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.