Monday March 10, 2014

A lovely relaxing day in Kingston.  When we arrived yesterday we went to the Information Centre we picked up a pamphlet of “Interesting walks around Kingston”.  There were five self-guided walks and we did four of them.  However, before starting the walks, we had to visit the Lighthouse.  This lighthouse was originally sited out at sea near Cape Jaffa.  The lighthouse was dismantled and re-sited in its present position in 1974 and is now managed by the National Trust and a group of very dedicated volunteers.

We got a guided tour by Vanessa who looked remarkably like Dame Judi Dench.  A lovely woman who gave us the history of the lighthouse and the keepers who lived there.  We of course had to climb to the top and viewed the surrounding countryside.

Ralf took this photo of the prisms.  We are definitely Down Under!

This life boat was also placed here after being found washed up in the Coorong (42 mile crossing).  It had broken away from the MS Oliva which had run aground nearly 10 nautical miles off Nightingale Island in the South Atlantic Ocean – over 8,000 kms away from Australia.

The historic walks took us to Cooke’s Street.  The Cooke brothers were involved with the Town’s development as they wanted a safe port from which to ship their wool directly to England.

Rosetown was a private town which grew up on the sand dunes beside the Maria Creek. It has this fantastic Analemmatic Sundial which was erected as a Bicentennial Community project.  It was designed and crafted by Adelaide sculpture Silvio Apponyi.  Granite was selected from outcrops 18km north of Kingston.

To \”work\” the sundial you have to stand on the corresponding dates, facing your shadow.  If you are not tall enough for your shadow to reach the numbers you have to raise your arms.

The most photogenic part of the walk was the core area, the post office, old police station and cells (which were used up until 1974) and the hotel all of the buildings were built around 1870’s.

It was a great day and we really enjoyed staying in Kingston.  One of the couples we were talking to at dinner told us not to tell anyone about Kingston.  Sorry guys I have to tell people Kingston is a great Town and well worth a visit.

Sunday March 9, 2014

We had a NW wind for the first 60 kms, which was good enough for us.  It wasn’t a head wind.  We had a tailwind for the last 20 kms.  We did 85 kms in under 4 hours, awesome.

It was a very early start this morning we got up before the sun and the birds (5:30 am).  We were ready to go by 6:30, but it was still dark, we puttered around for 15 minutes and decided to head out with all our lights blazing, it was getting lighter but the sun didn’t fully rise for another 40 minutes.

The first 60 kms we were riding along a very straight, flat road.  We had trees, or shrubs on either side of us for the majority of that distance, which made it relatively cool and good cycling temperatures, but nothing much to look at.  However, being on the road so early we did get to see some wildlife.  We saw 3 emu, crossing the road about 50 metres in front of us.  Unfortunately we were not quick enough to get the cameras out to take photos of them, and it was still a little dark. We also saw our first live kangaroo hopping across the road, a red fox and our first wombat – dead.

The last 25 kms we were in the open coastal area – we still couldn’t see the sea because of the dunes.  A few beef cattle are grown in this area.

We also saw these granite outcroppings.  The area around here is completely flat then these two bumps appear.  I think it looked like an elephant, but maybe the sun was getting too hot.

When we came into Kingston the first thing we did was check out the giant lobster.  It is supposed to be the big attraction in Kingston.  In the early 80\’s a couple of business men thought it would be a good idea to build a giant road side attraction, restaurant and information centre too attract people to Kingston.  All that is left is the giant lobster, a rather expensive large and empty restaurant which had a very limited choice for food and no information centre.  Across the road was a superb little bakery, where we had a lovely lunch.

We had lunch then continued to cycle into downtown Kingston and found the campsite.  A nice, clean site opposite the beach.

We got into the Kingston Caravan Park at 11:30 am.  After setting up the tent and showering we took a walk back into the downtown along the coastal road.  Kingston has a population of about 2,000 with the main industries being fishing, farming and viticulture.

Tomorrow we are taking a rest day and will have a good walk around the Town and take photos of the historic buildings, may be take a ride along the bike path.

Saturday March 8, 2014

Although we were up at 6:00 am we still didn’t get going on the road until 8:45 am.  We did chat to a fella for about 15 minutes, but it seemed along time to break camp (2.5 hours).  If we want to do longer distances and get our ride done before it gets too hot then we have to get going earlier.  However, once we were on the road we motored, 61 ks in 3 hours – pretty quick for us.  Of course on our road bikes that would be pretty slow, but you go with what you have.  Todays ride was good.  The scenery was different from yesterday, although not stunning.  There was a pull-out with a camera on the sign indicating that this was a good place for photos – judge for yourself!  Maybe we have been spoilt by New Zealand.

We had three options for camping today, Policeman Point (50kms), Salt Creek (61kms) and Chinaman Wells (79kms).  Policeman Point was too early. We stopped at Salt Creek for something to eat and to ask what camping facilities were available at Chinaman Wells.

Stuart told us that to get to the campsite it is down a dirt road for about 3 kms and the campsite was very basic, which means that there are no hot showers, possibly no potable water and only a long drop for a toilet.  If we had gone on to Chinaman Wells, it would have been another 18 kms, very manageable and would have made tomorrows ride 69kms.  However, we need to have water. We decided to stop at Salt Creek, which will make tomorrows ride 85 kms but we will be able to get fresh water and start early.

