VICTOR HARBOUR SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Tuesday 27^th March   -   Victor Harbour Beachfront Tourist Park  - We left Port Willunga with our next destination Victor Harbour.  In just under an hour we were there.  The caravan park was very large and the accommodation was pretty full with a Probus Convention being held there for the week. 

We parked next to a Winnebago that Richard straight away said looked familiar.  The owners were out in their car.  We got set up and had a look around the park and it was a few hours later before our neighbours returned to their van.  They were just as surprised as us when we realised we’d been parked next to them in Bowen (Far North Queensland) last October.  They’re a lovely couple called Ros and Rob and their staffie dog Molly.  We’d all got on very well when we first met.  Straight away that called for a happy hour to celebrate meeting up once more and catch up on our news.  They stayed for another 4 nights and we had a great time with them and went to the local Indian restaurant on their last night.  It’s really quite amazing how many times you bump into people again on the road.

We really liked Victor Harbour, although the beach was hard to walk on as it was almost completely covered in dry clumps of seaweed which made walking diffucult.

It was only a 10 minute walk into town to the shops, restaurants and coffee shops which we loved.  It was a lively town with plenty to see and do.

The park was slowly filling up with school holiday families and Easter visitors.  The amenities block was absolutely spotless and very well maintained.  There was also a small swimming pool.  The park was surrounded by wire mesh fencing throughout with a cycle/walking path on the other side leading into town or further along the coast. There were some beautiful walks which we did twice a day. 

Victor Harbour has a long pier stretching 632 metres going out to Granite Island.  Until recently, a horse drawn cart took tourists along the pier to the Island.  The pier is now being repaired so the 2 old dray horses were sadly confined to their stables on the esplanade for the tourists to look at.  It’s quite a long walk to the island so now the elderly or impaired can’t get there which is sad as it’s a very pretty island with coastal walks and a café/restaurant and a penguin interpretive centre to visit.  Granite Island is about 62 acres and is a recognised ecological attraction.

Captain John Blenkinsopp set up a whaling station on the island in 1837 and in April of that year guided Captain Richard Crozier into the harbour who named the harbour after his ship the Victor. When whaling came to an end the island was used to graze sheep. 

The day we went to Granite Island we spotted a lone seal swimming on the harbour edge.  Unfortunately he’d swam away before we could take his photo

We also visited the Penguin Interpretive Centre to see the 7 Little/Fairy Penguins that are living there. Their handler knows them all by name and their individual characteristics.  We instantly felt sorry for one with a big blue balloon on his foot and discovered it was to keep the dressing on his injured foot dry.  They were all squawking for their fish feed as it was feeding time.  Some of them hid in their bunkers and we discovered how they swap and change partners constantly.  They’re so small and cute and are moulting at this time of year.  One of the penguins looked like he had a woolly scarf around his neck.  The rest of his body was bare as he had almost finished moulting.  2 of the penguins are permanent residents of the Centre as they’ve lost an eye by being attacked by fish.  Some are only there to recover from an injury until they can be released into the wild again.  Every night there is a tour out to visit the penguins coming in from the ocean onto land.  There were only 7 this time of year and we were told they all look quite scraggy due to them moulting.  The Little Penguin is only found in Australia and New Zealand and is the world’s smallest species, averaging about 35cm and weighing 1.2kg.  They can dive to a maximum depth of 60 metres and have excellent eye sight. Each bird has around 10,000 feathers.  During the moulting season in late summer when breeding is finished, their coats are not waterproof so they are very vulnerable to land predators. They stockpile as much food as they can before they start to moult as they can’t hunt for food.  It takes about 2-3 weeks for their new feathers to regrow.

Monday 2^nd April -   Adam out youngest son (20) had an accident at work 3 weeks ago and is having an operation on his damaged knee tomorrow.  He’s living with his 2 sisters and all is not going well for the trio.  We got a phone call late in the evening that decided us to return asap to Sydney and try to sort the situation out.  Sadly, alas our travel plans are now on temporary hold and I’m booked to fly back to Sydney on Wednesday 4^th.  Richard will drive the caravan with Sally the 1500km back to Sydney and we’ll take it from there.

Trivia Facts:   From 1^st July when we set sail in the HMS Jayco we’ve clocked up 33,500 kilometres, spent $5,300 on accommodation and $7,300 on petrol.