12th – 14th May

Friday 13^th and we are expecting a very fruitful day.  While others may think this is an unlucky day we are believing it is going to be something special.

Yesterday started off quite cool & sqawly. We had already spent the previous day in washing / ironing mode so did not want to be miss another day.  After a short visit to Westfields shopping centre we set off to check out Port Adelaide.

Port Adelaide is a very historic area.  Many buildings have been restored while others are in disrepair.  As in many other old port areas around the world there is a move to redevelop the area with condominiums and dockside eating areas.  In this case the progress is slow however while we have been here this week the press has been reporting a move from the local government bringing in legislation to demand a clean up of derelict structures.  We enjoyed a great day wandering around absorbing the history.

After a maintenance day on Friday, we set off on Saturday for the Yorke Peninsula. We really enjoyed Adelaide but our real love is not the big cities but the country areas.  The road as far as Cape Wakefield at the top of Spencers Gulf is duel carriageway and very flat.  It really was an easy drive and traffic was far from heavy.  Spencers Gulf is the body of water that lies between Adelaide and Yorke Peninsula. The population in the towns surrounding the gulf are quite small.  Some of the towns are more like villages.  We were fascinated that so many of the towns were named as Ports.  In many cases there was little more than a short jetty.  Interestingly we found the reason related back to the 1800s.  As farming and mining developed the produce or materials produced were moved around the gulf in small sailing ships (ketches).  These ketches would beach themselves on high tide to be loaded and then sail on the next high tide.  Eventually piers were built in some towns but by then each little port had established trading arrangements with local farmers and miners. 

We stopped for lunch and to load up on supplies at Ardrossan on the east coast of Yorke.  The peninsula is quite flat and mostly sheep grazing or wheat farming country.  Ardrossan was one of the earliest farming settlements in the area and is one of the larger centres in the area.  There is a grain handling facility and a long pier wharf for loading grain ships.  There is also a small sand mine and some salt drying.  Again we loved the stone architecture in the old buildings.

We picnicked at a park overlooking the gulf. The view stretched south to the grain facility and north past the pier to the red cliffs.  The day was a clear blue sky and altogether a perfect day for a picnic.

Finally mid afternoon we pulled into Stansbury and set up camp.  Stansbury is on the east coast of the peninsula and is a small community of less than 1000 people.  It is a quiet little fishing village and most of the houses appear to be holiday houses for people from other areas.  There is quite some history here to as the town commenced life as a lime mine crushing for agriculture.

The Caravan Park is on a short spit jutting out into the gulf and we have been assigned a beach side site, 20 m from the water.  When we arrived it was full tide and we could see the beach lined with fishermen well before we arrived at the site.  It is idealic. 

 One little friend who welcomed us.

Here we have met some very friendly people and from them we learned the background to the camp.  It is operated by the local Quota Club and all profits made are turned back into facilities in the community.  There is a great range of picnic tables, BBQs, shade sails and conveniences set up right along the town beachfront and most of this has been financed by the park profits. 

We have found that most of the guests are local to surrounding areas as far as Adelaide and they have old vans which they leave in storage in a second site not far away.  When they choose to come the park arranges for the vans to be brought out to their booked site so they can arrive to a van in place just ready to open and inhabit.  Storage costs them about $300 per annum so it is quite economical.  They are then free to tow their boats etc and enjoy the fishing and that is the main pastime here.  We are able to look out our van window over a beautiful beach.  A very special place.  Our first night out of Adelaide is going to be a great one.

You might enjoy from these pictures what we are enjoying here.

 The view from our van by night

And then by day