Wallaroo, South Australia.

It was time to move on to our next destination and say goodbye to Innes National Park.  Packed up ready to go , weather clearing up and a pleasure to drive in.  The road travelled took us back through Warooka and on to the west side of the Yorke Peninsula as we headed north passing through quaint small sea port fishing towns that also relied heavily on their wheat industries including Minlaton, Port Victoria where we stopped and walked down the jetty to stretch, walk, take in some fresh air and spoke to keen fishermen and women casting lines in anticipation of a catch before heading on to Kadina to do the grocery shopping and finally arriving at Wallaroo for two nights.

We stayed at Wallaroo North Beach Caravan Park which rested on the foreshore.  It was pretty gusty and with  the van pitched for the stay, I took  no time to strip the sheets off the bed, prepared the washing and headed straight for the laundry.  Van tidied up inside we planned the next day's adventure.  Daniel took time to prepare himself for a couple of hours fishing from the Wallaroo Jetty for that night and I had planned to take care of mail, emails, receipts and some documenting. 

It was arranged that I was to pick Daniel up from the Jetty around 9:00pm.  It was a clear dark night with a huge bright white full moon showering the jetty with its light fantastic.  Walking along the jetty there were lots of people, all with one common goal, to bring in a catch.  There were elderly folk seated in the fold up chairs that they'd brought with them, the master professional who brought his ultimate tow buggy to wheel his catch home, if lucky enough! Kids, big and small running and laughing, weaving in and out between their parents who were concentrating on watching the movement of their rods.  I found Daniel who was a little disappointed that there would be no catch for the next night's dinner but the sorrow was shortlived when we got back to base and downed a few mighty reds with a little selection of cheeses and fruit, Voila!

On Sunday morning we got on the bikes headed back out on to the highway and rode into the town centre.  We rode along the foreshore and investigated some of the older city's architecture including the old railway station which was now the town's library.  Some of the buildings were over a hundred years old and still maintained their rare beauty of limestone.  We headed out to the opposite side of the City where we almost made it out to the tip of the cape but then stopped by a 'Private Property' sign.  Time for a coffee in the main shopping strip and then check out the real estate in the area.

Our return trip took about two hours and we had head winds in both directions as the weather changed frequently during the morning.  We decided on taking the return run through the new housing estate. 'Copper Cove Marina'.  Most of the homes backed onto the marina and had their own private jetties.  The estate was huge and would only get larger in the years to come as the population in the area grew.

We also took a drive a little further into the North Beach district, which was perhaps the original seaside holiday place about 20 years ago.  Most of the houses had a more seaside cottage appeal.  You could actually visualize how busy this place could get during the summer vacation.  Wallaroo is only about a two hour drive from Adelaide and where we were access to the beach was from anywhere on foot, no car required.  It was lovely, fresh and very affordable in terms of a holiday place to call home and get away.

The day came to a close and we were both exhausted.  The ride challenged us, the wind in our faces the whole time, the place was lovely and incredible to see such a small town beachside dominated by huge silos in the background or foreground, depending which angle you were looking from, viewing the old and the new alongside each other but I was just so happy that my laundry was done, clean and we were ready to move on the next day.

Innes National Park, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia.

We farewelled the seaside village of Port Vincent and made our way down through to Port Turton, Warooka, Marion Bay before heading into Innes National Park, on the Southern tip of the Yorke Peninsula.  We were the only caravan to park at Pondalowie Bay until about 3.00pm when another Winnibago arrived next to us. Safety in numbers, is good you know!

We took our bikes into a nearby seaside fishing village, holiday accommodation only, which consisted of about a dozen or so homes in about a 500 metre straight line from the beach and saw a small shipping vessel wrecked on the sand about a kilometre away and decided to hit the sands on the bikes to get to it.  Inspecting the vessel we'd spoken of the possbile storm it had met with before being washed up on the shore.

In the evening , after our feast on the previous night's catch, we headed to the beach for more fishing.  Lines baited, thrown into the waters and the first catch of the night was pulled in before you could even say "Hail Mary!".  The flathead was just as surprised as we were, shortly followed by a smaller catch and then silence.  I commented that we could  always make fish soup for the next evening meal if nothing else was caught and add a potato or two for substance!

