17.04.2012 to 19.04.2012  Streaky Bay to Ceduna

After leaving the town of Elliston we headed for Streaky Bay. Along the way we stopped into a little town by the name of Venus Bay, which once again proved how rugged this coastline is. We never get tired of watching the ocean break against huge rocks, smoothing some of them to a flat platform, wave upon wave crashing onto them. How many years has it taken for the ocean to do that I wonder?

Continuing on we made another little detour into a town by the name of Smoky Bay which ended up bringing great excitement for Crowey. As you came into the town there was a tractor yard and low and behold outside, right at the front, was one of the oldest rusted out bulldozers I have ever seen, but Crowey was soon pulling up on the side of the road, jumping out of the car and telling me to bring my camera!! Crowey has now informed me that it is his mission to get a photo of him beside every bulldozer he sees across Australia (oh boy, I can hardly contain myself). But that is what you do when you travel, it's all give and take. So I guess you all will be coming along on the journey with me - Bulldozers in Oz with Crowey. (LOL).

                                    Crowey finds another one                                        

                                       
Heading off again our next port of call was a tourist destination called "Murphys Haystacks" so of course we had to stop there and get some photos. Murphys Haystacks are a unique outcrop of pink granite boulders and are reported to be over 1500 million years old. In a paddock are these huge boulders from one end to the next, you can actually see them from the main highway. It was an interesting photo opportunity and of course Crowey had to play the clown and give us some funny shots, as you will see by the photos below.

                                          Murphy's Haystacks

                                          Murph at Murphy's Haystacks

                                          Crowey gets eaten by a rock at Murphy's Haystacks

                                         Crowey showing his strength holding up a rock

We finally got to Streaky Bay and pulled up in a nice little caravan park, just in time for Beer'O'Clock. Right on the Bay looking over the water, watching the sun go down. Another hard day at the office you might say.

                                          Murph taking it easy

                                         Crowey making his famous burgers on the Weber

                                          The end of another day


The next day we were up fairly early headed for Ceduna. Not a lot to say about this town. It is certainly a traveller's stop on the way to or back from WA. This town alone has five caravan parks! The couple next to us have been here for a month, why you would want to stay a month in Ceduna has me baffled, but each to their own I guess. It hasn't turned out to be my favorite stay as I have not been well the last few days and Crowey ended up taking me to the emergency section at the Ceduna Hospital due to severe stomach cramps. But with a few good drugs I am now on the mend and ready tomorrow to hit the road again, heading towards the border and across the famous stretch of road called The Nullarbor.  

                                     Sunset at Ceduna Jetty

15.04.2012 to 17.04.2012 Elliston

Day 1.  After leaving Coffin Bay we basically headed straight to the next town on the map that was on the beach, Elliston. We had explored the nooks and crannies between the two towns during our stay at Coffin Bay.
 A beautiful day to arrive at a nice little seaside town enough to sell us the town for a couple of days.
 Dropped the van off and headed to the waters edge to have a peek at what the area had to offer and boy were we blown away with amazing cliffs which reminded us very much of the Great Ocean Road in Vic but this one the road was gravel with the occasional statue and sandy beaches.
 The ocean swell was magic for surfers and they were out on a point way below us surfing with great waves.
  We found a sheltered part of the bay that looked like it was snorkleable but were disappointed with seaweed being the dark spots we could see when looking down from the cliffs edge hoping it was rock of some sort but we still got wet.
 A great day and still blown away at the waves breaking all along the entrance to waterloo bay.
Day 2.  A day of rest today with Rach not feeling the best. We have decided to still roll on tomorrow to our next port of call.

                                         Rugged coastline

                                         Murph with statue on cliff top drive

                                         Murph being chauffered in the carriage

                                         1 Crowey power

                                         being dinked

                                         Thong sculptures with Anxious Bay in background

                                         I always love sun on water shots

                                         Elliston known for salmon

                                         4 dudes with more amazing background

                              waves breaking at bay entrance .... had to be seen in the flesh

                                         giant swimming dog rock

12.04.2012 to 15.04.2012 Coffin Bay

The last three nights we have spent in the lovely little coastal town of Coffin Bay. Our first day we went to the Coffin Bay National Park and the scenery was absolutely beautiful. The day was glorious which meant the water looked like a sapphire. The second day we headed over the other side of the Coffin Bay National Park, which is a 4WD track and we soon discovered why, the track was mostly sand and we soon found ourselves bogged! We were lucky enough that some locals happened to be heading our way and soon helped us dig the Prado out of the sand. I don't really think Crowey wants to say anymore on this subject (??!! lol). We decided to then go around the bay and explore the other side of Coffin Bay which lead us into lots of different roads with the result of never ending beautiful scenery.

