A few days...a few cute little SA towns

Port Germein, Melrose and World's End Gorge, SA

Friday 10th - Monday 6th October

On our way back to Victoria we squeezed in visits to a few places in SA that we hadn't been before, but had heard about from fellow travelers. First up was the coastal village of Port Germein - famous for its 1.6km long wooden jetty, the second longest in Australia (Busselton holds first place). We spent 2 nights at the small community run caravan park right across the road from the water. Whilst at Port Germein:

• We walked along the jetty as far as you can currently go (the last 300 metres is closed as there is damage from a storm that hasn't been repaired yet).
• The boys tried their luck fishing off the jetty but only got a few bites.
• Emilia and I explored the town, walking as far as we could go each way along the beach.
• We took the scenic drive through Port Germein gorge, gazing at the stunning landscape, to Melrose, a small town at the base of Mt Remarkable. We visited the local brewery, Jacka Brothers. They have restored the historic 1877 brewery to it's former glory and it was a wonderful afternoon sitting next to the beautiful old building, looking out onto the mountains of the Southern Flinders Ranges, whilst devouring delicious wood fired pizzas and sipping on their signature ales.
• We did the Melrose Nature Hike afterwards to try to counteract our overindulgence!
• We watched the sunset over the ocean both evenings (even though it was blowing a gale and we were freezing!).
• The kids had a great time on the playground and using Jackson's scooter on the bike track.

After Port Germein we headed to World's End Gorge, where there was a free camp right on Burra Creek. We spent the afternoon exploring the creek, looking at all the ancient river red gums. The kids caught shrimp in the creek (just for fun, they let them go) and we had a swim in the icy water. It was a hot day so we certainly didn't expect it to drop to 9 deg that night - we all woke up freezing the next morning! 

An original tide marker- the incoming or outgoing tide, combined with a series of pulleys, moved the marker to show ships the tide position. Ingenious!

Walking the jetty on the afternoon we arrived - the wind was so strong.

This sign was at the start of the jetty - love it!


We walked back on the sand as the tide was so far out and Daniel got this great photo.


Sunset on the first night - you can see how much ribbon seaweed was washed up on the beach. Jackson had heaps of fun jumping on it and running through it. 

Still smiling, even though they were freezing after their unsuccessful morning fishing.

Jacka Brothers Brewery in Melrose

Our incredible pizzas.

The dessert pizza- Biscoff spread on the base, topped with marshmallows and chocolate! The kids were in heaven.

One of the many beautiful old trees in Melrose - the road went around the edges of this majestic one.

The restored swing bridge over the creek (that was currently dry).

One of the sculptures on the foreshore at Port Germein.

Jackson's sunset shot from under the jetty - pretty good!

The dried up seaweed was like confetti- so much fun.

These three photos are from Worlds End Gorge - such a lovely area with so many gnarled old trees.