Over the next two hours Daniel was a man posessed and in his element, baiting, casting, getting knee deep into the water not even thinking about his wet shorts, choosing the right spot before he successfully secured another six finned beauties.  The area must have been a good feeding spot because we'd sighted a baby flathead shark, three stingrays in various sizes from small to large, slowly caressing the sand at the bottom and flipping gently  its side fins to expose itself as it meandered through the seagrasses and two dolphins swimming ever so close to us.

Nightfall came and we read our books before turning out the lights were we we completely isolated amongst nature and relying on our own resources.  No coverage for the mobile phone or even the laptop.  So peaceful.

Daybreak came at 5:00am when I heard the sound of raindrops on the open vent above the kitchen, whereupon I rose to close it.  Roused, I heard a gust of wing come through and flap at the awning.  I nudged Daniel and we both went out and pulled the awning down and away. Daniel returned to his sombre state of sleep and as I was awake I read before I could feel that sense of sleep return under the clouds of rains against the van's roof.

We rose at 9:00am and it was still raining and continues so for the rest of the day.  We showered, ate breakfast, cleaned up the van to promote some decency and order and spent most of the day reading.  As it grew colder Daniel suggested a glass of Port which warmed the bellies and stirred the blood through the shivering bodies.

In all it was a grand stay.  We'd paid a visit to Stenhouse Bay, the scenic view overlooking the bay, the Cape Spencer lighthouse, the Ethel shipwreck amongst a few others, Pondalowie beach and foreshore where it was teaming with Spanner crabs and the like, Browns beach and the various salt lakes that were dotted throughout the region, the unbelievable rock and sand formations that formed the outer edges that met the sea.  They were so grand, majestic and fearful yet stunning in their beauty. The smell of the fauna after the showers was incredible, in particular the wild rosemary.  The variation in sands in different areas was remarkable, some soft and grey while others hardened under foot after rain and a beautiful orange colour.  This place is a must see.

Another day at Port Vincent.

"Early to bed , early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise'. Well let's just say we don't quite fit that category at the moment.  We got home from our fishing jaunt last night at about 9:00pm, cooked them, had our showers and turned the telly on for a bit of night watch before we decided that we were exhausted and turned out the lights for the night.

After a later start than usual, we got our runners, helmets, gloves and got on the bikes.  We headed in the opposite direction of the Town to see how others live in this great country and like anywhere else they live, have homes, gardens, go to work and enjoy the idyllic scenic landscapes that city folk from the big smoke just miss out on.


We took the scenic tour on our bikes along the Port Vincent's coast line.  The view was amazing.  The early  morning sun was a glow on the horizon, to the East upon the calm waters which stretched out so far in front of us.  The sea breeze was soothing as we pumped up along the trail and then carried the bikes up the steps to continue and wonder in amazement of the view before us.  Outstreched to our right was the town and to the left was just this expanse of Vincent's Gulf.

Once we'd finished we headed to the Beach Kiosk for a coffee and donuts! Back to camp, read our emails, if any, settle to read a few more chapters of 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' before deciding that it was time to hit the beach for a walk.  The tide was out and you could walk out as far a kilometre along the sand.  We started collecting pipis.  The water was crystal clear and warm as it lapped against our knees.  It was a marvel to see something so beautiful that we'd never seen before, just the expanse of how far the eye could see was how far you could walk and truly wonder in amazement at what the waters held beneath and in the sand. It would have been lovely to share the view with family and friends.


Having collected enough pipis to use as tonight's bait we headed back to camp to devour last night's catch.  No holds barred here. Bring out the nut crackers and dig in we did.  A few of the campers came and asked if we'd caught them and with big grins and crab on our faces, 'yes' was all we could say!

Port Vincent, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia

We decided that as we had to wait for mail to get to Gawler from home that instead of heading north to the Flinders Ranges we would take the opportunity of visiting the coast of the Yorke Peninsula, the other side of Adelaide.  We arrived at Port Vincent, a beautiful coastal town and set up camp at the Foreshore Caravan Park right on the beach front.  The park, needless to say, was jam packed and I'm talking that this is the second week in February with 98% of the visitors being over 60 years.

