Lap of Australia – Week Three

This week we kept exploring the Fleurieu Peninsula for a few more days, then started venturing north of Adelaide by the weekend.

Day one

After a bit of a slow start, the weather finally improved for us (yay), so we took advantage of the good weather and went off exploring. First stop was the Deep Creek Waterfall Hike, a 4km return walk. The falls usually only run during winter and after rain, so we were lucky to see it flowing. This was also our first waterfall for the trip, so we were excited to see it. The hike was steep in parts but definitely achievable for us, and we enjoyed some rock hopping and water crossing to get to the waterfall. Even though it had been raining, it was still hot so we were sweating by the end of the walk! We decided to head towards the Cobbler Hill car park, have some lunch, and decide how we were going to get to Blowhole Beach. After seeing a Subaru Liberty get up the 4WD track, we decided to give it a go and drive down to the beach carpark. Other than being steep, the track was pretty easy and when we got to the carpark, we saw how steep the walk was back to Cobbler Hill car park and knew we made the right decision. Blowhole Beach was a lovely spot, with people swimming and fishing on the beach. We were so surprised how there were so many amazing beaches like this hidden between hills on the Fleurieu Peninsula, it was great to drive and see them. We had a walk around, did some rock hopping, and decided to make our way back up the hill and decided to head back to the trig campground to do the Deep Creek Cove Hike. This hike was a 6km return walk through bush to a secluded cove. This was another steep walk, but once you got to the cove it was all worth it. We could have sat there for hours on the rock looking out to sea, the view was that good. But, we knew we had to climb back up the hill to the car so we left and made our way back. On the way back to our campsite, we did the short Forest Circuit Walk as it was on the way, and we settled back at camp exhausted but happy.

Day two

It was time to leave Deep Creek National Park and head to our next camp just outside Mount Compass on a Hipcamp we found. For only $10 a night, we had a paddock to ourselves and it was close to everything we wanted to do in the area. The owner of the property was also lovely and sent us a guide of things to do in the area. First stop was in Yankalilla for what we like to call life admin. We needed to wash the car, fill up water, get some groceries and empty the portaloo. We could do everything at Yankalilla and the town was super handy. We had also done some research online and found that the local bakery does vegan doughnuts. If you don’t know Sam has an egg allergy and Sammie is lactose intolerant, so finding treats we can both eat can sometimes be hard work and we had to see if the vegan doughnuts were good. We can confirm they were very tasty and enjoyed some before going via the chemist to buy some more sunglasses for Sam. We decided to head to Normanville as it was around five minutes up the road. We were so glad we did, as the water was amazing and it was so warm. We had a bit of time before we could check in so we decided to go for a swim and enjoy the clear, warm water. On the way to Mount Compass we drove past Forktree Brewing and saw they were open, so we decided to stop in for a drink and learnt that South Australian schooners are actually Tasmanian 10 ounces! We got to our campsite, dropped off the trailer and went to explore a few things in the area. First stop was Hindmarsh Falls, which was nice, but not as good as the waterfall we saw yesterday. We then drove to Crows Nest lookout that provided a great view of Victor Harbor, Goolwa and Port Elliot. Last stop was a walk around the Mount Compass wetlands and a trip to the bottle shop before heading back to camp. 

Day three

Today was the Australian Day public holiday, and with it ramping up to be another hot day, we decided to head to the coast to go for a swim and a snorkel after we got a workout out of the way. The public holiday definitely didn’t work in our favour as there were people everywhere! But, we did manage to get in a swim and snorkel at two different places so it definitely wasn’t a failed trip. First stop was to Rapid Bay, where we had heard there was good snorkeling and nice beaches. We had a walk along the jetty, then decided to have a swim and snorkel. The water was lovely and clear, and saw some fish but nothing else really. The beach section was packed, but we found some water by the rocks that didn’t have a lot of people there. We decided to head up the road to Second Valley, but couldn’t even get a car park there were so many people there. We thought we would try Normanville and see how busy it was there. Unfortunately it was twice as busy as the day before and we couldn’t find a carpark there. We decided to keep driving again and go to    Carrickalinga, where at long last we found a car park! The water there was so lovely and clear and the swimming temperature was great. Definitely a relief for us Tasmanians who were not coping with the heat. After our swim, we made our way back to Myponga and checked out the Myponga Reservoir Lookout and the Myponga Reservoir Reserve Trail. It was cool to drive out onto the dam in the area, and on our walk we saw heaps of Kangaroos. That night, we had a severe thunderstorm warning released for the area, so we packed up as much as we could and settled in for a storm, but we didn’t get anything in the end. 

