Advertisement
Thursday 20th April 2023 Now that we had a definite date for the return of the car our spirits lifted a little. We, (Rags), had become a little pessimistic, and even with the news of the car’s expected completion, still wondering what the total exercise was going to cost us. On reflection, we did become more positive, whatever it costs so be it!
A 5 kms ride to the next town, Evanston, was our objective for the day, as we discovered they had an Aldi! Sure enough, we walked out with a couple of things we ‘needed’.
Better still though was the fig slice we shared with the coffee from the nearby café. Yum.
Yesterday Rags had checked this area out and from the butcher next door had bought a couple of ‘T’ bones for last night. These were so good that today we bought 6 more to enjoy later on our trip.
Riding back a different route we came across a smallgoods factory selling metwurst at a good price. A visit there resulted in even more supplies for the future.
Friday 21st April 2023 Today was the big day; we’re getting our wheels
Barossa
The Barossa Festival was held on the weekend - should have gone! However there were lots of little displays along the roadside to look at as we passed.back and our eldest granddaughter turned 21!
We set off to Adelaide on the train a little later than usual, our plan being to go to the Adelaide Markets (they’re starting to recognize us there) and to kill a little time before picking up the car in the afternoon.
Lunch again at the Dumpling King, with us both wondering afterwards what to do next. An SMS just after solved that; the car was ready.
All good with the car: new motor, total cost $0, everything covered by warranty and a 12-month warranty on the motor. Two relieved people drove very carefully back to Gawler.
Saturday 22nd April 2023 The car was taken for another spin today, Rags driving very carefully after not being behind the wheel for a month. All good.
Our destination was Kilburn, about 40kms away, where there was both an Aldi and a Costco. Heaven!? We walked away with desserts for the Sunday BBQ we are invited to, plus warm clothing for both of us.
Sunday 23rd April 2023 We felt very spoiled today; Kathy and Harald insisted they would pick us up at 11.30 and take us to
Mark and Gail’s for the BBQ. We were quite prepared to take our car but as Harald is a teetotaler commonsense prevailed! Thank you.
We had a most enjoyable afternoon in a beautiful house, with huge, delicious steaks cooked perfectly by Gail, accompanied by ample, tasty wines. Good company and conversation was shared.
Monday 24th April 2023 Our daughter, Julie’s birthday today but after ringing and messaging her we had to wait for her to call back. One of the problems/drawbacks of travel!
We gave the car a good run today through the Barossa region even though we have been told this was not necessary before we use it for towing. Made us feel better anyway. At this time we still haven’t regained full confidence in the reliability of the Jeep, hopefully that will come.
We took a trip through Kapunda on our return. Here the first successful metal mine in Australia was established in 1844. The old mine has been retained as a museum and we walked around the path through the exhibits.
Tuesday 25th April 2023 Our bike ride along the cycle path to the aptly named Dead Man’s Pass was
the first thing on today’s agenda. The path commenced near the caravan park and followed the river. The winding trail became progressively steeper, culminating in a section which stretched Rags’ ability and had Judy pushing her bike up the last section. The name is very apt!
We remembered Anzac Day today and after the ride we intended to watch the procession up the main street, only to discover that it had been held on Sunday! The thought was there anyway.
Wednesday 26th April 2023 Today was the first test of the Jeep with the caravan in tow and happily we had no problems driving to Victor Harbour.
We’re still not sure where we will go at this stage, there isn’t enough time left to follow our original plan of following the Murray River.
We settled into our allocated spot at the Port Elliot Showground. Great spot, good price, and plenty of room. Much better than most caravan parks.
Thursday 27th April 2023 A trip to Yankalilla to visit our favourite bakery was our destination for today. We drove there via the Inman Valley, a winding road surrounded by large trees, stopping to view
Huge miner in Kapunda
Map Kernow, also known as Map the Miner, commemorates the contributions of the Cornish miners in the Kapunda area. The statue was named Map Kernow, being the Cornish dialect for 'Son of Cornwall'. the scars caused by a glacier millions of years ago.
