Our last peninsular for SA. Sunday we figured we would pack and move on. It had rained on and off since the early hours of the morning and we couldn't stay all week as James needed to work later in this week. After packing up in drizzle we headed back into Port Lincoln to do a big shop for it will be a while till we next get a decent supermarket. We couldn't buy up on fruit and veg though as when we cross into WA we can't take ANY across :(. From there we drove into Coffin Bay and into the national park. Though it was a nice place we decided to push on as it was early. We had a picnic lunch in Coffin Bay which was really enjoyable. It's such a pretty town we could have stayed for weeks. We found ourselves heading further and further north in search of somewhere not too windy or expensive to camp. We pulled into a beach side designated camping area just above Elliston at 5pm. It had what we needed and was only $10 for the night. After set up a long stroll along the beach and out into the water to see the reef was needed to stretch the legs. We have become so accustomed to not being in the car for long periods we needed the walk.
Monday we needed to find a camp that had good mobile reception for James to work. We set off towards Streaky Bay. On the way we stopped at Murphy's Stacks. Another incredible Australian natural landmark that shouldn't be missed. What a beautiful sea side town Streaky Bay is. With it as a back up we headed 20km north to a beach camp at Perbulie beach. After arriving and talking with a guy who had been there 6 weeks we figured it would be ok. It was windy and the sea weed all over the beach wasn't attractive but we figured we would give it a go. We set camp and James got working. The wind got stronger and stronger. I had a look at the forecast and it wasn't looking good. Strong winds, 2 meter high tides in the early hours of the morning and possible rain for the next 3 days. Ummmmmmm camping on the beach now didn't seem like a smart move. Back to the drawing board I looked around for other options. Ceduna was about 100km to our north and we were headed that way. The big 4 caravan park which we are members of were offering a discount and it would only be $19.80 a night for a powered site. I made a call and they could accommodate us. SOLD!!! If the weather is going to be foul we may as well have a few other luxuries to pass the week, as opposed to being on the beach worried about incoming tides and being sand blasted. We arrived in Ceduna before 6pm. The owners were delightful to chat with and after realising we were from Peregian they said they were from Buderim. They gave us a choice corner spot which is about double most other spots and right across from the camp kitchen. We set camp, met our neighbours, cooked and ate in the camp kitchen and had an enjoyable night. Sometimes we just need to follow our gut and move when it feels right.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday James worked and I pottered about catching up on necessary things & getting time to chat with friends and family. We enjoyed Ceduna. It's a very typical outback town with one of most things. No major stores but enough to get by. Beautiful sunsets each day. The park was comfortable and the people all friendly. On Wednesday night we got asked by our neighbour 1 plot over to join them and a group for dinner at the sailing club. It was Schnitty night. Wow a dinner OUT!! We frocked up and headed out at 6.30pm. We had a really enjoyable night with, Kim & Di, Barb & John, Margaret & Peter and Thomas and his wife (who's name I now forget). A lovely group of people all who have different stories and experiences of life on the road. We learnt heaps and also to our surprise taught them things. I know I've already said it but we really had such a enjoyable night.
Saturday rolled around and as we packed we said farewell to the owners of the park who we had become friendly with. They are from Buderim and are honestly lovely people just trying to run a great caravan park. We set out a bit after 8am excited for what the day could bring. Not only crossing the Nullabore but headed for WA. It's the only state or territory we were yet to spend any time in. It was WARM and getting warmer. The wind was howling across the land a strong N/E. While we had the wind moving in any easterly direction it was ok to keep going. If it turned to a westerly we would pull up and set camp. There's no point fighting the wind on the Nullabore cause we would always loose. The plan, well there was no real plan. We had met another couple Don & Eve who were keen to camp with us the night. We had agreed on a rough area and would see them out on the road somewhere as they left before us. Our first stop was the Head of the Bite. We took a look through their centre but didn't pay the money to walk to the edge we knew other free places to do that. On our way back to the road we met Don & Eve heading in. We told them we were going to push on to get close to the border. With the temperature still rising and the wind still howling we didn't want to stop and sit idle and melt or be blown away. We fuelled up at the Nullabore roadhouse and grabbed some things from the trailer to make lunch along the road. The place we were going to stay the night we pulled into at 1.30pm and had lunch. We sat in the car as it was now nearly 45 degrees outside. Randy was struggling in the heat but we just chugged along. We suspect the cooling system might need looking at but right at that point we just did what we could to get through the day. Even if it meant sitting on 70km per hour for over 5 hours to get to camp. We made several stops to admire the coastline and take pictures. We pulled into the Boarderville station at 5pm. To our absolute surprise and pleasure they had a POOL!!! We opted for an unpowered site at $15 and as soon as we were set up got ready for a swim. Just then our friends Don & Eve pulled in. They had the same idea as us just keep driving cause it was cooler in the car then sitting at a roadside spot with nothing. They joined us for a swim and then another couple also joined. We sat in the cool water till we were all cold and relaxed from the day. About 10pm a very cool change came through, our last night in SA we took a big breath of fresh Eyre and slept soundly.
Head of the Bite.
Borderville
Magnificent coast line.
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