Blogs from Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, Australia, Oceania - page 6

Yesterday we headed south to Port Lincoln which is on the very pretty Boston Bay. A huge grain silo dominates the waterfront and we found many of the tuna trawlers in a harbour at the back of the town. In a park is a statue of the horse Makybe Diva who won the Melbourne Cup three consecutive years. We drove all around town to have a good look and, after having lunch there, drove on then around the bottom of the Eyre Peninsular to the western side and to Coffin Bay. We wondered if the Coffin related to the pioneering Coffin family on Nantucket Island in Massachussetts and later read that Matthew Flinders - whose name pops up everywhere along here - he did circumnavigate the country - called the bay after his friend, Sir Isaac ... read more

DAY 154 It was a clear and very cold night, we awoke this morning with a heavy dew on the tent, and you could see the droplets clearly sitting on the canvas as we were lying in bed. With the shutters open we allowed the sun to stream in and warm our space. Our “Noisy” neighbours had not surfaced as early as we expected there was no sound from them and neither could we hear their generator. However we could hear a few muffled voices from Mark and the kids in their swags just a short distance from us. Andy looked out the window and chuckled, he said all he could see where four faces poking out of the tops of the swags, and they looked like Caterpillars. Andy hopped out of bed and on went ... read more

WE CROSSED THE NULLARBOR IN TWO DAYS AND ONE NIGHT…WITH THE HELP OF IPODS, PHONE GAMES, COOKIES, HUBBA BUBBA AND JOJO’S SLEEEEPS. More of that to come……. Our journey continued from Coffin Bay to Venus Bay where we found ourselves in a caravan park with people whose religion was fishing. Max, Sam and Joe spent hours at the filleting table looking at the endless whiting being scaled and gutted. Sam soon took to feeding the remains to the pelicans. We soon developed a reputation as the only occupants of the caravan park who didn’t catch anything at Venus Bay (we were hampered by the lack of a boat). The boy’s awe-filled eyes at the filleting table must have sparked some pity as we received two lots of handouts of Australian Salmon and Tommy Ruff which served ... read more

Saturday 15th March: New suspension installed and performing well. Headed west via the beautiful coastal town of Wallaroo. A huge new marina with hundreds of expensive looking mansions. The original part of town still displays the bluesone cottages that are a South Australian standard. The car ferry to Lucky Bay departs from here daily. North past Port Broughton, where the fishing shacks and weekenders dominate the local architecture. Port Perie smelter provides work for the brave locals. Overnight camp at Mount Remarkable National Park, with goannas, wallabys and birds by the score. Next day, refueled at Port Augusta (port awefull). Local kids entertain themselves by diving 10metres from the wharf into the yuck water. Had to buy a new extension lead for the computer as I forgot to close the trailer and it fell out, somewhere. ... read more

After spending a few days in Coffin Bay we made our way around the bottom of the Peninsula Through Port Lincoln to Tumby Bay. We camped about 30 kms north of Tumby Bay at Lincoln Cove. Almost got bogged going in, made it and camped right on the beach for 3 days. Had the whole beach to ourselves, dolphins in the cove and that is still the biggest fish Jake has caught. Had a bit of a drama here when Clancy had an allergic reaction either to the creamy garlic scollops I made or some native bushes, not sure, but had a mad dash back to Tumby Bay hospital where she spent the night. She had ocean views also minus the flies, sand, no toilets or showers. Suddenly I was feeling lergic! Packed up camp again, ... read more