South Australia

Towards South Australia

Let's head straight to Mt. Gambier in South Australia. Here, the speed limit increases to 110 km/h, the roads are beautiful and straight while the terrain is flat or at most slightly hilly. Mount Gambier is a lovely town with a peaceful atmosphere, featuring wide streets and well-maintained houses. Unfortunately, the Blue Lake doesn't live up to its name. We already knew that it takes on this color primarily during the summer months, and the cloudy weather further prevents the colors of the water from expressing themselves. What remains unknown even to scientists is the reason why this lake takes on such vibrant colors in the summer. After passing through the beautiful town, we enter a green, grassy region with lots of livestock grazing (cattle). and sheep). The pine forests are mainly used for timber exploitation. There are large areas dedicated to this activity, with trucks loaded with logs passing through them. Thinking about the future, immediately after cutting down a forest, new trees are planted so that the landscape is constantly alternating between more or less grown-up forests. We also see a factory for producing pulp for paper production. South Australia has chosen a safe impact system to indicate the danger of the roads: where fatal accidents have occurred, black crosses are planted depending on how many people were unfortunate, and in case of injuries, the crosses are red. A warning not to press too hard on the accelerator pedal.

We always take the Princes Hwy, following the Coorong lagoon, a perfect habitat for the characteristic wetland animals of this area. We arrive at Meningie with a sparkling reddish-brown grassy verge on the side of the road. We refuel and have lunch in the same country-style service area, enjoying a hot dog. We continue to Wellington and cross the Murray River (the largest in the country) by ferry, just before its mouth. There are no bridges in this area, and thanks to an organized Caronte, we reach the western bank. We make a short photo stop. some lakes The color takes on a violet hue. We continue along the B45, reaching Strathalbyn amidst a green landscape of vineyards. Even though they are still bare, they give a lively impression, thanks to their orderly arrangement in low rows and the green of the grass. The wine industry must be profitable, at least that's what we can see from the various types of housing. We descend towards Goolwa, Port Elliot and Victor Harbour, beautiful places for seaside tourism. The road turns inland towards the Fleurieu Peninsula to reach the north side. Just before Cape Jervis, we find a B&B that inspires us, and we book a cottage for tomorrow evening. The kind, at least initially, octogenarian owner offers to book our ferry to Kangaroo Island, which departs shortly from there. It's fine that we gain half an hour of time difference by crossing from the State of Victoria to South Australia. We are able to board the 15:00 ferry and discover that the price applied to us is the full fare (as we had already found on the website and would have paid at the counter), while the grandfather takes a significant commission when he books it himself. Kindness and courtesy always come at a price. The crossing of Backstairs Passage lasts 45 minutes, and we disembark in Penneshaw. We head towards American River (36 km from Penneshaw) to see some pelicans while relaxing on the beach. According to the schedule, there should have been someone providing dinner, but the only other people besides us are the birds. And perhaps it's better this way: the image of tranquility is worth more than the "show" of seeing them eating with a crowd of onlookers trying to photograph them. We arrive in Kingskote, the "capital" of the island. We find a hostel (the Backpackers hostel), small but pleasant, with the stove properly lit, and take a seat in a simple but clean room. Patty, the blonde manager, unfortunately ruined by her lack of passion for good and healthy food, advises us to go to the fishmonger. Yes, because here you go to the fish market, choose your product, they cook it for you, and serve it within minutes. The quality of the fish is excellent, the type of cuisine is simple but effective; eating everything in a cardboard box like fast food is disgusting. For us, who value efficiency, we consider this an experience, meaning that the fish was of excellent quality (fried mix and Atlantic salmon from Tasmania). We take a walk in what we identify as the center, but there's no life except in a couple of establishments that provide catering. The very cool temperature and the early night don't contribute to animating the town at all. The public lighting is literally reduced to candlelight, which contributes to creating this sad atmosphere. We return early to study the plan for tomorrow, helped by the friendly manager. Before going to sleep, some young people from Genoa arrive, one of the few times we hear Italian spoken. They are returning to see the penguins' arrival: they also tell us that we haven't missed anything. They are nice and we exchange some information about our trip with them. They were in the north, saw the Red Centre, and can give us some suggestions. We do the same for them regarding the Great Ocean Road, their next destination. We arrange to meet tomorrow evening on the last ferry to Cape Jevis.