two galahs, lots of ducks, a large white bird, which had a long black beak and flew up into the trees. We didn't see any koalas. What Adrian liked was some old rusting vehicles and the original still, where they used to make eucalyptus oil.
We visited the cemetery at Kingscote with memorials to people who died when settlers first came out here.
We then drove around Western Cove and then stopped for lunch at Nepean Bay. The tide had gone out quite a way away there and I then drove along a road called the Min-Oil road, and back road to American River. Here we went on a walk to the fish cannery, it was a pleasant walk along the side of the hill looking down over what seems to be called Eastern Cove
We then drove around Western Cove and then stopped for lunch at Nepean Bay. The tide had gone out quite a way away there and I then drove along a road called the Min-Oil road, and back road to American River. Here we went on a walk to the fish cannery, it was a pleasant walk along the side of the hill looking down over what seems to be called Eastern Cove
Looking to Reeves Point Kingscote
Birdlife near Kingscote
We stopped to look at the mulberry tree, planted when the first settlers settled here and a bit further on a little bay, where there were a group of pelicans on the beach and a couple of Cape Barren geese which we watched for a while.
Old cars at Duck Lagoon - Roger said on our first night at Attarack Farm, that they never threw anything away on Kangaroo Island - you might need it one day
There wasn't the prolific amount of wildlife we'd been led to believe and when we got to the end there was just a wall, which was obviously once a building - a historic site. We walked back as directed along the beach, which was quite pleasant. We saw black swans and ibis, and that was about the sum total of our nature on the trail.
We drove a short distance to Pennington Bay, and then down some rather uneven steps to another wonderful wild beach with huge waves and honeycomb rocks. We drove to Cape Willoughby on the eastern extremity of the Island and up to the lighthouse, where we looked down at the very rugged coastline beneath - it was now nearly 5.30. We drove back to Penneshaw. Took car back and were taken around to the ferry, with the sun setting and just as we arrived there, the sun went down the last little bit into the sea - it was 6.15.
We had a trouble free, if crowded crossing, and arrived at Cape Jervis at 7.30. We had been sitting opposite a young German couple who we didn't speak to, but they'd left their car in the same place as our van was and we all travelled up together, being driven backup to Bumper To Bumper as it's called, where we settled ourselves back into to our van. A very mild evening.
We drove a short distance to Pennington Bay, and then down some rather uneven steps to another wonderful wild beach with huge waves and honeycomb rocks. We drove to Cape Willoughby on the eastern extremity of the Island and up to the lighthouse, where we looked down at the very rugged coastline beneath - it was now nearly 5.30. We drove back to Penneshaw. Took car back and were taken around to the ferry, with the sun setting and just as we arrived there, the sun went down the last little bit into the sea - it was 6.15.
We had a trouble free, if crowded crossing, and arrived at Cape Jervis at 7.30. We had been sitting opposite a young German couple who we didn't speak to, but they'd left their car in the same place as our van was and we all travelled up together, being driven backup to Bumper To Bumper as it's called, where we settled ourselves back into to our van. A very mild evening.
Rosie on our walk at American River
We drove on into Kingscote where we stopped and bought some rolls for lunch and a cake and got some stamps and posted off cards home for Easter. We had a coffee and a tea and a cookie in a little cafe. By now the weather was really hot and we changed into shorts. We drove out onto a road around the bay with fabulous views in all directions and across to the mainland and round this bay that we were on, and not one person. We stood looking at a historic site where the first settlers came, we were there 10 minutes and not a soul in sight and this is in the main town of the island.
Saturday 4th April 145 km
After a super night's sleep, I awoke at about 6.00 to hear magpies, carolling and a group of people who were staying in the room in the little building we were parked outside, were packing up to leave. We had bacon and egg for breakfast, on a beautiful sunny morning. We left just before 8.30, up the long long hill out of Cape Jervis, which the van didn't seem to like.
We stopped first at a lookout and looked back to Kangaroo Island. We stopped at Normanville an isolated beach with smooth seas and where the carpark had immaculately kept very green grass, which was an extremely unusual sight in this area. We stopped at a little bakers and bought a cake each, Adrian had his cream bun, and some rolls for lunch and then we drove a bit further and came down to Sellicks Beach, which was quite a spectacular drive through brown coloured hills. We stopped at a wonderful lookout with a long long beach to one side of us and looking round to the coast the other way, with just reddish coloured hills, blue blue sea and pale blue sky and the water that we looked down on from this height was just so clear. We had our coffee stop here, there was a little seat just for us and it was one of our loveliest coffee stops. Two chaps came and chatted to us, one was like Wally and the other one had a very strong European accent - they were going to go out fishing. Altogether very lovely memories of a very beautiful place with clear blue sky.
After a super night's sleep, I awoke at about 6.00 to hear magpies, carolling and a group of people who were staying in the room in the little building we were parked outside, were packing up to leave. We had bacon and egg for breakfast, on a beautiful sunny morning. We left just before 8.30, up the long long hill out of Cape Jervis, which the van didn't seem to like.
We stopped first at a lookout and looked back to Kangaroo Island. We stopped at Normanville an isolated beach with smooth seas and where the carpark had immaculately kept very green grass, which was an extremely unusual sight in this area. We stopped at a little bakers and bought a cake each, Adrian had his cream bun, and some rolls for lunch and then we drove a bit further and came down to Sellicks Beach, which was quite a spectacular drive through brown coloured hills. We stopped at a wonderful lookout with a long long beach to one side of us and looking round to the coast the other way, with just reddish coloured hills, blue blue sea and pale blue sky and the water that we looked down on from this height was just so clear. We had our coffee stop here, there was a little seat just for us and it was one of our loveliest coffee stops. Two chaps came and chatted to us, one was like Wally and the other one had a very strong European accent - they were going to go out fishing. Altogether very lovely memories of a very beautiful place with clear blue sky.
