Day 40 – October 10 2012

Up early & packed again.  We spent 2 wonderful weeks on Kangaroo Island, perhaps one week would have been enough to see most of the touristy sights but we never tired of finding new places to see.  It is so wonderful to see so many birds & wild animals that are not behind a cage in a zoo. Kangaroo Island must be a little piece of heaven on earth (we had good weather while we were there & that always helps).  We drove a short distance to the wharf at Penneshaw for the ferry back to mainland Australia.  It was showering on & off with the wind picking up a bit to around 25 knots, nothing near to what was forecast thankfully.   The ferry was full with around 50 cars & a bus on board, it is amazing how the crew manage to pack so many vehicles on the ship.  The passage over is only around 16km & was not too rough, the wind was behind us & we were travelling with the waves.  The harbour at Port Jervis is very small & the captain of the ship really does a good job in turning around & mooring us, the windage on this ship is huge as the sides are so tall.

The drive to Victor Harbor is around 56km & travels through rich hilly farmland, the pastures are so green & lush, the dairy cattle & the sheep must be absolutely thriving.  I didn’t realise there was so much good farmland in this part of Australia.  It was showering rain most of the way on the drive through the hills so I took things very warily, the winding country roads are a bit slippery & bouncy in places.  Coming down into Victor Harbor the view of the town is great, with Granite Island dominating the harbour.  Thankfully there was a break in the rain as we set up camp, as soon as we finished it started raining again, this time with fine hail & very strong winds.  We sat the hail out in the Karavan  & had lunch, then drove into the city centre to have a look though the museum.  This Victor Harbor museum must be one of the best small museums in Australia.  It is really put together very well & is extremely informative.  The volunteers looking after the place are also doing a wonderful job, so helpful & friendly.

We ventured outside the museum & were nearly blown off our feet, the wind was really strong.  We decided to go on a scenic drive.  We visited the Bluff, with views over Victor Harbor & also west along the coast.  We also followed the coast east & drove into Port Elliot & Middleton, the seas were really creating huge surf right along the coast & there were not too many people out in this terrible weather.  We stopped in town & ate at the 2^nd best fish & chip shop (proudly advertised) in all South Australia.  We had a big platter of really good assorted sea food & salad between the 2 if us, then back to camp.  A pleasant, though windy, day.