Last minute decision to drive to Adelaide from Burra. We were going to stay a little longer in the Clare Valley but decided we had seen enough wineries and old buildings. Dropped into Kapunda (old copper mining town) and it was too hot so kept going. Joys of travelling on a whim. Aldinga is about 43kms south of Adelaide on the top tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula. This peninsula is very popular with holidaymakers from Adelaide due to its proximity to the city and the further south you go the cooler the weather. Kangaroo Island is off the bottom tip of the peninsula via a ferry from Cape Jervis. Cape Jervis is 110kms south from Adelaide and is as far as you can go before you have to swim. We were going to go to Kangaroo Island until we found out it would cost over $300 to get there and back (us and the car) for a 45 minute trip. So opted not to go. Apparently not many locals go due to the cost. The park we are at is about a 5 minute walk to the beach which is very pretty. The beaches here have rolling hills as a backdrop into the ocean and it is very scenic and quite different landscape to what we are used too. We didn’t realise however that the closest beach to us (walking distance at least) is a nudist beach – and yes they do get around in the nuddie. As on Cable Beach in Broome majority are old codgers – honestly some things are best left to the imagination! To get to the non nuddie beach you have to walk the gauntlet for about 500m. Just hope no-one stops you for a chat as where would you look? It was a hot night last night and Coco and I went down for a swim and it was beautiful. Real ocean with waves and a drop-off! Compared to what we have seen so far on the Eyre Peninsula it was heaven. Each day we have been here there has been a spotter plane surveying the beaches for sharks and the first night its shark siren went off a few times. People still chance a quick dip! Apparently there is a reef nearby - Aldinga Reef - which is known for its shark sightings.
We drove the east side of the Peninsula 110kms to the bottom at Cape Jervis. Some very pretty scenery, the hills are just lovely, whilst brown and dry still lovely. We stopped at the Myponga Reservoir which had a fair bit of water in it which surprised us and yes lovely scenery. Some great beach spots along the way again with the hills as a backdrop. Certainly is a very picturesque part of the country. We were considering snorkelling at a place called Rapid Bay and Second Valley where leafy sea dragons can sometimes be seen, but John put the scares on us about the sharks! Second Valley was full of kids but could be worth a snorkel as it is more protected once the kids go back to school. At Rapid Bay we would snorkel at the jetty which is 470m out to sea and open water – would be looking over our shoulders out there a fair bit. Also the water is so cold about 16 degrees! Really need a wetsuit of sorts to stay in the water for a good period of time.
There is a huge shopping centre at a suburb called Noarlunga, 20kms north of Aldinga which we went to check out. We were looking for a radiator workshop as we were having radiator issues and discovered it nearby. Don’t believe there is a shopping centre in WA that comes close to it in size. Lots of franchise stores that we don’t get in WA such as a nut store, cakes, greek yoghurt, cheap stores like Red Dot. Could get lost in there quite easily. Have to be honest shopping loses its appeal when you can only buy on need not want due to lack of space!
One thing we only found out when we got here was the Bike Tour Down Under is being held in this part of the world over this weekend. There are 8000 competitors and everywhere is busy particularly roads and accommodation. So we have had to time our trips out when the bikes aren’t on our route. We leave here on Monday heading back to Adelaide and staying with friends of ours Trevor and Margy who live on some acreage in the hills area. We are looking forward to catching up with them again as we haven’t seen them for at least 5 years.
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