Committed Travellers

We tried to book Blue for grooming before we arrived in Port Lincoln. The wait list is months long for each of the groomers in town. I tried to book him in at Ceduna but same problem. So today I gave him a haircut using only scissors with close supervision from Tilly, who also gave him a wash.

I cleaned up loose fur and finished the washing and drying. It was a cold day with strong winds. It rained while the sun was shining, then there would be alternating bursts of sun and rain. We took Bluey with us to the Boston Hotel for lunch next to the silos and loading dock.

We found a table outside under cover and out of the wind. After I went inside to order, the rain started. The staff delivered my coffee in the rain! Fortunately the rain had stopped when our food was served.

We drove around the port, silos and parked road trains.

Tilly didn’t get much time outside because of the cold and rain. She was demanding food from Anita by climbing up her back. After eating she was very cuddly helping with my knitting.

I took Bluey with me driving along Whalers Way, 30 minutes from Port Lincoln. This southern tip of the Eyre Penninsular is privately owned. Entry is through a locked gate. The key lock code is provided on payment of $40 per vehicle. One of the co-owners was manning the gate and opened it for me driving in and leaving. The code must be well known so he may have had problems with non paying visitors.

The gravel roads were reasonable, and recent light rain kept the dust down without making mud. On some of the side tracks I changed to low range 4WD. My only concern about the roads was areas of sharp rocks as I didn’t fancy getting a puncture.

The scenery at every accessible parking area was very special. There is a swimming hole somewhere below this cliff, but I didn’t need to go close to the cliff edges to get there.

I didn’t see any fur seals or whales today but I was focussed on the coastline. Our caravan park neighbours saw six whales at their first stop and kept seeing them. Theakstone Cravasse is impressive. I copied a Google maps satellite image of the cravasse showing how long it is.

There are several signs warning of the dangers associated with this rugged coastline. At Cape Carnot there is a blowhole and rockpool, but the sign clearly states 6 people have drowned in this area. The last two fatalities were a father and 5 year old daughter who were swept off the rocks in 2019.

There are small hardy ground hugging plants in the rocky areas. The red berries are the size of corn kernels. In the areas of low shrubs these red flowering bushes stand out.

Back at our caravan park the plover on the eggs did not move even when humans came within one metre to hang out washing. Only one plover has been spotted today. This pelican was testing the load carrying capacity of the street lamp.

I walked Tilly down to the water to use up some of her energy. Blue rested after all of his walks by the coast.

We had breakfast at The Rogue &Rascal located in the Civic Hall, now an arts complex. It was warm enough to sit outside with Bluey, who attracted the interest of other diners and passers-by. I tried the Japanese pancake which would have been much nicer with a lot less mayonnaise.

Back at the van we embarked on some cleaning and maintenance jobs. I put Blue and Tilly in their crate in the sun. Our neighbour wanted to know where I bought the crate and she quickly contacted Kmart and drove into town to buy one for her 10 month old kitten. Our friends decided they wanted one for Leo so we did a Kmart run. 

I visited the Railway Museum located in the former railway station. Absurdly train transport of grain ceased in 2019, which explains the number of large trucks and road trains driving through the town.

The State Government had not long before constructed this bridge in London St over the the railway line into the grain handling area. The first train to pass under the bridge was damaged when its exhaust stack was too tall. This led to all trains taking grain to the port having their exhaust stacks modified.

Locomotive 850 was the first diesel-electric engine to be used in Port Lincoln. After closure of the line it was donated to the museum together with the bulk grain hopper.

I took Blue for a walk on the pier where fishers had been catching squid. He kept trying to lick the black squid ink off the jetty. We have had enough health issues with him already! Apparently we missed the passing dolphins and seals.

There is a fish cleaning table nearby where seagulls and pelicans were gathering around a couple cleaning the fish they had caught on a charter trip.

Tomorrow evening the full moon will rise over the bay. It should be an interesting sky if there are not too many clouds.

Little Leo had an appointment with the vet today to have his snip. To distract his mums we drove to Coffin Bay for lunch at Oyster HQ. There were intermittent periods of rain, but we enjoyed sunshine while we explored part of the coastal Oyster Walk.

At the restaurant this low Gabion wall was filled with oyster shells instead of rocks. This is a clever way to use the thousands of shells harvested each year.

After we were shown to our table we used the QR code to order our food and drinks. Oysters naturally featured in our entree selections. I selected the Japanese themed dishes, while the others each had the seafood chowder in a cob loaf. The food and location on Kellidie Bay were so good we decided to go to Coffin Bay for a couple of days after we leave Port Lincoln. We can indulge in more seafood meals!

