We decided to miss the main arterial roads and drive home via the Wellington punt. We had quite a wait, so many others had the same idea! We shared the tiny punt with 4 trucks, one being a big semi-trailer and several other cars when we eventually had our turn. The punt crosses over the River Murray - which we needed to do.

*** Remnant wetlands of this region have high conservation value and are considered to have national importance as a regional group, with a listing in the National Directory of Important Wetlands. The larger remnant wetlands are particularly important for waterbird nesting, breeding and feeding habitat, and smaller wetlands are of importance as habitat for small fish, frogs and macroinvertebrates. Sitting at the junction of the Murray River and Lake Alexandrina, Wellington boasts one of the oldest working hotels in South Australia – licensed in 1848 – with the dining room offering a divine, panoramic view of the river. Wellington's heritage courthouse was rebuilt in 1864 and has since been fully restored to house a museum.

By the late 1890s Wellington was almost swallowed up by sand! Tens of thousands of grazing animals passing through on the droving route from the south coast exposed the sand dunes that began to drift into the town. East Wellington, on the approach to the ferry from the Princes Highway, still has ruins of buildings from early settler days.