Thurs 10 Nov – We have ended phase one of our trip, our 10 days with Claire exploring the country around Adelaide. Our plan now is to head towards Melbourne taking about 3 weeks, plenty of time. We drove out of our camp at Brighton and the beautiful Adelaide beaches. Just a short trip to McLaren Vale, another wine area. On the way we had a huge shop up. Our camp is right in the vineyards. The weather has turned cold but sunny. On our bikes we rode 10kms on a cycleway with grapes either side of the track. Great! At night we watched on TV the second T20 cricket game India v England.
Fri 11 Nov – We headed south down the Fleurieu Peninsula thru several towns. This peninsula, unlike the Yorke, is quiet hilly reminding us of the Banks Peninsula with roads leading down to the bays. We camped near the southern tip at Rapid Bay. It was a large grassy area along the bay, ended up fairly full, with all sorts of set-ups making use of the cheap camping for the weekend. The sun came out and we walked to the wharf at one end of the bay. There was an old limestone mine where lime was exported to BHP’s steel refineries. Back at “Andy” we read in the sun, sheltering from the chilly wind, and watched groups set up.
Sat 12 Nov – The forecast wind and rain set in during the night. Some groups have left camp but many hardy ones stayed. The rain became torrential and was joined by thunder and lightning. We sat inside all day watching people hunker down or leave. At about 4:00pm the rain stopped and the sun peeked thru. Suddenly a very strong wind got up blowing tents, awnings and gazebos everywhere. We were fine as we had taken in everything last night.
Sun 13 Nov – More rain in the night and the wind was still blowing as we left Rapid Bay and headed 60kms across the Fleurieu Peninsula to the large area of Victor Harbor. We swapped our gas bottle at Bunnings and drove to our camp on the waterfront. Sun and heavy showers until around 3:00pm, so we walked to the centre of the old town. There is a bridge across to an island with the oldest steel tracked tram car still running. It is drawn by horses, but it was not operating, due to the winds. At night we watched the T20 cricket final England beating Pakistan.
Mon 14 Nov – As the wind and rain were still with us and there are reports of flooding, we decided to stay put for the day. I fixed some minor plumbing problems (leaking taps) and Val cleaned fly screens in our roof vents. After lunch we spent some time sorting out our storage in Melbourne. The sun came out so we walked the other way from our camp along the windswept seashore. Back inside just before the next shower.
Tues 15 Nov – More wind and rain. With some wet laundry we headed out of Victor Harbor, and off the Fleurieu Peninsula along the Southern Ocean Drive heading south east. Our planned stop for the night was at small town of Langhorne Creek at a reserve. It was a nice spot with about 10 groups there. Behind the reserve was the Bremer River which was running very high. We dried the washing under the awning and had lunch. Opinions differed as to whether the river would flow into the reserve, and after some discussion with our neighbours we decided not to risk it as we had an alternative camp 30kms down the road at Wellington. We headed on to the camp which is on the banks of the Murray River, which we will cross on a ferry tomorrow. It was now sunny, so we watched the ferry which is free and runs 24/7. The Murray River is in full flood upstream, with many of the towns we came thru earlier this year, under water. The Murray flows into the huge Alexandrina Lake just down stream, before going out to sea. Amazingly the river will not rise here until late December when the flood waters come thru.
Wed 16 Nov – Out of the camp and straight onto the ferry for the 2 minute crossing. This is a cable ferry winching its way across on two huge cables. Around the rest of Lake Alexandrina and past a great holiday spot, Lake Albert and the small town of Meningie and into the Coorong National Park. This park stretches 140kms along the coast with sandhills and lakes between the road and the sea. We drove to near the end of the N.P. to a beautiful camping spot down a short gravel road. We chose a sunny site with “Andy” sheltering us from a chilly wind. In the afternoon we walked a 2km track to the windswept beach. The track was quite overgrown and we were aware of snakes but on our return, Val nearly stood on a 1.5m Eastern Brown Snake. I got such a fright I jumped over it. Scaredy-cat you say!! Look up Eastern Brown and you will find it is one of the deadliest snakes in the world. Dead in1/2 hour! Val commented to the National Parks people that the track needs clearing up a bit! A fast walk back to our campsite. Spent the rest of the afternoon washing undies and reading in the sun.
Thurs 17 Nov – 4C in the van when we woke but out in the sun, nice and warm for breakfast. Drove out of the N.P. and continued on the Southern Ocean Drive to Kingston RV park – a large area on the foreshore for self contained vehicles for $15. Just over the road for a supermarket and bottle shop. In the afternoon we biked 7kms along the foreshore with amazing white sand beaches to Pinkie Beach. Nice tail wind on the way back. Beautiful fish and chips for dinner!
Fri 18 Nov - Back on the Ocean Coast Road thru Robe, another holiday destination, to Beachport checking into a camp overlooking the bay. We walked along a path to the wharf and small town, very cute, and on up to a lighthouse overlooking the bay. Back to camp via an ice-cream shop. It clouded over and a few drops of rain sent us inside for drinks.
Sun 20 Nov – A cool morning with strong winds and intermittent showers, some heavy. We spent the morning researching and booking the rest of our time in Australia. At one stage the weather cleared so we went for a quick walk. No longer had we started when the heavens opened and we sheltered under a verandah until we could dash back to “Andy”. Hopefully the weather will improve for the next three weeks.
No comments:
Post a Comment