Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

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CHAPTER 10 . ADELAIDE & SOUTH AUSTRALIA
shower. Some have a kitchenette. Room no. 9 is huge, with a double and two
sets of bunk beds. All motel rooms are dug out of the side of a hill. Radeka’s also
runs a good opal tour.
1 Oliver St., Coober Pedy, SA 5723. & 08/8672 5223. Fax 08/86725821. 150 units, 10 motel rooms. A$52
(US$34) double. A$22 (US$14) dorm beds. In motel: A$90 (US$59) double; A$110 (US$72) family suite. Extra
person A$15 (US$9.75). AE, MC, V. Free parking. Amenities: Bar; TV and video room; pool table; kitchen/dining
room; tour desk; coin-operated laundry service. In room (motel only): TV, coffeemaker.
WHERE TO DINE
The Opal Inn (& 08/8672 5054) offers good-value counter meals of the typical
pub-grub variety. Head to Traces (& 08/8672 5147), the township’s favorite
Greek restaurant, for something a bit different.
5 The Coorong
Few places in the world attract as much wildfowl as the Coorong, one of Australia’s
most precious sanctuaries. The Coorong is made up of an area that includes
the mouth of the Murray River, the huge Lake Alexandrina, the smaller Lake
Albert, and a long, thin sand spit called the Younghusband Peninsula. A small, but
by far the most scenic, part of this area is encompassed in the Coorong National
Park. The area is under environmental threat due to pollutants coming south via
the Murray River from farmlands to the north. It still manages to play host to
large colonies of native and visiting birds, such as the Australian pelican, black
swans, royal spoonbills, greenshanks, and the extremely rare hooded plover.
If it were possible to count all the birds here, you’d probably run out of steam
after some 45,000 ducks, 5,000 black swans, 2,000 Cape Barren geese, and
122,000 waders. This last figure is even more significant when you consider it
corresponds to a total South Australian population of waders standing at
200,000, and an overall Australian population of some 403,000.
Add to these figures the thousands of pelicans—with around 3,000 birds
nesting here it’s the largest permanent breeding colony in Australia—and gulls,
terns, and cormorants, and you’ll realize why the Coorong and Lower Murray
Lakes form one of the most important water bird habitats in Australia.
The national park, which stands out starkly against the degraded farmland
surrounding it, is also home to several species of marsupials, including wombats.
The best time to visit the Coorong is in December and January, when the
lakes are full of migratory birds from overseas. However, plenty of birds can be
spotted year-round. Note: Binoculars and patience are highly recommended.
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE The best way to visit the Coorong is by car, though a
guided tour of the area is highly recommended once you arrive at either the main
settlement of Goolwa on the western fringe of the waterways, or at Meningie, on
the eastern boundary. From Adelaide follow the Princes Highway along the coast.
VISITOR INFORMATION The River Murray Interpretive Centre, The
Wharf, Goolwa, SA 5214 (& 08/8555 1144), has information on the area and
can book accommodations. It’s open daily from 9am to 5pm.
GETTING AROUND The best operator in the area is Coorong Nature
Tours (& 08/8574 0037, or 0428/714 793 mobile phone; www.lm.net.au/
~coorongnat/), based in Narrung. The tours are run by David Dadd, a delightful,
unassuming Cockney, who fell in love with the Coorong when he arrived at