Our Lap of Oz - Part 3

December 2021 - February 2022

We have left Tasmania and now head west to South Australia and West Australia. Read more

47footprints
1countries
84days
246photos
22videos
5.0kkilometers

Follow Calendar Share Bucket list

Traveler Our Lap of Oz - Part 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 4, 2021, 8:00am
- ⛅ 13 °C
- Altitude: 10 m
- Australia Tasmania Devonport Miandetta Patricks Bay -41.200167, 146.35615141°12’1” S 146°21’22” E
Devonport
December 4, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
A last day in Devonport as we prepare to board the Spirit. The car and van have been washed and we are ready for the next stage of the adventure. Boarding at 5:30pm and hopefully not being locked in our cabin this time.Read more
3 likes
Traveler Our Lap of Oz - Part 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 5, 2021, 6:30am
- ⛅ 9 °C
- Altitude: Sea level
- Australia Victoria Port Phillip Garden City Sandridge Beach -37.845131, 144.9154737°50’42” S 144°54’56” E
Day 1
Melbourne - Spirit Of Tasmania
December 5, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
Border closures rear their ugly head again! Well, threats of closures anyway. The South Australia Premier has been making noises about closing the border to Victoria because of the Omicron variant situation. We still want to head west on this trip so the decision was made to try to get to SA first and keep our options open. We could find no official advice about travelling through Victoria after leaving the Spirit so we dutifully filled out the entry permit information truthfully and were surprised to get the approvals back almost immediately.
An overnight on the Spirit and this time everything was open on board. We pretended we were on a cruise again. Probably the closest we will get for a while. Dinner in the restaurant before heading off to bed for an early rise. Arrival in Melbourne at 6:00am Sunday morning to try to avoid traffic.Read more
3 likes
Traveler Our Lap of Oz - Part 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 5, 2021, 2:00pm
- ☀️ 21 °C
- Altitude: 40 m
- Australia South Australia Mount Gambier -37.837329, 140.80075437°50’14” S 140°48’3” E
Day 1
Mt Gambier
December 5, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
The car was fueled up and I had a jerry can as well so we wouldn't have to have any interaction with anyone in Victoria as we drove. Leaving Melbourne we headed through Geelong and then west. 6 hours later we arrived at the SA border not sure how we would be received. We were half expecting a third degree and were ready with printed receipts from Devonport and onboard the Spirit to prove our movements. We needn't have worried as we breezed through with our passes and proceeded to Mount Gambier. A bonus of the whole Covid situation was the lack of traffic on the highways. Not many people travelling from Victoria to SA at the moment.Read more
3 likes
Traveler Our Lap of Oz - Part 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 6, 2021, 12:00pm
- ⛅ 25 °C
- Altitude: 45 m
- Australia South Australia Mount Gambier -37.839339, 140.79946937°50’22” S 140°47’58” E
1
1
Day 2
Mt Gambier
December 6, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
Mt Gambier Showgrounds is our base for the next few days. The car is due for it's next service which I had planned to be in Swan Hill but the change to South Australia meant changing service bookings as well. Luckily got in to Mt Gambier Isuzu quickly but it means staying a few days. There seems to be plenty to see around here so an enforced stop is ok.
Catch up day. Several loads of washing done while we have good water. Managed to visit the Umpherston Sinkhole in the afternoon and had a bit of a look around town.Read more
Traveler Umpherston Sinkhole
12/9/21Reply
Traveler Umpherston Sinkhole
12/9/21Reply
3 likes
Traveler Our Lap of Oz - Part 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 7, 2021, 7:20am
- ⛅ 12 °C
- Altitude: 40 m
- Australia South Australia Mount Gambier Frew Park Oval -37.82467, 140.78200737°49’29” S 140°46’55” E
1
1 1
Day 3
Mt Gambier
December 7, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
Time to explore the Mt Gambier region. The area was part of a very active volcano system many years ago and the sinkholes and caves are the remnants. We visited Little Blue Lake where some young influencers were trying to get the perfect shot diving into the water. It was freezing so I hope it was worth it for them.
Closer to town was Blue Lake which is the main water supply for Mt Gambier. It is pretty amazing as it actually changes colour during the year, Being summer we got to see it in it's blue phase. Just beautiful.
Then right in the centre of town was The Cave Gardens, Not easy to get down to the bottom of this one evidenced by the shopping trolleys and kids scooters sitting on the floor. The surrounding rose gardens were lovely.Read more
Traveler Little Blue Lake
12/9/21Reply
Traveler Blue Lake
12/9/21Reply
Traveler The Cave Gardens
12/9/21Reply
3 likes
Traveler Our Lap of Oz - Part 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 8, 2021, 12:00pm
- ⛅ 15 °C
- Altitude: 40 m
- Australia South Australia Mount Gambier Frew Park Oval -37.82467, 140.78200737°49’29” S 140°46’55” E
1
Day 4
Mt Gambier
December 8, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
We were hanging around Mt Gambier because the car was due for a service and the Isuzu dealer here could fit it in. I dropped the car off in the morning and we headed off for a walk around the area. The showgrounds are a nice camp but they are located close to the state owned forestry sawmill which is a huge operation. And they don't stop overnight. The noise generated by the crashing of heavy lift cranes and forklifts is pretty intrusive and can easily disturb a good night's sleep.