We walked onto the beach a bit further on at a place called Silver Sands, but it was a whole long stretch of beautiful sandy beach, you could take your cars on to. We were amused at a sign which said "The taking of bottom dwelling organisms is prohibited". This was in reference to the aquatic reserve and referred to the bottom of the sea! A little further north, we came to the outer suburbs of Adelaide, but had one more try at the beach and in fact, we were beautifully surprised. This wonderful sandy beach continued, completely unspoiled with its beautiful blue sea, clear blue sky and half a dozen cars on the beach and a couple of people. I had the most delightful and refreshing swim here, very calm, it didn't get very deep but just deep enough to swim. After that we had lunch sitting on the beach and just enjoyed the beautiful temperature , it was very lovely.
A bit further up we managed to empty the loo and we then set off to go to Aldgate near Adelaide. We went cross country across the Adelaide Hills. This wasn't as easy as it sounds because the roads didn't tie up with the maps and no roads were signposted. It was very pretty country, it would be even prettier if it was green, and we got to the Tanners at about 3.45. We had post from Simon & Emma and a card from Hil. Emma's was that she should be moving in this weekend and Simon sent the binoculars. We tried phoning, got an answerphone from Emma but managed to speak to Simon, but the reception wasn't that good.
In the evening we were celebrating Tim's 20th birthday, Laura's boyfriend, and we had a nice roast pork meal and afterwards jelly which Mark had made. Later we had birthday cake with candles and Yushi , the Japanese boy, arrived just as we were about to eat and a convivial evening was spent and we went to bed about 11.00 pm
A bit further up we managed to empty the loo and we then set off to go to Aldgate near Adelaide. We went cross country across the Adelaide Hills. This wasn't as easy as it sounds because the roads didn't tie up with the maps and no roads were signposted. It was very pretty country, it would be even prettier if it was green, and we got to the Tanners at about 3.45. We had post from Simon & Emma and a card from Hil. Emma's was that she should be moving in this weekend and Simon sent the binoculars. We tried phoning, got an answerphone from Emma but managed to speak to Simon, but the reception wasn't that good.
In the evening we were celebrating Tim's 20th birthday, Laura's boyfriend, and we had a nice roast pork meal and afterwards jelly which Mark had made. Later we had birthday cake with candles and Yushi , the Japanese boy, arrived just as we were about to eat and a convivial evening was spent and we went to bed about 11.00 pm
Adrian at our coffee stop above Sellicks Beach
 & Yuji, Bridgewater, South Australia.jpg)
Birthday boy Tim and Yuji at the Tanners
Sunday 5th April 80 km
A very cold night but we slept well. It was a beautiful day with clear blue sky and turned very hot. We had a cup of tea in the van and went in and had breakfast on the balcony. We spent the morning chatting, and Adrian working on a little table for the van and I got all the washing done and dried and we had a snack lunch. We had a visit from John and Marlene who live just up the road, who had an old car, and who we met at the Tanners a couple of weeks ago and they came to look over the van.
We set off then for the Motor Museum at Birdwood and we took a cross country route via Woodside, where we stopped and went over a little chocolate factory, but being the Sunday before Easter it was rather busy. It was packed out with people, and there were very small samples but lots of Easter eggs to buy. We then made our way to the Motor Museum which is in the process of being rebuilt, so all the vehicles were rather squashed in together and all the motorcycles scattered around amongst them and also in another building
A very cold night but we slept well. It was a beautiful day with clear blue sky and turned very hot. We had a cup of tea in the van and went in and had breakfast on the balcony. We spent the morning chatting, and Adrian working on a little table for the van and I got all the washing done and dried and we had a snack lunch. We had a visit from John and Marlene who live just up the road, who had an old car, and who we met at the Tanners a couple of weeks ago and they came to look over the van.
We set off then for the Motor Museum at Birdwood and we took a cross country route via Woodside, where we stopped and went over a little chocolate factory, but being the Sunday before Easter it was rather busy. It was packed out with people, and there were very small samples but lots of Easter eggs to buy. We then made our way to the Motor Museum which is in the process of being rebuilt, so all the vehicles were rather squashed in together and all the motorcycles scattered around amongst them and also in another building
. There was plenty to interest Adrian and quite a lot to interest me, particularly the adventures of the car which went from Adelaide to Darwin in 1908. Only people knowing anything of the terrain that that entails and the conditions, can really understand what that must have been like. After we'd looked around the museum, we had a little look up and down the road, but there was not much there except an antique stall and that was just closing up at 5 o'clock .
We returned via a different route through the Adelaide Hills, on a very pretty, hilly and winding road with some lovely views and we actually saw a couple of kangaroos as well. This time we went via Lobethal and Forest Range down through to Bridgewater to Aldgate. The sun was making driving difficult for Adrian, I'm sure, but it had been clear blue sky all day. The second the sun went down it became instantly cold. As we arrived back at Bridgewater, we saw that the neighbours John and Marlene had got their car out in their drive. Adrian had noticed the car there and thought we must stop and see it although the light was fading fast. It was a superb car, a 1927 Hillman in excellent condition - very nice to see. They also had a little run around car which was a Ford Anglia with a soft top, so we were glad to have called in and chatted to them.
