Westward Bound

Eyre Peninsular

After two years of trying to get to Western Australia, we are finally heading in the right direction. We left Adelaide on the 18^th July and we are not going back. Don’t get me wrong, we loved our time in Adelaide and our time exploring SA but…it is time to move on. Although we still have a bit more of SA before see cross the border into WA.

First port of call, the eastern side of the Eyre Peninsula. We left St Kilda around mid-morning and made our way to Blyth. For those of you who don’t know, Blyth happens to be the name of my hometown in England, so it felt a little nostalgic to be going “home” though any similarity ended with the name.

Peter took the images below at St Kilda while I was visiting mum. He got some lovely shots.

After one night in Blyth, we headed north to Port Augusta. We had decided that we would not stop in Port Augusta. It is, perhaps, our least favourite place in SA. However, as we drove through the town I said to Peter, “Bugger! We forgot to buy some wine.” Faced with this epic crisis, we decided we should stop at Port Augusta after all. Now looking for a place to stop in a built up, busy industrial area whilst towing a caravan is not always easy. But we were lucky, we passed a BWS on a main street and six, maybe seven hundred metres up the road was a parking space big enough for Big Ears and Chunky Bum. Out we hopped and strode purposefully to the bottle shop

We took our time making our selection, then went up to the counter with six bottles of red and a bottle of scotch. The customer in front of us was having trouble paying (a technology issue) but we waited patiently for ten minutes. Peter likes to pay using his smart watch and I don’t like carrying my handbag for no reason, so the watch was our only means of payment. Needless to say, we had the same difficulties as the previous customer. Then we were asked a simple question, “Can I see your ID?” We were flattered at first, until he explained that he wasn’t checking our age. It seems there ‘s an alcohol problem in Port Augusta, and he needed to check we weren’t on the naughty list.

Well of course we couldn’t show him any ID because Peter only had his watch, and I didn’t have my handbag. Long story short, after forty-five minutes I gently guided my slightly annoyed husband back to the car – at least the walk was good for us. Our opinion of Port Augusta stands.

The day got better when we stopped for the night at Douglas Point, on the Eyre Peninsular. What a lovely place and such a pretty outlook. Looking over Spencer Gulf, you could clearly see the Flinders Ranges in the sunshine, then the weather came in and they were totally obscured by clouds and mist, it looked like an endless ocean.

Peter dragged me away from Douglas Point after two nights and we continued down to Whyalla, which is a really big industrial town, steelworks being the industry. It reminded us a little of Broken Hill, only nicer. We made one stop in Whyalla, and we made sure we had our ID. I’m sure you can guess what we bought.

So, crisis averted we made our way to our next overnight camp. Murninnie Beach. This is a lovely little fishing village, but if you’re planning on staying there be careful not to follow the Wiki Camps directions or the signage. If you do you’ll end up in a bit of a shanty village, quite a long way from the beach, and not a particularly welcoming place. I half expected to see a skinny dude in dungarees wander out of the bush playing a banjo, it had that kind of vibe. Anyway, we drove back into the village itself and found a spot right on the waterfront. To be honest, I’m not sure if we were allowed to camp there, but it seemed the safer, and more pleasant option.

Don’t be fooled by the photo above of Peter with his fishing rod. He totally failed! He lasted all of ten minutes! In that time he lost his bait twice (cockles really don’t stay on the hook very well), got snagged twice, lost his tackle, tangled his line and busted his reel. He decided to go for a walk instead.

The next day we continued to Cape Hardy where we spent a couple of nights at Cowleys Beach and explored the area around Lipson. Of course Peter had to find a dirt road, and some rain.

The following day we drove through Tumby Bay then on to Port Lincoln where we were able to wash Big Ears and Chunky Bum (not to mention about two weeks’ worth of washing) 😊 as well as explore the area.

See you out there somewhere

On tow and on the go!