19 Feb: Meningie: Of Lakes and Lighthouses, Pelicans and

The Lake Albert Caravan Park was quiet and, after the 4wds pulled out, peaceful. It had a good selection of books in the laundry and a great camp kitchen. My only complaint was the long walk to the loo - far enough to prompt me to cease my evening cup of Milo in order to avoid a midnight promenade in the cold.

Morning mist on the lake.

Morning mist on cobwebs.

We set out to drive around Lake Albert, with a few side trips to the Coorong along the way.  The first thing we heard when we got out of the car at Boundary Bluff was the roar of the Southern Ocean behind the sandhills.  We never got to see the ocean but the sound of it was never far away on the Coorong.

Southern Ocean lies just behind the sand dunes.

 

We stood on the Bluff and watched rafts of pelicans fishing furiously further down the lagoon. 

 

More pelicans flew in to join the party as we watched.

 

Meanwhile, on a jetty out of the wind, crested terns roosted with their little punk hairdos ruffled by the wind.

In the spirit of exploration, we headed down a dirt track toward the southern end of the Murray mouth barrages, debating all the while whether we really should turn around given the roughness of the road.  Of course by the time we'd debated sufficiently we had come so far that we figured we may as well keep going.  Which we did, to be sadly stymied by a big gate and a 'No Trespassing' sign: I suspect we weren't the first to try the southern approach to the barrages and not will we be the last. Being good law-abiding people we didn't trespass, even though the barrages were visible in the distance.

So near and yet so far...

Gazing across the forbidden lands.

My barrage-related disappointment was soon dissipated as we approached the Raukku church in Narrung.  I had been saving a $50 note for just this visit.  If you have $50 note in your pocket, take it out now.  Look at it.  See that Church?  That's the church at Raukku, where David Unaipon was born and grew up to lead a life as a preacher, inventor, and aboriginal advocate such that his face is also on the $50 note.

Isn't that exciting?

It's a pretty building.

There were more thrills to come too.  We reached the point where Lake Albert was connected to Lake Alexandrina by a narrow body of water creatively referred to as 'the narrows'.  Looking over the narrows stood the Port Malcolm light, the only inland (and fresh water) lighthouse in the Southern Hemisphere.  Sadly we couldn't go have a closer look but we still got a splendid view as we caught the little car ferry across the narrows. 

Such a cute little lighthouse.  It no longer operates, the development of roads and cars having reduced the need for goods to be ferried across the lakes by boat.

From the ferry.

The drive ended with beautiful lake views as we drove back to Meningie.

Day's end.

As the sun set the pelicans came in to roost for the night - a perfect end to a very good day.