Port Elliot has a good range of walks along the coast and today I spent 5 hours hiking along beachfront trails and cliff edges. Travelling along the coast to Middleton and the Murray river I find a wide range of wildlife including seals, oyster pickers, pelicans, common lizards (one basking on the path) while the surfer dudes braved the afternoon waves ;). The coastline has a range of features one of which, stopped me in my tracks - it looked like a huge pile of 'Star Trek' tribbles all over the beach of a bay outside Middelton. They turn out to be balls of fibre (The course material balls are large while the finer material balls are small but stack up to form drifts which are very spongy to walk over). I met a very knowledgeable local man who explained that the balls are formed from some kind of sea grass stems and leaves rolled into balls by the tidal flows within the bay and anchored by claw like razor stems at their ends (I was told the Latin name but can’t remember it!!) He also showed me the beak of a squid that are commonly washed up on the beach and explained that as the Murray river had been in flood the sea was filled with crabs, which attracted rays for a feast (I did not see any rays but there were very large numbers of crab remains around the mouth of the Murray river).
Middleton bay is one of the best places in the world to observe whales :) However, this is seasonal between July and August when hundreds of whales pass through and calve in the protected bays around Middleton then spend several weeks feeding their calves in preparation for another marathon sea journey. Must be a magical site and well worth a return visit :)
After 5 hours in the coastal sun I am feeling a little red… So remember to use sunscreen even if it is overcast in Oz as the sun is strong, especially if you are going to be out in it for a long time.
Saturday, 5 March 2011
Port Elliot
The YHA also run excursions in the local area and one of these was a two night stay at one of their hostels on the coast at Port Elliot for $79 including transport (2hrs). So I book the trip and end up on a Stateliner coach with luxurious seats at 12pm the next day - arriving at Port Elliot you find yourself in what I can only describe as a coastal village where the bus drops you off on the main street at a sign with just a number on it!! The main street houses the one supermarket and several tourist shops and pub/cafes.
Port Elliot is very small and very quiet at the moment so walking up the street to the YHA hostel I do not meet anyone else, the gravel paths crunch beneath my boots and the warming sun shines overhead. Soon I can hear the crashing of waves along the headland and then the hostel comes into site - it is magnificent for a hostel (previously it had been the ‘Acadia Guest House’ with stunning views of the bay and HUGE rooms with high ceilings - when you arrive there is no one to greet you, so remember your entry code otherwise you will be waiting to be let in for some time! I had remembered the code so found my room quickly, dumped all my bags and headed out :)
The coastline here is stunning with the sun beaming down on a rolling ocean, the swell coming in crashes against the headlands rocks before rolling into the bay. Walking the gravelled pathways you are met with a scene of bent trees, shaped by the wind, glinting waves and a large obelisk - erected to warn ships of the headland (After all many ships have been wrecked here over the years), the obelisk is called ‘Freemans Nob’ and is visible up to 10 miles out to sea.
Port Elliot is a wonderfully relaxing site with great facilities.
As I am on a tight budget in Oz my dinner consists of that old favourite macaroni with an onion & sauce $4 for two meals ;) The climate here is much cooler than Perth and so I spend the evening inside the hostel catching up with my blog and watching Family Guy, American Dad and finally Starship Troopers on the 42” Plasma screen TV - like being at the movies. I can highly recommend the hostel as a place to relax and take in the coastal scenery while being looked after by a knowledgeable and warmly welcoming staff - A wonderful stay.
Port Elliot is very small and very quiet at the moment so walking up the street to the YHA hostel I do not meet anyone else, the gravel paths crunch beneath my boots and the warming sun shines overhead. Soon I can hear the crashing of waves along the headland and then the hostel comes into site - it is magnificent for a hostel (previously it had been the ‘Acadia Guest House’ with stunning views of the bay and HUGE rooms with high ceilings - when you arrive there is no one to greet you, so remember your entry code otherwise you will be waiting to be let in for some time! I had remembered the code so found my room quickly, dumped all my bags and headed out :)
The coastline here is stunning with the sun beaming down on a rolling ocean, the swell coming in crashes against the headlands rocks before rolling into the bay. Walking the gravelled pathways you are met with a scene of bent trees, shaped by the wind, glinting waves and a large obelisk - erected to warn ships of the headland (After all many ships have been wrecked here over the years), the obelisk is called ‘Freemans Nob’ and is visible up to 10 miles out to sea.
Port Elliot is a wonderfully relaxing site with great facilities.
As I am on a tight budget in Oz my dinner consists of that old favourite macaroni with an onion & sauce $4 for two meals ;) The climate here is much cooler than Perth and so I spend the evening inside the hostel catching up with my blog and watching Family Guy, American Dad and finally Starship Troopers on the 42” Plasma screen TV - like being at the movies. I can highly recommend the hostel as a place to relax and take in the coastal scenery while being looked after by a knowledgeable and warmly welcoming staff - A wonderful stay.
Gluttony at the Fringe
Last night I went to attend a fringe show about a detective… However, it was cancelled so instead I had a complimentary ticket to another show hosted by a ‘Pratt’, yeah - not a pratt but Mr Pratt, the bass guitar from Pink Floyd :) He was awesome and really brought colour to the life of band members on the road. Although the crowd was small he played it well and gave some excellent mini-renditions of famous base lines - you would be surprised about some of the songs played from Duran Duran having the same base line throughout!! By the end of the show (which overran by at least 15mins) the power went off and the crowd including me got out their handy mobile phone torches and lit the stage before it came back for a final tale of travelling band woes. Really enjoyed the show, but did not buy a book.
The Fringe show gardens ‘Gluttony’ and ‘Unearthly delights’ deserve a mention for their tranquil set up - at night they are alive with the buzz of visitor conversations as they lounge around on large beanbag chairs drinking beer and wine lit by the gentle light coming from lamp shades hanging overhead within the trees while being serenaded by the sound of wildlife :)
The Fringe show gardens ‘Gluttony’ and ‘Unearthly delights’ deserve a mention for their tranquil set up - at night they are alive with the buzz of visitor conversations as they lounge around on large beanbag chairs drinking beer and wine lit by the gentle light coming from lamp shades hanging overhead within the trees while being serenaded by the sound of wildlife :)
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Alien mother ship?
Nope - the botanic gardens in Adelaide. Had time on my hands today so headed for the botanic gardens for a quiet few hours of wandering around to find a large green area planted with a range of flora from around the world including trees bedecked with both noisy birds and fruit (At one point a sign warned of falling fruit and the pavement was roped off!!). The gardens are also laced at times with spider webs which stretch incomprehensible distances… I did not see the spiders themselves and am kind of glad about that ;) Exploring deeper into the gardens you find a aviary style summer house, which is dedicated to Elvis Presley and true to its nature this is the noisiest place in the gardens - down the path a little further is the Alien mother ship or to most the tropical bio dome which requires a $4 entry fee 0_0, decided that it looked good enough from the outside ;) There is also a ‘rose garden walk’ here with a beautiful scent from both the roses and compost made from what can only be a form of pot puree. Finally in the north west corner of the gardens is the ‘wine centre’, a place to try out a number of Australian wines at $6-20 a glass. A $7 Barossa ’Shiraz’ wine was both rich and fruity and a match for many of the French wines I have tasted, so if you see an Ozzie wine give it a go.
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