Around the World (Again), Port Elliot

Port Elliot. Thursday 06 Dec

Due to the town being in the hands of the Barmy Army it meant I had to up sticks and head out of town the nearest YHA is in Port Elliot, so that was it I booked, and also the bus had been found to take me there.

Caught the midday bus from the central bus station at about 12:30 why put something like stress into a bus journey, nobody else on the bus was worried so why should I? The bus trundled through the Adelaide hills as it took me on the next stage of my journey, this part of South Australia is given over to wine growing, stoned fruits, sheep farming and some dairy.

 

 

It has large expanses of nothingness and then up pops a couple of houses, this is a town. Along the route there are not a lot of larger towns (those with more than a couple of houses and a hotel), but where ever they appear they are always wonderfully kept with the bougainvillea, bottle bush trees and Jacadia in full bloom. At some of the towns, someone would alight or the bus would be waved down, but besides this nothing exciting happened, until we hit Victor Harbor (notice no u in harbour and no I don’t know why!) this is a larger town, with a bit of old seaside town flair (Whitley Bay in the 50s).

From VH (as it is known in the area) to Port Elliot it is a matter of minutes, 10 bus stops to be precise, they number them between VH and I don’t know where, but the Methodist Chapel (and internet school) is number 10 and is the one that I wanted. I collected all of my bags (I by this time had more as I had bought an insulated food storage bag for the refrigerators in the YHA (every good backpacker needs a one so I bought a one in Adelaide). With all arms full and more to boot, I alighted from Harry’s bus (the driver) I asked if he knew where the YHA was, he said when you hit the hotel (every town has a one) turn right and at the bottom of that road is the YHA.
So with back and front suitably loaded and both hands full I set off in the direction of the hostel (here I will also correct you, I bet that you pronounce hostel as I always have, with a very short e in fact I would pronounce it HOST’L not here in Australia it is HOST-TELL, it does take a bit of getting used to does the Strayn!

I was passing a shop and in the window was a real pukka gen Abbot and Costello pith helmet. BOOM CRASH of CYMBALS, I felt on top of my head where my dear 25 year old drovers hat, that I bought up in Cooktown  should have been, naked, not a hat to be felt. I had left it on the bus. I was devastated, cut down like the wheat before the Scythe, I felt physically sick, I had lost my buddy, my traveling companion of so many years, so many rainy seasons, in so many countries.

Never the less no matter what, the trip must go on, I walked in a haze until I reached the doors of the YHA, I knew they would be closed as the Hostel shut for business between 12:00 and 17:00, but I was in luck, a chap that had travelled on the bus from VH was also going there, he had the key pad combination, or at least he thought he had, alas he had it wrong, never mind he phoned his girlfriend and she has it. Once into the reception area there was a comfortable settee, so I made myself comfortable for the next 2 ½ hours. After about ½ hour, the door opened and in came Jacquie, the one from Letterkenny and the vino trip, she said well you may as well come next door to the lounge, which I did, but first I had to tell her about the loss off my dear friend, I was to get used to that look of disbelief over the next couple of days whenever I told people about my loss, people just did not understand the hurt I was going through.

I had a good look around the premises, this was a superb hostel, and it is the best I have stayed in ever. Polished pine floorboards, everything gleaming, clean, the kitchen fully equipped with anything you would ever need. To the rear was a Red Gumtree decking, with matching tables and chairs, a BBQ area, a laundry. What more could a chap want, with the exception of my HAT.

It was 5 and so I went to reception to book in, no problem, all paid and booked. Room number 6, this was shared with 5 others 2 German couples and a Swedish lass. One half of a couple was the lad who let me in. So it was like old buddies meeting again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I now had time to explore the area, the hostel had been in its previous life a up market hotel called the Arcadia, it had then been used as a home for the disabled until a new one had been built in VH, it had then been offered to the YHA on lease.  It had a fantastic view across Horseshoe bay and towards Goolwa and the Murray River estuary, breath taking.

