Adelaide

We got up early this morning and drove towards Adelaide. Adelaide has a really nice esplanade where you can drive along the coast, so that’s what we did. We decided to drive all the way to the northern most part towards the ‘Outer Harbour’. From there we drove to Port Adelaide.

They have been trying for a long time to ‘revive’ this old part of Adelaide. A lot of money is spent, but probably a lot more is needed to achieve their goal. We checked out the wharf and finally made our way to the CBD. This is the moment you are reminded that a car over 2m in height is not going to fit in many of the parking garages. We literally drove around for 40 min before we finally found a parking spot that was a. within walking distance of the CBD and b. allowed us to park longer than 30 minutes.

We walked to Rundle Street, the main shopping precinct, for some window shopping. Around dinner time we made our way to a friend of Monique’s home. She and her husband had invited us to stay at their place for a few nights. Monique and Daniela know each other from their time as backpackers and hadn’t seen each other for more than 11 years. So there was heaps to catch up on.

We had a great two days in Adelaide. What a proper bed and a good shower can do. Thanks again for the hospitality Dani, Damian and Tilly!

This morning we were planning to leave Adelaide and head north, but first we wanted to pick up the metal detector… Sadly this didn’t work out as planned as the shop still hadn’t received stock. After some frantic phone calls, they guaranteed us that there would be one couriered over tomorrow morning. So that meant another day in and around Adelaide. Since we had already paid up for the Chookarloo campsite we stayed on earlier this week, we decided to spend another night here. This time it wasn’t snoring koalas or nosy magpie’s welcoming us but ringtail possums dropping number ones and number two’s on our head. Thanks guys!

McLaren Vale to Chookarloo Campground.

It was a very windy night and it was cold when we got up this morning.

We took it easy and it was halfway during the morning when we left the caravan park and drove to Hahndorf. This touristic town east of Adelaide is a German settlement and this is still very much visible these days. We spend the morning walking around town, visiting the quirky and sometimes very kitschy shops and museums.

Around lunch time we drove to nearby Mt Lofty. At the Botanical Gardens we prepared our own lunch and had a walk around the garden afterwards. The Botanical garden at Mt. Lofty is massive and we only saw a small part. It looked beautiful with all the rhododendrons flowering.

Meanwhile the wind eased down a bit and the sky cleared so when we drove up to the Mt Lofty Summit we actually had a pretty nice view over Adelaide and surroundings.

Today it wasn’t a ‘total fire ban day’ anymore so we decided to camp at Chookarloo Campsite one more night. We gathered enough firewood to keep us warm this evening and enjoy the company of koalas, kangaroos and magpies.

Chookarloo to McLaren Vale

This weekend the 4wd, camping, boating and fishing show was on at the Adelaide showgrounds. As we are already thinking about our future camping ‘outfit’ we were keen to check out some ideas and new developments mainly in regards to car rooftop tents.

Also Sander wanted to visit the Miners Den stand as after months of research and contemplating he decided to buy a metal (gold) detector. Hey, as we are out and about that much we might as well try to spend our time wisely in Australia’s former goldfields.

The show was interesting and I believe this is a candy store for grown up men. In particular if they like the outdoors. 4wd cars, parts, lights, 4wd caravans and everything you can think of, they sell it.

We spent about 3 hours at the show and drove to Glenelg Beach afterwards. This is a very touristic suburb at the beach (very popular with young people). We walked around for a bit but got annoyed with the crowd pretty quickly so after doing some shopping we drove back to our campsite.

During the evening a caretaker came to tell us the next day would be a ‘total fire ban’ day and from 24.00 hrs camp and stove fires where prohibited. SA had a very dry spring and the chance of bush-fires is predicted to be very high this summer.

The next morning we were woken up by a ranger and once again we were told about the ‘total fire ban’. Not fully awake we told him we already knew and fell back asleep. Two hours later he woke us up again. This time he was angry and asked us why we were still there. Oops, there seemed to be a little mis-communication. On Total Fire Ban days they close the forest we were camping at. That meant we had to pack the car ASAP!

