port vincent

MONDAY 25TH AUGUST   -   We left Ardrossan and drove for 43 kilometres (one of the shortest distances we’ve ever travelled between destinations) to get to Port Vincent, a beautiful coastal town half way down one side of the Peninsula.  We stayed at Port Vincent Foreshore Caravan Park, with 360 degree ocean views and absolute beach frontage.  It was a flat, calm, peaceful bay.  The park had large sites and was very modern and a 2 minute walk into town.  There was a big Foodland supermarket, the Ventnor Hotel, a café, post office, newsagent and 2 take-away shops in town. 

We decided to stay for 7 nights as there was a winter special “Pay for 5 Stay for 7” which was too good an offer to refuse and worked out to be $150 for 7 nights.  Fantastic value.

Port Vincent is a very popular tourist destination for holidays and for weekends as it is less than 2 hours drive from Adelaide. It is a popular retirement area with a permanent population of 470 and is ideal for boating, fishing and sailing.  The yachties from Adelaide sail over to the safe harbour and new 90 berth marina.  Raking for blue swimmer crabs is also a favourite.

In 2004 Port Vincent won “Australia’s Tidiest Town” award and is still immaculately maintained by the locals. 

WEDNESDAY 27TH AUGUST   -    We went for a drive to the town of Minlaton 20 minutes from Port Vincent.  Minlaton is known as the barley capital of the world.  On the way there, we passed lots of bright yellow fields of canola which were quite spectacular and a total contrast to the bright green grassy fields besides them.  It was a beautiful drive through the countryside. 

Minlaton is home to the restored WWI monoplane flown by the famous local aviator Captain Harry Butler.  It takes pride of place in a glass memorial hangar as you enter the town.   Captain Harry Butler flew the first airmail plane from Adelaide to Minlaton across the Gulf of St. Vincent in 1919. It was the first sea plane in the southern hemisphere.  He was a real daredevil and painted his plane bright red.  He was born in Yorketown on the Yorke Peninsula.

Minlaton is a lovely little town and we went to the Harvest Corner Café and Tourist Information Centre.   The staff were really friendly and helpful.  We were there for quite a while looking around and talking to them.  There were lots of local arts and crafts and jams on display and also for sale.  We watched a video about the Yorke Peninsula and found some really useful information for all the places we would be visiting further around the Peninsula.

SOME PEOPLE HAVE GARDEN GNOMES AND SOME PEOPLE HAVE PATRIOTIC ICONS!!! 

We went across the road to Minlaton Bakery which was really warm and welcoming with an abundance of freshly bakes cakes, pies and breads.  We were spoilt for choice.  I had a spicy pumpkin and feta pasty which was piping hot and yummy, followed by a delicious vanilla slice (not great for the waistline, but tasted divine).  On one wall of the bakery was a sign “Bakers Are Born Not Bread” and “Make Cakes Not War”.  With full stomachs we left the comfort of the bakery and walked around the town.

We went to the Ventnor Hotel for the all you can eat Chinese buffet for $20 each which the hotel puts on a few times a year.  By the time we got there, the queue was back to the front entrance with groups of locals.   The food selections were pretty good -  my favourite was the Mongolian lamb, followed by deep fried ice cream and butterscotch sauce.  We certainly had full bellies from lunch and dinner today!!!

There were some lovely coastal walks around the cliffs by the marina which we did every day.  There were 5 different paths around the Alan Powell trails giving beautiful views over Port Vincent and the marina.

We saw the remaining glacial rocks that travelled from Victor Harbour (120 kilometres way) 270 million years ago, shifted in the ice age.

Port Vincent is a charming little coastal town and we’ve really enjoyed our relaxing 7 nights here with gorgeous panoramic views of the ocean.

NEXT WEEK:  We will be travelling further down the Peninsula to Marion Bay on the end Peninsula of the.

WE’RE IN HAHNDORF AND THE YORKE PENINSULA

 TUESDAY 19TH AUGUST   -  We left Nuriootpa in The Barossa and drove 98 kilometres to Belair National Park Caravan Park in the boundaries of Belair National Park .  It was freezing cold and windy yet again 10 – 12 degrees.  It was a beautiful drive passing by lush green hills and valleys and climbing up the narrow winding road through the Adelaide Hills to the caravan park.  The park was in a bush setting beside Belair National Park.  It was an older style park with clean facilities.