It meant that as we arrived back at the Tanner's it was just about getting dark and Adrian had to manoeuvre the van to get in to their drive, which he did with difficulty and to everyone's consternation, but we made it. After a bit we had supper of an excellent homemade soup, sweet corn from the garden and a very nice fruit salad. After our Sunday night meal we sat around watching television, which I didn't find exciting. Later on I did some ironing and it was gone 11.00 when we came out to the van.
We returned via a different route through the Adelaide Hills, on a very pretty, hilly and winding road with some lovely views and we actually saw a couple of kangaroos as well. This time we went via Lobethal and Forest Range down through to Bridgewater to Aldgate. The sun was making driving difficult for Adrian, I'm sure, but it had been clear blue sky all day. The second the sun went down it became instantly cold. As we arrived back at Bridgewater, we saw that the neighbours John and Marlene had got their car out in their drive. Adrian had noticed the car there and thought we must stop and see it although the light was fading fast. It was a superb car, a 1927 Hillman in excellent condition - very nice to see. They also had a little run around car which was a Ford Anglia with a soft top, so we were glad to have called in and chatted to them.
It meant that as we arrived back at the Tanner's it was just about getting dark and Adrian had to manoeuvre the van to get in to their drive, which he did with difficulty and to everyone's consternation, but we made it. After a bit we had supper of an excellent homemade soup, sweet corn from the garden and a very nice fruit salad. After our Sunday night meal we sat around watching television, which I didn't find exciting. Later on I did some ironing and it was gone 11.00 when we came out to the van.
An old caravan in the Motor Museum - seems to be a shortage of photos today
Monday 6th April 50 km
A lovely start to the day. We were just having our early morning cup of tea when Rob knocked on the door and said there was a phone call from Emma. We said to ring back, but in fact we got the mobile phone and went up into the sunshine outside, where reception was better and spoke surprisingly to Tom, who called in there having just left Sheffield, and to Emma who's delighted to have just moved into her new house so we were so pleased to share in that excitement.
We said goodbye to Jan and Laura and Mark as they all went off to work and college and then went in and had hot cross buns for breakfast. We managed to copy our tape of our Marquesan travels and Adrian finished the table and we sat and had a cup of coffee in the van at the table before leaving for Adelaide at 11 o'clock [the table that came with the van was useless in that the area where it was, was small and the table supplied fitted it completely so it was not possible to get in and out. I made a slightly smaller one with the corner cut off so you could slide in and out]. We drove down into Adelaide which was quite a way through the hills and managed to find somewhere to park and spent a long time in there. I got my last film developed and the lady also got the end out of our film which had rewound on about picture number three or four. We went into Cathay Pacific and they told us that we can't change our return date, we had to get in touch with Travelbag, which is very annoying. We had a look around the many many shops, it was certainly teeming with them of all sorts and pavement cafes. We had lunch sitting outside with a sandwich and an ice cream afterwards. We bought a few cards and bits and pieces and found our way back to the van. We then did a little tour around and parked so that we could have a stroll through the Botanic Gardens. Adelaide is surrounded by a green park area and the Botanic gardens was in one of these large areas, the grass had been watered so everywhere looks very pretty and green.
A lovely start to the day. We were just having our early morning cup of tea when Rob knocked on the door and said there was a phone call from Emma. We said to ring back, but in fact we got the mobile phone and went up into the sunshine outside, where reception was better and spoke surprisingly to Tom, who called in there having just left Sheffield, and to Emma who's delighted to have just moved into her new house so we were so pleased to share in that excitement.
We said goodbye to Jan and Laura and Mark as they all went off to work and college and then went in and had hot cross buns for breakfast. We managed to copy our tape of our Marquesan travels and Adrian finished the table and we sat and had a cup of coffee in the van at the table before leaving for Adelaide at 11 o'clock [the table that came with the van was useless in that the area where it was, was small and the table supplied fitted it completely so it was not possible to get in and out. I made a slightly smaller one with the corner cut off so you could slide in and out]. We drove down into Adelaide which was quite a way through the hills and managed to find somewhere to park and spent a long time in there. I got my last film developed and the lady also got the end out of our film which had rewound on about picture number three or four. We went into Cathay Pacific and they told us that we can't change our return date, we had to get in touch with Travelbag, which is very annoying. We had a look around the many many shops, it was certainly teeming with them of all sorts and pavement cafes. We had lunch sitting outside with a sandwich and an ice cream afterwards. We bought a few cards and bits and pieces and found our way back to the van. We then did a little tour around and parked so that we could have a stroll through the Botanic Gardens. Adelaide is surrounded by a green park area and the Botanic gardens was in one of these large areas, the grass had been watered so everywhere looks very pretty and green.
We set off back to Bridgewater up the Mount Barker road which was rather full of traffic, they had been blasting the rock and there were hold ups on the road up through Mount Barker. We did stop at the top and looked out to sea and as it was high up, there were good views over Adelaide. We picked up Mark at the top of Aldgate Terrace, he'd just got off the bus and we gave him a ride down. When we arrived back we did one or two bits and pieces to get our ourselves organised with the van and Rob cooked kangaroo steak for supper. We had a meal all together and spent the evening looking at some of our photos of the Marquesas and the latest ones which we had just got back and some of Rob's canoeing photos. We got in touch with Travelbag and it should be okay for ongoing ticket in December.
