Day 26 - Port Lincoln to Arno Bay Caravan Park (120Kms)

​On our way to Arno bay we stopped by Tumby Bay to check the place out for future visits. Tumby bay is a pretty coastal town with some great attractions.

Day 21 - Sheringa Beach to Port Lincoln Tourist Park (136Kms)

From Sheringa it was on to Port Lincoln for New Years and a bit.

We quite liked Port Lincoln, there was a great walk that passed through the tourist park that ran along the water. The weather was good and for most of it, we had some great views.


Strangely enough, I don't actually have any photos from Port Lincoln, but from areas near port Lincoln.

The first is Coomunga Church and the last two are from a little township called Poonindie. THe church is and the old school were part of an aboriginal mission built in the area. The crazy thing is that these are not well marked and if you didn't know what you were looking for you wouldn't stumble across it. It is so crazy that the only historic sign they have in the town is to a cairn, which was as boring as.

These three images are from my big camera and like the other pages, if you want more information or to see the bigger image, then mosey on over to my Flickr album for the trip.

We wanted to stay at Coffin bay, but the place was booked out, but seeing it was close to Port LIncoln, I decided to go for a bit of a paddle around the area.

Continue you to Part 10.

Day 20 - Venus Bay to Sheringa Beach Campsite (110Kms)

Sheringa Beach Campsite is an amazing little camp area just behind the frontal dune of Sheringa beach. This little campground is maintained by local council (Elliston IIRC) and costs $10 a night. There are drop toilets, bins and marked out areas for camping and that is it.

There is not much in Sheringa. A couple of churches, a hall, a roadhouse and a few houses, with one at least being abandoned.

History
The town of Sheringa was surveyed in October 1882. It was initially proclaimed as Holsworthy on 19 April 1883, then revoked and proclaimed as Sheringa on 23 August 1883. Its name is derived from Tjeiringa, a local Aboriginal name for a yam-like root that grew in the area. The former Sheringa Post Office opened on 1 September 1891 and closed on 28 September 1984.

​I particularly wanted to stop here to photograph one of the churches. St. John's is just off the highway.

The next lot of photos are from my big camera. You can see larger images and details of the subjects on my Flickr album for the trip.

St. John's was built in 1910, with the foundation stone being laid by Mrs. James Telfer on the 6th of July.

One of the abandoned farms.

Continue on to Part 9.

Day 19 - Streaky Bay to Venus Bay Caravan Park (77Kms)

Another small drive to Venus Bay. Had a spot right on the water, but once again strong winds. We learnt a valuable lesson at Fowlers Bay, so bought some extra tent pegs and ropes to tie off the roof of the camper in strong winds.

Venus bay is nice, but other places are better. 1  or 2 nights would be enough in this area.

Continue to Part 8.

Day 15 - Smoky Bay to Streaky Bay Foreshore Caravan Park (73Kms)

Another short hop and the temperature is going up!

Streaky Bay is one of my highlights of the trips as a place to stay. There is a lot of history in the town, which I really didn't get to photograph this time around (but will return), the area has some great areas to visit as well.

We spent christmas here and had a great but hot christmas day. Actually everyday was hot and the wind blew, but it travelled overland due to the direction of the wind, so was not that comfortable to stay in our camper during the day. So everyday we went somewhere to absorb the aircon in the car and see some of the sites. A number of days we ended up on Searle beach, for a few reasons:

1. The white sand was hard, flat and beautiful
2. The water was blue
3. The wind blew off the water and was close to 10 degrees cooler
4. It was less effected by tides, unlike Streaky Bay.

I managed to get a little bit of kayaking in.

We also drove around Cape Bauer, Whistling Rocks, Hideaway Bay and visited Poin Labatt, which is know for its seal/Sea Lion colonies.

These are my photos from the big camera. If you want more information or view larger images, then visit my Flickr Album.

Then there was the aboandoned township of Calca. 

Then there was a trip to Elliston.