We set up camp in a jiffy, which meant that Daniel was getting so much better each time! This time we also added the side awning for a little more privacy because it was really packed. We wasted no time on getting our information on what to see on the Yorke Peninsula and had planned the next week of our stay.  Here in Port Vincent we were spending two nights before we would head off for Marion Bay and further on.


We visited the town centre and took a drive through the new building estate on the marina, called Vincents Landing.  Homes being built were mostly double storey and all had private jetties. We checked out suitable fishing spots for that evening and found a coastal trail to ride next day.

Daniel bought a cray pot, bait and rope for tonight's fishing expedition.  After tea we headed down to Port Vincent's wharf and jetty and didn't waste any time in throwing in the fishing rods or the craypot. They always say that 'patience is a virtue' and to be true we waited patiently.  I decided to hit the other side on the jetty and try my luck there.   With baited breath I waited, pulling up my basket i couldn't believe that I retrieved my first Blue Swimmer Crab!  I whistled across to Daniel and as I walked very quickly with my prize catch a lovely man took the crab from my net and passed it over to Daniel as I raced back for another go.


In the end we succeeded in catching nine crabs between us.  Took them home, cooked them and they were ready for tomorrow's lunch.  Another lazy day over again!

Whispering Wall and Barossa Valley

On rising, showering, eating and choosing the dress for the day, very improtant when you're caravaning so that you feel your best even when you have the least of means,  our first visit was to the Whispering Wall and Dam.  Daniel stayed at the beginning of the wall as I quick stepped to the far side and to our amazement we could talk to each other clearly being apart almost 300 metres.  This was the highest dam built in Australia and an engineering beauty with its technical ability to use sound.

Our visit to the Barossa Valley took us through a few wineries where we sampled the fruits in liquid forms of enhanced flavours of passionfruit, lime, lemon, strawberries, cherries, muscats and sorts.  The people behind the counters were only to happy to impart their knowledge of the vineyards that supplied grapes to their winemakers and most often the vignerions were women, what a bonus was that!  We visitied a winery that was in its seventh generation  bearing these little green and red grapes from the land.  Barossa Valley is about 200 metres above sea level and the soil content is clay but when you look at the vast landscape and see the rows of undulating vines that cover this magnificent area and the climate that keeps it cool and the sun that warms the stock from above it's no wonder that this is Vino Country!

We'd chosen laboriously.........really?.....the wines that we thought would be fit for Grzesiek to send for his fortieth birthday.  With bottles in the hand we made our way to the local Post Office where we were politely helped by Katey who packed them tightly so as to arrive safely at his door. We still had to send a few birthday presents back home but that was left for the next day.  Duties now complete we headed back to our base camp.  An afternoon dip in the pool, watermelon, cantelope on the plate, a conversation with a few and a laugh or two was perfect to end the day.

Gawler

We headed off this morning from the banks of the Murray on our way to Renamark, but it was last night that I had to get a few shots of the company we kept whilst here for the 3 nights.  I am convinced the Possums were stage actors for the 3 stooges!  They came every evening after 9, as party animals do....and wanted to sample the fruits we could give them.  Watermelon was refreshing, dried apricots hit like a punch and then they wanted their close ups.


To travel through this part of the country is truly amazing, you see the dryness, but yet as the Murray trails this area across to its cut off point....................as we crossed the area to go to Swan Reach where the Murray would travel to its mouth in Goolwa, South Australia.

As we traversed the Sturt Highway, across to Renmark, we spotted the Berri Winery.  We were told that this is the biggest winery producer in Australia in fact the Southern Hempisphere selling 250 different product lines from the viniers in this region.  Not only that it was the biggest employer for over 400 people just before late harvest picking.  Here we selected particular wines for Mariola to send for her birthday. 

Arriving at our afternoon destination it was time to set down, menu shopping, relax the 'buts' by the pool after 6 hours driving and a beer in hand.  Bring it on!!