Third day in Coffin Bay, another glorious day, so we decided to have a fairly casual day and went seeking a lovely swimming spot. I was soon jumping in the water and even decided to grab the snorkelling gear, which soon lead me to see lots of red starfish and crabs on the bottom of the sand. It never ceases to amaze me what you see with a snorkel and mask. Another world lives in the ocean. It is times like this I wish I had an underwater camera.

10.04.2012 to 11.04.2012  Port Lincoln

After leaving our campsite at Tumby Bay we headed off towards Port Lincoln along the Eyre Peninsula Coastline dropping in at all different coastal towns checking them all out. I know that SA is known as the festival state, but Crowey and I think it should be changed to the Jetty state! Every town on the coast here in SA has one. We made it to Port Lincoln around lunchtime and had a few errands to attend  to and finally settled into the Caravan Park, again situated near the water.

Next morning (11th) we set off for Lincoln National Park for the day with a picnic lunch. The National Park had so much going for it, rocky terrain, sandy beaches, beautiful clear water and the different rock formations along every nook and cranny changing all of the time. We decided to go for a spin on the bikes, well were we in for a treat. The paths were very cross country, with rocks all over the place, which made quite interesting riding for both of us. It was quite exhausting, especially as Crowey got us lost at one point.

After our adventure on the bike we came across some really interesting rock formations that had a tinge of orange on them. From what this orange stuff was from, we are unsure, but I thought this photo I took was interesting, almost like a black and white photo that has been painted.

Moving on in the Lincoln National Park we came across a beautiful little beach with water so clear it was amazing. Of course I was a dumbarse and forgot to bring my swimmers with me, but Crowey had a dip and loved it. I couldn't resist dipping my toes in the water though.

Continuing on we got to the Point of the National Park and the weather conditions and coastal scenery changed with more of a rugged and windy aspect on this side. Along the way we sighted three emus just wondering around, apparently not really worried by Victorian tourists at all. As we were heading out of the National Park we decided to take another route and ended up on the southern part of the park and again the coastline was awesome, the water a brilliant blue. I loved one photo below which shows three different aspects of the coast (sandy, sharp edged rocks, big boulders) all in one shot. I also took a shot of Crowey being a big kid and running down a huge sand dune (you may notice his T-shirt).

As you can see we had a really wonderful day at Lincoln National Park. Highly recommend this little town of Port Lincoln. Tomorrow we contiune our travels to a place called Coffin Bay. We have heard so much about this place and look forward to sharing our photos and experiences with you soon. So it's 10/4 over and out for today.   :-) 

04.04.2012 to 08.04.2012 Moonta, Moonta Bay and Point Hughes SA and beyond

After driving through the landscapes that all looked very similiar, we both agreed that it was time to call a place home for a few days. We pulled into Moonta and both of us had a good vibe about the place and we were lucky enough to get into the Moonta Bay Caravan Park (due to everything being booked out for Easter) for one night, we checked out another park around the area and were lucky enough to secure five nights over the Easter break at Port Hughes.
We went for a for a swim at Moonta Bay and couldn't believe how clear the water was. I could see my red polished toe nails when I stood up on the sand in the water.  A couple of blue swimmer crabs were sighted by us too, they are gorgeous the way they walk sideways.

Later that night we decided to treat ourselves to dinner and found a recommended eatery, run by a sweet elderly cornish couple and ordered schnitzel, chips and salad for $11 and the meal was fantastic. We then decided to go for a work along the jetty (ohhhhhhhh how romantic, I hear you say, LOL) and check out what the fishermen/women were catching. Blue Swimmer Crab appeared to be on the go that night with one Irish guy catching about 8 of them. We got chatting to one of the fisherman and asked about the closed off area in the ocean. Apparently they put netting around for the swimmers over summer due to ....................sharks!! White pointers at that!! Needless to say, Crowey and I stay in the shallows here. The same fisherman also showed us his catch (two blue swimmer crabs) and also the sea lice caught in the net. The sea lice looked like they were all tiny fluorescent blue lights and as he threw the net back into the water they lit up like a christmas tree, it was quite awesome and I wish we had taken a photo. 