There was a lovely rainbow during our drive back to Port Lincoln.

The vet called to say Leo was OK and could be picked up when we returned to Port Lincoln. He was still affected by the anaesthetic so was a bit dopey.

This morning’s washing was dry on the line but very cold. We rescued it before a light shower, avoiding the plovers who had laid two eggs on the gravel under the clothesline.

I took Blue and Tilly for a walk when we spotted our new neighbours with a young white cat on a lead. Yesterday the dogs next to us greeted Blue. He wasn’t overwhelmed by their attention.

Last night Blue had another vomiting episode about 2am. He had been left alone in the van for a couple of hours while the Toyota was being serviced, so separation anxiety might be the cause. Today he was only left in the car for an hour while we ate lunch. I sat with him on the deck until the rain started. He was very relaxed in our van this evening so hopefully there won’t be any more issues.

There was light rain when I took Bluey for a walk before we had to leave him in the caravan for a couple of hours. We dropped off the Toyota for its 90,000kms service at 10am and soon discovered L’Anse French Cafe & Croissanterie where we had coffees and pastries. The coffee was good but my escargot pastry was a bit bread-like.

Our next stop was near the waterfront for Anita to check out a nail salon. She booked an appointment for noon so we had time to take photos. Matthew Flinders is famous for “discovering” this part of Australia. The statue of the famous explorer includes his best friend the cat named Trim.

There is extensive grain storage and loading facilities at the port.

We had booked in to have our fourth Covid shot at a pharmacy so that was our next stop. Once that was done I walked the 2.5kms back to our caravan park to check on Blue and Tilly. After his crazy greeting I decided to walk him back into town. It was sunny when we left, but fortunately I took our raincoats as there was a light shower of rain on the way. I kept telling Blue we were going to see Anita and he was thrilled when he did.

We had lunch at Del Giorno’s Cafe, the topped rated restaurant in Port Lincoln, but found our meals very ordinary. We walked Anita to Coles to do inevitable shopping, while I explored some of the interesting buildings in town.

Blue was a hit in the waiting room at Toyota, getting pats from three of the female employees. I was served tea and Tim Tams while waiting for the complimentary car wash. We drove to Coles to pick up Anita and the shopping, then made our final stop at Supercheap Auto for lubricants.

I took Tilly for a walk and she loved this unusual tree with its branch resting on the ground.

We took Bluey to visit little Leo in the motorhome. He is very patient with Leo and his persistent attentions.

When I refuelled at the Tumby Bay Roadhouse, this fella was relaxed because he was with his mum in her shop. Coffee wasn’t brilliant but on a Sunday morning in Tumby Bay the options were limited.

On the drive back to the caravan park I found three of the town’s impressive murals.

On our drive to Port Lincoln we stopped at an historic monument erected in 1948. The language used in this commemorative plaque reflected attitudes of the time. Today a commercial TV channel used the One Nation names for capital cities, reflecting a significant positive change.

We parked next to our friends in our allocated drive-through site at the Port Lincoln Tourist Park. This is the view from our kitchen window. There is direct access to the jetty and beach from our park.

Last night Blue was sick again twice, but I put him in his crate not on our bed after cleaning him up. If he is OK tonight that will confirm our theory his vomiting is related to anxiety triggered by being left alone in the caravan at night time.

Our first stop in Port Lincoln was Petstock to use the dog wash. We had lots of towels and dog washing to do. It was cool and there was little sunshine to thoroughly dry everything, so I had to loiter in the laundry waiting for the one dryer. I could not secure Bluey’s bed on the line using pegs, so used the awning deflappers on the railing.

We took Bluey for a walk part way around the bay.  Unusually there were9 granite rocks next to the limestone conglomerate by the water.

Blue kept pestering us to take him to visit our friends in their flash motorhome. He wants to just sit on a lap quietly, but little Leo has other ideas and keeps getting up close and too personal! This cute little bundle of energy won’t sit still long enough for me to take a reasonable photo of him.

Bluey vomited on our bed at 2am so we lost sleep having to clean it up. He had earlier whimpered so I let him out of his crate and put him on the bed. In the dark I could tell he had been sick in his crate, so thought he would be alright coming onto the bed. He probably got stressed while we were at last night’s concert, then overly excited when we came home. I put a pile of linen through the laundry washing machine and dryer. Lucky we were staying at a caravan park.

After sorting all that out we packed up and left Elliston, stopping at the bakery for coffee. The scenery along the coast was interesting. We stopped at the drystone walling rest stop. This is beside a good example of limestone drystone walling.

The Tumby Bay silos have been painted and a generous parking and turning area provided for viewing. The silos are next to a large ground storage area for grains.

