Coastal views

The next blog focuses on places we visited while Kathy was staying with us.    We took her to every beach from Second Valley to Port Adelaide, plus the ones along the south coast.    Kathy must have become quite confused with all the names;  Second Valley, Normanville, Carrickalinga, Sellicks, Aldinga, Port Willunga, Maslins, Moana, Noarlunga, Christies, Glenelg, West Beach, Henley Beach, Grange, West Lakes, Semaphore plus Victor Harbour, Port Elliot and Goolwa.    I think I have remembered all the beaches we visited, even I am starting to get confused, and I must admit they do start to look all the same.

The beaches around here are beautiful though, with clean white sand, clear water, and sandstone  cliffs plus granite and volcanic outcrops. I never tire of walking on them, with their ever changing views and sand formations.

Mind you, the weather was quite chilly most of the time Kathy was here, so there was no swimming for us, just the views and battles with the wind.

We went to Snapper Point to view a sunset, not the most reddest of sunsets, but still very pretty.

We went to Henley Beach, in order to view our old house, which is now an enormous house, with an extra floor on the top. It also matches most other modern and expensive seaside properties.   They have sprung up everywhere around the coast here.   The modest small holiday house has long gone.   I feel sorry for the people in the semi detached house on the south side, as there will be no sunshine for them. 

Walter and Kathy standing guard, on what is left of the old house, which amounts to the outside bluestone walls, and a few inside walls, plus the brick servants' quarters at the back.   No leadlight windows, no ornate ceilings and no marble fire places left.

Second Valley.   A small beach, but we have had some fantastic picnics there.   

The jetty at Second Valley which is a great place to jump off as the water is very deep   Not for me though.  I have plunged from the platform at the bottom of the steps, very daring I thought.  Also clambering back onto the platform was quite a feat with the waves crashing against it.   I always wondered what was lurking at the bottom of the very deep water.   Nothing probably.

There is also a very deep inlet, accessible only by clambering around the edge of the cliff, where people, including some of our grandchildren, like to jump into, mostly from very high cliffs.   The rocks are very sharp around these cliffs.   My heart always races when I watch them.   Mind you it races when I clamber around the cliff in order to watch them.

Now Kathy, you did not visit the area in the photographs below, but I thought I would include them anyway.

I walked here last Thursday, with the U3A walking group, in quite wild weather.    The walk is part of the Heysen Trail, and runs from the Bluff in Victor Harbour and the cliffs are pretty spectacular.   We only walked about 7 kms altogether. Another walk I wished we had done when you were here, Kathy.

Victor Harbour.   A seaside town that has grown from mainly holiday houses for retirees to a thriving large town which spreads out in all directions.

We walked over the very long walkway, in a roaring gale, to Granite Island, which we walked around, and then had a lovely lunch in the sheltered cafe.   A very windswept day.

A view back, via the curved beach, towards the hills.   It is not a brilliant beach for swimming, but I guess Victor Harbour has other attractions. 

The rounded granite rocks on the island.

We drove along the road, past Port Eliot and Middleton, with hundreds of large holiday homes filling the space between the road and the sea. 

And then to the barrages, which do a great job of holding back the Murray River so that it enters the sea slowly, and stops the sea water from entering the river, which ensures that the river levels remain at a viable level all the time.

The pelicans love this area.  But there were not as many as usual.    No seals either.

Finally we drove across the bridge to Hindmarsh Island, which now has a marina, and arable farming land.  No large stretches of salt marshes there anymore.

The photograph below shows the Murray River mouth in the distance.

And back to Aldinga Beach.    We went for a circular walk in Aldinga Scrub, with its numbered markets highlighting points of interest.   Unfortunately I did not have the information leaflet which matched the numbers.   However I was able to point out a prehistoric plant, the grass trees (Xanthorrhoea) and native mistletoe.    We nearly veered off the circular track, not that we would have got lost forever, as the scrub was not that large. 