We have chosen to stay in a cabin tonight, which means we can be up and on the road at first light – 7:00. Fortunately checking the weather forecast we should have a tailwind.!!

Salt Creek is a very small place.  However, at Salt Creek there had been some exploration for oil – none was found.

Friday, March 7, 2014

Another short day of riding, not because we are lazy, but because we have to judge our distances between camp sites carefully.  The next campsite after Meningie is another 50 kms down the road.  I never thought that I would say that 100 kms was too far to cycle, but 100 kms is too far for one day on a loaded touring bike with the wind against us.

I made a slight error when deciding to cycle from Adelaide to Brisbane, we are cycling against the prevailing winds.  That is similar to cycling from Halifax to Vancouver instead of Vancouver to Halifax with the prevailing winds or John O’Groats to Lands End instead of the other way around.  Prevailing winds make life a lot easier, especially on a bike.  The wind was not a full-on headwind, but it was constant at about 20 to 30 kms.  Ralf and I took our turn at the front as we usually do when it is windy.

We left Wellington at 9:00 am on the ferry crossing the Mighty River Murray.  A ferry has been offering travellers continuous ferry passage over the Mighty River Murray for about 170 years.  The 3 minute ride is free and runs 24/7 every day except Christmas Day.

It is amazing what the ferry can carry, on our crossing it had 6 cars, a transport and 2 bicycles. On the return one gravel hauler and a couple of cars.

The first 20 kms the road was long and straight, a couple of slight curves in it but basically very long and very straight.  At 25 kms we went up a hill!, well a bump in the road really.  Then it was back to long and straight.  At 35 kms we had a couple more undulations, then back to being long and straight.

Can you spot the change in scenery!

The road was so straight that when it had a dip in the road there was a warning sign for the dip!

Meningie is another small coastal town.  It has a lovely waterfront on Lake Albert.

The folk lore about this Ostrich is about an Irishman who held up travellers and stole their jewellery, he liked to wear the jewellery.  He was only a small man and was able to get away from the police on the ostrich, because it could go across the sand dunes a lot easier than the horses.

Tomorrow we will be heading down the Princes Highway with the Southern Ocean to our right.  This is called the Limestone Coast.  It should be a nice ride.

Thursday March 6, 2014

A late start today due to the fact that the camp-site does not have kitchen facilities and the café doesn’t open until 8:00 am.  We had a lovely breakfast of bacon and egg on an English muffin and coffee.  We were on the road by 9:00 am.

It was an interesting route today, the first 9 kms was very straight and was along the lake shore, into a wind.

The second 9 kms was along miles upon miles of vineyards.  Wolf Blass, vineyards to name one that I recognized.

The next 31 kms was straight, flat, into a wind and would have been very boring if it hadn’t been for the fact that we are cycling in Australia.

I was trying to think of words to describe today\’s scenery as I was cycling.  There was a mixture of farmland, beef and sheep and some crops, that have already been harvested leaving scrubby fields. The fields look incredibly dry and barren, as if nothing could really grow here.  To one side of us was the lake and river, and there should have been some small lakes which were completely dry.  Of course we are now going into Australia’s autumn/fall so they should be getting some rain.

Wellington where we are staying tonight consists of a gas (petrol) station/general store, a hotel, a café (closed today), a campsite and a ferry.  We are here for the ferry crossing.  Our campsite tonight is very rustic but does have a camp kitchen.  The tent sites were $21.00 but we offered us a cabin for $30.00 (because we were touring cyclists) – we took the cabin.

We spoke to the fella who ran the general store/gas station.  The Town of 150 people does not have piped water and relies solely on rain water and river water.  The campsite has rainwater tanks for potable water, everything else uses river water (untreated).  We have bought a 10 litre box of water for our needs tonight and tomorrow, just to be on the safe side.

Wednesday March 5, 2014

After getting some great advice from John and Lyn about an easy route to take to Milang we were up and on the road by 7:45.  Lyn was meeting a friend (Ruth), and Dan and his friend Kim joined us as well.  They cycled with us to Goolwa, following the scenic bike path (Encounter Bikeway) all the way.

A 22 km cycle way which was primarily off-road all the way to Goolwa.  In Goolwa we had a coffee and a snack, then Dan and Kim took us a little further to make sure that we were on the right road to Milang.  Really nice people.

Goolwa is where the “Mighty Murray” Australia’s longest river flows into the sea.

The weather was a little cooler today, and we had a great ride to Milang.  We arrived in Milang at noon and found a nice cheap ($18.) campsite. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a kitchen so we are going to eat out tonight at the pub.

It is nice to finish earlier so that we can see more of the Town’s and villages we are staying in.  I had initially wanted to do 80kms (50 Miles) a day, but when we get into a Town later all we really have time to do is set up the tent, buy some groceries, eat and sleep.  Although there will be days where we have to do 80+ks because there are no facilities in between, we can decide to do shorter days if we want to.

