Yesterday I had a quiet day - did a bit of washing, wandered along the beach at Normanville and visited Mypongo Reservoir. It had a number of walks around the area but many tracks were closed for maintenance but I managed to cobble together around 5k. It was very dry and the water had receded almost a k from the entry to the reserve.
Today I left early and traveled on to Strathalbyn, centre of vineyards and pastoral holdings. The town was very busy and full of bikies as well as grey nomads and tourists. Coffee shops galore! And good coffee too. The approach to the town centre is lined with elegant old villas and the street-scape is manicured with precision.
But the jewel in the crown has to be the lush and manicured gardens beside the river. Surprisingly roses were still fully in bloom. The park has many walkways, a band rotunda, tables and chairs for picnics and wonderful views to the many old world buildings in the nearby streets. There are many nooks and crannies with some heritage features carefully curated to show them to their best advantage. There is a grey stone water trough for horses, commissioned by the ladies of the town to commemorate the horses of WW1 - a lovely gesture. Everywhere I have traveled there has been recognition of the men, women and animals who have made sacrifices for Australia in many conflicts. This is a town which really takes pride in caring for itself.
The imposing St Andrew's Uniting church
From here I moved on to Wellington and had my first river crossing on a ferry. This ferry is free and runs 24 hours per day. The crossing only takes a few minutes and the operator moves cars on and off very efficiently. Two young men told me they had taken the ferry from Wellington at 11.45 last night and came back at 4.00 AM! I didn't ask what they were up to!
Traffic was very light as I turned onto highway B1 - the Princes Highway and headed East. The road parallels the Coorong but there is very little of it to see as the land is very flat and covered with low growing wattles and tea-tree. The Pink Lake near Meningie is not pink today: the best time to see it in all it's glory is early summer when the water is retreating.
The Pink Lake - very low and only a faint tinge of colour in the middle!
I stopped at Meningie on Lake Albert for lunch but didn't linger very long. The old Counci Chambers is full of local craft-work, antiques and odds and ends. There was a very pretty light catcher which would look very good in my garden but at $165.00 I left it for someone else's garden!
The Coorong isn't what I expected!The National Park runs for many kilometres: I had in mind vast expanses of sand dunes and beaches but perhaps these are only visible from the sea side. The waters nearest to the road are only accessible in a few places and often lead to small communities of holiday homes. Closer to the end of the Coorong NP there is more accessibility and a number of camping sites but I think the best part was visible to me on my cruise around Goolwa on Thursday.
The ocean is on the other side of these sand dunes but I couldn't find a track to enable me to see the other side. Obviously local knowledge is key! I did follow the Old Coorong Road for some distance which had a number of tracks leading to camp sites but saw no wildlife with the exception of pelicans.
There are a number of small communities along the road but winter seems to be when operators take a break and very little was open - actually nothing in several spots.
Grape vines and pine plantations eventually take over farmland around Cape Jaffa and recreational pursuits such as fishing, sailing, water sports and golf are the attractions as access to the water is easier here. It's easy to see why this is such a popular summer place!
We love "big" in Australia and this gigantic lobster welcomes you to Kingston where the B1 splits and B101 takes over. As befits the Winter Solstice dusk came quite early and it was almost dark when I drove into Robe where I am staying for the night.
I forgot that this Limestone Coast is vast with many attractions so I will probably stay another day and backtrack a little tomorrow to go inland to Naracoote before heading to Mt Gambier.
A seafood dinner seemed a great option tonight as I am in a seaside town but sadly not open in the winter so I settled for flake and chips from the take-away. Robe looks interesting - I'll explore in the morning!
I have now done over 3000K on my trip! The weather is looking good and there's a lot more to see. I have had some emails and comments coming through - thank you - it's fun putting this together at the end of my day.
Thanks Lesley. I have scrubbed the Great Ocean Road off my to do list. Not been there but done that :-))
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