Le Grand Nomads: Mount Compass to Kangaroo Island Weeks 53-53

Mount Compass to Kangaroo Island

Weeks 53-54

No room at the inn!

We have to move on from Adelaide, but the McLarenvale parks are full as is the esteemed destination, Victor Harbour. We settle on Mount Compass and enjoy peace and quiet, a stones throw away from the areas of interest anyway. What a great find if you don’t want to look out of your window into another stranger’s van.

Here Brian gets all excited about another man’s solution to the problem, how do you navigate your satellite dish from the comfort of inside your van without spending your inheritance? He met another do it yourself man who had the answer, and a very groovy motor home to boot.

We take a spin to Hindmarsh Island ( Secret Women’s Business fame) and view the mouth of the Murray, actually flowing into the sea again. Brian tries to wade out to the birds, but it gets a bit too deep for dry wading. It is a very popular place for “locals” on a long weekend to see the rare sight of water after so many “lean” years.

This is a bit like a journey in reverse because it is our intention to track along the Murray because of the name link, and because it will be at its best. When I was a kid in primary school, I used to shudder every time the River Murray was mentioned as every eye in the class would focus on me. Shame. Now I am anonymous with a new name and find it interesting.

So of course we spend a pleasant few days exploring tourist drives, the many small towns in the district and of course playing at one of the several golf courses in the region. This nomadic lifestyle really is hard to take.

Moving on, we approach Victor Harbour, ready to make up our minds about the next destination. This is a favourite retirement spot for South Australia. It is pleasant. There is a horse drawn tram that pulls a tram over to the island offshore each hour or so. It is pretty and there are plenty of opportunities for walks along the shore.

We find at the Visitor Centre that we can travel to Kangaroo Island for a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than we had been quoted so decide to take the plunge, bite the bullet and go for it.

Brian dreams of backing the caravan onto the ferry which turns out to be a piece of cake for him. Straight as a die.

I dream of a rough passage and seasickness. Got the first but not the second because I took some quells. Lucky choice as we had quite a bit of rise and fall, enough to make it difficult walking around the vessel during the crossing.

We have had quite a few “I think I Can” hills in this region, but none as long and steep as the one leading off the ferry back on the mainland. I caught Brian checking out the towing companies because he is certain we will be buying a new engine for the poor old landcruiser after we attempt it next week. He is a worrier. I say worry about it on the day.

Kangaroo Island is a bit rough around the edges. There is a road system that circles the island, but lots of dirt roads which thread around. If you want to see everything , you must go onto the dirt roads, some much better than others. The one to Vivonne Bay was so corrugated that as we bounced over one section, “Tom Tom” our navigator burst into full voice telling us to turn at the second exit at the roundabout ahead. The bouncing had turned him on and he was still in Victor Harbour.

Our first stay on the island was Penneshaw where the ferry lands. It is very basic and quite overpriced. We drive to Cape Willoughby Lighthouse from here, but everything is closed. A group of tourists pulled up with crossed legs desperate for a loo, so we did discover an unlocked toilet at the back of the cottages to let. As with most things here, even to walk around the light house costs and the entrance is through the Visitors centre, of course closed. It is a long drive over dirt to find disappointment, but that is what is like here. “Tours at 12:30”, or “every third Sunday of the month” is not a way to make the tourists feel welcome.

Our next port of call is Western KI Caravan Park, a stones throw from Flinders Chase National Park. There are Kolas in the trees around you here as well as Cape Barron Geese and of course kangaroos. The park is much more relaxed and close to camping in a national park but with more comforts.

The telephone box here is a beauty. The once horse drawn bread van that serviced the island is now a telecom box. Jenny Jackson was impressed with the name.

The feature spots of Flinders Chase include the Remarkable Rocks. You can tell they are popular, because the road is bitumen all the way.

Brian had a bit of a rest here.

Admirals Arch is the other “must do”. As well as the arch, you get up close and personal with a colony of New Zealand Fur Seals. You have to like that strong “sea smell” but they are delightful to watch. Your $9 park entry has obviously been spent on boardwalks and is very fair for just this experience alone. There are lots of places to camp here as well if you want even more nature. We unfortunately have some ordinary days where the weather gods are not the kindest, but it is still enjoyable.

Brian has been wanting to see Seal Bay. It is a little more expensive here, but again a lot has been spent on board walks. We shiver along and are glad we are not seals, but again we get very close and feel it is worth the journey to see these Australian seals in their natural circumstances.

There are some limestone caves here at Kelly Hill. We arrived just as a tour was starting so took the walks around the top instead. We talked ourselves out of the caves experience as we have been into quite a few over the years and decided to save our dollars.

Parndana is our next stop. Here we find a powered site with no facilities for $10 a day. Great. We have privacy and don’t have to listen to the generators in the free area behind the hotel. We have extended our stay on the island and can wait out the weather to choose some blue sky for our visit to Stokes Bay.

Here you walk out between the rocks to a delightful beach that leads to some very interesting rock formations and a concave cliff that has been weathered over time to its present glory. The other surprise here is the bitumen road. The map shows two, but reality is much more and the whole journey will be tarred in the next few years. That is a good indicator of the popularity of this little part of the island.

Waiting for fine weather, we tackle some of the dirt roads to see the Emu Ridge eucalyptus oil plant. Brian remembers a film he saw at primary school about the process, still the same today, but is of course disappointed not to see the process in real life. I think it only happens three times a year so you would have to be lucky.

Celine, an orphan local, is not in a hurry to join real life and is happy to stay warmly snuggled for as long as possible.

After once again ditching our honey before the trip over here, we go to Cliffords Honey farm. We are very pleasantly surprised that the prices are real, comparable to what we pay at the supermarket, a little less actually. Well done Cliffords, the honey is yum.

We stretch our legs on the Tea Tree Walk at Murray Lagoon. Here bird life surrounds us. We see a few birds and hear many more. It is quite a pleasant walk and closer to the lagoon it is interesting to see the Ibis platform nests in the low tea trees.

Our final full day here at Parndana we get our usual game of Friday Golf. It is a bit dear for the standard of the course. We are back to playing in the rough ways, no fairways. Brian got a bit testy but it was still OK. Playing golf in 14 degrees is very strange for us, but once the sun shone, it was very pleasant indeed.