Australia Day Weekend at Swan Reach

It was time to move on and we decided we wanted to be off the road for the long weekend. We really wanted to be able to use the kayaks and decided the Murray River was a good option so headed to Swan Reach

Our camp spot by the Murray River

which was about 70kms from the Barossa. We were not sure how busy it would be so arrived on the Thursday so we could get a good camp spot right by the river which we did. The weather was very warm for the first few days so I enjoyed swimming in the river which was much warmer than the sea and of course we had some great kayak trips.

The cliffs on this part of the river are stunning

The river was very busy with all sorts of boats and jet skis but this old time steam house boat was pretty special. We enjoyed looking around the town of Swan Reach, it needed to be completely re built after floods in 1956 and now days really only has holiday places, a pub and a general store.

Sunset at Swan Reach

Barossa Valley Part 3

There are so many wineries to visit in the Barossa that you can only chose a few and its always good to get recommendations which we did. We really enjoyed Langmeil Wines in Tanunda which had an amazing history, it started as a blacksmith shop and then he planted Shiraz grapes in 1832  which still survive today and are they believe are the oldest Shiraz vines that produce wine in the world today.
They have restored the blacksmith shop, bakers and the water well. The wine was very pleasant and we enjoyed the whole wine taste experience.

The original blacksmith shop at Langmeil Wines

It was our wedding anniversary so we had sorted a lunch at a winery which  proved a bit tricky as many places were not open on a Wednesday but we enjoyed our lunch at Lou Miranda Estate just out of Tanunda. 

Our wedding Anniversary Lunch at Lou Miranda Estate

We had been told to go back to Sppeltsfield Wines which we had visited in 2008 as they had undergone a massive rebuild and so we did. It was worthwhile as they have completely re-modernised the place,so it was interesting to see. It is such an impressive place with beautiful buildings and gardens.

Lloyd by the original well at Langmeil Wines

Barossa Valley Part 2

So Tuesday 20 January was a very busy place in the Barossa as it was Stage 1 of the Tour Down Under. This meant for us we needed to plan our wine route away from the madding crowds!!!
 So we had sorted out some gems to visit but first we need to share Lloyds bike ?????

Cycling Barossa style!!!!!

Our first vineyard was Pindarie which is a working farm too and has wonderful views.  The wine was pretty good as well.

We then visited Sieber wines where we did have a wonderful visit in 2008 with the owner Val but unfortunately she was out so spent time with her husband. They do great Shiraz blends. We  then visited Rockford Wines and Charles Melton who are both in Krondorf, by Tanunda.

The Rockford winery had interesting farm buildings

Our day finished with a trip up to the Mengier Hill Sculpture Park which has not only great sculptures but amazing views over the Barossa. We had a great day, the cellar doors where all very good and it was great going mid week as it was not very busy.

Murray Bridge -Barossa Valley

So we arrived on Sunday in Murray Bridge so we could collect Lloyd's new bank card from the branch here on Monday as we had ordered it a week ago.We had stayed here before and so set up the caravan at the show grounds and as it was a lovely day we headed down to the riverfront for a lunch and a walk. The restaurant we had sorted out for lunch was closed for a private function so the alternative was the local rowing club next door who did meals.
Lloyd really enjoyed his calamari ,you would have thought he would have enough after Rapid Bay but no!
It was good to see many family groups enjoying the afternoon .

River paddle steamer on the Murray

The bank visit the next day was not successful as the card had not arrived and so we decided not to wait around any longer and they ordered another one to be sent this time to Cobber Pedy which will hopefully arrive before us. It was then off to the Barossa Valley to do some wine tasting. We had been to the area in 2008 with our good friends Helen and Geoff and had experienced a heat wave of temperatures up to 46 deg which does not seem to work to well with wine tasting, especially red wines. So the aim this time was to visit different wineries hopefully in cooler conditions. 

Our campsite at Greenock Oval

We decided to stay in the village of Greenock which is right in the Barossa Valley and they have made the local oval available for camping if you are self contained for a gold coin donation. It was one of those quaint German settlements like many you drive through Eden Valley and Springton to name a couple. They are all old stone buildings and most have been restored.

Greenock Buildings

Raukkan - Tailem Bend

About 5 kms from Narrung is the Aboriginal settlement of Raukkan.
It has become famous as it is the birthplace of David Unaipon who was an inventor and author and his image is on the Australian $50 note. Also on the note is the mission church of Ruakkan built in 1869 and the church has been restored and is still in use today.
 He is like the Australian version of Leonardo de Vinci and it was really interesting finding out about his mechanical inventions which he received no credit for at the time.
 He was also the first Aboriginal author to publish works in English, you might want to find out more by clicking on this link  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Unaipon 

The Raukkan Mission Church

After a great stay and some very warm weather we drove about 40kms up the road to the small town of Tailem Bend. It is located on the Murray River and funnily enough right on the bend where we actually camped for the night. They say the name could come from the Aboriginal name of the bend or maybe from early farming settlers naming it connected which the tailing of sheep!!! No one knows.

After a walk around the town which all shut up at 1pm on a Saturday we looked for a camp and found a great place on the bend above the Murray with a good view of all the boats that passed by. It was a very hot afternoon and my only wish was that we could reach the water easily for a swim but the cliff was rather too steep.

The bend that the town may be named after!

Perfect place ,we were about 4 metres above the Murray River

Narrung Jetty

The weather was going to improve in the next few days so we turned around and drove up to Narrung which is on Lake Alexandria near the mouth of the Murray. The campsite was great, we especially enjoyed the wonderful green soft grass and got a camp spot right near the lake, not far from the jetty.
This is a free camp which you can stay at for 3 days and as we needed to be in Murray Bridge not until 5 days later we thought this was a good place as we could use the kayaks too.
The reason we needed to be in Murray Bridge is to get a new bank card for Lloyd who misplaced his wallet. You can imagine that this has caused some stress as the caravan and car were pulled part numerous times to try and find it with no luck. Nevermind!!!
Over the 3 days numerous other campers came in and went and we enjoyed camp fires with some which seems odd to us considering the fire bans. However you can have fires unless it is a total fire ban day, at least here we were near water.

