Day 5 - Streaky Bay
Weather - it can have such an impact on what you do and how you do it. There was no sitting outside the caravan on the beach today (although it was hot eneough for it), no swims or walks, although at least my washing dried quickly. Yes, it was super windy - gusts up to 70km/hr! Thankfully we hadn't put our awning out, and although I had optimistically left our chairs out last night, rain drops at 2am forced me outside to fold them and tuck them away. So the weather completely dicated what we did today.
We enjoyed our sleep in, and slow morning. Did a few domestic jobs before heading into town with Neill and Jude for elevenses at the bakery. Then we thought we'd do some of the scneic drives as we could avoid the wind inside the car.
First up, we did the Cape Bauer Loop Drive. Plenty to stop and see, although the whistling rocks were a highlight.
The cliffs were also quite stunning, we all remarked that you can tell we are reasonably close to the Bunda Cliffs along the Great Australian Bight.
We completed this loop drive by 1pm so headed back to the caravan park for lunch at the in-house Oyster Barn. Great fish and chips, the squid is caught at the end of the jetty near our caravan park (and probably deeper out to sea too!) and there are plenty of local oyster farms! Delicious! After lunch, we decided to do the Westall Loop Drive as the wind by now was up to the 70 km/hr gusts and it was difficult to even open the caravan door! The tractor beach we remembered from our last visit here was on this loop but there are no tractors on the beach anymore! A great campground instead but that's not how we remember it! Some more great cliffs, rocky tracks, lots of wind but the sun was out by now and it was 28C!
Back to the park for a few more jobs, including a load of washing. The novelty of a washing machine in the van is still exciting - I think this was only the third time I have used it! Then we headed into the Streaky Bay Hotel for dinner, as we clearly weren't going to be sitting outside. A delicious meal was had before we headed back to the vans where the wind is slowly easing a bit but it is still quite warm. Ah yes, the weather.....
Day 4 - Iron Knob to Streaky Bay
And now we can slow down - to truly enjoy this place! The method behind the madness that was our 4 big days of driving was to get here, and then take our time travelling around the Eyre Peninsula. So as soon as we arrived into Streaky Bay and parked our vans beachside, we pulled up our chairs on the edge of the beach and just chilled. This is what it's all about!
The day started in Iron Knob as usual and thankfully, the sun was shining and the wind had finally abated. We were on the road just after 9am, but stopped just 89km up the road for fuel and early morning tea underneath this amazing silo art.
Back on the road for some easy driving, stopping for lunch at the surprisingly sizeable town of Wudinna where most of us responsible adults had some lunchtime exercise on the jumping pillow in the park!
We're truly in the desert now, although there are still plenty of farms and many of them are harvesting at this time of year. The beauty of recent rain is also the emergence of Sturt Desrt Peas, these amazing red flowers.
We arrived into Streaky Bay just on 3pm and enjoyed the warmth for the rest of the afternoon. Entree was some lovely fresh seafood from the Oyster Barn kiosk and then Jude cooked us a delicious pasta dinner before we retreated inside as the wind started to pick up, content in the knowledge that we don't have to set an alarm in the morning!
Day 3 - Burra to Iron Knob
Let's face it, with a name like Iron Knob, the town can't be much. 14 years ago, Greg and I camped here in our Jayco Swan and declared it to be one of the worst places ever and who would ever want to come back? Yet, here we are!
The day dawned in Burra much nicer than it was yesterday. It had been very cool overnight so we were happy to keep the gas heater ticking over and we were super comfy - also, because we have a new mattress topper which is just lovely. Up, showered and breakfasted ready for our 9am departure. First stop, the local service station and then the supermarket, as we needed fresh food, having not been allowed to bring fresh fruit and vegetables into South Australia - so we hadn't brought any from Tasmania.
On the road again well before 10am, and past the Midnight Oil house (as pictured on the album cover Diesel and Dust.
The rain started again, and the wind was bitterly cold. We stopped for elevenses in Spalding but retreated to the warmth of our vans for that. Lunch was in Port Germain where we had attempted to get fuel 9 years ago (but the last servo closed 13 years before that) so we revisited for old times sake and had our heated ogglytiddies in Cafe Phoenix in my new airfryer while looking out over the sea. It had warmed up significantly so we were much happier.
Up the road to Port Augusta, with strong winds which are not much fun to drive in. Stopped for fuel again there before heading west, and Greg and I realising we hadn't been west of Port Augusta in 14 years. Neill and Jude on the other hand, were ony out this way a couple of months ago.