And finally Murphy's Haystacks.
​Murphy’s Haystacks are ancient, wind-worn pillars and boulders of pink granite estimated to be over 1,500 million years old. 

Set in the middle of a wheat field and surrounded by mallee scrub, they are one of the most popular and photographed attractions on the Eyre Peninsula. 

Murphy’s Haystacks are located on the Cash family farm, 39 kilometres south of Streaky Bay and just two kilometres off the main Flinders Highway on the main road into Calca and Point Labatt.

Continue on to Part 7.

Day 12 - Ceduna to Smoky Bay Caravan Park (45Kms)

A very short day indeed. Just a short jaunt down the road.

Smoky Bay is another small coastal town. It was also the first place that I actually could take my kayak out, without been blown away in the mornings. By mid morning it was just way too windy to contemplate kayaking.

It was a nice place to stay at and was quite relaxing, but wouldn't want to stay there too long as there was not a lot to do and see.

The next lot are photos from my big camera. If you want more information, or to see larger and better quality images, then follow the link over to my Flickr page.

One short trip that we did from Smoky bay was to another fishing village called Haslam. I had to visit as one of my work compatriots surname is Haslam and wanted to get a photo for him. Haslam is slightly bigger than Fowlers Bay, but not quite as interesting. I wouldn't consider staying there as their is not much to see, but as a day trip it was ok.

Continue on to ​Part 6.

Day 5 - Border Village Caravan Park to Fowlers Bay Eco Caravan Park (381Kms)
Day 7 - Fowlers Bay to Ceduna Shelly Beach Caravan Park (144Kms)

Today's plan was to cross the Nullabour, then stop at the Head of the Bight and finally continue on to Fowlers Bay.

For those that think the Nullabour is boring, then you really need to do the Hay plains!

On our way across, we stopped at one of the lookouts over the Great Australian Bight.

After the short stop it was on to the Head of the Bight. As we drew nearer to the Head of the Bight we discussed not stopping, but pushing on to Fowlers Bay. It was soon agreed upon to carry on.

Just before the turn off to Fowlers Bay we stopped at the Yalata Roadhouse for a break and some food. The place was hot and windy. We refueled the car and the body and moved on as soon as possible.

The road to Fowlers bay was dirt and quite rough, but we had a 4WD and our car was already dusty from the Hyden - Norsemen Rd.

​Coming into Fowlers bay you cross a salt lake.

Fowlers bay is a small fishing village, with only the caravan park reception functioning as the local shop. There was a bit of history to this place with it being named after one of Matthew Flinders crew. You can see that in one of the photos below. We quite enjoyed the time we spent here and would visit again.

The next lot of images are taken with my big camera. You can see the full images and further information on my Flickr album for this trip.

The wind picked up even more and wind speeds were climbing into the night. Unfortunately we were broadside to the wind and it was starting to collapse the tent of our camper and we made the decision to pull up stumps, before the wind destroyed our camper. It was a little scary pulling the camper down, as it has to be folded over and that presented a better sail for the wind. Luckily we didn't have too much issue, but one of the poles is a bit bent now.

Fortunately the road out to Penong was much better than the road in from Yalata.

On the trip out of Penong, Rebekah was phoning every place to find somewhere safe for us to stay. Most were booked out, but Rebekah found refuge in the caravan park at Shelly Beach, Ceduna. It was the same caravan park that we stayed at on the way to WA 3 years ago and the same one that we were meant to stay at the next night. We grabbed a cabin as we knew we would be tired and hungry by the time we got there. The whole way to Ceduna was blowing a gale. We pulled into the caravan park around 2130 and it wasn't until 2230 that we ate.

Ceduna is nothing special. Sure it is a bigger town and all, but I would highly recommend not staying longer than 2 nights and 3 at a pinch.

​One place of interest was west of Ceduna and that was McKenzie's Homestead near Denial Bay.
William (Mac) McKenzie 1844 -1906, was a pioneer farmer of Denial Bay, Blacksmith, Builder, Harbour Master and J.P. He settled in the Denial Bay area in the 1880s and assisted many in settling the surrounding districts.
You can see the ruins of his place below.
The last photo is a memorial to sea farers lost at sea.

