We had a walk along the beach at Kingston when it had cooled down a little at 8.00pm on Saturday evening. The swimming beach opposite the campsite was lovely, but as we got close to the jetty, there was seaweed banked up like mini cliffs either side, along with a strong rotting smell! We turned towards the town and stopped for a drink and a chat with a happily inebriated local, who owned a dog friendly bush camp near Mount Gambia. We had a laugh and got given a brochure for future reference.
Sunday dawned hot, hot, hot again. Temperatures raced up to 45 degrees and so we booked in the caravan park at Kingston for another night. The place was just about full and we had to move to another site, which was no problem as we were planning to drive out to a food and wine festival at nearby Cape Jaffa. We arrived as the festival was just opening and took it in turns to wander through as there was no shade to park under - so one of us had to stay with the van and doggies with all the windows open. We bought some local produce made from bush plants and fruits produced by a co-operation and farmed by Aboriginal people – lime marmalade, salad dressing and cordial. As it was really hot we didn’t stay too long.
We were relieved to get back to the air-conditioning in the afternoon. Our new position in the caravan park was amongst a whole tribe of tents and caravans belonging to one extended family. There were heaps of children, bikes, toys, games, cans and junk all around and it reminded us that it was still the middle of school holidays....
In the late afternoon Paul went for a swim in the sea while I sat under a shady pine tree with the dogs and took photos. We strolled along the sea front again and bought a couple of grilled Garfish fillets and watched the sunset which was quite beautiful.
The next day we moved off early to a town called Robe. It reminded us very much of Noosa QLD, maybe 5-10 years ago – an up and coming seaside resort. There were lots and lots of tourists all having coffees and cakes in the cafes along the street. We found a wonderful parking spot under a huge dense and shady pine tree right on the sea front and then promenaded up and down the main Victoria Street looking at all the quaint old stone cottages which were now antique shops or bakers, newsagents, coffee shops, trendy clothes and beach wear etc.
The most blissful thing was that a strong cool breeze blew off the sea and the clouds rolled in and the temperature cooled down significantly. It was so wonderful to be able to stroll around and take in the ambience without the sweat pouring down your neck and back!
We walked out to the Cape Dombey Obelisk which was built in 1853 as a navigational guide into the Bay, and the limestone cliffs and rock formations in the sea were treacherous to see. Again the sun came out and the temperature increased, and poor Ian dug his heels in and told us he had had enough walking now!
We carried on driving down the coast to Beachport, past a series of salty lakes. We had booked to stay the night at Southern Beachport Caravan Park in town, which in our book had the pet friendly symbol. However, on our arrival at the main gates, we saw a sign saying “No pets during peak holiday times”. Paul had a long discussion with the manager who was very accommodating and said we could sneak back late at night and park up the very back with the tents, as long as we were discrete! So we spent the late afternoon and evening enjoying a meal of prawns, pasta and salad with a drink or two at the local pub and then we all sat on the beach just chatting and watching the world go by. When it was almost dark we drove back to the caravan park and settled in quietly for the night.
In the end, we had a good position on the grass with the tent campers, away from the other motor homes. Most of the vehicle spaces were booked side by side with only a hair’s width between them.
School holidays are an awful time to stay in a caravan park as the place becomes like Piccadilly Circus, with thousands of children running around yelling or careering about on bikes and scooters. This can be quite stressful, especially for our three doggies who get a little agitated and excited by the proximity of the noise. Funnily enough the next day we listened to a radio program about a gated community of over 100,000 people in Florida that has banned children! Apparently the people living there love it, but after some discussion Paul and I thought that was going too far... We decided that the problem in the caravan parks is simply that they cram in too many large families too close together during peak holiday time.
The hot weather really broke in the night and a storm with a strong gusty wind came through. The rain was heavy but we were very comfortable and cosy in the van and so very pleased that the temperature had dropped to 24 degrees from 44 degrees in the space of a few hours. How about that! We did spare a thought for the poor people in tents who were out in the lashing rain battling with guy ropes and leaks – and then we drifted back to sleep.
