Coorong Cruising

My best beloved gave me an early birthday present -  a cruise on the Coorong, the protected coastal lagoon ecosystem that begins around Goolwa and continues for around 140 kilometres along the Southern Ocean. The cruise boat was comfortable and the guides described what we were seeing with enthusiasm and intelligence - no tourist spruiking here, thank goodness.

Our trip took us first past the Goolwa Barrage - a weir system that controls the flow of fresh water from the Murray River, and through a lock where we saw some sleepy seals.

Then we sailed through a narrow channel bordering a long sand-duned peninsula that separates the Coorong from Encounter Bay until we came to the mouth of the Murray River.  It seems that the sand dunes encroach at an alarming rate and change the actual position of the mouth every few years. Twenty years ago the mouth was almost 10 kms south. Dredges are continually at work keeping the river mouth open to the Southern Ocean. It is a very small opening for such a mighty river so it is no wonder that both Flinders and Baudin missed it on their 1802 travels and it was not until 1830 that it was discovered by Charles Sturt.

We cruised on, with the region's famous birdlife putting on a grand show. We saw sandpipers, banded stints, ducks, swans, avocets, plovers, pied oystercatchers and of course the ubiquitous pelicans (these have the largest wing span of all pelicans world-wide) bringing to mind images of 'Storm Boy', a fact noted by our guide who pointed out where parts of the movie were filmed.

Our first stop was at Barkers Knoll, where for some reason, mosquitos were out in force so we slathered ourselves with lotion and trudged up the sand dunes. This area is part of the vast Younghusband Peninsula and the guided walk through the dune vegetation to the ocean was fascinating; we learnt of the native plants and how they were used by the Ngarrindjeri people who were the original inhabitants of this land, and how the dunes hold so much fresh water it enables them to be revegetated. At the ocean we were shown how to catch cockles, a shell meat that the area is famous for. Prior to re-boarding the boat, our guide had cooked up a batch in white wine and herbs and people ate them on the beach: unfortunately I spat mine out; I do not like shell fish but thought I should give it a try as I have never tasted a cockle before.

On board, we enjoyed a lovely lunch until our next stop at Cattle Point, where we had marvellous views of the Coorong, trekked over the dunes to view huge middens whose shell remains shined silvery in the harsh midday light, then watched our guide dig for fresh water. After digging barely an arm's length, the water bubbled up and we all tasted a sample; the water was cool and delicious with nary a suggestion of salt or sand.



On our return trip we spotted some emus and an emu chick scrambling up a dune. Then we were served afternoon tea and cruised slowly back to Goolwa. A wonderful end to a very full day and a thoughtful birthday present.