The weather was clearing and we loved our spot.

We enjoyed kayaking over the lake to see the lighthouse. It is the smallest and only lighthouse on a fresh water lake in Australia and now does not work, they have a light on a pole instead.

We had fun kayaking among the reeds. This is taken from the lighthouse and this area is called the Narrows which is between Lake Alexandria where we were and the smaller Lake Albert. The water level is good at the moment but when we visited the Murray River in 2008 this area had no water at all. See our kayaks on the bank?

The house behind was being renovated and is privately owned, the lighthouse is a popular place for visitors. I am not sure if I would want my holiday house so close to a public spot. The renovation looks fantastic and they get amazing views.

The lighthouse from the caravan

Kingston - Pinks Beach

The next day the weather was still not great, windy and some rain so we headed further south on the Princes Highway through the National Park to the small settlement of Kingston.
Here they have the original lighthouse for Cape Jaffa which they have relocated across the road from the beach.

By the Cape Jaffa lighthouse

We continued on and found a campsite at Pinks Beach, on a fine day it is probably lovely but the wind made it rather unpleasant so after a walk we settled down to read and I made a cottage pie for dinner as warm comfort food seemed to be needed.

Our first colder type food,cottage pie.

Pinks Beach

Coorong National Park

Our plan was to spend some time at the Coorong National Park which was about 160kms further south from Rapid Bay.
The park stretches more than 130kms along the coast with many salt water lagoons and includes the mouth of the Murray River.
Unfortunately the weather started to cloud over during the drive through a very picturesque area of Goolwa, Strathalbyn and on to Wellington where we got on a small car ferry to cross over the Murray River.

Loaded on to the car ferry.

By the time we got to our camp it was raining and the winds were over 35kms, no kayaking today!!! We camped at Panaka Point and had a view over the Coorong water ways but today they looked all grey and not inviting at all. We would most likely move on tomorrow,we enjoyed a walk in between showers but the flies were out in force and rather off putting.!!!

These fellows strolled past us

Our caravan is in the background with another 

Time to Move On !!!

After 3 weeks and 2 days we decided our holiday was over and so we began packing up on Sunday ready for the departure the next day. Its amazing how much stuff we had to pack away, especially now with the kayaks and fishing gear.
The weather over the weekend had given us some cause for concern as there was severe weather watch out for rain of 100m and high winds. Luckily Rapid Bay missed most of it but it seemed so incredible that on Wednesday we had 40deg and no wind and on Friday the north of south Australia was flooding, at least it helped completely quash the last of the bush fires.
We felt very fortunate to have found this place and will cherish the friendships made over the 3 weeks.It was just what we needed, a break from the constant travelling and a chance to enjoy the sea and mostly nice weather that was on offer.

The view of the the jetty from our caravan as we packed up,so calm!

The sky just before sunset

Victor Harbour-Second Valley

As well enjoying our days at Rapid Bay we had plenty to see nearby. One day we headed down to Victor Harbour which we had visited in 2008.The place had definitely grown with lots of new houses but the same old attractions were still as popular as ever.

The horse drawn tram which goes over the jetty to Granite Island

Another day saw us go to Second Valley which was a holiday settlement on the coast before Rapid Bay. It had a very small beach but an interesting walkway out to the next point where there used to be fishing huts. 

Granite Island Jetty, Victor Harbour

Second Valley

New Year and Sunsets

We had a fun New Years Eve with many of us setting up tables right down on the beach. Unfortunately a cold wind developed so we retreated to a caravan awning to see in the New Year.
The camp ground was full and many let off fireworks which looked pretty but interesting as you can't buy them in the shops even at Guy Fawkes,they are purchased online.

Early evening New Years Eve on the beach

The sunsets at Rapid Bay are beautiful even though we are facing north.We continue to photograph the ever changing sky.

Cape Jervis- Blowhole Beach

Over the time we have been staying at Rapid Bay we have been doing some day trips to nearby interesting places.

The ferry and Kangaroo Is in the background

Cape Jervis is about 20kms away and is where the ferry leaves to Kangaroo Is which is a popular holiday place.

Cape Jervis lighthouse The cars are parked while people visit the island .

We then drove to Deep creek Conservation Park and down to Blowhole beach which was 4wd only. It was very steep with plenty of potholes but worth the drive.The scenery was awesome along this coast and we had a great walk along the cliffs. 

Lloyd at Blowhole Beach

Blowhole Beach 

Rapid Bay Rules!!!

We are now in our 3rd week at Rapid Bay and have loved it.
We can see why people from Adelaide leave there caravans here for a couple of months and come down here when ever they can.
For the first few weeks we had luck with squid fishing which we had never done before. You use a squid jig and kayak over the sea grass where they feed. On catching them you have to be careful as the squirt our their ink and if you are unlucky you can get covered.

There are many caves just past the beach which makes for interesting kayaking

Both of us had never eaten fresh squid before and we enjoyed many meals with squid cooked on the bbq, it tastes so much nicer fresh. Unfortunately they seem to have left the area and gone out to deeper water now.

Lynda squid fishing

It has been really great to have friendly people around us and we have had some good evenings having a drink and one of the guys played the guitar so a dance and sing along evolved. The days seem to pass by kayaking,fishing,reading ,chatting.and watching many silly people get stuck in the sand with their vehicles.With being right on the beach and having all the other campers behind you it often seems like they are not even there.