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Published: February 16th 2010
Horse and carriage
Victor Harbour over to Granite Island, SA30th November 09 - 1st December 09
Victor Harbour
The day after my mum arrived we were on the road and heading south. My cousin had a cake show to prepare for so we thought we would clear out as the house turned into a cake shop (on second thought why did we leave)! Mum and I headed through the city of Adeladie, which I got extremely lost in. If on a map it says follow the A13 then you would think that there would be a sign post that said the A13! The A13 didn't exist as far as Adelaide signage was concerned so I just basically headed south on the A????? and we eventually popped out in Glenelg! Glenelg is the beach part of Adelaide, the trendy Bondi like part of the city that has a tram running down the main street and a massive water park on the foreshores. It's touristry and busy and this is where alot of the schoolies head. The day we arrived there was a school sports carnival on the beach so we had school kids EVERYWHERE! It was interesting to have a look at Glenelg (spelt the same way forwards as
backwards if you cared to know) but I didn't want to stay. We walked out on the jetty, ate some fish and chips and had a wander up the main street and a look at the shops. The shopping here looks fanastic so it's a good thing we didn't stay long, could have been dangerous for my wallet and my mum!
We headed off south bound again and what do you know but I found that bloody A13 road, we were on the road directly parallel to it! Have you ever had one of those moments when you look over and say 'I just want to get on that road over there but I can't seem to get there?' Chevy Chase in the European movie when he just can't seem to go left!!! I was getting alittle PO at this stage and it's funny having someone in the car with me as I'm so used to being on my own. Mother doesn't like it when I start to swear at the map, she says it raises her blood pressure. God, good thing she wasn't with me for the other part of my trip because swearing at maps is what
I seem to do quite well and often!
We got to the lovely A13 and my word was it a lovely road and it took us right where we wanted to go, funny that! As we slowly started to leave the city, traffic and suburbia behind we started to climb up Willunga Hill which offers spectacular views back over the city and countryside. The drive was lovely as we got further and further away from the city and especially around the Mt Compass area. Cherry stalls were everywhere and some places had signs up saying you could even pick your own. Mt Compass is the only town in Australia with a dairy cow race, just so you know!
The A13 continued to weave through the hills and countryside and eventually began to make it's way down through Hindmarsh Valley before opening out to look out over the clear blue waters lined by the Norfolk Pines of Victor Harbour. Visually Victor Harbour is wonderful and it's not hard to see why it's such a popular place to visit. It's also a popular schoolies destination but they all left last week so the place was all our's! While the sun
'Mac Attack'
Granite Island
Victor Harbour, SA is shining, it is still really cold here at the moment. Mum and I had to rug up as we walked along the foreshore. The original idea was that I would sleep in a tent and Mum could sleep in the van. But how could I put my mum in the van? This resulted in us staying in cabins, yes I have moved up in the world. It was alittle sad actually not sleeping in my van, I have grown rather attached to my cosy little home.
Victor Harbour is linked to Granite Island just off the coast by a long causeway where a horse drawn tram makes it's iconic trip for visitors. I just loved the horses, they are the most beautiful creatures. A trip over the 600m long causeway to the sound of clop-clop-clop was a must. All the horses have their picture up on a board with their name and age. There are 7 Clydesdales in total: Carmen 20yrs, Misty 13yrs, Skye 18yrs, Thomas 10yrs, Mac 15yrs, Jock 8yrs, and Bill 13yrs (I don't know who names them), and there are 3 horses on per day. Just so no one out their worries that these horses
My mum!
Granite Island
Victor Harbour, SA are not the most cared for and loved animals in the world, a sign up reads that they are walked to and from work along the shore where they can have a lovely swim, when not working they graze on pasture on the banks of the Inman River (4km inland) and each horse does three shifts per week - a total of nine hours - doing five return trips each shift. For our trip it was the 'Mac Attack' that took us over to Granite Island. Wow he was one handsome boy but it's not till you get face to face with them you realise just how big they are! Just beautiful, mum and I loved them.