Adrian Rosie in the Botanic Gardens, Adelaide
Tuesday 7th April 135 km
A warm night, another beautiful day and clear blue sky. We got up early to say goodbye to Jan, Mark and Laura, at about 7.40. They had heard there had been an accident on the road, and were leaving a bit earlier. We then had breakfast with Rob and Adam and we made phone calls to Cathay Pacific and still didn't get that sorted out, because they said we couldn't do the ongoing flight from Hong Kong as that has to be done by the 8th December.
A warm night, another beautiful day and clear blue sky. We got up early to say goodbye to Jan, Mark and Laura, at about 7.40. They had heard there had been an accident on the road, and were leaving a bit earlier. We then had breakfast with Rob and Adam and we made phone calls to Cathay Pacific and still didn't get that sorted out, because they said we couldn't do the ongoing flight from Hong Kong as that has to be done by the 8th December.
We got cleared up and left before 10 o'clock. We phoned Nicky's Aunt in Elizabeth, but got no reply. We had a message from Ali, so we stopped just up the road and spoke to him.
We took a cross country route to south of Adelaide and as by this route, we were going through Marion, we thought we'd stop at the Mormon Church Family History centre which we located and did, but the information Adrian had been given by the caretaker was incorrect. In fact, it was open yesterday morning, and not this morning, which didn't make Adrian too happy. We then headed towards the coast at Glenelg, which was very crowded. Trams went down the centre of the street giving a feeling of claustrophobia, really. When we reached the sea there was a park on the beach, and we pulled in to have coffee there by an area that was being watered, but there was an unpleasant strong smell and as we sat with our drink outside on the step, in this crowded little place. There was a large, very loud pile driver working, so all told it wasn't a very pleasant spot.
We headed north and we went through West beach and then came to Henley Beach, both beautiful white sandy beaches and we had little paddle and sat on the sand for a while. We found our way to Port Adelaide where we went into a large Coles supermarket and bought quite a lot of stuff and some more bottles and then went on to the port with memories of five years ago when we came here with the Tanners. We sat on Lipson Wharf and had our lunch - it was very very hot but a slight breeze there made it bearable.
We took a cross country route to south of Adelaide and as by this route, we were going through Marion, we thought we'd stop at the Mormon Church Family History centre which we located and did, but the information Adrian had been given by the caretaker was incorrect. In fact, it was open yesterday morning, and not this morning, which didn't make Adrian too happy. We then headed towards the coast at Glenelg, which was very crowded. Trams went down the centre of the street giving a feeling of claustrophobia, really. When we reached the sea there was a park on the beach, and we pulled in to have coffee there by an area that was being watered, but there was an unpleasant strong smell and as we sat with our drink outside on the step, in this crowded little place. There was a large, very loud pile driver working, so all told it wasn't a very pleasant spot.
We headed north and we went through West beach and then came to Henley Beach, both beautiful white sandy beaches and we had little paddle and sat on the sand for a while. We found our way to Port Adelaide where we went into a large Coles supermarket and bought quite a lot of stuff and some more bottles and then went on to the port with memories of five years ago when we came here with the Tanners. We sat on Lipson Wharf and had our lunch - it was very very hot but a slight breeze there made it bearable.
Jan, Mark & Laura Tanner
Rob & Adam Tanner
Then Adrian rang Nicky's Auntie Jean and said that we'd go and visit her in Elizabeth. We passed a caravan shop and stopped and bought some liquid for the loo and then we headed for Nicky's Auntie Jean where we spent an hour chatting to her having a cup of tea. She was a very quiet sort of lady and didn't give much of herself, but seemed quite glad of a chat.
Adrian at Port Adelaide
We left there about 4.45 and headed north through market gardening areas, all very productive with lots of greenhouses.
We headed for Two Wells where we hoped we might see two cows [one of Adrian’s father’s little jokes was that each morning, when they lived in Woodley, he would get the milk from the porch, walk in and put the two bottles of milk on the table, and say “two cows”]. We started looking at a place called Dublin for somewhere to stop but the rest area wasn't suitable and had a height barrier, and we turned off a few kilometres down to the sea at Port Parham and there we found a very suitable spot in a little park area right beside the sea, with a little sand dune in front.
The sun was just going down so we immediately walked across to the beach which must go with Bream, I think for the width of it, and we walked an enormous distance across the sand. When we got to the edge of the sea it was very eerie - absolutely still and quiet, not the tiniest bit of a wave, just a few seabirds at the edge of the sea. The sea was very shallow and birds were walking about in it and a few further down the beach were making a hell of a noise. It was annoying that we hadn't brought our binoculars across the beach and it was too far to go back for them but we watched the sun set and just the most fabulous colours reflected in this still still water of the sea - one of those magical times.
We headed for Two Wells where we hoped we might see two cows [one of Adrian’s father’s little jokes was that each morning, when they lived in Woodley, he would get the milk from the porch, walk in and put the two bottles of milk on the table, and say “two cows”]. We started looking at a place called Dublin for somewhere to stop but the rest area wasn't suitable and had a height barrier, and we turned off a few kilometres down to the sea at Port Parham and there we found a very suitable spot in a little park area right beside the sea, with a little sand dune in front.
