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Published: December 24th 2009
Bush shower for two!
Or should that be 'stop looking at my Witchety Grub'!Day 239 - Memory Cove to Surfleet Cove, Lincoln National Park (via Port Lincoln)
We wake up this morning in the tent, a bit achy and sore but happy to be here at Memory Cove on Lincoln National Park. The weather is looking bright and after a biscuit breakfast we pack the tent away and head off for a walk along the shoreline. There are more coastal cliff views in store plus lots of birdlife and a search for the old Whalers Post, all of which keeps us entertained for quite a while. We pass by the original memorial tablet erected in 1802 by Matthew Flinders who surveyed this dangerous coastline and lost 8 crew when they were sent in search of water in a small boat. He named the offshore islands after them and where the memorial stood he named the bay Memory Cove.
This really is a beautiful area and it’s such a good idea to keep the number of visitors limited to ensure it stays that way. Only 15 vehicles are permitted each day and the key must be obtained from the visitors centre as entry via the padlocked gate is the only route in.
After one more walk along the beautiful beach we jump in the car and head back through the rough track taking in a number of the scenic lookouts and walks along the way. We were given an excellent leaflet by the visitors centre so this morning we follow the self drive tour through the park. Each stopping point is indicated with a post on the track so you don’t miss anything and then it’s just a case of meandering around to get the most out of the area and the views they have to offer. There’s Cape Catastrophe, Thistle Island, Williams Island, South Neptune Island where we can make out the cottages and the lighthouse thus proving today is a clear day! We do part of the walk which follows the old vehicle track along the edge of the cliff, literally, towards West Point. Good job we’re feeling friendly towards one another, one trip and it would all be over!
Darryl’s excellent driving skills navigate us through a number of the more difficult tracks although there is one with a rock drop off that neither of us fancied taking on! Given that we’re travelling alone in this wilderness we’d
be best off going steady and being sensible so we use the turn around which we guess is what an awful lot of people do with the exception of the locals and serious 4WD’ers!
Heading out of the wilderness park we see scores of Emu’s who seem determined to run out in front of us and cross the track. We slow down and stop for them as soon as we catch sight of these huge birds who are just hilarious to watch when they run, it’s really very funny!
The gate is locked, as it should be, when we get to it so we let ourselves out and lock it behind us as if to shut the lid on the secret world that is Memory Cove.
Rather than going back to the caravan we decide to head back into Port Lincoln to drop the key off and get some more water. Whilst in the Visitors Centres I ask the lovely ladies there if they wouldn’t mind blowing up the cross stitch pattern I’m trying to follow for Darryl’s Christmas card! After a couple of minutes at the photocopier it’s all done and I’m back on target to
finish the pattern. Phew! The ladies are also the keepers of the water tank tap that we need to fill our jerry can so we sort that out too and then set about getting a replacement bulb for our flickering lantern. The second shop we visit can help us but they’re not convinced it’s the bulb that’s the problem, they don’t usually pack up so quickly. The lad does a bit of a test for us and seems to prove that with the new bulb there’s no flicker so we happily hope we’ve cured the problem.
Seeing how we were now in a camping and fishing store we thought we’d get some bait for later, the stuff we got was slightly more expensive than normal but it doesn’t have to be kept frozen and it doesn’t smell! Result, that’s definitely a combination I’d pay a few extra bucks for!
We decided to come back into town on Wednesday for our Chrsitmas Day dinner supplies so headed back to the car and out to Surfleet Cove in the National Park. While we were driving out there our phone rang, it was Anna (my cousin's wife) asking when we were
coming back to Melbourne for Christmas. She was not taking no for an answer! We love you Anna, we love you all very much .... but, I explained, we won't be back for Christmas as we're still the wrong side of Adelaide. The conversation went round in circles for a while, we're both quite insistent in a beautiful way each fighting our own corner all the while with alot of laughter! Anna tells us that there's alot of mail waiting for us back in Melbourne which is lovely to hear so I tell her that New Year is the new Christmas. "Bull crap" comes the reply "It's all about Christmas, nobody cares about New Year" so I tell her that we do because we'll be back to open all our Christmas cards!!! We're actually really looking forward to getting back to them, it will be a hoot, it always is but in the meantime we wished them all a Merry Christmas and we'll see them New Years Eve!
The caravan was just fine where we’d left it, all lovely and undisturbed with the exception of our shower bags which we’d left under mats at the back. One of them
had been half uncovered and I reckoned the wildlife had gotten a bit curious!
The place was deserted, the other campers had left and we had it all to ourselves. We couldn’t believe it. If it stays like this what fun we could have! Naked fishing? A bit of skinny dipping?
We wandered (fully clothed I might add!) along the shoreline to try and find a good fishing spot for later. There’s quite a lot of weed further round so we would have to cast out a fair way, which we’re not good at, so perhaps fishing off the beach is the go.
There was a spot behind the caravan that was pretty secluded and we wondered if it would be a good place to set up the bush shower. We set it all up and because we were here all alone we did it au naturale! After I’d had my shower Darryl hopped in for his and I headed round to the front of the caravan to dry off. I heard a shout and then a “Hello, how are you” and wondered who on earth Darryl was talking to. He shouted for me to get the
camera so I did and rushed back round to find he was not alone. Naked under the bush shower Dar had been joined by a medium sized kangaroo!
The roo was seemingly desperate for fresh water and fairly intent on getting it one way or another but we did put her off initially so Dar could finish his shower. There are signs all over camp asking people not to feed the wildlife, which we adhere to because it makes them aggressive and not so pleasant to have around. But giving them a drink of water, is that the same? We felt mean not giving her any so we eventually did put a bit in the washing up bowl. She ignored it for a while and then disappeared, only to return with her baby and a larger male roo. Hmm, clearly we’d made the wrong decision but they seemed so desperate and infact the Mum and Dad kept pushing the baby away from the bowl so they could have all the water for themselves. Lesson learned, we won’t be doing that again.
Our Outback Pack given to us by the visitors centre team yesterday was still un-opened so we
thought we ought to find our what goodies are in there as they may come in handy over the next few days out here in the bush. Hessian sacks, rubbish bags, gloves, tongs, pens and lots of useful information. It’s all in an attempt to Keep Australia Beautiful and the pack also contains feedback forms to report littering blackspots. The rubbish bags and hessian sacks are for your rubbish but also to assist in clearing other peoples should you find any. Luckily Surfleet Cove is remarkably tidy considering the park rubbish bins are at the entrance which is to encourage people to take their rubbish away with them rather than leaving it out here, miles from the normal collections.
After dinner Dar went fishing off the beach and I sat blogging and working on the cross stitch pattern which was now coming together nicely. We were still totally alone in Surfleet Cove, where are all the other travellers looking for somewhere lovely to spend their Christmas Day?
As the light started to fade I retreated into the caravan and away from the gathering roos! Some of them are huge and quite intimidating when they want something!
The
chocolate came out, the Rummikub came out and we looked back over another lovely day. It’s what dreams are made of.
Dar and Sar
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Jan Kettle
non-member comment
Roo Stare
Ha ha - it's no wonder the roo sat and stared - it had probably never seen anything quite like it (only joking)!!!! This will be the first comment of many no doubt! xxxx Mum K