March 29th-31st, 2012- Whyalla Foreshore Discovery Park- Whyalla

Thursday morning we headed North again towards Whyalla. We said goodbye to Di & Terry as we won't be seeing them again for a while. They are heading South on the Yorke Peninsula while we will be heading East and North towards Karumba. We left early as we are taking our caravan into Harry's Camping Supplies to have final touches done on our caravan repairs. Arrived at 10AM and dropped off van at Harry's. They had the spare parts from Retreat to replace the spare wheel etc. They also had the replacement smart charger I had ordered via EBay.

From there we checked into the Discovery Foreshore Caravan Park without our caravan. Is another Top Tourist and a very nice location right on the foreshore. Quite a large park and well maintained at a reasonable price. Got our sites assigned then headed downtown Whyalla. We dropped our car off at Natrad Whyalla for a oil change and went out for lunch with the Ransleys. Did a bit of touring and shopping in Whyalla. Stopped at a couple of lookouts including Flinders and Hummock Hill. Whyalla is actually a very attractive port given that it is an industrial mining town. Water is a beautiful colour and quite clear.

Visited the Visitor Centre and did some shopping in the afternoon before picking up the car and the caravan. Caravan was good except Retreat sent the wrong colour wheel spat (Black instead of Charcoal/Slate). We will just leave it as is; and deal with it once we return home. We headed back to the caravan park and setup on the site we had booked into earlier. I did a temporary install on the new smart charger to confirm everything was functional.

Friday morning saw the new CTEK Smart Charger working fine so I finalised the installation. Hopefully our power problems are behind us now. We then took the Ransleys sightseeing as they had their car in for a service this morning. Our first stop was the Laura Homestead Museum. A very good small museum spread over a number of buildings around the Laura Homestead. Had a great selection of old memorabilia. Had a Telecommunication Museum which I found interesting given my employment history. Sandra had the hell scared out of her by a black kitten which jumped out of an old steam engine at her. The other 3 almost collapsed laughing!

We then drove North and East to Port Bonython and the Point Lowly Lighthouse. It was a beautiful hot day with no wind, although a bit hazy on the horizon. The coast line was very nice and the water in the bay was like glass. Lots of boats enjoying the fishing off of the point. A couple of nice free camps along the point.

We then proceeded along the Coastal Drive to Fitzgerald Bay. There were a number of other camping areas along Fitzgerald Bay. We may have to return this way some day to enjoy a few nights by Fitzgerald Bay. We also saw a number of cages in the water where they farm Kingfish. The waters are a beautiful colour with the Flinders Ranges on the horizon.

Spent the afternoon doing some grocery shopping. Enjoyed a relaxed happy hour with the Ransleys before a wonderful BBQ Steak dinner. A very hot day and night until a Southerly blew in about 2:45AM. The temperature change was refreshing but unfortunately the associated wind caused havoc with our awning. We eventually got out of bed and rolled up the awning at 4AM. The wind promptly dropped and we slept fine the rest of the night.

Sunday we enjoyed a bit of a sleep in. Sandra did some laundry in the morning while John did some computer work. Went shopping again around lunch time to get the last of our supplies. More laundry, cleaning, computer work and odd jobs in the afternoon. Sandra gave me a haircut as well. Had a planning session with the Ransleys to sort out our schedule for heading up to Karumba, QLD by the end of April. We were all quite impressed by Whyalla. It was one of those places that we weren't expecting too much from as we all thought it was primarily an industrial port. While it definitely is that it seems that nature coexists with it quite nicely! We would be happy to return here someday. We are off tomorrow 2-3 days of free camping at Mount Remarkable. Talk to you all again soon.

March 26th-28th, 2012- Port Arno Caravan Park- Port Arno

Monday morning we headed North towards Port Arno. We stopped in at Port Neill for morning tea and it turned out to be a beautiful little town. Would look at staying there if we pass through this way again. Caravan park is located right on the water with tiered sites so everyone can see the water. We sat in the memorial park on the water for tea and snack before heading off North again.

We pulled into Port Arno in the late morning and got ourselves set up in the caravan park. It is a Top Tourist and quite reasonable at $25/night. Family run park which is very friendly and clean. We lucked out and got two waterfront sites near the Jetty. Have a look at the view from our site below. Sandra got a picture of the nice garden at the town entrance as we were coming in.

Nice waterfront but lots of seaweed. Check out the guy fishing below. We had a quick walk out to the Jetty and then Stephen & I sampled the famous Arnormous Burger at the local take out/general store. Huge and not bad at all!