Milang is situated on Lake Alexandrina a large freshwater lake. It used to be an important railway hub, now it is a small holiday town with a couple of cafes, a general store, a bakery and a pub.  The Information Centre is currently only open on the week-ends.  Although on saying that we are now going into the autumn/fall season in Australia, we might have to expect that some facilities will not be open or on restricted hours.

Today is the first day of Lent – I am giving up being a vegetarian!!

Tuesday March 4, 2014

Today was a short ride to Victor Harbor.  We are staying with another warm showers host tonight.  We were on the road by 7:45 and arrived in Victor Harbor at about 10:30. Another hot day (30+ degrees), we started out with a bit of a climb out of Normanville.

After the hill we dropped down into Inman Valley, very pretty and cool with trees covering the road, it was a nice undulating road.  This road will be used this weekend for a Triathalon starting in Victor Harbor.

I heard my first Kookaburra today and we also saw an emu.  No live kangaroos yet.

Victor Harbor is an historic town with a lovely waterfront area and cafes.  It has an historic tram pulled by Clydesdales which takes you over to Granite Island where there is a small penguin colony.

This area was an important whaling area and “The Bluff” which is a large granite outcropping was used as a lookout area to spot the whales coming close to shore.  Right Whales come to this coastline in June to calve and can often be seen close to the shore line.

After having a lovely walk around the Town, having lunch, getting some shopping and getting my front brakes adjusted we headed up to our warm showers host.

We really should check addresses when we contact warmshowers hosts – if the address has Hill in it we should think twice about going!  We had a steep climb up to their place, but it was well worth it.

John was home with his son Dan, they had been for a ride in the morning.  We had a great chat with John, who had cycled in Vietnam last year.  He offered us a wonderful snack of tomatoes and cheese.  The tomatoes were out of the garden and tasted so sweet, absolutely wonderful.  Dan offered us some pear cider.  This was lovely and refreshing, but I could tell it was quite strong, so I paced myself!  I didn’t want to be under the table before dinner.

John and Lyn had invited us to eat dinner with them.  John was the designated cook for the night as Lyn was working.  Our dinner was all home grown, from the lamb to the sweet potatoes.  Even the pear cider that I was drinking was home-brewed.  We chatted and relaxed until Lyn came home and then chatted some more.  Great warm showers hosts.

They offered to cycle with us tomorrow.  Lyn was meeting a friend and cycling to Goolwa, which is the way we are going tomorrow.

Monday March 3, 2014

After four days with Kathy and Mark it was time to say goodbye.  They made us feel so welcome, we came as strangers and are leaving as friends.

It took us a while to get going, my panniers were not sitting right and then we stopped and took photos of Glenelg as we were leaving along the beachfront cycle path.

We saw this exercise park and thought it was a kids play area.  It is an area set up with some exercise equipment and the City will set up an exercise program for you and \”coach\” you for 4 weeks.

I told my Dad not to bring his car to his workouts!!

We were eventually leaving Glenelg at around 9:00.  This was a mistake as the temperature rose to over 33 degrees by about 11:00 am.  I always struggle in the heat and by noon, we were considering finding a B&B to stay overnight.  Unfortunately, there was nothing available so we pushed on to our original destination of Normanville.

It was hilly and hot and absolutely no shade.  It was a long, hot and fairly hilly ride.

Today was the first time that we had to buy water as I had almost run-out.  Today was a bit of a wake-up call.  We have to get started earlier to beat the heat of the day.  We will have to be leaving by 7:30ish and then be done by noon.

On the good side, we saw the first road sign for Kangaroo crossing and saw our first Kangaroo.  However, the kangaroo was road-kill and rather smelly.

 After we had finished the ride we decided on a cabin and not a tent site, as it was still very hot – 31 degrees. On the good side we were very cautious with the sun and had put plenty of sun cream on and didn’t burn.

Thursday February 27, 2014

We have arrived in Adelaide, Australia.  Tonight and for the next couple of days we are staying with a warm showers host in Glenelg, a small beach suburb of Adelaide.

We left New Zealand at 8:20 am and arrived in Adelaide at 10:40 am local time.  After clearing customs and a thorough inspection of the bicycles by customs and immigration we found a taxi and went to Glenelg.

Glenelg is actually the first area of South Australia that was settled in 1836 and was not settled by convicts but people who actually wanted to emigrate to Australia.  I can understand why, Adelaide is a great City.  An amazing biking community and lots of cycle lanes.

We had originally planned on staying in a hotel near the airport to get the bikes set up.  However, due to the various events that are happening this week-end in Adelaide we were unable to secure hotel accommodation. From February 14 to March 14 Adelaide hosts a Fringe Festival.  This week-end is motor racing (Clipsall) V8 cars. South Australia is referred to as the Festival state.

We are staying in a Heritage home and it is beautiful.

Tomorrow (Friday) we are going into Adelaide to see some of the Fringe events.  We are taking the tram from Glenelg.

Not sure why these large brass pigs are here, but they are lovely.

Kathy has invited us to stay until Sunday as there will be a ‘community’ BBQ.  We will restart our cycling on Monday. – Glenelg to Normanville.