SA Trip 2026 - Days 9 and 10 - The Run Home (II)

 Day 9 - Port Fairy to Torquay

I woke up to the sound of rain against the bedroom window. After having a very good run with warm weather for most of this trip, the closer I got to home the colder and wetter it became. 

I visited a couple of my favourite beaches before continuing east.

East Beach (Port Fairy)

Killarney Beach (not Port Fairy)

It's normally a relatively straight forward drive from Port Fairy to home, which can normally be achieved in one day. I had a couple of final stops which stretched this out into a two day trip.

The first stop was lunch in a familiar place, Timboon Cafe & Distillery.

That is a mocktail, by the way. I think this has been the first time I have purposefully visited a distillery and not tried their product. Being a responsible adult (also on medication) (also without someone else to drive) I behaved myself. Did I buy a bottle for later consumption? Yes I did.

No pies today. Instead, I enjoyed some Korean Fried Chicken with some chips. Yum.

After lunch I hopped across to Timboon Fine Ice-Cream. The flavour combination chosen today? Whisky cream and lemon sorbet. Yes, it did work. 

From Timboon it was pleasant drive through the Otways to Lorne. Then things went a little bit mad. The traffic going through Lorne was banked up about 500 metres or so. I soon worked out what was happening. Friday was a public holiday, and those people not interested in seeing two interstate teams fight it out in the AFL grand final the next day (i.e. most people) had skipped town (Melbourne) to enjoy a long weekend. The great Ocean Road seemed to be a popular place to do just that. From Lorne through to Torquay the popular road was busier that Bourke Street.

Eventually I made it to Torquay and my last overnight stay away. I stayed at a place called Surf Hotel which is being managed by one of my clients with his partner looking after the culinary side of things. The place had recently been renovated and my room included something I hadnt seen in a hotel room before: 

The beer garden was absolutely packed with patrons enjoying themselves. As were the other two venues located next door. Gotta love pointless public holidays!

It was good to catch up with my clients, and pleased for them that the hotel was so busy.

Day 10 - Torquay to Home

All good trips must come to an end and sadly, that included this one. The trip home took only a couple of hours and I arrived home around lunch time.

Final Thoughts

The primary purpose(s) of this trip was to attend a funeral and support a friend. There were a number of secondary purposes, including the visiting of some clients who I had not seen in a while and also doing something I really like (road trips).

This trip was a reinforcement of my philosophy of making the most of your experiences. The funeral, as well as my health challenges, were, and are, reminders of this tenet. 

Pie Winner

Elliott's Bakehouse in Kadina and their steak and mushroom pie. Ignoring the actual scores, this pie was the most memorable and deserves to be crowned Pie Winner of This Trip.
 

SA Trip 2026 - Days 7 and 8 - The Run Home (I)

 Day 7 - Kadina to Kingston SE

The trip home will take four days and will cover around 1,180km, give or take.

The first leg involved traveling around Adelaide and not through it (again), with about 450km on the clock.

I was still on the lookout for some spectacular Silo art and the town of Owen (between Balaklava and Gawler) did not disappoint.

I have previously travelled around the plains north of Adelaide and the Yorke Peninsula either in winter or in late spring/summer, after crops have been cut. Driving through these areas in September, after what seemed to be pretty good rains, was a bit of a revelation to me. Instead of short, stubbly, yellow stalks in dusty fields it was lush greenery as far as the eye could see. I hope this means that the harvests in the next couple of months will be bountiful for the farmers.

After a lunch stop in Tailem Bend (you know the drill) it was a drive down the Coorong to my overnight stop in Kingston SE. Apart from the spectacular scenery the only point of interest was during one of my short breaks on the side of the road. An RAA (local roadside assist) van drove past me, stopped and then doubled back until he was next to me.  I got out of the car and said g'day. He asked if I was OK. I thought I was. He then said that we was on his way to a call out to a car that had run out of petrol. A red Mazda. I was driving a red Mazda. After determining that another red Mazda on this road needed petrol, he continued on his way.

This stretch of road is a favourite of mine. The landscapes and vistas are gob-smackingly beautiful. I wrote about this in my 2024 trip, here.

Mid afternoon I arrived in at Kingston SE and found my motel. I then had a bit of a wander around the town. This seemed a different Kingston SE to the one I drove through a couple of years ago. So many empty shops, closed down businesses or businesses up for sale. I did a bit of online digging to try to work out why but nothing obvious came up.

This town has my favourite Big Thing and it was an obligatory stopping point for a selfie with it.

Me and Larry

 After tea at the local pub I then walked down to the local jetty. 