We did the one way tram trip over to the Island and walked back. It was such a stunning day, the water was crystal clear and calm. It really was just one of those days. Mum and I did the walk around the Island which gives you some of the best views. You probably can tell from the number of photos on this blog that I got alittle carried away. We crossed paths with a Shingleback lizard, one of the last true
romantics! These funny looking guys are the last of the true romantics as they are monogamous lovers. Yep that right, each breeding season they will track down their same partner. And some people reckon love is gone from the world! However the sad part of this story is unfortunately these little guys get killed by cars trying to cross the road. It has been observed that if one of the pair get killed, their mate will stay by their side for days sometimes and give their little partner a nug every now and then to get moving. I am sorry but that is the saddest thing I have ever heard and I ask everyone out their, please please please watch where you are driving and don't run over one of these little guys. I have seen so many now on the road as I have been driving through SA. Everytime I see a dead one I think of its little mate somewhere nearby all alone.
Granite Island is home to the little fairy penguins that come ashore each night after a hard day out at sea fishing. You can take a tour which starts at dusk with one of
the Rangers that have special red light torches so you can watch the penguins as they make their way up over the rocks and back home to their little burrows under rocks and in the dunes. Penguins are the funniest little guys to watch, they don't walk, they waddle with their little flippers out. It's just the cutest thing to watch. One of the funniest things we saw was a group of about 5 pengiuns coming up the rocks. They saw us and we saw them so both them and us froze. We didn't want to cross their path and stop them from getting home for the night and they didn't think we could see them if they didn't move. Well after a few minutes of statue like behaviour we slowly moved along the path and when we turned around they were off and running, they had to jump up onto the path and waddle like crazy to get to the other side. They were just waiting for us to move! But the funniest thing was one penguin, who obviously had a good fishing day because he was on the 'rounder' side, well he couldn't quite get up onto the
path and kept on sliding back. Poor little guy was having a hard time but finally made it and off he waddled to catch up to his mates that didn't wait for him (nice)! They have a huge information centre on Granite Island and a penguin hospital/ recovery ward. Some penguins get injured for various reasons or have how can I say this... some 'un-usual' problems. There was one penguin who was afraid of water (not good for a penguin) and another one called Bob who was suffering from dementia!!! He kept on forgetting which burrow was his which is a big no no in the penguin community! Poor Bob! Unfortunately there are also the sad stories of people doing harm to them and very cruel things like poking them with a stick so they can get a good photo. Honestly, some people are so stupid!
Victor Harbour really is my kind of town! All these animals and if I had come at the right time of year I would have gotten to see the southern right whales that make their annual migration to the southern part of Australia between May and October each year. The Whale Centre at
Victor Harbour was always going to be a must for me. I spent hours in there, luckily mum didn't seem to mind and enjoyed it too. I really wish I had visited here during the whale watching season but I know now and will just have to come back. I learnt alot about the southern rights, having mainly studied Humpback whales my knowledge of the rights was alittle fuzzy. Ofcourse as with most popular whale watching towns today, they were once whaling towns back in the day. Victor Harbour too has that bloody history. Right whales name actually comes from the whaling days as they were considered the 'right' whales to kill as they yielded the most oils, blubber etc and when they were killed they used to float making it easier for them to be dragged back to shore. Thankfully today they are admired and observed rather than slaughtered. It's a great whale watching spot here in Victor Harbour, with plenty of great vantage points to get a good look at them, especially the mum's and calves that are often seen playing in the protected waters of Encounter Bay. The Whale Centre also had a great display on the
Great White Sharks as we are definitely down in their territory here in South Australia. I honestly have no desire to go cage diving. I respect and admire sharks but I'm not going to get into a cage with one!
Mum and I also visited the Encounter Bay Discovery Centre which is a great look back in time at the area. Encounter Bay was named after the friendly encounter in 1802 between British explore Matthew Flinders and French explore Nicolas Baudin. As I travel through SA I am learning more and more about these two explorers with most of the towns, bays, capes and coastlines being named by one of the two. It's a great feeling to develop a better understanding of how your country was discovered, explored and became the place it is today. I am constantly learning as I travel which is the true beauty of the experience. Mum and I had a wonderful time in Victor Harbour and I look forward to coming back but next time I will time it for the whales.
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