Victor Harbor 19^th December 2014

Victor Harbor Trip

We rose, had a breakfast in our studio apartment, and headed off to have morning tea with my Uncle.  We soon got chatting and could have easily spent the whole day talking since it had been years since Mike had last met him and there were many things on which to catch up.

Eventually we headed out in the car and along the coastline taking the opportunity to go to a number of lookout points around the coast to get a view of Victor Harbor from the west of the bay. He used to own a house in Encounter Bay directly overlooking the sea and was originally the family holiday home since they lived north of Adelaide. When he retired it became their main residence. 

We took a quick toasted sandwich for lunch and then headed out east through Port Elliot (Horse Shoe Bay), Middleton and onto Goolwa where the Coorong National Park starts. Along the coastline we stopped at strategic points to get a few photographs. In Horseshoe Bay we missed, by only 20 minutes, seeing a “brown snake”, one of the most poisonous Australian snakes, which was lurking around one of the public toilets near the beach. A woman had photographed it with her mobile phone so we now know what to look for or avoid.  Sheila was brave enough to use the facility even though she had been told before entering. (Perhaps her encounter with the red-bellied black snake has made her less fearful of Australian wildlife.)

Reunion at Horseshoe Bay

There is a train, called the Cockle Train, which runs from Victor Harbor all the way to Goolwa, and probably manned by volunteers since we saw a number of people painting the level crossing gates near where we stayed.  The train, used to be driven by steam but now is diesel for environmental reasons, and only runs a half dozen times a day from 10:30 to around 5pm. This was quite a relief to Sheila since our studio accommodation backed onto the line. However, we only spotted it once along the coastline. At least one of the level crossings has a gate, some have warning lights but some have only warning signs with no gates or lights – so you do need to make sure you look. 

Cockle Train

The Coorong National Park, which we had passed on our route from Penola to Wirrana Cover (via Adelaide) is basically a stretch of inland water, 30-40km long, with sand dunes separating the sea from the Murray River estuary with a number of islands. Goolwa was once a thriving river port, the last before the Murray River meets the Southern Ocean.  At Goolwa there is a barrage, as there is further up the estuary, which moderates the amount of water leaving the estuary. The sand dunes have one opening to the sea and this is the Murray Mouth. From Goolwa one can pick up a paddle steamer (the Oscar W) and travel the length of the estuary. 

"Oscar W" Paddle Steamer

The estuary is home to pelicans and many other birds.  We spotted a NZ fur seal doing a balancing act on the outside of the barrage.

Tight-rope walker!

Before heading back we drove over a stylish bridge onto Hindmarsh Island and along the coast to see the Murray Mouth at the closest point for a non-4WD vehicle.  The dunes here are for ever shifting and a sign that my Uncle had seen on his previous visit 3-4 years back has been nearly covered with sand.

The Murray Mouth 

Coupled cube cottage

Tomorrow we fly to Perth but will attempt to find time for a quick walk along the 600m causeway to Granite Island, just to say we did it!