Deep Creek Conservation Park , South Australia, Australia
Monday, May 16, 2011
Today we leave the Adelaide Hills and head down the Fleurieu Peninsula, stopping off at Rosemount Estate at McLaren Vale. Now, you are probably thinking we must be getting sick of visiting wineries, and to a large degree that is true. However we felt we had to visit Rosemount as we buy a lot of their wines so it was good to see where they come from. We camped in Deep Creek National Park for a few days, which was really lovely. Our campsite was in a forest of big tall trees, and we actually had our first campfire for a very long time. There was only one other campsite occupied and they were way over the other side of the hill out of our sight, so we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. Fleurieu Peninsula is a lot greener than the other parts of South Australia we have seen so far, and the stocking rates of livestock jump dramatically. We are amazed at how many sheep and cattle are in some fairly small paddocks. We do a fairly strenuous but enjoyable bushwalk to Deep Creek Waterfall, and scenic drives to Cape Jervis to view their unusually-shaped lighthouse, and Second Valley. The coastline at Second Valley has dramatic cliffs where the rock has been uplifted and now great folds are visible. We would have liked to have walked across the small causeway to the peninsula but it is very cold and windy with big waves crashing across pretty often.
