The Purple Penguin

Lazy start to the day, up late sorted and out. Drove up to where we’d had dinner and found a 2 hour parking lot and went to have breakfast. Wandered back by the library which had some nice sculptures, though Joe wouldn’t let me go in. Decided to head into Geelong to see what the waterfront looked like, with the understanding that if we couldn’t find parking we’d head somewhere else.

Found parking easily (seems people would rather park down by the beach than up on the hill). Finally saw a cockatoo (but still only in the air, still haven’t seen one landed on something! Seen plenty flying though.) We walked along the waterfront, which has a nice swimming area. Had a lido for children which was shallow, then an enclosed area in the sea surrounded by decking with floats and diving platforms.

We then walked up to the pier, passing some nice old houses and looking at the bollards (Geelong is known for the bollard walk). We went in to see the 126 year old carousel, which is now enclosed to protect it (Joe thought the protection wasn’t done very sympathetically, but probably due to cost). We didn’t ride but had a look and at the older pieces. Then we walked down the pier. It’s mainly parking with a bar/restaurant at the end which was closed. There is some nice sculpture around the waterfront and children play areas.

From the pier we headed to the Wool Museum and the Tourist Information centre. We didn’t go into the Wool Museum (Joe was probably worried about allergic reactions!) but we had a look around. They also had the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition showing there. But we wanted to get on to Melbourne, so we headed back to the car, along part of the town then the waterfront.

The drive to Melbourne wasn’t too bad, a bit of traffic on the West Gate Bridge, but otherwise rather easy to get to the hotel. The car is now parked until 2 January! Hooray! We rested in the room – it was nice to just stop for a bit – and learned that Australian game shows are very snarky! Then out for dinner. We found a place that had Jambalaya for 2 on the menu so we went in and had that. It was really good.

Tomorrow we have a look around Melbourne!

So we have travelled on motorways, A roads, B roads, and C roads in Australia. We’ve also done sealed and unsealed (ie paved and unpaved) roads, as well as named and unnamed roads. All the roads.

We left Victor Harbour after a walk about the area. We found a nice bakery with very yummy doughnuts – they also did a ‘whale doughnut’ which is a huge flavoured doughnut. We did not get that one. Just plain ones. With coffee. From Victor Harbour we headed out to go around the coast. This meant going inland (yes, I know, but it did). We hugged the coast as much as we could and were making good progress until we found ourselves at the end of a stopped queue of cars, vans, campervans, and caravans. A long queue. Leading to a ferry we hadn’t realised was on the route (going inland began to make sense). So we backtracked a bit and took another road up to the A road and over the river, and back down to the coast. We didn’t see any cars coming from the ferry road, so not sure if the ferry was even running!

As we got onto the A Road for the detour I saw a lookout sign and turned quickly up it. May have startled Joe because he may have been messing with his phone. Teach him to pay attention. It overlooked the Murray River, sort of. Between the trees. The Wellington Ferry probably would have been more interesting, but that was a very long queue.

We got off the A1 and onto the B1 rather quickly and went back to following the coast around. To be honest it wasn’t that interesting a drive. There were some interesting marshes and pink lakes, but for the most part it was farmland and no overlooks to the sea.

We’d struggled to find accommodation for this section of the trip, so we had to head inland for our hotel. It was in Coonawarra off the A66 in the middle of wine country. You want to see wineries and vineyards and cellar doors and tastings, drive up the A66 – I think they are all there. The hotel is lovely, Coonawarra Units, looks like an old stable with lovely rooms and a lovely garden in the centre. I think most of the people staying were doing wine tours. That may be a place to do a longer stay! (Joe may disagree.)

We were so tired we just headed out to the nearest supermarket (IGA). We’d planned to get a cold meal or something we could microwave in our room but they had roasted chicken (they called them BBQ Chooks), so we got that and some salads which we had in our room. Very relaxed! Then the next morning we had a relaxing breakfast in our room as the hotel puts the makings for a light breakfast in the rooms. They supply coffee (instant), tea, orange juice, apple juice, milk, cereal, and bread, butter and jams. It was really nice to sit and have a quiet breakfast.