The afternoon saw us take a walk out on the Arno Bay Boardwalk. This was a great little walk with wood walkways winding through the creek and mangroves. Lots of lookouts and fishing spots built along the boardwalk. We walked over some crab flats and then out to the mouth of the creek.  There were hundreds (maybe thousands) of sea gulls and pelicans were sitting on the water at the opening to the ocean. For a small town of only 250 people the boardwalk is a real credit. We thoroughly enjoyed our walk and ended up spending a couple of hours touring the area.

We had happy hour with Di & Terry who were already staying here before dinner. Terry has been fishing everyday down at the creek and has caught a number of King George Whiting which are the local favourite. They are very small so you need to catch quite a few to get a feed.

Tuesday morning the Ransleys and Bewells headed off sightseeing. Our first stop was at Red Banks which is only a few kilometres north along the coast. The coast line was as you would guess made up of red banks. Quite different than Port Arno and also notable in that the beach area had little seaweed which is unusual for South Australia so far. A bit of a grey day so photos won't be quite as colourful as they could be.

Next stop was Port Gibbon which was about 6Km off the highway on a dirt road. Had a nice free/very cheap campsite there with toilets and water. Worth a look when travelling through. Took in a couple of lookouts before having morning tea overlooking the cliffs. Saw a couple of dolphins swimming near the shore. Thought they were sharks at first. On the road we took back towards the highway we drove by the "Igloos" which are WWII Air Shelters. One wonders why they would be located here and apparently they were never used in combat.

Cowell was our next stop which is quite a quaint old town. We had a stroll down the main street and explored some of the shops. Lots of old buildings which were clean and green park areas. We had our lunch down near the Marina and saw a couple of overloaded Oyster boats go by.

We headed inland after lunch towards Cleve. Rolling agricultural land but quite dry. Stopped at the Yeldnuckie Weir which didn't hold very much water. Another nice free camping area there with toilets.

Into Cleve we went which is a nice clean agricultural centre for the region. Ventured up Ticklebelly Hill which is the local lookout. Found another camping area like a showground which looked quite good with water and power. Looks like a donation system. Nice clean, quaint town as well.

We headed home where we had afternoon tea with Di. Terry was fishing again. Had the marinated Salmon we had picked up on sale in Port Lincoln. It was delicious! We bought some lamb shanks and a lamb roast from the caravan park. The caravan park carries a variety of meats and other products all at reasonable prices. They also have a charity BBQ every Thursday which Di & Terry said was very good value. Very nice to have a caravan park that doesn't try to overcharge for all of their products and services. I'm sure they will benefit in the long run from return business and word of mouth. Got a nice shot of the Jetty just before Sunset.

Wednesday morning came out beautiful and sunny. We decided to head back to Red Banks where the boys had a fish and the girls laid in the sun. Had the beach pretty much to ourselves and enjoyed 2-3 hours fishing and sun baking. As usual the sun baking was more productive than the fishing. John caught the monster below which was the only catch. Decided to release as my filleting skills are definitely not that well defined. Would need micro surgeon I think.

Headed back to the caravan park where we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. Did a baked dinner with the Lamb Roast we'd purchased from the park and a Pork Roast that the Ransleys had. Delicious! Thought I'd mention that as I received some feedback from Blog followers that we never seem to eat anything but seafood!

March 23rd-25th, 2012- North Shields Caravan Park- Port Lincoln

Friday morning saw us make the short trip to North Shield Caravan Park just north of Port Lincoln. Our early trip into Port Lincoln turned out to be wasted as the auto electrician we were supposed to meet hadn't showed up for work that morning. They weren't sure when or if he was coming in so we headed off to the caravan park showing up really early. Fortunately our sites were already vacant so we could move in. Nice roomy caravan sites and a very easy going staff. The caravan park is perched right on the ocean with small cliffs dropping down to the beach.

We did some cleaning before heading into Port Lincoln for a drive and a bit of shopping. Checked out Puckridge Park Lookout on our way home but wasn't worth the effort as trees blocked the view. Headed back to the caravan park where we had a good phone conversation with Justine.

Saturday morning we did a bit more cleaning and some odd jobs around the caravan. After lunch we took a drive into Port Lincoln with the Ransleys. Stopped in at Austar Seafood where we got some great bargains on seafood. We then drove North to Tumby Bay for some sight seeing which was about 50KM north of where we were staying. Was a cute little sea town. Got some cute pictures of paintings on the Art Centre along beach there. As in much of South Australia the beach was ruined by the huge piles of seaweed. Lots of old buildings and houses along the seashore. Took a back road back to the caravan park.

