Today is 11/11/18, the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1. We took the photo of these beautiful hand made poppies yesterday at Penneshaw's monument of remembrance on Kangaroo Island, SA. where we had gone for the day's visit. First though I must catch up from our time at Moorook and my last blog entry.
We had a good few days at Moorook, made all the better with the company of Glenys and Malcolm, the couple whose van we parked near. Bob and Ellen on one side and us on the other, all taking up prime position along the river. So what do you do but make friends and spend happy hours together! Thanks Glenys for taking the farewell photos for us.
From Moorook we explored the area of Loxton (where Chris and Bob had managed to get in their last game of golf before we go our different ways) we then visited Banrock Station winery, noting the large stack of cask wine that our Emma is fond of. That stack would have kept anyone going for a long while!
The morning we left Moorook we had agreed to meet and say our final farewells at Waikerie (sounds like bakery) After a quick look around the town and a bit of a food shop it was time for our last supper, well morning coffee anyway and where else but at the bakery in Waikerie!
It was sad to be splitting up with Bob and Ellen after 2 months of travelling together but onwards and upwards as they say and we will keep in touch and see each other again in the new year hopefully.
We travelled on alone from Waikerie and headed through Cadell and Morgan, not finding the camp sites where we thought we might stop as our GPS kept sending us the wrong way. (It's not often Chris gets led astray by a woman!) We ended up going over the Murray 3 times by ferry until we came to Swan Reach. Are we glad we didn't find the other places as this spot at Swan Reach, right by the ferry was perfect. Parked next to the river and overlooking the colourful cliffs with beautiful weather, million dollar views and it didn't cost us a cent! We couldn't ask for more and then when the Proud Mary and Murray Princess paddle steamers came by, it was an added bonus. We spent a couple of lazy days there, only going over on the ferry to walk around the town.
Next stop was Mannum, again on the river and just a ferry ride into town. We stayed for 3 nights at $10 a night, enjoying the wildlife and beautiful sunsets. Then on to Langhorne Creek, not by the Murray this time but a nice free camp ($5 a night) and a good base to check out Strathalbyn, Milang, Tailem Bend and Wellington where the Murray goes into Lake Alexandrina (named after Queen Victoria) We were not able to see exactly where the Murray goes into the lake as all the roads leading down to the river and lake belong to private properties and I couldn't persuade Chris to just take a quick trip down for that one photo. We did drive around the other side of the Murray and found a old public road which went out to the lake, going past Rosden Park, a horse establishment and the gate to Devondale Dairies. I'm still not sure if what I was seeing was the Murray coming into the lake but it's the best we could do.
Our next base for a few days was Goolwa, where the Murray flows into the ocean. From here we went to Victor Harbour for the day. We've been to Victor Harbour before but it was good to wander around again and watch the horse drawn tram cross the causeway over to Granite Island. We spoke with the young lady there who was training Scottie, a young Clydesdale for his future career. She told us the tram weighed four and a half ton unloaded but because of the design and tracks even she alone was able to push it along, and that the tracks had small undulations so the momentum helped to keep the tram moving, making it easier for the horse to pull.
We saw the Murray again as it left the lake at Goolwa and flowed into the Coorong when we took a drive over the impressive bridge to Hindmarsh Island. We walked the long boardwalk through the dunes to the beach and from there we could just see the river mouth with the dredgers clearing the sand to keep the Murray mouth open. This is a multimillion dollar operation and the dredgers are a permanent sight there nowadays. We did the "Spirit of the Coorong" day trip from Goolwa along the Coorong National Park. This was a great 6 hour boat trip with lunch and afternoon tea included. The boat took us through one of the five barrages around the Coorong which keep the fresh water and salt water apart. We saw lots of birdlife as we came through the lock from pelicans, black swans, ducks, cormorants and of course seagulls, all waiting for a feed of fish as the lock opens. What made it special though was the seals that were there too, some just sleeping on and around the lock while others played in the water. We cruised around Hindmarsh Island and along past the Murray mouth, seeing up close the dredgers doing their important job. We again walked a boardwalk further along from the mouth and our guide, Joel explained about all the edible plants along the way, how to collect cockles (what we know as pippies) and the two different types of sea grass we saw balled everywhere along the beach and up in the sand dunes. These are formed as the grass is pushed together by the ocean and wind. As they dry out they get rolled along by the wind making perfect round shapes. Fascinating!