We snuck out of the park early the next morning with the doggies hidden from view and parked on the sea front whilst we had French Toast for breakfast and a walk along the jetty and beach in the cool windy weather. By then the rain had stopped and it was a wonderful feeling to be cool at last.
We sauntered around the little town of Beachport and saw the Crayfish industry first hand as the fishing boats delivered their live catches to be chilled and sold to the Asian market. Then we drove south to the town of Millicent after lunch and called in at the Information Centre. Armed with a map, we wanted to make sure we did the ‘Wind Farm Tourist Drive’ that was recommended in our guide book.
The Lake Bonney Wind Farm is the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere. It consists of about 150 turbines, each of which cost $4.2 million, weighs 23 tonne and has foundations of 700 tonne below ground. The blades span 33 metres and are 100m above the ground. One turbine produces enough electricity for 1,100 homes. The initial project was approved in 1999 and now spans an area 8km long by 3km wide. The drive was fascinating and the mighty turbines stretched as far as we could see and looked so regal as they rotated slowly.
We drove on the back rural roads to Tantanoola and found a pretty little secluded rest spot for the night with plenty of other sights to look forward to the next day.
Well the sights took a back seat the next day as we drove into the town of Millicent and parked outside the laundrette. We had decided it was time to do a huge wash of all our dirty clothes, the van seat covers, towels and sheets and the dog beds. It took all morning and 6 loads of the machine and 4 loads of tumble drying.
Muffin had been a little unsettled and was putting the hard stare on poor Tia who was doing her best to avoid looking at her. This behaviour usually ends in a scuffle, so we had to grab Muffin and distract her before any damage was done. It was quite worrying that Muffin had started this aggressive behaviour again. She settled after a walk around the town and the local streets with all the doggies, and we did a quick shop at Woolworths, then the day was nearly over.
We drove back to the same rest area in Tantanoola and had a drink and a basket of prawns and calamari before settling down to watch ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’ on DVD which Paul had bought earlier in the day, so we could see Martingdale Hall again which we had visited earlier in our travels and was featured as the school in the film. The temperature was lovely and cool and we all had a good sleep.
We headed for the town of Penola the next morning and drove past the huge Kimberley-Clarke paper mill which gave off a very peculiar sweet and sickly smell – more like an brewery than a paper mill. Large trucks arrived at regular intervals loaded with timber and as we drove further on we saw huge softwood plantations that stretched for kilometres in all directions.
Penola was a wonderful historic town – the oldest in the Limestone Coast area. Many of its buildings are listed on the Heritage Register or maintained by the National Trust. We headed straight to the Mary MacKillop Centre which housed the schoolhouse, church, shrine and museum. We spent quite a while in the museum which told of the life of Mary MacKillop and Father Julian Tenison Woods who together founded the Institute of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. The Blessed Mary MacKillop did an amazing job providing education for poor and isolated children in Australia and she is currently on the way to becoming the first Saint in Australia. She made sure that any child, regardless of income or social class, could get a good education. She also has many miracles attributed to her. Father Julian was also an incredible man – a scientist, explorer, author, artist, musician and priest – and we felt he should be better known for all his discoveries and advancements.
We walked along Petticoat Lane which had kerbs made of wood and the most wonderful original cottages from the 1890’s. One belonged to Christopher Sharam, his wife, nine sons and six daughters and was made of wooden slats insulated with hessian and coated with layers of wallpaper. The cottage had only 4 rooms, but later Christopher built another cottage next door with two more rooms. The garden was full of different herbs and vegetables and for a small donation to the National Trust we were allowed to pick our own. Paul was delighted and took some silver beet, mint, sage, rosemary. We loved the old trees that lined the old street, all were 150 years old and beautifully shady. Many of the other cottages were made of stone with very pretty gardens and were privately owned with a history plaque outside.
After lunch I went off to visit the John Riddock centre next to the Information Centre. John Riddock was an outspoken Scotsman whose family had made a lot of money trading in produce in the goldfields and he bought a vast amount of land in the Penola region. He planted the first vines and laid the foundation for the Coonawarra’s quality wines. He also built the magnificent homestead called Yallum Park in 1880.
