Meningie to Tailem Bend

Meningie to Tailem Bend = 60km

Cummulative total = 787km

Lots of photos for you today!

Yesterday we had a lovely rest day at Meningie and caught up on our washing and played scrabble.

While waiting for my turn at scrabble I was watching this small bird dart in and out of the tree that we were under - it was completely oblivious to us there!

It was hard getting this photo as it wouldn't sit still long enough for the camera to focus on it!

here is Neil trying to think of a word at our game of scrabble.

these are photos of lake Albert which the campground is alongside. Apparently this was quite empty last year but due to recent rain and flooding the lake is full.

The ride today was good - most of it was along the highway as there is no alternative until you get to the turnoff to Wellington.

The first 15km out of Meningie is flat and then there are 2 hills and again along flat until just before the Wellington turnoff there is a small rise.

Basically while riding along the flat the land looks pretty poor and desolate. If anything it looks like it should be under sea - there are lots of dry salty looking patches

When you ride along Neil described it as being very washed out in terms of taking a photo - it is hard to distinguish between land, lake and hills they are all very similar shades of grey, brown and green - not link in the outback where the colours are very contrasting. In the above photo the mountain range in the way distance is the Lofty ranges then grey bit below that is Lake Alexandrina (which the murray goes into) and this is a massive massive lake which also feeds into Lake Albert.

This is the highway we are on and it was okay today not alot of traffic coming at us from both directions so we could ride on the road most of the time. If you look at the shoulder it is 2 toned and there is a slight ledge so going into the shoulder was only done when we really had too!

Sometimes we wondered just what grows out here and judging by the photo above .. not alot!

there are millions of these snails - everywhere along this coastline. they look like across between a garden snail and sea molluscs!

here is kouta sporting his new haircut and todays temp was around 25 degrees so i think he appreciated the hair cut and tomorrow it is going to be around 30 degrees I think - no more coastal breeze for us!
We we happy to get to the Wellington turnoff as that meant we got to go on the ferry. It is free for everyone to go on the ferry across the murray as it is part of the National road system. There are around 11 crossings here in SA and we plan to go on most of them.

this is my view from the back of the ferry looking towards Wellington

this is Koutas reaction when he found out the ferry moves not like being on a road!

me looking back at Neil

and Neil looking at me!

The murray looks very full and calm - there is just something about this river that I like - it is very majestic and I am looking forward to following it back to Swan Hill at least!

Once off the ferry we took a lovely quiet road towards a small town called Jervois - we could have stayed on the other side of the murray and not crossed over but that meant that we were going to stay on the main highway and we were getting closer to the bigger places and so there was going to be heavier traffic.

So it was lovely going along this really quiet road - and I tell you the drought really must have hit down this end of the murray really HARD! Along this quiet road is nothing but milking farms - I would say about 1/2 are still functioning while the rest have given up. There were heaps of run down disused milking sheds and the fields along the murray were a little green but the ones on our left were very dry. I assume after 10 years of very little or no water down this end of the murray the farmers have had to give up (that was the case in Meningie) and off those that still are functioning they seem to only have a field or 2 irrigated. Hopefully with all the rain and the murray flowing nicely now they can irrigate the other fields. I would have like to have come through here before the drought just so I could see a difference - for all I know it may have always been like this!

at Jervois we crossed back over again.

Here I am waiting for the ferry to return. This crossing wasn't as busy as the other one.

small trucks can also go on the ferry the one in this photo had a load of sheep on it.

Once at Tailem Bend the campground is only 2km north so we rode in the service lane. The campground is a little run down to say the least! although at the front of it they do have this nifty bike!

I don't think it works though.

The park has provisions for alot of permanents and seasonal workers. At the moment it is very quiet - the photo in the brochure looks like it is situated at the rivers edge but I think that is flooded at the moment so I am not sure if the tourists usually go down there but for us we have been put up top and have a spot under some big trees and are surrounded by run down looking caravans. The shower block is a little worse for wear, the kitchen is just undescribable! and the laundry is okay. We got charged $20 for unpowered - I think '$20 too much!