We left Blue and Tilly in the Bushtracker at the Tumby Bay caravan park while we had lunch at the Tumby Bay Hotel. I had a delicious lasagne while Anita had lovely crumbed flathead. Her leftovers were a hit with the critters.

I walked Bluey along the foreshore as far as the jetty. The beach is covered in piles of seagrass. Over the road there are many examples of century old homes. This one is a favourite.

The jetty lights are the right size to accommodate the large seagulls when they need a rest from pinching chips. The jetty structure is dubious. The first pylon apparently rotted away at the waterline so a second pylon has been attached. The shallow water makes interesting ridges in the sand.

There were different Adelaide Guitar Festival events all afternoon and evening at multiple locations in Tumby Bay. I went to see Lecia Louise who is from the Gold Coast. Jules Parker from the Hussy Hicks played a couple of numbers with Lecia, much to the delight of the audience. Four of us went to the later Hussy Hicks show and it was again fantastic. There were no little kids and the spacious hall was not as cosy as at Elliston.

After breakfast it was easy to pack up as we hadn’t unhooked or connected to power or water. We made a donation for use of the free camp then drove to Eileen’s in Kimba for drinkable coffee. It was not so cold there and we had brief periods of sunshine during our drive to Elliston.

We came here to see the Hussy Hicks perform as part of the Adelaide Guitar Festival On the Road. This is a series of free events to be held in many parts of South Australia, sponsored by various State, Local and Federal Government agencies, together with a couple of corporate sponsors like Budget. Tonight’s inaugural show was in this cleverly decorated community hall.

The first performer Joshy Willo is a local farmer who sang his own compositions but lacked pizazz. About 10 children were noisily playing, wrestling and “dancing” next to the stage. Their parents made occasional futile attempts to reign them in. The second artist was Laura Hill who was OK but I wouldn’t choose to go to her shows.

When the Hussy Hicks came on, Elliston came alive!. Several people were up dancing and the audience loved the show. We were all glad we drove here to experience the first of these regional events.

Elliston is a small coastal town on the shore of the Great Australian Bight. There are two caravan parks to accommodate travellers and holiday makers, and several holiday homes. The scenery around Waterloo Bay is strikingly rugged.

Swimming, fishing and surfing are key activities. There are also several walking trails.We drove along the coastal trail with a series of quirky sculptures.

We had a fairly long drive today from Nuriootpa to Kimba – 445kms travelling NNE to Port Augusta, then SW to Kimba. The sunset last night was followed by fog this morning.

We stocked up with coffee and food from Linke’s Bakery in Nuriootpa. Some of the roads were rough but at least we managed to stay on sealed roads all day! There were many interesting sights en route, and a few towns we could happily revisit. The mural is in Owen, the hotel in Balaklava, and the church at Mount Templeton.

We stopped for lunch at Port Germein where there is a timber jetty built in 1881. It was reported to be the longest timber jetty in the southern hemisphere at the time – 1,680m. Bluey reluctantly walked with me halfway along the jetty. He is very woolly to keep him warm, but we need to find a groomer.

We drove past a section of the Flinders Ranges and Port Pirie, and through Port Augusta where we stopped to refuel.

Kimba has painted silos and murals on some of the buildings in the free camping are where we are staying.

One of our Roadie friends took photos of Beccy laying in the dust near our Bushtracker taking a selfie with Tilly while we were at Walloway. Blue had to get in on the act.

That is not a typo – fermentAsian is a fabulous gourmet Asian restaurant in Tanunda, a 10 minute drive from Nuriootpa. Four of us shared the set menu of three entrees, three mains, and four individual desserts. I thought each dish was wonderful except for one of the desserts.

The others shared a couple of bottles of red wine from the impressive cellar. My photos are not good because of glass reflections. About 2,000 bottles of wine are carefully stored in this temperature controlled room. Some of the more expensive bottles are wrapped in gladwrap to protect the labels.

First thing this morning I went to buy coffees from Barista Sista, but a sign on the door advised it was closed due to Covid. As I walked back to the bakery for coffee I spotted Thorpy’s Never Ending Bargains where I was able to buy some knitting needles for my current project. Otherwise the nearest knitting store is more than an hour drive from here.

After breakfast we put Bluey in the car for an exciting morning at the shops. Anita loves the Barossa Co-op in Nuriootpa which has a wide selection of groceries. I had the more mundane task of buying a Swap n Go gas bottle.

Back at the caravan park we kept finding maintenance jobs to keep us busy all afternoon. I packed away the hoses as that will be one less job in the cold tomorrow morning when we leave Nuriootpa.