Today’s drive was better. We started out heading for Mount Gambier. I wanted to see the Umpherston Sinkhole (Cenote) – a sinkhole in Mount Gambier which had been turned into a garden in the 19th century, then redone in the 20th. We got there early enough that it was quiet with just a few people around and we had a nice walk down into the hole. It’s a beautiful spot.

We then decided to head for Port Fairy and go to any of the lookouts. Joe had named a couple the night before. We tried one but it was down a dirt road was that was narrow and all the roads to the side were closed due to fire danger, so we decided it probably wasn’t a good idea to continue. But then I saw the turn off for The Crags which I remembered Joe mentioning (though he didn’t remember it!) So we went down to that which gave us a lovely overlook. There also weren’t many people there.

We went through Port Fairy. Had thought about stopping to eat, but didn’t see much we wanted so we carried on. At Warrnambool we decided to continue on the Great Ocean Road. We had thought we’d turn inland and take a quicker road to the hotel, then come back out to see the bits on the Ocean Road, but instead we did it today.

So off onto the B100 and along the coast. It took a while to actually see the coast but when we did it was spectacular. For most of the bit we drove, you can’t get down on the beaches. There were a lot of bird prints and it looks like there may be little penguin nesting sites down there. We stopped at The Bay of Islands, The Grotto, London Bridge, through Port Campbell. At each stop it got more crowded, with more people. So by the time we got to Loch and Gorge the car park was full and we only just managed to get back out, so we didn’t see that. The Twelve Apostles was a zoo – bit less than the Gorge though as the parking was better organised with a huge overflow. But there were so many people going to look at the stacks that it was ridiculous and you could barely see anything. So we quickly went back to the car.

With the crowds we decided to head inland and head for the hotel in Geelong. I had said I’d continue on the Ocean Road, but Joe said no point, especially with the crowds. We would discover that the decision to see the Ocean Highway and the decision to turn off when we did were very good decisions indeed!

We drove through more rolling farmland until we got to Geelong and the hotel. Another lovely little motel, Rose Garden Motel. When we checked in the woman on reception asked us if we’d come by the Ocean Highway and when we explained what we’d done she said that was a good thing. Apparently a large music festival in Lorne (Falls Festival) has been cancelled and the Ocean Highway and roads around are blocked!

Early start as we had to pack up and check out of the hotel before we did our boat trip. We also had a drive up to Emu Bay to get on the boat! We arrived in Emu Bay where there was very little – at least at the jetty where we thought we would get the boat. There was a boat out on a buoy, so we got out the binoculars and had a look and it was the boat, Kangaroo Island Marine Adventures. And of course we were way too early.

We hung around until people showed up to get the boat ready to leave and then walked down the jetty/pier to get on the boat. We were supposed to be a full boat, but some people very nicely didn’t bother to show up so we had a bit more space.

We went up the coast rather slowly and the guide pointed out several things, including the holiday home of a politician. Nice house. He also pointed out the geology of the coast, two sea eagles, abalone farm, and some cormorants, gulls, and other birds. The rest of the trip was spent watching dolphins. They specialise in swimming with dolphins and most of the people on the boat went into the water. Unfortunately we can’t see without our glasses so we stayed on board but had great views anyway due to the clarity of the water.

We had a quick journey back to the jetty, just stopping to see a salmon and having a bit of play at speed.

Both tours were really good and it was nice to see different areas of the island. The guides for both were really knowledgable and happy to share what they knew – we got stories and information about everything we saw, as well as things pointed out that we would have missed on our own. So both are recommended!

After the boat trip we headed back to the ferry port, which was about an hour away, to see if we could get an earlier ferry. We managed to get onto the 14:30 ferry (yay! no nighttime driving!), so we had time for a quick sandwich before heading for the loading area. Again Kathleen drove on while Joe went as a passenger, but when we got off at Cape Jervis, one couple either didn’t understand or ignored the ‘drivers only’ announcements! The reason was that the cars are so tightly packed on the ferry you can’t really get in, not without others moving. And certainly a passenger can’t get in as the passenger door is usually right up against something (another car or a wall). So this woman was just wandering aimlessly around the cars trying to get off the ferry waiting for her companion to pull forward so she could get in! Please don’t do this!

