Gone Bush "Again"

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DAY 152


We got up early this morning, despite our late night last night. Andy wanted to type up and publish the blog “Time Flies, Day 151” before we left the campsite this morning, and to make sure all the batteries were fully charged as tonight we are “going bush”.

We will have two free camping nights (well apart from National Park fees, that is), and then a paid site at Ceduna before doing 1400 kilometres across the Nullarbor and into Western Australia.

We anticipate that we may take a while to do the Nullarbor, well we want to take our time and enjoy what there is to see along the coastline as has been recommended, however, we know there is free camping and we know there are some caravan parks along the way, with the occasional roadhouse so that we can shower.

Our difficulty being that we may not be able to get power for the laptop and if the batteries run down, then we will not be able to type or upload the blog so we may have to turn to handwritten notes and do one big upload when we get to Esperance and a powered campsite.

Another thing that we need to be aware of is the upcoming Easter Weekend, a number of people we have met have mentioned that they will do the Nullarbor over Easter, which is also our intention, but if we want a paid campsite on Good Friday then I need to make sure we book ahead as it may be our last chance for a while.

Just before we pack up Cliff and Sue stop by, they are on their way out to see a Tuna Farm, if any of you have watched Tuna Wars on the Discovery Channel then you may be familiar that this is the area that this programme is filmed in. Port Lincoln is famous for Tuna Fishing.

We say our goodbyes again, “See you in Perth”, they left, we packed up and we left on our own once again, we headed for Port Lincoln National Park to have a look before heading to Coffin Bay.

On the way out we stopped at City Motors, Nissan Dealership to see Carolyn and ask if everything had gone through correctly. She was awaiting a phone call, but pretty much nothing had changed so we still wait and she will confirm to us by email when it is sorted.

Off we went and the terrain went suddenly from being a City to being sparse vegetation and back on corrugated roads.

We paid our fees and in we went, the corrugated roads rattling our teeth as we went. We had not planned to stay here tonight, but when we arrived at Surfleet Cove we decided that this was too good an opportunity to miss, it was so pretty and right on the edge of the beach, another Australian paradise found.

On the way in we saw a lot of Emu’s probably in the region of 20, also bearing in mind that the self registration place was some 20 kilometres from the campsite we decided (probably not recommended) that we would pay camp fess on the way out and not waste time backtracking and miss this beautiful place.

We set up camp we have an amazing view; we ate a lunch of cheese and biscuits. It is great that for a change we have found our bed for the night at midday and not late in the afternoon. We have promised that we will still see Coffin Bay on the way towards Ceduna, you never know we may even get a game of mini golf in, he needs to a whooping to bring him back down a size again, but I think we will not stay there, we may knock off some kilometres to make Fridays journey a little easier and there will be other great places to pitch up on the coast.

I always feel somewhat disappointed that we cannot stop everywhere people have recommended but it would take us 5 years, if not longer to drive around Australia if we did. One place now springs to mind and both Andy and me could kick ourselves, a while ago when we free camped at Gowrie on Tasmania we met a couple who suggested Memory Cove, you have to get the key from tourist information as they limit the number of visitors and campers in order for this special place to retain its unique status. However it was not until we were here did we remember what we had been told and we were both disappointed.

On remembering this information we wondered if it would pay dividends to drive back into town and obtain the key, however they may already booked out and the numbers may have reached the limit especially now Easter is upon us.

We used this afternoon to drive round the National Park and up to Donington Lighthouse. On the way we stopped at a couple of different places to see what the campsites were like and we took an off road track down to Spalding Cove, by the time we got there the sun was very warm and the beach was stunning and there was only one camper, I mentioned to Andy that perhaps we set up too soon and should have rolled the swag out on the beach here. Never mind there will be other opportunities.

We then drove on to Fishermans Point, Engine’s Point, Cape Colbert, Donington Beach and Donington Lighthouse. Each point had a few campers, however the sites are not at all full as yet. The beaches are as lovely as each other, the water is crystal clear and turquoise, it is also fairly warm.

At Donington Lighthouse we get the binoculars out and look at the trawlers in the ocean and we see them working on their Tuna pens (I think they were Tuna pens anyway). We also spied Donington Island a tiny little island just off the point and I thought I could see someone however that someone turned out to be a sea lion. On closer inspection we find that there are several on this uninhabited stretch of island.

The weather is terrific, the sun is out, the sky is blue and it is warm despite a cool breeze blowing in across this exposed part of the Eyre Peninsula.

We head back to camp, on the way we see more Emu’s we must have seen 30 or so by now, most of them in little groups, Mummy, Daddy and their offspring. They often run when they know you are there, so photos are a little tricky. They look just like big hairy chickens that are wearing a feather boa and 5 foot tall! I would hate to try and eat a drumstick from one of these creatures.

We rest up at base camp, sitting in the sunshine doing a crossword or two, the Fairy Wrens are teasing me, they hop around very close to me, so I grab my camera and sit still and wait and wait and wait and they don’t return, I am just sat there like a lemon. However it is actually very nice sitting here watching the fauna around me in its natural state and figuring out the habits of some of the animals or birds that we see. You even get familiar with some of them as you see particular markings on their bodies or particular personalities.

We go for an early tea, the nights are pulling in the darkness at 7.00 so we need to be fed and washed up by then. Soon we have a steak on the go, with some potatoes and fried onion washed down with the obligatory cup of tea.

Sitting here watching the sun go down in the West, while in the East across the water to Cape Donington the sky is a beautiful mauve and soft pink, the moon is full and high in the sky already, I cannot truly describe how this scene looks, but it is amazing. I captured it on camera and hope that the results are favourable for you all to see.

We can hear the sea gently lapping at the shore, the sky is now black, the stars are bright, the moon is higher, we suddenly hear footsteps to the rear of the trailer, we cannot see immediately as we have our 12v lamp above our heads, but suddenly the footsteps give way to a couple of thuds as one large Kangaroo and her Joey (also fairly large) come into view and graze a mere 5 foot away from where we are sitting, they are not perturbed by our presence whatsoever.

We switch the light off and we talk softly and they are happy grazing, after about 10 minutes they bounce off into the darkness, every now and again we can hear a rustle and a thud. The weird thing is that despite the darkness you never hear them bounce into a tree! We sit in the darkness a while longer and look at the stars.

There are a few other campers here, each of us in our own little patch, just far enough away to be secluded and not bothered by anyone.

We have a piece of fruit and now we are going to play cards, I think Andy wants to get his own back; he also just dropped a piece of his pear on the floor.

I am sure that tonight will not be a late one, put it this way we get tired quickly in the evenings (god that makes us sound old!) and once it gets dark, it gets chilly and there is not that much to do, so like most happy Australian campers it’s time for bed.

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Photos

Ming Inn
Would you really want to eat here

Caroline Cake
We gave Caroline's Cake another bashing

The Patrol
Playing in the sand

Excellent Beach
As you can see the beaches are busy

Engine Point
Ihad a paddle the water was gorgeous

National Park
Port Lincoln National Park

Cape Donington
On the tip of the National Park

Spaldng Cove
Truly Beautiful

Bush Camp
Right on the Beach

Straight On!
25 kiliks of this before getting to camp

Moons Up
The sunset, this view is to the East, the pinky hue means that it will be a cold night.