We encountered no snakes or kangaroos on our walk.   Thank goodness.

A view of Aldinga Beach, looking towards the brown hills.   

On most mornings Kathy and I took Piper for a walk on Port Willunga Beach.   Piper's favourite activity is running and catching a ball, which she brings back to me, most times.   The exceptions being when she drops it into the sea, and waits for me to wade out to it.    I really missed Kathy accompanying me, once she returned to the United Kingdom.   Piper missed her too.

A view of the cliffs with the remains of the old jetty showing up starkly against the water. 

Spectacular beaches, all of them.

A trip to the Limestone Coast

Finally a blog!  My friend, Kathy, stayed with us for three weeks, during which time we were very busy, sightseeing and talking.   No time for writing a blog.    We had such a lovely time, and it was with great sadness that we said goodbye on Sunday evening.  Piper also loved having Kathy here. and she was quite lost on Monday without her playmate.

So now it is back to a normal routine, after three weeks of being tourists and in holiday mode.   It was great fun, and we saw and did so much.   

In the middle of the three weeks we travelled to Mt Gambier, and it is this trip that I aim to start the blogs.

The weather was mostly pretty terrible, cold and windy with plenty of rain.   I do not think the temperature went above 16 degrees during the four days we were away.   Our hearts went out to the people battling the forest fires in Queensland and New South Wales, but it was hard to believe it was happening.   The south east of the country was covered in green grass, filled creeks and water holes and cold.

We rented a cottage in Mt Gambier for the three nights which was very comfortable and warm.  Walter and Kathy sitting in a sun filled room on the first afternoon.   I think it was the only time the sun shone through that window.

We travelled via the hills to Hahndorf, then onto the expressway to Murray Bridge, continued on the Dukes Highway to Keith where we turned off onto the Riddoch Highway, destination Mt Gambier.   An easy drive really.

The road was named after John Riddoch, the first white settler landholder, and who started grape growing in the Coonawarra region.

The road was very scenic,  as it passed through farming country, plantations of pine, plus the wine growing areas of Padthaway, Wrattonbully and Coonawarra.   The road was also lined with trees, and the width from fence line to fence line indicated it was once a stock route.

The first stop was at the Naracoorte Caves, which was a World Heritage Area, with so much to see there.   However we only had time to go on a tour of the Victoria Cave which was filled with stalactites, stalagmites, helictites and columns.   The section at the back of the cave showed the numerous skeletons of fossilised animals which fell through the holes at some point in the past.

The caves are one of the world's most important fossil sites.    The preserved bones are of megafauna that became extinct 40,000 years ago and is Australia's most complete marsupial fossil record for the past 500,000 years.   The talk from the guide was fascinating.

A very early model of a snub nosed kangaroo, which ate leaves rather than grass.   Hence the snub nosed.

Another view of a same type of kangaroo.   Altogether a fascinating visit, and I am sure we will be back there to see more.

One one of the days we visited Penola, which was the starting point on a journey for Australia's first saint, St Mary MacKillop (St Mary of the Cross).   Mary MacKillop left her family in Melbourne to work as a governess to the children of her uncle.   It was here that she met Father Woods who supported her work with educating children.   Together they set up a school in Penola, and later founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, which established schools throughout Australia,  However it was not an easy journey for either of them, as they found themselves at loggerheads with the Catholic establishment in Adelaide.   Mary MacKillop was even excommunicated from the Catholic Church for a while.

The photograph on the left side shows the school built for Mary MacKillop in Penola, and the photograph on the right hand side is of the sculptures in Father Wood's Park, situated about 21 kms north of Penola.

While in Penola we visited two very old cottages, with very small rooms.   Both belonged to the same family;  one cottage contained three bedrooms and the 'best' lounge, while the other one contained the kitchen/dining/sitting room plus a pantry and storeroom.

The inside walls were covered in hessian and layer upon layer of wall paper was glued on.  It all looked very unsafe and very draughty.