On returning to the boat we samples some cockles which our skipper Bain, had cooked in a creamy white wine sauce,(yum!) We then ventured further along the Coorong to the Sandhills, enjoying our lunch of cold meats and salads while taking in the scenery along the way. When we reached the Sandhills it was Bain's turn to take us for an informative walk up and over these magnificent sand hills. We didn't reach the ocean this time but saw it way off into the distance. This walk was to see the many middens in the area. A midden is where large heaps of shells are found, showing where the aboriginal people of many years ago used to live. We were also shown how to dig and find fresh water in an area where we wouldn't have thought possible. We thoroughly enjoyed our day and returned home tired from all the beach walking with the cold wind and even some rain we had to contend with. We were glad we had taken our beanies.
This was now officially the end of our Murray river journey and it has definitely been all that we had hoped for and more. The company of good friends, great camping spots and beautiful scenery, the wildlife, the ferries we've crossed (11 of a possible 13) the people we've met and the experiences along the way. It's all been wonderful.
As we are so close to the bottom of the Fleurieu Peninsula we decided to do the day trip across to Kangaroo Island. It's quite expensive to get to the island so instead of taking our car and caravan across we decided to book a day trip at Goolwa visitor centre, hoping to get a feel of the island and experience some of it's highlights. We left Goolwa and headed to Normanville Jetty Caravan Park, across the other side of the peninsula and nearer to Cape Jervis where we were to board the Sealink ferry.
While at Normanville we took a ride out to Yankalilla, Carrickalinga, and Myponga, enjoying the scenery and coastline before turning inland a bit and finding the man made dam that is the main water supply for the area. The lake looked so blue in the sunlight it reminded us of the Blue Lake at Mount Gambia, also in SA, where we visited many years ago, back when we were still working. While at the dam we chatted to a couple of guys for a while and as they had just been collecting cockles they gave us some. These needed to be kept in fresh sea water for 24-36 hours to purge the sand so that was perfect timing for us. Next day was the Kangaroo Island trip so we would have the cockles the day after, trying the same tasty recipe as Bain used from the boat trip.
The 45 minute crossing to Kangaroo Island is notorious for being pretty rough but we were lucky and had the best weather and the calmest of oceans both ways. We met up with our fellow passengers on arrival at Kangaoo Island and all 49 (49??!!) of us boarded the bus. We did see the highlights of the island which included the seals at Seal Bay, lunch at Vivonne Bay, the koalas at Hanson Bay, the Remarkable Rocks, more seals and a magnificent boardwalk at Admiral's Arch, the Flinder's Chase visitor centre, a wander around Penneshaw township and then back down to the ferry. We did have a good day but I was disappointed that we were rushed along and always in a big group where Chris and I are used to taking our time and enjoying the moment. Chris tells me I'm being too picky as we travelled long distances to get to these places and we did see the main things. It just makes me realise how lucky we are to be living the lifestyle we do that normally allows us the time and space to enjoy nature at it's best.
If we get the chance to go to Kangaroo island again we'll go visit the lady in the Yankalilla visitor centre, who later told us about special rates and deals that she could sometimes get. The example being while we were using the free internet at the centre, she talked a couple out of the day trip and got them a return trip for themselves plus their car with overnight accommodation for less than what we paid for our day trip. Oh well, next time!!
While we were in the visitor centre Chris picked up a brochure for High Country Trail Rides. One thing I had hoped to do on this Murray trip was go horse riding in the high country and see wild brumbies. This wasn't the high country I was thinking of and we didn't see any brumbies but we did enjoy a horse ride through bushland and along the water's edge on the beach. A sedate and very pleasant ride but sadly, not as exciting as my very memorable horse riding experience in Kalbarri, Western Australia back in 2013. Now, after our horse ride we are feeling just a little bit tender in certain places but it was worth it and we finished the day enjoying our freebie cockles for dinner. Thanks guys.