I had booked in for 5 nights, and I was not sorry as these hostels are few and far between and I had picked a pearl, I suppose I should thank the Barmy Army for taking up all the rooms in Adelaide and so forcing me South, though I had aimed at going to Kangaroo Island, but not by this route.

Jacquie and I decided that as we hadn’t had time to do a shop, we would go out for a meal, there was a nice looking Indian restaurant just about 150mtrs away, so we went there. We shared the starter platter, it was enormous, onion bhajji’s , Dehli Aloo Chat, and vegetable Samosa, also poppadum’s and a Riata. Jacquie ordered the chicken Biryani and I had the Kashmiri Elaichi Lamb, very tasty and well worth the $16.50, we had ordered 2 different Naans (one would have sufficed). A nice Indian meal, at very reasonable prices. Then it was back to the beach house and some shut eye, it had been a long trying day and I hadn’t recovered (if I ever will) from losing my mate.

Next day dawned and it was Friday (well it does normally follow Thursday), made breakfast, I had some müsli and a slice of toast my heart just wasn’t into eating, the worry what could have happened to my trusty Titfer or I had eaten too much at Mr India? I decided to go for a walk along the beach and then do a bit of shopping in town (sic). Horseshoe bay is a very nice white sandy beach with safe swimming (unless there are sharks about), it has a very nice Fish restaurant called the Flying fish this is right at the beach.

To get to the beach you can either walk down a ramp or go past the ruins of the Harbour Masters Cottage and then through the Veterans Remembrance Garden, this is a very nice tranquil place with lots of shady nooks with benches to sit and remember or just to watch the comings and goings on the beach below.

 

 

 

It is also a great place to bird watch, lots of screeching, chirping and trilling to break the tranquillity, as you seem never to be far from hordes of Parakeets, Lorikeets and Parrots (no Blue Fjords though or at least none that caused a racket).

I then walked back along the strand towards the main street to do my shopping, I stopped along the road to take photographs and admire the buildings, and many had been built at a time when it was thought that Port Elliot would warrant its name.   It was thought that Horseshoe bay would make an excellent deep water harbour, alas many wrecks later dispelled that belief. It has now reverted to a sleepy (most of the year) seaside town of yesteryear.
But it still has a railway station, though it is only in use 2 times a week on Wednesday and Sundays, when the tourist train travels from Goolwa to Victor Harbor. The train line is kept open by railway enthusiasts and they are doing a grand job what with punching tickets (those oblong ones made of card). Enough of that I shall tell you all about that on Sunday.

You pass the Returning Servicemen’s Club (equivalent to the Servicemen’s Clubs back in the UK) then past the Church, here I looked up at the church clock (I do not possess a watch so it would have been a waste of time to look down at my wrist), I could see two faces, each telling a different time, flummoxed, I then went around to the other side so that I could see the other two faces, would you believe it all different, strange most strange?

 

 

 

But then time is of not a lot of essence in a sleepy place like Port Elliot.  I then crossed the railway line and took some photographs of the very pretty station, next is a hotel, that serves cool beer, I wasn’t in need of a cool beer just yet.  I next passed the smallest council chambers that I have ever seen, either they have a very small council (not a bad thing in a lot of cases), or they meet in the pub if there is anything to discuss (also not a bad thing).

There are various haberdasheries, and that little shop with the pith helmet in the window, the memories came flooding back, I felt a lump in my throat, but being a big boy I pressed on.

I stopped at the cockles café and had a flat white and a lemon muffin (second breakfast and no I didn't eat the cream.

Then across the road was the supermarket, it is for a small town very well stocked. I got my supplies vegetables for the evening, green beans, courgettes and new potatoes, I had noticed when I came along after alighting from the bus a butchers shop, so I popped in to see what they had on offer, I fancied some sausages for breakfast on Saturday, They also had some marinated Kangaroo steaks so I had a one of them and a couple of lamb chops, that was my evening meal sorted out. My next call was into a surfing shop to buy a new head covering, I parted with 25 bucks for a surfers floppy, dark blue in colour, this would have to do from here on in.