The limestone coast has old volcanoes, underground streams and plenty of caves.   The area was under the sea 2 million years ago and before that 15 to 24 million years ago.  Consequently the soil is  made up of limestone created by coral and other sea life. The soil in the wine growing parts is perfect for grape growing.    We bought a dozen bottles of cleanskins (unlabelled wine) from a small winery called The Blok.   Great price and delicious.

We  went for a morning walk around the Blue Lake in Mt Gambier.   The lake changes from grey to a bright cobalt blue colour sometime during November.   We seemed to be there during the changeover time, as we could see the bright blue showing around the edges.   It has to do with the warming of the surface layers of the lake, plus the calcium deposits, and perhaps the angle of the sun.

The Blue Lake is one of four craters in Mt Gambier although a couple of them dried up during the past 30 or 40 years due to a drop in the water table.   The depth of the lake is between 72 m and 75 m so very deep.    We watched a documentary while in Mt Gambier about the formation of the lakes, due to the volcanic eruptions thousands of years ago.   Fascinating.

A visit to Mt Gambier is not complete without a visit to the Umpherston Sinkhole.   The garden at the bottom was created by James Umpherston in 1886.   The sinkhole, once a limestone cave, was part of Umpherston's house and garden.

At night, the possums come out to eat.    We only saw one during the day, and it was happily asleep against the roof.

There was once enough water in the corner of the garden to hold a small rowing boat. 

The ivy hangs down like nets from the land above the garden.

Another sinkhole, this time behind the main street, which has a waterfall in it.

We travelled to Millicent where we ate a very cheap lunch at the local pub, fish and chips or a schnitzel for $10 per meal.   Good value, and very popular with the local people.   A large crowd there.

The weather turned from a sort of sunny day to a day with a high wind, rain and a fall in temperature.   Consequently we only visited the Millicent National Trust Museum, which had been recommended in the brochure.

A fascinating place, full of farm vehicles and assorted tools.

There were displays of clothes, and various wagons.   The black clothes on the model below were actually a wedding outfit, and did not belong to the ornate black hearse.

There was the largest array of horse drawn vehicles I have ever seen in one museum.

And outside a display relating to knitting coverings for gumboots.

After we left Millicent we drove to Port MacDonnell, a little detour but we were determined to see some of the coast near Mt Gambier.    Not that we got out of the car.   It was really wild.   Must be lovely on a sunny day.   Do they ever get any such days down there?

On the final day we drove home via Robe, Kingston, and the Coorong.    A lovely trip back, with the weather becoming sunnier as we travelled north.    We noticed that Salt Creek had not changed since we lived here in the 1980s.   Still a bleak place.    The shop was closed as were the toilets.   Very inconvenient.

The Big Crayfish at Kingston has had a facelift, and there was a thriving cafe next to it.   Good to see.

I forgot to add, that I do not think I will ever wander around in the bush on the limestone coast on my own, for fear of falling down a hole and landing in a cave, never to be seen again for a few thousand years. 

A very enjoyable, interesting and informative trip.

A brief stop in Naracoorte

I thought I should write this blog, before we head off to the south east again.    I had, of course, full intentions of writing this blog immediately after the last one, Bellwether Winery, but got distracted by the garden.   A rush to get everything planted before summer.   And planting means weeding too, plus a few other maintenance jobs around the house.   But more about this later on.

Naracoorte!    Such a pleasant surprise, other then the cold weather.   I cannot believe we never visited the town when we lived here during the 1980s.   Our family would have loved it, so much to do, plus a huge swimming lake.   The caravan park was next door to it, and was surrounded by parkland and playgrounds.   A great holiday destination.

Back to our recent visit, where we stayed in the showgrounds, a green oasis, with basic facilities.  Cheap though.   The main camping ground has now become a Big4 Holiday Park, with prices to match.   The showgrounds had plenty of space and somewhere for Piper to run freely, so we were all happy.   It also had no shelter as such, and the wind blew fiercely through the showgrounds most of the time.    A good test.

