It is with a degree of sadness that I find myself having to rewrite this blog. After attempting a simple edit to correct the spelling of a word, the whole blog vanished, possibly due to the fact that my operating system hadn't been updated (another story in itself). So from the very brief notes in my travel diary, sometimes as few as three or four words, and from photos taken each day I'm going to attempt to reconstruct the events. The facts are easy to reproduce, the feelings and thoughts that accompanied them, and which were of more significance to me are harder to recall.
25/4/11
Anzac Day this year happened to fall on Easter Monday so as we left Adelaide the streets were all but deserted. On the advice of a lady from church yesterday we detoured into the St. Kilda Adventure Park. A huge park of forts, tunnels, flying foxes, giant swings and slides and unusual apparatus kept Jay busy for a couple of hours before we reluctanly continued on our way. Stopping for lunch at Port Wakefield Jay joined some other children for a paddle in the pond. Bypassing the Yorke Penninsula we headed north to Port Pirie. After helping a drunken cyclist who crashed heavily in front of the information centre we went in and were directed to Port Flinders and Weeroona Island free camp. Accessed by a long causeway Weeroona Island earns it's name from the fact that a couple of times a year the high tides surround the land. Port Flinders is the port that never was. Plans were underway to develop the area as a port but the cost of building a jetty a couple of kilometres over the mud flats to deep water was cost prohibitive and Port Pirie won out for development. We spent a relaxing afternoon cycling around Germein Bay where rusty wrecks glowed in the setting sun over the Spencer Gulf. "The Surf Shack" is one of the better free camp locations we've stopped at with clean toilets, cold showers for those brave or desperate enough and a lovely BBQ area and kids playground.
26/5/11
We awoke to a lovely golden glow over the South Flinders Ranges before breaking camp and moving on. Arriving early in Port Augusta we spent some time investigating the Wadlata Outback Centour attached to the tourist information centre. Tracing the history of South Australia and Outback Australia from pre-historic times through the early European settlers and explorers to present mining and agricultural history the centre was a great introduction to this unique corner of the planet.
The cafe, run by some local indigenous folk, had some interesting traditional foods done in a very upmarket way. Jay enjoyed a kangaroo burger, whilst I satiated my need for a hearty serving of fresh vegetables by choosing the soup and damper roll. We indulged in a quandang cheesecake a small native fruit that grows in the desert. After lunch we continued onto Point Lowly where we had to fight the crowds for a spot in the freecamp area eventually settling for a spot in the boatramp carpark. It was very blustery as we walked around the point and past the lighthouse as the day faded.
27/4/11
Getting off to an early start we headed into Whyalla in the hopes of joining the tour of the steel works tour. As it was booked out they booked us into an afternoon tour which left us with some time to kill. We explored the maritime museum including the battleship bearing the towns name. Interestingly when the town was first established the town's water supply came by barge as no natural water exists in the region. Now water is piped 350km to Whyalla. The tour itself was a bit long winded for my liking. The other two participants worked in the production of aluminium and so the tour guide pitched the talk to them which put it above Jay's and my heads. Areas of the plant were inactive adding to the disappointment. The highlight of the tour was seeing the slag being poured out and the coke furnaces being emptied. After the tour we picked up some groceries had a play in the foreshore playground and settled into the Whyalla Sports Club, a very reasonable club run campsite with hot showers and clean facilities.
28/4/11
In a wonderful display of community spirit and generosity lovely Kay who had welcomed us yesterday sent us off this morning with a goody bag stuffed full of homemade treats. Without access to an oven I'd been craving some home baked biscuit or cakes. Especially welcome were the ANZAC biscuits. First stop this morning was Cowell, jade capital of Australia. After much agonising Jay selected a lovely Jade pendant souvenir.
Lunch was spent at Port Neill where we were buffeted about by a very strong wind. I was loathe to drag Jay away as he had met up with some other children and was having a great time playing. We took a look around town stopping in briefly at the Australian Eucalypt Collection where copper plated jewellery and memorabilia are hand crafted using a unique technique. More mechanical problems continued to plague us so Frankie was taken to a mechanic in Tumby Bay for diagnosis. We stopped overnight in a free camp site opposite a cemetry just out of town where a weird red glow sat on the horizon.
