Skip to main content

A Weekender at Victor Harbor, Hindmarsh Island, Goolwa, and Granite Island, South Australia

This rock painting is probably
thousands of years old. As you
can see they didn't much
like drones then either.

Detail, Margaret Worth's (SA)
Granite Island Sculpture,
"Walking Looking Talking
Noppan Nukkan Yunnan"
This vacation was definitely a bonus trip as it was Enigma and I's third vacation in two months. We were gifted a one night stay at the McCracken Country Club in Victor Harbor, South Australia, which Enigma extended to a two night stay so we'd have a little time to see a few sights.

Victor Harbor is about a two hour drive south of where we live in Gawler. Before checking into our hotel we stopped for some lunch at Ara's Cafe who do an excellent steak sandwich and a very tasty pork roast roll (with plenty of gravy).

The McCracken Country Club

The McCracken Country Club is home to an 18 hole championship links/lakes golf course, designed by renowned gold architect, Tony Cashmore. There's also a Golf Shop. If that all means something to you then booking a stay should be a no brainer. Enigma and I are not Golfers so we mostly enjoyed the view of the course and Hindmarsh Valley.

Other facilities include a restaurant, bistro, health club, indoor pool, basketball and tennis courts.

The view from our balcony.
McCracken Country Club.
Our room was pretty spacious with everything you would expect of a modern hotel room. Friday night was schnitzel night in the bistro so we took advantage and ordered generously sized beef and chicken schnitzels served with chips.

Hindmarsh Island

Saturday morning we decided to drive to Hindmarsh Island. The day before we had been recommended that the island was quite nice. Crossing to from the mainland via a road bridge, Hindmarsh island was quite a bit bigger than I expected, and not very well signposted for tourist to find their way around.

The main lookout on Hindmarsh
Island overlooks the Murray Mouth
Sand Pumping Project.
We made it to the main lookout point at the mouth of the Murray river, where it meets the sea. Here they dredge out the build up of sand to help maintain the rivers health. It's a great beach to walk along but not really a swimmers beach. Though you can hire canoes just down the road from the lookout where there was also a food van cafe set up with plenty of tables and chairs (maybe that part of the beach was better for swimming?).

Driving around we didn't really come across anywhere that we particularly wanted to stop so we headed back over the bridge to Goolwa.

Goolwa

It was interesting to finally visit the town that everyone thinks they hear us say when we try to tell them we live in 'Gawler'. Our first stop was Salt Water Cafe in the town centre, where we got exceptional value on two plates of fish and chips of the quality and size most hotels serve as an evening meal at double the price.

The road bridge to Hindmarsh Island with the
Oscar W Paddle Steamer in the foreground.
From there we wandered around the town, which is very arts and crafts focussed, with a number of galleries and art and craft shops within walking distance of each other.

Although we didn't, you can book a cruise on the local paddle steamer. The attached shop is also worth a look for some excellent paddle steamer model displays.

Victor Harbor

We journeyed back to Victor Harbor because I wanted to get a good photo of the horse drawn tram that you can ride across the jetty bridge to Granite Island (Kaiki), and there was only one more trip there and back left for the day.

Horse drawn Tram crossing the jetty bridge
to Granite Island.
Riding the tram isn't especially cheap but where else are you going to experience riding a horse drawn tram that gives you spectacular sea views?

The tram to Granite Island is optional (maybe you want to save your money for the camel or pony rides along the beach nearby, or maybe even the mini golf). Enigma and I opted to walk the same bridge the tram takes, and I'm glad we did, because it gave me the opportunity to take a really great photo of the tram as it went past us.

Granite Island (Kaiki)

Granite Island entrance sign. These were the
only penguins we saw.
If you take the tram I believe it drops you off at the cafe, to the left of the bridge, on the island, however we turned right, heading up the hill to follow the hiking/Sculpture Encounters trail. I didn't grasp the overall theme linking the various sculptures together but I got the idea that many of them related to the history of the island.

The trail itself takes you on a loop around the whole island. It's not particularly far but it is up and down hills so a reasonable level of fitness and mobility is helpful. Enigma and I only did about a third of the walk, cutting back the way we came, as we'd been walking a lot that day, and weren't really anticipating yet another long walk after crossing the bridge.

However we would like to do the full hike some time in the future because, as a sculpture trail, the artworks we saw were quite interesting, built with a variety of materials, and explored some fairly interesting ideas.

Horizon Figure (2009) by Greg Johns (SA)
Granite Island Sculpture Encounters trail.
As well, many were placed with perfect backdrops of the sea, adding to their already photogenic aesthetic.

If you're into more contemporary abstract sculpture rather than representational I'd definitely recommend this trail as worth a look.

I'd even recommend it if you're a photographer looking for some interesting subject matter combining art with landscape photography. I certainly enjoyed looking for interesting angles with my own photos.

Granite Island also offers the chance to see penguins on evening tours, though it can be hit and miss as to whether you actually see penguins, according to the visitor information centre.

Back to Victor Harbor

After briefly going back to our hotel for a break we went back into Victor to the Encounter Bistro at the Hotel Victor (across the square from the tram).

Apparently their carvery is famous (according to their own sign) so we both ordered that, giving us a selection of any combination of roast lamb, pork, or turkey, then adding whatever you want to it from the buffet. You also get a a soup starter and desert included in the price.

After enjoying our meals we went for a walk along the esplanade and beach trying to get a photo of a spectacular sunset... and failing. I'm sure they have spectacular sunsets in Victor Harbor but the hills and clouds did a great job of thwarting our chances of seeing one this trip.

My best effort at snapping a sunset on the trip.
Victor Harbor beachfront.

That was pretty much our trip. The next day we checked out early so Enigma would be able to attend a workshop she had booked into sometime back.

