Day 19: Fri 03 Mar 23

Day 19: Fri 03 Mar 23 - Port Elliot

March 03, 2023

Fri 03 Mar - Port Elliot

Minimum of 17 Deg overnight reaching 20 Deg by mid afternoon. 35km/hr southerly winds gusting much stronger woke me at about 0300 and I couldn’t get back to sleep, worried that the awning was going to separate from the van. The awning was well secured, and no doubt the wind sounded much worse than it actually was. It was another overcast and cool morning, but the skies cleared by midday and became a pleasant day with winds easing then picking up again in the evening. A bit of a long narrative tonight, but it was a full day of activity - we’ll both definitely sleep well tonight. After breakfast we drove to Victor Harbour and we went our separate ways. I walked around town for a while then crossed the 600m causeway and walked around Granite Island. What a magnificent walk this is - 1.9km around the walking track with incredible scenery and stunning views along the coast. Apparently there are13 sculptures located around the island, and I didn’t see one of them…obviously I was so taken by the views along the coast and out to sea, I missed them. I’ll have to go back again before we leave - maybe. From Granite Island I found a few more historical buildings in town, then I met up with Noeleene and we returned to the van lunch. After lunch, we drove 11km in the other direction to Goolwa. Goolwa was once a thriving river port, the last on the Murray River before it reaches the Southern Ocean. The town has some wonderful old sandstone buildings dating back to the 1950s, and is just a lovely town to wander around. If I was to return to this part of South Australia, I would definitely choose Goolwa as a stopover - it has a wonderful feel about it, and there is so much to see around the area. First stop on our visit here was the old wharf precinct for a wander around. The breeze had started to pick up again, and it felt very fresh coming off the water. On a sunny day without wind, I imagine it would be great sitting outdoors enjoying the view across the water and reserve. From here we drove over the high bridge across to Hindmarsh Island and about 12km to a carpark that overlooks the point where the Murray flows into the sea. Not much to see here really, just a nice ‘been there’ to brag about. The smell of rotting fish is very prominent around the mouth of the Murray at the moment - even along the beaches as far south as Victor Harbour. There are kilometres of dead fish up to 30cm deep and metres wide that have been flushed out of the river system. Sounds bad, but a lot of the dead fish are carp which are pests and it is good thing that they have been flushed out. The smell is not very pleasant though. While we were looking out to the mouth of the river, we struck up a conversation with another travelling couple from Victoria - Ex Army and Ex Police Special Ops bloke and his wife. This is one of the best things about travelling - meeting new and interesting people and exchanging stories. From here we drove about 20km back into Goolwa and around the coastal reserve to the Goolwa Barrage. There are five barrage structures in channels separating the fresh water of Lake Alexandrina from the sea at the mouth of the Murray, and you can walk out on the the Goolwa barrage to see fresh water still flooding out of the river from recent flooding. We were told that seals are often seen frolicking near the barrage, and we were fortunate to watch one for the whole time we were there - not playing, rather just laying on some timber pylons soaking up the sun. There was a young couple and their child there at the same time, and we enjoyed a chat with them as well. He is an ex truckie recovering from surgery after a serious workplace accident, and as a local, he provided a lot of tips for our upcoming trip around the rest of South Australia, particularly to the Yorke and Eyre peninsulas. From the barrage, we drove back into Goolwa for a very late coffee which we enjoyed sitting outdoors in the sunshine out of the cool breeze - it was very pleasant. A quick walk around town then we returned to Port Elliot, straight to the hotel for a refreshing ale (and wine for Noel), and an enjoyable meal sitting in the beer garden. My baked barramundi with prawns, potato bake and green veg was very good. Its very very difficult to dine out since Noeleene suddenly gained an intolerance to any contact with any seafood - even fries cooked in the same oil as fish sets of a nasty reaction. This was only our second evening meal out since we left home.

So ended another fabulous day. Tomorrow, we have some driving to do (without the van), exploring the southern Fleurieu Peninsula.