We are feeling the cold!!!!!!!!

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Hello everyone.

Last time we blogged (which seems a long time ago) we were at Normanville on the western side of the Fleurieu Peninsula.

After an enjoyable stay at Normanville we then travelled south easterly to Port Elliott for the next few days. The weather was now quite windy, raining & cold. Thankfully we have Dessy the diesel heater in our van otherwise I am sure Cheryl would have packed up & gone! During our wintry stay we visited Victor Harbour & Granite Island. Victor Harbour is the summer choice for lots of South Australians. It is only 83 kilometres from Adelaide and has surf, sand & we are told …. sun! It has abundant marine life & sensational clear turquoise waters with stunning views.

Close to Port Elliott is the township of Goolwa. Goolwa was established in 1841 & was once a thriving port, the last on the Murray River before it reached the Southern Ocean. It was the only place in Australia where paddle steamers & steam trains met to carry produce for shipping overseas. The town still has many historical features alongside its present-day life as a busy regional centre & is a popular gateway to the Coorong National Park & the lakes system at the mouth of the Murray River.We also took the land bridge to Hindmarsh Island & drove out to see the mouth of the Murray River & the Southern Ocean.

On our way back to Goolwa we stopped in at Coorong Quays Marina. The Southern Hemisphere’s largest freshwater marina is Coorong Quays & there was a lot of home & boat envy I can tell you.

We packed up on a very wet & wintry morning & headed back to Strathalbyn & onto Langhorne Creek before leaving the Fleurieu Peninsula via a small ferry at Wellington.It was then almost into Tailem Bend before turning east to Coonalpyn. Coonalpyn has a silo mural which we stopped to look at. The young children featured on the silos are students from the local Primary School & represent hope for the future.

We travelled onto the small town of Tintinara but could not find a suitable free camp so kept going through the township of Keith to a free overnight camp at Mount Monster Conservation Park.The next day we headed back through wine country to Naracoorte where we had lunch & then across the border into Victoria. The weather was still no better as we travelled the Wimmera Highway. The farms were now sheep, cattle & grain as we went through Edenhope, Harrow & Coleraine before overnighting at a free camp at Wannon Falls. Sadly, the days were cold & it was down to 4 degrees Celsius overnight. Dessy the diesel heater has been getting a real work out this trip.The next day we visited the actual falls before starting off & then after a short distance we came to Nigretta Falls.

Our next stop was the large regional town of Hamilton where I was able to purchase a retainer clip for our hot water service as the original had broken. Hamilton is situated south-west of the Grampians National Park & is the centre for a thriving farming district. It was settled in 1837 & was originally known as Grange Burn.We then headed for the small town of Dunkeld & free camped about 8 kilometres out of town at Freshwater Lake Reserve for the next two nights. The lake was bone dry.

By now the weather was just cold & very cold overnight. Dunkeld is named after a town in the Scottish Grampians and has a significant timber history. It also is one of the gateways to the Grampians National Park. The park is renowned for its rugged mountain ranges, rich cultural heritage & breathtaking views. We had a day in the park & the weather was terrible, so we were unable to see the absolute grandeur of the park at it best. We did manage to walk into some waterfalls & visit the township of Halls Gap where we had a Mother’s Day lunch at the hotel.

The next day we packed up everything & drove into Dunkeld where we checked into the local caravan park.