When the smallest things excite you … we succumbed to K-Mart yesterday and bought a $1 dustpan and brush … joy!!

A drizzly morning; a good time to explore the National Park.  It’s a Sunday and the Information Centre is open a great shopping strip on the foreshore bustling with people at the many cafes tucking into breakfast. A different scene today as the leggings and jumpers are out. We find a french patisserie and indulge. There is also an Arts and Crafts market in the Civic Centre … It’s all happening here on a Sunday.

The drizzle stops as we drive stopping at bays and beaches through the National Park. It’s cloudy with glimpses of sun and windy, however, depending on which side of the Penninsula you are at.

Not to forget the hike to the lookout of the Matthew Flinders Memorial with stunning 360° views.

A short ride to the Marina via the Parnkalla Trail, many wrong turns indicative of a marina’s maze of roads and waterways. We finally found the large fleet of fishing boats and the Marina Hotel, ‘Do you want a drink?’, ‘Yeah, why not’ seated on the boardwalk with lovely views … $10 … 2 drinks … it must be happy hour!! John was very happy!!!

Port Lincoln is the largest commercial fishing fleet in the Southern Hemisphere; with prawn, tuna, mussel, and lobster boats docked in the Marina. I wonder what this place would be like at 4am? … I don’t think I’ll ever know somehow.

It’s got really windy so much so that the awning comes down for tonight … John will have fun in the night when he gets up, trying to navigate the multiple zippers to get out of the tent 🤣🤣🤣

A short 40km drive to Port Lincoln but first we need to go to Almonta Beach, the lady in the caravan park said it was the best in Australia, according to her. Well the morning is perfect, no wind. Through the National Park with amazing views of the coastline. The last 500m was a rocky track, ‘watch that hole!!!’

‘OMG … this is beautiful’, as we head over the sand hill and see the most amazing … long!!! … beach. ‘I might just wet my feet’ says John, within five minutes we are both submerged in the crystal clear water.

True to her word … it is a very impressive beach.

Another wow moment as we head over a hill to see Pt Lincoln … the blue water and islands/penninsula ahead.

Oh no!, a roundabout; K-Mart, traffic lights – get me out of here!! The direction to the caravan park takes us out of the ‘hub’, and we are overlooking the bay with beautiful views … we’ll probably get blown away tonight.

I have carried these Aldi pots around and never used them, voila! Quietly John is shaking his head as we go into a fish retailer, I walk out with fresh King George Whiting fillets and shelled prawns. ‘Okay, John, we can pan fry the fish and add garlic to the prawns’

After a coastal walk, to the camp kitchen … pretty nice dinner if I say so myself.

A great day … easy to pack up and a hot day.  A short 140km to Coffin Bay the reviews are amazing; best of the Penninsula in terms of beaches and oysters.

On the way we pass some drystone walling …

An oyster tour … this will be interesting … we don the waders the deeper we go in the water … ‘oh!! I’m getting a wedgie’ the water pressure.  We are at a pontoon, learning about the region and oysters, how to shuck and to eat.  Surprisingly they were pretty nice.

Out of the waders and on shore it’s very hot so off to a beach … you got it … it’s called Long Beach, not sure how it got its name.  It is ‘long’ but also a ‘long’ way to get to deep water.  It was lovely and refreshing, crystal clear.

It’s better on a bike …

Lovely day with a short 20km ride to see the Cliff Top Drive sculptures.  An attraction to the town.  We meander along the limestone roads with majestic views. Every few hundred metres, another sculpture to keep the tourists entertained. A table and chairs with shelter at one site.  Was this put there for the surfies? It looks like a popular surfing break. A lone surfer relaxing at the table; about 5 others way below waiting for their wave.  2 dogs eager for us and others to throw a stick placed strategically at our feet.  They must belong to the surfers. One surfer scrambles up the rocks how they get up, who knows, he’s probably been up and down these rocks for years.

Another sculpture, time to eat the vanilla slice we’d bought at the bakery, we sit on the edge of a cliff long enough to see a sea lion playing in the waters below.

