To Langhorne Creek SA

We decided there wasn't too much on offer for us in Victor Harbor other than the wonderful Granite Island so we set out pretty early yesterday for nearby Port Elliot, another pretty seaside town, nestled into protected Horseshoe Bay within the much larger Encounter Bay. We set out from there on the 8-9 klm round trip walk to Middleton Beach. 

It was a lovely (and interesting) walk despite the day of grey skies and cold winds.....    

We had a wonderful experience walking along the Basham Beach shoreline. This part of the bay area is a recognised southern right whale nursery - and we were able to enjoy a lengthy whale sighting - just past the last line of breakers. One of the lovely locals even lent us a small pair of binoculars so we could enjoy the mother and calf activities even more - a very special experience.

The waves looked good at Middleton Beach which must have been appreciated by all the surfers competing in the "Longboard Classic" being staged by one of the local clubs.

After a quick lunch from the iconic Port Elliot Bakery we set out across country to Langhorne Creek where we were looking forward to catching up with friends for a night of celebrating Jennie's 11/09 birthday. Miss Google took us on some real country backroads (and some water covering the road) before we reached our destination.

We're staying in a lovely b&b run by friends of Jennie and Wayne's - it's very beautifully set up with a colourful garden surrounded by vineyards ......

'The resident chooks and peacock are very welcoming to guests....

While we waited for J & W and J & J to arrive (they were travelling down from their stay in Wilpena Pound) we had a little wander around the local village streets. On this Sunday afternoon all looked very quiet and deserted, but the old buildings and pretty gardens gave the village of Langhorne Creek a certain charm.

Our hosts Charmaine and "Macca" hosted a magnificent dinner for Jennie's birthday last night in their own apartment of this 6 bed b & b.

Charmaine is a very experienced cook who worked in hospitality throughout her working life and Macca is one of Australia's most senior and respected wine makers - with a wonderful wine cellar of his own. They are superb hosts!!

First course was a seafood chowder with crayfish medallions, served with a French Chablis - it was delicious .........

Main course was roast rib beef - cooked superbly and served with this amazing (aged) St Peter's Shiraz

It was a birthday celebration we will always remember

Back to South Australia

We drove back to Perth yesterday from Margaret River, stopping off at beautiful Cottesloe Beach for a quick visit before settling in at our airport hotel ready for the (very) early morning flight back to Adelaide today.

We'd seen another episode of the ABC's Great Southern Landscapes series this week focussing on Narelle Autio's iconic photo "Splash" - taken at Cottesloe Beach in 2004.

We weren't there as the sun was setting over the Indian Ocean so my photo of the same spot is just a pale, boring imitation .... ....

Autio's photo was taken on a scorching hot summer's day. Mine was taken on a cold early Spring day - with lots of seaweed on the beach too! But it was a thrill to be here and experience the locale (and Autio's picture) in our own way

Sculpture by the Sea is staged at Cottesloe Beach, after it's done its time at Bondi - even on this early Spring (work) day the whole place had a very cool vibe.

We had to leave the hotel by 5.30 this morning to get to the airport on time and return hire car etc. But the flight was quite endurable, and we and our bags arrived in Adelaide on time a bit before noon, after putting our clocks forward an hour and a half.

Our Tiguan was waiting for us exactly where we'd left it, and in no time at all we were in Willunga, in the McLaren Vale wine region on the way to Victor Harbor, our destination for the night.  Willunga is an attractive small town, one of South Australia's oldest - and it shows!

We stopped for a delicious lunch at de Rose Kitchen in Willunga's High Street.

We're spending the night in Victor Harbor on the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula about 82 klm south of Adelaide.

These days Victor Harbor's chief attractions are its beaches, marine environment and beautiful Granite Island (Nulcoowarra), connected to town by a 630 mtre long tram/pedestrian causeway. Today the tram service was being provided by Elliott and Isabelle who work for the Victor Harbor Horse Drawn Tram Co.

This is Isabelle, a 12-year-old Clydesdale - and an absolute beauty!!

We walked over the causeway to Granite Island .... its only 62 acres so it's possible to walk around it in less than an hour

Looking out towards Rosetta Head (the Bluff) from the island.

The granite boulder formations on the island are so photogenic .....

Albatrosses and ducks were everywhere on the island ......

And spectacular lichens were covering the rocks on the southern (ocean facing) side of the island - a beautiful sight! 

Coming to the end of our circuit of the island we had the wonderful experience of some up-close wildlife encounters ........

and there were pods of dolphins frolicking/feeding in the protected bays around the island's jetty/groyne.

And at least one small seal ....

My best dolphin shot .......

and my best albatross shot ......

Fairy penguins are known to visit Granite Island at certain times, but we weren't lucky enough to see them today - but we were so very thrilled with what we did encounter. 

The surf coast

We planned to do two walks today on the Cape to Cape track - from Prevelly to Gnarabup and then from Redgate Beach to Conto Beach in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste NP. 

In the end, our walks didn't eventuate quite the way we planned but we managed to see a lot of this amazing coastline today in any case. ......

Prevelly is where the Margaret River meets the sea - and it's also the location of the iconic Surfers Point - the number one surfing spot in the region and where the Margaret River Pro Tournament is staged every year - definitely for experienced surfers only! 

Rob asked this guy how he was going to get out to the wave break and he said: "just go out through the keyhole and follow the curve". We watched him do exactly that until he got to the main break. The waves were big today (much bigger than they look in our iPhone pics) but they were breaking very evenly.

All the Pro Tournament Champions (men and women) are listed on the stairs down to the beach (starting from 1985).

Surfers Point was crowded this morning despite the weather being so cold ........

Instead of walking we decided to drive to Gnarabup Beach and warm ourselves with a coffee from the White Elephant Beach Cafe and save our energy for walking the next section of our trek plan .....

There were terrible fires in this area in late 2021. We've seen a lot of evidence of regrowth especially in the forest areas and coastal scrublands around here, but apparently a lot of beach infrastructure burnt as well. The White Elephant Cafe was in the midst of a major upgrade during our visit....

We eventually got to Redgate Beach and set out on the 7klm track to Conto Beach - but only a kilometre in we got waylaid by this creek crossing .........

Neither of us were prepared to do a water crossing and get wet sandy feet on this cold blustery day so back to the car we went - we're obviously not serious Cape to Cape trackers are we?

We explored the burnt-out coastal scrubland around Conto Beach for a while - astounded at the regrowth of the rampant grass trees (Xanthorrhoea). Around Canberra grass trees are exotic, expensive and have to be coddled. But here they were growing back like weeds - and the fierce fires had burnt through here only 9 months ago!

We enjoyed a late lunch in Witchcliffe before heading back to Margaret River town for a few hours of getting organised for our trek back to Perth tomorrow before hitting Swings and Roundabouts for one last pizza feast before we leave this very special part of the world.