A Sunday Drive

 Wow - an actual sunny and warm-ish day! After an awfully cold few months it was such a delight to welcome the sun back. How long it will last though is anyone's guess. But we immediately took advantage of the sunshine, hopped in the car and headed north to Myponga, a small Fleurieu Peninsula town about 40 kms from home. 

Our first stop was the Myponga Markets; we've visited here quite a few times in the past so were looking forward to it, especially as the website assured us it was open. Well... it was not open. Inquiring next door at a cafe we were told 'Oh, no. The markets have been closed for 2 years now'. Oops. How had we missed that? The lady also told us that they get so many enquiries as the market owners haven't taken down the website.  I guess Covid was the driving force behind the closure.

So far, our trip wasn't going according to plan. Next stop was Myponga Beach. It turns out this is a very tucked away hideaway, discovered off a steep gravel road winding down to the sea. After a few false starts we finally found the turn-off. I loved the country ambience. 

I particularly loved the folds of the hills as the last of the Mount Lofty Ranges finds its way to the sea.

A glimpse of a past era.

And a welcoming moo.

We finally made it to the bottom of the hill. The tiny settlement of Myponga Beach is clustered around the river which enters the sea here. What fabulous views the people get.

We parked the car and set off to explore. The beach itself is compact, bordered by high cliffs. And lots of rocks! Lots of rocks.

 The ruined jetty provided a bit of photographic interest ...

...as did these kayaks.

Just for fun, I decided to spice up this photo with extra colour.

Not many people were around. The holiday homes on the shore looked quite deserted. But look at that blue sky. I definitely did not touch this photo. 

There was not much else to see or do, apart from a peaceful stroll along the sand.

We returned to the main road and headed for Yankallilla where we lunched at the bakery, browsed in a couple of secondhand book and bric-a-brac shops, and finally, an old rustic shed. I mentioned to Steve that if I had a country cottage I would love some of these nostalgic items such as cane baskets, old cooking paraphernalia such as mincers and moulds, and old gardening tools. And then... in a corner, we spied two framed prints. They immediately caught our eye for two reasons; they were so completely not 'rustic' and they featured jazz scenes. They were unusual and were $20 the pair. He he - I bought them for Steve as a Christmas present. Back home, I discovered they were prints from a Spanish-Catalan artist who was making a name for himself at the time, and who has since died. I believe our prints were from 2005. Anyway, I'm set to do more research. Steve's not getting them until Christmas.