Meningie, Robe and The Coorong

Meningie

15 - 18 November 2015

We stopped at Ouyen for coffee and some supplies then headed off towards the South Australian border. We had thought to stay in Murrayville - the last town with a caravan park before the border, and arrived at lunch time, so stopped in the park for a picnic. Our aim was to use up all the fresh fruit and vegies before we crossed the border. We went and looked at the caravan park, considered the time, and decided to push on, knowing that we would lose our fresh food.

Just before the quarantine station coming into South Australia there is a small area where we pulled over and ate the remaining orange - a big, sweet, juicy Valencia. On to the station and we handed over a few onions, some potatoes, the last of the avocado, a small tomato, a couple of mushrooms and some spring onions. The friendly officer checked the fridge and then handed back the potatoes and onions - but everything else had to go. It is wise to run down your supplies before you cross into South Australia. Quarantine regulations are available at Quarantine - Domestic and it pays to be familiar with them when travelling.

Our aim was to get to the Coorong National Park, after a stay in a caravan park to refill the water tank and recharge the battery, so we chose Lake Albert Caravan Park in Meningie. What a good choice! Our site had uninterrupted views out to the lake - with heaps of birds to photograph. It seems there are lots of walks and drives so we decided to stay a little longer.

Pelicans roost across from our campsite.

After a windy night we set off in the morning along the lakeside walk towards the town - lots of stops along the way to photograph the birds and look at the interpretive signage. This is Ngarrandjeri country and their proud history is interwoven with that of early European settlers as well as environmental aspects of this area. It's a pleasant and easy walk into town.

This place was one of the highlights of our trip so far for me. My only complaint would be the lack of amenities at our end of the park. We regularly got our daily 10,000 steps, especially when having a quiet sundowner or two. We were camped under some flowering gum trees that were regularly visited by beautiful little Purple-crowned lorikeets. This was a new bird for me so I was thrilled, what a busy little bird though! So hard to photograph!

Whiskered tern.

Young White-faced herons

There are so many waterbirds around the Coorong it is such a pity there aren't more hides to view them from. Luckily we had lots to see at the park. Whiskered and Caspian terns, Pelicans, Egrets and Herons regularly flew past enhancing the already lovely view of the reed lined lake. Mick.

Purple-crowned lorikeet.

Purple-crowned lorikeet.

Common bronzewing.

Hoary-headed grebe.

We visited the tourist information centre (housed in the local craft business) but there was very little available - very disappointing. We had picked up more local information at the caravan park. After coffee and a banana and walnut muffin - yum - from the coffee shop, we returned to camp for lunch.

After lunch we headed off on the Lake Albert Loop - a scenic drive that takes you around Lake Albert. The road skirts the lake, quite close in parts, and takes you to The Narrows at Narrung where Lake Albert meets Lake Alexandrina. The 24 hour (free) vehicular ferry takes you across The Narrows to rejoin the road, passing Point Malcolm Lighthouse (the only inland lighthouse in Australia) and eventually  back to the Princes Highway.

Vehicular ferry across The Narrows.

The pink lake.

Australian shelduck.

Pink-eared ducks with some Grey teal.

In the morning we drove up past the school to the boardwalk and bird hide they had created. Inside the hide there were lots of information sheets created by the students. A great initiative, and they are so fortunate to have such a great resource just outside their back gate.

Wood Sandpipers. Another lifer for me!

Latham's snipe. This hide is a great place to catch a glimpse of this secretive wader.

We did some shopping at the local IGA supermarket, butcher and baker before going into the back blocks to the fish shop. We had visited the previous afternoon, but were told they had no fillets and to come back in the morning. We were in luck - fresh local mullet - caught during the night, for dinner. And it didn't disappoint.