Once at Cape Jervis we headed for Victor Harbour, first stopping at the overlook over the lighthouse and ferry port. Victor Harbour has modeled itself on a British seaside resort, with a small funfair and fresh doughnuts (K: to be honest I think that’s there because there is a festival happening. Joe thinks it’s year round, but there’s a festival on Granite Island and lots of special parking signs for an event.) Tried to do the evening penguin tour, but it isn’t happening because of the music festival. They don’t let people over after dusk so the penguins aren’t disturbed, but they have a music festival there?

For Boxing Day and the 27th Kathleen booked a land tour and boat tour. So Boxing Day was our trip around the island with a professional guide. (K: with Kangaroo Island Wilderness Tours.) We were picked up from the hotel after breakfast; while we waited for collection we watched the glossy black cockatoos have their breakfast. Once we’d been picked up (and the guide had admired the cockatoos – she was thrilled to see them out of the nature reserve and behaving normally with lots of people about) we drove to the airport to collect the other couple on the tour.

From the airport we drove down to Admirals Arch. It’s a lovely walk down a boardwalk, the walk takes you down the steep hillside and you can look down and see seals. It was a bit chilly as the wind was strong and coming straight off Antarctica. It’s not until you’re at the bottom of the walkway that you actually see the arch – it’s hidden from the top. There are also two islands just offshore (The Brothers) with seals and birds. We also saw seal pups (so cute) and watched the seals play. When we were underneath the arch the guide pointed out where they were trying different materials on the boardwalk as the wood under the arch was degrading and they weren’t sure why. The rest of the boardwalk is fine and the structure under the arch is sturdy, but the wood is going all fuzzy.

You can also see Remarkable Rocks from the walk down to Admirals Arch and that was where we went next. We parked in the car park for the rocks and the guide talked us through the different sorts of eucalyptus and other plants that grow on the coast. So we got to smell all sorts of eucalyptus and herbs!

We followed another boardwalk out to the Remarkable Rocks which were remarkable. Heavily weathered volcanic rocks which have been weathered into unusual and beautiful patterns and shapes. You can climb on them – just warning signs toward the edge not to go too far and fall off! The rocks sit on a dome of rock, which clearly shows how the magma bubbled up. We walked among the rocks, got lots of photos (we promise a photo update soon. Ish.)

After the rocks we drove back to the entrance of the park (the visitors’ centre) where we had a very nice lunch (barbecued steak and trimmings and pears poached in wine for pudding). We also spotted our second koala of the day (the first was on the drive down to the rocks).

In the afternoon we drove to two more spots, one to see koalas and one to see kangaroos. They were both former farms, the first is Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary and the second is being rewilded and is down a private road, so you need to be on a tour to get into it. (Kelly Hill and Grassdale Road I think). Hanson Bay has bunches of koalas, which aren’t native to the island. There is some thought that they shouldn’t be there as they damage the native eucalyptus. But this sanctuary keeps them and there were loads of baby koalas. The other area was interesting with lots of kangaroos. And lots of birds! Unfortunately, it was getting late so we didn’t stay too long.

We got dropped off back at our hotel. On the drive back we saw a goanna crossing the road. It must have been the chicken’s day off (that was Joe’s joke, nothing to do with me!) I would have liked to have stopped for a closer look but we kept on! Once back at the hotel we had a lovely dinner finished off with a local Kangaroo Island walnut and honey liqueur.

On Christmas Eve we left Port Noarlunga. We had a coffee and danish/toast at the nearby bakery and then stopped at the shopping centre on the way out of town where Joe got some souvenir shirts. Google then took us a bit of a winding route back to the main road but we were happy as it took us along the Onkaparinga River for a bit. We stopped and walked a short way along the river to look at birds – more herons and lapwings.

We drove along the coast to Cape Jervis, but went rather slow taking our time to stop and see things. We drove up to the overlook over Myponga Reservoir which looks over the dam. Also the tourist information centre at Yankalilla. Joe took photos of the decorations. The women there were very helpful, checking the conditions on Kangaroo Island and giving us directions to things to do on the Fleurieu Peninsula. We didn’t do much of them, just stopped for photos.

