Robe SA-13 445kms

Dearest Intrepid Reader

Omg what a day!

Three forms of transport in the one day! So it’s gotta be good

Trike !

Horse Drawn Tram !

Ferry !

41 days on the road. We have ridden everyone of those days accept, for our one day in Perth when we were on public transport!

Where do I start?

Community of the road.

We were piped into Victor Harbor this morning to the tune of Green Hills. I could hardly believe my ears, but it was true,

This is Jim, he has been playing for 4 years and comes down every Wednesday morning to practice in the park.

He has permission from the council, he informed me. ( They are very loud, so I guess it’s a community safety issue)

As we had breakfast, he played my favourite songs on the pipes. Amazing Grace and Highland Cathedral.

My dad plays the pipes, so it was an extra special moment to arrive to the pipes in Victor Harbour on a Wednesday morning.

The Causeway Café had the absolute best coffee we have had, in 13000kms! John and I could not stop at one and had two each!

Victor Harbor 1837

This is Scotty, he pulled our tram today ! He seemed very happy in his work and was obviously loved by the team on the tram. They spoke to him softly and he would respond just to their words. You can also have a behind the scenes experience with the horses out on the property where they live.

Jenny and John have done the Tram ride before so, they enjoyed more of the beauty of the harbour while we had the experience.

The MOTH has never been into Victor Harbor by road as he did today.

However he has sailed into Victor Harbor around September 1985 ( before Tracey, we met in the November ) on HMAS Flinders ( don’t forget the cats name, was Trim).

Can you see the wharf behind the MOTH in this photo. It is over the causeway on Granite Island .

Well , the Flinders was at anchor in the bay , and the sailors came in for a bit of a night out. On the return to Flinders the MOTH had a terrible fall on this wharf and hit his head on a large bolt.

The cause of the fall turns out to be classified information, but the head injury resulted in significant blood loss and did required suturing by the boats medic. This type of injury has never occurred again ( after Tracey).

We left Victor Harbor and headed down the Princes Highway, we crossed the Murray River just after the town of Wellington. Where the MOTH fueled up.

It was a wonderful suprise to cross on the Ferry! It’s also Free!

The Ferry was about to leave as we rounded the corner so they held off and opened up the gates again for us to ride straight on. We all just, fitted, with some skilful parking.

We rode along vast beaches and marsh land of the Coorong National Park today. Made famous by the Movie “Storm Boy” .

Large numbers of pelicans were flying overhead. We did not end up with any droppings on us. If we did we would have welcomed the luck it would have brought to us. Offical lie!

Lobster Scupture at the Town of Kingston South East. A much needed fuel stop for Rubilicious!

We finished our day in Historic Robe. It was founded in 1846 to meet the needs of pastoralist in the area. There is over 70 heritage listed buildings in the town. One of which is the Customs House.it was erected in 1863 to serve one of the busiest ports in South Australia. For several years the revenue collected here was second only to the port of Adelaide. 16 500 Chinese Immigrants landed here on their way to the Victorian Goldfields in the mid 1800s.

Robe Hotel 1847

Tonight our home is the Robe Hotel. We have a beautiful sea view of Guichen Bay and hotel balcony room. There is also an ensuite with a wide door.

The MOTH tending to the fire.

He seems to be allowed to stoke every fire, in every venue we go to.

I am not sure how he becomes one of the team at each place but he is secretly and shamelessly, carrying around fire lighters to ensure his success! He even showed them to the owner of the Robe Hotel tonight who said, “ Ok mate I will leave it with you”.

Note, the safety footwear!

The MOTH has the Harley and trailer parked out the back in the old stables and has the fridge plugged in. It is also where the wood pile is located which is how he knew where to get the wood for the fire.

Today, in the safety of my helmet, at top note, the Seekers and I were singing,

“ I am Australian” .

I believe the power of the lyrics describes our trip better than I.

So I thought I would share them with you, without you having to endure my singing.

When you ride out to find the way, the way will appear.

Until next time,

MOTH and LOL