Tomorrow we go to Purnong there is a good rest area near the ferry landing according to camp 5. We have to bypass Mannum as they don't take dogs at the caravan park. Not sure how the rest area will be since the water is high in the murray so maybe it won't be suitable for camping - not sure what we will do then!

Salt Creek to Meningie

Salt Creek to Meningie = 60km

Cummulative total = 727km

Gosh it was quiet last night, there was no one around us and we had the entire field to ourselves!

We did have to share the field with one or two rabbits and an excessive amount of these black small bugs

They are everywhere under things - the congregated beneath our pannier bags (not in them!) and under the black polythene that our tent sits on. Poor things I suppose they are just looking for somewhere to live! Not only did we encounter these little black bugs but I tell you I have seen some bull ants in my travels but the 2 I saw here just took the cake! and I mean that literally they were soooooooooooooo big I thought they were on steriods - I could see them without my glasses they are that big - no exaggeration!!!

Anyway we left a little later this morning as we decided to give Kouta a hair cut - it has been a little warm and although we give him the occassional tablet to stop himself from scratching we have noticed that he hasn't stopped like he normally does. So I thought that since it has been so warm lately that maybe he is sweating and is a little hot and that may aggrevate the ictchiness - we are reluctant to give him too may tablets as they are cortisones and prolonged use of them leads to Diabetes. So fingers crossed he stops scratching - Neils theory is that he wakes up too early and sees that we are still asleep and he gets bored and ends up scratching and gnawing at himself!

Initially the day started out very sunny but then the clouds quickly came over and it was a grey day - no rain though.

It was pleasant riding - undulating but okay and you followed the coastline sort off - actually the road does follow the ocean but officially it is not the ocean but sort off like a salt lake that is long and narrow as on the opposite side is part of Coorong national park.

taking a break and they even had overtaking lines on this part of the road!

above is a photo of the would be salt lake and between the road and the lake is national park lands (I think it is) and in the distance you can see more land that is a narrow strip the goes on forever!
We had a cuppa at one of the national park areas and we came across this sign regarding the camping fees -

for a car load off people (up to 8 people) is only $11.00 that means if you have 8 people in 1 car they camp for $1.38cents per person

for a motorcycle it is $6.50 so if there is 2 people on a motorbike that is $3.25cents per person or $6.50 for an individual

if you are hiking or on a bicycle it is $5.50 per person to camp

So for some strange reason, only known to the national parks of South Australia or Australia, if you are environmentally friendly you pay $5.50 to camp, if you are a motor vehicle that pollutes and churns up the environment you may only get to pay $1.38cents to camp ... what the ....!!!

it is outrageous regulations like this that, despite the fact we don't camp in national parks due to Kouta, make us not want to camp in national parks!

We got to Meningie just after lunch due to a very good tail wind. The campground is a top tourist and with our discount is costs $19.80 to camp unpowered. There is a kitchen which has fridge, jug, toaster, microwave and a sort of small oven with elements. It also has a TV room and dining area - very nice. We may stay here tomorrow since it is so nice.

We say farewell to the coast now and will go to Tailem Bend on Monday and start following the murray river up to Renmark, Mildura and then maybe Swan Hill and cut down to Colac - not sure depends on the weather and the amount and where the flooding is! We may find that we get to Renmark and most of Victoria is flooded! if so we will duck straight south and come back through Bordertown.

Kingston SE to Salt Creek

Kingston SE to Salt Creek = 90km

Cummulative total = 667km

It rained last night and there was a little bit of lightening and thunder and so Kouta decides to have a panic attack and is roaming all over the tent panting and breathing like Darth Vada! He wouldn’t settle at all and you couldn’t reassure him. He would come up to our faces and try and sit there but Neil kept moving him so he decides to come up and sit between my face and my bag so here I have this little dog breathing his doggy breath all over me so I growl and roll over only to have Neil breathe his doggy breath all over me ... I am over camping!!!
We did have a nice rest day yesterday here are some photos

the view from the tent

our tent spot and below are photos from our sunset walk along the beach.

