Week 12: Port Elliot SA - Wauraltee Beach SA

April 05, 2023

Week 12: Port Elliot SA - Wauraltee Beach SA

Stats Overview

Km's Travelled: 986

Km's Hiked: 9

No. of Campsites: 4

The Adventures

We have officially reached the three month milestone of our lap of the map! On the journey so far we have travelled 12,383kms (you don't want to know the fuel bill!), hiked 160 kms, stayed at 52 different campsites and visited 15 national parks. We are pretty impressed with what we have achieved so far and are getting more excited for the new country we will be exploring over the next few months. We have even been lucky enough this week to have some fairly decent weather, with even a couple of warmish, sunny days which has made our exploration of South Australia a little nicer. We were starting to worry that the sun didn't shine in the southern end of the country! However, seeing the leaves starting to change colour has made us realise that autumn is here and that the real cold of winter will be soon on its way.

We started our week in Port Elliot which we used as a base to explore the eastern part of the Fleurieu Peninsula. We completed one of the prettiest and most challenging hikes to date on our trip in Deep Creek Conservation Park. The hike was only short (6kms) but was very steep with lots of steep ascents and descents. A significant portion of the hike was along the edge of the cliffs which meant we got to enjoy the views across the ocean to Kangaroo Island. This made it one of our slowest hikes to date as we were constantly stopping to admire the views! We also tried our luck fishing at Victor Harbour, however, apparently the fish there have seen a line or two before, as they would not take the bait. We could literally see the fish under the causeway and they would swim up to our bait and have a look but keep swimming away. This was definitely one of the most frustrating fishing experiences of my life to date!

We then headed across to the other side of the peninsula to see what it had to offer. We thought that the views of the eastern side could not be beaten, however, the western side of the Fleurieu was even prettier. We stayed at Port Willunga and had a wonderful time exploring the coast line around the area, especially the beach caves built by the fisherman to store their gear. We also got to experience our first sunset over the ocean which was pretty special. While at Port Willunga we spent a day exploring some of the Adelaide Hills, spending most of our time in the picturesque town of Hahndorf, which is Australia's oldest surviving German settlement. The area was originally settled by Prussian Lutheran immigrants who were seeking religious freedom, with the architecture and wares in the town still heavily influenced by this heritage. We were very glad of this, as we thoroughly enjoyed immersing ourselves in the delicious food and drinks of Germany without having to spend a whole day on a plane to get there!

After the Fleurieu Peninsula we continued making our way north and arrived in the beautiful Barossa Valley. This truly is a picturesque part of Australia and we really enjoyed exploring the area and of course, getting to try the spoils of the land! One of the non-wine related highlights of our time here was visiting the Whispering Wall, which is the dam wall of the Barossa Reservoir. Due to the curved shape of the wall, you can stand at opposite ends of the wall and be able to hear what the other person is saying. We also discovered the game of croquet which turned out to be a lot of fun.

We have now arrived on the Yorke Peninsula and have managed to find ourselves a really pretty, beachfront campsite to bunker down in for the Easter break. Unfortunately, it looks like our few days of nice weather are over and we will be back to rain and cool weather again. We are still looking forward to exploring the area and if the beach we are at is anything to go by, there is going to be lots of stunning places to check out!

Kodak Moments