Day 8 - Kingston SE to Port Fairy

The second leg of this home run saw another 360km travelled with some more spectacular driving along the Limestone Coast until I reached the Victorian border, and then the coastal towns until reaching Port Fairy.

I need to learn to use the online thesaurus in order to avoid repetition. The scenery continued to be spectacular right along the coast:

Robe

Bridgeport

Nelson

Portland

One of the highlights of this trip actually wasn't by the water, but further inland. I spotted a large wedge-tailed eagle that seemed to have found some roadkill and was enjoying it by the side of the road. When it saw my car approaching it flew off across the road, in front of my car (no, I didn't hit it). Majestic.

After arriving in Port Fairy, and having a small break, I took a look around the town. It seemed to be busier than normal. Probably because of the Grand Final Day holiday on Friday allowing people to enjoy a long weekend. Absolutely understandable. From a Victorian viewpoint I could not care less about the two teams playing on Saturday.

Pie Review

Day 7 - Tailem Bend Bakery 

Steak, Bacon and Cheese (I think - in all honesty I forgot what pie this was. It wasn't steak and mushroom).

I think this was good, but not memorable? Let's give it 7.5/10

Day 8 - Rivoli Bay Deli

This one was a steak and mushroom.

This was probably my second favourite steak and mushroom pie of the trip. 8/10 

SA Trip 2026 Days 4,5 & 6 - Kadina

As always, the stay in Hahndorf was not long enough, however it was time for the next leg of this trip, Kadina.

Kadina is located about 150km north of Adelaide on the west side of the Yorke Peninsula. Kadina forms part of the Copper Triangle with the other two points being Wallaroo and Moonta. The area had/has rich cooper deposits and had a mining boom from the 1860s to the 1920s. As with all mining booms in Australia, it encouraged an influx of workers to the region, both from within Australia as well as internationally. One of the largest contributors was from the Cornish region of England. Cornish miners had a reputation as being the best in the world. And so they flocked to South Australia. The area became known as Little Cornwall, and Kernewek Lowender, a festival held every 2 years in the area, is actually the biggest Cornish Festival in the world.

Kadina is the biggest town of the three, and consequently is/was my home base for the next three nights.

The funeral was on Monday, in Moonta. A wonderful celebration of her life.

Rest in Peace, Nola.

Client meeting, Tuesday morning followed by a wander around the main shopping district of Moonta. As with a lot of old, small towns in "the country", Moonta is a mixture of very old and very new shops. The fine balancing act of preserving the old whilst also allowing the town to grow.

Moonta is very proud of its history and has recently been fighting a "takeover" by the National Trust of South Australia (NTSA), which did hit the mainstream media back in February. The resultant legal action and subsequent settlement meant that the local group regained control of management of the historic mines and there is now a state inquiry into the operations of the NTSA.

I mention this because the local group was having a meeting at the same cafe that I was meeting my client.  Luckily they weren't too noisy.

In the late afternoon I drove out to Port Hughes and Moonta Bay to have a wander and a ponder.

Port Hughes 1

Port Hughes 2

Moonta Bay 1

Moonta Bay 2

I have visited this area around half a dozen times (maybe more?) over the years. I find the area both captivating and intriguing. The beaches are pristine and the waters crystal clear. And whilst it can be a busy tourism spot (think The Peninsula for Melbournians) it can sometimes be quiet and peaceful. Like it was this evening.

I begin my run home tomorrow. Next stop - Kingston SE.

Pie Review

Day 4 - Port Wakefield Bakery

 

This was my second beef and mushroom pie. This was better than the first one, but still not awe inspiring. 7.5/10

Day 5 - Elliott's Bakehouse

I was feeling particularly hungry so chose two pies.

The one above was a steak an mushroom pie. This was starting to get to the standard I am looking for in this type of pie. Big chunks of mushroom and large chunks of slow cooked steak pieces. Very flavourful. 8.75/10

The name got me. It was an eggs benedict pie. Conceptually this could have been a contest winner however I think the execution wasn't quite there. Probably needed more hollandaise sauce, to be honest. 6.75/10

Day 6 - Taste the Yorke 

Something a bit different on Day 6 Instead of a pie I had the Moonta Oggie. This is a "2 course pastry" that has 2/3 of it filled with mince and vegetables and 1/3 apple. As you can see in the photo it was served with both tomato sauce as well as whipped cream, to compliment the different parts of it.

This was mostly tasty with the one weird bit being where the two fillings intermingled. Neither the sauce, nor the cream, worked in that area. 