So we got up nice and early and it was still warm and very grey but it didn’t look like any more rain so we had breaky and I am waiting for the southerly winds to start blowing - they weren’t blowing by the time we left at 8.15am
Just out of town is the giant lobster

It is very humid and sultry so I am thinking that we won’t be getting our raging tailwinds today like it was forecasted.
At least the road is flat and the traffic was quite heavy and we thought it would ease off once everyone from Robe and Kingston SE have left so around 10am we thought the road would be quieter but the cars, vans and bikes just kept coming all day!
Riding along there is not much to see but tea tree type bushes and trees - you can’t see the ocean or anything like that as it is abut 1km west of you. The tea trees offer a fair bit of protection so maybe that is why I couldn’t feel the tailwind! We did see this very scary sign alongside the road warning drivers to rest and all you can see from afar are these 2 eyes and as you get closer you can see they are pried open with match sticks - I betcha Neil and I were the only ones that took notice of that sign!

We had a cuppa around the 40km mark and the wind was beginning to pick up.

Neil liked the colour of this flower - it was the only bright pink colour while the rest was a white or light pink.
We were going quite well and it wasn’t long before the wind picked up and we could sit on around 17km per hour - we still had to pedal but it was better than having it in front of you.
There was a slight rainy mist for about an hour but it wasn’t heavy but enough to need windscreen wipers on the glasses! We met a Swedish cycle touring couple going towards Kingston SE and into a headwind. They had started out in Perth and have had nothing but headwinds - they said that someone back home had misinformed them with regard to the wind patterns and were surprised that they were getting headwinds - I think they were told that the prevailing wind is a south westerly when it isn’t it tends to be a south easterly in summer!
About 15km before Salt Creek the road becomes a little rolling - not a lot but enough for us to roll down the other side of the bump. We are at the Gemini Downs holiday center and there is not much here - it cost us $20 to camp unpowered and they don’t have any facilities just showers and toilets so probably a little steep for such a basic campground.
We are well away from everyone and opted to go up and over the rise to a huge area for unpowered - I don’t think anyone will come over here as it is a long walk to the toilets but it is great for us with Kouta who is far from taking advantage of the wide open spaces and running about ... no he is fast asleep in tent. The wind is really blowing now!
Tomorrow of to Meningie.

Robe to Kingston SE

Robe to Kingston SE = 43km

Cummulative total = 587km

Gosh I am sitting here along the beach front of Kingston SE and there is not a sould around! There is a gentle breeze coming of the ocean and is getting stronger by the minute and I am across from where are tent is at the caravan park. It is in the sun so it is nicer to come across the road and there is a table between to Norfolk Island pines and so I have a little shade. It is not an overly hot day and it is a little cloudy but nice altogether.

A few problems on the road today 1 lady decides to squeeze through while overtaking us at 110km per hour (speed limit here in SA) and while another car is coming the other way - believe it or not all 3 of us were lined up together on a road that is only wide enough for 2 cars! We also nearly had another accident a little further up the road - unfortunately a person towing a caravan completely misjudge everything and approach us at 100km per hour as we were going into a blind corner and realises that he will have to go on the other side of the road despite that fact that he cannot see any oncoming traffic and he does and he is in the middle of the road and realises that there is another car about 20m in front who must have guessed from Neils arm waving (to the guy driving the caravan) that there is someone overtaking us - so the he moves off the road - really some people just shouldn't be driving! But otherwise it was a boring days ride really especially after Mt Benson. Riding through there was nice as there are quite alot of vineyards and just for you Mum I took these photos so you can fondly remember your grape picking, pruning, tying etc days!

After Mt Benson the road just meanders through so rather ordinary scenery - because this is the Limestone Coast there doesn't look like much that can grow here except salt bush! so there are no real majestic gums or trees just shrubs that look like they are struggling in sandy soil! There is also alot of swamp land around.

