Sometimes when you travel, you enjoy the journey so much that you take in every moment, focusing completely on the present. As beautiful as the scenery is, you compose and commit the snapshots to memory instead of using a camera. While you normally scribble keywords and phrases to jog your mind about what you experienced and tasted for a later date, you instead sit in contentment and relive the fantastic day in your mind.
I’m assuming this is what I did in South Australia, since I have fewer stories and photos to share than usual. I remember that our time in SA was filled with beautiful drives, skies dotted with the prettiest puffy white clouds, and charming small towns in which I could easily live.
South Australia Beaches
I couldn’t get enough of the beaches and gorgeous skies in SA
Nicole and Adam loved the beaches and snapped photos too
Often the water was crystal clear before suddenly changing to a dark blue
And then there was the town of Robe — beautiful coast lines and skies!
Adam secures our picnic table for dinner in Robe
South Australia Scenery
I know I surprised quite a few people with my decision not to visit Kangaroo Island. Look out across the water in this photo — it’s as close as I got…maybe next time!
We drove by so many wind farms in Australia and stopped at quite a few. I can’t explain why, but I really like them. Maybe it’s because they’re often on gently rolling hills or by the coast. When you get close enough, you can hear a soft whirring from the turbines.
After hours and hours of driving, we found the halfway point between Australia’s east and west coasts.
More South Australia love
One day in particular, I rolled down the passenger side window and took dozens of photos. I couldn’t get enough of the sky!
As much as I loved SA’s skies, I adored the Fleurieu Peninsula. I had never heard anyone talk about it, and I’d never read about the area on websites or in a guidebook. But it is hands down, one of my favorite parts of Australia. If you’re on a road trip in SA, consider adding this peninsula to your travels. If you have an iPhone, you might want to install the Fleurieu Way Guided GPS Tour. The app is a really solid effort by the Tourism Commission to inform travelers about the peninsula and guide drivers along the Fleurieu Way. Everytime we passed a landmark that the app had listed by GPS, we learned historical tidbits and were encouraged to take scenic detours that we wouldn’t have known about otherwise.
The town of Wilunga also stole my heart. I didn’t expect a thing as we drove into the town — perhaps a quick pit stop as we headed north along the coast — but its charm (and farmers market) quickly grabbed my attention. The farmers market was bustling with locals and tourists, and the road trip trio picked up lunches and a take away dinner from various stalls. Pleased with our food finds, we continued exploring the town on foot, passing a dozen cafes full of personality and quality menus. For a relatively small town, it had everything I’d want or need. Next time I have an extended visit to Australia, I will have to spend a week or two learning all the nooks and crannies of this gem of a place.
Thanks for reading about the 2-month Oz road trip! Details on time spent in Western Australia are still to come. Visit Adam and Nicole’s blogs to read about the trip from their points of view.
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California has wind farms too…
As you know, I’ve only been to San Fran and LAX O:-)
I love South Australia! I wish I had spent more time in the state as to me, it’s like a tiny Australia, it has EVERYTHING this country offers, in one place!
Love the pictures!!!
I agree — it has something for everyone and is a mini-Oz. I could easily settle there 🙂 And thank you!
Wow, the pictures are amazing. I love the clouds & love the blue waters. Oh man I cant wait to visit/live in Oz.
I need to start saving money so I can return for a long visit when you’re there. I know I will go again — can’t picture my life without multiple return trips. And thank you!
I would have never wanted to leave those beaches.
the photos are great so I can imagine how spectacular they were to see abd spend time at.
It was hard to leave the beaches…part of me wishes we had stayed at one or two of them for several days! Hindsight…
Mad. Nice pics!
Haha, thanks — bet you have some even nicer ones!
Nice shots! Was it quite sparsely populated where you travelled? Looks pretty serene out there.
Thanks Tony!
Aside from Adelaide, I only recall a few towns having a fair population. By and large we drove through small towns or had great, wide open drives. South Australia & WA have become two of my favorite spots in the world.
Congratulations on discovering Australia’s unsung South! And for the great pix – anywhere else in the world, South OZ would be a raging tourist spot, so enjoy the quiet while it lasts!!
I’d come back in a flash if I could afford it — such a beautiful place and like you said, limited numbers of people!
LOVE your pics of the beautiful skies in SA! I don’t know why I didn’t take more of those – I think like you mentioned at the beginning of your post, I was also taking some mental shots & just living in the moment. 🙂
Please play and win some Aussie lotto so you can stay longer, you can fly me back, and we can do the road trip all over again 🙂
South Australia is one state I haven’t seen nearly as much of as I would like! There’s some great fresh produce and wine going on, as well as the great beaches – at a beach side town in SA I had possibly the best pub meal ever!
So jealous of this road trip – sounds like it was so much fun.
I don’t know if SA gets enough credit for how beautiful it is!
I am more than ready to hit the road again but just need to make some money first O:-) I checked out your blog the other day and can’t wait to have some time this weekend to read up on some of your adventures.
How did we miss Robe?!?! Must get there asap… those pictures are calling my name!
Hi Heather,
Great blog you have here! It’s been great reading about your adventures around Oz. Did you take the time to fully explore the NSW Central Coast? http://bit.ly/qjr25u This post reminded me a bit of it, great beaches and friendly towns.
Thanks Andrew!! I wish I would have explored the NSW Central Coast but by trip’s end I was running short on time and even shorter on money. If (WHEN!) I make it back to Oz, it’ll be on my list 🙂
I found this blog by accident and just loved reading it, for many reasons. I like your sense of adventure and that you ‘took off’ a year. I laughed at your freeby nights in carparks and laybys – I won’t tell my hubby as he says that for me camping is when the aircon breaks down. We are in the West and travel a lot, finding South Australia years ago and returning again and again – we have travelled to Lake Eyre and also meandered all the way down the Murray river, loved the peninsulas, the perfect little towns, the produce. Thanks for the great read!!!
Aww, thanks heaps, Kay! I really appreciate it. Would love to come back to Oz and would do it right now if I could afford the flight 🙂