There is a bit of Cornish history to the Oggie, explained to me by the waitress when it was served to me. Back in the mining days these were provided by the wives to the miners as a way to have a full meal in one package. 

This was weird, but in a good way, and I am glad I went for it. 7.5/10 

SA Trip 2026 Day 3 - Hahndorf

 If you've never been to Hahndorf (South Australia - actually not sure why I provided a geographic explainer here. This is the only one in the world), it can be difficult to explain why its managed to be a "must visit" place every time I am in or near Adelaide.

For Victorians unfamiliar with this town in the Adelaide Hills, its roots are German, with settlers from there establishing the town back in 1839, only 4 years after John Batman established Batmania Melbourne.

 I've been trying to come up with any direct comparisons of the main street in Hahndorf with a Victorian equivalent. A bit of Akland Street, some Lygon Street, Sorrento Village mixed in with the Healesville shopping precinct. However this doesn't it do it justice.

Hahndorf has leaned heavily into its German origins to provide a food and cultural experience that is its own unique thing.

Can you buy cuckoo clocks? Yes. German beer? Absolutely. Do cafes sell strudels, does oompah music feature heavily in the "ambient" music, can pork knuckles, kassler chops and bratwursts be ordered at the restaurants and pubs on the main road? Yes, yes and yes. 

There are more than 100 shops in the main shopping strip of Hahndorf, stretching out more than a kilometre.

And whilst every second shop may be some form of eaterie, there are plenty of the more unusual retailers as well. Byzantium artwork (replicas). scented candle retailers (at least 5),  leatherworks (2), knife sellers (2) and more.

I have a couple of favourite shops over the years. The German Pantry sells a range of sauces, pickles, chocolates and other goodies sourced from Germany and surrounding European countries, as well as selling a large range of smoked and cured meats. The German Shop (original branding there) sells a range of cuckoo clocks, Christmas ornaments, wooden toys as well as souvenirs. 

I have a couple of favourite places to eat as well. Hahndorf Inn has never failed me, and their German platters will easily feed a family of four. Then Gepetto's, an Italian restaurant, provides a nice change to German heavy fair. There are other cuisines available here as well. Apart from standard Aussie pub grub (parmas, steaks and pasta), you can also treat yourself to Indian, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, Spanish or Greek. German is the dominant cuisine, however.

Anyway, enough spruiking the town. What did I do?

Eating, walking and a bit of shopping. 

Breakfast was at The Haus, with the German breakfast (what else?), including sauerkraut, bratwurst, and sourdough.

Lunch was at Otto's Bakery (pie review to follow) and tea at the aforementioned Gepetto's (wagyu carpaccio, veal saltimbocca and tiramisu).

After

 Presents were bought for the family (and myself) and there was lots of walking. Lots and lots of walking.

The temperature got to the mid twenties, making it a t-shirt and shorts type of day. Lots of people about, all enjoying themselves.

Today was a good day.

Pie Review

Otto's Bakery, provided me with a steak and mushroom pie. A bigger pie than the first day, a thicker pastry, making it a more substantial pie as well.

 The taste though, wasn't.  I probably expected a more mushroomy flavour than what I experienced. Slightly blander flavour. All up, 7/10

 

SA Trip 2026 - Days 1 and 2

This is a different trip.

A close friend of mine's wife tragically passed away a week or so ago.  Her funeral will be on Monday, in Kadina, South Australia.

Not being a massive fan of planes, and also wanting to be there to support my friend, a road trip was the only logical option.  

The basic bones of this trip is to head to Kadina via inland and return home via the coast. Also taking the opportunity to visit a couple of clients along the way.

 Why the blog for this trip?

1. As I get older, I appreciate the effort I have gone into documenting my trips, as my memory does not improve with age. Rereading my blogs about bygone trips is fun, for me.

2. My philosophy is to appreciate the journey as much as the destination. Even with the sad circumstances of this particular destination I want to be as present as I can be in all stages of this journey. Documenting it provides me with the reason/excuse/means to do so. 

I wont be completing this on a daily basis, though will try to cover all aspects of this trip.  

 Day 1

Noradjuha was the end point of this first day's travels.

"Where is Noradjuha?" I hear you ask. 

Get to Horsham, continue on to Natimuk, and once you are getting near Mt Arapiles turn left. 

Noradjuha is the home to a long standing client family of ours, who swapped the sunny climate of the Kinglake Ranges with the sunnier climate of the Wimmera over 17 year ago.

After deciding to take this trip I made contact with them to see if they were available for a quick visit. Which then turned into a feed and overnight stay. 

 Gotta love country hospitality.