We weren’t the only ones that didn’t get the message quite right as many where still packing when we drove off. At the gate the ranger apologized to us for the mis-communication.

The ironic part is that the day turned out to be less windy and warm as predicted. But as we know how dry SA is at the moment we totally understand that they are not taking any risks.

Due to the early wake-up call we were a bit lost for a bit and after driving around like a pair of zombies we finally ended up at McLaren Vale. Actually we ended up there twice. The first time to get fuel, the second time was about 45 minutes later to pick up our fuel cap. Oh well, maybe it was meant to be as we booked ourselves in at the nearest Caravan Park (Lakeside) and just enjoyed the day relaxing, reading  and doing some laundry.

Rapid Bay to Chookarloo Campground

When you drive in and out of Rapid Bay you’re passing through hills and meadows with an occasional view of the ocean.  At the moment the hills here are covered with this purple thisle-ish plant (which I’m sure is a weed) giving it an amazing colourful look. Gorgeous!

From Rapid Bay we drove to Normanville Beach where we enjoyed a stroll on the beach. Via Yankalilla we drove to Ingalalla Falls. The area was beautiful unlike the falls though. Boring!

For lunch we went to Sellick Beach where we drove the car onto the beach. After lunch we had a swim in the ocean, it was just magical. The water is so clear and the beach sand white and soft.  This is why we love Australia so much!

We took a touristic drive via a dam and some lookouts to South Adelaide where we did some grocery shopping.  From here it is another 45 minutes inlands (via heaps of steep hills) to Chookarloo Campground. For only $10 per week (!) this seems like a perfect basecamp to explore Adelaide and surroundings the coming days. 

Rapid Bay

We started the day with a healthy egg and bacon brekkie. 

As Monique loves the sea side, we decided to stay another day in Rapid Bay. This gave us the opportunity to explore the place a bit further.

Rapid Bay is a small town (just a few houses and a school) located on a small bay. The bay is only a few hundred meters wide and enclosed on both sides by cliffs / rock outcrops. On one side there is an old limestone quarry with 2 piers and on the other side a big cave. Today we took a better look at both.

We walked over the beach which consists of mainly pebbles. We first headed to the cave. Though wide on the outside it didn’t appear to be very deep. Besides the many swallows we only found glass and other rubbish that was left by less attentive visitors of the cave.

We then walked back towards the quarry. It was built by BHP to mine for lime which they needed for one of their steel smelters in NSW. The lime was transported by ship, hence they had builded a pier to get to deeper water. Once the quarry closed, the pier was a favourite attraction for fishermen, divers and alike. Sadly the pier had to be closed as nature didn’t threat it nicely (structural damage to rot and severe storms). To maintain tourism in this area the council has built a new slightly shorter and more modern pier that will last generations to come.

Frank Potts Reserve to Rapid Bay

This whole nomadic adventure of us is mostly as exciting as it sounds but not always as easy as you may think. Especially after our trip to Europe it takes us a while to adjust to this life of no responsibilities again and accept that feeling of total freedom. Sometimes it feels difficult to let go of our organized lives. You feel guilty about not doing anything and just relax. It’s weird.

This morning it was sunny and for some reason this felt like the first time since we’re back that we could relax a little, to just enjoy the sun, sip our coffees and listen to the bird sounds around us.

It was a good start of the day and it became even better after arriving in Strathalbyn. What a lovely little village. It had such a cute, small botanical garden, lots of quirky shops and interesting, historical buildings.

From there we drove on to Goolwa where we visited the historical wharf with Oscar W., the Paddle Steamer, and a tiny railway station. 

The road continued along the coastline with some spectacular views of the ocean.

For lunch we stopped at Port Elliot, at a retro café which made the most yummy focaccias we had for a while.

Next stop was Victor Harbor where we walked over the bridge to Granite Island, famous for its penguins and whale watching. We only spotted a sunbathing seal though.

As there are no free campsites in this area of SA we checked out the next best thing; affordable basic campsites. We checked out Waitpinga Camp Area, which looked lovely but we finally settled for Rapid Bay because of the amazing ocean view. A dolphin was cruising by as we arrived. How could we resist?!