The Mt Gambier Harness Racing Club is also part of the showgrounds complex where we could see the pacers working out during the day.Read more
Traveler Showgrounds
12/9/21Reply
3 likes
Traveler Our Lap of Oz - Part 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 9, 2021, 12:00pm
- ⛅ 15 °C
- Altitude: 3 m
- Australia South Australia Grant Carpenter's Rocks Cape Banks -37.91375, 140.400637°54’50” S 140°24’2” E
1
1 1 1 1
Day 5
Carpenter Rocks
December 9, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
Time to move on from Mt Gambier so we headed for the Limestone Coast. Everything seems to have some snazzy marketing name nowadays. Had a look at a couple of camps at Port Macdonnell but they were right on the coast and very exposed to the winds that seem to be a permanent feature down here, so we headed further north to Carpenter Rocks. Quite a few small seaside towns along here that are either weekend getaways or fishing. They all seem fairly lifeless.
We found a nice open campsite where we could park near some bushes protected a bit from the wind which was quite a relief.
Exploring the little town in the afternoon saw us ending up taking a 7.5km trek up to the Cape Banks Lighthouse and back, again in the wind. A pleasant walk there but not so much on the way back.Read more
Traveler Would hate to see this place full
12/9/21Reply
Traveler Cape Banks Lighthouse in the distance
12/9/21Reply
Traveler Cape Banks Lighthouse
12/9/21Reply
2 more comments
3 likes
Traveler Our Lap of Oz - Part 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 10, 2021
- ⛅ 17 °C
- Altitude: 4 m
- Australia South Australia Kingston Kingston South East Lions Pioneer Park -36.82734, 139.8512836°49’38” S 139°51’5” E
1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Day 6
Kingston SE
December 10, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
On our trip across to Tasmania we met a lovely lady who suggested the town of Beachport in South Australia as our base for the Christmas period. We could see why when we visited on our way through. What a lovely little town and so reminiscent of the Gold or Sunshine Coast towns of 30-40 years ago. It was such a pity that the wind was relentless and freezing cold so we couldn't enjoy the area a bit more. We moved on along the Limestone Coast to Robe for lunch. Another lovely seaside town with plenty to see and do before stopping in Kingston SE RV Park for 3 nights. The SE stands for South East as there are apparently several Kingstons in South Australia. This place is well set up for travelers with a very organised park near the beach and jetty. A short walk to town as well.
We were lucky enough to be here when they had their Christmas Parade and Fair on the Friday night. The fair was held in the Lions Park right next to our campsite with lots for the kids to do as well as live music. All finished off with fireworks directly behind our van.Read more
Traveler Beachport Jetty
12/11/21Reply
Traveler Bowman Scenic Drive near Beachport
12/11/21Reply
Traveler Robe foreshore
12/11/21Reply
7 more comments
3 likes
Traveler Our Lap of Oz - Part 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 13, 2021
- ☁️ 16 °C
- Altitude: 4 m
- Australia South Australia The Coorong Magrath Flat Bluff Island -35.88998, 139.3969735°53’24” S 139°23’49” E
1
1 1 1 1
Day 9
Parnka Point - Coorong National Park
December 13, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
The countryside north of Kingston does not seem to have received much rain recently. The paddocks are extremely dry and dams are not full. The drive north along the Princes Highway gave glimpses of The Coorong along the way. The day was overcast and the colour of the water was greyish with salt lakes dotted along the way. We stopped at one Pink Lake that had only a tinge of the colour. Apparently they get a deeper colour as they dry out during summer.
Our campsite was at Pelican Point in the National Park and we were surprised to be the only campers there. We expected it to be busy as the school holidays have now started. An enormous amount of birds around including many pelicans. Faye was convinced she spotted Mr Percival from one of her all-time favourite movies.Read more
Traveler Pelican Campground, Parnka Point
12/14/21Reply
Traveler Tiny snails that will climb anything
12/14/21Reply
Traveler A reminder we are back on the mainland
12/14/21Reply
2 more comments
3 likes
Traveler Our Lap of Oz - Part 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Dec 14, 2021, 12:00pm
- ⛅ 18 °C
- Altitude: 28 m
- Australia South Australia Alexandrina Port Elliot -35.524557, 138.67803435°31’28” S 138°40’41” E
1
1 1
Day 10
Port Elliot
December 14, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
A couple of days on the Fleurieu Peninsular at the Port Elliot showgrounds. Port Elliot, Goolwa and Victor Harbor are lovely beachside towns that offer much for family holidays. We really expected it to be busier than it was but apparently cancellations have been rife. We took a lovely walk around the headland at Port Elliot and then through the town. A quick drive up to Goolwa and a visit to the mouth of the Murray River that is looking pretty good.
Next day we headed off to Victor Harbor to revisit the jetty bridge across to Granite Island. Unfortunately the horse drawn train was not running as they are building a new bridge that is probably long overdue.Read more
Traveler Port Elliot
12/17/21Reply
Traveler Nelson Harbour
12/17/21Reply
Traveler Old and new bridge to Granite Island at Victor Harbour
12/17/21Reply
3 likes