Great coffee and brekky at Codys to start the day.  A howling wind in Noarlunga today so my jetty walk was a little challenging especially out at the end and out of the shelter of the cliffs. Had to hang on tight! Could see how the reef would be great viewing from out there but way too churned up today.

Headed across the Fleurieu Peninsula to Victor Harbour. Lots of very green countryside with sheep and cattle stations and station homesteads and grape growing regions like McLaren Vale behind. (Need to come back to explore the tip of Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island).

Victor Harbour, known for whale watching and it’s horse drawn tram out to Granite Island was also very windy and not conducive to exploring on foot! Headed to Goolwa and it’s historic wharf for lunch instead. Another great coffee too! The Murray River empties into large lakes before forming a large basin feeding into the ocean nearby. Looked very tough today.

Nature requires the road to follow a long  trek from Goolwa around Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert to carry on down the coast. The inland adjacent is great winery country and very scenic. The Langhorne Creek area has the oldest recorded Cabernet Sauvignon vines in the world. Certainly saw some narly specimens.

At Wellington, about 2/3 the way around the lakes we crossed the Murray River on a car punt. Fabulous free service running 24/7. Just a few minutes wait for several cars and a cattle truck to drive off and we drove on.  Short trip across the Murray included a pelican viewing!

Apart from a stop at Langhorne  Creek, the next section of the drive along the Southern Ocean Drive was fairly long and unremarkable. On our right, separated by estuary, was the Coorong National Park and on our left more large stations.

Saw pelicans at Meningle while unsuccessfully looking for coffee! Sky was looking threatening and we abandoned our walk to the pelican breeding grounds observatory down the road  at Point Jack as thunder clapped and large rain drops fell.

Got to Kingston late avo for a quick look at Larry the Lobster (town icon representing the lobster fishing industry in the area) and also the old Cape Jaffa lighthouse.

Robe, on the Limestone Coast and one of the oldest towns in South Australia, was our final destination of the day. The rain held off til we entered town! On the southern shore of Guichen Bay,  historically Robe was a port town for trade and immigration with many Chinese landing to travel overland to the gold fields. These days Robe is notable for  lobster fishing and as a service town. Nice view from our motel across the marina to the harbour entrance.

A stone obelisk was built on Cape Dombey, above the marina, in 1852 to assist ships to navigate safely into the bay. The coast is pretty rugged out to the Southern ocean and it’s easy to see why there were a number of shipwrecks along the coast here. An automatic  lighthouse was built on higher ground in 1973.

Photos along the Road to Robe

Author: Gill

Hi. I'm fun-loving, creative, mostly energetic and a mother of 3. My interests are family, culinary pursuits (I own just a few cookbooks...), socialising and entertaining, living and always learning.