The sun was just going down so we immediately walked across to the beach which must go with Bream, I think for the width of it, and we walked an enormous distance across the sand. When we got to the edge of the sea it was very eerie - absolutely still and quiet, not the tiniest bit of a wave, just a few seabirds at the edge of the sea. The sea was very shallow and birds were walking about in it and a few further down the beach were making a hell of a noise. It was annoying that we hadn't brought our binoculars across the beach and it was too far to go back for them but we watched the sun set and just the most fabulous colours reflected in this still still water of the sea - one of those magical times.
Rosie with Nicky's Auntie Jean in Elizabeth
We had “Tommy Ruff” fish for supper and then sorted through past brochures.
Sunset at Port Parham
Wednesday 8th April 221 km
But it was a calm before the storm. The night was windy and I didn't sleep very well, and we awoke to a very grey day, windy and it started to rain which we hadn't seen for a long time. We had breakfast sitting at our new table, which we enjoyed using and left about 9 o'clock. We stopped at Port Wakefield, where we filled up with diesel etc. We drove into Port Wakefield itself but couldn't find much there. We returned onto the main road the A1, Princes or Augusta highway and stopped before too long for a coffee break pulling into a layby which was rather litter bound. We were near Lochiel, just before Bumbunga Lake and we had been listening to a programme on classical radio, a bit like a desert island discs where, the guest speaker was the daughter of the Prime Minister of Australia, called Phoebe Frazer, who had worked with a care organisation. It was very interesting to listen to and some pleasant pieces of music.
We left there and continued on the A1 and turned off this road for couple of kilometres to Crystal Brook thinking it might be a nice place to stop for lunch and then on to Bowman Park Sanctuary which was a bit further. It was a dried up place, which seemed to be a meeting place for schoolchildren to gather and had a green park area and a little fauna park which looked as though it had seen better days and was very dry. We chatted to the couple in the shop part for quite a while who were interested in our travels and we then had our lunch sitting on a log by what was obviously the campfire for groups that came here. The weather, the sun had tried to come out but it also tried to rain - was rather overcast but a reasonably warm temperature.
We returned to the A1 and didn't drive down to Port Pirie, but we stopped in a layby near the turn off to it for a rest and then drove on to Port Germein, which had the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere - it had to be long as the tide goes out a long way there.
But it was a calm before the storm. The night was windy and I didn't sleep very well, and we awoke to a very grey day, windy and it started to rain which we hadn't seen for a long time. We had breakfast sitting at our new table, which we enjoyed using and left about 9 o'clock. We stopped at Port Wakefield, where we filled up with diesel etc. We drove into Port Wakefield itself but couldn't find much there. We returned onto the main road the A1, Princes or Augusta highway and stopped before too long for a coffee break pulling into a layby which was rather litter bound. We were near Lochiel, just before Bumbunga Lake and we had been listening to a programme on classical radio, a bit like a desert island discs where, the guest speaker was the daughter of the Prime Minister of Australia, called Phoebe Frazer, who had worked with a care organisation. It was very interesting to listen to and some pleasant pieces of music.
We left there and continued on the A1 and turned off this road for couple of kilometres to Crystal Brook thinking it might be a nice place to stop for lunch and then on to Bowman Park Sanctuary which was a bit further. It was a dried up place, which seemed to be a meeting place for schoolchildren to gather and had a green park area and a little fauna park which looked as though it had seen better days and was very dry. We chatted to the couple in the shop part for quite a while who were interested in our travels and we then had our lunch sitting on a log by what was obviously the campfire for groups that came here. The weather, the sun had tried to come out but it also tried to rain - was rather overcast but a reasonably warm temperature.
We returned to the A1 and didn't drive down to Port Pirie, but we stopped in a layby near the turn off to it for a rest and then drove on to Port Germein, which had the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere - it had to be long as the tide goes out a long way there.
We turned off inland for short distance to the south Flinders Ranges to the Mambray Creek areaof the Mount Remarkable National Park. We had a very pleasant hour or so walk around this hilly bit of country with views out to the sea across the Spencer Gulf Peninsula beyond and kangaroos abounded while we were on this walk.
The longest wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere at Port Germein
We had also seen several emus as we had come into the park and a lot of trees and really very pleasant. We saw several more emus on the roadway on the way out.
Mambray Creek in Mount Remarkable National Park
We also watched a very beautiful rosella, I think it was an Adelaide version of the blue cheeked rosella. Just outside the park we found a suitable place for the night. We had a chicken stir-fry for supper and later I wrote several postcards.
Emu's at Mambray Creek
Thursday 9th April - Maundy Thursday 167 km
There was actually a bit of rain in the night, but we awoke to fine morning. We had decided not to go for a longer walk in the Flinders, there weren't really any that were suitable. We had breakfast, again sitting at our table. Adrian tried once more to ring Cathay Pacific and having waited in the line for a long long time, the same as last night, finally got through and then the phone dropped out, all very aggravating. We left about 9 o'clock and I had a try of driving the van down the road and headed towards Port Augusta, Adrian took over driving once we got onto the main road.
We drove into Port Augusta past the pink lake which really did look pink. They call Port Augusta the crossroads of Australia. The road goes up north here, and to the West and East, but we didn't find a great deal in the town although we drove around it. We then went across the bridge to the Aridlands Botanic Gardens, a large area where they had been planting plants that liked dry and grow in arid lands. We had a look in the Visitor Centre and had a coffee and quondong cake but the best thing about being here was we could see the Sturt Desert Pea growing around the area and this delighted me in particular, we bought some seeds.