Another short ride and swim at Little Bay, just minutes away from where we are camped.

Lost in Translation ... 

'This holiday I want to go slow so we can see all the beaches along the way', she said.  

'Why are we being overtaken by a caravan?'  
 
'We have all day'  he said.  

But you don't have to drive sooo slow. 

There are many ‘best $ I’ve spent’ moments … another is a gift for John … screw in tent pegs … I have claimed them … give a girl a drill!

A lovely day today exploring the rugged coastline as we head to Elliston.

Our first stop at Murphy’s Haystacks, out in a paddock are huge granite boulders.

Off to Port Kenny a very short jetty on Venus Bay and nothing much else, the hotel has a claim to fame with great meals and prices.

The South Head Walking Trail, at Venus Bay, great views of the coastline of bay and ocean. The crystal clear waters still blow me away.

Talia Caves, walking on large granite rocks, rock pools and the roaring waves.

Colten Bakehouse renowned for sticky buns and bread baked in a scottish wood fired oven. It operates via a roadside cash only honesty system, we were lucky to get some buns … bread was sold out. The best about this place is the reviews on Wikicamps. The buns were pretty good too .

Off to Elliston for 2 nights, a grassed site easy up for tent, no wind today.

We go to the jetty on the changing of the guards … the afternoon fishers are just walking out at 7pm and we are alone, ‘That was a dog barking, John? He turned around to see a sea lion poke it’s head up and look at us. He swims around, attracting our attention for a while, then evening fishers start to arrive, picking their ‘spot’ on the jetty.

What a great day … a lot cooler here and no wind … the tent will be much more comfortable tonight.

Where’s Wally … it’s like orchid spotting … you see the first one then you see them all. Spotting sea lions.

If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought I’d be on the Nullarbor … the country is very dry.

We are on our way to Point Labatt to see the sea lion colony. It is notable as one of the largest Australian mainland breeding sites for Australian sea lions. A viewing platform is on top of a cliff and we watch the colony below basking in granite rock and frolicking in the rock pools.

Our next stop is Sceale Bay. There is no wind and the bay is still, we walk along the granite rocks and find a lovely beach for a swim in the fresh, clear water, something out of a tour brochure.

The public toilet is worth a visit, ‘a room with a view’ a window overlooking the bay … a must see.

Onward just around the coast about 3km to Surfers Beach, another idyllic long beach deserving a swim. Small long waves in the shallow crystal clear waters and white sand. Such a lovely day for the beach today. The camping park is extremely hot on our return … maybe the wind over the last few days wasn’t that bad.

A night approaches, so does the wind … are we taking off???

‘Where’s the car keys?‘ he says, ‘in my pocket‘ that was enough to start laughing fit!! 🤣🤣

The gusty wind let up sometime during the night to wake to stillness. I stirred at 5.50am … pitch black outside eekkk. Daylight saving finishes soon I hope. Yes, I’m on holidays … time doesn’t matter I know but it still does my head in. The fishers are on the move as I hear cars and boats moving around the camp, off to fill their fridges.

We are here for another 2 nights so we relax and have breakfast planning our days. It’s a long weekend … even the tourist office is shut today but they kindly leave a goodie bag full of info and maps 😁

Excitement, joy we are on our bikes … we ride into the township some 6km on a limestone track, my bike is travelling well with it’s new wheels. It’s nice to stop and take random pics in the town.

… the bakery is shut, Foodland shuts at 1pm, thankfully we get there with 15 minutes to spare to get some lunch things.

A drawcard of the Shell Service Station is a room with a replica of a shark that was caught in 1990. Along with that, it is owned by Indians who make amazing curries … that went down well tonight for our dinner.

A drive on the Westall Way Loop, taking in the rugged coast, sandhills, beaches, and snorkelling in the refreshing waters of ‘The Granites’.

