Country Roads

Strathalbyn provided the perfect jumping-off point for a day's exploration of the east coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, so off we went via Goolway and Victor Harbor.  In Victor Harbor the Bluff sat at the other end of Encounter Bay from Granite Island, lacking essential things like ice cream shops and horse drawn trams and therefore ignored by all the tourists and frequented only by fishermen.  "We should climb that one day," I commented, having seen teeny tiny people puffing up the steep slopes from the Bluff Jetty.  No sooner were the words out of my mouth than, half way up the hill, we came upon a parking area and a track to the top of the Bluff, so to the top we went.

I was glad not to have started at sea level.

The Heysen Trail was visible, meandering along the top of the headlands and dipping down to wander along the beaches.

Top of the world.

We followed gravel roads through sheep paddocks and grape vines, finally getting back to the sea at Waitpinga Beach.

No sheltered water at Waitpinga Beach, but that didn't stop the fishermenpeople.

In the absence of picnic tables and the presence of a stiff cold wind, we opted for a car picnic for lunch, parked up with a great view of the western end of Waitpinga Beach.

Four Heysen Trail hikers trudged along the beach.  The sand was soft. Their packs looked heavy.

Picnic time.

At Cape Jarvis the Kangaroo Island Ferry was loading and we joined the gang of ferry-watchers on top of the hill, gaining our thrills from watching cars roll on to a ferry and getting into deep discussions as to why some of them had to reverse on.  If you thought there wasn't much to do or see in Cape Jarvis, you'd be right. 

Will the next one go forwards or reverse on?  Exciting stuff!

To add to the tension, we could see the other ferry approaching from Kangaroo Island.  The Cape Jarvis ferry had to load in time to clear the berth for the incoming boat.  We nibbled nervously on our fingernails...

...and then gave up because it was all taking too long and we just couldn't stand the suspense so we went for a drive around the sights of Cape Jarvis instead.

Cape Jarvis light station.

Kangaroo Island from Cape Jarvis.

Ship at sea.

Starfish Hill wind farm. Technically not a part of Cape Jarvis but we won't be picky.

We had a brief moment of excitement on the drive home along the Inman Valley when we encountered Belicious and Selwyn's Rock viewing platform.  Alas, the cafe was closed so we could only imagine the delicious waffles and other delights which we would have to return to sample on another day.  The viewing platform and steps down to the Inman River were, however, open for us to enjoy.

Thrills.

The flowers on the way down were pretty.

The highlight of our trip was yet to come, however.  On the way home through Goolwa we hung a right over to Hindmarsh Island to have a look at the Murray mouth proper, where the mighty Murray met the sea. 

The mouth of the Murray.  A tad underwhelming if the truth be told.

We watched the water for a while: rafts of pelicans and sea birds gorged on fish in the channels that led into the Coorong. 

We've been to the Head at Killarney and now we've been to the other end, thousands of kilometers away, where the waters from the Head eventually run out to sea.  If they haven't been sucked up by cotton plants or piped up to Port Augusta, that is.

And then we went home to walk the dog.