We got to the Sealink Terminal around 13:30 and went to get our boarding passes for that evening. I asked if we could leave earlier and they got us on the next ferry leaving at 15:00! Hooray, no driving at dusk or in the dark! I then pulled the car into the loading area (first one in the queue) and we had a coffee and sandwich in the cafe. Joe took loads of photos of the ferry coming in – he could because he wasn’t allowed to be in the car when I drove on. Drivers only because they pack the cars in very tightly! I was first on and had to back into a corner. But that meant I was first in the passenger lounge onboard and could grab great seats right at the front!

The crossing was nice, a little bouncy, but lovely. You can see Kangaroo Island from Cape Jervis! When we got near I had to go back to the car so only Joe got to see the area. The car was so wedged in that everyone coming down had to squeeze past it and I couldn’t get in – I had to wait for the motorbike in front of the car and the truck parked next to it to move before I could even get in the car! So of course I was the next to last off and it was mayhem off the ferry, but I managed to find Joe and off we headed for American River and our hotel.

The hotel is lovely and we have a huge room overlooking the water. We had a swim in the pool; it’s a salt water pool so you really just float and bob about. It was nice, though a bit cold at first! And they’d painted the pool so when we got out we had blue feet (and a bit of blue on our hands, arms and legs – wherever we’d touched the pool edge or bottom!) But had a shower and then dinner which was lovely. Joe tried to get a rusty nail, but they didn’t have Drambuie so she made it with a local walnut and honey liqueur which turned out really nice.

We grabbed a torch from the reception and directions for the nocturnal walk and headed to the shore to wait for dark. Unfortunately can’t really see the sunset from the shore (or our hotel), but we watched the seabirds until it got dark, then started the nocturnal walk. We ended up not using the torch at all, but still saw loads of Tammar wallabies. We heard loads of other things, including birds, but didn’t see much else. About halfway through the walk though we ran into other hotel guests doing the walk and they were having a blast – waving the torch around and chatting loudly. So everything we were watching took off! Oh well.

I woke up early Christmas morning – 5am early. So I grabbed my clothes and headed onto our balcony. While you can’t watch the sunset, you can watch the sunrise right from our balcony. It was lovely. And the birds getting started for the day. I then grabbed my binoculars and headed out into the grounds to watch everything waking up.

Joe and I had breakfast, then started for the shore to have a look. The woman on reception pointed out the tree the Glossy Black Cockatoos like to hang out in and said there was a family of four that would sit in it. So as we went out we looked up and there were the cockatoos! So of course we stood there for a while watching them, until they flew off. Beautiful birds.

Down to the shore, then to the room to upload photos and rest before Christmas lunch. Lunch was a large buffet. Canapes were delivered to the table (and they were very good) then you went through the buffet for salad, seafood, and mains. We had a lovely lunch then went for a couple of nature walks. Saw loads of birds, including a sea eagle, but no more cockatoos and we never found the old cannery!

No driving today – hooray. Instead I let Joe sleep – he’s got a cold. I was thinking about getting up early to see the birds, but as Joe was a bit restless I decided to try to sleep a bit more instead. Ended up reading!

Once up and sorted we headed out toward the beach, stopping at a small cafe for coffee. Oh and Joe wanted breakfast so we had that. I had toast, he had yoghurt and fruit (ok, who took Joe and replace him with this bloke? I mean the yoghurt even had beetroot on it!) (J: Egg and baconed out for the moment and that was the only thing on the menu that didn’t involve either.) (K: Toast. There was toast! Who even is this bloke?) Then we walked out along the pier. Port Noarlunga’s beach has a barrier rocks (reef) just out from the beach and the pier goes out just about as far. There’s fishing up to a certain point and along the reef is protected. It looks a great place to snorkel, dive or swim. Unfortunately we don’t have prescription masks so didn’t do any snorkelling.

There is an underwater trail to snorkel or dive off the rocks, marked out with blue markings. The water was so clear (and it was low tide) we could see the markings. We could also see fish and possibly a ray.

We then walked up the Esplanade – and I do mean up as it climbs a sharp escarpment which has great views over the beaches. Then we went down to Christie Beach. We walked as far as along the Esplanade as the public could drive – the footpath went further along the beach but we decided to stop for ice cream and a sit in the shade. We walked back along Christie Beach in the surf looking at the rocks and shells, then back along Esplanade to the motel where Joe took a nap.

