This weekend brought about ‘family time’ meaning a train ride from Mt Barker to Victor Harbor on the old Steam-Ranger. A long nostalgic ride for the grandparents with all us ‘youngsters’ tagging along.
This is not a cheap day at all with the train being $50 a head and that was on special, but a day trip to Victor Harbor can be an inexpensive and fun day. Driving down , spending the day whale watching (it is the season for it) or just walking around Granite Island in the hope of seeing seals or penguins finished off with fish and chips eaten at The Bluff is a fantastic day trip from Adelaide.
The steam ranger was an interesting way to make the trip and well worth it for us to see the excitement of my grandparents on a trip they used to take with their kids every Easter Sunday. While the views are lovely and there were quite a few kangaroos to it is important to bring cards or some other form of entertainment, cards and a book were good companions on this trip. My partner was most excited for the Steam Exchange Brewery in Goolwa that the Train pulls right up next too, the PA only mentioned the markets on the other side so we got the brewery basically to ourselves. The Steam Exchange has four beers on tap but they also have moonshine to try.
Lunch was pub food, very standard in price and taste. The walk along the causeway was much more interesting and while my high hopes of seeing a whale, especially as it is whale season, were dashed the walk was lovely, we were able to
see the sea grasses below and there were plenty of informative signs about what you can possibly see. One of the most interesting things about Granite Island is the chance of seeing seals, penguins and whales all from this site. There were and might still be night-time walks you can do on Granite Island to see the penguins, this seemed to happen quite often in South Australian Primary school camps.
Another Free thing to do while in Victor Harbor is climb The Bluff, this is an outcrop of land ten minutes drive from Victor Harbor city. This is one of the best Whale sighting spots, a beautiful hike or a great spot to eat fish and chips with a view. I have even spotted an echidna in the past.