Penola to Wirrina Cove 14^th December 2014

Our plans have changed so we can visit my Uncle in Victor Harbor later this week. We decided to get up relatively early and drive from Penola to Adelaide and then down to Wirrina Cove on the north west side of the Fleurieu Peninsula, where we have booked two nights, ahead of taking the ferry across to Kangaroo Island. We shall visit my uncle after we get back from Kangaroo Island and before flying out to Perth. The total journey today was over 500km, enough for one day, but starting at 8am made a difference as did the fact that it was a Sunday, although in some parts of Australia the traffic is always light.

Penola to Wirrina

The drive from Penola to Kingston SE, which is on the coast was across flat arable land and along straight roads where one was easily able to engage cruise control. The distance to Kingston was about 130km and we saw no more than a handful of cars, if that. Even Kingston wasn’t busy, although it was 9:30am on a Sunday morning!

Flat as a pancake!

From Kingston we drove along the coast to Tailem Bend, some 200km but again the traffic was light and the roads fairly straight. On the west side of the road, towards the coast, there are extensive inland lagoons that are exceedingly salty only being fed from the ocean at one point along the coast near Hindmarsh Island. One or two of the dried up white salt beds would make idea calibration targets for satellite imagery. This stretch of coastline is called the Coorong National Park and the road the Princes Highway. 

We stopped at Meningie for a quick rest and spotted a few pelicans and other birds on the in-land stretch of water. 

Great white egret

At Tailem Bend we drove on to a town called Murray Bridge and crossed the Murray River. The same river we had seen in Echuca, NSW and which starts in the Snowy Mountains back in Thredbo, some river!

We drove towards Adelaide but took a diversion into the Adelaide Hills and through Hahndorf. This town was established as a farming village in 1839 by Lutheran refugees from East Prussia and the town has tried to maintain the original German character of its settlers. We knew of the town and were keen to take a look but we were principally looking for a quiet spot for lunch. We decided to move on since there was an open air Christmas market in progress and it was busier than a Saturday in Sevenoaks High Street!

We arrived in Adelaide after a spot of lunch else where and undertook a fairly swift walk around the city centre, including the river and the botanical gardens, before heading south to Winnira Cove.  The botanical garden houses the national wine centre, where you can sample a wide range of wines from Australia. If we hadn't been driving further I would have stayed and sampled a few.

Wine Cellar

The land south out Adelaide, through the Fleurieu Peninsula, is fairly fertile with a series of rolling hills and some of the most attractive landscape we have seen in Australia for many days.  However, the roads are fairly bumpy and tested the cars suspension system.

We are staying the next two nights at the Wirrina Cove hotel and golf complex and to say it is not busy is an over exaggeration. However, we will get a quiet round of golf in the morning, which is always welcome.

We ate at the hotel and I had some local wines from the Allusion winery. The shiraz strikingly better than the Cabernet Sauvignon and well worth sampling. 

We watched a three-way boxing match after evening dinner as well as spotting a kangaroo guarding a golf bunker! Tomorrow’s game may be interesting! 

Three-way boxing