Friday afternoon through to Sunday morning is definitely not enough time to experience everything Victor Harbor and the surrounding region has to offer. I feel you could easily spend a week or two here and still not get to everything there is to do or see.

However we enjoyed our short stay and will very likely consider going back on a future vacation.

Buy Gifts and Apparel featuring art by TET.

Popular posts from this blog

Skateboard Trick Tips: Two Ways to Ollie North (Ollie One foot)

You have to be quick to see my Ollie Norths! Ollie One Foots, otherwise known as the Ollie North, is one of those skateboard tricks you learn and then tend not to do very much as more interesting trick challenges grab your attention. However it does look really cool if you learn how to kick your front foot well past the nose of your skateboard. Still shot from Braille Skateboarding's Ollie North tutorial. I was inspired to make my video below, showing two different techniques to achieve a successful Ollie One Foot, when I not only saw that Braille Skateboarding's Tutorial used a different method to the one I had learned but also, when I looked at various other video tutorials, I discovered yet another technique, with no one using the method I had originally learned. Braille's method is to simply Ollie and drag your front foot past the front of your board. The second method I came across in several video tutorials is to Ollie, drag your front foot and tap your

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de

I'm Joining the Illuminati Brotherhood By Personal Invitation of Hiltom Rothschild... Wait, What?

How special am I to have finally come of age (53 years young) and am now eligible to participate in building the world alongside other members of the Illuminati Brotherhood... Yes I've received the call by way of an email, which I'm sure is real because I had to translate it from the Dutch language and it was personally written by Hiltom Rothschild, one of the non-existent members of the Rothschild family (or perhaps deep undercover because Google has never heard of them?). A Transcript of the email below: To: etourist From: Illuminati Brotherhood  Subject: Illuminati Broederschap (Illuminati Brotherhood) I am Hiltom Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild family, one of the 13 families of the Illuminati brotherhood. I'm here to let you know that you've come of age and are eligible to participate in building the 🌎 world. It is a calling and a privilege to honor him with pride and gratitude as not everyone will ever be chosen by the LIGHT, many are called but few are ch

Robot Uprising Update: Robot Waiter, Fasta Pasta, South Terrace, Adelaide CBD, South Australia

On the second evening of my partner, Enigma, and I's weekend stay in Adelaide we decided to have dinner at Fasta Pasta . Strangely enough our hotel staff, at the Alba, had not mentioned Fasta Pasta as an option for an evening meal while their restaurant is closed for refurbishment, even though it is literally next door on the corner of South Terrace and Pultney Street. You may be aware that Fasta Pasta is an upmarket Italian restaurant franchise with its beginnings in Adelaide. Currently they have 19 restaurants Australia wide (with the majority in South Australia - we even have one in Gawler, our home town). I've never had bad food at a Fasta Pasta, and their food never looks like a franchise meal. You always feel you're at a restaurant that's a little bit more quality than your typical hotel/motel meal. Maybe it's because you don't see as much pasta based meals on an Aussie pub menu. Despite the name, it's not all pasta. I went with a basic plate of fish a

Looking for a Conspiracy Starter? Try The Conspiracy Theory Chart (2021) by Abbie Richards

Abbie Richards - creator of The Conspiracy Chart. I've never heard of Abbie Richards until today, while I was trawling the internet for something to post to this blog. She claims to be professionally obsessed with TikTok, a mis and disinformation researcher, and a research fellow at @TheARConsortium but she may just be an A.I. bot programmed by the far left to annoy right wing keyboard warriors, probably? Anyway Abbie produced an updated version of her Conspiracy Theory Chart to reflect more recent thinking (up until November 23, 2021 at least). Whether or not you believe anything listed to be a conspiracy or 'truth that will come out as more people wake up' the chart is a great starting point for anyone investigating 'new, enlightened thinking' with dubious connection to actual facts to draw their conclusions. Conspiracy theories are everywhere and people don't understand how harmful they are. I made the original Conspiracy Chart over a year ago. An update was

Are Ion Thrusters the Future of Flying Cars? Spoiler - Probably Not But... Hover Boards... Maybe?

Undefined Technologies Ion Propulsion Drone prototype 3D concept image. You may have heard of Ion engines or, more likely, Ion thrusters. NASA uses them on their spacecraft to help maintain a craft's position or to propel them through space.  Upon hearing that you might think they're big, powerful engines, but actually they are not. They work well in the vacuum of space but, once any kind of atmosphere and gravity is involved they'd be hard pressed to launch you off the ground if you strapped four of them to your lawn chair and yelled "up, up, and away!" I am no expert on Ion thrusters - they're basically magic that science has an explanation for. If you want to know the details, The Space Techie website has a layman's explanation .  Build Your Own Ion Thruster Earth based Ion Thrusters work a bit different to their  space based cousins by Ionizing the same air that we breathe to create thrust (an effect known as Ionic-wind ).  While they sound highly soph

"Life's Tough, Get a Helmet" - Literally!

Imagine if we took this quote literally for any tough situation we had to face. I can just see it now. You hear a voice from the other room... "Honey, I think the baby needs changing?" Better go get your helmet. Not just any helmet either. You'd have a range of helmets to suit whatever life throws at you. Big presentation at the office? You'll have a helmet for that. Job interview? You'll have a helmet for that. Helping the kids with their homework. You'll need a helmet. Having the 'Talk' with your teenage children? I think you'll need a specially designed helmet for that! There seems to be some debate as to where the quote  Life's tough, get a helmet originates from? Some attribute it to Denis Leary whilst others attribute it to the TV show, The Hills , and still others say it's from the TV Show, Boy Meets World ? Personally I think we can rule out The Hills but we'll probably need a helmet to resolve this. All in