Walking the Caravan

We booked in at the Southend Caravan Park where we had been for a week 18 months before. Everything is very dry at this time of the year. There were only a handful of travellers when we booked in, so we got to pick the best spot in the park. We positioned ourselves behind a dune on the other side of the beach. The spot is protected by a few trees and the wind just bounces over the top. At night the waves sing you to sleep. It is very relaxing.

The ‘Engel’ car fridge/freezer

Our Camp

The next day we went to Millicent to get some supplies. This is a lovely town in the east of South Australia. The people are friendly and there are some shady and grassy places in the parks. We had some coffee at the ‘Java Café’ and noticed this great idea printed on a poster on the front of the shop. In a gesture of cheer and goodwill the Uniting church has started the concept of a ‘Kind coffee’. Patrons of the Café or members of the community or parishioners are able to donate money for providing members of the community, who were doing it hard, with a hot coffee for free. These are people who could not afford the spare $5. See pics.

The next morning we decided to go to Beachport for a coffee. So instead of travelling the normal route, I deflated the tyres to 20 pounds/sq.inch and we drove the 20 kilometers along the beach. There were a few patches of porridge (soft wet sand), but the rest was easy. After the coffee we returned by the same way to Southend.

In the afternoon we walked along the cliff tops and got to a secluded beach where we had to clamber down rocks. We spent a good hour playing on the beach before we returned. On the path back I saw evidence of shell deposits in the bank along the path. Only problem was that we were walking on a path six meters above the sea. The sea level must have been much higher a few thousand years ago.

Seashells 6 meters above sea level?

Commercial fishermen returning their catch

Secluded cove

When we were walking on the beach at Southport it suddenly hit me that the one thing missing here were signs of investment in infrastructure. This is the first place we have come across that has not had any work done to improve or preserve infrastructure. In fact since our last visit the seaward face of the dunes had been eroded and swept away by rough spring tides. Like at Byron Bay and Norah Heads we have here evidence of rising sea levels and coastal erosion. Unless local or State government do something about this a number of properties will disappear over the next few years. Here at the caravan park the owner had to sell a number of buildings before they disappeared into the sea, see pics.

The road south was interesting as it travels along the Coorong which is an inland lake system that exists parallel with the dunes and the sea from Kingston to the Murray river mouth, around 150 km. There are scenic spots that overlook the lakes in a number of places. Years ago I took my sons camping and fishing along this stretch of coast.

Closer to Robe the countryside looked even better with forests and wineries lining the highway. Every now and then there were grain fields and paddocks growing hay. It’s very agricultural down here.

Part of Robe, nestled into the hillside

Decided to buy this one — only kidding!

Robe is a picturesque seaside tourist resort with a long beach northwards that gets you to Cape Jaffa at the low tide. During summer the population swells from a few thousand to 10,000 people. It used to have a Hippie feel about it years ago. These days there has been a lot of development and it sports a harbour for recreational and commercial fishing craft. There has been new development all over the place.

New Age lighthouse at Robe

We booked in at the Sea Vu caravan park. This park certainly lives up to its name. It is situated on a small hill close to town and offers views, of the Robe bay all the way to Cape Jaffa, from most of the sites. In fact the views must be some of the best sea views from any caravan park in Australia.

Sea Vu Caravan park from the Marina

4/11

Today the wind blew up a storm. So we did some sightseeing. Travelling around Robe we came across the Marina and at the point of the bay we saw a beautiful Nature sculpture called ‘Doorway Rock’ where wind and water had eroded a passage through the sandstone to create the illusion of a door.

Doorway rock

The Robe Marina

The new and modern lighthouse is fully automated and even looks good. We found a way onto the beach at Long beach where one can drive on sand, next to the ocean for 30+ kilometres. As the bay is shallow it provides safe swimming most of the time. Here Dawn and the dogs had a run around in the strong wind and driving sand, crazy.

Navara, 10km up the beach at Robe

Family having fun

Commercial Fisherman returning with day’s catch

When we returned to Robe we visited the ‘Wild Mulberry’ Café. The name is derived from the mulberries that grow around the building. We had some really good coffee and a ‘Doorstop’ bacon and egg sandwich with relish and melted cheese. Yum that was good. The toasted bread was thick and marbled. Yum again! Tonight we will go out to the local hotel once more for some good food and a glass of wine.

We moved to the Port Vincent Foreshore Caravan park. We had heard from a number of sources about this great caravan park. It is situated right on the beach. The park has good facilities and is kept clean and neat all the time. The trip yesterday had established Port Vincent as top pick after Point Turton.  As I am writing this content I am very glad that we are here at Port Vincent. We have booked in for 6 days.

Port Vincent Bay from our Caravan

Port Vincent Marina

Port Vincent is just short of half way up Gulf St. Vincent. You can see the Adelaide Hills from here and the lights of Adelaide at night. It is around 230 km from Adelaide by road. It has a small town centre, a very modern marina and some great beaches. The caravan park is right on the beach with the ‘front row seats’ overlooking the gulf. If you are in need of a great coffee in a very friendly environment, the ‘Chill Out’ café in main street will do you just fine. They make good food as well with their bacon & egg roll serving as a good breakfast a number of times. Every day we go for a swim with the Spoodles and walk along the kilometers of beach.

Front row seats

21/10 Yesterday we decided to do a bit of a tour of the middle Yorke peninsula. We headed north from Port Vincent to Port Julia. This is a little village that has a jetty and was once used to ship grain. The main reason I even mention this place is that they have a most amazing road sign; ‘CHILDREN DON’T BOUNCE SLOW DOWN’. How weird! Did they test this?? If so how?? Did they drop a child from 6 foot and measure the bounce? Surely a ‘beware of children’ sign would have sufficed??

How did they get to know this?  Did they do some Testing?

We continued to Ardrossan that is part of the Copper mining area. Just south of the town there is a impressive  lookout place that has been established on top of a very large mining dump. The views are grand from here. Ardrossan is a nice sized town with good infrastructure, a good jetty for squidding and mining/shipping piers and infrastructure.

Ore shipping facility

Open Cast mining at Ardrossan

Ardrossan

We continued to Maitland that was the biggest centre on this trip. It is mainly agricultural. From there we went on to Port Victoria and back to Port Vincent. Port Victoria, on the west coast of the Yorke, has a great jetty and swimming beach. It looks out over the Point Pierce islands and peninsula which are Aboriginal  land. Back here at Vincent the local sailing club had a regatta going.  At the end of the day the dogs passed out, they had a huge day.

Pier at Port Victoria

Sailing Regatta at Port Vincent

The only good Spoodle is a sleeping Spoodle

Today we decided to extend our stay by another 6 days.