Up the centre...

We have covered some distance this past week and it seemed that there was a lot of nothing in between a few places. However, upon reviewing our photos we have seen a lot.

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We have driven over 1,700 kms this week and if we hadn’t turned off into Woomera and Coober Pedy, we still would not have been through a town.  We passed through flat barren gravel plains, passed salt lakes, through the stark red and white coastline of the inland seas of old that made the the opal area, and into the rich red sandy dunes around Ayers Rock / Uluru. 

Woomera was our first break and is in a great place for a rocket and weapons testing facility.  The town looks deserted with whole buildings boarded up.  There is obviously no research or testing going on at the moment.  There is an excellent display of planes, rockets, and missiles spread over two blocks on opposite corners near the info centre.  There are all sorts of successful rockets and also piles of twisted metal recovered from the desert from the not so successful ones.  There is also a great display in the Info Centre.  

island in a salt lake

Woomera test missile

missile park

more missiles

roadside free camp

We free camped on a roadside parking area that night and were well off the road, so it was quiet enough to hear the rain.  Our next day saw us into Coober Pedy where they were all smiles after half an inch of rain and a much cooler change.  The opal business looks slow with very few new cars or machinery visible and more shops selling opal than there was people buying it.  About half of the town lives underground or more correctly in the ground.  The opal fields are spread around the escarpment which is the eroded shoreline of the inland sea.  Miners, and home builders, simply burrow into the face of the escarpment and create a series of tunnels or rooms in under the plain above.  As most of the escarpment has been mined, there are now vertical tunnels being bored all over the upper plain with the pure white spoil being deposited in cones all over the red rocky landscape.  Garry went on an underground mine tour while Carol checked out the shops and selected a charm with nice opal for her Pandora bracelet.  On the way out we had a quick scratch for opal in the public noodling area and came up with a nice little chip with good colour for a keepsake.  We noticed that there were kangaroo tail pieces with ‘fur on’ available in the smallgoods section of the supermarket.  The Serbian Orthodox Church is a very impressive newish underground church on the edge of town with very pretty stained glass windows on the outside wall.  They also have a nice garden leading up to the front door made up of vegetables and fruit trees nourished by waste water.  The golf course is also interesting with black tar sand ‘greens’ on white barren plains.  They are proud of the fact that they are the only golf course in Australia without a blade of grass.

looking back down the 9th 'fairway' at 'Royal' Coober Pedy G.C.

Impressive 1.2m diameter shell fossil

underground lounge room/kitchen

Shovelling for that big one they missed

Entrance sign - full size mine vacuum pump

desert scenery at the Breakaways

these 2 mounds are called the Salt & Pepper

Next night was spent in a big bitumen roadside parking lot on the SA/NT border.  The big bitumen bays were good and there was a toilet but it badly needed a stiff breeze.  We ran into 3 guys from Mackay, 2 on dirt bikes and in in a landcruiser ute.  Turns out the bloke in the ute is Shelley’s husband.  Last time we saw Bob was at the Fox Glenn 10 years ago.

As we approached the Rock I was surprised how green it was following the rain a few nights earlier.  There has been a big fire recently and the colour contrast was outstanding, red sand dunes, green grass beside the road, and blackened trees.  We have watched two sunsets and one sunrise over the Rock, spent most of one day at the Olgas and all day today around base of Ayers Rock.  These two places are now referred to as Uluru and Kata Tjuta.  The 2 walks into the Olgas are very interesting and the early morning colours of the mounds and surrounding countryside is spectacular.  Water in both of the canyons is different.  Sunset over Ayers Rock shows off its remarkable colour changes from bluish pink to deep rich reds.  Hundreds watch it each night.  An early morning rise in the dark to await the sunrise from the opposite side was also worth the wake up with the red rock impressive as always.  We took a couple of walks to both of the permanent waterholes at the foot of the Rock and also a visit to Aboriginal Art Sites and caves was very interesting.  The climb up the Rock has been closed due to strong winds on the summit but we had a climb part way this afternoon.  It was hot and the track was slippery from so much foot traffic and we did not make all the way up.  The views were fantastic and worth the climb.  The tourist traffic has amazed us with at least a hundred vans and heaps of coaches and bus tours rolling through every day.  There were 7 coaches still at the sunrise viewing area when we left this morning.

underground Serbian Orthodox Church - Coober Pedy

remarkable bored roof line with 5 horizontal tunnel bores - all unsupported in  fresh rock

common malee flowers

Lookout #2 in Kata Tjuta

Goanna chasing brekky in the creek

These little guys were not happy with the goanna nearby

Kata Tjuta from the west - the deep canyon is the next walk...