29/4/11
This morning was spent sitting in the mechanics at Tumby Bay awaiting his repairs whilst Jay completed the day's schoolwork. Back on the road by about 11am we stopped at Louth Bay for lunch. Jay happily befriended a young boy out fishing on the pier. He'd caught a squid and was hacking it to pieces to use for bait. I left them to it and went for a bit of a wander, but never quite losing sight of them. Keep moving seems to be my catch cry so off we headed again making Port Lincoln by mid afternoon. We made some enquiries at the information centre and booked into a Swim-with-the-sealions tour. In most of these little coastal towns the local pier seems to be the main attraction so that's where we headed to spend the remainder of the day before making our way to Billy Light's Point freecamp. Here is where we first discovered we'd picked up a hitch hiker in Tumby Bay. A small grey mouse could be heard scratching around and lead to much grizzling and pursuing as I tried to work out where he was. A couple of lightening fast dashes across the floor pushed him towards the front of the bus. Between him and the 12 year old hoons who came causing mischief by knocking on all the motorhomes in the middle of the night, I didn't enjoy much sleep.
30/4/11
A dreary, grey, wet day greeted us this morning necessitating the postponement of the sea-lion tour. We topped up the shopping, did some bike maintenance, visited the laundromat and finally plonked ourselves in the Maccas carpark for the night. I figured with it open until late and then again early next morning we'd access the loos and feel a bit safer from the local yocals closer to town. Having visited the hardware store during the day I set up my peanut butter elbow trap and endeavoured to move all the perishable food that the mouse was likely to get into. I couldn't believe how much damage one little mouse had managed to cause in just two days.
1/5/11
It was looking a bit brighter and more inviting for our tour today, so after attending Unity Hill United church where we were again welcomed in like family, we headed for the mariner and joined our tour. Of great concern to me was one of the other tours that runs in this area. Swim with the sharks puts tourists into shark proof cages whereby the water is berlied up to attract the dreaded Great White sharks. It seems to me that this is just conditioning the sharks to view wetsuit clad humans as a food source. Given that their natural food source is fur seals and sea lions and we were about to jump into the ocean to go swimming with same gave me cause for some consternation. In a part of the country renowned for devastating and deadly shark attacks particulary on surfers it seems a pretty irresponsible practice. On reaching Hopkins Island we donned our wetsuits, flippers and snorkels and were unceremoniously tossed in the deep end.
Despite having filled in a survey declaring a lack of snorkelling experience no instruction was given and alsmost as soon as he'd hit the water Jayden panicked and attempted to cling to me for dear life. With very little experience myself I wasn't much help and eventually got the attention of one of the guides to help me out with him. Unfortunately the bay that is usually calm had some surf breaking near the shore which prevented us from going in and standing up which can often be done. Also despite a full wetsuit it wasn't long before Jay was shivering and between fear and cold needed to clamber back onto the boat. Determined to get my money's worth I stayed in until the bitter end and enjoyed a few close encounters with the sea-lions. Given that he was the only child on the tour I think they could have done more to prepare him and assist him to get the most from the once in a lifetime experience.
The return journey saw dolphins jumping the bow waves in the wake of the boat. Safely back on dry land we set off towards Coffin Bay. I hate driving these country roads at dusk, so it was a pretty stressful drive along roads potentially abounding with wildlife. We arrived safely at the caravan park however. After we'd hit the sack the now familiar rustling began in the pantry cupboards. Finally I heard the sound I'd been waiting for. The trap was sprung and I collected our little stowaway and released him as far away from Frankie as I could manage. I just couldn't bring myself to use a traditional mousetrap, way too much blood and gore for my liking. I just hope I didn't create a problem for another traveller.
2/5/11
I would have liked to explore more of Coffin Bay as it looked very pretty but most of it was only accessible with a national parks pass which we hadn't needed up to this point in time and just for a quick sticky didn't seem worth it. Instead we spent some time in the well equipped local park where we met two other travelling families. After comparing notes about future plans and past experiences, as well as swapping a few homeschooling tips, we hit the road again.
Stopping at Elliston at luchtime where we'd been advised there was a reasonable bakery, Jay was delighted to again meet up with a couple of boys from the park that morning. As we are travelling the same direction we are likely to meet up again along the way. Colton is famous for it's roadside bakery. Wood fire baked bread has been on the menu here since 1861. With sliding glass servery, you collect your bread in brown paper bags and deposit your money into the honesty tin. I'm led to believe that homemade country pies are also in the offing but as it was mid-afternoon as we pulled in, all the best pickings had been snatched up.
Another detour took us into some remarkable formations along this stretch of the limestone coast. Talia Caves, The Tub and The Woolshed are all the result of the ferocious roaring forties waves and weather crashing into this part of the Great Australian Bight. By this time Frankie was playing up again and it was becoming increasingly difficult to find the gears. One last detour for the night to see Murphy's haystacks and I was done for. Despite Jay's protests because he wanted to keep up with the family we'd met earlier in the day who were headed for Streaky Bay, I called it quits and we roamed around the giant monolithic granite outcrop enjoying the golden sunset which lit up the boulders and unusual shadows being cast onto and by the rocks.
