Edithburgh, on the Yorke Peninsula

If you take a look at a map you will see that Adelaide is about half way up the east side of the Gulf of St. Vincent (it's actually not on Australia's south coast or on the Southern Ocean) and sticking into the Gulf on the other side is the Yorke Peninsula.  The Peninsula looks unbelievably like Italy actually - shaped like a boot.  At right, at the heel of the boot, almost where the Gulf and the Southern Ocean meet is a little community called Edithburgh - and that's where I am as I'm putting together this post.

Before telling you more about where I am right now though, I thought you might like to see a couple of photos of what the scenery can look like when you live in a part of the world that only gets about 15 cms of rain a year.  These were taken as I was driving from Waikerie on the way to Edithburgh.

Although the country is very, very dry and barren the good news is the wineries in this area are still planting new vines!!

The Riverland area is also quite famous for its fruit - similar to the Niagara area at home.  And in addition to the fresh fruit the area also is a great producer of dried fruit - and here are some apricots drying by the roadside.

Our travels took us across the Murray River at a little town called Morgan.  The ferry is a part of the road system in South Australia and so the ferry runs 24/7, 365 days a year.  Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth,...

And here is the Murray River taken while we were crossing on the ferry.

It was a very good (dangerous?) drive for wildlife as well!  I didn't get any photos of the kangaroo that bounded in front of the car - it all happened too fast - but this young emu did stick around long enough for a few photos.

En route we passed this amazing statue - a 1.5 tonne, life-sized statue of a horse called Curio.  Curio was evidently a buck jumping horse to be reckoned with, one that unseated every attempt at riding her for 8 years.  No rider could stay seated on the horse for more than 3 seconds until the famous day in 1953 when this rider (Alan Woods) rode her for 10 seconds.  The tiny town of Marrabel, where the statue is located, holds a rodeo every October and has done so since 1935.

After about a three hours drive (which actually took far longer because I kept insisting that we stop while I take a photo), we arrived in Edithburgh.  The town of Edithburgh was founded in 1869 and is the oldest town on the South Yorke Peninsula.  Today Edithburgh has a population of about 450 and is a popular tourist destination and fishing village.

The jetty was built in 1873, with salt being the major industry of this town in its heyday.  In fact, Edithburgh was the third busiest port in South Australia.  There are 11 jetties dotted around the coastline of the central and south Yorke Peninsula and Edithburgh's is the oldest.

Something that is really unique about Edithburgh is its tidal swimming pool.  The pool is set in a rocky cove and it has deep water at its outer edge in high tide, and an all-tide safe shallow area.

I loved this signage at the tidal pool area, particular the warning about "no spear fishing" (now who exactly would think about spear fishing in a swimming pool area?).

This is the boat launching area at Edithburgh.  As you can see from the rocky coastline there isn't anywhere for a marina so the fishermen put their boats in and out every day.

Not surprisingly, the bird life is beautiful here!  Cormorants, pelicans and black swans have been all around every time I've been at the coast.  And not only in the water either - sometimes they are right in front of where I'm walking,... or on top of the street lights.

Just outside of Edithburgh is the Wattle Point Wind Farm, opened in 2005 with 55 turbines.  I thought this was a lovely contrast of old and new.

Today we took a drive along the south coast of the Yorke Peninsula (from the heel to the toe of the boot).  The rocky coastline was just beautiful!  At the very bottom of the heel is the Troubridge Hill lighthouse.

At the toe of the Yorke Peninsula is another little community called Marion Bay.  Unlike Edithburgh with its rocky coastline, Marion Bay has some lovely beaches - and its own picturesque jetty.

South Australia's newest walking trail is called Walk the Yorke Trail, linking the small coastal towns of the Yorke Peninsula.  The trail is still being developed but when finished it will be about 600 kms in length.  One of the sections that is completed now runs between Edithburgh and Sultana Point - a distance of about 4.5 kms.  A local Edithburgh resident had a vision to mosaic rocks along the foreshore to add interest to the natural beauty of the walk.  The mosaics were created by many members of the community, regardless of what their skill levels were.  In total there are 37 mosaic rocks - here is an example of a few:

About 6 kms off shore from Edithburgh is Troubridge Island and the shoal between the island and the mainland is the graveyard of many ships.  In 1856 there was a lighthouse commissioned on the island and that lighthouse remains today.  Standing on the shoreline I could see the island and lighthouse, but it wasn't close enough to be able to take a photo - instead, here is one of the mosaic rocks depicting the island and lighthouse.

After being out and about all day today, and then finishing my day with a 9 kms walk (to Sultana Point and back), I think I'm ready for bed!