Sunday, March 26, 2023

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. 

37 comments:

  1. A horse-drawn tram! I've never heard of such a thing. I feel a little bad for the horses, but I guess they're used to it. Sounds like an adventurous outing, but I don't blame you for wanting to head back the tram directly rather than waiting around. What if Albert and Scotty BOTH needed a nap?

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    1. Steve, most of the early US tram lines began with horse drawn trams. I fancy a horse name being Zelda, so if the boys are tired, Zelda comes into service, thereby partly correcting workplace gender diversity.

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  2. It does sound and look like a lovely day. I hope your poor back eased off quickly. And yes, the needs of the crocks do have to be met...

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    1. EC, when you have physical issues, you do look at things very differently than when you took no notice as you had no need to notice.

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  3. We have a horse drawn tram here too....
    https://www.visitisleofman.com/experience/douglas-bay-horse-tramway-p1292461
    You should pop over here and take a trip.

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    1. JayCee, you have reminded me. I have watched a YouTube clip about the horse drawn tram.

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  4. The Stalker
    Andrew , Unsolicited advice from an expert…always travel with bean bags and always book accommodation that’s has a microwave ..heated seats for long distances Or even short distances.
    Victor Harbour like Glenelg is on our never to do list. UGH! Most people love it and in the Christmas holidays it’s bursting at the seams
    Adelaide Hills are stunning and the Stirling Hotel is fabulous for meals. They also have some lovely accomodation








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    1. Stalker, getting up from bean bags might be a problem. I guess I could roll over onto all fours and get up. Our car seats are heated. R used the microwave once for some reason I can't recall. I get that about those two places. But they are really good for tourists. We did Hahndorf and Mount Lofty last year and they were both great. It was a long time since we had eaten sauerkraut and it was delicious. The Stirling Hotel sounds interesting. I will check it out.

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    2. She means the little bean/wheat bags that you heat in the microwave and place upon sore spots like back, neck, shoulder etc.

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  5. I do not understand people who won't use car a/c. It sounds like a pleasant enough trip the the harbor(sic) but not outstanding.

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    1. Caro, some people just don't feel bad from heat. I do. Yeah, we didn't see the Eiffel Tower, but we've done that already.

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  6. Your (sic) is unnecessary as that is the correct spelling for Victor Harbor. You are correct in assuming the new tram track cost mucho $$$$ and the tram is a replica looking very much like the original would have when new I believe. I remember the one time I saw Granite Island, old glue-fingers didn't want to part with the small cost of the tram so we walked across, once around the island, then back to the came and home in time for the footy on TV. I've always wanted to go back for another look but never seem to make the time. Your photos are lovely and I expect Port Elliot is too.

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    1. River, it may well be the name, but for me the spelling is wrong, and I don't want my spelling considered so bad and have to explain about our Labor Party or Victor Harbor. The sic indicates as read, as being a true spelling, even if people may think it is wrong.
      Many people walked to the island, for tram cost reasons or not. I though the tram cost was reasonable. Horses are expensive to keep.
      Port Elliot was nice but a little marred by all the large trucks travelling along the main street. It was not the only place we experienced that.

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    2. "came" should be car, I'm not liking this autocorrect feature at all!

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  7. I have never own a set of Crocs.
    Coffee is on and stay safe.

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    1. Me either Dora. I wonder what they are like.

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  8. Its a lovely place down there we did years ago but we walked across the bridge rather than wait for a tram. We were younger then. Sorry to hear you have a bad back. Take it easy old man.

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    1. Diane, the old man tries to manage his back issues, mostly successfully. Generally in the morning when I am out, I am almost a hunched over old man. In the afternoon, I can stride along a pace with my head held high. It kicks in at 10 and eases off by 12. Strange really.

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    2. Sit on the edge of the bed and let the bones settle before standing, then do some gentle stretching with minimal movement, bend forward, lean back, side to side, no twisting.

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  9. Tram with a horse, something different I guess.
    Seems you had a great day.
    Very hot in a car travelling without A/C on, and even if windows are down still rather warm with the hot warm wind plus who wants to get their locks all blown about, I remember those days when driving or being a passenger in our MG/scarf on head to keep the long locks from being too much of a mess.

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    1. Oh yes Margaret. I remember Mother wearing a scarf over her hair in the car. An open MG would have been a nightmare for hair.

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  10. The donkey looks a bit neglected to pull tourists around. But your pictures are very nice (anonymous = Gattina)

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    1. Gattina, they would not get away with not properly caring for horses here. They are Clydesdale horses, very strong and seem happy to tow the tram.

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  11. I had to find Granite Island on a map to know where you were! In my most humble opinion, this is a job that the blogger himself should do! To me it sounds as if it was a good job that R was there to cool the temperature when tensions grew between your good self and Oliver Farquarson.... Owen Freemantle.... Oswald Fiddler... Oscar Faggot-Wary.

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    1. YP, what about Port Elliot? Should I insert a map of that town? It is so easy for anyone to find places by name. I am fine with Oscar Faggot-Wary. He is primarily R's friend. I am just a hanger on.

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    2. Is Port Eliot named after the poet T.S. Eliot?

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    3. As told to me by a bloke in a pub, undoubtedly. Illiterate sign writers of the time, and they still flourish in Australia, added the extra 'l', just in case, and it became common spelling.

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  12. Crocks are back in style, I have a pair someplace. Nice conductor.

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  13. We used to call our car AC 4/60. Roll down four windows, go 60. I like the windows down, but its not healthy I know when driving amongst a zillion cars with the fumes. The horse looks so tired in that last photo.

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    1. Good laugh, Strayer. Scotty shouldn't have looked tired as he was fresh from the stables and had made one trip out.

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  14. The clydesdale horses are a beautiful breed. Many,many years ago I used to see them delivering barrels of beer to the pubs. Looks like you had a lovely holiday.

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    1. Many years ago I think Marie. I think I remember milk delivered by horses. R remembers electric milk carts in England.

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  15. It sounds as though you had a busy but enjoyable holiday. Do you need another holiday to get over it?
    We live not far from a Shire Horse Centre and the Shires are used to carry people watering floral displays in the town near us.

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    1. Jabblog, no. We make sure we get plenty of rest when on holidays. That's interesting about the horses being used for watering. I like it and must be great to see.

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  16. I never tire of reading your travel stories and seeing your great photos. "I can't believe three old faggots failed to get a good face photo..." This cracked me up. You should've taken me along. ~grin~ Seriously, that fountain is fantastic (!) and I enjoyed your entire post.

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    1. Darla, when our niece was four years old she took my camera while we having brunch out and took heaps of photos of guys on the street. They were oblivious to it.

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