Adelaide City

We have been in Adelaide 4 nights now and are really enjoying our time here. It is a beautiful city and we have picked a great spot to stay in. We are staying in Semaphore beach which is on the north west coast of Adelaide.

It is a lovely little caravan park and we have made ourselves a nice little home away from home.

The kids have done lots of bike riding and we have all enjoyed some beautiful walks along the Esplanade.

The first morning I ran into some locals down on the beach at about 6 am so I rushed back to let Milly know and the kids all enjoyed seeing these horses who come down to our beach most mornings. Georgie is a horse trainer and along with a couple of others, including Len and Marilyn Smith, use Semaphore as a training ground for their horses.

 



Friday morning we went up the road a few kms to Port Adelaide and had a good look around. Then that night we went into Central Markets in the City which was fantastic. We drove to South Terrace and then  caught the free tram in which was great fun for all. We all had a ball wandering around comparing prices at the various fresh fruit and veg shops and buying some lovely fresh produce. We had dinner in China Town which was also a great experience for the kids.

Saturday we spent the day around the park with the kids playing with our neighbours who were from North QLD and had three kids much the same ages. TJ and I spent most of the time preparing and cooking half a dozen meals for the freezer which gets us set a for emergency dinners for the next few weeks.

Sunday we were up early and went to the Sunday markets at Fisherman's wharf. It was a bric a brac market and certainly not the best one we have been too. Then it was off to another market up the road which was all fresh fruit and veg and the local fisho's sell their catch off the back of the boat. Unfortunately although it is advertised as 8am till 1pm they had all but sold out by 10.30 when we got there which was a bit disappointing as we had planned on lovely fresh fish for dinner.

We then went for a drive down to Glenelg for a coffee which was lovely and very much had a Manly Corso feel to it.

Then it was back to the van to chill for a while before a big walk and play along the waterfront at Semaphore.

Today I had the car serviced first thing then we went into Adelaide City for a good look around. We found out about a $2 park and free tram ride from the Entertainment centre about 10 minutes from our place which we thought was a great bargain.

So we all had a tram ride which the kids thought was very exciting and then walked around the city sort of following a self guided heritage walk. We saw lots of beautiful old buildings like this church, the oldest in Adelaide.

We also went to the Adelaide Museum.

And went to the State Library where you are allowed to look through the original building with its walls of books and Victorian style architecture, apparently sometimes called the Hogwarts Library.

Milly loved both of the libraries showing the boys how to search for a book. Her inner Library monitor coming out as she misses her role at school.

We saw some of Patch's second favourite animals in Rundle mall. (Donkeys are still his favourite).

 

Not quite sure what these balls were about but the kids thought they were cool.

Tonight was pizza as we didn't have the energy to cook. TJ is just doing some washing, the kids are sound asleep and I am keeping up to date with the mighty Rabbitoh's in their game against Cronulla via live NRL scores online.

No work. Experiencing this magnificent country first hand. The Rabbitoh's on the top of the ladder. Life can't get much better!!!!

Time to leave the Island...nearly

We headed back to Penneshaw on Sunday planning to stay just one night but we were so impressed with the position of the caravan park we decided to stay an extra day. The park manager was driving out as we turned up. He was heading to the main land for a few nights so we paid him and then he left.

Skateboard park next door where the kids went crazy on their scooters and we could sit and watch from our site.

We went for a walk around the town which took about 5 minutes and stopped in at the pub. The position was incredible directly overlooking the ocean across to South Australia.

The view from our camp site was amazing and that night TJ and I just sat and listened to the water wash up in the bay.

Monday we did some school work then headed out to Cape Willoughby lighthouse and stopped in at a couple of wineries on the way back.

The rest of the day was spent close to our van although we did get invited to the holiday home of a couple of people we had met at the cave's tour a few days earlier and then bumped into in Penneshaw. They were staying just up the road from us and we went down to try one of the wines we had bought and the kids played pool and watched some TV. Huong had set the table and it looked more like a birthday party than a casual drop in....the kids ate stacks and we all really enjoyed the evening.

So Tuesday we were on the 10.30 ferry heading back to the mainland after an absolutely fantastic time on KI. I snapped a couple of pictures from our campsite early in the morning.

The trip back was a little rougher than the one coming over and both Lincoln and Milly were a little off colour although we had the sick bags at the ready they weren't needed.

Then it was back onto the mainland and back to Victor Harbor. We headed straight for the VIC and was warned of a severe storm due later that afternoon and decided to get a cabin for a couple of nights and enjoy the warmth and comfort (TJ was most excited about an internal toilet). The first night was spent in a cabin that was not quite up to par so we were upgraded to their luxury cabin for night two which meant even more space, comfort and an even bigger TV.

