Victor Harbour, without a doubt, is one of the loveliest places we have visited so far on our journeys around Australia. It has the feel of a country town but it has all the services. It is just over an hours drive to Adelaide so that makes it the perfect place for retirees. We are staying at the G'Day Park in Victor Harbour and it is very quiet here at the moment and our van looks quite lonely. But it will be a different place from tomorrow as the South Australian school holidays commence. The park is booked out completely and we know this because we asked for an extension of our time here in Victor Harbour. No such luck. It doesn't help that it is a long weekend this coming weekend. So tomorrow we start heading north and our first stop will be Murrays Bridge for two nights.
But let me talk a little bit about Victor Harbour. A place that we have come to love. The first day we arrived we went for a long walk into the town centre. Actually it is not that far - around 1.5k - but we went the long way via the esplanade.
The whole point of walking into town was to see the famous Horse Drawn Tram that runs from the town centre to Granite Island. Unfortunately it had finished running for the day but I have stolen some photos from their website so you can have a look. We did go and watch one of the Clydesdales being fed. They are magnificent.
The next day we drove to the Mouth of the Mighty Murray River that is about a 30 minute drive from Victor Harbour. We have to cross a very high bridge to reach Hindmarsh Island where the mouth of the Murray is located. It is so high that you cannot see the other side until you are at the halfway point. The river mouth is a little underwhelming and you can just see in the distance the waves breaking at the point of entry. The mouth of the river almost completely closed a few years ago from sand build-up, but now there is a sand dredging scheme in place that will keep the mouth open.
Another very beautiful place that we stop at is Port Elliott. There is a terrific lookout here and the views below to Horseshoe Bay are just so beautiful. Of course it helps that the day is sunny with hardly a cloud in the sky!
Today we decided to do the Granite Island hike. We were tossing up whether to walk to Granite Island, but it would add around 5km to our 3km hike and as we have a few things on our list today we make the decision to drive into the town centre. We arrive at the causeway that joins the mainland to the island around 8.30 and we have once again struck an absolutely beautiful day. The ocean is like a millstream and it would not surprise us to see Dolphins as this is the sort of ocean they love. You can start the walk in either direction, clockwise or counter but we decide clockwise will give us the best views even though we have to tackle the 100+ stairs. This hike is so worth the effort. Every turn of a corner is another magnificent view from our high vantage point. The path is wide and well worn and we pass many people enjoying the track.
Once we have finished our hike we head into the town centre to find the information centre. I have decided (a bit late) to purchase a T-Towel from our favourite destinations. It doesn't open until 10am so we have time for coffee and muffin. Yes, I know. We said no more but we felt we deserved it. It was a battle of the muffins today to see who had the best and I have to say that Philips Lime and Poppyseed was superior to my Blueberry!
We took a short walk around the town centre before heading back to the car. There are some beautiful old houses in Victor Harbour that was first settled in 1863. I particularly love this Colonial Residence that was built in 1866 and how about the first public toilet that was built in 1867.
Victor Harbour is so picture perfect in every way although winter here might be a different matter with its windy conditions. But if Philip and I have to move into a nursing home in our latter years, this is the place that I want it to be :-)
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