V for Victor Harbor

Victor Harbor, South Australia

Victor Harbor is only about 80 km from Adelaide, so it is a perfect distance for a day out.  It is on the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula and is a holiday destination and a great tourist attraction for visitors.  Granite Island is just off the coast and there is a horse drawn carriage to take visitors over to the island on the causeway.

We recently spent a day out in Victor Harbor as we were staying at Port Elliot which is about 6km from Victor Harbor.  We drove from Pt Elliot to Goolwa, which is about 11 km, to catch the Cockle Train to Victor Harbor. We had a couple of hours there and then caught the train back to Goolwa.  The weather was perfect to enjoy the coastal scenery from the train,  and we had some time to have lunch and a look around the town.  There was a display of cars near the foreshore area and a Rock n Roll band playing as well as some enthusiastic dancers  demonstrating Rock n Roll so it was very entertaining.

Some lovely scenery from the train.  I really enjoy  ocean views.

Rock n Roll entertainment

There is a Whale  Centre in Victor Harbor but we didn't have time and we have seen the whales at the Head of Bight at Nullarbor. The closest we got to the whales was the lovely whale sculpture and fountain near the foreshore.

The Cockle Train is often powered by steam but on our trip we had the diesel engine, but it was still a great trip with beautiful scenery.  I think we would have to book in advance for the Steam Engine.  Apparently the Cockle Train  in the early days used to take the locals to the beach near the mouth of the River Murray to find cockles (aka pippis).

The Cockle Train

Car display of  a PMG  delivery vehicle  (Post Master General)

Post Masters General) vehicle at Victor Harbor

One of the Hot Rods on display

I hope you have a great week and I hope I can find another interesting place to visit.

U is for ULURU

ULURU

Uluru is also known as Ayers Rock and gazetted as Uluru and is a large sandstone formation in Central Australia.

Uluru, or Ayers Rock

 

We visited Uluru in 2005 and 2015 and each visit we have experienced different weather conditions and vastly different views of The Rock.  

The nearest major town is Alice Springs which is about 400 km from Uluru, but we were coming from the south east  and stayed the night at Curtin Springs, which is about 100 km from Uluru.  Curtin Springs is a working cattle station and has tourist accommodation, camping facilities, restaurant and magnificent sunrises.

The Rock takes on many different colours depending on the daylight and weather. 

It is quite amazing to see the Rock, even though we knew it was huge, when we actually got there it just seemed to be so much bigger than we had imagined it would be.

Uluru in 2015 taken in the morning

Uluru in 2015 in the afternoon

Aboriginal artwork

We did a walk around the base of the rock

 

There are now restrictions about climbing the rock and although we could have when we were there we decided not to in respect of the Anangu culture.

Tourists climbing the Rock- scary!

There have been 40 deaths recorded since the Roack has been opened to tourits, but since 2019 it has been closed for climbing.

Part of the walking trail around the base of the Rock

It is believed the Rockwas created over 500 million years ago, and the Aborigines have been in the area for the last 10,000 years.

The walking track up which is now closed 

When we were there people were able to walk up the track but it is very steep and many people were struggling.  There was a rope/chain type rail to help the walkers but it was still a very difficult climb and probably worse coming back down.

Rain on the Rock

Our trip in July 2006 was our first trip to Central Australia and we were lucky to experience wet weather, which we would not normally enjoy when camping, but at Uluru it surprised us when we saw the rain falling on the Rock and causing little waterfalls.  It was truly a beautiful sight.

T for Tintaldra

 

Tintaldra is a small village in the north east of Victoria below the Snowy Mountains on the upper reaches of the River Murray.

On this trip a few years ago, we stayed in Corryong, and from there did day trips and Tintaldra was a beautiful little village with a great Museum and a very good afternoon tea of scones, jam and cream which was very welcome. The name Tintaldra is the aboriginal name meaning "Young Man by the Water"

The Tintaldra Museum

The old Bakery oven

The old oven in the Bakery

The Bakery

Devonshire Tea

Tintaldra Store

Tintaldra Hotel

The Bakery

S for SILVERTON

SILVERTON, New South Wales

Silverton is a classic outback town in the north west of New South Wales near the South Australian border and a 6 hour drive from Adelaide.  It is now best known for the setting of the films Mad Max II, and Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and also its rich mining history, and many art galleries.

Silverton is almost a Ghost Town as there are not many permanent residents, and most of them work in tourism in the town.

Silverton was established in 1883 and was originally called Umberumberka after a nearby town and was then named Silverton and a Post Office was establlished and the population was 250 but soon doubled in size.  When the Broken Hill Mines started to flourish, the Silverton mines declined and slowly the 3,000 residents moved out but then Silverton became a tourist attraction  managed by the Silverton Village Committee and is now a mecca for artists. It is a very interesting town to visit.

Mad Max Museum

The Mad Max Museum mural

Some rusty stuff!

One of the many Art Galleries

Municipal Council Chambers built in 1899

We had a nice lunch in this Cafe

Umberumberka Dam

This VW was recently rebuilt and is now an interactive display

Another Art Gallery with some interesting paintings

After leaving Silverton we stopped in Broken Hill and went to The Silver City Mint & Art Gallery.  There were a number of different rooms with various art and silver jewellery displays and then a huge canvas measuring almost 100 metres long and 12 metres at its highest point. The artist, Ando, has created this panoramic mural which we walked around on a platform and the canvas was painted to create a backdrop of Australian outback scenes with artefacts and other objects in the foreground to give the feeling of actually being in the real life outback - it was truly amazing and apparently Ando is an untrained artist. The photos don't do it justice and it was difficult to get the perspective and size of it all.