The way up included the obligatory stop for morning tea (pie review below). The sign in the male toilets had me a little confused.

Surely this is wrong. The "only" thing to be flushed is toilet paper? ...

Lunch was in Ararat. Up the road from there was Dadswell's Bridge and the obligatory stop for all aficionados of Big Things. 

 

After arriving in Noradjuha, whilst enjoying a cup of tea, I noticed this in my client's kitchen: 

"Excellent Source of Sparkles"

"Made on Equipment that Also Processes Products Containing Nuts and Squirrels"

 Dinner was not from this can.

 Day 2

The second day saw me cross the border with a pretty relaxing trip through to Hahndorf, in the Adelaide Hills.

One very noticeable thing whilst driving for most of this morning (as well as a good chunk of yesterday) was the large amounts of canola crops in flower. The fields of yellow were everywhere. (Sorry - no photos - I was driving.)

 Lunch was in Kaniva, home of the Kaniva Sheep. Readers of this blog should know that I am a sucker for art in the townships.  Sheep Art started in Kaniva back in 2010 and now includes 57 sheep, 4 lambs and 2 sheep dogs. Here is some of them:

I am also a fan of Silo Art:

Kaniva

`

Coonalpyn

Hahndorf is one of my favourite places to visit, and whilst I arrived a bit too late in the day for a full exploration, I was able to have a magnificent meal at an old favourite:

 Pie Review(s)

A copped a bit of flack for my pie reviews in my last trip. They're continuing this trip.

Day 1 - Bourkie's Bakery

This was from a bakery located in Woodend. My favourite pie is a steak and mushroom, which was a good way to start these reviews:

Solid, but not spectacular 7/10

 Day 2 - Kaniva Morning Loaf Bakery

Not a lot of options available. Chose the Pepper Steak.

Unfortunately it felt as tasted as though this had been sitting there quite a while. Not the best pie I've ever had. 5.5/10

Big Trip 2026(1) Day 12 - The Way Home and Epilogue

We could have driven straight home from Foster. The total time for this trip, per Google Maps, is just over three hours. We weren't going to do that.

Today's plan was to travel to Inverloch, then on to Phillip Island.  After mucking around there for a while we would then head home. The hope was that rain would not be too much of an issue.

Inverloch was going to be the place we would stop for a pie/sausage roll however neither of were all that hungry, having cleaned up all the left over food for breakfast before we left (apples, muesli bars, ice-cream and a stray bun). So the final food review was abandoned as we continued on to Phillip Island, and Cowes.

The scenery along the coast from Inverloch is stunning.  It's known as the Bunarong Coastal Drive and features locally iconic spots such as Eagles Nest (Sandstone rock stack), Twin Reefs and The Oaks. Unfortunately it had started to rain and we were unwilling to get wet, so were content to admire the scenery we could view from the comfort of our car.

After a while we crossed the bridge at San Remo in to Phillip Island. Our lunch destination was Cowes, and an Italian restaurant overlooking the Western Port Bay, Isola di Capri.

In times gone by I used to take day trips driving down to Cowes, and I would often visit this restaurant for lunch.  I have never been disappointed here.

Nick wasn't massively hungry so we ended up sharing a pizza between us.  Their wood fired pizzas are next level stuff.

There were roadworks occurring outside the restaurant with some pretty significant streetscape improvements which will end up a) being very pedestrian/visitor friendly and b) reducing the ability to use it as a road for traffic.

Having completed lunch we had one more stop before heading home, and that was to the Phillip Island Chocolate Factory.

We skipped entry to Panny's Amazing World of Chocolate (I must do that one day, but not today), and went straight to the shop.  After stocking up on Easter Eggs and other presents for Lesley, we made our way out and headed for home, in the pouring rain. 

Final Thoughts

Back in 2021, as I was recovering from some fairly significant health issues in hospital, I had made a commitment to myself to travel more. This didn't mean backpacking across Europe or travelling around the Americas. My interest was closer to home. Australia is a big, big place and I had not seen much of it.

2023 was a road trip to Byron Bay and country NSW and 2024 was to Port Lincoln, Ceduna and Broken Hill.

2025 caused a blip in my travel plans as further surgery, and my recovery from that, caused a delay in any travel. 

This trip was me getting back on that horse and reconfirming my commitment to travel, albeit at a lesser rate (for now).  The fact that I had Nick enthusiastically on board for this trip was an added bonus.

