South Australian Coast

[Martin Hash]

Our Australian friends, Phil & Klara, took my wife, Gwynne & I, in their Toyota Landcruiser conversion exploration vehicle named “Vamos,” on one of the most majestic coastal drives in the world along the South Coast of Australia. They had done the route for decades as tour operators, and knew all the secrets, so it was 4 days of enjoyment, both from the scenery & the company. The weather was beautiful, with just a touch of rain to keep the unseasonably wet summer green. The sandstone cliffs along the shore are high & imposing, a deadly hazard to ancient mariners. It's surreal to think that there's nothing between them & Antarctica. The jewel of the coast is the famous Twelve Apostles, tall sandstone monoliths towering majestically within sight of each other, but now there are only eight, four of which having fallen in the ocean.

12 Apostles.jpg

Our trek was over a famous 4X4 training route, often in soft white-yellow sand along the beach. We would stop daily for a wine & cheese brunch; lunch was a light pasta or sandwich prepared from fresh ingredients. Once we got mooned by some leathery-skinned nudists; and twice, long black snakes slithered across the track in front of our vehicle. Also, while walking along the beach, we surprised another snake just above the tide line, only a couple feet away from us. Since all reptiles in Australia are lethal, we didn't have to ask. We spent the nights in rustic motels with ancient furniture, and the sounds of nesting Muttonbirds, debating the confusing taxonomy of the Australian Rock lobster which is neither lobster, crawfish nor a crawdad, but they make good hoagie sandwiches.

One of the goals of our exploration was to see koalas in the wild: we wanted to look up a Eucalyptus tree and say, “there's one,” and we did, in exactly the place Phil & Klara said we'd find them.

Koala.jpg