After Joe’s nap (I read) we went out away from the beach – just across from our motel is a bird refuge along the Onkaparinga River. So we went out and walked along the river to see the birds and got attacked by bugs! But we saw a couple of herons (which we haven’t identified yet), a black-winged stilt, lots of gulls, some pelicans, masked lapwings, and black swans. It’s a nice way, just being attacked by flies, gnats and ants wasn’t fun!

We then got ready for dinner and went back to the beach to the Surf Club. The restaurant is Hortas and it is very nice. My plan was to just get the seafood chowder, but Joe said it wouldn’t be enough as it’s an entree and entrees have been very small here. I said I wanted room for ice cream from the posh ice cream place, but Joe insisted I get a meal. So I did. And was way too full for ice cream. I’m not listening to this person anymore!

After dinner we went back out along the pier and watched the sunset. Lovely colours. The tide was in so the rocks were covered and the wind was up so it was too choppy to see much in the water. However, we did see the fin of a porpoise or dolphin! A slow walk back to the motel (after a look in the ice cream place which I was too full to appreciate) and packing for tomorrow.

We’re supposed to be getting the ferry to Kangaroo Island and so far they say everything is still running.

So someone booked a motel that didn’t have any wifi (may have been me). So no update last night.

Before we left Broken Hill we headed to the local shopping area. We were using Google and it led us up (and by up I mean a very steep road!) a dead end. We could see the shops, but couldn’t get there. So we turned Google off, I managed to back down the very steep hill, and we found a way into the shopping area and Joe spotted the covered parking! We walked along the strip mall checking the shops and headed into Coles to get bits and pieces for the drive as we haven’t been stopping for lunch so thought some crackers in the car would be good. We also picked up some oranges.

The drive from Broken Hill to Auburn was long. At one point though Google informed me it would take a minute longer than calculated due to traffic. I looked and could just see a truck way ahead of me and behind me, I could just make out another car. So much traffic. And we crossed into South Australia, where there was a big sign saying not to bring in fruit or vegetables. So we stopped and ate some oranges, but didn’t manage all of them. The Quarantine Station is about 200 kilometres into South Australia and we had to hand over the rest of our oranges there. At least the trail mix was ok.

The drive was also interesting due to the scenery. It started dry brush and then got hilly and lots of trees. Once into South Australia, we got into huge fields of grain, though most of that had been cut and was being grazed by sheep or cattle. As we got closer to Auburn we got into wine country and it was very green with vineyards.

We checked into our motel, walked down to the local hotel for dinner, and then on the way back to our motel found a bridge (over a dry creek bed) where there a lot of birds coming in to roost. So Joe went and grabbed the binoculars and camera and we watched the wildlife and the very spectacular sunset. As we headed back to the room we saw a huge rainbow across the sky – huge double rainbow though the second rainbow was hard to see. It was against a cloudy sky, dark but shot through with pink and red from the sunset.

Today’s drive wasn’t as long, but we did a lot of detours! We drove to Port Wakefield hoping to see some of the marshes. The main road bypasses the town and was very busy – there are several businesses and a huge petrol station and there were loads of trucks towing boats, but all headed elsewhere because the town was pretty much closed. We did get to the marsh, sort of, and saw a heron, but you can’t really get down there or walk anywhere so we drove on.

We then took a detour along some unsealed roads (dirt or gravel). Saw lots of birds, but the lakes/ponds down there were dried up leaving a salt pan with scrub. However, highlight of the drive, we saw a stump-tailed skink! Really pretty, just making its way over the road. We watched until it disappeared under a bush (probably fed up with Joe taking photos!)

We also went to Port Parham where we walked a bit along the beach, but the tide was way out and we weren’t sure when it was coming in (it’s one of those huge tidal beaches where the tide will come in very quickly) so we didn’t go out too far. Also the locals were coming in so we thought that was a good sign the tide may be about to turn! We also went down to St Kilda and had a look around, before driving on to the motel in Port Noarlunga, just outside Adelaide. We’ve had an excellent Thai meal at Ampika’s Kitchen. I had a curry made with Moreton Bay Bugs which was very good!