3/5/11
With great trepidation, and glad that there were other well equipped travellers on hand, I headed off with a grinding of gears and a great deal of prayer. We limped into Streaky Bay at 60km/h in 3rd gear as I could no longer get the others and made a bee line for the mechanic. Whilst he inspected the clutch and gearbox we rode our bikes into town for a look around. The local Shell roadhouse boasts a replica of the largest shark ever caught on a hand line. Having all but exhausted the attractions of Streaky Bay we headed back to the mechanic. He suggested I head down to the caravan park until the parts needed arrived from Adelaide. One minor problem, I was unable to get into any gears so he kindly drove Frankie down to the caravan park and got him onto the site for me. Fish and chips in newspaper from park kiosk made a delicious dinner.
4/5/11
There are certainly worse spots to be stranded than Streaky Bay. It is a very laid back little community. The local council keeps it meticulously tidy and the locals are very friendly and welcoming. Jayden met a nice redheaded Jaden the same age as him travelling home to Perth with his grandparents. He joined us for an afternoon of fishing off the local pier.
The boys were delighted to pull in 2 fish including a 45cm flathead which we brought home for dinner. Of course this meant that I had to finally bite the bullet and learn how to clean and fillet a fish. I took it down to the fish cleaning station by the waters edge and asked an obviously seasoned fisherman for a lesson. He was glad to oblige and showed me how to scale and then filet the flathead, warning me to be mindful of the spikes behind the fins. Dusted in flour and pan fried in a little butter Jayden declared it to be the best fish he's ever tasted.
5/5/11
A beautiful sunrise greeted me this morning as we settled into what would become our routine for the next couple of weeks. The school library doubles as a community library so we would take Jay's schoolwork across the road where he could be a bit more comfortable completing the days works. Once complete we headed home for lunch and spent the afternoon with Jayden fishing off the pier whilst I caught up on some reading.
6/5/11
I allowed Jayden and Jaden to spend some time playing together this morning before he had to head off to begin the Nullarbor crossing. Whilst they played i had a go at repairing a puncture in my bike tyre. Everyone is always keen to help in the travelling culture so it wasn't long before I was spotted and an offer of help was made. Rather than let my knight in shiny armour do the work for me I asked instead that he instruct me in what to do but allow me to do it myself so I'd be capable of repairing any future holes myself. With the satisfaction of having done the job myself and Jaden gone it was back to the library to complete the schoolwork.
In the morning i'd asked at the caravan park office if i could post a request on their notice board to join someone else who was planning a tour of Westall Way. One of the ladies who worked in the caravan park office offered to show us the attractions herself once she' knocked off and we gratefully accepted her offer. She was very gracious, driving us around the sandy tracks in her 4WD, telling us stories about the locations and allowing us plenty of time for self exploration.
She and her husband hadn't long lived in the area having moved from Clare Valley near Adelaide after spending many years holidaying in the town. There home was a tin shed until such time as they could build their dream home on the site. She told us of the mouse plague when they first moved in during which mice would scuttle all over the ceiling and floor of the shed as they sat at night watching TV. Getting back late after a lovely afternoon we gave the kiosk's pizza a try. It was delicious!
7/5/11
Being Saturday I gave Jay the day off his schoolwork and we went for a ride around the foreshore to another boatramp and pier. It was a tough long ride into a head wind and Jay wasn't impressed. Almost every time we through in out line we pulled out a fish. Whilst not big enough for us the pelicans thought they were perfect and crowed around as we took the fish off the line catching everything we attempted to throw back in.
We didn't catch anything worth eating ourselves but were given some fish as one of the recreational boats docked. As we made to head back Jay managed to run headlong off the sloped ramp, landing hard and taking a chunk out of himself. The screaming attracted the attention of some other fisherman loading their boat back on the trailer. As they were also camped at the Caravan Park they offered to load our bikes into the boat and drive us back. I managed to filet the fish myself this time but they weren't nearly as tasty as the flathead.
8/5/11
I always hold great hopes for Mothers Day. Having my family treat me like a princess, and serving me lovingly. Needless to say I'm always disappointed and this year I was more solemn than usual as I missed my big boys terribly. Jay and I went to the local Anglican church where I was invited to do the Bible reading. I think Jay and I lowered the average age of the congregation by a few decades at least. It was a very traditional service with a read sermon as the minister was away. We returned to town for lunch at the Streaky Bay hotel.
