Monday, May 7, 2012

Kingston SE

You may wonder at the "SE" designation in the blog title, well, apparently there is another Kingston in SA, up along the Murray River someplace, maybe we will find it!

The town of Kingston gives you the impression of being very 'open', with wide streets and an abundance of open parkland and much of the town can be accessed via one of the many bicycle/walk paths. There are three 'Free' camp areas in the town area and a couple of others that are not too far out of town. Kingston SE is truly an RV Friendly town. Judy and I had to make Kingston SE a 'must do' stop because this is the home town of one of our neighbours back home in Hervey Bay, namely Rob. We had a chance meeting with a couple of Rob's relatives during our short time in Kingston.

Kingston SE is one of "The Southern Port" towns along the south coast of SA. All the 'southern port' towns therefore have long piers that were once very busy with shipping being the only means of transport in most cases. Our free camp was adjacent to this pier, with easy access to the town centre.

Directly opposite from the place of our free camp is Lions Park and the beginning of Pinkerton Parade, a bicycle/walk path that winds around the back of town and ends at Apex Park, The Princes Highway and "Larry the Lobster".

Marine Esplanade and the Foreshore Reserve extends from the pier in Kingston along the coast for about 5 km through Wyomi Beach and ending at Pinks Beach. There is a bicycle/walk path that covers the entire distance along the foreshore.

The Maria Reef Lighthouse was rescued from the reef before it foundered and placed on dry land in Kingston SE. Travel along Marine Esplanade and you will soon discover it.

Diagonally across the Highway from Apex Park is the current domicile of "Larry the Lobster". Larry has resided in several locations prior to this place but I heard a rumour that he may be moving again soon, time will tell.

Located in Apex Park is a sundial where the shadow of a person becomes part of the time display. The person stands on the elongated figure 8 on the ground at the appropriate month and date and the shadow is cast at the exact time of day. The large stones represent the daylight hours. Time here is 3:23PM, can you tell?

Pinkerton's Butchery is currently operated by the fifth generation of the Pinkerton family, the only business in Kingston SE that can make that claim. The meat we purchased there is superb as the family also operate their own abattoir.

All of the Southern Ports area of SA was settled in the 1830's and 1840's and in that era they constructed buildings to endure. Typical is the PO in Kingston SE, built of local stone and still being used today.

Another example of the old architecture employed by the founding settlers of the area. There once were three wool stores on this street, sadly this is the only one remaining, great to see that it is being fully utilised and cared for once again.

Our neighbour, Rob, in Hervey Bay told us that we HAD to taste Muntrie Berry Cheesecake while we were in Kingston SE. So here we are, Jude is standing beside one of the 'wires' of Muntrie Vines at Sandy Grove, Pinks Beach. The Muntrie Berry only grows natively in this area. We arrived at Sandy Grove with Barry and Margaret Pinkerton (from the butcher shop) to sample the Muntrie Berry Cheesecake with a coffee and have an in depth chat about the area.

A close-up photograph of the Muntrie Vine and some of the Berries. Very similar to a Blue Berry in size but an entirely different taste.

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