There was actually a bit of rain in the night, but we awoke to fine morning. We had decided not to go for a longer walk in the Flinders, there weren't really any that were suitable. We had breakfast, again sitting at our table. Adrian tried once more to ring Cathay Pacific and having waited in the line for a long long time, the same as last night, finally got through and then the phone dropped out, all very aggravating. We left about 9 o'clock and I had a try of driving the van down the road and headed towards Port Augusta, Adrian took over driving once we got onto the main road.
We drove into Port Augusta past the pink lake which really did look pink. They call Port Augusta the crossroads of Australia. The road goes up north here, and to the West and East, but we didn't find a great deal in the town although we drove around it. We then went across the bridge to the Aridlands Botanic Gardens, a large area where they had been planting plants that liked dry and grow in arid lands. We had a look in the Visitor Centre and had a coffee and quondong cake but the best thing about being here was we could see the Sturt Desert Pea growing around the area and this delighted me in particular, we bought some seeds.
We then drove to the Matthew Flinders lookout looking across to the Flinders Ranges before we said farewell.
We now headed down the coast of the Eyre Peninsula to Whyalla through rather flat, desert like scenery with hills beyond. Whyalla had a large steelworks although it was advertised as a tourist town and everywhere had a reddish look from the steelworks. We went up to a lookout, which was a wartime site to protect the steelworks for fear of attack from the Japanese Navy, so although we could view beaches in the distance, a lot of what we could look down on was the industry. Down on the front we stopped to have lunch overlooking the beach where there was a lot of sand, which had a greenish tinge to it. The sky was bluish but actually quite a wind blowing.
We now headed down the coast of the Eyre Peninsula to Whyalla through rather flat, desert like scenery with hills beyond. Whyalla had a large steelworks although it was advertised as a tourist town and everywhere had a reddish look from the steelworks. We went up to a lookout, which was a wartime site to protect the steelworks for fear of attack from the Japanese Navy, so although we could view beaches in the distance, a lot of what we could look down on was the industry. Down on the front we stopped to have lunch overlooking the beach where there was a lot of sand, which had a greenish tinge to it. The sky was bluish but actually quite a wind blowing.
Sturt Desert Pea
Sturt Desert Pea
The town of contrasts it's called, and we next located the swimming pool where we had a pleasant swim in an empty pool until some children arrived. That meant we had a shower and a hairwash too and then we located the bank to get some money. There wasn't much to say on the 50 mile or so road to Cowell and when we got to the town there wasn't much to see there either. We drove down to the front which was obviously a place for fishing boats and that was about all so we went onto a petrol station got some diesel and gas.
We drove a few more miles to Port Gibbon and we turned off on a sand track to reach this place at about 5.30 and found a spot above the few little houses, half a dozen maybe of Port Gibbon. We briefly went a few kilometres on the sandy track to Point Gibbon where the cliffs just ended it in lots of rather dramatic sand dunes, but there were quite a few other people camping there and it was pretty windy. We went out for a short walk - there are supposedly seals in the area but we didn't see any.
We drove a few more miles to Port Gibbon and we turned off on a sand track to reach this place at about 5.30 and found a spot above the few little houses, half a dozen maybe of Port Gibbon. We briefly went a few kilometres on the sandy track to Point Gibbon where the cliffs just ended it in lots of rather dramatic sand dunes, but there were quite a few other people camping there and it was pretty windy. We went out for a short walk - there are supposedly seals in the area but we didn't see any.
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The nice beach at Whyalla - the town was a dump (Streetview 2024)
We came back to our little spot and got ourselves settled in, there was a lovely bright bit of yellow in the sky, on a not a particularly nice day. In the evening we listen again, to the recording we'd made of our travels in the Marquesas on the tape and which we'd re-recorded to send home to England and made notes from that.
Sandunes everywhere at Port Gibbon
Friday 10th April – Good Friday 67 km
We awoke early, just before the sun was rising above the sea, which rose rather beautifully. I wrote an article to send home to the Historic Caravan Club. We then had breakfast of cold hot-cross buns and left just before 9 o'clock.
Our first stop was Port Arno which had maybe half a dozen houses, it was hard to find any real houses and there was a jetty and a caravan park. They did have toilets, so we were able to empty the loo and there was a tap outside so were able to fill up with water and there was also a small shop. We were listening to the radio yesterday and finding that Australian law is just as stupid as ours about which shops could be open over Easter, and it appears that small shops in country areas will probably be open, but big shops couldn't be open anywhere and pubs and bottle shops couldn't be open on Good Friday. But in this tiny supermarket we bought some rolls, some frozen sausages and a pencil as Adrian had lost mine and then we set off on our way.
About 30 km further on was Port Neil, which seemed to offer about as much as Port Arno but we stopped on the front and had our morning coffee and tea and hot-cross buns, I’d heated them in the oven. We had a little walk on the beach which had a lot of seaweed on it. I had located a little museum here and it said it had old cars and motorbikes and what have you and it wasn’t difficult to find it in this small town. It was run by a couple with the name of Victor and Jill Fauser - an unusual surname. This museum was full of character with a large barn in which there was a 1928 Dodge car, a large steam engine, 3 motorbikes, a separate smaller working engine and all sorts of other bits and pieces. Vic was there to meet us and he showed us round - he went around the whole museum telling us about all the bits and pieces. There were some things his wife had collected, a whole lot tractor seats which were painted pretty colours and decorated one of the walls. There was a photograph which we particularly liked, depicting his great grandmother, who apparently was the first person to ride a bicycle in these parts and people threw stones at her. They thought it was not a thing to be done to sit riding a bicycle when obviously ladies sat side saddle and it was not genteel to sit with anything between your legs, but she still joined the cycling club along with her sister it would appear. Jill came and joined us later on, they seemed to be another couple like Lynn and John and Val and Roger, where the wife was the towny person and the husband was the farmer. Vic had also been a yachtie for many years, and gave that up and decided to have a Museum. There was a further barn in the next block of houses and he drove us around there in his car, because you couldn't get through to it easily and this contained a couple of steam rollers needing to be repaired. There was also a lot more stationary engines, it was a whole set of Blackstone stationary engines, the most complete set in the world. There were about a dozen ranging from a smallish up to a very large all painted in the same colours of green with the yellow stripe. He was justifiably very proud of these and they were obviously the envy of those in the know wanting these Blackstone engines [Sadly the whole collection was auctioned in 2016].