The day had turned rainy and grey and looked as miserable as I felt. Back at the caravan park later that afternoon the sun finally came out treating us to and amazing sunset with rainbows arcing over the bay.
9/5/11
With the parts finally in Frankie was taken up to the mechanics and as guests of NRMA Premium care we moved into a lakeside cabin. My Mother's Day present to myself was a back and shoulder massage which I desperately needed after all the driving and associated stress of Frankie's repairs.
10/5/11
It was back to our usual routine today. School library in the morning then down to the pier after lunch. I caught a big parrot fish and, not knowing any better, asked another fisherman if they were edible. On his advice I threw it back only to subsequently learn that they do make good eating. We joined the owner of the caravan pack who just happened to be the local Cub leader at the scout hall tonight. As they are in desperate need of more leaders all sections meet on the same night so she can supervise them too. There were certainly plenty of Cubs, some of which Jay recognised from school. I ran a couple of games which the leader seemed very grateful for.
11/5/11
I had a bit of a meltdown today. I'd been reading a book about Rahab and was reduced to tears. I can't remember much of the details but experienced a very real sense of God's peace in the midst of my troubles.
12/5/11
Same old same old in Streaky Bay. Library, lunch, fishing off the pier. We saw some dolphins and a sealions in the bay this afternoon.
13/5/11
I was really crook today with achy joints and spent most of the day in bed or moping around the cabin. Jay was somewhat more industrious collecting shells and then going around all the caravans and selling them to unwary grey nomads. He raised $7.85 which we used to buy some ice creams and biscuits to share with some other children who had joined his business venture.
14/5/11
It was a great day for fishing today with us pulling in 2 flatheads, a leather jacket and tommy ruffs. Two young local men wen went diving around the pier for razor fish. Shaped like a tear drop they imbed themselves in the muddy bottom with only a small amount of shell protruding. As the name suggests they are razor sharp and will cut feet to shreds if trodden on. They pulled out enough for a decent feed for themselves and headed home with their delicacy. Streaky Bay is one of only a few places around the Australian coastline in which the tidal conditions for razor fish are just right. A mother dolphin and her calf gently cruised around the bay this afternoon.
15/5/11
Another Sunday in Streaky Bay. It was back to the Anglican church. The minister was back and his wife was delighted to have Jay and another child in the service. Apparently she comes prepared every week with a kids message although doesn't very often have the opportunity to make use of it. She pulled the two of them up the front and was so excited to have a captive audience. When we returned to the caravan park Jay made friends with Vivi and Alex. After seeking mum Kristen's permission we took them fishing with us. I was in constant fear of 5 year old Alex falling in. Vivi and Jay got on like a house on fire and spent a great afternoon on the pier. It seemed like every local in Streaky Bay took a walk on the pier this afternoon. Unless you're a keen surfer with a shark death wish or an avid fisherman there's not a lot else to do. The kids and I pulled in a flathead and 4 trevally. With such a haul we invited the Bakers to dinner. Dad Tim cooked up some chips and I fried up the fish. It wasn't the most hearty meal but I enjoyed the company of new found friends. After they'd left I went to wash up only to find that the hot water tap wouldn't turn off. I thought I'd pulled out the plug but the water must have sucked it back in and it wasn't long before water was cascading over the rime of the sink onto the floor. After searching for the main hot water tap without success I had to leave Jayden to make a dash to the office for help. I went via the Bakers van and asked Tim to head back over to keep an eye on Jay and see what he could do. Little did I know I'd probably picked the least handy man in the entire park. After rousing the owners they called a plumber and drove me back to the cabin. By this stage Tim and Jay were sloshing around as we began lifting things up out of the water including most of my sodden groceries. The on-call plumber got to us pretty quickly and got the water off. Tim returned to his family as I began the big mop up. The owners offered to send a cleaner around in the morning but I could hardly go to bed with a few inches of water sitting in the living room. It was close to midnight before I finished off and got to bed. I felt like a right drip once I learned that the plug had still been in the plug hole the whole time. Mind you I'd have suffered 3rd degree burns had I tried to plunge my hand into the sink. On the upside the cabin has probably never had such a good clean.
16/5/11
Before sunrise this morning the planets were aligned over the bay and really bright. We stuck to our usual routine however the fishing was really quiet this afternoon. There was a sea-lion hanging around the pier which could explain the lack of fish.
17/5/11
We started the day in the usual way at the library. It was great to finally get the call to say that Frankie was ready to go at last. The afternoon was spent reloading everything back in. Jay has been enjoying Vivi and Alex's company all week and is please to know that they are going to be heading the same way as us. Hopefully we'll catch up with the family again as we travel.
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