Later that afternoon I took Muffin to an appointment at the vets in Penola. I wanted to discuss her defensive/aggressive behaviour towards Tia and to see if she should have some sedation for our future trip on the Spirit of Tasmania. I was horrified to be told straight away by the vet that Muffin had a very bad heart murmur (Grade 5 mitral murmur) that sounded like a washing machine (I also had a listen through the stethoscope). This was the first time any vet had commented on it and she had last been checked about 4 months ago. Could it have developed so quickly? Or could it have something to do with the time she was shivery and listless at Esperance? Maybe she got some horrible virus then that attacked her heart. I came away armed with information and tablets that Muffin will need every day to lower her blood pressure and take some strain off her heart. The vet suspected that her behaviour and stress could be linked to feeling ill, and hopefully the tablets will help to make her feel better, although not a cure. Poor Muffin, we felt so sad for her – we always thought she would be the longest living of our tribe as she’s so energetic.
We drove off just 5 kilometres up the road from Penola to a free rest area in the Coonawarra outside the Leconfield winery - and drowned our sorrows with a glass of red and a hug for Muffin. We stayed the rest of the week in this area driving between Penola and Naracoorte seeing all the sights.
One day we had a wonderful lazy afternoon at Wynn’s winery which was the first winery in the region build by John Riddock and eventually sold to the Wynn family. The building has the famous three gables which you see on all the labels. After tasting the wine, we bought a cheese platter and bottle of Wynn Riesling, added our own fruit and sat at a picnic table in the grounds under some tall Poplar trees on the beautiful manicured grass with the doggies. The temperature in the shade was perfect and there was no-one else around to disturb us. It was a very decadent afternoon.
It was lovely to spend time in the famous Coonawarra wine region. It takes its name from the Aboriginal word for “honeysuckle” and consists of a rich, red strip of “terra rossa” soil sitting on top of limestone beds. This soil caught the eye of John Riddock and has given rise to many of Australia’s finest drops –especially its Cabernet Sauvingnon. Each winery has its own stories, architecture and wonderful wines to sample.
Paul had a swim in the local pool at Penola and confessed after that he had accidentally gone into the ladies change room and was thrown out by the life-guard! We continued to stay at the rest area in the Coonawarra. We spent Saturday at the famous Naracoorte Caves, a World Heritage Area and elected to do two of the tours: the Victoria Fossil Cave and the night-time Bat tour. The weather was wonderfully cool and we were able to park under trees at the interpretive centre for most of the day.
The caves were discovered last century and were added to the World Heritage List because of the value of the vertebrate fossils dating back 500,000 years. The first tour took us down steps into a beautiful chamber of stalagmites and stalactites and then wound through 250 metres of passages and chambers to a large fossil deposit. Our guide spent a while explaining how the animals of hundreds of thousands of years ago would fall down into the cave through a small hole and not be able to get out. Over thousands of years they would pile on top of each other, along with debris until the hole was sealed and thus the mega-fauna fossil bed was created. Of the 300 or so species of animals unearthed, about 30% are now extinct – one was called Thylacoleo Diprotodon or ‘Leo’ for short, and he was a carnivorous mammal the size of a panther that could climb trees and bring down a kangaroo. I doubt we would all be so casually wandering about in the bush if this creature still existed!
The Bat tour was equally as interesting and started at 8.00pm in an observation centre where we could see into the Bat Cave by infra-red camera without disturbing the bats who all had ‘pup’s or young at this time of year. The bats were tiny Southern Bentwing Bats who live in the caves in their thousands and eat moths, mosquitoes and other insects. They have to eat half their body weight each night and live for about 30 years, the females having just one pup a year.
We walked through the giant Blanche Cave and out to the surface in time to witness the mass exodus of the bats from a small cave entrance hole as darkness fell. Over a period of 20 minutes, thousands shot out from the hole to find food during the night. It was a spectacular sight and we could feel the brush of their wings as they cleverly avoided us as they flew past at top speed.
Between tours we drove 10kms into the town of Naracoorte and walked along the Creek Trail with the doggies. We parked on a steep slope next to a park and felt quite drunk as we rolled about trying to cook dinner and feed the dogs. It’s really funny what a slope does to your brain!
