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We have had a couple of days here at Arno Bay. Before leaving Port Augusta we drove to their clifftop lookout where the sign told us we were standing at the exact spot where explorer Matthew Flinders stood when he discovered the area. Nearby were the Arid Botanical Gardens. I thought it a bit pointless to go through them, considering we'd been looking at nothing but that sort of country for days, however it proved to be very interesting seeing the plants close up - and surprisingly there were many different ones, some in flower, with markers saying just what they were and many which were used by the aborigines for bush tucker and one for making flour for damper. There are not many Botanic Gardens in the world where the signs say, as you drive towards the parking lot, to give way to birds, lizards and snakes, nor what to do should you get bitten by a snake!
Then to Whyalla, a big industrial town with huge ugly steelworks on the waterfront. We drove around all the main streets, up to the lookout, around the water's edge - it was Sunday and surprisingly for a big town, everything was
closed. Not a place we wanted to spend a lot of time in.
It was quite a nice drive down the coast and, after looking at a couple of holiday towns, decided we'd stay here at Arno Bay. The caravan park is grassed, the beach is at our door, and evidently the pub not far away does good meals too - we opted for fish and chips brought back to the motor home from the shop next door.It is quiet here, being out of holiday time.
So we walked the jetty and the beach, which has white silica sand though there's a lot of grassy type seaweed on it, spent time outdoors sitting in our comfy chairs in the sun talking to the few campers who are here, all nice people with interesting travellers' tales to tell. We saw really big stingrays on our walk to the end of the jetty - one camper told us they'd been watching a mother dolphin and calf swimming around but we missed that.
Further out in the ocean is the fish farm for bluefin tuna which has just begun production and along the end of the beach is a shed where fingerlings are grown. All the campers head out with fishing lines and seem to do well with their catches. We don't fish but listen patiently to their tales! I may look like I've heard one too many by the photo but I really am happy! The caravan park is just behind me at the end of the jetty.
Today we head south to Port Lincoln - supposedly home of the most millionaires in Australia - all making their millions with the bluefin tuna which they ship to Japan. I think it's a big city so it will be interesting to see, though we'll probably drive on to find a quieter town to stay the night.
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