I then took the victuals back to the YHA, this time stopping to have a nice cold beer at the Elliot hotel.

I had to be back at the Hostel as I was being picked up by Sonja (Rainbow) and her partner John, she is also member of the Wildfood board  that I belong to. We have never met in reality and it is always nice to put faces to names. They are both retired, they lived in Adelaide, but on retirement they decided they had had enough of big town life and moved down to the coast , living now in Victor Harbor (it was Sonya that corrected my spelling of Harbo(u)r).

The took me to a very nice beach restaurant at Goolwa beach, it is a very nice spot to watch the surfers (none drowned whilst we were watching). It was a very nice afternoon and they are a wonderful couple, we chatted a lot about OUR music (60s & 70s), I think this came about because of the touring bands that are coming to Australia in the next few months, Leonard Cohen, The Stones and The Boss. Sonya also agreed to phone the lost property office in Adelaide to see if they had my hat, this she did but was informed that they were closed for the weekend, does no one care about my hat?

Back at the hostel, I started to prep and cook my meal, I was originally going to BBQ them, but decided at the last minute, that the cleaning of it just wasn’t worth the effort, so it was to be a mixture of stir fry and boiled potatoes. I do believe this is termed as cross over, by those in the trade, what trade I do not know, or incidentally do not care, it tasted great. 

Here I will take this opportunity of thanking Jacquie, she had been out with some girls in VH and had bought me a new hat, it was unfortunately one of those touristy ones, green, bobbly corks and emblazoned with AUSTRALIA. I think my face said it all, she said, “don’t you like it”? I replied, “yes it is great, but I also bought a one today, I will keep this one for best”.

The Roo steaks tender and succulent, the lamb chops very nice indeed, I really enjoyed my meal. After washing up and cleaning down, I decided to walk along to see what the sunset was like, I sat on a seat overlooking Lady Bay, so named from the days when mixed bathing was a no, no and this pretty, small, secluded beach was for the sole use of the fairer sex, now it would seem just for a bit without the fairer (well it was Friday night).

The sunset wasn’t all that great, but I took a few shots and then returned to the YHA, sat in the foyer and done some work on my laptop (this being the only place that you could get a good reception.
I also got to know the new owners of the property, they also have the Mission Beach YHA in Queensland, they certainly are well apart. I then hit the sack as I aimed to do a bike ride to Goolwa beach tomorrow.

Saturday dawned as dawn it must!

I made myself breakfast, sausage and egg, washed up, went and slapped on some sun-screen and went to the reception to hire a bike, low and behold Jacquie was also there hiring a bike, I said do you fancy going to Goolwa beach, I was there yesterday and it is very nice. The weather was nice and fine with just a faint breeze, so off we went in the direction of the Murray River estuary. The ride is a very nice one, with just a few steepish inclines, that is if you take the correct route. John had said the day before it was 15 to 20 minutes, ride, that man should get on the tour de France, after about an hour I was beginning to believe we had passed the Café and were now on the way to Melbourne. Also the breeze had dropped, the sun was out and it was hot, very hot indeed and in most places no cover at all.

The cycle track followed the coast along a surfing beach at Middleton, a small town at about the halfway point of our trip, we saw what we thought was an air rescue of a surfer as we got to the point where the helicopter had landed.

I asked a rescue chappy what had happened, he then explained they were doing training and this was done once a month, this was the once a month.

We stopped and had a chat, I asked how many rescues did they do, he said only about 2 a season, but that their main task was shark spotting and warning the surfers to get out of the water.






We went through an expanse of national park, in the form of shrub and bushland, perfect for snake and lizard sightings, Jacquie didn’t agree, she said she didn’t want any such sightings.

We eventually reached Goolwa Beach and that ever welcoming first quenching cold beer, boy did I need that beer. Note my new blue bonce protection!!!

