Back on the Mainland

Clayton Bay

I mentioned we met some lovely people while on Kangaroo Island, and we really hit it off with one couple in particular, Linda & Tim. They kindly invited us to stay with them on their property at Clayton Bay, and we took them up on their offer.

Where’s Clayton Bay? I hear you ask. It’s on the Lower Murray River, and is part of the network of waterways from Lake Alexandrina, around Hindmarsh Island and on towards the Great Australian Bight and the mouth of the mighty Murray.

While we were there, we took advantage of the waterways, and got the kayaks wet. There are so many waterways to explore here, but not enough time to do it all. We set off from Tim and Linda’s jetty, and explored their immediate area. The water was so calm at times, almost mirror like, and I spent a lot of time in and around the grassy/reedy islands.

Tim and Linda were the perfect hosts and tour guides. They showed us all around the area including Mount Barker, Goolwa and Hindmarsh Island. This really is a lovely part of Australia and we particularly liked Goolwa, it’s a pretty little town and with Victor Harbour only a short drive away there’s everything anyone could ask for.

A highlight of the area was the Barrages. These are a set of what I would have called weirs built to retain precious fresh water flowing from the Murray for drinking, irrigation, and general use; without them a large part of South Australia would very much drier than it is. They’re really interesting as they include locks so that small boats (I don’t know, but I suppose up to 30 metre or so in length) can move from the Murray to the open water. We were lucky enough to see the lock in action. One of these locks is unmanned, so boaties can operate it themselves with a hand winch.

We were also delighted to have lots of seals making the barrages home. They were lazing around everywhere and occasionally arguing lazily over the best spots to laze. How relaxed do these guys look.

Another highlight was our day out Cockling on Goolwa beach. You can only collect Cockles at certain times of the year, and we were lucky that our visit coincided with this. I think that most of the frozen Cockles you see in the SA bait shops come from Goolwa. If you haven’t done this before, and you get the opportunity…give it a go. We had a ton of fun. The idea is that you wait until the tide is on its way out then you get down to the waterline and wiggle your feet in the soft sand until you feel cockles under foot. Then you reach down and pick them up.

The images you’ll see below were at the beginning of our Cockle hunt, and it looks pretty tame. But just look at the waves behind. Once on the beach, it was easy to understand why Linda insisted that we bring a change of clothes.

As the afternoon wore on, the intrepid hunters went deeper and deeper into the cold southern waters (and the water was cold) until the sea finally had its revenge on behalf of the Cockles. One by one the hunters were dragged beneath the sea’s foamy waters. All except me and Tim. Some would say we were more skilled; others would say we were a pair of wusses and didn’t go in as deep. I’m happy with either explanation. 😊

We took less than the legal limit, even so, our share was probably well over $100 worth of Cockles. I must admit, I didn’t contribute much. In fact, I was operating a catch and release programme. (Sorry about that). It went a bit like this:

I’d do the twisty toe wiggle in the sand and find the cockles, and dive in to pick them up. Then I’d look at them and feel a surge of guilt, and…back home they’d go. Or someone, usually Linda, would call out, “I’ve found a batch.” She’d frantically gather them up, and hand them to whoever was near so she could go back in for more. If I was the recipient, I’d often and quite accidentally, ahem, lose my balance, and they’d slip from my hands. Or a wave would knock me off balance just as I was going to put them in the bucket and…I’d miss. 

Linda did catch me a few times with cockles in hand and she held out the bucket, so I had to drop them in.  I think my full contribution for the afternoon was twelve. I eased my guilt a little by feeding twelve cockles to seagulls. Six to Peg, a one-legged gul at Mozzie flat, and six to Scruff, a scrawny looking gul with a malformed tail, and bad balance, at Point Souttar. I am sure they appreciated the free lunch, and it seemed a more fitting end for the cockles.

Clayton Bay and its surrounds is a beautiful part of South Australia. We enjoyed the sightseeing, ate too much, drank waaay too much, met some of Linda & Tim’s friends and family; in short, we had a wonderful time, and they sent us on our way with a supply of home-grown goodies, and many happy memories. Thanks for the invite and we hope to see you again soon.

See you out there somewhere

On tow and on the go!