Our last day on the road

We were up early so we could make it home tonight.  Made it to the town of Murray Bridge for lunch.  We stopped briefly at a park and found the most interesting town attraction. The Murray Bridge Bunyip can be found lurking in his cave on the banks of the Murray River at Sturt Reserve Murray Bridge. It is a coin operated attraction, where a Bunyip rises from the depths of it's cave, booming its loud ferocious roar when a coin is inserted.  

In the afternoon, we stopped at the Naracoorte Caves National park. The caves were impressive but after two or three caves, they all start looking the same.  

We made it home that night. Once again, it sure felt good to sleep in our own beds. 

Victor Harbor and Granite Island

The Mouth of the Murray was our first destination this morning.  The mouth is an opening in the coastal dune system (The Coorong) which separates the river system from the ocean. The Murray river drains into the Southern Ocean just off of Hindmarsh Island.  The mouth of the Murray is in danger of closing due to low flow in the Murray river. The South Australian Government is in the middle of a project where they are removing sand from the mouth in hopes of keeping it open.  

After lunch we headed to Urimbirra Wildlife Park where we were able to see all sorts of Australian wildlife.  According to Aiden, the best part was petting the Koala and feeding the Kangaroos.  

In the evening we walked across the causeway to Granite Island.  Granite Island is a small island next to Victor Harbor and is home to a small colony of  little penguins (commonly called "fairy penguins"). We went on a guided tour at dusk in hopes of seeing the little penguins returning form their day of fishing.  The island is not as commercial as Phillips Island and is a much smaller scaled operation.  We were able to see a few penguins returning home but they were hard to see in the low light. 

The next morning we caught the Horse Drawn Tram across the causeway and hiked the Kaiki Walk.  It is a walking trail loop that winds around the island, displaying its natural beauty and great ocean views. 

We grabbed a bite to eat and did a little shopping before heading out of town.  We drove west down along Fleurieu Peninsula and along the Gulf St Vincent.  We stopped at Normanville for the night and spent the evening at the beach.  

Along the Coast

Today was a little slower start and a leisurely pace all day. Our first stop was Long Beach, a 17 km stretch of beach just outside of Robe. We took a short stroll through the sand to stretch our legs.

We made it to Kingston for lunch.  Had some fabulous take away calamari at a fish-n-chip shop near the towns landmark  'red lobster'. Spent some time wandering along the river that went through town.

 

 
After lunch we continued up the Princess highway along the Coorong.

Around dinner time we arrived in Victor Harbor, the main town on Fleurieu Peninsula. Had a bite to eat, then went for a walk around town.

Another Day in Paradise

Mount Gambier is known for its Blue Lake.  This was our first stop this morning.  As the name suggests, it boasts a vibrant cobalt blue colour during the months of December through to March each year. From April through to November, the lake turns to a darker steel grey colour. The blue color is absolutely stunning.  Mount Gambier is built on an extinct volcano and the lakes formed in the craters.

Our next stop was the Cave Gardens. A pretty little spot and an interesting sink hole in the middle of town.  

After the sinkhole, we grabbed a picnic lunch and headed to Valley Lake. This lake is also a crater lake and was recommended by a local.  Aiden enjoyed a play on the playground. Not sure if Aiden or Grandpa had more fun feeding the ducks and black swans. And we all enjoyed a nice, quiet lunch spot.

We left Mt. Gambier and headed up towards Kingston.  Since it was right along the highway, we stopped at Tentanoola Caves Conservation Park. There is only one cave there so perhaps it should be called Tentanoola Cave Park, nonetheless it was a pretty cave and had some impressive formations.

We made it as far a Robe and stopped for the night.  It was early enough that we had time to take a stroll on the beach. 

Gone Fishin'

Today we headed off for a week holiday with Ray. Thanks a million to Frank and Sylvia who loaned  us their SUV for the week.  The extra space is greatly appreciated.  Our first stop was Portland where we spent the afternoon fishing.  The ocean was fairly rough but not too bad since we took Gravol to quell the motion sickness.  It was lots of fun and we all caught a number of Red snappers.  None of them were very large but there were plenty of them.

We cooked up some fish for supper.  It was delicious.  We spent the night in Portland at a motel. In the morning we headed down the road to Cape Bridgewater to spend some time on the beach and playing in the surf.  Cape Bridgewater is a national park and the little town itself is set on the side of a steep hill overlooking a large bay.  Just over the hill is a wind farm with 29 generators dominating the landscape.  We checked out the 'petrified forest' and from the information there, learned of the fallacy that they were once trees, instead they are pipes of limestone and calcite. It’s a stunning piece of earth, with incredible views of the powerful ocean and unique land forms that make you feel like you’re visiting another planet.

Our next stop was Princess Margaret Rose Cave located in the lower Glenelg National Park. The cave features a good range of stalactite and mite formations, many of which are still actively (although slowly) growing. It is advertised as the most decorated cave per square metre in Australia. This marvelous cave was created by the constant slow drip of rainwater through limestone over thousands of years. River erosion and the trickle of rainwater have created some extraordinary caves in the region. This Caves’ varied hues of crystalline structures come from years of minerals and tannins washing down from soil above. It has some very impressive structures.

From there we headed to  Mt. Gambier for the night. 

Around the Grampians

The last couple of weeks have been spent close to home. The new school year started on Monday, Feb. 2 and swimming lessons the following Monday, Feb. 9th.  Aiden was happy to go back to school, mostly for the social aspect but is still keen on learning as well. So far the swimming lessons are going great.  The wet suit has came in handy once again.

We have been out and about the park with Ray.  

Boroka Lookout

We spent an afternoon traveling the loop through Pomonal, Ararat and back up to Stawell then home in search of some wineries.   We stopped at the Gap Vineyard and Best's Great Westren Winery and had a look around.

Ray, Sean, Aiden  and Joseph went out the Halls Gap Zoo for an afternoon to check out some wild life. 

Panning for Gold

The cool change arrived over night and brought more reasonable temperatures along with it. We decided to take advantage of this and head down to Ballarat to show Ray Sovereign Hill, which is a recreation of the Goldrush days that helped build Victoria. It was excellent, and recreated the life in the town in the mid 1800s, including the bank, the bakery, the bar and the bowling alley. According to one of the costumed interpreters, the river that runs through the town is seeded on an annual basis with a fair chunk of change's worth of gold flakes every year. It used to be small nuggets but with rising gold prices that is not practical any more. The four of us panned for quite a while and have a few flakes of gold at the bottom of a small vial to show for it. We had fun and it was awfully exciting when a piece of gold not even as big as a grain of rice was found in the bottom of the pan.

We took in the mine tours, watched the pouring of a $80,000 gold brick, watched some historical reenactments of activities typical of the time, stopped in at the lolly shop, and explored the rest of the place before heading across the street to the Gold museum. By the end of the day, we all had a bit of a gold fever and drove into the sunset back across the goldfields to Halls Gap.