We rode that day , along the coast under a pigeon grey sky , spending time admiring Port Fairy , trundling along to Mt Gambier in the late afternoon .
It was my first time in South Australia , and I was excited to hoard as many cans and bottles as possible to finally receive the 10-cent recycling reward ! But alas , some things aren ’ t meant to be .
We tore along the coast , heading north towards Adelaide and delighted in the Coorong National Park , a twitchers paradise .
Separated from the ocean by a long stretch of sand dunes , the road hugged the hundred- and fortykilometre lagoon . Derived from an Aboriginal word ‘ karangk ’ meaning narrow neck , it is a breathtaking little park , and our motorcycles ran smoothly across the narrows strip of road . Pelicans gently glided overhead and cormorants dried their wings in the resplendent sunshine , it was blissful stuff , and our steeds were behaving perfectly .
The further away from home we rode the more scenic the landscape became , and we were mesmerised by the quality of South Australian roads . It all felt like fresh tarmac had been laid down just for us , with barely any traffic competing for its attention . Occasionally an unwelcome speed camera would hover into view , but this was placated by an odd sculpture park at the side of the road ; one of a gestapo-like watchtower claiming to be for environmental observing , a giant ant carrying a sword and trident , Ned Kelly astride a horse , vaulting over toxic barrels , and a giant blood-covered mouse standing on more toxic barrels . Presumably , this was creative protesting at the dumping of chemical waste the government was lobbying for , and eventually got .
As we ’ d pulled over to admire the
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