Eyre Peninsula

The coastline near Streaky Bay is quite spectacular in good weather and we enjoyed a drive south through seaside villages, beaches and rugged cliff coastline.  The sea lion colony near Sceale Bay was impressive with dozens of New Zealand Fur Seals resting on the rocks or playing in the water near rocks on a headland.  Some of the seals are huge looking like several hundred kilo’s and of course there was one very cute baby wandering around the beach and rocks squarking for its mother.  She politely ignored it and slept on. 

There are several nice smaller beaches in the bays and one large beach near Sceale Bay aptly named Surf Beach, which yielded zero fish despite a brief attempt over lunch.  From the top of the dunes overlooking Surf Beach the waves appear so regular and endlessly long. Each wave breaks in a single line 2-3 kms south to the Sceale Bay end of the beach and for kilometres to the north as far as you can see.  It is the single longest breaking wave that I have seen. Sadly the waves were a gentle half metre high that day.  The scenery is pretty but we have to say that the roads desperately need a grader over them. 

The harem

Mother and baby 

the Boss

chilling out and catching some rays

the squarking youngster

This haystack has been hollowed out a bit

More Haystacks

Wild bee hive hanging from a "haystack"

On the way home we called in to see some rock formations called Murphy’s Haystacks. They are large pink granite columns rising out of the dusty limestone countryside and have been weathered over thousands of years to resemble large haystacks on a hilltop.  An Irishman travelling in a coach many years ago commented on the rocks shapes resembling haystacks and hence the name. On one of the columns we found a wild bee hive hanging from the rock tended by dozens of honey bees.  I have seen native bees and hives before but not a wild big bee hive.

We also called in to see Eyre’s Waterhole which is a small water soak in the plain near Streaky Bay.  Eyre ‘discovered’ it during his trek from Adelaide to Albany WA in the early 1800’s and spent time here watering his men and horses before setting off across the Nullabor.  The waterhole is only about a metre in diameter and 1 ½ metres deep but it has fresh water running into it. When Eyre found it there was 5 to 7 inches of water in it and replenished itself “as fast as a man could bail it out”.  Nowadays the water is less than an inch deep but you could easily get a drink of fresh water if needed.

Back home our new boss dropped a couple of kayaks off for us to use seeing we are on the waterfront.  Garry has been going for a paddle most afternoons and his loop is getting further each day paddling around the bay towards the hospital and then in a lop back around the pier and the moored boats.  It is good exercise and so easy compared to the canoe we paddled on the Murchison River in WA.

After another week of stocktaking we took a long weekend and headed down to Port Lincoln on Friday.  On the way down we stopped at the Coulton Bakery which an old fashioned wood fired bakery situated in the middle of farming country, miles from any town, and is in a century old limestone block farmhouse.  The baker bakes different breads and buns each day and places them in a tiny roadside store with an honesty system.  We bought half a dozen sticky buns and a loaf of Polish Rye bread.  The buns were beautifully fresh and fluffy.  The rye bread we enjoyed for lunch on Saturday. Port Lincoln has a pretty foreshore and plenty of pubs along the esplanade.  We opted for fish and chips in the park but only got half way through them and had to finish them at home to warm up.  The sea breeze was freezing but it was the first day of autumn so what did we expect.  P.S. the fish and chips were good.

Coulton Bakery roadside store

Faithful companion watching his master surf from the cliff top

There were good waves on the way to Port Lincoln. There is a surfer in this barrel. The wind was strong!!!

Locks Well Beach

Makybe Diva Statue on Port Lincoln foreshore park

We decided to spend Saturday exploring the Lincoln National Park down to the bottom of the peninsula as we had been told about all the good places to see by a workmate in Streaky Bay.  It was a very pleasant day with a bitumen road running about 20 kms down the peninsula. The side road into the National Park however has been left as a rough and rocky bush track to discourage tourists.  The highlight of the park is Memory Cove which has a beautiful white sandy beach in a small bay with high rocky headlands either side.  It has about 6 camp sites right on the beach but the track ensures it is a tent or camper trailer campsite only.  A sunny day made a huge difference to the colour of the water which looked very blue and pretty when the bays are ringed by dark granite and crashing waves generate pure white breaks onto the rocks and cliffs.  There are several side tracks along the way offering great views of the cliffs, beaches, bays and offshore rocks and islands including Jussieu Bay, West Point and Cape Catastrophe.  We stopped at all of these except one whose track in was not only rough like the rest but very narrow and as the trees were scratching the car we turned back.  After we came back out of the Memory Bay area we called in to the Sleaford Dunes.  These are an area of huge golden sand dunes where many a young 4WD’er can hone his sand racing and hill climbing skills.  Despite the signs about sticking to the marked trails, the wheel tracks up and down the face of the largest dune showed that it had been recently conquered.  It looked at least 30m high and would have been fun in someone else’s 4WD.

Southern Ocean coastline looking north

looking south. Note the rocky ground and poor vegetation

Trawler setting out to sea in front of Williams Island lighthouse and beach

Carol checking out the sandy cliffs

One of many bays and beaches in Lincoln Nat Park

Markings on the rock indicating a Mailbox for passing sailing boats

Memory Cove

Rugged coastline

Southern tip of Memory Cove

Memory Cove Beach. The campgrounds are only 10m into the trees

Picnic Lunch in the campground

Sleaford Dunes

Boaties moored on opposite side of Boston Bay from Port Lincoln

After we returned from several hours of 30 kph rocky tracks, we headed further NW to the tip of Cape Donnington which is the southern entrance to Boston Bay on which Port Lincoln is situated.  There is a very modern (ugly) lighthouse on the point and several very nice beaches in the bayside.  There are also a few places where vans can be parked right near the beach on points and at the top of small cliffs that provide great outlooks across the bay while being protected from the winds off the Southern Ocean.  A few nice boats from Lincoln also moor off the beaches for the weekend.

 The marina at Lincoln back near town is mostly a commercial fishing boat base with dozens of very large trawlers and cray boats moored.  It must be off season as it seemed every marina berth had a fishing trawler moored in it although we saw one boat heading out to sea off the southern tip of the peninsula this morning.  There are some flash units and a few nice homes on the canals but there are very few pleasure craft about.  We were hoping to find a restaurant at the marina but the only places to eat are at a café at a service station, at the pub and at a motel restaurant so we elected to eat in town. We tried local seafood and wine and the wine won hands down.

Part of the largest commercial  fishing fleet in the southern hemisphere in Port Lincoln Marina/

Sunday sees us doing a big grocery shop in Port Lincoln before heading home via Coffin Bay where they produce some pretty good oysters.