Ceduna & the Eyre Peninsula

Wednesday, the 26th & Thursday, the 27th

I've had a drive around Ceduna & there is a real mix of the old & the new. Very interesting housing, very old houses & then next door a relatively new brick home. What a contrast. The town is actually in a bay (Murat Bay) & has at least some protection from the open sea elements. If you look at a map you can see that the western side of the Eyre Peninsula is dotted with many Bays.

Exports from here by ship through the local port include Barley, Wheat, Salt & Gypsum. Fish is brought ashore from trawlers operating locally & transported mainly to Adelaide & interstate by truck. There is a Race Track on the outskirts of town I see where the next meeting is in a couple of weeks time. There is a Meteorological Station here along with a radar that is connected to the national grid for weather forecasting. The main building at the caravan park was the original Hospital of Ceduna. There are many old stone buildings around this area & as I've travelled through South Aussie I have noticed numerous old stone buildings in the country side, some in a good state others decaying in the fields.

Old Lutheran & Anglican churches are scattered in many some towns throughout the region. Most of these are all stone buildings & have been kept in good condition.

On Thursday we have had showers & some thunder & of course some wind! I had planned to move on today but ......... but, tomorrow will do! Slack again!

Friday, the 28th

Even though there were clouds scattered about I moved on to the Eyre Peninsula & headed to Streaky Bay. On the way I called in to the sleepy town of Smokey Bay which is renowned for its Oyster Farms. The caravan park at Streaky Bay has plenty of Qld registered vehicles (about a third) & there are a few Vets here as well. Similarly in Ceduna I met up with a couple of Vets one of whom was in SVN at the same time as yours truly.

This town is also in a Bay & the park actually faces north. There are some sporting fields nearby so TJ & Cassie can run free during our walks. Some of those in the park have been catching some fish but those set up have been catching crabs off the jetty. One lady over balanced & ended up in the drink, losing her phone, glasses & other personal items. She is going back tomorrow on the low tide to search for her gear.

You wouldn't believe it but, but, but............. it's WINDY!

Saturday, the 29th

Not sure how the lady went with her gear but a few came back with plenty of Sand Crabs.

I've had a good look around the town & out to a couple of Bays that are close by. There is still a bit of wind around but more to the point, today it is chilly. You can't win! Beside the Oyster Farms that dot the region there are grain silos situated in the town. Yep, more grain around here as well. There are about 8 oyster farmers here & it provides a good income to the town.

I'm not sure of the population but they have a Hospital here & the town is very tidy. The surrounding area is quite picturesque & from the high vantage points on the edge of the town it is really post card stuff particularly when you add the colour of the water.

Sunday, the 30th

I've moved on down the coast & am staying at Coffin Bay about 50km west of Port Lincoln. The road down traversed many grain fields with plenty of sheep & the odd sprinkling of cattle. The road followed the coast & there were many spectacular sights. Venus Bay was a pretty town & I could have easily stayed there for a few days.

Beside the road there were a number of Lakes inside the coastal sand dunes & I presume most or probably all of these were salt lakes.

Once again Oysters are produced here & along with fishing & tourism this seems to be the main income for the region. There are a few National Parks nearby & they appear to be popular attractions.

Monday, the 1st December

Across to Port Lincoln & once again more grain (wheat, barley & some canola), sheep & the odd sprinkling of cattle. There is a large port facility here with the export of grain & fish. There appears to be a reasonable industrial infrastructure here to support these industries.

The road north follows the coast & I visit Tumby Bay, Port Neil & Arno Bay before I make my way to Port Gibbon. Why "Port" Gibbon, I don't know as there is definitely no port facility here. I need to ask some questions. I've asked the questions & it appears that grain was exported from here (& Port Neil) by sailing ships (1908 - 1914) & the grain was gravitated down a chute from a cliff to a waiting landing craft & then transported out to the larger vessel (Ketch) anchored off shore. Very ingenious!

There are about a dozen homes spread about here & free camping is allowed & currently there are about 7 caravans/motor homes here. I wish I had found this place a few days earlier as I'm now starting to run out of time! There are loos provided & a shower shelter but you provide your own water & bucket. No power, so you need to be self sufficient in that area however there is a water supply point.

At Arno Bay there is a fish hatchery business & I'm told it is a thriving business.

After leaving Coffin Bay it became apparent that there is less rain here as the surrounds look fairly dry. A fellow tells me that the annual rainfall for Port Gibbon is 11 inches but on the other side of the mountain ridge line, to the west of here, they receive substantially more rain.

Tonight in the sky the moon (a quarter, facing upwards) has Jupiter & Venus (extremely bright)above it & it looks like a smiling face. Very interesting.

Tuesday, the 2nd

We've been for a bit of a drive & the desperates have spent an hour in the water & on the beach. There is a Sea Lion colony nearby & we'll go there this arvo. Even though the sun is out & there is a gentle breeze (note, breeze not wind) the air temperature is cool.

The Sea Lions were not to be found. I'm told they must have been out having a feed. I believed this, of course!

I did a trip up along the coast to Cowell by the dirt road (very corrigated in places) & checked out some of the local scenery. More grain, sheep, oysters, prawn trawlers & other fishing. Also a wind farm is nearby & can be recognised at night by the red flashing lights on top of the wind vanes. It has taken me a couple of days to actually sight the wind vanes as they are on the western side of the nearby range feature. I counted about 25 structures & because of their position they were only visible from right on the coast.

My neighbours went fishing this arvo & (eat your heart out) I've had a feed of fresh whiting fillets for dinner. Yummy..............

Nearby here there are some "bomb shelters" from Word War 2 & they were also set up to be used as communication listening posts for enemy naval signal traffic.

I only wish I found this place earlier!