17th Dec

We left Victor Harbour and headed East again, to Wellington, where we crossed  the Mighty Murray on a Car Ferry. We did the same thing 8 years ago and thought they might have a bridge by now. Apparently the River bottom is not stable enough for the pylons,so they are stuck with a Ferry. Unfortunately I didn't get a Photo of it.
On through to the Cooron, which is the area where the River Murray meets the sea and has vast Lagoons, that stretch along the Coast and are a haven for a hugh amount of Bird life. It was starting to die, and when we came through about 8 years ago, there wasn't a drop of water to be seen. Since then they have limited the water take from the River and there now seems to be plenty of water going into it and Bird life seems to be recovering.

 Time for a cup of Tea and a look out over the Wetlands.

When last here we could drive out over this area, but now its full of Water. Better for the Bird life I suppose!

From here we reached Mount Gambier and found a Camp in the Middle of Town for the night.

We were starting to run short of time as we wanted to be in Melbourne at Debs place  for Xmas, so we had a walk up town and looked at the light display in the big Sinkhole in town and headed away the next day for Melbourne. 

We stopped for the night at Apollo Bay and went for a walk in to Town to stretch our legs. Must be getting slack as I didn't take any photos again.A nice little spot right on the Coast.

From here we headed for Melbourne via the Great Ocean road. We did this last trip but from the other way. It turned out to be a long trip as you are stopping all the time at View points along the way to see the sights. Well worth the effort though.

Here are a few photos of some of the Coastline.

And then there is the Twelve Apostles,or there were. A few have disappeared into the Sea over time.

 By the time we got to this part of the Coast the Tourist Buses were thick on the ground and you had to fight your way through Hordes of Chinese tourists.

From here it was a long Windy trip into Melbourne on the Freeways until we got to Debs and set up Camp up their Driveway.

It doesn't seem nearly a Year since we set off North from here after seeing the new baby.

The Blog will slow down from here until we hit the road again in early Feb as we are going to New Zealand to see our Daughter,so I might post some NZ photos while over there.

Have a Happy New year and we will join the Saga again soon.

Cheers Helen and David.

8th Dec

We finally made it to Adelaide and drove straight into major road works on the Western Freeway,or what is to be the Western Freeway.

 Some pretty impressive Concrete work.

It made for an interesting entry into the City, dodging all the construction gear and weaving in and out of the pylons.

We finally made it to Brighton Beach Caravan park and got set up. On our way in, we had a Text from a couple we met coming down the West Coast, to see where we were and to say they were staying at the Brighton Caravan Park. That made our day as they were a nice couple and we got on very well with them.

 A stony Beach but nice to walk along and the Sunsets were great,though I resisted the temptation to take any more photos of them. I seem to have hundreds on the computer from the trip down the West Coast.

The view from the Caravan with our friends Van on the right.

 

Friends Dave and Chris Gratz from Adelaide took us up to the Adelaide Hills and to the National Motor Museum at Birdwood. It was Chris that sold us the new Caravan at the Brisbane Caravan show.

Some interesting Cars and Motorbikes on display

A good place to spend an hour or two,though the Girls started to get a bit bored, just like us in a frock shop!!
Helen liked this one though and wants me to make one! It will have to wait I think.

 We drove into the hills behind Adelaide and visited Handorf again.

Some interesting old buildings at Hanndorf, an old Village settled by  German Lutherans in 1838.

It still retains a German feel and look and the Meals and the large Stein's of Lager at the local Hotel make it feel even more so.

We liked the Hot rod and Caravan parked in the Town but thought it a bit small for extended Touring.

 While in Adelaide we did the Zoo again to see the Pandas.

There were a couple there, but in different cages, so no fun for them!

There were Tigers

 Lions

And Flamingos,with the Odd Hippo and Mercat thrown in.

 A nice day was had by all.

From Adelaide we headed across the Flourie Peninsula to one of our favourite spots, Victor Harbour.

 The last time we were here it rained a lot so we didn't get to ride on the Tram to Granite Island. This time the weather treated us better and we got the ride.

Looking back from Granite Island to Victor Harbour with the Jetty and Tram track on the right.

More rugged Coastline.

Looking back down the Jetty and Tram tracks towards Granite Island.

Next its on to the Coorong and Mount Gambier.

Cheers Dave and Helen

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

From Helen and David.

We have finally arrived in Melbourne for Christmas with Deb and family, though the Blog doesn't show this as its dropped behind a bit. I hope to get it up to date pretty soon, now I have good reception and the time to do it.

4th Dec
We made it as far as Elliston. A nice quiet Camping ground and we found out there was lots to see in the Area.

Another Jetty to walk down, this time into a very cool wind.

We were told about a Cliff top drive, with some sculptures scattered around cliff edges, so we decided it could be worth a look.

 More nice Coastal scenery and Cliffs with wild seas breaking on the rocks far below. Keep away from the edge!!

 Some interesting sculptures, large and small.

I don't think this improves it one jot!!

Gives you an idea of the stability of the area, don't drive near the edge!

From here it was on to Port Lincoln at the bottom of the Peninsular.

We arrived and settled into the camping ground and ended up with a nice view over the Bay.
The view from the lookout behind the Town gives you an idea of  how the place is situated.

 
We drove into town that evening and had a look around.

 Another Jetty! But this one gave us a good view back to the Waterfront which, with the lights coming on and reflecting on the Water was nice.

 On the foreshore was a Statue of Makybe Diva, the three times Melbourne Cup winner. Apparently she was bred and raised around these parts. 500kgs of Plasticine was used to make the mold for the Statue.
While we were in Port Lincoln we travelled over to Coffin Bay to see where all the good Oysters come from. Not a lot to see and the Town was only average so we carried on out to the National Park.

Not a lot of improvement here. We checked out a couple of camping spots but they were tucked in the Scrub and infested with flies, so not for us thanks.

We carried on through to the Coast but though nice, was just more of the same. I think we must be getting sceneryed out! Nice Cliff formations though.

 We packed up and hit the road again heading for Adelaide. The road up the East coast of the Peninsula was pretty boring again,. notable only for the Wheat Silo's and the long straight roads with Wheat on either side.

We finally made it to Port Pirri and it was stinking hot (37) as the wind was from the North and straight off the Desert. As we passed through Port Augusta we completed the loop of Australia, as on the previous trip (8 years ago) we turned off there and went up the middle to Alice Springs.

We went into Town and had a Feed of Fush and Chups!! Very nice too. Some nice old buildings around town and the old Railway station was the nicest. It's now a Museum, don't know what happened to the railway.

Next stop Adelaide.

Cheers Helen and David.