We awoke early, just before the sun was rising above the sea, which rose rather beautifully. I wrote an article to send home to the Historic Caravan Club. We then had breakfast of cold hot-cross buns and left just before 9 o'clock.
Our first stop was Port Arno which had maybe half a dozen houses, it was hard to find any real houses and there was a jetty and a caravan park. They did have toilets, so we were able to empty the loo and there was a tap outside so were able to fill up with water and there was also a small shop. We were listening to the radio yesterday and finding that Australian law is just as stupid as ours about which shops could be open over Easter, and it appears that small shops in country areas will probably be open, but big shops couldn't be open anywhere and pubs and bottle shops couldn't be open on Good Friday. But in this tiny supermarket we bought some rolls, some frozen sausages and a pencil as Adrian had lost mine and then we set off on our way.
About 30 km further on was Port Neil, which seemed to offer about as much as Port Arno but we stopped on the front and had our morning coffee and tea and hot-cross buns, I’d heated them in the oven. We had a little walk on the beach which had a lot of seaweed on it. I had located a little museum here and it said it had old cars and motorbikes and what have you and it wasn’t difficult to find it in this small town. It was run by a couple with the name of Victor and Jill Fauser - an unusual surname. This museum was full of character with a large barn in which there was a 1928 Dodge car, a large steam engine, 3 motorbikes, a separate smaller working engine and all sorts of other bits and pieces. Vic was there to meet us and he showed us round - he went around the whole museum telling us about all the bits and pieces. There were some things his wife had collected, a whole lot tractor seats which were painted pretty colours and decorated one of the walls. There was a photograph which we particularly liked, depicting his great grandmother, who apparently was the first person to ride a bicycle in these parts and people threw stones at her. They thought it was not a thing to be done to sit riding a bicycle when obviously ladies sat side saddle and it was not genteel to sit with anything between your legs, but she still joined the cycling club along with her sister it would appear. Jill came and joined us later on, they seemed to be another couple like Lynn and John and Val and Roger, where the wife was the towny person and the husband was the farmer. Vic had also been a yachtie for many years, and gave that up and decided to have a Museum. There was a further barn in the next block of houses and he drove us around there in his car, because you couldn't get through to it easily and this contained a couple of steam rollers needing to be repaired. There was also a lot more stationary engines, it was a whole set of Blackstone stationary engines, the most complete set in the world. There were about a dozen ranging from a smallish up to a very large all painted in the same colours of green with the yellow stripe. He was justifiably very proud of these and they were obviously the envy of those in the know wanting these Blackstone engines [Sadly the whole collection was auctioned in 2016].
We ended up spending a couple of hours looking around this museum with him and we then thought it was time to make our way and just a very short distance down the coast, we came to a place called Carrow Wells. This was down an unsurfaced track and led down to a delightful bit of beach with white sands and blue blue sea. The day had been variable, it had become very warm as we arrived there at about 1.45. We thought we would have our lunch outside, but in fact the sun went in and it was quite chilly, the air is cold. Opposite to the museum in Port Neil that we had gone into, was a campsite, and as we came out people were queuing up to go in there, obviously people arriving for the Easter weekend, so we saw this as a nice little place to stop and catch up with things. In the afternoon we did some cleaning jobs, and it was just a nice little place to revitalise ourselves.
We made a short walk across to the Carrow Wells, which the early pioneers used for getting water at the site that aborigines had done in the past. A notice said that some of these men would be away for 36 hours, coming with a cart to collect the water and taking it all the way back to their isolated homesteads. There was a cart, which was donated by the couple from the museum we had just visited.
We made a short walk across to the Carrow Wells, which the early pioneers used for getting water at the site that aborigines had done in the past. A notice said that some of these men would be away for 36 hours, coming with a cart to collect the water and taking it all the way back to their isolated homesteads. There was a cart, which was donated by the couple from the museum we had just visited.
The collection of Blackstone Engines. These were used on remote farms in Australia to generate electicity etc, before mains supply came.
Vic & Jill Fauser
We sat and had a cup of tea outside, the sun was lovely, but the wind was really cold, so when the sun won, it was nice and when the wind won, it wasn't so good. Later, we also went for a walk on the beach. Like so many was an idyllic bay of white sand, deep blue water and nothing, maybe a little house on the horizon and through binoculars a couple of cars on the other end of the bay. It was totally unspoilt, we would just have liked it a few degrees warmer, but it did make us think of Ireland in particular. We returned from the beach and did a fry up meal. We had done some writing, I had written today a letter for the Historic Caravan Club and written out piece about Terry the aborigine and Toti from the Marquesas, so I was trying to get some of these things sorted and done. Adrian had stuck the other two GB stickers on the van too. Late in the evening, we went out for a walk along this beautiful, deserted beach, not a light in sight, the only lights being those from the stars above us and an almost full moon shining down. We walked along the beach to the place we'd seen one or two cars earlier on and all the way back again, it was fairly calm and quite wonderful, no habitation, just nothing. When we got back to the van Adrian shone the torch, so we could see to go in and there in our waste bucket was a little creature bobbing about, so we tipped the water out and found it to be like a very small long nosed mouse about the size of a little field mouse. So hopefully we saved its little life.
