I took a day trip to the coastal area of South Australia - Goolwa, Middleton and Port Elliot - with my mother as driver. It was a great day for a drive through the Australian countryside which is drying up fast as we head into summer, but I love this land no matter what!
Our first stop was at Goolwa and we walked around the old town. As it was a public holiday everything was very quiet. We did find the 'Original Goolwa Bakery' and stopped there instead of the Goolwa Bakery on the main street. Goolwa Hotel was established in 1853, so the town is quite old by Australian standards! Inside the original shop we found Honey Sticks which are an old favourite of mine so we enjoyed a coffee break on a bench under a tree just for us!
Next we moved on to Middleton where mum showed me different places she knew from the past. The sea water was beautiful azure blue and the sky blue with a few white fluffy clouds.
As I've come from Cyprus where winter is starting I found it a little cold because the breeze was chilly, but it did heat up as the day wore on! I was glad of my sunglasses and T-shirt. You can see from the images attached that we walked a little on the tracks between Middleton and Port Elliot, near Horseshoe Bay. In fact we stopped and sat for a while on a bench in the most amazing spot with a great view. That was the highlight of the day. Horseshoe Bay is well worth the visit and loads of people were walking the path!
By now we were a little hungry. The queue to get into the Port Elliot Bakery was almost as long as a walk-in queue to get a Covid-19 test(!) so we decided not to wait. As it was a public holiday we couldn't find another pie or pasty in town! We drove out and stopped for a pasty (meat and veg with tomato sauce) at the Bakery in Middleton instead. Shout out to the 'Home Grain Bakery' in Middleton! That was the best move we made because they were serving the most tasty, well-made food. Awesome! We really enjoyed that stop!
It was then time to head home as we agreed a visit to Victor Harbour on a public holiday would be a bit too much - too crowded and touristy for us! Instead we had another lovely trip through the Aussie countryside and reached back home after travelling 150 kilometres.
Mother is disturbed at the developments around Mount Barker and so am I. All the beautiful agricultural land and nature is being taken over by endless grey-rooted houses. The spread is like a disease all around the old town and does destroy the old rural flavour of the township. (BTW - I do not endorse this or any other development company - it just happened to be in the photo!)
I can however see the necessity for the development as having more people helps attract modern services and shops that you need to make it feasible to avoid a trip to the big city of Adelaide to get stuff done.
I hope my words have given you a taste of our day trip in beautiful South Australia. All the images are original, taken by me on my iPhone 7+. I hope to upgrade soon, but it will absolutely do the job for now!
