The State We’re In 2026 – Day 18

A circuit from Adelaide to the mouth of the Murray River and Victor Harbour.

Laratinga Wetlands at Mount Barker

Hardheads

Springtime nest building for this Coot – sticking to the plan.

Pacific black duck

Grey teal

Red wattlebird

Adelaide rosella

Historic Laucke Flour Mill at Strathalbyn – people say swallowing flour, eggs, sugar and water all at once is difficult but I say it’s a piece of cake.

Motor bike sculpture at Strathalbyn.

Strathalbyn’s High Street

Milang Jetty with historic Hand Crane

Looking across the vast Lake Alexandrina.

A Crested tern – these guys have been hit hard by the Bird Flu.

Just outside the town of Milang, we came across this fellow. Can a dinosaur live in Milang? You bet Jurassican.

This is Milano the Dinosaur. Despite being extinct, Milano is not a saur loser. The loss of the flying reptiles at the same extinction event was Pterribyl though.

Aboriginal canoe tree near Currency Creek

White-plumed honeyeater in a nearby tree

They were very actively feeding.

We’ve seen plenty of the Murray River upstream but here at Goolwa near Hindmarsh Island it meets the ocean.

Pacific gull on Hindmarsh Island

On the southern banks of the Murray River’s exit into the ocean is the Coorong – a 140km long dune system with lagoons stretching south-east.

There are huge numbers of pelicans here although many have flown up to Lake Eyre which is in flood. This is the area the classic Australian book Storm Boy is set.

The Barrage at Goolwa keeps salt water from entering Lake Alexandrina

Grey teal upstream from the Barrage

Great cormorant

Swallow resting under a concrete ledge on The Barrage.

There are other things resting here too. Fur seals have hauled themselves up onto the timber frame resting without the presence of sharks.These were the sealiest creatures we saw today.

Crested pigeon

Goolwa Port. 33 paddlesteamers and 25 barges were built or assembled here at Goolwa.

Historic spillway at Goolwa where artisans still use traditional boat building methods. This is the progress on the Unsinkable II.

The old Causeway bridge to Granite Island in Victor Harbour. We were on this bridge in 2015. Victor Harbour is a popular coastal town with a demographics problem. It has been nicknamed “God’s Waiting Room” as 39% of the population are over 65 and only 43% of the population are in the labour force. The median age is about 58 compared to Australia’s 38.5.