A Breath of Fresh Ayre - Day 10

Day 10 Monday 20th June 2011

Today is our 18th wedding anniversary, I really can’t believe we’ve been married that long, it doesn't feel like it has. We had bacon and eggs as our special anniversary breakfast.

I gave James his anniversary card and present which was an engraved brass Celtic bookmark that I bought from a shop in Ireland. I wanted something that was small enough to carry on our trip and that James wouldn’t find.

James gave me a beautiful card but my present is waiting at Cowell at the Jade factory where I’m picking out a piece of jewellery made from local jade. Cowell on the south east coast of the Eyre Peninsula is the only place in Australia that produces jade, and before my research for this trip, I didn't even know we had any jade.

James drove and I was the tour director for today. We drove north to Wudinna to visit a few local granite landforms similar to Ayers Rock except a bit smaller. Wudinna is on the Eyre highway about 80 kilometres north. We passed through there on the way to the Nullarbor but didn’t stop as we wanted to save it until now.

The first rock we visited was Polda Rocks about 7 kilometres north of the town. There is a picnic area and a small dam with water in it as well. It was quite windy when we climbed the rock with the dogs.

It wasn’t steep and trust us to take the longest side to climb which we didn’t realise until we were coming down again. The only animal we saw apart from the birds was a large black spider with a red mark on its back but it wasn’t a redback. It kept crawling towards me when I was trying to take its photo. I had to keep backing away and refocusing the camera as it was moving so fast.

The next rock we visited was Mt Wudinna about 5 kilometres further along. This was a massive rock and is 260 metres high and covers an area of about 112 hectares.

The walking trail took us up one side of the rock

 Looking up from about halfway up.

I was nervous looking down where I had just climbed as it was a steep drop. The climb itself wasn’t that challenging except it was a bit scary, especially when you turned around and looked down and saw how far you’d climbed.

At the summit, we had magnificent 360° views of the area including the Gawler Ranges to the north.

 James at the summit which was extremely windy making it hard to stand still long enough to take photos, but as you can see we managed.

 Our path downwards hopefully somewhere ahead.

The dogs coped really well having four short legs. The real challenge was finding a way down again as after we followed the trail across and down the rock, the path died out and we had to guess which way to go. There was no question of going back down the way we climbed as it was too steep.

As we climbed down we spotted what we thought was either an emu or a kangaroo in the open paddock next to the park. I zoomed in with my camera as far as I could go and took a picture so that we could see what it was later on the computer. It turned out to be a kangaroo, the first live one we’ve seen on this trip so far.

 We saw some very interesting rock formations during our climb.

Eventually, we found our way down and just in good time as I needed to go to the toilet.

After leaving Mt Wudinna we made one more stop before going back to Wudinna. We had to go through someone's property to get to the landmark known as Pygery's Rock. It wasn't as impressive as the others but interesting to view and from the top which we could drive to, we had great panoramic views over the landscape for many kilometres around.

 This is a close up of an interesting rock formation we saw at Pygery Rock.

We don't know why the rock was called by this name except we passed by a large concrete constructed water trough about 7 metres deep by 7 metres wide and approx. 20 metres long. We theorised that there may have been a pig farm onsite during the pioneering days as evidenced by the spelling of the word "pig".

At the entrance to Wudinna township is an 8 metre statue symbolising an Australian Farmer that was erected to acknowledge the commitment and spirit of rural people of the area. It took two years to create and is made from local granite blocks weighing a total of 400 tonnes.

Next on our agenda was Ucontitchie Hill 32 kilometres south of Wudinna. Don’t ask me how to pronounce it though.

When we arrived at the carpark to the rock we had to sit in the car and eat our lunch because there wasn’t any picnic facilities and it was still quite windy.

 This was the only rock we couldn't climb, instead the walking track led around the base.

We started off along the trail that led around the base of the massive rock, taking lots of pictures as we went.

There was also a dust storm moving pass which was impressive because it was like a red fog covering the landscape. Unfortunately, this photo doesn't do it justice.

 As we made our way around, we saw many fabulous rock formations. They impressed us so much that we couldn't stop ourselves from taking lots of photos. Here is just one sample.

 About half way round the trail died completely and we had to make our own path through the bush blindly. We spent about half an hour climbing up and down gullies, passing through thick overgrown vegetation and over rocks and fallen trees until we came out near a neighbouring farm. I knew we were heading in the right direction from having read the map on a sign near the entrance to the track.

We then had to get through a wooded area which brought us out by a wave rock before reaching the carpark again.

We were supposed to pay $2 entry fee and place the money in an honesty box which was inside an old fridge at the carpark.

We didn’t leave any money because we felt that if they were going to charge money they should at least upkeep the walking trails so that people visiting wouldn’t get lost trying to find their way around. Altogether, we had a great time looking at the different features of this beautiful landmark.

