EVENTFUL EYRE PENINSULAR

 

24/02/12  Rob & Laurel arrived excited & tired after travelling from Queensland to spend the next 4 weeks with us.  Two nights in Port Broughton at 40 degrees was all we needed to get out of there and head to the Eyre Peninsular.  Here we were, driving along the long straight blistering roads, with a constant mirage of water always 500metres ahead of us, listening to the harmonies of Juzzy Smith and his harmonica.  We set up camp at Fitzgerald Bay about 30klms north of Whyalla, where Mike can launch the boat & anchor out from our caravan.

 

27/02/12  Blue crabs are plentiful and Jade caught some King George whiting.  We had a beautiful feed of crab and fish for dinner.  They didn't disappoint our taste buds. 

Funny –  9.00pm,  Mike pulled out our powerful spot light  to show how strong it was and pointed to the tinny, but there was no tinny.  Next second, Mike is bolting down to the waters edge, veering to the left, spots his boat flying along with the fast current.  Up to chest height  he drags the boat in and we all have to help pull it up to safe ground.  Moral of the story – The women is always right! 

WEST COAST OF THE YORK

 

Dry, dusty dirt and flies.  Another nice free camp.  A long drop toilet is all there is.  Beach is beautiful and the people are friendly.  Shelly sand and crystal clear water.

Burners Beach.

Yes, it is a pretty quiet place.  That is the beauty of the York Peninsular.  Today we travelled on probably the worst corrugated dirt road so far.  The van held up as we arrived at The Gap.  Not as nice as the place above,  but still a good view and less flies!

On the opposite side of the road the girls found 2 lama’s and some sheep.

YORK PENINSULA CONT…..

 

Our first stop is a little fishing point which is apparently known as millionaires row called Black Point. The beach is calm & safe.  Great for launching boats, cruising around and generally having a fun time.  As usual the wind gets up in the afternoon.  We cooled the boat down and caught a feed of calamari. $20 for a powered site(only 12 sites) & a free washing machine!!  Right on the beach, Black Point is a great spot.  Stayed for 3 nights.

I got inked!

The roads are long & straight. Can’t believe how dry it is here.  We turned off the highway onto a smooth dirt road to arrive at Hillocks Drive, Butlers Beach.  This is a huge homestead which  allow campers to stay & explore this beautiful secluded place.  We wondered why it is not part of Innes National Park as it is just as nice.  Even pulled out the hammock(then lots of memories came back.)

YES, WE CAUGHT A FISH!  A 50cm Australia Salmon.  There are only 2 other people here. We have the beach to ourselves, just the way we like it. 

Sunday 19th we headed into the Innes National Park.  It is easy to drive around and see everything.  Headed home to try and catch more salmon.

3 Salmon, thank you!

TRAVELLING THE YORK PENNINSULAR

 

The words that come to mind are flat dry dusty desert like landscape.

Our romantic night watching the sunset.  The only thing was, we were siting on one metre of dried seaweed.  The tide goes a long way out but rushes in fast when it turns.

The only thing good about this free camp in Parham was fishing for blue crabs.  Mike just scooped them up in the net.  Easy.  They only have to be 11cm wide.  Tasted sweet & juicy!

A MAD NIGHT ON THE MURRAY

 

Sunday 13th Feb we cruised up the beach to the mouth again, and fished.  We all caught bait fish with the bait jig but no other fish were biting. 

 Michael (the keen fisherman that he is), travelled back up the beach late in the afternoon for an all nighter.  He has been told many stories of men catching huge Jew and he wanted one.  The only problem is Mike’s keen, but he’s not crazy!!  These fisherman walk out into the mouth fully dressed with an inflatable life jacket, fishing gear strapped to them, gaff, bait etc. They are sometimes neck deep.  Only allowed 2 Jew and most of them have been attacked by a shark as they are reeling them in.  Mike had to do surgery to one man who while he was deep in the ocean tried to get fish off his lure and put it through his finger.  Mike had to bend the barb with plyers and the guy ripped it out.  Lucky for us he was nice enough to give Mike one of his two Jew(the smallest one, with half his body gone) but at least we have A fish to eat! This guy has been swept away many times but he says he just floats down about 3kls & swims in to Goolwa beach!!  Once would be enough to put you off I reckon!

The men stand 200mts out in the waves.

GUSTY GOOLWA

 

We headed north along the coastline passing through Robe which was really nice, and found a lovely free camp on Lake Alexandra near the Coorong. 

This is the only inland lighthouse in Australia.  In the 1800’s people would travel by boat from Adelaide, come through Lake Alexandra & Albert to stock up on supplies & head down to Melbourne.

We arrived on the Fleurieu Peninsula, which is full of vineyards,  and finally stopped at Goolwa.  Blowing a gale, we spent the rest of the day stuck in the caravan. 

Feb 11 – Kirsty’s 12 Birthday

Look what we came back with when we went shopping!  It was as yummy as it looks too!  We went for a drive along the beach to where the Murray meets the ocean. Surprised how narrow the mouth is.  Locals were collecting Goolwa Cockles. With shovels & rakes they were in a foot of sand trying to retrieve their bait. Keen!

Just like home!

We girls, are excited to be going out for dinner tonight. 3rd time in 10 weeks!!!!

SALTY SOUTH AUSTRALIA

 

Our first few days in South Australia have been interesting, but that cold southerly wind just does NOT want to leave us.  Mt Gambia is built around 2 lakes which were volcanic craters.  One of the lakes is a vibrant blue in the summer months but changes to grey in the winter.  The blue lake is 500metres across & 70 metres deep.

We also visited the old courthouse.  We had to collect the key from the Deli across the road. What a laugh!  We pretended we were on trial, “Guilty or Not Guilty, Murderer!” we yelled.  Had the place to ourselves & wondered why people were looking at us when we walked out.     

Judge Campbell

The sinkholes were amazing to.  They have grown beautiful gardens inside, there is even a barbeque area behind the vines here.

Just outside Mt Gambia are the Tantanoola Caves.  Kirsty & Jade were amazed at this impressive cave.  A young boy discovered this cave & his family started their own business.  Imagine finding a cave like this -

This combination stalactite/stalagmite is called “the wedding cake”.

The scenery we are passing is flat, dry farmland, with salt lined estuaries and dried up dams.  We are not sure if it is always dry like this.

WINDY WARRNAMBOOL

 

Warrnambool is the end of the ocean road and we were excited to see loads of shops.  It is a nice town with the main streets lined with thick old pine trees.  We stayed in a caravan park. Opposite, was an unreal park full of fantastic play equipment for all ages.

We pushed on and had a look around Port Fairy which is a lovely little town with lots of old buildings.  Griffiths Island is home for a large number of short tailed shearwater birds.  We saw dead ones. We don’t know why they were dead.  Our final stop for Victoria was at the Fitzroy River Mouth.  We found a good spot and set up camp.  10 mins later another family turned up.  Almost as old as us, they had 2 little kids and we had a great 2 days with them.  Jo is a singer/songwriter, so she played us a few of her songs.

We didn’t think a lot of Portland but Cape Bridgewater had a great surfing beach & the blow holes were really scenic.

THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD CONT…..

 

More awesome photos of the Ocean Road.