A lot of this trip felt like a series of greatest hits from holidays gone past, and that's not a bad thing. Enjoying the Mallacoota beaches, mini golf in Lakes Entrance, the Shell Museum (also Lakes Entrance), Wild Brumby Distillery outside Jindabyne, the Star Hotel in Echuca, Lee's Take Away in Mallacoota and Isola di Capri are reinforcing why I like travelling so much. Driving on unfamiliar roads, Corowa, wrong turns, too much walking and Yarram, are the new and/or unexpected experiences that I thoroughly enjoyed and will add to the memory bank as part of this overall holiday experience.     

 Highlights:

• Watching a pod of dolphins swimming off Quarry Beach on my last morning in Mallacoota.
• Takayama Restaurant - Jindabyne
• Mini golf in Lakes Entrance

This trip was always Part 1 of my trip around Victoria. I am looking forward to completing this trip in the latter half of 2026 as I cover the Western half of the state. Nick has already put his hand up to complete this trip with me.

Food Review

Whilst there were no reviews today we come to that time of the trip when we look at which bakery "won".

When I asked Nick about his favourite sausage roll of the trip, he replied, without hesitation, that it was the first one he had at Gaffney's Pie Kitchen in Seymour.

I had rated two pies equally on 8.5, however, on a count back, my favourite pie of the trip was the Bacon and Cheese pie at the Mallacoota Bakery. 

No album for the last day of our trip - Podcasts all the way home

Kms Travelled Today - 331

Kms Travelled Total - 2,637

Big Trip 2026(1) Day 11 - The Prom

It was a bit of a late start this morning.  The plan was to visit Wilson’s Promontory today.  Rain was forecast, from about mid morning onward, however the rain radar wasn’t showing any signs of it (and didn't end up happening).

Once we reached the boundaries of the Prom there was still a fair bit of driving to do before reaching Tidal River, which is the Prom’s mecca.  School groups were everywhere, as well as a lot of casual visitors (like us).  There was also a a barrage of construction workers present.  There is a lot of construction work happening as a new Visitor’s Centre and Café are being built.  If you’ve never visited the Prom before you might want to leave it for six months to a year as they complete construction.

We had visited the Prom a couple of times for the camping experience (using a camper trailer) back before Ben had started primary school. So I’m thinking 2006 and 2007? I hadn’t been back since then. Nick had been part of a school camp here when he was in grade three (2009?).  Part of returning here was for nostalgic purposes.  The official purpose, as part of this trip, was to visit the southern most part of the state.

So, Tidal River was our first stop.  As the name would suggest, this is a river that flows out to the beach, that is affected by the tides, or something like that.  This beach is one of those where there is a lot of distance between the low tide water mark and the high tide water mark.  It appeared to be low tide as the water was a long way out.

We spent a good half hour here exploring the area.  As more school groups made their way down to the beach we left and drove to Mt Oberon.  More specifically, we drove to the car park at the base of Mt Oberon, Telegraph Saddle, and admired the view from there.  The walk to the summit was almost 7 km return, not something I wanted to do, or was able to do.

 From there we drove down to Squeaky Beach, named because the sand makes a squealing sound when you step on/through it.

At Squeaky Beach there is a walk that you can do that takes you through to Picnic Bay.  Nick took the opportunity to walk there and I met up with him at the Picnic Bay Car Park.  Whilst waiting for him I ducked quickly to the next Bay in the vain hope of finding the source of its name. I was not surprised but a bit disappointed.

Whisky Bay (it's a little blurry)

After I picked Nick up we decided we were done with the Prom.  We then headed to Foster for a late lunch (review below).

On a family recommendation tea tonight was at The Fish Creek Hotel,  Nick had fish (whiting) and chips whilst I went for the BBQ Pork Back Ribs.

We don’t normally talk a lot whilst eating however I felt our mood was particularly quiet.  I don’t know if it was because neither of us rated our tea highly (the sauce on the ribs was too sweet, and Nick thought the whiting was bland), whether we were tiring from our trip, or we were fully aware that tonight was the last night of our trip.  There comes a time in most trips when you realise that you are slowly making your way back home and that you’re either happy, or not happy, for that to happen.  I think that was where are heads were.

Food Review

The Hot Bread Shop in Foster was where we bought our lunch. (Sorry, I forgot to take a photo).

Nick bought the cheese and bacon sausage roll. He really like it, however thought that it was a bit too greasy, most likely because of the oil from the bacon and cheese.  He still rated it highly 8/10

I had a tomato and onion pie.  This was a great pie.  The pie case was solid and well cooked, the top crust was the right amount of flakiness and the filling was very tasty, with small pieces of both tomato and onion amongst the beef mince. 8.5/10

Today's Album Thriller Michael Jackson

Kms Travelled Today 160

Kms Travelled Total 2,306