We made more visits to likely bird spots - the boardwalk and the lake, and visited the National Parks Office which is not well advertised, but can be found off the Long Point Road. After a cool night we awoke to the news that the state would be experiencing extremely high temperatures and that most districts were subject to total fire bans. We had already booked our campsite online (as is required in South Australia) so we checked and discovered that the Coorong National Park was in a district with a total fire ban, and that even gas stoves couldn't be used. I phoned the National Parks Office and was able to move our booking back a couple of days.

We considered our options,  and checked the forecast maps. We had thought to stay on in Meningie - it's  a beautiful spot - but we discovered that Robe was not expected to have the heat so we decided to head there.


Robe

18 - 20 November 2015

We left Meningie, with the temperature forecast of mid-30's, and headed south. We drove along the Coorong. Our first stop was at Jack's Point Observatory - a short drive off the highway, then a 1km walk through the sand dunes to a shelter looking over the water and islands where the pelicans breed. We walked back along the beach to avoid the squadrons of mosquitoes we had encountered on the walk there. From there we drove on and called into the camping spot we would be returning to later in the week. It looked like a nice spot - but was very hot when we stopped for lunch there. It's only 5 km off the main road, along an unsealed, but good, road.

On through Kingston SE (there is also a Kingston on the Murray) and then to Robe. We don't understand why Robe is so much cooler than the rest of the state, but we were glad it was. Much of South Australia was experiencing temperatures up to the high 30's and in Robe it was mid 20's. We settled into a caravan park and went exploring. This small town is very prosperous thanks to the crayfishing industry. There are a number of beaches and lakes which make for good bird spotting. We drove passed the Lighthouse and Obelisk at Cape Dombrey and stopped at Pub Lake as well.

Rufous bristlebird not far from the park.

In the morning we stopped again at Pub Lake and a couple of friendly locals pointed Mick in the direction of an unpublicised bird hide at nearby Fox's Lake. We had coffee in town and then drove out to Little Dip Conservation Park for a look. This park is only about 12 km from Robe, along mostly sealed roads. Our first stop was at Long Gully Campground. It's a big grassy area, with toilets, but nothing much else. From there we drove on to Old Man Lake campground. This one looked much nicer - the open camping area is right on the lake. There was a picnic area with a table and chairs as well as a toilet. There is also a walk you can do which goes right around the lake. We didn't, but it is only a short walk.

Sharp-tailed sandpiper from the bird hide.

Common greenshank from the bird hide.

We spent the rest of the day catching up on shopping and errands in Robe, including much-needed haircuts for both of us. In the morning we packed up and headed off the relatively short (110km) distance down the road to the Coorong.


42 Mile Crossing - Coorong National Park

20 - 21 November 2015

Because we knew we didn't have far to go, we didn't hurry to get packed up, and only left the caravan park at about 10.00 am. We stopped for a walk down to the beach before hitting the road north. We stopped at the bakery in Kingston SE, and drove through the town, just because we could.

We continued on to 42 Mile Crossing in Coorong National Park. When we called here on Wednesday it had been about 32 degrees, but was a much more pleasant 18 degrees - at least it was pleasant if you could get out of the wind! We set up camp and were settled in by lunch time so had a lazy afternoon. We did venture along the walk towards the beach, but didn't go all the way. I had been expecting steep climbs over the dunes, but apart from the first section (and we guessed the last) it was actually a fairly easy walk. The path snaked its way along between the dunes. We stopped and turned back when we realised we were quite thirsty. You really do need to take water with you, even on cooler  days.

Beautiful firetail.

Little wattlebird.

As the afternoon wore on, the wind persisted and the temperature dropped. We had the distinct feeling we were in for a cold night, and we retreated into the camper to catch up on some blogging and photo editing.

The wind continued to howl throughout the night so we were glad we had only booked one night. As we packed up a number of groups of people started to arrive - another good reason to be leaving. Along the way back up the Coorong we drove down to Parnka Point for a look. There are a couple of nice camp spots (Pelican looked the best) but the only toilets are right down at the point.

We had planned a long day with Quorn our ultimate destination, but knew we wouldn't make it in one day, so headed for Clare as a reasonable overnight spot.