First thing Friday morning we got up, little bit chilly, but dared each other to go for a swim. Yes we are Victorians after all :-) The rest of the day got a bit windy so we decided to go for a drive aroung the area to Wallaroo and Kadina where Crowey was excited to learn that they had a tractor musuem, but to his dismay (I think there was a tantrum) they were closed. Phew, can't say I was upset though, lol.

Saturday morning was nice and mild so we headed off to discover the Copper Mining Ruins/buildings around Moonta which was once a thriving Copper Mining town back in the early 1900's. Some interesting old engine houses, mining shafts and relics of the buildings that held the steam engines and mining equipment which was quite interesting history.

Sunday morning we were surprised to see that the Easter Bunny had arrived at the Caravan Park and Crowey tried his hardest to get a chocoloate easter egg from him, but I think his methods of influence needs some adjusting don't you think??

We decided to head off on Sunday to continue our travels and along the way stopped at a place called Port Germain where one of the longest jetty's in the southern hemisphere was situated, 1.7km one way to be exact. We decided to walk along this jetty (even Crowey with his mending ankle managed) and yes it was loooooooooong. Crowey noticed a fisherman's answer to launching his boat on the shallow beaches, see pic below.

Later that day we ended up "Free" camping just outside of Port Augusta, we had to take a picture of the Car and Caravan for our history records. We think we can get used to this "Free" stuff just like the grey nomads (proving we too can be tightarses).

This morning the 9th April we were up fairly early (just like the grey nomads, but the last to leave the free camping area) and off on the trek again. Once again we were in and out of all the different towns, not particularly swim friendly and decided tonight to experience the "semi Free" camping at Tumba Bay (Eyre Peninsula) being a left over small tree lined gravel paddock for $5 near the cricket ground. Low and behold the 3 vans full of grey nomads at 5.00pm on the dot, folded up their chairs, fired up their noisy generators (thanks to Aldi or Bunnings we are sure) and proceeded to lock themselves in their vans to watch the news. Crowey and I decided to sit outside, watch the beautiful colourful honey eater birds, with Crowey slaving over the weber BBQ cooking a marinated butterfly lamb roast. Yes life is still tough.

31.03.2012 to 01.04.2012 Goolwa to Moana

Saturday we left Goolwa (much to Crowey's dismay) and headed along the Fleurieu Peninsula along the coast (south of of Adelaide). We dropped into Cape Jervis where the ferry goes to Kangaroo Island, however due to being budget king and queen we decided to forego the island and kept travelling up the coast towards Adelaide. Along our travels we came across a beautiful little place called Rapid Bay and as you can see by the pictures below, really enjoyed this hidden little gem that I suspect only SA people know about. Not only was there a gorgeous beach, but a huge cave where we went exploring and I took the photo below looking out from inside the cave, with Crowey in the background (get your glasses on, he is there).  We decided to have lunch at this tranquil beach and then continued our travels, heading up towards Adelaide until finally deciding to stay in Moana (south of Adelaide), where the park was virtually on the beach, so we decided to treat ourselves to fish and chips. Is there anything better than munching on a nice piece of fish, well cooked chips, whilst sitting and staring at the beach and ocean with that special person in your life?? I was in heaven :-)

02.04.2012 Moana to Port Vincent

Crowey and I were up early this morning to have our first boogey board ride on the surf at Moana. The water was great and we had a ball catching waves, just like two kids. We both really enjoy the water. After having breaky we headed through Adelaide (always an adventure going through a city with a caravan in tow) and onwards to explore the Yorke Peninsula. It is quite interesting how much the coastline changes within SA in such a short distance. The beaches at some points, along the Yorke Peninsula coast, were covered in seawood (all dried up) like a spongey carpet. Not quite as pretty as we had been to, but all interesting just the same. Heading down the Peninsula we finally decided to camp for the night at a lovely little town called Port Vincent. The weather today got up to 37 degrees and I swear that as soon as Crowey parked the van I was in changing into my swimmers and heading down to the beach with Crowey in tow. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, absolute bliss. After our swim we headed off on the bikes to explore the Marina and town itself. Pretty little town, with blue swimmer crabs a favorite with the holiday makers, and fishing a big pastime here. You know we can hardly believe that we have only been away for just over 9 days, it feels more like a couple of months. We have seen so much in that short spand of time though and eagerly look forward to seeing much, much more. Keep watching this post o'loyal friends.