I prefer numbers, I can remember them … 1 key for both of us, and I was sure I had it in my pocket.  A visit to the park manager to confess losing the key, only to find it in my back pocket. 🤣🤣🤣

A bit of movement in the park as people are packing up and off.  Daylight saving is doing my head in … I’m waking up too late.  Just the little tent to pack up ..  everything is covered in fine white powder … it’s the limestone ground. 

A short drive to Perlubie Bay, what a great little spot, very picturesque the beach is very flat and the tide is out.  The council camping sites are literally on the beach, peeps lowering the pressure of their tyres before they venture to one of the 20 sites – all prebooked … you need to be self sufficient including a toilet.

Just down a bit to our caravan park a few kms out of town … it has excellent reviews.

Streaky Bay township is alive with revellers enjoying  lunch at the tavern.  The jetty has a few fishers, some young kids have caught 2 blue swimmer crabs, I alert them to one on the swim cage … they have fun trying to catch it to no avail.

The cool wind is keeping the temperature down as we venture around the coast on sealed and limestone roads to Cape Bauer.  From little bay beaches to rugged coast line.  We come across a group of fishers at Hally’s Beach taking advantage of the long weekend … salmon is running and they have fun hauling them in, in the rough windy seas.

Back to camp … it will be a flappy night … maybe ear plugs would have been an idea.

Another church? Another castle? … no!!! It’s another Jetty …

A short 40km today … yes, in the car. We have done enough in Ceduna, seeing people in the street that you met at the pub the night before … we are locals now.

The gypsum mining is alive especially evident at night when the trains come through and go to Thevenard, the deep sea port, a couple of kms from Ceduna … they are long trains, you hear every carriage. Everything here is long … road trains 4 trailers a common sight.  The jetties are long. The locals like to have a long chat, in particular caravan park owners.

A stop at deserted Laura’s Beach. Lovely white sand, lovely views from where we scurry up the cliffs.

1pm and we are all set up at camp, the ‘good’ park is full so we are a couple of kms out. Downtown is a very sleepy hollow. I just want to eat the vanilla slice I bought in Ceduna. We had better eat lunch too. A little median strip with a picnic table; the beach and long jetty in the background … I laugh to myself.

… teenage memories of going to Caloundra, Queensland with Mum and Dad and having a picnic in the middle of a triangular park in the middle of the town … I was soooo embarrassed … look what’s happened I’m doing it now … still laughing!!!

‘Travelling Tinnies’ … is what they are called around here (some peeps from interstate) … the population increases they are all set up with their tinnies, vans and car fridges to fish until the fridges are full. That is why accommodation is at a premium. The jetty boat ramp is full of empty trailers as we pass by. This is indicative of the Eyre Penninsula.

World class oysters come from the Eyre Penninsula and Smoky Bay is no exception, they are cheap and fresh … shame I don’t like them, however I’m determined to try some at a restaurant.

The draw card to Smoky Bay; the Community Club is open for meals tonight and gets a good rapt on Wikicamps. Oops I got that wrong … Friday and Sunday night only … we have a drink and a pizza from the club and chat with other patron also travellers. It’s 8pm sunset over the jetty, of course!!

He said, ‘it’s Friday, it feels like a Saturday’, she says, ‘I think it feels like a Holiday‘

7.10am and I wake up … what!!!! Half the day has gone. We have escalated from camping to glamping … we can stand up in our 8 person tent and it’s a ‘dark’ tent … you all know I love waking up with the sun … ummm 🙄 it was John’s choice.

After long chat with Fran from the Information Centre we are armed with information flyers and all set to go.

Denial Bay was the original settlement, now home of large oyster farming. The tide is in so we can’t see the exposed oyster beds. A nice walk along the 500m jetty and look at McKenzie’s ruins, one of the first settlers in the region.

Onwards a drive to Thevenard to the port and silos. The main export is gypsum. We mosey into a fish wholesaler just as a load of King George Whiting was delivered.

A pre dinner on the foreshore, being entertained by the locals then shower and walk to the pub for local barramundi …

‘Is this local?’ ‘Yes, they grown it at the school, they study aquaculture’