Coorong: From the Ngarrindjeri word kurangh, meaning 'long neck'.

As Mike said, we are dug in here at Port Elliot for a few days before we head off to Victor Harbour. I just wanted to talk a little about my cruise on the Coorong last Sunday. Mike decided not to join me and instead he took the bike around Goolwa and went in search of the surf beach. That's one of the differences between Mike and I, I love the calm waters and seek out the bird life, and Mike prefers the surf coast with crashing waves and he's always on the look out for a beach that is friendly enough for him and his body board.

So off I go on the Spirit of the Coorong cruise with various other folk of all shapes and sizes. I took a seat up on the top deck at the front and had the best viewing spot all day. The cruise went for 6 hours, and it was 6 blissful hours of bird watching and cruising through this remarkable part of the world. I loved it so much. After going to the mouth of the Murray we proceeded down the Coorong doing a couple of stop offs on the way; first a walk across the peninsula to the surf beach known for its cockles, then the second stop was at a spot called Cattle Point where we walked up some dunes and went to check out some ancient middens that belonged to the Ngarrindjeri People who lived on the Younghusband Peninsula before white fellas came and stuck their cattle on their land and pushed them off to Point McLeay which was the first Aboriginal mission in Australia. The Ngarrindjeri lived in an 'environment rich with animals, plants and aquatic resources which meant that they were less nomadic than Aborigines of the mainland'. I loved being on the water; it reminded me of many many summer holidays as a child spent on Tamboon inlet way before it was Croajingolong National Park. My step father, Danny, had a little holiday shack across the lake and the only way there was by boat. I remember setting off at the landing and taking that trip across the water, away from people and away from our known lives into the magic of Tamboon. We would play on the huge sand dunes and walk for ages along the ocean beach, catch fish with Dad and go prawning. It all came flooding back to me.

That settles it, we're going to Tamboon before we go home!!!