Adelaide
April 2019
We have always wanted to visit Adelaide so when we realised we had a free long weekend over Easter we took an extra day off work, flew to Adelaide and hired a campervan to drive around some of the beautiful locations surrounding Adelaide.
Lake Bumbunga
First stop was Lake Bumbunga, an hour and a half drive north of Adelaide next to a small town called Lochiel. Lake Bumbunga is a salt lake which is known to change colour from pink, to white, to blue, depending on the salinity of the water throughout the year. The pink colour comes from the presence of salt-loving algae and pink bacteria known as halobacteria that turns the lake bright pink. The less water in the lake, the more concentrated the salt and the brighter the colour. When we visited the lake was completely dry so the pink colour wasn't as visible, instead the red earth showed through the dried salt forming the most beautiful patterns in the lake bed. Combined with a beautiful pastel pink sunset and this place will forever be in my memory. We stayed next to the lake at the in a free camp site at the Lochiel Memorial Hall and got up early to walk over to the lake for sunrise.
The Coorong
After Lake Bumbunga we drove through the Clare Valley and Barossa Valley to the Coorong National Park. We found more pink salt lakes (which you could actually see the pink colour in the salt!) and some beautiful wetlands. Unfortunately it was the wrong time of year to see many of the birds which breed in this area, but it was beautiful none the less. We stayed at another free camping area on Lake Alexandrina at the Narrung Ferry and saw another beautiful sunrise.
Fleurieu Peninsula
Next stop was the Fleurieu Peninsula. We visited made our way along the coast and visited Deep Creek Conservation Park and loved seeing all the grass trees everywhere. We stayed one night at Rapid Bay and had a quick swim at the beach there (it was so cold!) then the last night at Sellick's Beach after a day spent exploring the Adelaide Hills and visiting a few wineries. Even though it was only a quick trip we saw so many beautiful places and now we want to go back for more!
