A Breath of Fresh Ayre - Day 7

Day 7 Friday 17th June 2011

We woke up to a foggy morning so no photos of the sunrise over the bay this morning. We had our showers after breakfast and then packed a picnic lunch and off we went for a day of touring the Westall Way scenic sights.

The turnoff onto the Westall Way loop drive took us onto a sandy dirt road. On the Eyre Peninsula the main highway and a couple of minor roads and the streets in the towns are the only bitumen roads all the rest are fairly wide dirt roads made up of mainly hard sand and stones. The first stop we made was Highcliff Beach where we could see the coast from a shallow rise.

 We then continued south stopping at all the vantage points to view the rugged coastline.

One of the highlights was the Smooth Pool area where we walked down onto a large smooth rock outcrop where the waves were huge and looked as if they were going to come crashing over the top of you at any moment.

There were lots of rock pools and bits of coral and shells and small waves crashing over different bits of rock. In one of the rock pools we saw a nest of bees sitting just above the stagnant green water. We couldn’t work out why they would be here on the beach and what was so interesting about the water.

Another lovely spot was Speeds Point where I found a butterfly bracelet in the sand along the path to the beach. We walked around a ridge to a lookout over the coast and jagged peninsula and where we got a closer view of Point Labatt where we were headed next to see the sea lion colony.

Point Labatt

We saw lots of sand dunes along the coast mostly orange coloured sand but at one point the sand was a brilliant white like snow.

We finally reached the turnoff to Point Labatt which was a 17 kilometre drive to the lookout where there was Australia’s only mainland colony of sea lions. The drive took us past an inland lake and then around the coastline. There were a couple of modern designed houses along the way which looked rather remote as there weren’t any towns close by.

The wind at the lookout was fairly strong and icy cold but we ignored it as we soon spotted the sea lions sun-baking on the rocks below. Some were also frollicking in the waves as they crashed against a flat rock shelf. One large animal with an orange and cream coat was lying fast asleep on its back. There was also one little chap who seemed very interested in the human presence on the ridge above as he kept staring upward at us as we peered down at him and his friends taking photos. It was fascinating to be able to see them here in the wild far away from anywhere and not being disturbed by human interference.

It was after midday when we tore ourselves away and headed back and on to our next stop which was Murphy’s Haystacks on the Flinders Highway and about 24 kilometres away. We were both rather hungry by the time we arrived at the haystacks so the first thing we did was sit in their picnic area with the dogs and have our picnic lunch. There was an entry fee of $2 per person, you put the money in an honesty box at the entrance way. The wind was still very strong so we had to eat with our backs turned to keep the wind from blowing in our faces. The sky was covered in cloud by now and so there wasn’t any sunshine to take our photos.

There was another couple also having their lunch at the same time, they had a little stove and cooked sausages which they had on bread for their lunch. They were from just outside Melbourne and were on their way over to Perth for a few weeks.

By the time we had finished lunch the clouds had cleared and while James put the picnic bag back in the car, I took the dogs off to see the haystacks and take my photos. James joined me a short time later and took his own photos. There were a lot more rock formations here than I had imagined. They were very beautiful and the orange moss coverings on some of the rock formations was quite striking.

After we left the haystacks it was just a short 40 kilometre drive along the Flinders Highway back to Streaky Bay and our camp. We were back at camp and sitting down to a relaxing afternoon by 3:30pm. The sun was shining and it was fantastic to sit in our camper and look out the window to the beach and the blue water beyond. In the late afternoon we took the dogs for a walk along the beach. There were about a dozen pelicans standing on the water’s edge waiting for the fishermen to come in and clean their fish. Unfortunately, nobody was out fishing from the caravan park today.

I made homemade pizzas for dinner tonight and then for dessert we had strawberry cheesecake. We ate dinner while watching a DVD on the computer. Before bedtime we took the boys out for one last wee walk. 

Animal tally:

dozens of bees, 30 sea lions

It's the end to another great day for the Short & Sweet Tourists.