Carrow Wells wth the cart beside the pump and the Platybus in the background
Saturday 11th April - Easter Saturday 133 km
A very grey morning. It had rained quite a bit but lightly in the night. We listened with a cup of tea to one of our past tapes of Tasmania which was enjoyable to listen to for a short while. We put the radio on and heard the hopefully very good news of peace negotiations in Northern Ireland. We had a quick walk to the beach before leaving at about 08.45 and saw that sadly the little mouse didn't survive the night. It was a very tiny little thing.
We returned to the main road south and made our way towards Tumby Bay. We were listening again to the tape, and the part when we returned from Tasmania to Melbourne and all of our upsets, which made interesting listening. Tumby Bay we saw in the rain and the grey, we thought we could get used to a Saturday in England better than this, so it didn't entice us to do anything, it was even cold, wet and grey. We returned then to the main road and took a road inland for a few miles and then took a dirt road down towards the Koppia museum, and on this road we saw a wild emu in the field beside us. We came to the Koppia Blacksmith Museum, and stopped outside for coffee and hot cross bun. The museum was a National Trust museum where we could get in using our English National Trust cards. This was lovely, but it started tipping with rain soon after we went in there. There were two old cottages done up in times past, there was a hall with a whole lot of stuff donated by the Jericho family and just masses and masses of old photos and old writing and all sorts and also a little school, equally with lots of stuff in it. Masses of farm equipment and tractors and what have you, but a lot of those were outside or in outbuildings, which was difficult because it was raining very steadily and heavily. We did enjoy looking around this place, feeling a bit cold and thinking how very similar so many things were and in the photographs, the school writing and what have you, seemed much the same there as they would have been in England. That was my overriding conclusion for our visit there. The other thing in this museum that must be mentioned was a large collection of barbed wire, and you, as I, might have thought barbed wire was barbed wire but oh no. There are 1001 different sorts of barbed wire, which were all housed in part of the museum there.
A very grey morning. It had rained quite a bit but lightly in the night. We listened with a cup of tea to one of our past tapes of Tasmania which was enjoyable to listen to for a short while. We put the radio on and heard the hopefully very good news of peace negotiations in Northern Ireland. We had a quick walk to the beach before leaving at about 08.45 and saw that sadly the little mouse didn't survive the night. It was a very tiny little thing.
We returned to the main road south and made our way towards Tumby Bay. We were listening again to the tape, and the part when we returned from Tasmania to Melbourne and all of our upsets, which made interesting listening. Tumby Bay we saw in the rain and the grey, we thought we could get used to a Saturday in England better than this, so it didn't entice us to do anything, it was even cold, wet and grey. We returned then to the main road and took a road inland for a few miles and then took a dirt road down towards the Koppia museum, and on this road we saw a wild emu in the field beside us. We came to the Koppia Blacksmith Museum, and stopped outside for coffee and hot cross bun. The museum was a National Trust museum where we could get in using our English National Trust cards. This was lovely, but it started tipping with rain soon after we went in there. There were two old cottages done up in times past, there was a hall with a whole lot of stuff donated by the Jericho family and just masses and masses of old photos and old writing and all sorts and also a little school, equally with lots of stuff in it. Masses of farm equipment and tractors and what have you, but a lot of those were outside or in outbuildings, which was difficult because it was raining very steadily and heavily. We did enjoy looking around this place, feeling a bit cold and thinking how very similar so many things were and in the photographs, the school writing and what have you, seemed much the same there as they would have been in England. That was my overriding conclusion for our visit there. The other thing in this museum that must be mentioned was a large collection of barbed wire, and you, as I, might have thought barbed wire was barbed wire but oh no. There are 1001 different sorts of barbed wire, which were all housed in part of the museum there.
We left there and took the unmade road back down to Poonindie. We stopped for lunch in a pull off which should have been a nice viewpoint down the indented coastline below and along towards Port Lincoln, but visibility was bad and we couldn't see a great deal, it was cold and damp and chilly and wet. We made a sort of soup and roll to warm ourselves. We went into Port Lincoln and in to the tourist information and picked up a couple of leaflets on national parks round about and then we found a Coles supermarket open so did some shopping.
We left there and went on south through a lovely national park type area but we weren't actually in the National Park and we ended up at Sleaford Bay above the cliffs. There was a lovely view but we obviously couldn't make the most of it because the day wasn't very nice. It was quite early then, we had a cup of tea and did various things. We actually played yahtzee later on, and oriented ourselves a bit about Marquesan family history.
We left there and went on south through a lovely national park type area but we weren't actually in the National Park and we ended up at Sleaford Bay above the cliffs. There was a lovely view but we obviously couldn't make the most of it because the day wasn't very nice. It was quite early then, we had a cup of tea and did various things. We actually played yahtzee later on, and oriented ourselves a bit about Marquesan family history.
Koppia museum, Eyre Peninsula
Melbourne to Port Lincoln