Strath 3

OF planned the next day. We will visit Victor Harbor(sic). I planned our next day. OF does not like car air conditioning and with a forecast temperature of 32 degrees, I insisted we will use our car, with the air con on. I can also control how long we are in the company of our friend better to work for us.

Look, I am being harsh. He is quite lonely at times and he really enjoyed our visit, as we enjoyed seeing him, but you know, it has to work for me too. 

Cafe, Granite Island, closed. Oh well, we will eat elsewhere. The main road was closed for repair and the alternative road was flat and boring so we took the scenic route through some hills. We stopped at a bakery in Port Elliot and it was terrific. We all chose healthy options such as sausage rolls and strong coffee.

OF chose somewhere to park so that we had to walk past a number of shops and cafes to reach...wait for it... a tram to Granite Island. The walk was quite interesting but some distance and at the time of the day my arthritis is at its worst. I no complain. R understands when I say I need to sit, that is in a chair or bench with a back. I understand when he says he needs to sit, as he is exhausted. What a pair of old crocks. I think R may have had a quiet word to our friend about my issues. 

Typical, we had just missed a tram and had to wait a while for the next tram. We filled the time well enough, at times discussing the fertility of young daddies with children who were around. A daddy of twins won hands down and he was rather hot, if a handsome tanned daddy about 30 years old with good dress and personal grooming style, if that is your thing. 

Port Elliot Bakery was a great place for a break, with nice 'bad' food and almost ok coffee, for a bakery.

Well, Crocs are the height of fashion among the teens of Port Elliot. Is this a trend I have missed? Is John Gray of Wales once again fashionable with his Crocs? 

He was a nice looking daddy in the outdoor seating area at the bakery.

A local pub, for local people. 

As we ambled towards the tram, there was this rather modern looking rotunda. You may recall how much I like a good rotunda, frequently and often. 

A seat in the shade to ease my back and view this rather cool fountain. 

Here comes our tram. I wondered if it would be 600 volt electric or 750 volt. Forget the volts, it was horsepower. Just one horsepower.

The outlook was very pleasant. 

The horse was called Albert, but typically of public transport workers, he insisted on a break from his labours and so Scotty was brought into service and towed our tram to Granite Island, maybe a kilometre away partly along a causeway. I am not seeing horse workplace gender diversity here.

The young woman seemed to be in charge. She changed and guided the horses and operated the tram brake, a small disc to turn which seemed to be quite a complex skill on a flat tramline as we arrived back at the mainland terminus. Don't you just say whoa Neddy Dobbin Scotty?

The views back to the mainland and of the island were very nice.

Hmm, I know new tram track when I see it. This will have cost $$$.

I can't believe three old faggots did not get a good face photo of  who I think was the tram conductor. He was very cute looking. Shallowness on my part aside, he was such a nice a welcoming guy, absolutely without artifice. 

I think I am right in saying these aren't original trams but copies of originals. They seemed very authentic to me. Interestingly a horse drawn tram once travelled the 50 kilometre distance from Victor Harbor to Strathalbyn.

We arrived and the tram would begin its return journey in five minutes. We have walked Granite Island in the past, as has OF. I think he wanted to explore again but given it was forty minutes until the next return journey, I said no. We will return on this tram in five minutes. R was concerned that we offended OF and I reminded  him of the facts that we can't walk far, and we don't do stairs. 

Older tram track here. 

A duck family.

 

We drove the flat diversion road back. It seemed to take forever. After dropping our friend off, we rested at our motel and met up for dinner at an Italian place. OF chose a pizza that turned out to not terribly to his taste but R's and my meal were great. At some point he had shown us around his daughter's house and we returned there for coffee and biscuits. Then back to our so comfortable motel to sleep the sleep of the innocent. We'd had a lovely day.