Now Trev's Bargain store featured prominently on the main street, next to the huge supermarket, and up the road from a huge and popular pub.

Thank goodness for Trev's, as they sold a range of dog leads, and saved the day when Piper chewed through her old lead.   Piper did not like being tied up.   She now has a flash orange lead, with a comfortable handle, for the low price of $6.   I liked Trev's.

Naracoorte is very spread out, with lots of associated farming firms, and most definitely a country centre.   However, the main shopping centre was a bit bleak, I thought, with lots of roads running through it, too many vehicles and too few shops.   It took ages to cross roads, especially with a dog in tow.    So typical of many country towns, in that everyone wants to park immediately outside the shop they want to go into, rather then walk a few metres.

However, away from the centre of town, it was a joy to walk around, at a leisurely pace, with plenty to look at and admire.   There was the Creek Walk, the Historical Walk and a Nature Park

This old engine, in the photography below, is the only 1877 V9 class steam locomotive in Australia.
Interestingly, the Naracoorte to Kingston railway line, closed in 1987, was built about 1881, and joined Mt Gambier Railway station.  Initially there were no engines, so the carriages had to be pulled by horses.   Some of the lines are still in place, and the track is still there.   It would make a fantastic cycling track, but then that would cost money to develop, and I think the region is more interested in wine growing rather than catering for cycling enthusiasts.

The old mill, built in the 1960s, in the photograph below, is now part of a museum called The Sheep's Back, which has displays showing wool production from the earliest European settlement in the 1840s to the present.   A fascinating museum, which includes an old shearing shed, an old school (I so remember the smell), Post Office, rooms in houses, even the prototype of a robotic shearing machine, which never really worked.   No photographs of the displays, due to leaving my telephone in the caravan.

The river walk was beautiful, and of course water was plentiful due to the winter and spring rains.

Piper loved the walks too.   Notice her new orange lead matches her harness, and the spots on her body.   A colour co-ordinated dog.

The wisteria in full bloom, and very fragrant too, on the wall of the beer garden at the huge pub.   We had to sit out there for dinner, due to having a dog with us, but it turned out to be a blessing as the dining area inside was extremely crowded and noisy.    We also had an interesting conversation with two men who were on a short holiday from Adelaide.   The food was good too, and service was fast.  A very organised pub.

Another walk, further along the river walk, which led into a wooded area.   Although it did say to keep dogs on a lead, I would not have been tempted to let Piper off the lead, due to snakes coming out of hibernation.   Mind you, it was so cold I think the snakes would have been very sluggish.

The huge lake, fed by an underground water source, and opened in 1971.   Initially it was not fenced, and the water untreated, but all this changed in the 1990s, when changing sheds were built, the lake was fenced off, and a filtration system installed.   And entry is still free too.  It is now open from December to March.   Plenty of room for all swimmers.

On the last day, we went for a drive into Victoria, destination Casterton, in order to visit the home of the Kelpie dog.   For those people who do not live in Australia, the Kelpie dog is an amazingly intelligent breed of cattle and sheep dog.    A dog that needs much training and exercise if kept as a pet, which we found out when we had one in the late 1970s. 

The story is as follows:  The original 'Kelpie' was born in 1871, her parents being a pair of black & tan Collies imported from Scotland.    The pup was named Kelpie, a Scottish term meaning 'a malignant water sprite haunting the fords and streams in the shape of a horse'.   The pup was purchased by a man called Gleeson, who swapped his horse for the dog.   All this took place at a ford on the Glenelg River, in Casterton.   Who knows whether this story is true or not, but it sounds good.    And there is no doubt the Kelpie breed of dog is an excellent sheep dog.

The Kelpie Centre.