We sat and watched the surfers for a while and then made our return trip, now knowing the wrong turns, we took the right ones, and thus cutting the time and distance by a quite considerable margin, but it was hot, bloody hot.

I felt a Siesta coming on so got out of the heat of the early afternoon and rested my eyes, I awoke to find a new room buddy had occupied the upper bunk (the Swedish lass having vacated it that morning).
This was Clay who was down from Queensland for a seminar on Monday and had decided to pop down to the coast for a couple of days. We sat in the lounge and he asked if there was a supermarket and bottle shop in town, I said that one of the two hotels had a bottle shop, but the supermarket’s  selection was limited. Jacquie came in and said, VH has a far larger selection, why don’t we go there (she had sussed that Clay had a car). So we went shopping for food and booze, I got a bottle of yellow label Wolfs Blass and a massive rump steak, so that was me ready for the evening. Clay a six pack and Jacquie a bottle of Captain Morgan Rum and a bottle of sprite, these Irish lasses certainly know about boozing.

We cooked our food and retired to the TV lounge to watch a bit of tele, chew the fat and get drunk. At about 21:30 the two youngsters said are we going to the hotels they both have live music on, I declined and said you two go along I am the worse for wear and am hitting the sack. I did hear Clay coming in at 03:00 so I think they had a good night.

Sunday Morning went for a stroll along Horse Shoe Bay, it was a smashing morning and there were a few fishing from the rocks and a couple Rock Lobster snorkelling (with no success I may add). I also took some shots back towards the Beach House, which included a Kayaker out for a Sunday Morning Paddle. The rock formations are quite incredulous and there is a one that reminded me of the statues on Easter Island.  

The cockle train runs twice a week (Wednesday and Sunday) between VH and Goolwa, stopping at Port Elliot and I had decided that I wouldn`t mind doing a trip on it, either to Goolwa or VH, I met Clay late morning, he did look rough, he said he was heading back into Adelaide, but Jacquie said she was game to come on the trip, having been to Goolwa the day before we decided on VH. We headed to the station only to find we had just missed a train, the next one came in about 2 hrs and that it was the last of the day, and then only had a 30min stay before returning. Never the less we decided to do it, it is after all a historic railway run by volunteers and if no one went on it they wouldn’t be able to keep it running. Luckily the station is right beside the Elliot Hotel so we sat in the beer garden and whiled away the time drinking ice cold beer. We went out in sufficient time to take some photographs of the station and the train arriving down the track. I got off in time, pity eh? you are a cruel lot.

It consisted of 2 different coaches, the first was the traction unit, a Diesel coach engine combination and the second was a coach goods van, both in original livery. The trip to VH only takes 15 minutes, but it does take you right along the coast, a very nice scenic route. 

We arrived and hot footed it into the shopping area, I wanted some information about fishing charters and Jacquie wanted fish and chips. As both shops were adjacent both of our needs were satisfied, I got the information and she got sustenance.

We hurried back to the railway station, jumped on board the last train to Port Elliot (do I feel a song coming on?),

getting our tickets punched for the return journey,  and back along the pretty scenic route.  Jumped off the train and watched it disappear towards Goolwa.

A very pleasant afternoon was had by all, even if all I had seen of VH was the Supermarket and liquor shop on Saturday and the fishing shop and chippy today.

We got back and made a spot of supper I finished the rest of the Wolfs Blass,

 

Jacquie said as she was leaving to take up a new job as a cook in Normanville, a small town between Cape Jervis and Adelaide she would have an early night. I watched the start of a film, but lost interest in it so also went to have a bit of shut eye.

Monday

I saw Jacquie and wished her all the best for the rest of the time in Oz, she is working her way back to Sydney for the New Year, funny most of the young backpackers are, I am heading in the opposite direction towards Perth. I then read my messages on line, Sonya had been on to the head office and the lady said she would check, here’s keeping my fingers crossed.