We arrived into Iron Knob at a bit after 3pm. It is an old mining town, originally owned by BHP but now a rare place that doesn't fall under any Council jurisdiction and is instead run by the local progress association. There is certainly not much progress here - everything has a very forlorn look, there are many abandoned cars and houses, the streets are in terrible condition, and there certainly doesn't seem to be much going for it. The campground is much the same as when we were here 14 years ago although the post office has now set up out the front and is open between 10:30am and 4pm daily. I suspect they don't get much business.
Anyway, we enjoyed our elevenses in the sun, went for a walk around the sad town, had drinks and nibbles before lighting the campfire, and enjoyed our ricotta gnocchi dinner in front of the fire.
Day 2 - Poocher Swamp to Burra
A big day's driving today, in terrible weather. 400km and we really didn't even get to spend any time with Neill and Jude until dinner tonight!
The day started with clear skies and the sun rising among the gum trees on the banks of Poocher Swamp. All quite lovely, but it wasn't too long after our 9am departure that we started to see evidence of rain. At the service station in Keith, the puddles were gigantic! Fuelled up, we headed north west into big black clouds that opened up, just as the winds started too. Stopping in Coonalpyn for elevenses, the sun came back out so we thought we could enjoy our coffee standing outside but the bitterly cold wind drove us inside. And so was the rest of our day. Wind, rain, sun - sometimes all at the same time! Lunch was in the thriving metropolis of Palmer - again, inside the vans due to rain and wind.
After lunch, we entered the Barossa Valley. Such pretty countryside, and the wines from here are pretty good too! Rows of grapes, green farmlands - some with paddocks already harvested for silage or hay, beautiful flowering rose gardens and of course, the ubiqitous stone buildings this area is famous for. Greg and I were talking about the reason so many old (ruined) stone buildings don't have roofs - they were removed when the farmers/owners left the land because they didn't have to pay as high rates if the property didn't have a "dwelling" - and a house isn't a dwelling if it doesn't have a roof!
We had been planning to stay at World's End campground at Burra Gorge but with the rain still falling and temperatures dropping as low as 8C, Neill's suggestion of camping at the back of the Bon Accord Hotel and having dinner inside seemed a lot more appealing. So we pulled up here in the rain, heated up the vans, and walked into the pub at 6pm. The meal was OK and we enjoyed our catch up chat in our small private dining room. Talking to the owner on the way out - and especially after he heard that Neill and Jude had stayed here back in June - he offered to show us his newly renovated Coach House, now used for accommodation. Built in 1874 at the same time as the pub - all which was to stable horses etc to meet the trains, it had fallen into disrepair. He has done a wonderful job restoring it and adding a modern extension with kitchen, bathroom and laundry. So a very interesting end to our driving day.
On the road again - 2025 caravan trip. Days 0 and 1 - Bangor to Devonport, then Geelong to Bordertown
After postponing our planned trip earlier in the year, we finally hit the road again yesterday. Housesitters in place, arrangements made, leave booked, travelling companions lined up - so we were ready to head off. I was a little anxious as the drive to Devonport would be the biggest drive I had done in the new Ford F-150 towing the newish caravan and it was all still quite different but the car handled well and we arrived early into Devonport so pulled over for afternoon tea before checking in.
It was with great pleasure that I had heard I was getting an upgrade (it's all about who you know) so we boarded and headed up to our deluxe suite which was very comfortable, and sipped our free wine and headed down to dinner with our free vouchers. All while soaking up the comfort of a very calm Bass Strait with this stunning sunset.
Having the best sleep on board we have had for many years, we woke early this morning and were off the ship by 6:38am. Avoiding roadworks and enjoying quiet roads on an early Sunday morning, we headed up the Ballarat Road for a flat spot to stop for breakfast. Fortified, we continued up the road to Beaufort, where we met up with Neill and Jude. Lovely catch ups with the anticipation of a great little trip to come, we hit the road. Petrol and elevenses in Ararat, lunch at Wail, past the Pink Lake. It had been really hot (34C) but we could see the grey clouds as we drove west and sure enough, by the time we got to Bordertown, it was raining and the temperature had dropped to 17C! We are camped at Poochers Swamp and had afternoon tea in our respective vans while it rained outside, and came together for a delicious curry dinner in Cafe Bushtracker.
