Mount Compass

14 – 16 November 2024

We returned to the highway and began the journey to Mount Compass. We stopped at a coffee van at the turn-off to Adelaide and continued on through the city – at its associated traffic – arriving at Mount Compass at lunch time. We settled on to a site close to the amenities and camp kitchen.

Our main reason for visiting Mount Compass is its proximity to another favourite birding spot – Cox’s Scrub. It’s close enough to be able to get there early, and it’s also a very nice caravan park. The pub in town also does a good meal so we did shout ourselves lunch there one day.

Mick takes his birding very seriously

As well as an early morning trip to Cox’s Scrub we also visited the providore and bought some local jam and chutney. We don’t buy souvenirs, but we do buy local produce and other yummy treats.

Mick was keen to drive the Great Ocean Road to do some more birding so we decided that Nelson would be our next stop.

Mount Compass

23 – 28 November 2022

We left Port Augusta and made our first stop at Crystal Brook for morning tea in the park. We wandered around the friendly town and had a look in some of the shops, including a community run antiques and collectables shop. We had stopped in Crystal Brook for coffee or lunch a few times but have never stayed overnight and keep saying that is something we must do. Maybe next time.

We continued on and had lunch in the park at Port Wakefield then set off to drive through Adelaide and on to Mount Compass in the Lower Mount Lofty Ranges on the Fleurieu Peninsula. We had arranged to have a couple of nights there with friends Judy and John.

We had never been to Mount Compass before but picked it for its proximity to Cox Scrub, a favourite birding spot. We were pleasantly surprised to find a well laid out caravan park, with lush green grass on the spacious sites. It had a very nice friendly feel about it and was a great place to stay.

We spent the evenings with Judy and John and went out in the mornings to take photos of birds. After 2 nights we all decided to stay an extra night and go for lunch at the pub the next day. The Mount Compass Hotel has a surprisingly large menu – something we haven’t seen for a while – and we all enjoyed a delicious lunch.

Judy and John left to continue their travels after 3 nights at Mount Compass and we ended up staying an extra two nights. The small town had everything we needed – supermarket, op shop, bottle shop and hardware, as well as a gift shop and antique shop.

Each morning we set off early on the 20 minute drive to Cox Scrub. Mick had learned of this place from a local birder he had met at Laratinga Wetlands a couple of years before and it has become a favourite for its reliable puddles of water which attract honeyeaters and parrots. We were first to arrive each morning, with locals coming a little later. We were fortunate that the rain that fell on a couple of days didn’t start until late in the morning so it didn’t interfere with his activities.

From Mount Compass we had a long drive across the border into Victoria to stay in a cottage near Patchewollock.

Hahndorf

 30 November - 5 December 2021

We set off from Gluepot, carefully negotiating the mud and damaged sections of road. We had hoped to spend a few more days there but a problem with the camper trailer, which would require a repair meant we had to make our way towards Adelaide. We crossed the River Murray back into Waikerie and then headed for Blanchetown where we stopped for a picnic lunch.

While we were at Waikerie we tried to book in to the caravan park at Mount Barker. Unfortunately they were only taking bookings from fully self contained travellers so we had to look elsewhere. We were able to book a site for a couple of nights at Hahndorf which is close enough to Mount Barker to allow easy visits to Laratinga Wetlands.

From Blanchetown we followed the river until we crossed again at Walker Flat - again on a ferry. From  there it was on through Mannum and on to Murray Bridge. At Murray Bridge we pulled into a car wash to remove the vast quantities of sticky mud from Gluepot that had adhered to every lower surface on the car and camper trailer, and the dust covering the rest.

We checked in at Hahndorf with plenty of time to make an afternoon visit to Laratinga Wetlands. Laratinga has become a favourite when we are in the Adelaide Hills area and we have visited a few times. This time the water level was much higher than previously and the bird life wasn't as good as Mick had expected but he did meet a fellow birder who told him about anothe spot - Cox Scrub - that would be worth visiting.

We decided that a morning visit to Cox Scrub would be in order so we set off quite early and found our way there. Chris provided very explicit directions and we were able to find the right spot - two small puddles of water on the walking track that attracted a number of birds. Mick sat happily with the tripod for some time. It was a lovely spot but quite cold, with the early morning mist still low on the hills. There are no facilities at Cox Scrub, but there are a number of well marked walking tracks.

When we returned home we contacted a repairer to enquire about having the zip replaced on the Cub and they were able to fit us in straight away. This led to a mad dash to cancel our campsite and find a cabin for the rest of the week. Fortunately they were able to meet our needs where we were at Hahndorf so we unpacked the trailer and moved all our gear into a cabin, before driving in to the repairer in Adelaide. We would have some luxury for the next 4 nights.

We also had the car booked in to have some work done so that was another trip in to Adelaide as well. While we were staying at Hahndorf we revisited Cox Scrub a couple of more times and generally stayed out of the way of the "touristy" spots. We didn't want to compromise our ability to enter Tasmania without quarantine by being caught in a "hot spot". We collected the trailer on Saturday and left Hahndorf on Sunday morning. We had decided Meningie would be a good place for a couple of days as we worked out way towards the Victorian border.