Day four

With it being our last day in the area, we decided to head up to McLaren Vale to check out the area, and try some of the local beer and wine. First stop was to detour to Yankalilla though, as the new sunglasses purchased broke within a day, and they were closed the day before for the public holiday. After our detour, we decided to check out Sellicks Beach on the way and found out that you can drive on the beach with an $8 permit. The beach was hard to drive on as we saw Taragos, Camrys, and all kinds of cars that you wouldn’t expect to be driving on the beach. We then made our way towards McLaren Vale. There are so many different vineyards, breweries and distilleries in the area, we were a bit lost as to where to go. Thanks to some travel videos and Instagram, we settled on a brewery and vineyard to stop into. First stop was Swell Beer, and they had a nicely priced paddle and cider on tap. We were able to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine, and we also enjoyed our drinks. The artwork on the wall outside was also amazing and we could see this place getting very busy on weekends. We had some lunch (wraps in the park), and decided to head to Down The Rabbit Hole wines. This vineyard had popped up on our Instagram feed a bit, with everyone having a photo in front of the famous bus. We did a bit more research and found out that the owners had also traveled Australia, so we were sold on visiting. When we got there, we were told that the wine tastings usually occur on the bus, but with the weather being so warm, they were being held in the garden with Jesse. There were two other ladies doing a tasting at the same time, and they gave us some great tips on things to do in the area, and also some beaches to visit. All the wines were organic and vegan, and were all super tasty. The labels were also well designed, and represented the wines well. After our tasting, we purchased a bottle of Rose’, took the advice from the locals and headed to Blanche Point. We were so glad we got this recommendation, this was one of the best beaches we had gone to. We could see dolphins swimming in the distance, and it was so quiet! It was a great place to have a cool down and a snorkel. We also went exploring on the rocks and found some cool rock pools and small caves just around the corner from where we were swimming. After our swim and explore, we decided to make our way back to camp as it was getting late. This was our last night in the area before we headed off North. We had a great time exploring the Fleurieu Peninsula, but we were looking forward to seeing more of South Australia 

Day five

We didn’t have to leave our campsite until 12, so we decided to have a slow morning doing some cleaning and maintenance on the car before heading off. We got some fuel at Willunga, then started our drive through Adelaide. This was our first capital city since Melbourne, and as we got closer, the traffic got thicker and driving times got slower. The drive was relatively smooth though, with only some traffic jams through the city, and we didn’t get lost so that was a win. We made our way to Malalla, a small town located around 58 KM north of Adelaide. We were heading towards a low cost campsite that had showers and a laundry, and put us in a great spot to explore the area for a few days. Plus, it was also only $10 a night! We set up camp, and decided to go for a drive and explore a few things in the area. Around 15 minutes up the road, there was a small town called Owen that had some silo art. We were keen to check out some silo art and we weren’t disappointed. From reading the sign, we learnt that the art was relatively new and it was very well done. We are looking forward to seeing more silo art on our travels. We then drove to Two Well and went for a walk around the town, before heading back to Malalla to do some washing and to settle in for the night. 

Day six

Today we decided to head to the Barossa Valley for a look. As with McLaren Vale, there were so many different vineyards, breweries and distilleries to choose from and again, we were lost as to what to do. We had heard that Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop was worth a look, so we headed there first and walked around the farm. We spotted turtles, olive trees and pheasants on our walk, including a male peacock hiding under the trees for some shade. We walked into the farm shop and instantly recognised the kitchen from The Cook and the Chef. There were so many items available to buy that looked amazing, but we left empty handed and decided to drive back to Tanunda for a walk around. At it was Saturday, this was our “treat” day where we buy lunch, so we decided to head to Tanunda Hotel as we hadn’t had a pub meal in ages. The food was tasty and cheap (compared to Tassie pub standards) and they had a near new beer garden to sit and enjoy. After lunch, we walked down to Barossa Valley Brewing for a drink, as they had a peanut butter milkshake stout on the menu and we were intrigued. It was incredible, and we enjoyed the drink in their outdoor area with a watermelon seltzer. We walked back towards the car, stopping in at the FruChocs shop as we had heard good things about the South Australian chocolates. We were surprised to see a vegan version, so we bought a packet to try and we weren’t disappointed. They are apricots and peaches coated in chocolate and are very tasty. We couldn’t leave the area, so we headed to Kellermeister (after reading good reviews). They have a number of Shiraz’s that have been voted number one at wine competitions in London and France, with all of their wine being delicious. They also had a Chocolate Liqueur that used the same label as from the 1970’s and that was super tasty. The nicest thing we tried there was their cider of all things, and with a four pack only being $12, we purchased one and headed off. After our food and drink overload, we decided to head to the Whispering Wall for a look. If you stand on one side of the wall and someone else stands on the other side 140m away, you can hear what each other is saying. The scenery in the area was great and we saw some more Turtles swimming around. We walked across the dam wall and could hear people whispering to each other. After checking out the whispering wall, we decided to get our groceries done in Gawler (while we were in the area) and headed back to camp. 

Day Seven 

We woke up to a hot and windy morning (hot days being the theme here at the moment). Today we were heading into Adelaide to meet some friends, going to the Pirate Life brewery in Port Adelaide. We decided to stay within the area to explore so we could avoid crowds where possible. First stop was St Kilda, as we saw on Instagram that there was a huge playground, and we wanted to check it out in person. The playground was incredible and had so many different sections for kids to play on. We had a go on the flying fox and a walk around, and decided to head to Port Adelaide to have a look around. After getting some more butane from Kmart, we had a walk around the area. We still had some more time to kill before meeting our friends, so we got back into the car and headed out to Garden Island. On the way there, we saw the ships’ graveyard, but unfortunately there was no way of getting a closer look. We headed towards the boardwalk and dolphin sanctuary and had a walk around. Unfortunately we didn’t see any dolphins but there were heaps of people kayaking in the water. Also looked like someone had a good time doing some burnouts there too. After our walk, we headed back to Port Adelaide and settled in at Pirate Life brewery. They had an abundance of beers on tap, with the food looking tasty as well. We tried some of the pale ales, sour beer and a lager, and some of their chips as well. They also had a huge outdoor area and the place was packed! We had a good afternoon though, and once we finished up, we headed back to camp for the night.

Weekly stats

Number of KMs – 920

Number of states – 1

Number of campsites – 3

Number of items lost – 0

Number of items broken – 1 (the brand new sunglasses, but we got them replaced).