The main street, looking very forlorn on a wet Sunday afternoon.   Many shops had closed or were due to close shortly, so typical of a small country town.   Although it has been said that the Kelpie centre is helping to bring the town back to life again.

The iconic Australian scene, two dogs protecting the utility while the owner is in the pub across the road.  Well we presumed he was in the pub.   There was nothing else open.   I hope the owner ties them to the open back before driving off!   Or brings them into the cab.   They were certainly well trained dogs.    Border collie dogs in this instance rather than Kelpies.

Piper enjoyed being in the caravan and made herself at home on our beds, which we also used as lounges during the day. 

And one more interesting fact, well for us anyway.   Naracoorte is part of the Wrattonbully Wine Region with Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz being the main two varieties grown there.   Although grapes were planted there in the late 1960s, it was not until the 1990s that planting began in earnest.    We lived in the UK, so it was no wonder we had never heard of this wine region, in between Padthaway and Coonawarra.   A very pleasant find, for us.   So of course I sampled some of the local wines, just to make sure they were good!

And we are looking forward to returning to the area again, with my friend Kathy, in a weeks time.   We will stay in a rented house in Mt Gambier on this visit.   Quite luxurious.

Camping at Bellwether Winery, Coonawarra

Finally a trip away in our caravan.   Great excitement.   Although Piper thought otherwise in the days leading up to our departure.   She would not eat her dinner, despite it being her favourite cooked food.    She knew we were packing to go somewhere, and in her mind that somewhere was going to be without her.   But she was wrong, and a very happy dog jumped into the back of the car.    

It took ages to pack the van, who knows why, as it was only a small van.   All the heavy stuff went into the boot of the car.  We finally set forth mid morning, direction the Coonawarra wine district, in the south east of Australia.   Limestone country.

The day was sunny and very warm, and temperatures appeared to be rising so we packed plenty of summer clothes, and minimal cold weather clothes.   A big mistake there.   Apparently one should always have a thick jacket, hat and gloves to hand, regardless of the time of year, when travelling in the south east.  And sturdy shoes if camping.   I wore lightweight Skechers.   Wet feet for five days!   It was all a learning experience.

We had a lovely trip through the hills, via Strathalbyn.   Gorgeous countryside.   The van travelled well, very lightweight and well balanced.   So easy to tow.

First stop was the Wellington ferry, which carries vehicles across the Murray river.   This 24 hour ferry is free.  

A very fast flowing Murray river, and wide at this point.

We stopped at Tailem Bend, on the Dukes Highway which was the main road between Adelaide and Melbourne.    Lunch and coffee at the services, and not too bad either.   Little did we know that this was the last of the hot weather for us.   Walter and Piper looking happy in the sunshine.

We turned off at Keith, quite an historic little town apparently.   I know that last time we were there we visited the only cafe that was open, and sat outside and no one walked passed us.

We drove along the Riddoch Highway, again through picturesque countryside.   The land is so green at the moment.   According to a traveller we met, in his huge off roader, the south is currently the only green part of Australia.   He was from Brisbane and loved the cold weather and green surroundings.    At that stage we could not appreciate it as we wanted sunshine and warmth.

We passed through farmland before arriving at the different wine regions, namely Padthaway, Wrattonbully (Naracoorte) and Coonawarra.   All part of the Limestone Coast, which was once a popular area for the local indigenous peoples, and then settled by European settlers in the  1840s.   The area was under the sea off and on, up until 2 million years ago.   The deep limestone deposits created from the coral and other sea life, plus the moist climate, makes the area very fertile.   Great farmland but also ideal for grape growing.

We arrived at Bellwether Winery, which is a small boutique winery that blends grapes from different areas.   We went to a wine tasting session there, quite a different flavour wine but quite delicious all the same.   We bought a bottle of  Bellwether 2018 Wrattonbully Malbec.    The winery also has the name Glen Roy attached to it, due to it being situated in sheep shearing sheds called Glen Roy.

