28 January 2012 - Exploring Victor Harbor

The Ramindjerri clan of the Ngarindjerri people are the traditional inhabitants of the lower lakes area of the Murray River where Victor Harbor is situated. Apparently the Ramindjerri people were not nomadic like many of their cousins further inland. Who can blame them, fresh water for drinking from the Hindmarsh and Murray Rivers, fishing in both fresh and sea water, relatively mild climate, they would not want to live anywhere else. Pity about all those British and French explorers who kept bothering them. With this being the area where the Murray meets the sea, it was a great place for exploration as the Euros were able to navigate vast distances up the river rather than having to trudge overland.

For those who may have picked up the incorrect (or American) spelling of 'Harbor' rather than 'Harbour' blame the early surveyor general of Sth Australia rather than me. Apparently he made this error in a few places such as 'Outer Harbor' - Port Adelaide. Interestingly the railway station is spelt 'Victor Harbour' - thank goodness for wikipedia.

Victor Harbor is now the largest town on the Fleurieu Peninsula and there are loads of things to see and do. We started the day by visiting the local fresh produce markets where I managed to get the best coffee in have had so far during our time in SA. While we were at the markets, we heard the whistle for the local steam train that runs between Victor Harbor and Goolwa, the town closest the mouth of the Murray River. We ran to the station to see the train pulling in. Lachie was delighted whilst Emily was absolutely terrified of the train whistle. We hung around to watch the engine shunt from one end of the platform to the other for the return trip to Goolwa. We watched the train depart and manage to placate Lachie by promising we would go on the train tomorrow.

After the excitement of the train, we wandered around Victor Harbor, visited the tourist office to find out the best things to do and had some lunch in the park while waiting for the tram to Granite Island. There is a 600m pier linking Victor Harbor to Granite Island, just off the coast, and the option of taking the restored horse drawn tram rather than walking across. The tram is pulled by a single Clydesdale horse, no doubt one of the three we saw yesterday. We piled onto the tram along with a bunch of other tourists and it was a pleasant 20 minute trip across.

On Granite Island we saw some of the local fairy penguins being fed, although this was not as exciting as the icy pole that we allowed the kiddies to have, given that the day was so warm.

On returning to Victor Harbor we decided to take a drive up to Port Elliot, about 10 mins from Victor Harbour and go for a swim at Horseshoe Bay. Lachie fell asleep in the car on the way there, so Clare waited with him in the car while I went for a swim with Em. Horseshoe Bay is usually very tranquil but the swell was up a bit, so Emily decided she would rather stay onshore and look for shells. The water was very pleasant and most refreshing and I managed to catch a couple of waves.

Clare also managed to get a swim in and we then headed back to our campsite after a long day. Em and Lachie befriended our neighbors kiddies, Hannah and Miles. They had a great time on their balance bikes, on the bouncy pillow with mummy and running around while dinner was cooking. A late night for them and we did not managed to get them into bed until well after 9pm. Steam trains and Goolwa are on the agenda for tomorrow.