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We were down at
Glenelg early on
the Sunday morning
to see the cars
off; some 1,800
that year. We were
able to join in
with the tail
enders, stop off at
the van park for
lunch, then rejoin
the cavalcade and
get to Birdwood,
35km up in the
Mount Lofty Ranges
in time to see the
final
judging.
We stayed a week in
Adelaide visiting
relatives and
seeing the sights
again, and although
we gave the Barossa
Valley a miss this
time, from our past
visits it should be
tops in your
itinerary. We
decided to depart
Adelaide by a side
road running south
along the coast to
Noarlunga, then
down through
Myponga and
Yankalilla to
Victor Harbour and
Goolwa. The day was
perfect and the
journey was one of
the prettiest of
our trip, with the
countryside
equalling the
lovely southwest of
W.A. Our goal was
Goolwa on Lake
Alexandrina, where
the mighty Murray
enters the sea.
Goolwa has a
special spot in our
memories; we
arrived there at
the end of a
magnificent journey
down along the
rivers of southwest
Queensland, the
Darling and the
Murray, back in
1984.
A
second goal was to
drive the coast
road to Melbourne,
initially along the
Coorong with its
prolific birdlife,
then travelling the
famous Great Ocean
Road along
Victoria's
windswept
coastline.
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Rusty rail car -
Cossack.
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On departure from
Goolwa it is
necessary to head
north about Lake
Alexandrina,
travelling via
Strathalbyn,
Wellington (where
you join the
Princes Highway)
and Meningie. A few
kilometres south of
Meningie gives the
first glimpse of
the Coorong
waterway, with that
narrow strip of
land, the
Younghusband
Peninsula,
protecting it from
the Southern Ocean.
Frankly, we were
disappointed in the
Coorong. We
expected to see
masses of bird life
and an attractive
waterway.
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Not
being
naturalists
we
missed
seeing
the
abundant
attractions
of
this
unique
area,
and
this
lack
of
knowledge
led
us
to
drive
on,
unawares
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Wild
flowers
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WA.
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It
was
early
October
and
cold
winds
were
blowing
in
from
the
sea,
with
occasional
drizzle
.
We
turned
off
the
Princes
Highway
at
Kingston,
to
keep
close
to
the
coast,
and
when
we
reached
Robe,
felt
it
was
time
to
brew
up
so
we
checked
into
the
van
park
there
for
the
night.
Robe
is
oldy
worldy,
and
although
almost
deserted
that
evening,
in
the
summer
it
is
a
popular
holiday
town.
Next
day
we
continued
along
the
coast
road
and
rejoined
the
highway
at
Millicent,
for
the
scenic
run
through
magnificent
pine
forests
into
Mount
Gambier.
Mount
Gambier
is
a
pleasant,
clean
town
with
a
bracing
climate.
Volcanic
craters
dominate
the
area,
with
lakes
forming
within
them.
The
town's
fresh
water
supply
comes
from
one,
the
famous
Blue
Lake.
Driving
to
the
crater
rim
gives
extensive
views
of
the
town
and
surrounds.
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Looking
off-shore
at
Esperance.
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page
85. |
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