We took Sally for a long walk through the National Park.  We were stunned that dogs were actually allowed within the park – a real first for us – probably the one and only time in Australia. We did the Lorikeet Loop trail along a path full of beautiful big trees with lots of lorikeets and rosellas flying around.  There were lots of picnic areas,  tennis courts and ovals with plenty of people using the facilities.  It was also home to Government House with Victorian gardens, the summer house of SA’s earlier governors.  It was open for tours at weekends and available for weddings and functions.

DUCK UP A TREE

Belair National Park was the first National Park in South Australia and the second in Australia.  It is set in the Mount Lofty Ranges and covers 2,060 acres.

WEDNESDAY 20TH AUGUST   -   We went to Hahndorf the oldest surviving German settlement in Australia 20 minutes from Adelaide CBD.  The streets were lined with 100 year old elm trees.  There were lots of clothes, gift and souvenir shops and pubs and cafes offering authentic German fare.

The first Lutheran settlers arrived in Hahndorf in 1839 on a ship called The Zebra commanded by Captain Dirk Hahn.  He helped the pioneers get settled and befriended them.  They were so grateful that they named the settlement after him.

ONE OF THE MANY CUCKOO CLOCKS IN THE GERMAN SHOP

THE GERMAN  VILLAGE SHOP

We went to the Beerenberg Farm and sampled a variety of jams, chutneys and sauces which were delicious.   We also saw the bottling process through a viewing window and discovered they bottle around 4,000 jars per hour.  We ended up buying some satsuma plum and blackcurrant jams and a tomato relish.  We’ll have to get a bigger fridge for all the jams, cheeses, relishes, chutneys and gorgaeous fruit and vegetables we’ve bought in South Australia so far.

On the way home, we visited Melba’s Chocolate Factory in Woodside in the Adelaide Hills and sampled lots of chocolates and bought far too many goodies there as we couldn’t decide what to buy. 

THURSDAY 21ST AUGUST   -   We went to Glenelg in the Gulf of St. Vincent - a lovely historic town 10 kilometres from Adelaide City, along the sandy shores of Holdfast Bay.  It was one of Adelaide’s most popular coastal towns. 

It was a lovely sunny day, the first for a while and it was wonderful to see the ocean and long sandy beaches once again after 3 months of red dust and dirt in the outback, Northern Territory and Central Australia.  We walked along the promenade and onto the jetty.  There were lots of cafes and shops in the main street and we had lunch in Bracegirdles Café and Chocolatier which was delicious.

We visited The Bay Discovery Centre and Museum inside the historic Town Hall building.   It was a fascinating display showing the history of beach life and culture and the evolution of the swimsuit.  There were lots of interactive displays, photos and an actual beach hut to look inside.   It was a very interesting and well thought out display.

FRIDAY 22ND AUGUST   -   We left Belair and drove 158 kilometres to Ardrossan in the Yorke Peninsula. 

Coming into the Yorke Peninsula we noticed the deep green fields and hills.  They were quite flat in places. The sea was very calm also.

We stayed at the Ardrossan Caravan Park very close to town and $30 per night.  The caravan sites were quite small and squashy and we were up quite close and personal with our neighbours.  There was no grass anywhere, only crushed stones on the ground.  The amenities were excellent with individual en-suites that were very clean.  There was a big Foodland supermarket nearby and a café and bakery, post office, 2 hardware stores and a newsagency.

Ardrossan is a rich wheat and barley growing area on the east coast of the Yorke Peninsula, 150 kilometres from Adelaide, with a small population of 1,100 people.

Ardrossan was named after a seaport in Scotland.  The name comes from the Gaelic word ‘ard’ meaning height and ‘ros’ being a prominent rock or headland.

BHP opened an open cut dolomite mine there in the 1950’s for use in steel manufacture at Whyalla on the Eyre Peninsula (SA) and Port Kembla in NSW.  A new 1 kilometre jetty was also built in the deep water shipping port for loading salt and grain for export.