Sunday was a big cleanup day. We gave the caravan a good clean inside and out. We finally took a walk down to the waterfront and the local Jetty. Quite a nice area but unfortunately much of it is covered in seaweed again. Got some neat shots of the jetty.

After lunch we took a drive into Port Lincoln and gave the car a good wash as well. Sandra gave Carol a hair cut before we invited the Ransleys over to watch Sunday afternoon Rugby League. They are having all sorts of problems still with their TV/Antennae.

Can't say that Port Lincoln and area is the most exciting place to visit. Wouldn't bother coming this way again should we pass through South Australia. We have probably been spoilt by our experiences in West Australia.

March 20th-22nd, 2012- Coffin Bay Caravan Park-Coffin Bay

Tuesday morning we were off again South towards Coffin Bay. We had a couple of stops along the way. The first being Locks Well which involved a fairly lengthy walk/climb down from the caravan parking area. We ended up not doing the 275 stairs down to the beach as was very windy and didn't look any better than others we have already seen. The girls made it to the lookout and were a bit puffed by the time they made it back to the caravan car park.

Our next main stop was the Leo Cummings Monument Lookout. Perched high on a clifftop overlooking the ocean it is a very impressive sight. In honour of a fisherman that was lost at sea near the base of the cliffs. Very windy and a bit nerve wracking near the edge of the cliffs. Had morning tea before setting off again.

Pulled into Coffin Bay just before lunch. Setup in light showers and overcast skies. Sandra and I decided to take a trip into Port Lincoln re a new battery as ours has quit completely now. Left the battery to be tested while we paid Di & Terry and quick visit at Port Lincoln Caravan Park. Terry was out but we had a good visit with Di. Headed back to battery shop to confirm our battery was toast and purchased a replacement. Headed back to Coffin Bay where I got to install new battery in the rain.

Wednesday morning we did a few chores before heading into Port Lincoln again where our car was having the caravan lighting problem rectified at Mitsubishi. Carol and Stephen followed us in and we spent the morning shopping and touring Port Lincoln. We ran into Terry and Di downtown by surprise and had morning tea with them.

We toured the Marina and scouted out another caravan park at North Shield just out of Port Lincoln. We made bookings there starting on Friday. We found a Chinese Restaurant that catered for Gluten Free so the girls gorged themselves on Chinese food. Very nice surprise!  Returned to Mitsubishi where we found out the problem was in fact a blown fuse but hidden. Took the service tech a number of hours to find the problem and the fuse. The dealership was fairly generous on our billing which was appreciated. Did a bit of grocery shopping before returning to Coffin Bay. Caravan wiring works although they left a bit of a mess with the wiring at the back of the car. While I was cleaning up the mess I actually found a loose connection and repaired the 12V DC charging for our caravan fridge. This has never worked from day one and will be a relief for any long travel days.

Thursday was another lazy morning with a bit of a sleep in. We have really enjoyed the time change as it is very dark in the morning and conducive to sleeping later. Eventually we got ourselves ready and took a ride with the Ransleys through Coffin Bay and Coffin Bay National Park. The day was overcast so some of our views and photos were not as good as they could be.

Our first stop was a lookout where you could see Coffin Bay, the coastline, and sand dunes in the distance. A number of unique metal native animal/bird signs were a hit with the girls.

Rans ventured off on a 4KM 4WD track towards a beach. We made it in just over half way before the sand started to become a bit loose. We took a walk a bit further down the track to inspect and stumbled across an Apollo Van stuck in the sand. We explored the huge sand dunes by foot and assisted the van in getting free before heading back to our vehicle. We decided against continuing further and returned to main road.

We then ventured to the lookouts at Avoid Point and Golden Island. A very rugged coastline again with very strong swell and swirling currents. Had our morning tea. The weather change a bit while we were there with the sun coming out in spots and the wind dropping slightly. A couple of good shots as rain showers moved through under the sun. Headed back to the caravan park for the afternoon.

Stephen and I purchased a couple of dozen Coffin Bay oysters from the oyster shed in the afternoon. They were closed, so we had our first go at shucking oysters. Lots of laughs and no serious injuries. That being said I don't think we will mind spending the extra couple of dollars per dozen to have them opened in the future. We enjoyed half natural and half Kilpatrick. Girls don't eat them although they don't mind the Kilpatrick if we eat the oyster out first. Had a relaxing night and prepared for our short trip into Port Lincoln tomorrow. We are leaving early as stopping in at Battery Shop to have them check out our smart charger. Battery still doesn't seem to be charging fully.