We have visited the Yankalilla bakery on two previous trips and have never been disappointed. Today was no different with the menu being spinach quiche followed by apricot slice, washed down with a good coffee.
Our return trip was a different route all in all over 150kms but worth it!
Friday 28th April 2023 We have become real tourists lately and today was no exception.
We caught the Cockle Train, a steam engine manned by enthusiasts, which travels from Victor Harbour to the town of Goolwa. This takes about 40 minutes, travelling along the coast, through several small towns before arriving at its destination.
It only runs a few times a day but there was enough time for us to explore the town. Goolwa lies near the mouth of the Murray River and was an important port in the early development days.
Lunch was a meal at one of the hotels in the main street. We both chose the “roast of the day” and couldn’t believe the size of the roast beef serve we were given. There was enough meat to feed two
Restored tower
On the Kapunda Mines Tourist Walk And Museum Trail people on each plate. However with some roast vegetables and greens added from the buffet, we persevered, Rags helping Judy with the last bits.
Dinner that night was a platter of cheese and biscuits.
Saturday 29th April 2023 We drove to Goolwa today, mainly to see the Wooden Boat Festival. This runs every 2 years but because of Covid19 hadn’t been held for the last 4. Wooden boats of all descriptions were on display, from small rowing boats to yachts to large riverboats. They were all displayed along the marina on Hindmarsh Island, both in the water and on shore.
Most were in pristine condition, built and maintained by enthusiasts, as well as some where restoration wasn’t complete or not yet started. A labour of love.
Some of the riverboats were permanent dwellings and these varied in size and opulence. We saw one for sale, quite large and seemingly good condition for about $170K. With over 1000kms of river to follow it could be a great way to spend your time.
From here we drove towards the end of the island and could look west across the waterway and see where the Murray River
Dead Man's Pass
Judy was certainly puffing by the time she got to the top! A local later told us that one chap on a bike died when his brakes failed and he went down the hill so fast and crashed into a tree. We didn't go back that way! empties into the ocean. Interestingly, to keep it emptying the have a permanent dredge working to keep it open, moving anything up to 5 million cubic metres of sand every year.
On our return to the mainland we followed the coast south to the area called the Coorong (of Storm Boy fame), where there was one of several barrages, which were built to keep the salt water from flowing upstream. There are locks in these barrages to allow boats through. The barrage we walked out on had a colony of fur seals living by the lock and we were entertained by them for some time.
Lunch was again at the hotel where we had lunch yesterday, Rags this time having a huge lamb schnitzel and Judy a piece of fish. Great value compared to the prices back home, subsidised by the pokies (which we avoid).
Judy had a long phone conversation with her son, Clinton, who turned 40 today, this making up for some of the disappointment of not being there to enjoy the celebrations.
Sunday 30th April 2023 A rather ordinary artisan fair in Victor Harbour, preceded a walk out along the causeway to
Inman Valley.
Sign of the glacier gouging out rock. Granite Island this morning. Some way across we realized that this was a new structure, built since the last time we were here about 4 years ago. This is a great tourist attraction with a horse-drawn passenger carriage plodding across regularly, good paths around the island to see the seals during the day and fairy penguins at night.
After our walk around the island we stopped at the new café built overlooking the old groyne there. Beautiful views of the mainland made this a lovely spot for a coffee.
A tour around the coast eventually got us to the Bluff at Rosetta Head, a large hill overlooking the ocean and bay. This was used in the early days as a lookout for whales cruising past, whaleboats in the harbour sent out in pursuit. There was a path up the hill so up we went and were rewarded by an amazing view. We could imagine those in the past whale spotting from here.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.121s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 14; qc: 29; dbt: 0.0552s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Ian
non-member comment
Yeeha go for it. xxx
Good to hear it's away again.