We thought we’d give ourselves 2 hours to shower, dress, have breakfast, clean and pack everything back in the suitcases and rucksacks. It appeared we needed 2.5 hours. So just after 10 we said goodbye to Port Elliott.
We were heading to Adelaide where we had to drop the campervan off by 3. It was a 1.5 hour drive and I’d planned a stop at Port Noarlunga where we would have a walk and lunch.
Only a few minutes up the road there was a lookout where you could see the whole of Victor Harbour and we then continued towards the coast.
Out of nowhere a huge Buddist Temple appeared so we had to stop to take a picture. There was a huge Buddha but the temple seemed to be under construction.
Next we drove along the coast at Seaford and stopped towards the north end of it to see where the Onkaparinga River flows down to the sea.
We then drove across the river and stopped at Port Noarlunga and had a lovely walk along the purpose built boardwalk only completed last year which takes you to Christie’s Beach. We then had to finish the walk by going out on the jetty which is around 330 metres long and connects to a natural reef at it’s end.
Back at the van we had egg and tomato sandwiches and finished off some biscuits, cheese, salami and cucumber.
With no time to spare we set off for Adelaide. Traffic wasn’t too bad, presumably as it was a Sunday and after filling the van for a final time with the price now at $2.96 a litre, an increase of 68% over the last 3 weeks, we found the return centre.
We had travelled a distance of 2901 kilometres, around 1800 miles in the campervan. Bearing in mind we did have some issues with it, not just the flat battery, we didn’t feel that attached to it (unlike Mabel our first love in NZ) so never got round to naming it! Having said that we do agree the layout of this one (mainly bed size) did suit us better.
It was a quick handover and they kindly called a cab for us to take us back to the city centre.
The journey took 30 mins and cost just over £30, so a bit cheaper than the cabs around Billericay!
The cab dropped us outside our lodgings for the night, the YHA (a youth hostel) and before anyone says it, there is no age limit. We had our own private room, but communal showers, just like the campsites.
With a quick check in, we located our room and decided to check where the bus stop was for tomorrow’s trip to the airport and then went to the river for a walk. It was soo hot we had to stop and have a beer after not too long.
An AFL game has just finished at the Adelaide Oval and fans were streaming out and over the bridge. Not wanting to walk against the flow of traffic we walked further down the river and crossed at a weir.
We eventually made our way to Chinatown where we found a decent looking restaurant and were confronted with the biggest menu both in actual size and number of dishes available. We both agreed on some squid followed by a bbq platter of pork and duck with rice and noodles.
Feeling extremely satisfied we headed back to the YHA to confirm our itinerary for Kangaroo Island where we were flying to in the morning.
For all our avid followers we might be offline for a few days as it is pretty remote, so we’ll check in once back in Adelaide.
