Reaching the SA/VIC border on a still cold, windy and rainy day did nothing for our first impression of SA, and having to dump a box full of fresh fruit and vege into a roadside bin was really the icing on a big frosted s*** cake that was our first day in SA. Pulling up at the border quarantine bin our first thought was that we would ring and check as it was a free number and we thought we may be in the clear as we were south of the fruit-fly line and it was the start of winter and no self respecting fruit-fly would be caught dead south of Bundaberg at the moment anyway?! Well after interrupting some coffee sipping work-experience kid who did not even know if Mount Gambier was on the East or West side of SA we made the call to just dump the fruit and vege. While it pissed us off no end to dump good produce a $2500 fine would have given me something to really whinge about!

Our first few days in SA were spent mainly travelling with only overnight stops. This was mainly to get us around to the Fleurieu Peninsula and into some better weather. After a stop in Beachport our route followed the coastline through Robe, Kingston SE and onto Murray Bridge. This takes you through some of the Coorong National Park. This is a mainly fresh sometimes brackish lake system fed by the mighty Murray as it empties into Lake Alexandrina. It supports a large water bird population including many large flocks of pelicans and apparently some good fishing. Being from Queensland I take this with a HUGE grain of salt when told about the good fishing down here! We took a loop road that led us along a very rough track and out to the edge of some of the clay pans and actual lake itself. This was definitely the roughest road we have towed the van on and I was glad when we reached a spot to pull up and upon inspection nothing was overly affected by the rough ride. The area was looking good after the wet season and it was well worth the drive.

There have been other opportunities to travel to places along dirt roads that we have passed up. Towing a very large caravan along rough roads for long distances may appeal to some people but it does nothing for either of us. Not only are most of them not designed for it and even if they are, don't handle it well, sustaining severe damage for virtually no reason. I think we will leave ours on the blacktop for this trip.

After passing through Murray Bridge we made our way to Goolwa where we loaded the van up with some fresh fruit and veges. We are big fans of the enviro shopping bags but every now and then we need to get some plastic bags so this was our chance. You will be pleased to know that SA doesn't have plastic bags you have to pay 15c for a recyclable plastic bag otherwise they just put all the groceries straight back into your trolley, WTF!? No plastic bags, is good for the environment but not so good for the unsuspecting traveller!?

It was only about 10km from Goolwa to our next home in Port Elliot (which was recommended by several travellers). A very well run Big 4 caravan park made a comfortable stay while waiting on some better weather. The strong wind had whipped up a huge (very sloppy) swell and the waves crashing were loud even back at our van. As we made a very chilly walk around the small town we saw some very brave lads out getting stuck onto the rough surf. Being the first port built to service the Murray River trade there is evidence of some of the many shipwrecks that have occurred in the area. Apparently it was a poor choice for a port given its small size and lack of protection. The fact that they moved it to Victor Harbour after only a few short years and it also was a shambles shows how hard and extreme the weather is down this way. Moving goods by way of sailing ship was obviously a very fraught operation in the bad old days. Just ask Amanda, sailing is pretty hard work!

Moving to the western side of the peninsula and setting up camp in Rapid Bay left us with one big decision to make, to Kangaroo or not to Kangaroo? After getting all the info and looking into it we decided to give it a miss. Mainly the price of the ferry and accommodation as well as being told it is hard for big vans to get around on led us to our decision. So with that off our minds we were quite happy for a few days in Rapid bay, well two to be exact. With the weather lifting and the sun making some small appearances it was a good spot for a stop. Being right on the water and with grassy campsites as well as fresh water and some friendly fellow campers we were right at home. The girls soon found the playground as well as plenty of pet rocks from the pebbly beach. The very steep hills surrounding the bay are bare of anything except grass and the cliffs at the beachfront are full of caves. A large jetty that used to be used for cement and quarry works is a popular fishing spot and its deck is black with ink from the many squid the fishos pull up. We saw a few fish landed but the lure was not strong enough for us to wet a line. (pardon the pun) The girls also caught a glimpse of some wild dolphins swimming just offshore, although we did not get to see any of the local seal colonies we heard are sometimes around.

Driving down to Jervis Bay we watched the KI ferry pull in and admired the view before heading up the coast to Normanville for a look around. We met a couple on an extended road trip from Tassie also camped at Rapid Bay, Colin and Rhonda. Having escaped the cold in Taswegia they too were praying for some warmer days. Our prayers were answered with the sun finally winning the battle and belting down some sweet vitamin D for all these deprived of it in this part of OZ! With the sun shining strongly it seemed a shame to leave so soon. It is a place Kylz and I both reckon would be worth a longer stay. However our next stop, Adelaide was beckoning and with a strong desire (strong like the tide kinda strong!!) to head north we were off again!