On the drive back to camp we were attacked by tumbleweed that was blown across the road by the wind.

The dust storm was still blowing across the fields and in one spot we saw a mini whirlwind dance across a bare paddock for a few seconds before collapsing.

We also saw a skink (lizard) out braving the wind and dust storm. He was crawling across the road so we stopped to take a photo. 

It wasn't hard to understand why we ended up having an early night after all the climbing over rocks and such. We were nice and warm inside our camper as we had the gas heater on. Later on during the night after we went to bed, we could hear the wind howling outside. It was very strong making it hard to sleep with the canvas flapping on all sides of the tent. We also had a few heavy showers of rain during the night. It seemed colder tonight as well but we were warm and snug in our beds.

A Breath of Fresh Ayre - Day 9

Day 9 Sunday 19th June 2011

Lucky for us it didn’t rain last night which meant that the canvas on our camper was dry when we packed up this morning. I for one was sad to be leaving such a pretty place, we’d really enjoyed our visit to Streaky Bay. The one thing that struck us was how friendly people were. They waved at us as we drove past even people from their gardens and children walking down the street waved to us as we went past.

After we packed up, we had our showers and then left the caravan park. We fueled up before leaving town and then headed south on the Flinders Highway. The first town we came to was Port Kenny which wasn’t much more than a few houses and a hotel and small jetty. It was quite an ugly place so we didn’t stop.

About 20 kilometres down the road we turned off to Venus Bay which was only a couple of kilometres in. The population is only around 20 inhabitants but that number swells to the hundreds during the popular seasons.

The town had a large jetty for fishing boats and looked over a large sheltered bay.

We drove up to the lookout behind the town to be surprised by some breathtaking views of the jagged cliffs along the coast stretching north and south.

We also had a spectacular view of Point Labatt from the south this time.

There was a caravan park a convenience store and a liquor store and a few houses and not much else, although we found it to be a very pretty little coastal resort style town with the most fantastic coastal views.

A few kilometres south we reached Coodlie Park farmstay where we will be bush camping for a couple of days while we explore areas along the coast and inland.

The camping area is about 2 kilometres from the farm house and there is a flushing toilet. Unfortunately, by the time we set up camp the beautiful clear day turned windy overcast and cold. It wasn’t the best weather for bush camping but we only hope the weather will change again before the day is out.

This is the spot where we camped for two nights (right).

About an hour after we set up camp another couple came along and set up their camp on the other side of an open clearing and just across from us. We had set up by a clump of trees and close to the toilet.

The only downside to the toilet was that it didn’t have a proper door just some shade cloth across the doorway which was blowing around in the wind giving no privacy for anyone wanting to use the loo. It would have been ok if we’d been the only ones here but the opening faced directly out into the clearing so anyone driving in could see you if you happen to be sitting on the loo.

The retired couple camping near us came over and said hello to us and the dogs of course. They are from Sheparton in Victoria a beautiful place where the fruit canning factories are located. Like us they are touring around the Eyre Peninsula but in the opposite direction to us.

During the night we woke to Toby being sick and then later we woke again to a horrible smell only to find that he also had diarrhoea and was standing at the bottom of our bed impatient for us to let him outside. James climbed down and let Toby out before cleaning up his little accident. We had to cover the area in disinfectant just to get rid of the horrible smell. Not really a nice place to end today's story but I'm afraid that's all there is to tell for today from the Short & Sweet and Slightly Smelly Tourists..

A Breath of Fresh Ayre - Day 8

Day 8 Saturday 18th June 2011

Today is our first relatively quiet day since we started our holiday, so it's not a very interesting read and very few photos to show. It rained most of last night and was still raining when we woke up this morning. I wasn’t feeling very well when I got up so we decided to stay in Streaky Bay for one more day. The only exciting part of our morning was that we had french toast for breakfast. After that we got down to the boring domestic chores which included another load of washing. Once the washing was dry and put away we went into town to buy a mat for the entrance to our camper because the tent floor kept getting covered in sand as there wasn’t any grass on the camp sites.

After taking the dogs for a short walk along the waterfront park in the CBD, we went for lunch in the lovely bistro in the beautifully decorated Streaky Bay Hotel.

I had rissoles with bacon, mashed potato and gravy while James had the roast beef with vegetables. We also had a complimentary salad and breadroll from the salad bar. Their mixed salad was the best salad I’d ever eaten in my life, I just wished I could have gotten the recipe. The meals were so big that I couldn’t eat all of mine but James must have been very hungry as he managed to empty his plate.

After lunch we went back to camp and relaxed for the rest of the day. Towards dusk we took the dogs out for their usual walk and then we spent the evening indoors as it got quite cool after the sun went down.

The beach was covered in lots of very small jellyfish like this one.








Well that's it for the very Short & Sweet Tourists adventure for today, nightie night campers.

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.