Whalers Way

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We spent today exploring the privately owned ‘Whalers Way’ on the southern tip of the Eyre Peninsula. We picked up some lunch supplies at Woollies and then made our way out to Right Whale Road where we were confronted with the locked gate. We found the key safe, our code worked to open it and we used the key inside to unlock the padlock and we were in! Lots of signs about entering and travelling at own risk, but my favourite was the ‘Strickly (sic) No Firearms’ sign.

The staff at the Tourist Information Centre had recommended viewing all of the sites with a whale symbol first, so that was how we proceeded. First stop, Cape Wiles on the southern tip of the Eyre Peninsula, named by Matthew Flinders on the 15th of February 1802. A fur seal colony is based here but, at some 106 metres below us, they were a little bit hard to see.

Our next stop was at the Pioneer Lookout. Hmmn, perhaps it should be the Pioneer Memorial because the view was not outstanding? There is a plaque that records the names of mainly landowners who were pioneers of Sleaford Bay. Yes, it was mainly landowners with many listed as farmers, but there was also a GP and we were bemused by the entry for Thomas Black, Poet. Bernie thought it was nice that such a remote community could still enjoy a little bit of culture.

The road to Blacks Lookout is closed so this stop involved a bit of a hike to reach the cliff edge overlooking Booby Gannet Crevasse (we saw neither boobies or gannets!), Humpback Blowhole and the Top Gallant Cliffs.

And on to the Osprey’s Nest. At this time of the year the ospreys are long gone and all we could see was a big pile of sticks. Well, eventually, I could see a big pile of sticks! The sticks really blend into the very exposed pinnacle of rock where these ospreys have chosen to build their nest so it was a bit difficult to see. The nest is 32 years old and is still being added to each season by the original birds.

The next point of interest had us turning right rather than left and took us to … the sink hole. When a road was built in 1970 the heavy vehicles caused subsidence. Investigations found a cave under the sink hole measuring 30 metres deep and 91 metres across. Considering this, it’s surprising that the sink hole is not much larger!

At the crossroads we chose to head out to Cape Carnot first. This is the most south-westerly tip of the Eyre Peninsula and was named by Nicolas Baudin after a general, statesman and mathematician of the Napoleonic era. The stop features the Baleen Blowhole and the Right Whale Crevasse and the Mainsail Break, which creates spectacular spray rising from the rocks. It was not surprising that there was a sign at this stop warning of the dangers and stating that six people have drowned after getting themselves into trouble on the rocks below the viewpoint.

Just around the corner we were able to look over the Caves and Old Whaler’s Grotto. You would have to be brave indeed to venture any closer with more surf pounding the coast at this stop. We circled the wagons, OK pointed both cars into the sun and enjoyed our lunch in the shade of our tailgates!

Our next stop was the Captain Matthew Flinders Lookout, but we sort of missed it because the most obvious sign was about the oldest rock in South Australia. In 1876 rock aged 2,643 million years old was found in this area.

We continued out to Theakstone’s Crevasse which is a fault fracture that occurred millions of years ago to create a long, narrow channel 13 metres deep with nine metre high walls. We were surprised to learn that it has been navigated by surfboard to discover that it extends some 30 metres underground. I don’t think I would like to be exploring it on a surfboard!

We started heading back to the crossroads where we took the Red Banks turnoff planning to go as far as Emu Crest for its Thar She Blows Lookout. When we reached it we were underwhelmed by the lack of height so we didn’t even walk out to check whether it did, in fact, have magnificent views of the red banks and the Great Australian Bight. Possibly a missed opportunity but, seriously, Emu Crest was about as significant looking as a pimple on a pumpkin.

With the rest of the road to Red Banks potentially sandy Cathy and Steve decided to head back towards the exit. Bernie was keen to attempt the rest of the road to its terminus at Red Banks. There was a little bit of sand over a hard base most of the way, with the most difficult part proving to be the last hundred metres or so which was pretty rocky. Not too rocky though as we encountered quite a few vans and camper trailers free camping at the end of Whaler’s Way.

The the afternoon drawing to a close we started heading ‘home’. We stopped at a few of the stops on the east coast that we had skipped earlier in the day because the weren’t marked with whale symbols. At Sperm Whale Cliff and Carlson’s Cave I spotted a bird soaring overhead. It didn’t seem to look like a gull so I snapped some photos hoping that it may have been a white-bellied sea eagle. Confirmed later by comparing my pics with pics on the internet. Very exciting.

Our last two stops were Whalechaser Crevasse and the Swimming Hole. The swimming hole is a natural rock pool with crystal clear water … supposedly suited for a sheltered swim and sunbathing on calm days BUT it is a steep climb down a rusty old ladder to access it. Although it sounds idyllic we didn’t try it. Too risk averse! Our day out in Whaler’s Cove cost us $40, but we felt it was well worth it to see this remote part of the Eyre Peninsula

Back in Port Lincoln we walked over to the Marina Hotel again for dinner. It’s nice and handy and saves having to drive into town for a meal.



Steps for the day: 17,821 (11.9km)

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Comments

[Caroline Brunner]

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Nice photos. I would NOT have tried that rusty step ladder either !!