Once again we’ve been off the radar for some time and its
amazing how much has happened since our last entry.
We made Port Fairy in the cold rain and pulled
into the Big4 after inspecting a few alternatives and eventually deciding the camper was comparable to the few either expensive or dingy options. We’d
imagined it’d be warmer travelling through the summer months and packed as such.
Unfortunately we underestimated the cooler nights and rainy days like these and
needed an emergency stop in Melbourne to buy some warmer clothes. The irony was
that the same day in Melbourne was 42c!
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| Port Fairy Lighthouse |
Port Fairy is a historic town at the end of the Great Ocean
Road with wide streets lined with nineteenth century architecture, Norfolk
pines and heritage stone churches. It has a unique and beautiful harbour and a
picturesque lighthouse accessed through a rather stinky bird sanctuary. It was
a perfect town to tour on bikes.
An unexpected surprise whilst in town was a travelling
string instrument family. They had branding on their car and we cynically expected
a family trying to monetise their holiday. Not so, they had been on the road for 18 months, travelling and playing shows along the way. Talented and entertaining it was a nice change seeing some live music.
From Port Fairy we travelled west to Robe, a fishing village surrounded by National Park on the Limestone Coast of SA. We’d caught a travel show on the area before leaving and looked forward to setting up for a longer stay. Robe was the first place we really met other like minded families doing 'the lap', and the caravan park had the most impressive playground allowing us parents to become acquainted whilst the kids entertained themselves for a change.
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| A bit of... |
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| ... beach driving fun |
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| ... in Robe! |
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| ... with new found friends! |
Josh, a cray fisherman on holiday with his family from neighbouring
Beechworth with similar aged kids was kind enough to take one of the dads fishing and we shared in the haul later that night - Southern-Cray and King George Whiting.
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| First Class Dining @ our camp in Robe |
Onto Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills, a historic and popular
little tourist village where German settlers established this now famous cool
climate wine region.
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Campground in Hahndorf
German grub at local pub, mini golf, pool and a private tour at the local strawberry farm kept us busy for the few days we stayed. We also snuck in some gin sampling at the local distillery, which was an unexpected delight!
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| Propper Germs! |
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| Prost! |
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| Berry notes... |
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| W11133 |
We skipped through Adelaide on route to the Yorke Peninsular
for our next stop. The Fringe festival was in full swing and accommodation was
rare and expensive.
We had some inside knowledge on good spots to visit (and surf) on the Yorke Peninsular from a work colleague (thanks Shane!). Innes
National Park sits at the tip of the boot where we set up at Pendalowie Bay.
Unfortunately tics in plague proportions prohibited a longer stay, but we
scored great waves at Ethel wreck and soaked up the stunning coastline during
the few days we stayed.
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| Pristine waters of Yorke Peninsular |
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| Miniature lighthouse |
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| Our view @ Innes National Park |
The roads were undulating and pretty ordinary driving back up the
Peninsular and the bike carrier snapped on route. We didn’t immediately realise that the bike carrier had snapped and the bikes dragged along the
road for a few km’s while we commented on the 'noisy wind outisde'. Half a bike was cheese grated along the road surface which was unfortunate but suprisingly the company were quick to compensate when we spoke to them about the dodgy rack.
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| Bike wreck - this had previously been upright. Note the ground handlebar :( |
We crashed the night in Port Pirie at a quaint little motel. It was comfortable and cosy after our unfortunate days events. Pool, bed and tv felt
indulgent after a number of months in the camper. We do have a pretty comfy inner sprung queen mattress in the camper but its no replacement for a bed, ceiling, roof, shitter.
On route to the Flinders Ranges we scored a surprisingly
delicious lunch when we stepped back in time in Quorn. Gunslingers with their horses tied up at the
pub would have been the only feature missing from this 1960’s western scene!
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| Stepping back in time... |
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| in Quorn. |
The Flinders Ranges were a spectacular taste of the outback for a few nights in the tent and it’s a shame we
didn’t have more time to explore. Most National Parks have been difficult whilst the kids tend to fatigue at about 2kms of walking..
Stunning South Australia has delivered big so far, and its a shame we haven't more time to explore!
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| 'Pretty Parrots' at our camp in the Flinders |
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