Today we finally brought closure to our Murray River section of the adventure and went to the Murray Mouth in Goolwa.

We were all excited to get to this point and have enjoyed following the river from start to finish. We have camped next to it, fished in it, washed our selves in it, learnt about it and its uses ...the kids even bathed in it in the caravan park in Echuca which used the river water in their bathrooms.

Now we leave it and have arrived in Adelaide and are staying in a caravan park right on the beach near Port Adelaide.

Life is fantastic!!!!

The Magnificent Flinders Chase National Park

We drove down to the South west of the Island and got to our camp spot in the NP just before lunch. We have a large site and the whole camp ground to ourselves. AMAZING.
OK I understand it is getting close to Winter and there is no electricity here but this place is beautiful. We are sharing our site with a number of Tammar wallabies, kangaroos so many different birds I don't know and last night we saw a huge echidna and a couple of possums decided they liked our annexe as a place for dinner...a little inconvenient as TJ was hanging washing out on the clothes horse at the time.

Anyway we have visited the Remarkable Rocks which were...Remarkable.  Not only were the rocks magnificent but the position high on the cliff was sensational.

 

 

 

From there we went  to Admirals Arch which was even more magnificent. The arch is a huge cavern worn away by the weather and huge seas which you can walk down into. There are also a number of residents who come and lay around out of the weather.  There were at least 50 NZ fur seals. We got to see them swimming into the cavern,  laying around,  playing around on the shore.  Just incredible and when you include the magnificence of the natural arch probably the winner in our amazing natural sites so far.

Friday we took a trip to Borda lighthouse, about 40 kms from our campsite on the north east of the island.  It is a fully operating lighthouse and had, as you would imagine, incredible views. The guy who ran the tour actually lived on site. Very isolated and it showed.  Let's just say he was a little eccentric. The highlight of the tour was when he fired the cannon at the end of the tour...well actually Milly did which was really cool.

 

We had lunch up near the lighthouse with group of kangaroos. Then walked down to Scott's Cove which had an incredible view along the coastline including the highest coastal cliffs in South Australia. We got some great history about the area and the lighthouse and looked around the cemetery

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Today we went to Kelly Caves which was interesting but certainly not as impressive as some of the other attractions in the area.

This afternoon is a bit quieter as we get things sorted for  our trip back to Penneshaw and our last night on the island. The kids have had some free time to explore although the weather here has been extremely variable and they have been doing lego and reluctantly have just been kicked out of the van to look around a bit more.

Inside the van



Although it is a bit cool down in the NP  with no power and therefore no heater it has been truly amazing.

This place is absolutely beautiful and I would recommend it to anyone who has an opportunity to take a look around.

 

 

I think we have melted the camera!!!

What a couple of great days we have had.

Yesterday we headed up to Stokes Bay a little beach on the north of the island. You can walk through a small cave which brings you out onto a beautiful beach. You just have to time it right as you could easily get caught when the tide comes in.

Then we went to a farm visit at Paul's Place. It was great.

We started by feeding emus, kangaroos, ducks, geese and even a "Bambi" as the kids like to call them.

The they held a marron which is a local fresh water type lobster, we also held a possum and a kangaroo which was so cute. Then the kids all got a cuddle from a friendly koala.

 

Paul then thought it would be fun to put feed on my head and put me up against a fence where emus from both sides pecked it off. Much to the kids dismay he then  put some in  my lap...lets just say that they don't have sharp beaks but they are very hard.

We all cuddled a possum and a kangaroo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we went into an aviary where the kids patted an echidna and had a few birds land on them including a magnificent red tailed black cockatoo.

 

After that we nursed a couple of snakes and lizards and fed some more animals. The kids even bottle fed a kangaroo while it lay in their laps.

 

 

The final part of the day was a couple of pony rides for all of them which just made the day for all of them.

 

 

What a fantastic experience and so hands on. Make sure you come down and see this place if you make it to KI.

We finished the day off by visiting a few beaches on the north of the island which were all beautiful.

Today we went to a Eucalyptus distillery with beautiful smelling products and managed to give the card a bit of a work out then went up to Emu bay. We stopped in at an old school house which was the only school in the area from 1830's to mid 1950's. it has been restored and is open for a visit. The kids were more impressed with the "Earth house" which was better known by the local kids as a "Dunny" which really cracked up our three.

 

Then we went to the beach at Emu Bay where we had a walk onto a lovely long jetty and a drive on a beach which we had all to ourselves. We drove along it for over a km which was great fun.

Our last visit was to a lavender farm where we had a lovely coffee and some lavender scones with home made apricot jam and lavender jelly. YUM.

We are heading off to the south west of the island to Flinders Chase National Park.

How good is this place!!!!!!