Tomorrow will be a car free day I hope!

(K: Joe wants to call this ‘and an emu in a field’ but it doesn’t scan.)

Up early, saw birds, drove a bit and saw more birds, arrived at Broken Hill.

K: <sigh> OK. We were up early, 5:30, which is too early to drive anywhere (I’m avoiding driving at dusk and dawn). So we got ready, had breakfast at the motel, and then drove to the reservoir which had been recommended to us. If you look at that map, you’ll see it’s quite a large bit of water with a couple of islands. Switch to the satellite view and you’ll see what’s actually left, a very small pond. Still there were loads of birds about. And under the trees on the side away from the water there were several kangaroos. So we were there for a bit watching the birds and kangaroos.

Then we got on the road. It was still sort of early, but hot enough that everything was staying under cover. Still we saw a lot of goats. And emus. Three sets of emus. The first we didn’t get a good look at, but the second group were more in the open and hung around a bit. And the third group was an adult with young! (Photos are all on flickr!)

We also stopped at a rest stop with petrol and a cafe, the only place for miles! But they served real coffee which was nice. And it was a chance to stretch our legs, though not for long because of flies and the heat. It is very hot.

We arrived in Broken Hill around 1pm but decided to stop as the next stretch is about as long again. Which reminds me, when we left Copar, Joe put the Google Directions on to get us through the back roads. But he really put it on so he could hear: “Turn left on Barrier Highway. Continue on Barrier Highway for 456 kilometres.”

(K: I wanted to call this The Dish, but Joe said no.)

Because Joe wanted to start . . . The second day of our road trip and we went via Parkes famous for its Elvis Festival. And a dish. Now when I say dish I do not mean the more than we could eat breakfast we had at the Roasted Kombi cafe, I mean the radio telescope used to relay the TV pictures during the first moon landing in 1969. And they made a film about that called The Dish.

The Observatory is still an active part of CSIRO’s Australia Telescope National Facility. So you can’t go and see the telescope itself, but there is a small visitor’s centre about the work they are doing and the work with NASA including with the Apollo programme (they didn’t just do Apollo 11). (K: all this was very nifty! And you could go out and get a good look at the dish, as well as information about it and a look inside an old focus cabin.) (K: oh and we took lots and lots of photos)

From Parkes we started our route to Broken Hill with the full expectation of stopping at some of the small wildlife areas and looking for Australian critters. However, the first one we pulled into had a sign saying ‘closed due to the weather’ as did the second one we looked at. The next one we didn’t even turn as the main sign on the road told us it was closed. So the only critters we saw were the dead ones at the side of the road. It was far too hot for any to be out during the day.

We did see quite a few birds, including a lot of galahs around Parkes, but mainly we saw the Christmas art of the outback farmsteads. These involved sometimes humorous things, mostly wrapped in tinsel, at the end of their driveways. Some examples included: a stack of three tyres in a pyramid, painted green with tinsel hanging on; Father Christmas mannequin in an old beat-up junked car, pulled by metal kangaroos; green painted tractor tyres with tinsel; an old shed with a Father Christmas mannequin, though this one seemed a bit drunk and in his bathrobe; and pretty much anything you could wrap tinsel around.

The scenery did change from thickish trees to red brush. Lots of farms and a train line that stopped at the farm depots. We followed one train line with lemons or potatoes heaped alongside every so often – not sure if the train would have had anything left on it! We went through many towns and it changed from mainly farming to, by the time we got to Cobar, mining.

Just before we stopped in Cobar, Kathleen took us to the viewpoint. It was a mine. (K: Joe said not to go, but it was a brown sign and looked close so I took the turn. Each road I turned down got smaller and Joe was looking worried, but I carried on. There was a short walk to what looked like a shipping container with the walls cut open, a metal walkway covered in fencing attached to it, out over the mine. In the end, Joe said it was worth it.)

Spending the night in Cobar at the motel and decided to have dinner at the motel. Ended up mingling with the locals having their Christmas get together dinners! Pretty sure we were the only non-locals in there! When we checked in we got a map to a turtle pond that we’ll probably check out tomorrow. On the way to Broken Hill tomorrow, but probably still won’t see much as it’s forecast to be 44C!