I caught the bus opposite the Methodist church that took me into VH, I went to the tackle shop and got the information, but on arrival discovered it had left. I then decided I may as well walk across to Granit Island, and may be get some bait and do a bit of fishing from the pier.

There is a smashing information office just before the causeway that joins the island to the mainland. I decided to pop in and book my passage on the ferry and the connecting bus to Kangaroo Island, as I had decided to spend 10 days on Kangaroo Island starting tomorrow. I was dealt with by two very helpful ladies, one had actually lived on KI for many years and run a business (hotel, backpackers, restaurant, fishing charters) that had gone bust. We got me all booked up to be picked up at 07:10 the next morning right outside of the YHA.

 

 

 

I then walked across to the causeway, this cause way has a tram that runs across it, what is different about this tram it is Horse Drawn, very different and very quaint. I elected to walk across as it was faster.

 

 

 

 

 

Once on the other side, I went to the pier as I saw a couple of lads with a few rods out, I asked what were they after, shark was the reply, looking over the side, I saw the rubby dubby sack streaming its oily trace into the current, this meant it was useless trying for anything and my hand line was no good for shark. Luckily enough there is a nice hiking trail around the island, I visited the various stops, to view, well, the views.  

 

 

I then re-crossed the causeway and as I had a bit of time to kill walked along the front and went and done a bit of shopping and had a cup of flat white and a piece of carrot cake in the small café adjoining. It was time to get the bus, when It came, I recognised the driver, it was Harry the one that had brought me, I immediately asked if he had found a hat on his bus, he thought, said “an old leather one with a gold heart and a beer mug attached”?  My heart was full of song, praises went out to every god in the world, I said “yes” he said nope never seen it, he winked and said it should be in Adelaide   main office as that was where it all went when  sent back.

Sonya was also able to confirm this later, as she had spoken with the main office and the lady has said she was actually holding it (brave lass)as she described it. All I had to do was get to the main office and pick it up, they could if I wished send it to the central bus station and I could pick it up when I got off the coach (such a nice word coach much more genteel than bus). I said No keep it there, it could go walk about again, I shall come to it.

Off the coach, I walked down to The Beach House, through the red flowered arch, crossing the railway track with the lovely little railways station and past the one sided Norfolk Pine with its Gahla's (cacatua roseicapilla). In the next door garden was a creature well known to me and hated by the Australians, a rabbit, oh for a gun!

 

 

Back in the Beach House at Port Elliot, I got Richard to book me the 10 nights on Kangaroo Island, had a sandwich, wrote up my blog a bit and headed for an early night.

Up at 06:00 as normal, ready, showered and a pot of tea. The mini bus a 6 seater arrived loaded up and we headed in the direction of Cape Jervis  picking a 3 other passengers at  Victor Harbor who were also catching the 08:30 ferry. We chatted about this and that, the others were Islanders returning home for the Christmas holidays, locals, so they gave me a lot of tips what and where to see things on the island. Robert gave me a bit of duff information or I miss heard him, it could well be the later, as we came to the halfway point we climbed a quite steep incline, I thought he said this is the wettest and coldest part of Australia, Sonya has corrected this piece of information, but he may have said South Australia, but anyway we all know the wettest place in Australia is in Queensland at a place called Tully, I have actually been through it at least 3 times, so should have known that. I am sure it was my ears that misheard Robert as no one would be so stupid to quote that piece of wrong information, though there are those that are so stupid and pass on wrong information.

We arrived in plenty of time, reported to the check in and got our boarding passes, I bought a pie, but before I could eat it, it was time to board so I had something to eat as I sat alone up at the fo’c’s’le head (nautical term for the raised part above the bows of a ship, this comes from the old sailing and fighting ships, it was the forward castle and men at arms and cannon would be positioned here)  as the 40 minute crossing was quite choppy and all were below in various shades of green.

Next is Kangaroo Island Folks, see you there