Hahndorf and Naracoorte

Hahndorf

30 November - 2 December 2015

We booked ahead and checked into a cabin at the caravan park in Hahndorf late in the afternoon. The temperature had dropped but the wind continued to howl. We awoke to a cold, wet, windy day. Glad we had taken the cabin option. A tourist day was in order and Hahndorf didn't disappoint. Hahndorf still retains much of the charm of its German heritage with old buildings and local produce.

We drove into town and found a number of shops didn't open early in the week, and others that didn't open until 10:00am - typical of towns that rely heavily on tourism. We dodged the rain and wandered the very long main street, ducking into many of the interesting shops. Hahndorf is a real "foodie" spot so we splashed out and bought cheese, relish, fudge, honey, German sausage (bockwurst), smoked trout and wine. That's dinner sorted for the next few days!

We spent a quiet afternoon before driving over to Norton Summit to have dinner with friends Sue and Troy. The Scenic Hotel is a lovely spot - with great views - but the drive over from Hahndorf was along winding roads.

In the morning we drove out through Mount Barker, and stopped to visit the Laratinga Wetlands. This is an absolutely beautiful spot with walking paths meandering around the various ponds and pools. There are also toilets, picnic tables and BBQs. We could have spent a lot longer there.

Australasian Shoveler female.

A Grey Teal in very shallow water.

Little Grassbird

Red-kneed Dotteral

Yellow-billed Spoonbill.

This is a wonderful wetland with lots of great birds and places to view them from. There is even a boardwalk over one pond that includes a viewing platform. I'm sure there were more that we didn't see. I would have been happy to spend a full day here but we had to do some travelling. Mick.

Back on the road, with a lunch stop in Tailem Bend. There is a nice park in town near the visitor centre that we remembered from our last visit so we made our way there. A big carpark runs along the railway line, opposite the shops, and adjacent to the visitor centre and park.

Back on the road and on to Naracoorte.


Naracoorte

2 - 4 December 2015

We had intended to stay at Bool Lagoon, just out of Naracoorte but a few reviews on "Wikicamps" suggested that it might not be a good idea so we stopped at the Visitor Information Centre on our way through Naracoorte. The answer to our query was emphatic - no water (therefore no birds)! Oh well, we decided on our fallback position - Naracoorte Caves. Armed with map, information sheet and discount coupon provided at the VIC, we drove the short distance to the caves campground. Although the reviews were good, we were disappointed. The presence of about 30 colourful sleeping bags indicating a probable school group sealed the deal. I have been on enough school camps in my working life to know that this was not the place for us.

We headed back into town and checked into the caravan park. What a good choice - we should have gone there in the first place. A big open park, not crowded, with fairly level sites and some shade. Coupled with a fantastic camp kitchen and adjacent to bushland and the swimming lake, this suited us very well. It was very windy when we set up camp in the late afternoon, so we availed ourselves of the fine facilities in the camp kitchen which included a TV!

In the morning we ventured out for a walk along the Creek Walk. This can be accessed from the rear of the caravan park and runs along the creek, and through the bush. In the other direction it goes into town. You can walk all the way around in a very big loop if you are very energetic. After our walk we drove into town to do some shopping and to visit the op-shops.

Common Bronzewing ready to drink at the creek.

Long-billed corella. These can be seen in large flocks around the park.

Female Magpie Lark. This is the tallest mud nest I've seen.

After lunch we walked along the creek walk back into town for a spot of window shopping. Later, we ventured back down for a photo session. Yet another heatwave was forecast for the weekend so we rang and booked a room at the Little Desert Nature Lodge for the next few days.

It was only about 2 hours from Natacoorte to Little Desert so we stopped in Edenhope for coffee and a few supplies, before making our way to the lodge.