Day 3 - Caiguna Roadhouse to Border Village Caravan Park (329Kms)

So have I mentioned the wind?

From this point on, you can assume that there was strong winds for a long period of our trip. I will mention it a few more times for various reasons to emphasise parts of the story, but you get the idea!

Today was the push to Border Village and into South Australia (SA). On the way we stopped at the Mundrabilla for fuel. Yep that damn wind was a headwind and I had enough fuel to get to Border village, if there was no wind! Should've filled up before we left as Caiguna was the cheapest servo on this stretch of road. Mundrabilla was the second cheapest.

Just before we headed up the escarpement to Eucla, we had a wee brake for Joel.

It was then onto Eucla for more fuel (due to price) and lunch. The views from the escarpment were great.

After a walk around the escarpment we went down to the old telegraph station, where we set up for lunch and then had an explore.

It was then the short Journey to the Border and Border Village, where we stayed in one of their cabins.

​Part 4.

Day 2 - The Breakaways to Caiguna (536Kms)

In the morning we did a bit of exploring, had breakfast and headed to Norseman. On the way through, we passed Lake Johnson, which is a massive salt lake.

It was then on to Norseman, where we stopped for a break and to pick up some supplies. It was there that we decided that we were a bit ahead of schedule. So much so, that we were going to be at our next camp spot before lunch. We revised our plan twice, as our next spot was meant to be Balladonia and we were there just after lunch. We decided to press on to Caiguna Roadhouse. 

It was from this point, that we started to notice the wind.

Caiguna Roadhouse has a couple of Eagles that were injured in accidents and were unable to be released to the wild again. Besides that the only other highlight was the shower heads, which gave you decent coverage.

And there was the wind. All night!

​Part 3.

Last year, our family made the move from Western Australia to South Australia. This trip was a good excuse to fill in some blanks and see more of the country.
The plan was as follows:
13 Dec 2018 - Rockingham to The Breakaways (482Kms)
14 Dec - The Breakaways to Caiguna Roadhouse (536Kms)
15 Dec - Caiguna Roadhouse to Border Village Caravan Park (329Kms)
16 Dec - Border Village Caravan Park to Head of the Bight Lookout (209Kms)
16 Dec - Head of the Bight Lookout to Fowlers Bay Eco Caravan Park (172Kms)
18 Dec - Fowlers Bay to Ceduna Shelly Beach Caravan Park (144Kms)
21 Dec - Ceduna to Smoky Bay Caravan Park (45Kms)
24 Dec - Smoky Bay to Streaky Bay Foreshore Caravan Park (73Kms)
28 Dec - Streaky Bay to Venus Bay Caravan Park (77Kms)
29 Dec - Venus Bay to Sheringa Beach Campsite (110Kms)
30 Dec - Sheringa Beach to Port Lincoln Tourist Park (136Kms)
4 Jan 2019 - Port Lincoln to Arno Bay Caravan Park (120Kms)
6 Jan - Arno Bay to Melrose Caravan Park (292Kms)
8 Jan - Melrose to North Largs (284Kms)
18 Jan - North Largs to Mawson Lakes and our new house (20Kms)

Rockingham to The Breakaways
​Day 1 - We started the day with no gas for cooking. I don't know how, but we had none left. We picked up some bottles and we were on our way. Basically our journey took us to Hyden and then on the dirt highway that is the Hyden - Norseman road. The road is better than 99% of sealed roads in SA. We really didn't see anyone on the road to The Breakaways.

The Breakaways are hidden in a rise and if there was not a sign, you would never know that they were there. We found ourselves a spot next to a picnic table and set up for the evening. The amazing thing was we were the only campers there and the place is beautiful as you can see from the photos below.

​If you ever get a chance to visit, I would highly recommend it.

Part 2.