Living in a hallway: A Journey West

02/04/2024 - Robe South Australia

When we left home on our way to Robe, it was lovely and sunny, by the time we got to Gordon down came the rain. We continued to drive through showers all day.

A short stop in Hamilton for lunch and arrived in Robe to a sunny afternoon. After setting up camp we walked into town to get the lay of the land. A few showers blew through but fortunately, we were near a pub both times and able to seek shelter.

The Good Pub.

The Surly Pub.

The showers continued overnight, but we woke up to a lovely sunny morning. We had a lazy start then got the bikes off the ute to explore the town. (The bikes really are the killer app for exploring towns). We rode around Cape Dombey visiting various historic sites including the ruins of an unusual Gaol which appeared to only have four small cells a huge exercise yard and an extensive kitchen and gaoler residence.

There were two escapes from the Gaol and on the escapees and the salt-preserved body of one of the escapees was discovered 8 months after his escape. The Gaol closed in 1881 as there were not enough prisoners to keep it going.

We continued our cycling tour around the cape and noticed that the skies were getting dark too, so we legged it to the nearest shelter, the Robe Hotel.

Sunny Morning

Bank House

Campbell cottages

Chinese Memorial

Random Boat

Robe Obelisk

The Doorway. (Time to seek shelter)

It's a bit colder today with a cool southerly breeze. We hopped on our bikes and ventured out to discover the other end of Robe. Continuing on the trail that runs along the coast we arrived at Long Beach. Long Beach allows vehicles. It did take a little more effort than riding on the road, but still easygoing.

Long Beach

Riding on Longbeach.

Longbeach.

A short detour on the way back to camp took us past the Robe Town Brewery. A busy and trendy place.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a beer that was any good. Lots of sour beer and hoppy rubbish.

What's with all the Sour Beer.

05/04/2024 Port Elliot

A travelling day today. A short stop in Meningie for the OP-shop and information centre, to collect info for another trip. We're staying at the showgrounds at Port Elliot. A short walk to town and the beach.

Knights Beach

Looking towards Victor Harbour.

06/04/2024 Cockle Train to Victor Harbour

We took the Bikes to Port Elliot train station this morning and caught the Cockle Train to Victor Harbour. It was a 10-minute scenic trip along the coast into the middle of town. Our first stop was the information centre to collect some maps and information. We then walked towards the beach and visited a local art display. While we read the information we had a coffee and jam doughnut before heading off on the local historical walk.

The Cockle Train.

Old Cottages.

Grosvenor Hotel.

Sculpture in the park.

Telegraph Station.

Old Town Hall.

Next, we walked along the causeway which connects to Granite Island. The historic tramway runs along the causeway and is pulled by a Clydesdale horse named Scotty. The wind had got up so we collected our bikes and cycled the 7kms back to Port Elliot along the Encounter Bay Cycleway.

Scotty towing the Tram.

07/04/2024 - Cockle Train to Middleton & Goolwa

We liked the Cockle Train so much that we took the bikes and caught it in the opposite direction to Goolwa via Middleton. It was a different train set this morning with a separate diesel engine pulling nice old carriages. We arrived in Goolwa, parked the bikes and walked around the Sunday market, then we walked into Goolwa township. It didn't have the same atmosphere as Victor Harbour which meant we didn't spend as much time here before hopping on our bikes and taking the Encounter Bikeway to Middleton.

The Strand (Port Elliot)

Cockle train to Goolwa.

Goolwa.

Station Masters House Goolwa.

There were plenty of views of the ocean and hundreds of huge holiday homes lining the coast (that appeared to be empty). We eventually arrived at Middleton where we stopped at the local to watch the Japanese Grand Prix. When we left it had turned quite cold. We rode the final few kilometres back to Port Elliot. lots of views of the Southern Ocean and some keen surfers catching waves.

The Southern Ocean.

A couple of the empty houses.

Tuff Beef.

08/04/2024 Travel Day to Iron Knob.

We went into town to stock up and left for Snowtown. We were making good time so we decided to continue on to Iron Knob. We've stayed here before and are attracted by its quirky nature.

Leaving Port Elliot,

09/04/2024 Kimba.

It's a bludge day today. We know that Kimba is the best free camp in Australia, We only travelled an hour up the road and settled in at the Kimba Recreation Ground.