....bright orange/red walls

at the end of the trail.

this surface water is not permanent.

Kata Tjuta from the south

Uluru from about 35kms away - soft bluey pinks

The sunset ritual.....going....

...going......

.....gone!!!

And at day break its back.

Kata Tjuta from Uluru sunrise viewing platform 45kms away at dawn

The sun rises

...and its cold!!.

Relaxing on one of many great carved seats.

Permanent waterhole at the foot of Uluru.

The brain.  Not sure the wattle has the right season??

On the way up..

Enjoying the sweeping views

...and theres always the down bit.

One of several gorges and the second permanent water site.

p.s. Excellent phone and bigpond reception at the campground and out to the Rock but the 210c/l for diesel is a bit of a dampener.

Streaky Bay to Port Augusta

We have been working fairly consistently for the last few weeks so our blogs have been slow.  We have got the store to where they can run automatic re-orders of their stock.  This included a stocktake of 14,500 products in the Retail side of the store, training of all staff and a compiling a 60+ page instruction manual.  It has been satisfying and was good to see that some of our grey matter is still doing its thing. We all had a bit of fun including having our vehicles front doors shrink wrapped while we were parked out front of the shop on our way out of town.  It’s nice to know we will be missed.  The weather has been beautiful for the last few weeks with cool nights and warm days and the water on the bay has been like glass.  We will miss rolling over at day break and cracking the blinds to watch the sunrise over the water a few metres away.   And we will miss paddling the kayaks in the evenings and the sunset jetty walks.

Sunset jetty walks were great with colours like this

Our side yard for Feb-Apr

Cute Sea Lions

Sunning them selves

Spectacular limestone coast

Returning from an afternoon paddle

Another beautiful sunset from our van.

Apart from all that, we are glad to be back on the road again.  We are heading east from Streaky Bay and decided to make our first stop a short distance away at Pildappa Rock.  This is South Australia’s Wave Rock. Very similar to the photos of the WA one that we have seen.  The sunset was very pretty and there are several camp sites around the rock and we had one to ourselves under the shadow of the rock.  The serenity is amazing once we turned the generator off. We are 15kms off the highway towards the Gawler Ranges and the rock is a large lump of pink granite (that is actually dark red) rising out of the limestone wheat plains.  It is several hundred metres long and 30 odd metres high with a big wave formation on the northern and southern sides.  The proper term for it is an inselberg – an area of bedrock remaining after all of the surrounding land has been eroded away.  Next stop is further east to Port Augusta where we turn north toward the Northern Territory.  On the way across we had smoko in Wadinna which is a rural town and has the largest bulk grain handling facility on the peninsula.  It also has the largest galah.  The bird, not the tourist!!!

 

Pildappa Rock just before sunset

Good lookout

Waterholes trapped on top of the rock - Gawler Ranges in the distance.

Wave formation on the south side beside our camp

Rock wall drains added in the 1800's to catch rain runoff

Big things are good out here too..

Port Augusta is at the northern tip of the Flinders Gulf and is a reasonably large town with Coles & Woolies.  The bank beside the shops and the water has been grassed nicely and there are numerous old piers and boats moored in the city.  Our van park is a bit out of the city away from the highway and is advertised as ‘Lakeside’ with waterfront sites and cabins.  Technically they are available but there is about 200+ metres of desert sand between the 8ft high chain wire park boundary fence and the water’s edge. The Gulf at this point is narrower than the Fitzroy and the far bank is lined with iron ore and goods trains.  It is still very pleasant and water views are welcome given where we are headed for the next couple of weeks.  Our larder is full again after a spend up at the grocery store and we are looking forward to heading into new parts tomorrow.  As long as the locals don’t get the cruiser over / through the perimeter fence during the night.  There is enough signs about theft around to make you paranoid.  Not like Streaky Bay where it takes forever to even find a key for most doors.  Last time we had a few days away we locked some gear in the units where are parked and I had to find my own key to lock the door.  I eventually found one for the door to unit 4 on a shelf in unit 2.  Ah the security of small country towns!!

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.