The Stump Jump Plough was built and manufactured there between 1880 and 1935 and was an important part of the history of Ardrossan, hence the name of the local café – The Stump Jump Cafe

We stayed in Ardrossan for 3 nights and took Sally to Tiddy Widdy Beach every day for a long awaited run on the beach which she loved.  There was a lovely cliff top walk overlooking the red clay coastal cliffs from the jetty in town right along Tiddy Widdy Beach.  It was a good start to our trip around the Yorke Peninsula.

NEXT WEEK:  We will be travelling further down The Yorke Peninsula and staying 7 nights at Port Vincent.

WE’RE IN WOOMERA, PORT AUGUSTA AND THE BAROSSA VALLEY

FRIDAY 8TH AUGUST   -   We left Coober Pedy and travelled through some very flat open land for 374 kilometres and arrived in Woomera Traveller’s Village and Caravan Park early in the afternoon.  We wanted to stay here to break up the long journey to Port Augusta and also to check out the outback desert town that in the 1950’s and 1960’s was the busiest rocket and missile testing range in the World. The testing area covered 124,000 square kilometres.  From 1947 until 1982 it was a completely closed facility.  The testing area was one seventh the area of South Australia, or the equivalent of one and a half times the area of Scotland.  Australia was the fourth nation to build and place a satellite in orbit.

In 2007 it was inducted into the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronauts Hall of Fame as a site of historical significance.

We walked up to the National Aerospace and Missile Park close to the caravan park showing rockets and missiles developed and tested over a 60 year period at Woomera. \

In the 1960’s Woomera took part in the Mercury and Gemini Space Programmes, which played an important role in the first moon landing mission.

The caravan park was $25 per night for a powered site.  It was in a big, dry and dusty area.  The facilities were pretty basic.  The town itself was very clean but pretty deserted.  It was an interesting overnight stop.

SATURDAY 2ND AUGUST   -   We left Woomera and drove for 180 kilometres to Port Augusta.  We stayed at the Shoreline Caravan Park where we stayed 2 years ago.  The toilet blocks had been upgraded since our last visit and there was actually a patch of bright green grass outside the park – something we haven’t seen for a while!!  We had great views of the Flinders Ranges behind the park and we could let Sally off for a good run on the rusty red sand by the water behind the park.  She looked redder than the sand by the time we left!!

The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia.  They start 366 kilometres north of Adelaide and stretch for over 430 kilometres and are spectacular to look at with their mingled deep mauve and brown colours stretching for further than the eye can see.

Port Augusta has a population of 14,000 and is the seventh largest city in South Australia.  It is situated in the Spencer Gulf and is called the “Crossroads of Australia” where “The Desert Meets the Ocean” and where the highways from WA, NT, NSW and Victoria meet.

MONDAY 11TH AUGUST   -   We left Port Augusta and drove 283

Kilometres to our next destination the Barossa Valley tourist Park in Nuriootpa, meaning “meeting place”.  We have passed through the Barossa twice before but have never actually stayed here.  We also wanted to catch up with our friends Rob and Ros that live nearby before they went on an overseas trip. We only intended staying 2 nights, but when we arrived they told us there was a Wine and Food Festival on over the weekend and they had a special rate for 7 nights stay, plus our 10% Top Tourist discount as well (we normally only get one discount or the other), the total cost $192.   It sounded like a great idea and we decided to stay for the 7 nights.

It was pretty cold in the Barossa, 10 – 12 degrees at midday – the coldest temperatures we’ve had for a long time, so we had to get the winter trackies and jackets out.  We also had to buy a fleecy lined coat for Sally.  She adjusted to it remarkably quickly and absolutely loves it.

The scenery on the drive down was just beautiful with such lush bright green fields, paddocks and hills, water in the rivers and huge healthy trees everywhere.  It was refreshing to see such gorgeous landscapes again.  The only drawback was the much colder climate.

The caravan park was on a big block of land with several football ovals.  We had a large drive through site overlooking one oval.  There were lots of local shops and cafes within walking distance.  It was also close to lots of wineries.  There were some lovely walks in the park and duck pond behind the park also.