The winery and camping grounds were rustic!   We were taken aback when we first arrived, as it appeared to be lots of old wood, rusty bits and pieces and basic sites.   There were two sites with electric hook up, and three sites without electricity.   We had one of those, and relied on the solar panels on our caravan for light at night, which worked very well.   We paid $30 per night for our site, which was pretty reasonable considering it also included Emma, Steve and Isabel in their tents.

Our caravan, in the middle of nowhere!   The toilet tent was put between the caravan and the car, and this arrangement worked well.   No snakes made their home in the tent, to surprise us on our nightly visits, thank goodness.

There were quite a few bell tents on site for glamping.   They cost $200 per night which we thought was a lot of money just to sleep in a normal bed, in a tent.   People still had to walk to the ablution block for showers and the toilets.   But they did get a free bottle of wine, plus enough food for breakfast.  Very pricey glamping all the same.

A view of the the camping site.

The outdoor camping kitchen was fantastic, and we washed our dishes here, plus cooked our breakfast each morning.   At least Emma and Steve cooked breakfast, which we appreciated very much.   Nothing like sitting outside eating bacon, eggs, tomatoes and baked beans.   Walter took the coffee machine over there so we were able to have our morning coffee also.   The floor was dirt so no worries about dropping food.   The people who run the winery also had hens, and vegetable and herb gardens, all available for anyone using the camping ground.    The lemons on the table were free to take also.    So very generous.

The ablutions block.   And quite luxurious.

A view of the campsite from the entrance.

There was heaps for children to do; namely a tree house and lots of wood around for building cubbies.    Plus a donkey and a few strange looking cattle.   Not to forget about the small flock of sheep wandering around the campsite and Mabel, the dog, who kept an eye on everyone.

Bellwether winery.   The wine was produced in the building behind this sign.    The tasting rooms were in the old shearing shed.  Renovated of course.

On the second night we had a campfire, thanks to Steve's craftmanship.   It was quite impressive.

We managed to keep reasonably warm, with the help of a few throws.  However coats would have been welcome as well.   The wine and beer tasted very good.

My pink jacket may have looked warm, but it was only a thinly padded jacket, bought in Primark.   More glamour than warmth, and certainly not appropriate for an outdoor campsite.    I should have brought my down jacket with me.

Once Piper stopped trying to eat the sheep poo, and trying to chase the sheep, she settled down.   We even let her off her lead on the final morning so that she could play with Mabel, the dog.   Piper did not like being tied up to the caravan, she slipped out of her harness twice, and chewed through her lead. 

Piper enjoyed the bonfire too.

Emma and Steve, looking happy.

Steve cooked the meat and the sausages over the fire, and they tasted pretty good.   Well done Steve.

We then toasted marshmellows.   Yummy.

Walter, Emma, Steve and Isabel visited the Naracoorte Caves, which were pretty impressive.   As dogs were not allowed in National Parks here, I took Piper into Naracoorte, and walked around the streets.   I also had to buy her a new lead so now she is quite colour co-ordinated in orange accessories, which match the orange spots on her body,

There was only one other incident, well not really an incident, but more of an embarrassment to the rest of the family.  It appears that in Australia, one does not wander around the campsite in pyjamas.   Unlike in Holland where I have seen people in pyjamas riding their bikes around the campsite.   So at 7.30 am I was seen washing the dishes (from the night before) in the camp kitchen, whilst wearing pyjamas, dressing gown, fleece, bed socks and white plastic shower shoes.    And due to the fact that there were no mirrors I did not realise that my hair was sticking out in all directions and I had toothpaste on one side of my mouth.  Quite a sight apparently.  No wonder the young trendies, who were cooking their breakfast, did not speak to me.

It was a lovely few days there, despite the cold, and we reluctantly packed up and Walter and I went to our next campsite in Naracoorte and Emma, Steve and Isabel drove home, via another small boutique winery, which had the most delicious wines apparently.