Day 15: Mon 27 Feb 23 - Robe to Strathalbyn

Mon 27 Feb - Robe to Strathalbyn (Towed 308km)

Minimum of 12 Deg overnight reaching a very moderate 21 Deg at 1600 in Strathalbyn, and for the first day in a long time - no wind today, but it did feel much fresher than the temperature gauage indicated at times.  We were up early, packed and on the road by 0800 for a very enjoyable drive to Strathalbyn. The roads were very quiet until we neared the more heavily populated area around Tailem Bend (240km). First stop was after 42 km at Kingston SE. This is the place by the beach where we almost stayed instead of Robe. After stopping today for a quick look, I think we made the right call - just one day too many in Robe. Kingston SE is a very nice place though, and much less touristy than Robe. It would be a very relaxing place to stay, but Robe offered the history and rugged coastline which is interesting. Onwards we continued through vast pine plantations and some vineyards along the Princes Highway to Meningie. The roads were mostly very good with a few stretches that were lumpy. We stopped for morning coffee at a roadside gravel pit, just past Salt Creek, with nice views across Coorong Lake. Unfortunately someone left behind the remains of a failed relationship (see the photo below)... After a nice rest, we continued to our next stop - Meningie where we had an early lunch and a look around. Originally, We were going to stay in Meningie for one night but decided to drive the extra distance to Strathalbyn for a three-night stay instead. Meningie is a lovely little town on the Lake (Albert) and after seeing this picturesque place, we would be very happy to stopover some time in the future if we happen drive past again. We drove on to Strathalbyn via Tailem Bend and Murray Bridge, not stopping at either town, arriving in Strathalbyn shortly after 1300. Our stay is at the Strathalbyn Caravan Park within close walking distance to town.  After setting up on another very large grassy site, we went for a stroll into town which has some lovely historic buildings and gardens. It's a very pretty town and I can't wait for a longer walk through town tomorrow. When we returned to the van, we caught up with the West Australia couple we met in Benalla who are also staying here for another couple of days. Tomorrow we plan to drive to Hahndorf and Mount Barker for the day. 


Kingston SE - Town Park

Kingston SE - Town Park. RV Park in the background (a great location)

Larry the (Big) Lobster in Kingston SE

Larry the (Big) Lobster in Kingston SE

Replica Oil Rig at remote Salt Creek

The things you see at roadside stops

Roadside morning coffee stop

The Birdman of the Coorong sculpture . It's an interesting story about an Irishman, thought to be South Australia’s only genuine bushranger that roamed the Coorong on an ostrich!

Meningie on Lake Albert on a beautiful day. Definitely worth a stopover in future

Meningie on Lake Albert

Meningie on Lake Albert - The Caravan Park where we would have stayed is at the left

Early lunch in Meningie

Park at Meningie

Park at Meningie


Some nice old buildings in Meningie

Meningie

Some nice old buildings in Meningie

Nice looking pub in Strathalbyn 

Lovely Gardens Strathalbyn

Lovely Gardens Strathalbyn

Strathalbyn

Strathalbyn

Strathalbyn

Strathalbyn

Strathalbyn

Strathalbyn




Comments

  1. Steven BarbFebruary 28, 2023 at 9:16 AM

    Some very interesting places and great photos. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 57: Mon 10 Apr 23 - Port Augusta to Flinders Ranges (Wilpena Pound)

Image
Mon 10 Apr 23 - Port Augusta to Flinders Ranges (Towed 165 km) 11 Deg overnight reaching 23 Deg through the day. It was a beautiful morning and it remained so all day. We packed and drove away from Port Augusta at 0800, and our first stop was a short 42km later at the historic township of Quorn. This was our original destination, instead of Port Augusta, but everything here was booked out over the Easter long weekend. We parked, and walked around town for about an hour and decided we would not have been disappointed to stay here. Luckily our stop also coincided with the Pichi Richi Steam Train tour which was also about to depart on one of its daily tours. Quorn is a lovely town, and we would be happy to return for a longer stay some time in the future - even just for an overnighter, and maybe even a steam train ride. From Quorn, we continued to Hawker - the gateway to the Flinders Ranges. There is not much to see here, so we had a wander around, refuelled to make sure we had a full tan...
Read more

Day 48: Sat 01 Apr 23 - Elliston

Image
Sat 01 Apr 23 - Elliston 9 Deg and very still this morning reaching 22 Deg throughout the day. The strong SW wind arrived mid morning making it feel very fresh, and didn't let up until the late evening. This morning, I went for a 5km walk to the Jetty and along the town beach and back. It was a little fresh, but a beautiful morning with sun still rising and providing a little warmth. Back to the van and after breakfast, Dale (next door neighbour) and I went for about a 12km bike ride half way along the hilly Clifftop Drive around the Headland Sculpture trail with more spectacular views over the Great Australian Bight and the amazing coastline. Meanwhile Noeleene went for a walk into town and back. We all met back at the van, had lunch, then Noel and I drove the full loop of the Clifftop Drive and sculpture trail stopping several times. Watching surfers clamber down the steep rocky cliff face and paddle out 100s of meters into massive surf, captivated our attention for quite a while...
Read more

Day 13: Sat 25 Feb 23 - Robe

Image
Sat 25  Feb - Robe Another mild night; 15 Deg with steady rain falling from 0300, easing in the morning and reaching a very moderate 18 Deg throughout the day. It was nice laying in bed listening to the rain falling on the roof, and thankfully it cleared early by 0800.  I headed out for my morning walk, around the headland and back to the van past two very stale and smelly lakes - Lake Charra and Lake Fellmongery. Lake Charra is also known by locals as the smelly lake and looks like a dirty cesspit. There is conjecture about what causes the smell - some suggest its from acid sulphate soil in the lake when it dries and is exposed to the air, giving off the smell. Others believe it's a plant or weed giving off the smell, but I'm just glad we're not staying in the caravan park that backs onto it. We are however staying in the park that backs on to the larger albeit less smelly Fellmongery Lake. This lake has an interesting history in that a fellmongering business (the process ...
Read more