Anyway we get to Kingston SE (SE = south east) and it looks like a lovely town. Quiet compared to Robe and the houses are smaller and holiday homes. The houses in Robe are bigger and holiday homes but to say Robe Homes are overstated is an understatement!!! I tell you - you walk around there and it is like they are all trying to compete with each other with regard to house size, style and all the accessories!

Across from the caravan park is the beach and Neil decides to go for a swim.

I look back towards the caravan park and you can see our little yellow tent between the pine trees - well I am sitting between those pine trees right now doing this blog.

It took Neil ages to get in the water and Kouta decides to follow (thinking I am following him behind him!)

The shoreline

Kouta following Neil into the water and seems okay about it .... a few steps later he realises that he doesn't like this sort of water ....

Neil says "come on in Kouta"

Kouta says "Ya dreaming Jonesy!"

While waiting for Neil to get in the actual water and get wet above the knees you can see the different colours where the lighter grey is shallow and the darker grey is very deep according to Neil. While watching I spotted something in the water ....

so I took a photo ... I think it might be a 'bumback whale' I am not sure! It is big and white and floats! I thinks the species is known as Neiljonesicus
We have a rest day here tomorrow.

Beachport to Robe

Beachport to Robe = 50km

Cummulative total = 534km

Another sunny day here in South Australia and it started out to be a good day to cycle but by the time we got to Robe we were both a bit frazzled and cussing damn drivers! (I say cussing because at the moment I am reading Huckleberry Finn!)

We had a leisurely start to the day and despite what the profile shows above it was a flat day as the highest point was 10m above sealevel!

The road is very quiet up until you join the road that comes from Naracoorte and then it becomes busier (but not too bad) and more ignorant drivers.

First was a car that for some strange reason decides that there is not need to move over to the other side of the road to overtake us - so he was very close to us. The road is not very wide and can only fit a car each way - some roads have bits tacked on so the trucks when the pass each other don't have to get off the road - but this road was not one of them.

Then what really surprised us was an empty logging truck decides that he also will not move over as he over takes us and all we can do is shake our heads! But wait folks that is not all - the cherry on the cake comes just as we were going into Robe ... listen to this! ... There is a bike lane along the car lane so that is fine it is not wide but enough for us with a little overhang onto the car lane since we are wide loads! anyway the speed limit is 60km per hour and for some strange reason a car decides to overtake a caravan both going in the opposite direction to us and next thing you know there is a car in the bike line in front of us coming head on and what is even worse is that you look at the caravan and the idiot had moved off the road a bit to indicate that it was safe for the car to overtake him - never mind us!! really I think South Australian drivers are a bit like Queensland drivers either dumb or they don't have to have a drivers licence to drive - honestly some days it seems that all dick heads are on the road on the same day as us!

Anyway we survived and are at the top tourist park which is beside a small lake that I have forgotten the name off.

we have a lovely secluded site towards the back of the park - in fact the unpowered section is really nice and all with shade compared with the powered section which has only minimal shade.

this is a photo of the lake behind us - you can't really see it from the tent unless you get in amongst the shrubs and use your zoom lense!
After lunch we went for a ride into Robe itself - it is very upmarket - far more than Beachport and Port MacDonnell and the housing is big and overstated!

It has a lovely bay and looks like nice beaches but no one really in swimming as there is a very strong southerly blowing.

we forgot to put visors on our helmets when in Melbourne so we picked some up at Port Fairy and attached them to the helmets!

Kouta doesn't look happy as he knows that when we unload the bikes that that is the time for him to sleep until dinner and so he hates going out and doing the tourist thing!

Robe has quite a few heritage listed buildings and they preserve them well - below is the old custom house.

Even the caravan park where we are staying is sort of heritage listed - the YHA manor next door is up for sale and is heritage listed - costs $29 for a dorm bed and $75 per double - very expensive - it costs us $25.20 with discount for unpowered camping! ($28 normally!)

Neil has a new pose!

Tomorrow we have decided to push on to Kingston SE and take a rest day there and fingers crossed the weather forecast is correct and we have raging tailwinds up to Tailem Bend over the weekend.