EYRE PENINSULA

EYRE PENINSULA S.A.
24TH Oct. and we headed south down the western side of the Eyre Peninsula South Australia. Just 110klms and we were in Streaky Bay. A beautiful small village town. On the shoreline of the bay stood a storm wrecked shark boat named Carol J. I just had to have a photo, seeing as I am Carol J. We haven’t seen too much of beautiful green grass for quite some time. Streaky Bay lays claim to having a record breaking fish catch. A 5m, 1520kg shark caught on a 24kg line by a 21y.o. young man. I have attached the newspaper story.
On the way to Port Lincoln on the most southern of the peninsula we had an overnight stop at Walkers Rocks, overlooking the Southern Ocean, as well as Coffin Bay, famous for their oysters. D’Arcy was just overwhelmed with the size & quality of the oysters. You can purchase them direct from the oyster sheds at a reasonable price. The weather wasn’t too good during our few nights stay, but we did manage to get a game of mini golf in and some sightseeing in the Coffin Bay National Park. Unfortunately the day was light rain and misty so not good for photos.Another interesting site was Murphy's Haystack. A group of unusual rock formations created a number of years ago.
We loved Port Lincoln, especially the Port Lincoln Tourist Park. On our arrival we were told they were having a sausage sizzle in the camp kitchen that night and everyone was invited. As it was Halloween they supplied the entertainment with karaoke. A great night and fun was had by all.
After arriving back to the park the next day, we discovered a familiar vehicle parked near us. As it turned out it was friends Robyn & Geoff, who we had met and befriended during our trip through Queensland in 2009. What a lovely surprise. It was great to catch up and a few more happy hours and conversations were on the agenda as well as spending Melbourne Cup day at a local hotel. Another great day and Geoff was the big winner. So generous he took us all for dinner to a local Chinese restaurant and ended up quite a long day.
During our weeks stay we had a tour of a seafood factory. Very interesting indeed to see how it is all prepared as well we did purchase a variety of local seafood for our freezer. I also enjoyed my morning walks until one morning I tripped and went flying forward onto my arms hands & the lower face. Not a pretty sight for a couple of weeks.
Then it was time to move north up the eastern side of the Peninsula.

GERALDTON-NULLARBOR

GERALDTON-NULLARBOR
I am going to put you in the picture as to where we are now, this day, Remembrance Day, 11.11.11. We have been in the Caravan Park here in Whyalla, on the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula, S.A. for the last 6 nights. I will endeavour to catch up with our travels from Geraldton in WA.
Before leaving Geraldton on 15th Sept. D’Arcy had a chance to go fishing with Steve in his boat. They had a very successful day as you can see by the pics. D’Arcy was in his element and had a great day.
As we were about to cover the route that we had taken earlier in the year down to Kalgoorlie via Sandstone, Leinster, Menzies, we only had undertaken a few new experiences. A few nights camping out between Yalgoo & Payne’s Find was great till the last night, 30klms camping (in the rig of course)from Payne’s Find a storm hit and because we were on gravel road it just turned to mud and what a mess after reaching our destination. There is only a road house with a few powered sites so we elected to stay the night due to the rain. As we headed north on the Great Northern Highway towards Mt. Magnet we came across Kirkalocka Station where we stayed for the night. It was a great experience to see a working station with such beautiful wild flowers in abundance. Accommodation was in various forms including the Shearers Quarters where a family had arrived for the night. A visit by the local goat humoured us all including the visiting children. Decided to by-pass Sandstone and stay at Peter Denny Lookout again as we knew the area. A stop in the Leinster Caravan Park is a must, due to the fact it is run by BHP Billiton and the charges were only $15 per night with free use of washing machines and driers. Also because it is a mining town they have a village for staff and visitors are able to take advantage of the dry mess, which means meals. Evening meal was $12 per head and included everything you could possibly imagine. Hot, cold, roasts, salads, vegies, desserts, fruit, ice-cream. You could even pack a lunch for $5. After making use of this twice over 4 nights we decided we had better leave before our clothes wouldn’t fit. Leonora showground was our next stop for a few nights as we were making our way to Kalgoorlie for the CMCA Rally which was not too far away. A stay in Menzies meant we could do a day trip out to Lake Ballard to witness the many statues that have been created across the salt lake and catch up with Dave, the publican at the Menzies Hotel. He has created a caravan/motor home area at the back of the pub for self-contained vehicles for overnight stays free of charge. We can suggest that the meals served up in the pub are really worth the stay, as well as talking to the locals.
Before hitting the Rally site we decided to have a few nights in the caravan park just to clean & re-organize things. The transition on day went really smooth, due to the fact that there were 850 motor homes, 5th wheelers & converted buses to be positioned. The organizers and volunteers did a wonderful job during the whole week of the rally. It was our first and we are looking forward to the next one.
Oct. 17th and it was time to head south towards Norseman and start our journey across the Nullarbor. First night was rest area No.26- 10 Mile Rocks 79klms. east of Norseman. The weather had turned really hot, into the 30’s, so out came the fans. Of course we knew we would see quite a lot of vehicles travelling from Rally and two were Helen & Gordon, who we have become quite friendly with. We first met them in WA coming south from Newman and have had a great time including the Rally.
The Nullarbor, especially the first half before the WA/SA border was as predicted. Quite boring, but the scenery did change in parts. Once into SA side we got more of the coastline views, including the Head of the Bight. Didn’t get to see any animals which were on the beware signs. Disappointing, as I wanted to see some camels.
Our first night in SA was at the 13klm peg, meaning 13klms. across the border. It was a scenic lookout over the Great Australian Bight. It was good to see the ocean again. Helen & Gordon were also here and we enjoyed another happy hour together.
Fowlers Bay is just west of Ceduna and we spent a lovely 2 night stay there. On arrival we were told that it was cook up night and campfire, all supplied by the park for a donation of $10 per head, which all monies raised over the past couple of months on Friday night cookups went to a chosen person in need. In this case it was a young 2y.o. boy from Perth who was born with kidney disease and needed a transplant. As it turned out just 2 weeks previous he got a new kidney from his dad and both are doing fine. It is just a lovely thing that the young couple from this park have elected to do all of this year for children in need. The permanent residence of Fowler’s Bay is only 22, but quite a few holiday homes around the area. Great for fishing if the weather is right.
23rd of October and our wedding anniversary so a dinner out at the Ceduna Hotel was a lovely change. Overlooking the bay and the jetty at sunset after a rain downpour was beautiful and we only had to walk from the caravan park next door.
Will continue our journey of the Eyre Peninsula.............