Ardrossan to Marion Bay

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If we thought that it was windy yesterday we were mistaken. It was much, MUCH, windier today!

It was very windy when we packed the car at James Well but, when we arrived at Stansbury, we realized that the cars had actually been quite shielded from the wind by the beach house. Hopping out of the car at Stansbury’s photographic viewpoint we were exposed to the full force of the sou’westerly! From our wind-blasted photo op we drove around to our first painted water tower for the day featuring a blue swimmer crab and dolphins painted by Mike Makatron and Conrad Bizjak in May 2021.

Continuing south along the east coast of the Yorke Peninsula we called in at Wool Bay to see the Lime Kiln Ruin. The lime kiln was built between 1900 and 1910 and operated until the 1950s. We had to laugh at the part of the interpretative sign that said ‘The kiln was not a commercial success as the cliff top location and variation in the wind conditions caused problems’. We could easily imagine that the wind would have caused problems keeping a consistent burn going in the kiln!!

Next on the agenda the painted water towers at Coobowie and Edithburgh. The Coobowie tower was completed in February 2021 by artists Jason Parker, Chanel Tang and Ambrose Rehorek. The design focuses on the distinctive birdlife of Coobowie. The Edithburgh tower was painted in March 2021 by artists Mike Makatron, Conrad Bizjak and Dylan Butler. I thought this was the prettiest of the towers with colourful coral and sea creatures adorning it.

At the water tower we were already sort of halfway to the Troubridge Point Lighthouse so we decided to drive out that way before making our way back into town. On the scenic drive to the lighthouse we were also treated to a close-up view of the Wattle Point Wind Farm. With the wind blowing like it was today we are sure that it must have been generating a considerable amount of power! The lighthouse is one of the most unusual that we have seen. It is made of red bricks and has a rather unique bottle-like shape.

From the lighthouse we drove back to the Coobowie Caravan Park. My (Tracey’s) cousin, Judy, posted on Facebook just before we left home to say that her and her husband, Mahlon, had arrived on the Yorke Peninsula. A quick message established that they would still be there by the time we arrived. Now Judy and Mahlon live about 1,500 kilometres from us in Casino, NSW so, since we were going to be geographically much closer than usual, we made plans to catch up. We enjoyed lunch with Judy and Mahlon in the communal kitchen at the caravan park. With plans to travel to NSW later this year we might even catch up with them again in a few months.

We drove back into Edithburgh to have a quick look at the tidal pool. With the sun shining on it, it looked very inviting, but the wind was enough to kill any thought of a quick dip! We continued out to Sultana Point where we could just glimpse the distinctive red and white lighthouse out on Troubridge Island.

We wanted to buy some fuel and supplies in Yorketown so made our way there via Lake Fowler. Lake Fowler is one of the largest salt lakes in the area and was mined for salt and gypsum in the late 1800s and early 1900s. On our way we were lucky enough to spy three wedge-tailed eagles. Unfortunately they were a bit too far out of range for a decent photo.

In Yorketown we filled the tank with diesel and bought a few items at the supermarket before setting the SatNav for the Pink Lake. With nearly 200 of these salt lakes dotted around the area we could have spent hours driving the Yorke Peninsula Salt Lake Trail so decided to restrict ourselves to just two. With very little water in them at the moment they are definitely not at their most colourful. The best time is probably winter and then, apparently, sunrise and sunset lighting results in the best refraction of light from the salt crystals.

We drove back to the coastal road calling in at Port Moorowie, Sturt Bay and Foul Bay. We stopped at the Kangaroo Island Lookout where we could almost see Kangaroo Island across Investigator Strait. I think with the naked eye we could just make it out, but it really doesn’t show up in our photos. It was a similar story at Meehan Hill Lookout. The cliffs were spectacular, but the Althorpe Islands off the end of the Yorke Peninsula were mostly lost in the haze.

We arrived in Marion Bay after 5.00pm which made it quite a long day on the road. There is just so much to see on the Yorke Peninsula! Very happy to check into our holiday house here and find that it really does have two bathrooms … inside the house! Luxury.



Steps for the day: 9,816 (6.9km)

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