'Spirit of Port Adelaide' cruise: Keith steps on board in the Adelaide Coast region of South Australia
Welcome aboard the Spirit of the Port - the latest waterborne venture from the resilient Veenstra family. Anyone who knows anything about boat building in South Australia will recognise the name. Three generations of Veenstras have been sharing the delights of the Coorong and lower lakes.
A few years ago they launched the Spirit of the Murray - Jock Veenstra and his son, Michael's modern-day take on the great river journeys Jock's late father Keith began more than forty years ago on the big riverboats he built like the Murray River Queen. But as we all know, the river's fallen on hard times lately - or at least that's the perception that's ripping the heart out of Murray tourism. But to their credit, the drop in tourist numbers has only served to harden these guys' resolve.
Michael: "Basically we still run our cruises on the Murray and in the Coorong but it's that perception that there is no water there. The Murray is controlled almost it's entire length by locks so there's water in it all the time it's just that particularly in the lower lakes you can visually see the drought."
With firmly clenched teeth and bucket loads of tenacity, Michael and Jock have trucked the Spirit from one river to another and so begins a whole new chapter for Spirit Australia Cruises… and for Port Adelaide.
Michael's commentary gives bite-size chunks of the Port's fascinating history… made all the more poignant against the backdrop of its modern day 21st century make-over. Newport Quays and its swish new marinas are a far cry from the historical photos he shows on the on board flat-screen TV.
Pretty soon our 13 metre long Spirit Two is dwarfed by the massive bulk carriers awaiting loading. These gigantic seafaring laborers carry ten-fold the cargo their tall masted forebears used to sail over the horizon to the four corners of the world.
Into North Arm and we pass the giant smokestacks of the Torrens Island Power Station. Soon we leave behind the cobweb-like maze of modern industry… and glide alongside a solemn display of nature claiming back what's rightfully hers in the Garden Island Ship's Graveyard. This is the very heart of South Australian maritime history - the final resting-place for more than 20 sailing ships, paddlesteamers, barges and dredges decommissioned between 1909 and 1945.
Michael: "Many of the boats ended up here during the great depression as they had no further use."
If the wind and tides are right, Michael will get you so close you can almost touch the rusting hulks. And if you're lucky you might get an escort from a few of the local dolphins.
We pull alongside the wreck of the "Dorothy H Stirling". She was a six masted sailing ship built in Portland, Oregon. Appropriately, her hull was built of Oregon too and during the Great Depression locals used to paddle out here to salvage timber for firewood. Now nature is slowly stripping away what remains.
Hundreds of waterbirds call the vast mudflats of the Barker Inlet home - some come from as far away as Siberia and China to escape the brutal Northern Hemisphere winter. The nature lesson continues at Saint Kilda with a self-guided walk along the boardwalk through the mangroves.
From the heavy-duty industry of Port Adelaide to the magic of the mangroves - this really is a cruise of contrasts. You can get aboard twice a week. The five-hour jaunt departs from the Fisherman's Wharf Market Pontoon at 11 o'clock on Tuesday's and Saturdays. Of course they still operate their Spirit of the Coorong and Spirit of the Murray Cruises too - well worth the trip. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au
Spirit of the Port cruises
Departs Fisherman's Wharf Market Pontoon (Near Lighthouse)
11am-4pm Tuesday & Saturday
Toll Free: 1800 442 203Spirit Australia Cruises
Main Wharf
Goolwa
Toll Free: 1800 442 203
Published 26th April 2009