We went to Linke’s Central Meat Store and bought home-made German sausages and smoked bacon and meats.  It was just like the old fashioned butcher shops of yesteryear with friendly service and hand cured meats. Richard got a free “beer stick” on the way out.  It was a thin spiced salami stick and was very tasty.

WEDNESDAY 12TH AUGUST   -   We went to 3 wineries:  Jacob’s Creek, Peter Lehman and Wolf Blass, all within a 30 minute drive from the caravan park.  It was pretty cold and windy but the sun was shining and we set off looking forward to some good wines. We had a lovely meat and vegetarian platter for lunch at Peter Lehman’s sitting right besides one of the two big welcoming open fires.  We were so toasty and warm with good food and an excellent glass of pinot grigio (my new now favourite wine) to wash it down with.  We were both very impressed with the quality of wines there and the lovely surroundings and friendly staff.

SOME OF THE SCULPTURES AT JACOB'S CREEK WINERY

We met our friends Rob and Ros at the Indian restaurant in town and had a banquet for 4 which was delicious.  It was lovely to catch up with them once again.  Last time we met them was in Rockhampton in May of this year.

THURSDAY  13TH AUGUST   -   We went on a loop drive around the Barossa with our picnic lunch.  We went through historic Angaston with beautiful Lutheran stone churches and onto Eden Valley which was more remote but with beautiful scenery. 

We stopped at Springton where we saw the Herbig Tree, a large hollow red gum tree about 300 to 500 years old with a diameter at the base of 7 metres and a height of 24 metres.  It was the first home of Friederich Herbig when he came to South Australia in 1855.  He married in 1858 and 2 of his 16 children were born in the tree house.  As the family grew, he built a pine hut nearby and later a stone cottage adjacent to the tree.  The Herbig family have a reunion every 5 years by the tree.

We followed the loop through to Williamstown and into Gawler a big busy town, then got on the freeway back to the caravan park.

We had a lovely roast lamb dinner with Rob and Ros.  Once again we had too much food and wine and great company in their beautiful home in Stockwell.

SATURDAY 16TH AUGUST   -  We went to the Farmers markets in Angaston.  There was such a gourmet array of fruits, vegetables, chutneys, relishes, fresh baked breads, pies and cheeses.  We just couldn't decide what to buy.  We bought some pear chutney that we'd had on our lunch platter at Peter Lehman's.  We also bought a huge round single cream brie and 2 other cheeses for $20 for the lot as well as fruit and vegetables.  We were pretty loaded up by the time we'd finished.

We were invited to the “Dometic  Follow The Sun Happy Hour” in the camp kitchen of the caravan park.  It was hosted by competition winners Kellie and Corey Stephenson and their 5 year old son Zac.  They are touring around Australia for 12 weeks in their pop top van which has been refitted with lots of new Dometic appliances.  They were one of the three lucky couples chosen for an all-expense paid 12 week trip to various parts of Australia.  They are on week 2 of their trip and really enjoying their travels so far.  Kellie is also pregnant with the couple’s second child.    They were a lovely family and we had a great chat to them and really enjoyed their company. We had a great get together with other couples from the park with some lovely wines provided by McGuigan Wines and nibbles.

SUNDAY  17TH AUGUST   -   Unfortunately, Richard came down with a heavy head and chest cold and didn’t feel like eating or drinking anything much for the day, so we didn’t partake of the Food and Wine Festival weekend activities as we'd planned by taking the hop-on-hop off buses touring around the vineyards.  

We've had a great time in the Barossa and I must say it's so refreshing not to be covered in red dirt and dust in the van, the car and on ourselves and Sally.  I had to wash my feet at least 10 times a day and they never seemed to be clean. On the flip side, it's now quite cold and that takes a bit of getting used to. Hopefully soon we'll be in a place with warmer weather.  We're very much looking forward to walking along a beach again.

THE BUSH CHAPEL BUILT IN 2005 IN THE PARK   BEHIND THE CARAVAN PARK

NEXT WEEK:  We will be visiting the German Village at Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills and making our way around to the Yorke Peninsula.