Ticking the Bucket List

The lengthening days of spring mean that it is light before 6am… as we discovered leaving home around that time to begin the 720 km trip to Murray Bridge in South Australia. Murray Bridge would be a one night stopover on our way to Kangaroo Island. There are some places we had hoped to visit one day, there are some that have been must do’s on our bucket list. Kangaroo Island was one of the must dos rather than the hope to sees!

So it felt a little surreal this morning when we found ourselves on our way there! The good part about leaving at 6am on a Sunday is the lack of traffic in Melbourne. We soon negotiated our way into the city and then out across the Westgate and on the highway to Ballarat.

We had a quick snack stop on the outskirts of Ballarat and then another leg stretch in Horsham. Making great time, we ate lunch literally on the border of Vic / SA. There is a pleasant little rest stop near Serviceton. We parked in SA and the kids proceeded to leap back and forth across the red brick line marking the border so they could brag that they have now been to SA on many occasions! Carrot stick in Victoria, then a carrot stick in SA... and so it continued until lunch was eaten!

We’d booked a cabin at Avoca Dell Caravan Park near Murray Bridge for the night. Once we were settled in there we had a look at the Murray River next to the caravan park. It is certainly wider and more of a jade colour here than further upstream in Victoria.

Driving back into Murray Bridge township, we parked the car and explored the area near the road bridge that spans the Murray. Built in 1879 this was the first bridge to span the Murray River. Alongside it is the railway bridge. 

Continuing our exploration of ‘firsts’ we wandered around the grounds of the Round House which overlooks the road bridge. The home was built in 1874 for the superintendent of the bridge construction, a Mr Henry Parker. It is an unusual house in that part of it is hexagonal in shape… so I don’t why it’s not called the hexagonal house! Anyway, it’s debatable polygonal properties aside, we did enjoy the gardens and the views afforded. 

Next on our walking tour we went down to the wharf area which has a paddle steamer – it does not look all that picturesque with it’s modern roller shutters and air conditioning units.

For dinner we found ourselves at the Murray Bridge Hotel. It is a lovely looking sandstone structure with wide balconies around it. It dates from the early 1900’s. We enjoyed a delicious meal in the bistro before retiring to our cabin for the night. It had been a long day.

The next morning – possibly because we’d been up so early the day before, we were all up and ready to leave for the next leg of our journey at a very reasonable hour. This gave us plenty of time to drive the 160 km to Cape Jervis for our midday ferry service to Kangaroo Island.

The trip to Cape Jervis took us through the green rolling hills of the Fleurieu Peninsula. 

We refueled with diesel in Normanville as it’s a lot dearer on the island. We then paused at the HMAS Hobart memorial on a great stretch of coast with stunning views. The ship was scuttled off the coast here when it was retired from service.

The road dropped steeply in to Cape Jervis and at the lookout the breeze was brisk and cool, despite the sunny day.

Down at the ferry terminal, we watched the catamaran Sealion 2000 come in and unload. We were impressed with the colour and clarity of the turquoise waters, even when the ferry came in and churned up the water.

Having obtained our boarding passes, I drove onto the ferry while the rest of the clan walked on. Right on time, the ferry left the tiny harbour and began it’s 45 minute trip across the Backstairs Passage to Penneshaw on Kangaroo Island. We were on our way – it was very exciting! We spent the time up on deck although it was quite cool. The boat rocked quite a bit from left to right as it rolled with the swell. Luckily it was only a 45 min trip! A couple of family members did feel a little queasy though. 

Before we knew it, we had set foot on Kangaroo Island – although to be more accurate it was setting of rubber on bitumen! We paused at the visitor info centre at Penneshaw before driving a further 30 minutes to American River where we had a house booked for 10 nights.

We’d booked the house online and it looked pleasant enough in the photos. We were very impressed. The size of it (larger that we’d anticipated), the cleanliness and the excellent range of equipment (in the kitchen especially) was very pleasing. The views across the neighbour’s roof of the rest of town, the water and across the other side of the bay was breathtaking.

We unpacked the car and enjoyed a cuppa. We then went on a short walk along the waterfront of American River to stretch the legs after 2 days of travel. It is called American River as a group of American sealers spent about 4 months here in 1803. Technically it’s not a river though, more of a bay!

We enjoyed dinner in our dining room overlooking the magnificent bay… hence the name of the house ‘Bayview Lodge’. It lives up to it what it’s name suggests – unlike the Roundhouse of Murray Bridge.